cadred.org | SK Gaming Don't Stand For Monkey Business

SK Gaming have released their entire DotA2 squad, formerly known as MonkeyBusiness.

The move will come as a surprise to most given the teams initial success under the SK Gaming name, achieving a third place finish at Dreamhack Winter whilst the continue to dominate their opposition in The Defense tournament, sitting at the top of their group with three wins in three games. It also comes just a few weeks after the team added the former MYM DotA legend Brian 'MaNia' Strandby, a move which many considered a huge coup for the Danish team given his pedigree. In the statement released by the teams manager he states that the team had agreed to sit down with SK Gaming and discuss better conditions at the end of January, but after doing so they have come to a mutual agreement to part ways.

It appears that with the game still in the beta stages SK Gaming don't feel comfortable offering the kind of support that the team would have needed or had requested, with the organisation stating that:

Right now it is hard to see where dota2 is going and it is still in the beta version, so we couldn't find an agreement between both parties.

Given the recent influx of major organisations and the continual growth of DotA2 it may surprise some that the team have been released, but with plenty of talent and the results to back it up they shouldn't have much trouble finding a new home. Whether SK Gaming choose to pick up another team remains to be seen.

The entire statement read:

I first met the team at ESWC Paris and signed them before Dreamhack Winter. When both sides signed the contract we agreed on talking about better conditions at end of January 2012.

Right now it is hard to see where dota2 is going and it is still in the beta version, so we couldn't find an agreement between both parties. I am very thankful for the effort that those guys put into the game for SK and hope that they will find a new organization which can fulfill their needs.

SK Gaming was:

Martin 'AngeL' Olsen
Sylvester 'Link' Hoelgaard
Brian 'MaNia' Strandby
Mikkel 'miGGel' Berg
Christoffer Borregaard 'Ryze' Winther

Source: http://www.cadred.org/167023/

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Video: Pricing Facebook's IPO

Discussing Facebook's valuation possibly ranging between $75 billion and $100 billion, with Ben Mezrich, "The Accidental Billionaires" author.

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Gingrich brands rival Romney with `liberal' tag (AP)

LUTZ, Fla. ? Newt Gingrich is calling GOP president rival Mitt Romney a "pro-abortion, pro-gun control, pro-tax increase liberal."

Gingrich made the comments outside a church in Lutz., Fla., two days before the pivotal presidential primary.

Gingrich is trailing Romney in Florida and has been labeling the former governor a Massachusetts moderate. Now Gingrich is adding the liberal tag to his criticism of his 2012 rival.

Gingrich also went after Romney during two television interviews Sunday morning. He said Romney "has a basic policy of carpet bombing his opponent" and that the "old establishment" in the party is trying to block Gingrich's path to nomination.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_el_pr/us_gingrich

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SAG Awards Red Carpet Ruled By Pastels, Sexy Details

Emma Stone, Lea Michele and Angelina Jolie flaunt what they've got in couture on Sunday night.
By Jocelyn Vena

Angelina Jolie at the 2012 SAG Awards
Photo: Getty Images

The SAG Awards may honor actors and their hard work, but on the red carpet on Sunday (January 29), it was all about recognizing all of the hard work they put into their looks. At the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, the overarching trend seemed to be flaunting what you've got.

For photos of the stars on the SAG Awards red carpet, click here.

Zoe Saldana went light in a sequined white dress with a drop waist and floral detailing. Kristin Wiig's look, though, had a bit of a split personality: Her pale-hued Balenciaga gown was decidedly glam thanks to tailoring that showed off her long, lean body, but her black metal choker was a bit too heavy and goth for the overall look.

Two of the biggest divas on Fox's "Glee," Lea Michele and Naya Rivera, made pale colors look red-hot. Michele's lavender Versace had a body-hugging bodice and thigh-high slit, while Rivera's ice-blue dress was made even sexier thanks to a plunging neckline.

Red also ruled the carpet. "My Week With Marilyn" star Michelle Williams was chic in a bright-red Valentino dress, which was cut right above the ankle. Her ladylike look was capped off with lace detailing along her sleeves and neckline. "Dexter" star Jennifer Carpenter also opted for a red-and-lace red-carpet look.

Using a similar color palette, Sofia Vergara's hot pink, strapless Marchesa gown was super hot. Her "Modern Family" co-star Julie Bowen went Grecian in a purple gown.

Emma Stone, Angelina Jolie, Tina Fey and Ashlee Simpson decided that a little black dress wasn't too simple for Sunday's show. Jolie played up her inner vixen in a Jenny Packham halter gown with a draped neckline. Meanwhile, Stone went quirky in a three-quarter-length strapless black dress with lace details. "The Help" star played up the fun aspect of the Alexander McQueen design with platform shoes.

Simpson, meanwhile, looked like a character right out of boyfriend Vincent Piazza's show "Boardwalk Empire" in a '20s-style Jenny Packham gown with sequins and see-through fabric along the neckline. Fey brought the "va va voom" in her black strapless column dress: It was all party on top — with grey and black shades — and business at the bottom in a plain black fabric.

The guys didn't disappoint, either. Fellas like Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Jonah Hill kept it classic and simple in tuxedos, choosing ties over bowties. One guy, however, had a little fun with it, and that honor went to "Modern Family" star Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who wore a blue pinstripe suit with a matching blue-velvet bowtie.

Share your favorite SAG red-carpet looks on our Facebook page.

Stick with MTV News all night for the 2012 SAG Awards winners, and don't miss all the fashion from the red carpet!

