Courtney Robertson "Playing" Ben Flajnik on The Bachelor, Ellen DeGeneres Opines

Courtney Robertson has Ben Flajnik wrapped around her finger on The Bachelor, according to viewer Ellen DeGeneres, who bluntly told Ben as much today.

If you missed Monday's episode, you missed a good two hours of drama, tears and Courtney pursing her lips and doing whatever it takes to get her way.

Ellen seemed to catch on, and she had a few words for Ben Flajnik regarding that model from Santa Monica who doesn't seem to be popular with fans:

Ben Flajnik on Ellen

"She manipulated you to try and get that rose. She said, 'Oh, I don't know how I feel.' Then you went and got the rose and gave it to her. That was not right."

Judging by the applause, the audience agreed with Ellen, who added:

"She may be a lovely person and you're probably engaged to her, but the thing is, the way that it was edited she came off not nice, and I could be wrong."

"I know it's not fair to judge someone like that, but she was just playing you... man. She was playing you. Saying all the things you wanted to hear."

Damn, son. Ben can't reveal much, of course, but did admit it would have been nice to have a mole telling him what went on in the mansion. Ellen's response:

"All right, I'm going to find you a nice girl because that didn't work."

As for her comment that Ben is "probably engaged to her," see our Bachelor spoilers page for what sources are saying about the season's endgame.

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/courtney-robertson-playing-ben-flajnik-ellen-degeneres-opines/

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Summary Box: US Airways 4Q income falls (AP)

GOOD AND BAD: US Airways moved more passengers and charged higher prices in the fourth quarter, but neither was enough to counter a steep increase in fuel.

THE NUMBERS: The Tempe, Ariz., airline saw its net income fall 35 percent from a year earlier, but the results still topped Wall Street's expectations. Shares soared.

HOW THEY COMPARE: Delta Air Lines Inc. said Wednesday its net income soared to $425 million in the fourth-quarter as it raised prices and reduced flying to keep costs low. Southwest Airlines Co. reported higher net income last week on higher fares and fuller planes. Both airlines saw gains from their contractual bets on the price of fuel. US Airways doesn't currently have such contracts.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/earnings/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_bi_ge/us_earns_us_airways_summary_box

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Biochip measures glucose in saliva, not blood

ScienceDaily (Jan. 23, 2012) ? Engineers at Brown University have designed a biological device that can measure glucose concentrations in human saliva. The technique could eliminate the need for diabetics to draw blood to check their glucose levels. The biochip uses plasmonic interferometers and could be used to measure a range of biological and environmental substances.?

For the 26 million Americans with diabetes, drawing blood is the most prevalent way to check glucose levels. It is invasive and at least minimally painful. Researchers at Brown University are working on a new sensor that can check blood sugar levels by measuring glucose concentrations in saliva instead.

The technique takes advantage of a convergence of nanotechnology and surface plasmonics, which explores the interaction of electrons and photons (light). The engineers at Brown etched thousands of plasmonic interferometers onto a fingernail-size biochip and measured the concentration of glucose molecules in water on the chip. Their results showed that the specially designed biochip could detect glucose levels similar to the levels found in human saliva. Glucose in human saliva is typically about 100 times less concentrated than in the blood.

"This is proof of concept that plasmonic interferometers can be used to detect molecules in low concentrations, using a footprint that is ten times smaller than a human hair," said Domenico Pacifici, assistant professor of engineering and lead author of the paper published in Nano Letters, a journal of the American Chemical Society.

The technique can be used to detect other chemicals or substances, from anthrax to biological compounds, Pacifici said, "and to detect them all at once, in parallel, using the same chip."

To create the sensor, the researchers carved a slit about 100 nanometers wide and etched two 200 nanometer-wide grooves on either side of the slit. The slit captures incoming photons and confines them. The grooves, meanwhile, scatter the incoming photons, which interact with the free electrons bounding around on the sensor's metal surface. Those free electron-photon interactions create a surface plasmon polariton, a special wave with a wavelength that is narrower than a photon in free space. These surface plasmon waves move along the sensor's surface until they encounter the photons in the slit, much like two ocean waves coming from different directions and colliding with each other. This "interference" between the two waves determines maxima and minima in the light intensity transmitted through the slit. The presence of an analyte (the chemical being measured) on the sensor surface generates a change in the relative phase difference between the two surface plasmon waves, which in turns causes a change in light intensity, measured by the researchers in real time.

"The slit is acting as a mixer for the three beams -- the incident light and the surface plasmon waves," Pacifici said.

The engineers learned they could vary the phase shift for an interferometer by changing the distance between the grooves and the slit, meaning they could tune the interference generated by the waves. The researchers could tune the thousands of interferometers to establish baselines, which could then be used to accurately measure concentrations of glucose in water as low as 0.36 milligrams per deciliter.

"It could be possible to use these biochips to carry out the screening of multiple biomarkers for individual patients, all at once and in parallel, with unprecedented sensitivity," Pacifici said.

The engineers next plan to build sensors tailored for glucose and for other substances to further test the devices. "The proposed approach will enable very high throughput detection of environmentally and biologically relevant analytes in an extremely compact design. We can do it with a sensitivity that rivals modern technologies," Pacifici said.

Tayhas Palmore, professor of engineering, is a contributing author on the paper. Graduate students Jing Feng (engineering) and Vince Siu (biology), who designed the microfluidic channels and carried out the experiments, are listed as the first two authors on the paper. Other authors include Brown engineering graduate student Steve Rhieu and undergraduates Vihang Mehta, Alec Roelke.

Results are published in Nano Letters. The National Science Foundation and Brown (through a Richard B. Salomon Faculty Research Award) funded the research.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Brown University.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Jing Feng, Vince S. Siu, Alec Roelke, Vihang Mehta, Steve Y. Rhieu, G. Tayhas R. Palmore, Domenico Pacifici. Nanoscale Plasmonic Interferometers for Multispectral, High-Throughput Biochemical Sensing. Nano Letters, 2012; 120109130837001 DOI: 10.1021/nl203325s

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120123115530.htm

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Health insurance company preys upon the poor with junk food ...