Related Photos

• Stars Light Up The SAG Awards Stage
• SAG Awards 2012 Red Carpet

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1678103/sag-awards-2012-red-carpet-fashion.jhtml

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Gingrich cuts event short (Washington Bureau)

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BP emails reveal company veiling spill rate (AP)

NEW ORLEANS ? On the day the Deepwater Horizon sank, BP officials warned in an internal memo that if the well was not protected by the blow-out preventer at the drill site, crude oil could burst into the Gulf of Mexico at a rate of 3.4 million gallons a day, an amount a million gallons higher than what the government later believed spilled daily from the site.

The email conversation, which BP agreed to release Friday as part of federal court proceedings, suggests BP managers recognized the potential of the disaster in its early hours, and company officials sought to make sure that the model-developed information wasn't shared with outsiders. The emails also suggest BP was having heated discussions with Coast Guard officials over the potential of the oil spill.

The memo was released as part of the court proceedings to determine the division of responsibility for the nation's worst offshore oil disaster, which began when the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20, 2010, killing 11 men about 50 miles southeast of the Louisiana coast. The first phase of the trial is set to start Feb. 27.

BP officials declined to comment on the emails late Friday.

The official amount of oil that flowed from the well was pegged at 206 million gallons from at least April 22 until the well was capped on July 15, a period of 85 days. That's a daily flow rate of about 2.4 million gallons ? two-thirds of the way to BP's projection of what could leak from the well if it was an "open hole." BP has disputed the government's estimates.

Having an accurate flow rate estimate is needed to determine how much in civil and criminal penalties BP and the other companies drilling the well face under the Clean Water Act.

In the memo, a BP official urges not to share the flow-rate projections and refers to the "difficult discussions" the company was having at the time with the Coast Guard.

Gary Imm, a BP manager, told Rob Marshall, BP's subsea manager in the Gulf, to tell the modeler doing the estimates "not to communicate to anyone on this."

"A number of people have been looking at this we already have had difficult discussions with the USCG on the numbers," Imm said in the email string, referring to the Coast Guard and flow estimates.

On April 23, 2010, the Coast Guard, relying on BP's remotely operated vehicles, said no oil was leaking from the well a mile under the sea. A day later, Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry announced that oil was leaking an estimated rate of 42,000 gallons a day. The Coast Guard and BP did not divulge how they reached that figure.

In the second week after the spill, the official flow rate was increased to 210,000 gallons a day, an estimate the government continued to use until May 27.

On May 24, BP informed Congress they used an "undisclosed method to generate much higher figures" than the official estimates, according to a report from a presidential commission investigating the spill. BP estimated that the flow rates were between 210,000 gallons and 1.6 million gallons a day, the January 2011 report said.

As the spill grew into weeks and months, and soiled fishing grounds, beaches and coastal marshes, independent scientists questioned the official flow rates. Eventually, the federal government convened teams of government and independent scientists to determine how much oil leaked out of the well. They came up with an official estimate of about 2.4 million gallons of oil a day on average.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_re_us/us_gulf_oil_spill_flow_rate

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APNewsBreak: Jackson enters fray over Grammy cuts

FILE - In this Oct. 16, 2011 file photo, Rev. Jesse Jackson speaks with reporters during the dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr., Memorial in Washington. Jackson is entering the fray over The Recording Academy's cuts to its Grammy categories: He's asking to meet with the president of the organization and has raised the possibility of protests, with the awards a little less than two weeks away. In a Friday, Jan. 27, 2012 letter to Neil Portnow, president and CEO of the Grammys, the civil rights activist said his Rainbow Push Coalition was alarmed that there were reductions at a time "when our country needs to celebrate all its cultural traditions." (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 16, 2011 file photo, Rev. Jesse Jackson speaks with reporters during the dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr., Memorial in Washington. Jackson is entering the fray over The Recording Academy's cuts to its Grammy categories: He's asking to meet with the president of the organization and has raised the possibility of protests, with the awards a little less than two weeks away. In a Friday, Jan. 27, 2012 letter to Neil Portnow, president and CEO of the Grammys, the civil rights activist said his Rainbow Push Coalition was alarmed that there were reductions at a time "when our country needs to celebrate all its cultural traditions." (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

NEW YORK (AP) ? The Rev. Jesse Jackson is entering the fray over The Recording Academy's cuts to its Grammy categories: He's asking to meet with the president of the organization and has raised the possibility of protests with the awards less than two weeks away.

The civil rights activist sent a letter to Neil Portnow, the president and CEO of the Academy, and expressed his dismay over the Academy's decision last April to cut its categories from 109 to 78, the biggest overhaul in its then 53-year history. In the letter, Jackson said he had been talking to members of the entertainment community and asked that his organization, the Rainbow Push Coalition, "meet with you urgently to express our concerns and to see if we might help resolve this conflict ... and allow the Grammys to do what they do best."

In a statement to The Associated Press on Friday, Portnow said he was willing to talk with Jackson.

"We are receptive to meeting with the Rev. Jackson to explain how our nomination process works and to show the resulting diverse group of nominees it produced for the 54th Grammys ? many in the musical genres he cited in his letter," Portnow said. "We also agree with the Rev. Jackson that the Grammys are about music, not sales. They have, and always will, stand for excellence in music and celebrating the impact all music has on our culture."

In an interview with the AP on Thursday night, Jackson said he wanted "cooperation, not confrontation" with the Academy. However, he did raise the possibility of a protest of the Feb. 12 Grammys, to be held in Los Angeles, if his talks with the Academy did not go well.

"We are prepared to work with artists and ministers and activists to occupy at the Grammys so our appeal of consideration of mercy really might be heard," he said.

The Academy decided last year to shrink its voluminous categories after a yearlong examination of the awards structure. Among the changes: elimination of some of the instrumental categories in pop, rock and country; traditional gospel; children's spoken-word album; Zydeco or Cajun music album; and best classical crossover album. In addition, men and women compete head-to-head in vocal performance categories instead of separate categories for each sex.

Some musicians in the Latin jazz community have filed a lawsuit against the Academy, claiming the reductions in categories caused them irreparable harm. While there haven't been widespread protests against the cuts in the industry, there have been small but vocal protests, and artists including Carlos Santana have spoken against them.

The Academy contends the changes simply make the awards more competitive but don't prevent people from entering into competition.

But Jackson said he's concerned that they limit participation of those who have been disenfranchised.

"Music of all arts should be expansive and inclusive," he said. "So much talent comes from the base of poverty and those in the margins. You limit the base, you miss too much talent."

Jackson said he became involved because he had been contacted by people in the music industry, though he would not name them. He said he became involved after hearing concerns of those affected.

Princeton professor and activist Cornel West also expressed his concerns in a statement on Friday, saying: "I believe the elimination of the ethnic Grammy categories is unjust and unfair."

Jackson has confronted the entertainment industry over concerns over diversity before: In 1996, he urged a boycott of the Academy Awards because of the industry's treatment of minorities.

While some have gone so far as to call the Grammy cuts racist, Jackson said he did not believe that.

"I don't think that we have to prove that to make our point," he said. "We're talking about expansion."

He added: "Sometimes inclusion is inconvenient but it's the right thing to do."

___

Online:

Grammys: http://www.grammys.com

___

Nekesa Mumbi Moody is the AP's music editor. Follow her at http://www.twitter.com/nekesamumbi

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-01-27-Grammys%20Cuts-Jackson/id-49fe619ae00b4f718247ba30bfcfc627

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Israeli film industry is a surprising powerhouse

JERUSALEM (AP) ? The budgets are bare-bones and the talent pool is limited, but Israel has emerged as a surprising powerhouse in the foreign film industry.

The Israeli film "Footnote," up for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film this year, is Israel's fourth such nomination in the past five years, giving Israel more nominations during that period than any other country.

It's an indication to the renaissance of Israeli cinema, which has grown from a fledgling industry with poor cinematography and low box office sales to a darling of world film festivals. That's in spite ? or perhaps because ? of the country's troubled international reputation, due to its lengthy conflict with the Arab world.

The last three Israeli films that made it to the Oscar shortlist all mine the country's troubles with its Arab neighbors. "Beaufort," nominated in 2008, and "Waltz with Bashir," nominated a year after, both explored Israeli soldiers' experiences in Lebanon. "Ajami," the 2010 nominee, centers on Arab-Jewish tensions in a violence-ridden neighborhood near Tel Aviv.

This year's nomination went to an Israeli film featuring a more internal conflict ? two professors of Talmud, a father and son, dueling for academic prestige and a coveted national prize.

"It's a badge of honor for Israel," said Moshe Edery, producer of "Footnote," at a news conference after the Oscar nomination. "It's Israel's best business card around the world, especially these days."

Israeli cinema was long an embarrassment. Cheap comic melodramas were the norm in the 1960s and 1970s. Called "bourekas films" ? the Israeli equivalent of spaghetti Westerns ? they dealt with ethnic stereotypes of European and Middle Eastern Jews.

Sick of those tired tropes, a group of Israeli moviemakers created an Israeli national movie fund in 1979, hopefully named the "Israeli Fund to Encourage Quality Films."

With meager funding from studios and other private entities, filmmakers rely on public funds. But even with help from the new fund, the industry still floundered for two decades.

In 1995, the government cut public funding for cinema in half, leaving enough money to produce only five films a year. Three years later the industry hit an all-time low: Only 0.3 percent of Israeli moviegoers bought tickets to Hebrew-language cinema.

The national film body took on a new name, the Israel Film Fund, and in 2000 it begged Israel's parliament to save Israeli cinema. It did, boosting the budget to $10 million a year for investment in feature films, mandating that young filmmakers get a chance to make themselves known.

It's what gave Joseph Cedar, the Israeli director of the Oscar-nominated films "Footnote" and "Beaufort," his first big break fresh out of film school: The Israel Film Fund supported his first feature, "Time of Favor," which debuted in 2000.

"We didn't know him, but he had enthusiasm. There was something about his passion," said Katriel Schory, executive director of the national fund. "We took a chance."

In the past, "cinema funds would not support a filmmaker's first feature," said Renen Schorr, founder and director of the Sam Spiegel Film & Television School in Jerusalem. "Today, Israel wants young people to make their first films."

The boost in public funding has dovetailed with investments in Israeli cinema by European and Canadian producers, totaling about $15 million and increasing the number of films Israel puts out annually to nearly 20, according to the Film Fund.

Israel's television industry has also blossomed in recent years. After cable channels and a commercial TV station broke the monopoly and monotony of a lone state-run channel in the early 90s, there was a sudden need for new TV content, spurring competition and creativity among local screenwriters.

Now Hollywood TV executives are taking notice, adapting Israeli shows for American audiences. Showtime's hit thriller "Homeland" is adapted from the Israeli drama "Prisoners of War," the NBC game show "Who's Still Standing" originated in Israel, and other Israeli adaptations are currently in development for American TV.

Despite the surge in budgets, funding is a fraction of public money available for filmmakers in European countries.

While Israel has scored some Academy Award nominations in recent years, it hasn't won. None of the 10 Israeli films that made the best foreign language film shortlist over the years has won the big prize.

Now the focus is on Cedar, director of "Footnote," but he told reporters that the coveted Oscar isn't the only measure of success for a filmmaker.

That is exactly the lesson that his Oscar-nominated film imparts, he said.

"'Footnote' deals with the question of what happens when, while you're living your daily life, a prize is offered, which really takes over your moral reasoning and changes your perspective and sometimes completely destroys your perspective," Cedar said, summarizing the main plot line of his movie.