(NaturalNews) "Will vaccinate my baby for food!" That seems to be the goal of a program launched last year by the UnitedHealthcare health insurance company of Michigan. It has resorted to enticing parents with junk food to convince them to inject their infants with potentially deadly vaccines containing brain-damaging chemicals. This has been revealed in a letter acquired by NaturalNews and signed by Stephanie Esters, a vaccine-pushing RN who works for UnitedHealthcare.

The letter declares "Get a FREE $20 McDonalds, Rite Aid, Target or Meijer Gift Card when your child gets recommended shots before their second birthday." It even goes on to offer a "FREE ride to the doctor" for those who are so poor that they don't own cars.

Childhood vaccines, of course, are loaded with extremely toxic chemical adjuvants -- chemicals designed to cause neurological inflammation in order to invoke an immunological reaction. Vaccines also contain both mercury and aluminum, both of which are highly toxic brain poisons. This is why many children who are injected with such vaccines become autistic virtually overnight (their brains are poisoned beyond their biological threshold).

While the fundamental science of inoculation is debatable, the adding of neuro-toxic chemicals to today's vaccines -- which are then injected into children in huge numbers (over 100 vaccines given to a typical child) -- turns them into chemical weapons being used to medically assault innocent children. Marrying this chemical weapons program with a junk food incentive program is the height of medical stupidity. It makes about as much sense as eating fried chicken to cure breast cancer (http://www.naturalnews.com/028631_Komen_for_the_cure_pinkwashing.html).

Such a program obviously targets lower-income families which tend to be predominantly black or Latino, according to national statistics. The RN behind this nauseating vaccinate-for-food campaign is Stephanie Esters, an African American woman, demonstrating the black-on-black medical violence being committed against African American children in America every day.

Perhaps the most outrageous part of this entire eugenics scheme which may have already killed an unknown number of little black babies is that the reward for being injected with neurologically-damaging chemical vaccines is a gift certificate for disease-promoting "dead" junk food.

It's clearly an encouragement for parents to feed their babies obesity-inducing junk food that will also promote diabetes (rampant among blacks), prostate cancer (super deadly among black men) and breast cancer (a huge money-maker for the criminal cancer industry which preys upon black women). Wash it down with a cocktail of phosphoric acid and aspartame -- also known as a "diet soda" -- and then give yourself even more cancer and heart disease with some fries!

This is what United Healthcare encourages its customers to do? Are they so stupid that they do not realize such eating habits will increase the health-related claims against their own company?

Obviously, if UnitedHealthcare actually wanted to improve the health of low-income children in Michigan, they would reward them with a bottle of nutritional supplements or superfoods. Give the kid some organic CocoChia bars from Living Fuel! Or buy some Boku Superfood for the family!

But no, the reward for being injected with chemical vaccines is more chemicals courtesy of the hormone-injected, antibiotics-laced, GMO-fed toxic processed beef garbage sold by McDonald's. Did you know their Chicken McNuggets are made with a silicone chemical that's also used in Silly Putty? (http://www.naturalnews.com/032820_Chicken_McNuggets_ingredients.html)

Find more details about that -- and a couple hundred more astonishing facts about food -- at our Amazing Food Fact Machine: http://www.naturalnews.com/AmazingFoodFactMachine.asp

The most disturbing trend in vaccine marketing today is that grocery stores and pharmacies are now resorting to marketing gimmicks and giveaways to entice parents into injecting their children with potentially deadly vaccines.

Safeway stores, for example, recently announced a 10% discount off grocery purchases for those who agreed to be vaccinated on the spot. (http://www.naturalnews.com/033880_flu_shots_grocery_stores.html) NaturalNews also caught Walgreens stores rewarding their own employees with iPad prizes if they "recruited" customers to get injected with a vaccine shot. (http://www.naturalnews.com/033859_flu_shots_Walgreens.html)

This is all part of the vaccine eugenics agenda, of course, which specifically targets minorities and low-income families. Obviously a well-to-do family isn't going to be enticed by $20 worth of McDonald's junk food, but a poorly-informed mother living paycheck to paycheck -- just barely scraping by on government assistance programs -- may be more than willing to trade the health of her child for a $20 meal at McDonald's. Especially if all the nurses and doctors assure her that vaccines are good for her children... and vaccines never cause autism, she will be told.

The whole point of vaccines is, of course, to depopulate the planet through infertility side effects or direct mortality of those receiving the vaccines. This has been openly and unambiguously admitted by the No. 1 financial contributor to vaccine research around the world -- Mr. Bill Gates. In an open, public speech recorded on video, Mr. Gates explains that vaccines can help reduce world population.

Specifically, his exact quote is:

"The world today has 6.8 billion people... that's headed up to about 9 billion. Now if we do a really great job on new vaccines, health care, reproductive health services, we could lower that by perhaps 10 or 15 percent." (http://www.naturalnews.com/029911_vaccines_Bill_Gates.html)

Watch the video yourself at NaturalNews.TV:
http://www.naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=A155D113455FAC882A3290536575C723

Here's another thing everybody needs to know about children and vaccines: The healthiest children you'll ever meet are the ones whose parents refuse to vaccinated them.

Nearly all the sick kids are the very same ones who have been injected multiple times, poked and prodded by pediatricians, and whose parents follow "conventional" medical advice about avoiding vitamins and putting their children on medication. These are the sniveling, sneezing kids who are plagued by allergies and autoimmune disorders. They're the kids who get diagnosed with brain tumors at age 9, or who end up with type-2 diabetes in their twenties. The toxic load of all the vaccines and medications -- combined with the total lack of real nutrition and mineralization -- puts these kids on track to be total medical police state slaves for the rest of their lives.

And that's the way the medical police state wants it, of course: Everybody sickened, helpless, victimized and lacking even the cognitive awareness to know what's happening to them. Today's vaccine rewards programs promote this outcome by pushing both toxic vaccines and disease-promoting junk foods at the same time: "Here, poison your babies and win a free meal!" It's sickening.

Click here to see original photo of the letter:
www.NaturalNews.com/gallery/articles/vaccine-bribes.jpg

UnitedHealthcare
Great Lakes Health Plan

Get a FREE $20 McDonalds, Rite Aid, Target or Meijer Gift Card when your child gets recommended shots before their second birthday.