___

Follow Daniel Estrin: www.twitter.com/danielestrin

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-01-27-ML-Israel-Film-Frenzy/id-1fd8ad65cc254d9ab6a7a322cfd3e83d

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Five ways to invest in Europe ? seriously

Just because there's a sovereign debt crisis doesn't mean there's no opportunity in Europe, especially if investors are selective and defensive.

Invest in Europe? Now!?

Skip to next paragraph

These days, the idea may seem as inspired as lighting a match to a paycheck. Fund investors appear to be fleeing the debt-troubled continent.

But all that tumult and fear can mask opportunities. For market-savvy investors who want to keep a hand in Europe, there are ways to play the still-economically vital region, some investors and market pros say.

"As long as you are selective and take a two-year investment time horizon, you can find interesting investments," says Stan Pearson, head of European equities at Standard Life Investments, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. "Valuations are quite moderate, and you don't have to pay up" to buy the shares of world-class companies.

Of course, venturing into Europe with its still growing sovereign debt woes requires fortitude. Last year (through Dec. 14), bond funds targeting Europe saw net outflows of $27.7 billion, according to EPFR Global, a Cambridge, Mass., firm that tracks fund flows. European stock funds experienced $11.2 billion in outflows (minus Germany, where the outflow was more than $30 billion). So where do you invest when others are pulling out?

Here are five possible strategies:

1. Buy selected European stocks. Collectively, eurozone stock markets fell almost 20 percent in US dollar terms in 2011. That trimmed the stock prices of world-class European companies that do sizable business outside the eurozone, points out Mr. Pearson. Among those he likes: Ryanair Holdings, based in Dublin, Ireland, a provider of discount air travel; ASML, based in the Netherlands, a world leader in producing machines for making semiconductors; Saipem, headquartered in Milan, Italy, an international provider of oil and gas construction and drilling services; and CFAO, based in France, a major distributor of autos, pharmaceuticals, and other industrial products in Africa and in French overseas territories and communities.

Among the European companies he likes outside the eurozone: Denmark-based Novo Nordisk, a global health-care company.

2. Use Europe to diversify. Portfolios with a globally diversified mix of stocks and high-quality corporate bonds allow the investor or active money manager to choose when and where to invest, says Stephen Wood, chief market strategist at Russell Investments, based in Seattle. Right now, he recommends underweighting European markets versus other regions. But as concerns ebb about the European debt crisis, "disciplined investors will see opportunities in European stocks and bonds, understanding that European government bonds will be problematic for some time to come," he says.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/OU3mNOnV08E/Five-ways-to-invest-in-Europe-seriously

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[OOC] yu-Gi-Oh: Bloodied Decks

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AT&T breaks its own Android sales record, but iPhone still rules the roost

AT&T released its Q4 2011 earnings this morning, saying it set sales records for Android devices in the three months ending Dec. 31. (It doubled Android sales in Q3 2011, you'll recall.) While it declined to give specific Android numbers, AT&T did say that it sold 9.4 million Android and iOS smartphones, 82 percent its postpaid sales were smartphones, and it activated 7.6 million iPhones. Do the math there, more or less, and you've got a boatload of iPhones, and some Android phones. But we're not one to look broken records in the mouth, and neither is AT&T, we reckon. The company also said it sold twice as many Android devices as it did in Q4 2010. 

Source: AT&T

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/gkHGOozfSR0/story01.htm

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Bruce Jenner: My teens don't need college

Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

?

By Us Weekly

Who needs a college degree when fame and fortune awaits?

Since their first appearance on "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" in 2007, Kendall and Kylie Jenner have become stars in their own right, thanks to lucrative modeling campaigns and a thriving teen fashion empire.

PHOTOS: Kardashians as kids

When Us Weekly spoke to their father Bruce Jenner at the Performance 3D demonstration in NYC Monday, the 62-year-old Olympian admitted his girls' careers are so busy they may not pursue higher education.

"If they want to go to college, certainly, I think it's a good idea. But I'm not the advocate of, 'You've got to go to college!'" Bruce said. "I think by the time they graduate from high school, they will probably be in a position to go right to working."

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Bruce defends Kendall's racy bikini photo shoot

Like their older sisters Kourtney, 32, Kim, 31, and Khloe, 27, Kendall and Kylie are becoming branded businesswomen, Bruce explained. "They've just developing their clothing line for Sears -- it's a little more teen-oriented, the clothing line. And they're working all the time on the show."

With two magazine covers under her belt (American Cheerleader and Teen Prom), Kendall, 16, is poised to become the next big supermodel, Bruce added.

VIDEO: Bruce freaks out when he finds out Kendall is on birth control

"She'll probably have a career by the time she's out of high school," Bruce told Us. "If that's what she wants to do, that's good. I don't know if college is going to be that important for her."

Do you agree the girls don't need college? Vote in our poll, and tell us on Facebook.

{"contentId":"10235644","totalVotes":"10905"}

Bruce Jenner's teens have millions. Do they need college?

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Source: http://todayentertainment.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/25/10235644-bruce-jenner-my-teens-dont-need-college

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AP IMPACT: Meth fills hospitals with burn patients (AP)

ST. LOUIS ? A crude new method of making methamphetamine poses a risk even to Americans who never get anywhere near the drug: It is filling hospitals with thousands of uninsured burn patients requiring millions of dollars in advanced treatment ? a burden so costly that it's contributing to the closure of some burn units.

So-called shake-and-bake meth is produced by combining raw, unstable ingredients in a 2-liter soda bottle. But if the person mixing the noxious brew makes the slightest error, such as removing the cap too soon or accidentally perforating the plastic, the concoction can explode, searing flesh and causing permanent disfigurement, blindness or even death.

An Associated Press survey of key hospitals in the nation's most active meth states showed that up to a third of patients in some burn units were hurt while making meth, and most were uninsured. The average treatment costs $6,000 per day. And the average meth patient's hospital stay costs $130,000 ? 60 percent more than other burn patients, according to a study by doctors at a burn center in Kalamazoo, Mich.

The influx of patients is overwhelming hospitals and becoming a major factor in the closure of some burn wards. At least seven burn units across the nation have shut down over the past six years, partly due to consolidation but also because of the cost of treating uninsured patients, many of whom are connected to methamphetamine.

Burn experts agree the annual cost to taxpayers is well into the tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars, although it is impossible to determine a more accurate number because so many meth users lie about the cause of their burns.

Larger meth labs have been bursting into flame for years, usually in basements, backyard sheds or other private spaces. But those were fires that people could usually escape. Using the shake-and-bake method, drugmakers typically hold the flammable concoction up close, causing burns from the waist to the face.

"You're holding a flame-thrower in your hands," said Jason Grellner of the Franklin County, Mo., Sheriff's Department.

Also known as the "one-pot" approach, the method is popular because it uses less pseudoephedrine ? a common component in some cold and allergy pills. It also yields meth in minutes rather than hours, and it's cheaper and easier to conceal. Meth cooks can carry all the ingredients in a backpack and mix them in a bathroom stall or the seat of a car.

The improvised system first emerged several years ago, partly in response to attempts by many states to limit or forbid over-the-counter access to pseudoephedrine. Since then, the shake-and-bake recipe has spread to become the method of choice.

By 2010, about 80 percent of labs busted by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration were using shake-and-bake recipes, said Pat Johnakin, a DEA agent specializing in meth.

So instead of a large lab that supplies many users, there are now more people making meth for their personal use. The consequences are showing up in emergency rooms and burn wards.

"From what we see on the medical side, that's the primary reason the numbers seem to be going up: greater numbers of producers making smaller batches," said Dr. Michael Smock, director of the burn unit at Mercy Hospital St. Louis.

It's impossible to know precisely how many people are burned while making shake-and-bake meth. Some avoid medical treatment, and no one keeps exact track of those who go to the hospital. But many burn centers in the nation's most active meth-producing states report sharp spikes in the number of patients linked to meth. And experts say the trend goes well beyond those facilities, easily involving thousands of drug users.

The director of the burn center at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, the state that led the nation in meth lab seizures in 2010, said meth injuries are doubly damaging because patients often suffer thermal burn from the explosion, as well as chemical burns. And the medical challenge is compounded by patients' addictions.

"You're not judgmental in this kind of work, but you see it day after day," said Vanderbilt's Dr. Jeffrey Guy. "We've had patients say, `I'm going out for a smoke,' and they come back all jacked up. It's clear they went out and did meth again."

Few people burned by meth will admit it.

"We get a lot of people who have strange stories," said Dr. David Greenhalgh, past president of the American Burn Association and director of the burn center at the University of California, Davis. "They'll say they were working on the carburetor at 2 or 3 in the morning and things blew up. So we don't know for sure, but 25 to 35 percent of our patients are meth-positive when we check them."

Guy cited a similar percentage at Vanderbilt, which operates the largest burn unit in Tennessee. He said the lies can come with a big price because the chemicals used in meth-making are often as dangerous as the burns themselves.

He recalled the case of a woman who arrived with facial burns that she said were caused by a toaster. As a result, she didn't tell doctors that meth-making chemicals got into her eyes, delaying treatment.

"Now she's probably going to be blind because she wasn't honest about it," Guy said.

In Indiana, about three-quarters of meth busts now involve shake-and-bake. And injuries are rising sharply, mostly because of burns, said Niki Crawford of the Indiana State Police Meth Suppression Team.

Indiana had 89 meth-related injuries during the 10-year period ending in 2009. The state has had 70 in the last 23 months, mostly from shake-and-bake labs, Crawford said.

What's more, meth-related burns often sear some of the body's most sensitive areas ? the face and hands.

"I don't think a lot of these patients will be able to re-enter society, said Dr. Lucy Wibbenmeyer of the burn center at the University of Iowa. "They'll need rehab therapy, occupational therapy, which is very expensive."

Researchers at the University of Iowa found that people burned while making meth typically have longer hospital stays and more expensive bills than other burn patients ? bills that are frequently absorbed by the hospital since a vast majority of the meth-makers lack insurance.

Medicaid provides reimbursement for many patients lacking private insurance, but experts say it amounts to pennies on the dollar.

Doctors at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo, Mich., performed a five-year study of meth patients in the early 2000s, then a follow-up study in 2009-2010. Their investigation concurred with the Iowa findings. The Kalamazoo study also found that meth burn victims were more likely to suffer damage to the lungs and windpipe, spent more time on ventilators and needed surgery more often.