Dear Parent or Guardian:

Your child is not up-to-date with shots that your child needs BEFORE turning age two years. All shots are FREE.

Please call your child's doctor right away or take your child to the local health department. It may take more than one visit to get your child caught up with his or her shots.

Need a FREE ride to the doctor or health department?
Just call 1-977-892-3995 at least 4 days before your visit.

When your child gets shots, remember to bring your child's UnitedHealthcare GLHP Member ID card, mihealth Member ID card, shot record and this letter.

How do I get my $20 McDonald's, Rite Aid, Target or Meijer gift card?
Just take this letter with your child to the doctor or health department. Present the backside of the letter. Get the missing shots. Your child must be eligible with GLHP at the time the shots are given. Have the staff at the doctor's office or health department sign the form on the back of this letter. Then mail the form to us. We must get this form back no later than 30 days after your child's second birthday. You will receive your gift card in the mail once we receive proof that your child got the shots.

Best wishes for a healthy future,
- Stephanie Esters, RN

Stephanie Esters, by the way, can be reached at sesters@uhc.com or 248-331-4369.

Esters is also involved in a child blood screening program. In a canned YouTube video that is obviously scripted word-for-word (so fake!), she insists they are taking childrens' blood for "lead screening" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apZhylyJEjo).

Alex Jones from www.InfoWars.com has warned for years about the theft of genetic material from babies. We've also reported it here on NaturalNews.com: http://www.naturalnews.com/028651_government_DNA.html

The truth is that medical personnel across the country are routinely engaged in the theft of your baby's DNA to be used in a government database. This isn't some wild conspiracy theory; it's a widely-acknowledged fact. Those who have never heard about this simply haven't been in the loop. It's openly admitted. All sorts of lawsuits have been filed over this, and you can read up on the issue at the Citizens' Council for Health Freedom: http://www.cchfreedom.org/issue.php/14

UnitedHealthcare also uses McDonald's gift certificates to entice parents into allowing their children's blood to be taken. As explained in the company's own literature:

LEAD SCREENING: United-Healthcare Great Lakes quality outreach staff will call you when your child needs to get his or her second lead screening. ...Have the form signed and send it back to us. We will send you a Target or Mcdonald's gift card. Your child's name will also be entered in a monthly drawing for a $150 MasterCard gift card.

Source: http://www.uhccommunityplan.com/assets/Medicaid-UHC-GL-Winter-2011-Member...

That same document offers a chance to win a $150 MasterCard gift card if you make a second appointment with your doctor after becoming a new mom:

"POSTPARTUM CARE: If you have your postpartum visit on time, you can get another Target gift card. Your name will also be entered in a monthly drawing for a $150 MasterCard gift card. Call your OB doctor's office right after you deliver your baby."

It is in these follow-up visits, of course, that vaccines are aggressively pushed by medical staff. Across the nation, women who refuse to vaccinate their children may have both the police and Child Protective Services called to intervene and threaten to steal away their children (http://www.naturalnews.com/034684_pediatricians_child_protective_services...).

NaturalNews wishes to thank Derek H. for the news tip that led to this story. If you have a news tip that you think we need to check out, submit it to us at:
http://www.naturalnews.com/newstips/NewsTips.asp

About the author: Mike Adams is an award-winning journalist and holistic nutritionist with a passion for sharing empowering information to help improve personal and planetary health He has authored more than 1,800 articles and dozens of reports, guides and interviews on natural health topics, impacting the lives of millions of readers around the world who are experiencing phenomenal health benefits from reading his articles. Adams is a trusted, independent journalist who receives no money or promotional fees whatsoever to write about other companies' products. In 2010, Adams created NaturalNews.TV, a natural living video sharing site featuring thousands of user videos on foods, fitness, green living and more. He also launched an online retailer of environmentally-friendly products (BetterLifeGoods.com) and uses a portion of its profits to help fund non-profit endeavors. He's also the founder of a well known HTML email software company whose 'Email Marketing Director' software currently runs the NaturalNews subscription database. Adams volunteers his time to serve as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and regularly pursues cycling, nature photography, Capoeira and Pilates. Known by his callsign, the 'Health Ranger,' Adams posts his missions statements, health statistics and health photos at www.HealthRanger.org

Have comments on this article? Post them here:

?people have commented on this article.

Source: http://www.naturalnews.com/034734_vaccines_McDonalds_infants.html

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Complication in first triple limb transplant

ANKARA, Turkey?? A Turkish doctor whose 25-member team performed the world's first triple limb transplant ? two arms and a leg ? says the leg has been removed due to tissue incompatibility.

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Dr. Omer Ozkan says 34-year-old Atilla Kavdir is in stable condition after the removal of the leg on Sunday, a day after it was attached. Kavdir lost his arms and right leg when he was 11 after he hit power lines outside his home with an iron rod to scare away pigeons and received an electric shock.

Ozkan said another patient who received a full face transplant from the same donor is in stable condition. It was Turkey's first face transplant.

Related stories:

Chimp attack victim speaks about new face, new hopes

First face transplant patient to Charla Nash: 'Go, girl!'

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46091766/ns/health-health_care/

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Steelers QB settles lawsuit alleging '08 rape

RENO, Nev. (AP) ? Lawyers for Ben Roethlisberger and a woman who accused him of raping her at a Lake Tahoe hotel-casino in 2008 have reached a settlement that ends her civil lawsuit against the Steelers quarterback.

Cal Dunlap, the Reno lawyer representing the woman, confirmed the settlement on Friday but declined to discuss the terms of the agreement.

"The matter has been resolved and I have no further comment," he told The Associated Press.

The Reno Gazette-Journal first reported the settlement on its website. It also dismisses claims against Harrah's employees whom the woman had accused of covering up the alleged sexual assault in Roethlisberger's penthouse suite in July 2008.

Dunlap first told Washoe District Court Judge Brent Adams in papers filed last Nov. 30 that his client wanted to have a stay lifted so the case could be dismissed because a settlement was pending.

"All parties have reached a resolution of all claims and counterclaims," he wrote.