That report also found that only about 10 percent of meth patients had private insurance coverage, compared with 59 percent of other patients. And in many cases, their injuries leave them unable to work.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120123/ap_on_he_me/us_meth_severe_burns

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Poll: iPad 2 jailbreak

So the iPad 2 untethered jailbreak is now live, and just like with the iPhone, Ally has already posted -- and keeps updating -- her simply superb iPad 2 jailbreak how-to, but given that iPad jailbreaking has historically been less popular than iPhone jailbreaking, I'm left to wonder how many of you have actually cracked open your bigger screened iOS devices? How many of you have jailbroken your iPad 2?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/fnV0-cCuAXY/story01.htm

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French parliament passes Armenian 'genocide' bill

Turkish citizens from France and other European countries demonstrate in Paris Saturday Jan. 21, 2012, to protest against a law that would make it a crime to deny "genocide" in Armenia. Thousands of Turks have marched through Paris denouncing a bill that would make it a crime to deny that the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks nearly a century ago was genocide. Turks waving their country's red flag marched on Saturday to the Senate, where the bill will be debated on Monday after passage in December in the lower house.(AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere)

Turkish citizens from France and other European countries demonstrate in Paris Saturday Jan. 21, 2012, to protest against a law that would make it a crime to deny "genocide" in Armenia. Thousands of Turks have marched through Paris denouncing a bill that would make it a crime to deny that the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks nearly a century ago was genocide. Turks waving their country's red flag marched on Saturday to the Senate, where the bill will be debated on Monday after passage in December in the lower house.(AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere)

Turkish citizens from France and other European countries demonstrate in Paris Saturday Jan. 21, 2012, to protest against a law that would make it a crime to deny "genocide" in Armenia. Thousands of Turks have marched through Paris denouncing a bill that would make it a crime to deny that the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks nearly a century ago was genocide. Turks waving their country's red flag marched on Saturday to the Senate, where the bill will be debated on Monday after passage in December in the lower house.(AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere)

PARIS (AP) ? France's parliament voted Monday to make it a crime to deny that the killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks nearly a century ago constituted a genocide, risking more sanctions from Turkey and complicating an already delicate relationship with the rising power.

Turkey, which sees the allegations of genocide as a threat to its national honor, suspended military, economic and political ties and briefly recalled its ambassador last month when the lower house of parliament approved the same bill.

Before Monday's Senate vote, Turkey threatened more measures if the bill passed, though did not specify them. President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose party supported the bill, still needs to sign it into law, but that is largely considered a formality.

The debate surrounding the measure comes in the highly charged run-up to France's presidential elections this spring, and critics have called the move a ploy to the garner votes of the some 500,000 Armenians who live in France.

Valerie Boyer, the lawmaker from Sarkozy's conservative UMP party who wrote the bill, did not deny that, saying that politicians are supposed to pass laws that they think their constituents want.

"That's democracy," she said.

But this domestic gamble could have major international consequences. France's relations with Turkey are already strained, in large part because Sarkozy opposes Turkey's entry into the European Union. The law will no doubt further sour relations with a NATO member that is playing an increasingly important role in the international community's response to the violence in Syria, the standoff over Iran's nuclear program and peace negotiations in the Middle East.

"It is null and void for us," Turkey's Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin said on live TV immediately after the bill's passage Monday. "It is a great disgrace and injustice against Turkey. I want to tell to France that you have no value for us in the slightest degree, we don't care."

The bill has also drawn massive protests in Paris, with thousands of Turks converging on the city this weekend to denounce it. On Monday, smaller rival demonstrations, separated by a substantial police presence, gathered outside the Senate.

The Senate voted 127 to 86 to pass the bill late Monday. Twenty-four people abstained. The measure sets a punishment of up to one year in prison and a fine of euro45,000 ($59,000) for those who deny or "outrageously minimize" the killings.

Despite the potentially serious consequences, many senators did not show up for the vote, instead allowing colleagues to serve as proxies. Those in the Senate chamber, however, fiercely debated the measure over several hours.

For some in France, the bill is part of a tradition of legislation in some European countries, born of the agonies of the Holocaust, that criminalizes the denial of genocides. Denying the Holocaust is already a punishable crime in France.

Most historians contend that the 1915 killings of 1.5 million Armenians as the Ottoman Empire broke up was the 20th century's first genocide, and several European countries recognize the massacres as such. Switzerland has convicted people of racism for denying the genocide.

But Turkey says that there was no systematic campaign to kill Armenians and that many Turks also died during the chaotic disintegration of the empire. It also says that death toll is inflated.

Boyer, the bill's author, said Monday that it seeks to protect the very human rights that France first defined during its revolution.

Others warn that it threatens those same rights, especially freedom of expression. A Senate commission, in fact, recommended against the passage of the law, saying it raised constitutional questions, and the law could still face constitutional challenges.

"It's not up to parliament to define history," said Jean-Jacques Pignard, a senator who spoke against the measure in an hourslong debate. "We can't impose repentance. Repentance is a long personal journey."

But the senators who spoke for it on Monday said it was their duty to fight against those who would deny settled history.

"Once it's written, isn't it up to us to take notice?" asked Yannick Vaugrenard, a Socialist senator. "The truth is not always strong enough to conquer lies."

While senators debated the law Monday afternoon, about 150 pro-Armenian protesters and the same number of pro-Turkish demonstrators gathered outside the building.

Those in the pro-Turkish camp held banners declaring, "Liberty, Equality, Stupidity" and "It's not up to politicians to invent history."

Turkey's ambassador to France later lamented the vote.

"Everyone is going to suffer (from this). France, Turkey, Armenia of course. There will be unfortunately a radicalization of positions of all sides," said Tahsin Burcuoglu.

But Alexis Govciyan, national president of the Council of Coordination of Armenian Organizations in France, said that the law that would protect "the memory of the victims of the genocide, and the dignity of their descendants like us will be respected."

___

Associated Press writers Selcan Hacaoglu in Ankara, Turkey, and Jeffrey Schaeffer and Nicolas Garriga in Paris also contributed.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-23-EU-France-Turkey-Genocide/id-ecedc06405c54a8f8f59c5ce031a2382

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Mitt Romney Going Backward, Not Forward (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | Few people care about or remember silver medal winners. It is all about who brings home the gold.

Mitt Romney should be aware of this fact after overseeing the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. A pair of second-place finishes in Iowa and South Carolina has the one-time favorite for the Republican nomination no longer enjoying frontrunner status. The former Massachusetts governor looks more like a candidate desperately searching for answers on what went wrong.