Adams formally dismissed the case Dec. 27 but neither side had publicized it until now.

David Cornwell, Roethlisberger's lawyer, did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment on Friday. His agent, Ryan Tollner, said neither he nor Roethlisberger would have any comment.

The Nevada Supreme Court had ruled against the two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback's request in August to have the case moved from Reno to Carson City because it was closer to where the alleged incident had occurred at Harrah's in Stateline.

The woman was a VIP casino hostess at Harrah's when she said Roethlisberger allegedly lured her to his room under the pretense of fixing his television. Roethlisberger was in town at the time to play in a celebrity golf tournament.

Roethlisberger denied the allegations.

The original lawsuit filed in 2009 sought a minimum of $440,000 in damages from the quarterback, at least $50,000 in damages from the Harrah's officials and an unspecified amount in punitive damages.

The woman said she never filed a criminal complaint because she feared Harrah's would side with Roethlisberger and she would be fired.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-20-Roethlisberger%20Lawsuit-Settled/id-95d6a0db709c477c9a22b603997f613d

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Obama: State of the Union an economic blueprint (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Vilified by the Republicans who want his job, President Barack Obama will stand before the nation Tuesday night determined to frame the election-year debate on his terms, promising his State of the Union address will offer an economic blueprint that will "work for everyone, not just a wealthy few."

In a video released Saturday to millions of campaign supporters, Obama said he will concentrate on four areas designed to restore economic security for the long term: manufacturing, energy, education, job training and a "return to American values." The release came the same day as the South Carolina primary, where four candidates competed in the latest contest to determine Obama's general election rival.

The prime-time speech will be not just a traditional pitch about the year ahead. It will be perhaps Obama's biggest stage to make a sweeping case for a second term.

"We can go in two directions," the president said in the video. "One is toward less opportunity and less fairness. Or we can fight for where I think we need to go: building an economy that works for everyone, not just a wealthy few."

That line of argument about income equality is emerging as a defining theme of the presidential race, as Republicans are in their own fierce battle to pick a nominee to challenge Obama in the fall.

By notifying the millions of supporters on his email list, Obama gave advance notice to his Democratic base and trying to generate an even larger audience for Tuesday's address.

Obama's preview did not mention national security. He is not expected to announce new policy on that front in a speech dominated by the economy ? the top concern of voters.

Obama is expected to offer new proposals to make college more affordable and to ease the housing crisis still slowing the economy, according to people familiar with the speech. He will also promote unfinished parts of his jobs plan, including the extension of a payroll tax cut soon to expire.

His policy proposals will be less important than what he hopes they all add up to: a narrative of renewed American security. Obama will try to politically position himself as the one leading that fight for the middle class, with an overt call for help from Congress, and an implicit request for a second term from the public.

The timing comes as the nation is split about Obama's overall job performance. More people than not disapprove of his handling of the economy, he is showing real vulnerability among the independent voters who could swing the election, and most Americans think the country is on the wrong track.

So his mission will be to show leadership and ideas on topics that matter to people: jobs, housing, college, retirement security.

The foundation of Obama's speech is the one he gave in Kansas last month, when he declared that the middle class was a make-or-break moment and railed against "you're on your own" economics of the Republican Party. His theme then was about a government that ensures people get a fair shot to succeed.

That speech spelled out the values of Obama's election-year agenda. The State of the Union will be the details.

The White House sees the speech as a clear chance to outline a vision for re-election, yet carefully, without turning a national tradition into an overt campaign event.

On national security, Obama will ask the nation to reflect with him on a momentous year of change, including the end of the war in Iraq, the killing of al-Qaida terrorist leader Osama bin Laden and the Arab Spring protests of peoples clamoring for freedom.

But it will all be secondary to jobs at home.

In a winter season of politics dominated by his Republican competition, Obama will have a grand stage to himself, in a window between Republican primaries. He will try to use the moment to refocus the debate as he sees it: where the country has come, and where he wants to take it.

In doing so, Obama will come before a divided Congress with a burst of hope because the economy ? by far the most important issue to voters ? is showing life.

The unemployment rate is still at a troubling 8.5 percent, but at its lowest rate in nearly three years. Consumer confidence is up. Obama will use that as a springboard.

The president will try to draw a contrast of economic visions with Republicans, both his antagonists in Congress and the candidates for the Republican presidential nomination.

Despite low expectations for legislation this year, Obama will offer short-term ideas that would require action from Congress.

His travel schedule following his speech, to politically important regions, offers clues to the policies he was expected to unveil.

Both Phoenix and Las Vegas have been hard hit by foreclosures. Denver is where Obama outlined ways of helping college students deal with mounting school loan debt. Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Detroit are home to a number of manufacturers. And Michigan was a major beneficiary of the president's decision to provide billions in federal loans to rescue General Motors and Chrysler in 2009.

For now, the main looming to-do item is an extension of a payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits, both due to expire by March. An Obama spokesman called that the "last must-do item of business" on Obama's congressional agenda, but the White House insists the president will make the case for more this year.

If anything, Republicans say Obama has made the chances of cooperation even dimmer just over the last several days. He enraged Republicans by installing a consumer watchdog chief by going around the Senate, which had blocked him, and then rejected a major oil pipeline project the GOP has embraced.

Obama is likely, once again, to offer ways in which a broken Washington must work together. Yet that theme seems but a dream given the gridlock he has been unable to change.

The State of the Union atmosphere offered a bit of comity last year, following the assassination attempt against Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. And yet 2011 was a year of utter dysfunction in Washington, with the partisanship getting so bad that the government nearly defaulted as the world watched in embarrassment.

The address remains an old-fashioned moment of national attention; 43 million people watched it on TV last year. The White House website will offer a live stream of the speech, promising graphics and other bonuses for people who watch it there, plus a panel of administration officials afterward with questions coming in through Twitter and Facebook.

__

AP deputy director of polling Jennifer Agiesta and Associated Press writer Ken Thomas contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120121/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_state_of_the_union

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Kuwait: Envoy to US during Iraq invasion dies (AP)

KUWAIT CITY ? A government-backed newspaper in Kuwait reports that Sheik Saud Al Nasser Al Sabah, who served as ambassador to the U.S. during Iraq's 1990 invasion of the oil-rich country, has died.

Al-Qabas newspaper says the 68-year-old former diplomat died Saturday. It gave no cause of death.

A statement Sunday from former President George H. W. Bush called Sheik Nasser a "trusted partner" during the U.S.-led war in 1991 that drove Saddam Hussein's forces from Kuwait.

The former ambassador and member of Kuwait's royal family was a leading voice urging for international help during Iraq's occupation. But he was forced to defend his tactics when it was revealed that his daughter, Nayirah, told U.S. lawmakers she witnessed Iraqi soldiers yank infants from incubators. Several rights groups later questioned the account.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obits/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120122/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_obit_kuwait_ambassador

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Notre Dame physicists use ion beams to detect art forgery

Public release date: 20-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Michael Wiescher
Michael.C.Wiescher.1@nd.edu
574-631-6788
University of Notre Dame

University of Notre Dame nuclear physicists Philippe Collon and Michael Wiescher are using accelerated ion beams to pinpoint the age and origin of material used in pottery, painting, metalwork and other art. The results of their tests can serve as powerful forensic tools to reveal counterfeit art work, without the destruction of any sample as required in some chemical analysis.

Their research is featured on the front cover of the current issue of Physics Today in an article titled, "Accelerated ion beams for art forensics." Wiescher and Collon say, "Art experts play an important role in identifying the style, history and context of a painting, but a solid scientific basis for the proper identification and classification of a piece of art must rely on information from other sources.

"A host of approaches with origins in biology, chemistry and physics have allowed scientists and art historians not only to look below a painting's or artifact's surface, but also to analyze in detail the pigments used, investigate painting techniques and modifications done by the artist or art restorers, find trace materials that reveal ages and provenances, and more," Wiescher and Collon continue.

The information that is revealed can shed light on trading patterns, economic conditions and other details of history. For example, the amount of silver in Roman coins can indicate the degree of inflation in the ancient economy.

Laboratories in Europe, including several in Italy and one in the basement of the Louvre in Paris, have accelerators dedicated to the forensic analysis of art, and archaeological artifacts. These accelerator-based techniques have allowed not only to analyze the works themselves, but also to determine origin, trade and migration routes as well as dietary information. As an example, the analysis of the ruby eyes in a Babylonian statue of the goddess Ishtar using the Louvre's accelerator showed that the rubies came from a mine in Vietnam, demonstrating that trade occurred between those far-apart regions some 4,000 years ago.

At Notre Dame, researchers are using proton-induced x-ray emission (PIXE) and Accelerator Mass Spectroscopy (AMS) to study artifacts brought by local archeologists, Native American cultures in the American Southwest and the Snite Museum of Art extensive collection of Mezzo-American figurines.

Wiescher, the Frank M. Freimann Professor of Physics, and Collon, associate professor of physics, are using their findings to teach undergraduates. Wiescher initially developed the undergraduate physics class called Physical Methods in Art and Archaeology, and now Collon teaches the class which attracts students from nearly every major. The course covers topics such as X-ray fluorescence and X-ray absorption, proton-induced X-ray emission, neutron-induced activation analysis, radiocarbon dating, accelerator mass spectroscopy, luminescence dating, and methods of archeometry.

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Public release date: 20-Jan-2012
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Contact: Michael Wiescher
Michael.C.Wiescher.1@nd.edu
574-631-6788
University of Notre Dame

University of Notre Dame nuclear physicists Philippe Collon and Michael Wiescher are using accelerated ion beams to pinpoint the age and origin of material used in pottery, painting, metalwork and other art. The results of their tests can serve as powerful forensic tools to reveal counterfeit art work, without the destruction of any sample as required in some chemical analysis.

Their research is featured on the front cover of the current issue of Physics Today in an article titled, "Accelerated ion beams for art forensics." Wiescher and Collon say, "Art experts play an important role in identifying the style, history and context of a painting, but a solid scientific basis for the proper identification and classification of a piece of art must rely on information from other sources.

"A host of approaches with origins in biology, chemistry and physics have allowed scientists and art historians not only to look below a painting's or artifact's surface, but also to analyze in detail the pigments used, investigate painting techniques and modifications done by the artist or art restorers, find trace materials that reveal ages and provenances, and more," Wiescher and Collon continue.

The information that is revealed can shed light on trading patterns, economic conditions and other details of history. For example, the amount of silver in Roman coins can indicate the degree of inflation in the ancient economy.

Laboratories in Europe, including several in Italy and one in the basement of the Louvre in Paris, have accelerators dedicated to the forensic analysis of art, and archaeological artifacts. These accelerator-based techniques have allowed not only to analyze the works themselves, but also to determine origin, trade and migration routes as well as dietary information. As an example, the analysis of the ruby eyes in a Babylonian statue of the goddess Ishtar using the Louvre's accelerator showed that the rubies came from a mine in Vietnam, demonstrating that trade occurred between those far-apart regions some 4,000 years ago.

At Notre Dame, researchers are using proton-induced x-ray emission (PIXE) and Accelerator Mass Spectroscopy (AMS) to study artifacts brought by local archeologists, Native American cultures in the American Southwest and the Snite Museum of Art extensive collection of Mezzo-American figurines.

Wiescher, the Frank M. Freimann Professor of Physics, and Collon, associate professor of physics, are using their findings to teach undergraduates. Wiescher initially developed the undergraduate physics class called Physical Methods in Art and Archaeology, and now Collon teaches the class which attracts students from nearly every major. The course covers topics such as X-ray fluorescence and X-ray absorption, proton-induced X-ray emission, neutron-induced activation analysis, radiocarbon dating, accelerator mass spectroscopy, luminescence dating, and methods of archeometry.

###

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

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/uond-ndp012012.php

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Venture capital investments up 19 percent in 4Q

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Funding for startups rose 19 percent in the fourth quarter as venture capitalists fueled money into more companies in the Internet, clean technology and other sectors.

According to a study released Friday, startup investments grew to $6.57 billion in the October-December quarter from $5.52 billion in the same period in 2010. The volume of deals, though, did not keep up with the amount of money invested. There were 844 deals completed in the fourth quarter, down from 861 a year earlier.