Former House speaker Newt Gingrich overtook Romney in South Carolina and walked away with a primary victory in a state that has accurately predicted the Republican nominee in every Presidential election since 1980. Gingrich won by a wide margin, capturing 243,153 votes or 40.4 percent of the primary total. Romney finished a distant second with 167,279 votes or 27.8 percent of the primary total.

This does not mean that Romney is finished in the battle for the nomination. It does mean, however, that his chances of coming out on top in Florida or elsewhere have taken a major hit.

The biggest problem facing Romney is the same one that has faced him all along. As a candidate, he is seen as indecisive on where he really stands on key conservative issues. Romney was elected in Massachusetts as a moderate Republican. Now as he has tried to court the conservative wing of the party, some Republicans are not convinced he is conservative enough based on his record as Massachusetts governor.

Religion has been another issue as some voters have shown reluctance to support a Mormon as a candidate for President. The concern is that loyalty to LDS Church general authorities as an active Mormon could exert undue influence on decisions Romney would make if he were elected U.S. President. Romney's religious beliefs have therefore caused concern among some Republicans that he would not fare well against President Barack Obama in the Presidential election.

Still, one thing Romney has in his favor over his rivals for the nomination are deep pockets and a campaign that runs like a well-oiled machine. None of them enjoy the financial support Romney does. A larger number of leaders from the traditional Republican establishment have come out in support of Romney as well in comparison to his rivals.

Florida could be a make or break state for Romney. If he should fail to win the primary there on January 31, he risks fading into irrelevancy and watching either Gingrich or Rick Santorum rise up and snatch the Republican nomination away for themselves.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politicsopinion/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120123/cm_ac/10869085_mitt_romney_going_backward_not_forward

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Republicans Romney, Gingrich battle for South Carolina (Reuters)

GREENVILE, South Carolina (Reuters) ? Presidential rivals Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich battled to win last-minute supporters on Saturday in a South Carolina primary that could reshape the Republican nominating contest.

Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, must win the conservative southern state to secure his front-runner status in the race to determine who will challenge Democratic President Barack Obama in November.

Gingrich's recent rise in popularity has slowed Romney's momentum.

A victory by the former speaker of the House of Representatives could prolong the state-by-state Republican nominating battle and give Obama's re-election campaign a boost as his would-be Republican opponents beat each other up.

"I'm the only guy's who's spent his life in the real world," said Romney, standing on a chair in a crowded restaurant, Tommy's Country Ham House. He referred to Gingrich as a "Washington insider" and acknowledged he might not lock up the nomination this weekend.

"We've got a long way to go. So come join us in Florida, in Nevada, Michigan, Colorado. We've got a long way to go."

Romney may be helped if the South Carolina conservative vote is splintered among Gingrich, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and libertarian Congressman Ron Paul.

Voter turnout, which weather could influence, will also be key. A tornado watch was in effect for much of the state and severe thunderstorms were on the forecast.

Gingrich was hoping to create a storm of his own. A new poll conducted by the American Research Group showed him leading Romney 40 percent to 26 percent among likely voters. The margin of error in the survey, conducted Thursday and Friday, was 4 percentage points.

Gingrich's latest surge in opinion polls came after disappointing finishes in the first contests in Iowa and New Hampshire. He has fended off publicity about his turbulent marital history and painted himself as the more conservative candidate whose experience in Washington would help him lead.

That was convincing to some voters in Charleston.

"Yeah, he had his baggage. Who doesn't?" said Bryan Riddle, 48, who voted for Gingrich. "I don't think he spins everything that comes out of his mouth."

Kim Woods, 53, a photographer, said Gingrich's Washington experience -- which Romney has attempted to demonize -- was an asset. "He's been in D.C. He's been in the political realm. He can get some things done," she said.

A multimillionaire ex-businessman who runs a sleek campaign, Romney has consistently won the support of a quarter of Republicans nationally with his message on jobs and the economy. But he has failed to capture the hearts of many conservatives.

Gingrich is a former history teacher with strong debating skills and a personal life that is dotted with marital infidelity, in contrast to Romney's stable family tableau, punctuated by five sons and 16 grandchildren.

TWO MAN RACE

With two other candidates trailing in the polls, the primary looks like a straight fight between the two very different men.

"Newt has positioned himself as the 'anti-Romney' and this strategy has played well in South Carolina," said Republican strategist Ron Christie.

"The question is whether this has broader appeal in more diverse states. As for Romney, this sparring will serve him well for the general election should he become the Republican nominee."

Fueled by a grudge that has become almost personal, Gingrich has sown seeds of doubt among Republicans who were beginning to see Romney as the inevitable nominee after strong showings in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Romney has stumbled, acknowledging in the last week he pays a much lower tax rate than many Americans and struggling to answer questions about a planned release of tax records.

Romney's campaign tried to turn the tables and ask for more information about ethics violations for which Gingrich was sanctioned in Congress in the 1990s.

The campaign noted that Saturday was the 15th anniversary of Gingrich being reprimanded by fellow lawmakers.

"Don't you love these guys? He doesn't release anything, he doesn't answer anything. And he's even confused about whether or not he will ever release anything. And then he's decided to pick a fight over releasing stuff," Gingrich said.

Animosity between the two has been festering since December, when a group supporting Romney launched a blitz of negative TV ads in Iowa that effectively ruined Gingrich's campaign there.

He has hit back by attacking Romney's business record.

The fight has been bruising in South Carolina, a conservative state with a history of dirty politics.

Romney's team is playing up his family background. His wife of 42 years, Ann, appears in an ad extolling the virtues needed in a strong president.

"If you really want to know how a person will operate, look at how they have lived their life. And I think that's why it's so important to understand the character of a person," she says.