Called the MoneyTree report, the study was conducted by PriceWaterHouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association based on data from Thomson Reuters.

For all of 2011, venture investments jumped 22 percent to $28.43 billion, in 3,673 deals. That's up from $23.26 billion in 2010, when the money went to 3,526 deals.

Venture capitalists piped $133.9 million into 80 seed-stage companies in the fourth quarter. That's down from $233.2 million going to 90 such startups in the fourth quarter of 2010. The decline suggests some caution on the part of venture capitalists looking at the newest, often most risky, startup investments.

A total of 364 early-stage companies snapped up $2.27 billion in venture funding during the quarter. That compares with $1.48 billion going to 318 early-stage startups in the last three months of 2010. The report said 222 companies in the expansion stage received $2.36 billion in funding, compared with 270 companies snagging about the same amount a year earlier. In the later stage, 178 startups received $1.8 billion in the fourth quarter, while $1.4 billion went to 183 companies a year earlier.

By industry, software companies received the most funding with $1.76 billion snagged in the fourth quarter, followed by biotechnology with $1.27 billion.

San Francisco-based internet storage locker Dropbox Inc. got the single-largest investment during the quarter, $250 million. In second place was Better Place Inc., which is based in Palo Alto and builds infrastructure and systems for electric vehicles, with $200 million.

John S. Taylor, head of research at the National Venture Capital Association, said the figures show "cautious optimism."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2012-01-20-Venture%20Investments/id-7a1f46e5058d4255a5c53c8c2c336027

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Phoenix transient accused of skinning, eating cat

PHOENIX (AP) ? A transient has been arrested after police say he skinned and ate a cat while camping inside a Phoenix warehouse and music venue.

Authorities say the building's owners reported a burglary after they opened the warehouse Wednesday and heard blaring music.

Police found 24-year-old Russell Christopher Hofstad inside with his face painted and the cat's tail and intestines around his neck.

Hofstad told police he killed the cat because he was hungry. He also said he was going to use its skeleton as party decorations.

He was arrested on suspicion of burglary and animal cruelty.

The Arizona Republic (http://bit.ly/xyh0aX) reports Hofstad had been released from jail Jan. 10 and told police he had nowhere to go. He decided to camp in the building because he had attended music events there.

___

Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2012-01-19-Phoenix-Skinned%20Cat/id-5df3ceac8ff54ab1bf9b9b11cffa59d0

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Barroso launches legal challenge to Hungarian laws | European Voice

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

Source: http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/2012/january/barroso-launches-legal-challenge-to-hungarian-laws/73224.aspx

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Video: Latest Polls: Newt & Mitt Match-Up

NBC's Chuck Todd reports the latest polls show Gingrich gaining ground on frontrunner, Mitt Romney, with former Gov. Howard Dean, (D-VT); James Pethokoukis, American Enterprise Institute; and Tony Fratto, Hamilton Place Strategies, and discussing the ...

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/46048208/

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AsCorrespondent: #Tech: Why #Nokia is still the top brand in #India, by @indianomics http://t.co/dYRsoyL8 @nokiaindia

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QPR, Bolton avoid upsets in FA Cup replays

/

By STEVE DOUGLAS

updated 10:42 p.m. ET Jan. 17, 2012

LONDON - Danny Gabbidon headed in Shaun Wright-Phillips' corner kick in the 73rd minute, and Queens Park Rangers beat the third-tier MK Dons 1-0 in a replay Tuesday night to reach a fourth-round matchup against London rival Chelsea in the FA Cup.

Bolton also reached the last 32 of soccer's oldest knockout competition, defeating fourth-tier Macclesfield 2-0 on goals by Kevin Davies in the first minute and Martin Petrov in the 26th. Bolton will play Swansea next in another all-Premier League match on Jan. 28.

Second-tier League Championship teams Leicester and Millwall also progressed from replays on Tuesday.

Leicester routed Nottingham Forest 4-0 behind a Jermaine Beckford hat trick and will play fourth-tier team Swindon. Millwall will host fellow League Championship team Southampton after defeating Dagenham & Redbridge 5-0 as Darius Henderson scored three goals.

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BARCELONA, Spain (AP) ? Espanyol scored three times from the 85th minute on to rally for a 3-2 win over third-division Mirandes in the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarterfinal.

Alain Arroyo scored a 27th-minute opener for Mirandes and Pablo Infante scored his competition-high fifth goal in the 77th at Cornella-El Prat stadium.

Vladimir Weiss started the hosts' comeback in the 85th, Rui Fonte tied it two minutes later and Espanyol captain Joan Verdu took advantage of a defensive error to score the winner with a left-footed shot in the 90th.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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More newsChristof Stache / AFP - Getty Images

'Saved by our yoga session'

Police say a man was shot and killed at the hotel hosting the U.S. women's soccer team during the Olympic qualifying tournament.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46031116/ns/sports-soccer/

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Check Point's Q4 profit tops estimates (Reuters)

TEL AVIV (Reuters) ? Internet and network security provider Check Point Software Technologies beat forecasts with a jump in fourth-quarter profit and forecast growth in 2012 in line with analysts' estimates.

Its shares were up 6.1 percent at $54.00 on Nasdaq on Tuesday.

Chairman and Chief Executive Gil Shwed said there were many reasons to believe that awareness among enterprises of the need for network security would continue to grow.

"But we can't forget there are unfavourable economic factors," Shwed told a news conference. "We expect to see similar growth rates to what we forecast last year."

Israel-based Check Point said it continues to take market share from competitors such as Cisco Systems and is expanding its addressable market.

The company's software blades architecture -- independent, modular software building blocks that prevent network intrusion and are bought on an annual subscription basis -- is selling strongly and boosting deferred revenue growth, he said.

Check Point also launched new appliances, which combine hardware and software, that have been well received in the market, he added.

"As cyber-attacks and security risks reach new levels of sophistication, customer expectations for their security infrastructure also increase," Shwed said.

Check Point has high hopes for its anti-bot software blade, which it plans to launch in early 2012. Bots are hard-to-detect pieces of software that invade networks.

CYBER WARFARE

Shwed said most of the cyber attacks experienced in Israel in recent days have been from bots. Check Point's new technology will help prevent such attacks.

Hackers disrupted online access to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, El Al Airlines and three banks on Monday, just days after an unidentified hacker proclaiming Palestinian sympathies posted the details of thousands of Israeli credit card holders on the Internet. [ID:nL6E8CG26X]

"What happened yesterday was an attack by thousands of computers around the world, some even in Israel," Shwed said, explaining that hackers from abroad manipulated computers in Israel without their users' knowledge by using bots.

Armed with nearly $2.9 billion in cash, Check Point is continuing to buy back shares and look for acquisitions.

"The Check Point story remains on very solid ground, and we believe its high-end appliances could become a growth driver in 2012 and beyond," Oppenheimer analyst Shaul Eyal said.

The company posted fourth-quarter earnings per diluted share of 84 cents, up from 73 cents a year earlier. Buoyed by gains across all key business activities, revenue rose 12 percent to a record $356.8 million.

Check Point had been forecast to earn 82 cents a share on revenue of $355.6 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

"Significant strength in deferred revenue should more than quell any concern investors have over only $1 million in upside to street consensus," Citi analyst Walter Pritchard said in a note to clients.

For the first quarter Shwed forecast revenue of $305-$315 million and earnings per share before one-off items of 69-73 cents. The company is forecast by analysts to earn 72 cents on revenue of $313.6 million.

For all of 2012 he sees revenue of $1.345-$1.395 billion and EPS ex-items of $3.10-$3.20. It is forecast to post revenue of $1.381 billion and adjusted EPS of $3.16.

(Additional reporting by Steven Scheer)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/internet/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120117/wr_nm/us_checkpoint

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Katherine Heigl: Marriage Isn't Easy But It's Worth It

In her blog for the iVillage blog series CelebVillage, actress Katherine Heigl (who stars in the upcoming action comedy One for the Money, in theaters Jan. 27) shares her thoughts on her marriage of four years to singer-songwriter Josh Kelley. 

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/katherine-heigl-marriage-josh-kelley/1-a-418893?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Akatherine-heigl-marriage-josh-kelley-418893

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Never Said (Balloon Juice)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/187223221?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Get the Exclusive Details on the Grey's Anatomy-Private Practice Crossover (omg!)

If you haven't yet heard, Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice are doing another crossover this season, and TVGuide.com has the exclusive details on who's popping up where.

Exclusive: Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice doing another crossover

As we first reported, Private's Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone) will venture up to Seattle Grace in the first hour of the crossover during Grey's. She'll plead with older brother Derek (Patrick Dempsey) and sister-in-law Lexie (Chyler Leigh) to help save the life of Erica (A.J. Langer), who, it was revealed in Thursday's episode of Private, is suffering from a serious ailment.

Next, Derek and Lexie are scheduled to appear in the Private hour of the crossover, but in a surprising twist, they won't be heading to Seaside Wellness. Instead, they'll stay put, and Cooper (Paul Adelstein), Charlotte (Kadee Strickland) and Erica's son Mason (Griffin Gluck) will make their way to Seattle Grace, which will become Ground Zero in the rush to save Erica.

Grey's Anatomy Scoop: MerDer happiness, a Cristina-Owen explosion and the alt-reality

The special crossover episodes of Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice are slated to air Thursday, Feb. 16 beginning at 9/8c on ABC. Private Practice, which has regularly followed Grey's, will move to Tuesday nights at 10/9c once executive producer Shonda Rhimes' third drama Scandal debuts on Thursday, April 5 at 10/9c.

Related Articles on TVGuide.com

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_exclusive_details_greys_anatomy_private_practice_crossover070000376/44165118/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-details-greys-anatomy-private-practice-crossover-070000376.html

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Catherine Crier: Mommy, where do jobs come from?

Yesterday morning, I listened as Romney surrogate Chris Chocola, Club for Growth, repeated the Republican mantra that government doesn't create a single job. Try shutting down our national security apparatus -- defense, homeland security, intelligence, all the support contractors right down to farmers, uniform suppliers, companies making those million dollar toilet seats... and you'll see just how many jobs the government creates. In fact, if this occurred, there would be a global depression. (I'll save the Adam Smith debate about warfare as the biggest misuse of national resources for another day.)

Given the enormity of this one area of government job creation, we don't have to argue about all those public employees outside the military-industrial complex that seem to be dispensable these days -- the cops, teachers and firefighters, or the scientists and engineers that, thanks to taxpayer R&D, gave us the Internet, GPS and countless life-saving drugs or, gasp, clean air and water. We won't even debate the valuable government subsidies for critical technology, like the microchip that spawned a global economic revolution and produced, literally, millions of jobs.

After the microchip was invented in 1958 by an engineer at Texas Instruments, 'the federal government bought virtually every microchip firms could produce.' NASA bought so many [microchips] that manufacturers were able to achieve huge improvements in the production process -- so much so, in fact, that the price of the Apollo microchip fell from $1,000 per unit to between $20 and $30 per unit in the span of a couple years.

Is America Losing Its Mojo? Fareed Zakaria, Newsweek, 1/14/09.

Every single GOP candidate regurgitates this anti-government talking point while, in the very next breath, asserting that as government officials they've created more jobs than anyone else in the race: Newt claims about 11 million jobs while Speaker of the House in the Clinton years; Perry touts his "one million jobs" Texas record while ignoring both the quality of those private sector jobs (most are minimum wage) and the very large number of public sector (government) jobs included in his figures; and Romney wants credit for his time as Governor (although Mass. was 4th lowest in new jobs in those years). As for his 15 years at Bain Capital, Mitt argues that 100,000 jobs were created through his company's investments and expertise, while ignoring analysis from the WSJ that it was a wash, at best, when Bain-related layoffs, bankruptcies and outsourcing are included.