The winner of South Carolina's Republican presidential primary has gone on to win the party's nomination in every election since 1980. Romney's path to the nomination would be nearly clear if he can clinch the state on Saturday. Polling closes at 7 p.m. eastern/0000 GMT.

The next contest is in Florida, where Romney has agreed to participate in more debates, which have been Gingrich's most successful venues.

"Regardless of what happens in South Carolina, this is still Mitt Romney's race to lose, and I don't think he's going to lose it," said Republican strategist Todd Harris, adding that Gingrich had failed repeatedly to capitalize on his strengths.

"Romney's campaign is like a slow and methodical game of chess. Newt's is more like Chutes and Ladders."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120121/ts_nm/us_usa_campaign

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Marketing Your Small Business For Under $5 Per Month (Phase 1 ...

When it comes to marketing your business online, many small businesses have no idea where to start. Chances are, they have heard of SEO, PPC, Social Media, etc, but it?s confusing and they just don?t have the time to learn how to do it. My post today is to show small business how to start marketing their business online for under five dollars per month and it all revolves around blogging.

Blogging is an amazing way for any business, large or small, to start to generate some visibility online. Take SEOmoz for example, although the roots of the company go way back to 1981 when Rand?s mother started a marketing business, SEOmoz got it?s start in 2004 when Rand started blogging about his ?thoughts, struggles, and discoveries? in SEO. From there they started doing SEO consulting, then eventually transitioned into one of the greatest SEO toolsets you can find online. You too can get your start online just by starting a blog and writing/publishing great content on a regular basis. The whole process starts with picking a domain name, so let?s jump in.

Picking Your Domain Name

Picking your domain name should be pretty easy if you have already decided on your business name. I say ?should? because if you are picking a domain name that is in line with your business name, you have pretty good chances that it is going to be available. I?m often asked the question, should I purchase a domain name that is rich with my target keywords? To be completely honest, three years ago, I would have answered heck yes! Today, not so much. I would pick a domain name that is one, easy to remember, and two, is brandable. So what?s the cost of a domain name? About $11.00 per year. Not too shabby.

Monthly Cost: $0.89

Finding A Web Host

Picking your web host is a little more difficult than picking a domain name, at least I think so. There are so many web hosts our there to choose from that it is hard to know which one is the best. I?m really scared to start listing web hosts in this post because there?s always going to be someone who has had a bad experience and will most likely comment negatively. Personally, I really like Host Monster, but it is a little more expensive if you are on a budget. If you are looking for a cheap web host, I would go with Name Cheap hosting. I?ve use them before, and they are pretty good for the price. Regardless of price, you will want to find a host that uses cPanel and has one click install for WordPress to keep things as simple as possible. Hosting through Name Cheap will cost you about $48.00 per year. Also, not to shabby.

Monthly Cost: $3.95

Installing WordPress

As I mentioned above, you will want to find a web host that offers a one click install for WordPress. I?m not the most technical person in the world and I?ll bet that most small business owners are not either, so this makes it really easy. The beautiful thing about using WordPress to run your blog is that is is FREE! No cost to you whatsoever! They also offer a huge support community to help you with any problems you might encounter along the way.

Monthly Cost: Free

Installing Your SEO & Social Plugins

WordPress out of the box is pretty SEO friendly, but there is always more you can do to make it more friendly to the search engines, especially for small businesses trying to do SEO. I?m not going to go into great detail about what plugins you should be installing to help you SEO or to make your blog more social because some of my colleagues have already written about it in previous posts. So, check out the linked posts below to get a better idea of which plugins you can install to get you going. One thing to keep in mind is that not all WordPress plugins are free, but most are. All of the plugins recommended in the posts below are free to the end user.

The Top Three SEO Plugins

The Top Eight SEO Plugins Used By SEO.com

Monthly Cost: Free

Picking A Theme

Just like plugins, there are many themes out there on the internet that are free. Honestly, a lot of the themes out there are pure crap, which is why I always purchase themes or have them built for me, but if you are on a budget, you can find a good theme or two by doing some research. If you don?t want to go the free route, you can check out WooThemes.com or StudioPress.com. I?ve used both and like them a lot. If you are going to go the free route, here are a few resources to help you get started.

Free Themes From WordPress.org

WordPress Theme Gallery

Free WP Themes

Monthly Cost: Free

Writing Your Content

Now that you have your domain, have a functioning blog that is pretty and optimized for the search engines, you need to start writing content. Obviously, the cost of writing your content is free, but it does take some time. When writing, make sure that you are including keywords that are being searched on by your potential customers. You can do some quick keyword research by heading over to The Google and simply start typing your target keywords in the search bar, for this example, I used they keyword wedding dresses.

As you can see in the image below, Google?s auto complete feature gives me some related searches to my keyword. If I sold wedding dresses online, I could blog about modest wedding dresses and make sure to use that keyword in the title of the post and throughout the content.

In my next image below, we are going to be looking at Google?s related searches feature. This can be accessed by clicking on related searches in the left sidebar. This gives me even more topic/keyword ideas to write about than auto complete. I could also write about designer wedding dresses, wedding dresses perfect for beach weddings, and many others also making sure to include the target keywords in the appropriate places mentioned above.

Monthly Cost: Free

As you can see, it is really easy (and affordable) to start building your online business through starting a blog. In my next post (probably next month), I?m going to talk about easy and affordable ways to start building links and driving traffic to your blog once you start pounding out some content. If you have any other additional resources that relate to this post, please feel free to share them in the comments section below.

Tags: blogging, cpanel, seo, seomoz, small business seo, web hosting, wordpress

Source: http://www.seo.com/blog/marketing-small-business-phase-one/

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