Each Republican candidate says they will push through lower taxes and cut regulations -- a sure way to unleash the currently oppressed private economy. If this oft-repeated theory of domestic growth is correct, then why were the Bush years, with a Republican Congress cutting taxes and regulations in six of the eight years, such an abysmal time for job creation? According to the leftist rag, the WSJ, "The Bush administration created about three million jobs (net) over its eight years, a fraction of the 23 million jobs created under President Bill Clinton's administration and only slightly better than President George H.W. Bush did in his four years in office." And remember, GWB had two wars going and created the mammoth Dept. of Homeland Security to help with those job numbers.

In my new book, Patriot Acts, I look at the facts about tax cuts and job growth over the last century. As I ask in the book, please ignore current rhetoric and put your thinking cap on for a moment. The GOP argument is that we need tax cuts for 'job creators' to grow the economy. If the wealthy 'investor class' was impoverished, if they didn't have private capital to invest, this position might hold water, but those at the top (individuals and corporations) are sitting on a record pile of cash -- cash that has grown throughout the largest economic downturn since the Great depression; cash that is not being invested here at home.

Since the early '80s, as their rates have gone down, wealthy individuals have not reinvested much of their tax savings in domestic job growth. Instead, they've saved most of that money, spent it on luxury goods or invested it abroad. Even Reagan realized his 'trickle down theory' wasn't working. In 1986, he raised corporate tax rates and eliminated the special break for capital gains, demanding equal taxes on income from wealth and income from work. Today, Republicans bow to their hero but ignore his own realizations about the failings of supply side economics.

This week, the WSJ reported that, contrary to the insane propaganda we're hearing on the campaign trail, about 69 percent of U.S. corporations pass through their earnings and pay NO federal corporate income taxes. When companies do pay taxes, the average rate is 18.3 percent -- and this at a time when the federal debt is exploding and state budget shortfalls are rampant.

As for 'deregulation' creating significant job growth, former Reagan economic adviser Bruce Bartlett put it bluntly. "It's just nonsense. It's just made up." The Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks companies' reasons for large layoffs. It reported that corporations attributed 1,119 layoffs to government regulations in the first half of 2010, while 144,746 were attributed to poor "business demand." Simply put, American consumers didn't have money to buy goods.

Countless nonpartisan economists and rational policy-makers have explained the historic path to growth: investment in infrastructure, improved education, legal immigration for the best and brightest and a balanced approach to spending cuts and revenue growth. Because these recommendations do not respect rigid ideology, they get no traction on Capitol Hill.

I don't care about labels; I care about facts. Whether you're a liberal or conservative, you should demand honest information before making decisions. Supporting policies based on utter nonsense is insane, period. As you listen to the arguments and assertions from our various candidates, as you watch their incendiary attack ads, think about this statement (warning?) from a top Romney campaign adviser made to NYT's Tom Edsall: "We are in the persuasion business, the propaganda business... Ads are agitprop... Ads are about hyperbole, they are about editing... They are manipulative pieces of persuasive art."

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/catherine-crier/mommy-where-do-jobs-come_b_1204180.html

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Shaw Communications Beats In 1Q '12

Shaw Communications Inc. (NYSE:SJR) declared its first quarter of fiscal 2012 financial results, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimates. Net income for the reported quarter was $200 million or 43 cents per share compared with a net income of $17 million or 3 cents per share in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted EPS of 46 cents was a penny higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

Quarterly total revenue of approximately $1,266 million was up 19% year over year and was well above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,218 million. The year-over-year improvement was primarily attributable to the acquisition of the Shaw Media coupled with customer growth and rate increases in the Cable and Satellite segments.

Quarterly operating income before amortization was around $560 million, up 18% year over year. Quarterly operating margin was 44.2% compared with 44.4% in the prior-year quarter. In the first quarter of 2012, Shaw Communications generated $306 million of cash from operations compared with $65 million in the year-ago quarter. Free cash flow in the reported quarter was approximately $95 million compared with a negative $143 million in the year-ago quarter.

At the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2012, Shaw Communications had cash & cash equivalents of $360 million compared with $456.2 million at the end of fiscal 2011. At the end of the reported quarter, Shaw Communications had $5,205 million of outstanding debt compared with $5,407.4 million at the end of fiscal 2011. Debt-to-capitalization ratio at the end of the first quarter was 0.56 compared with 0.60 at the end of fiscal 2011.

Subscribers Statistics

At the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2012, Basic Cable customer base was 2,267,007, reflecting net reduction of 22,768 year over year. Digital TV customer base was 1,878,954, representing a net addition of 59,566 year over year. Digital TV penetration rate is now 82.9% of basic TV. Internet customer base stood at 1,887,916, reflecting net addition of 10,685 year over year. Digital phone lines were 1,256,010, reflecting year-over-year net addition of 22,969. DTH customer base was 909,414, representing net addition of 531 year over year.

Cable Segment

Quarterly revenue was $784 million, up 4% year over year. Strong revenue growth was attributable to subscriber addition and rate increases. Quarterly operating income before amortization was $373 million, up 7% year over year.

Satellite Segment

Quarterly total revenue of $207 million was up 1% year over year. ?Within this segment, DTH revenue was $187 million, up 2% year over year and Satellite Services revenue was $20 million, down 5% year over year.? The segment?s quarterly operating income before amortization was $68 million, remaining same year over year.

Media Segment

Quarterly total revenue was $296 million, down 3% year over year. Operating income before amortization was $199 million, down 8% year over year. ?

Dividend Increased

The board of directors of Shaw Communications has authorized a 5% hike in its annual dividend to $0.97 per share. Shaw Communications? dividends are declared and paid on a monthly basis and this increase will commence on March 29, 2012.

Our Recommendation

In September 2011, Shaw Communications decided to put aside its much-hyped plan to enter into the wireless market of Canada. The company offers triple-play cable TV and satellite TV, Internet, and wireline phone services, whereas its main competitor Telus Corp. (NYSE:TU) offers Cable TV, Internet, wireline, and wireless services. Telus shares a national wireless network with Bell Canada, a division of? BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE). Its popular Optik TV offering IPTV services is quickly eroding Shaw Communications? market share. Currently, Shaw Communications lacks a major competitive weapon, which is its wireless service.?

We maintain our long-term Neutral recommendation on Shaw Communications. Currently, Shaw Communications has a Zacks #4 Rank, implying a short-term Sell rating on the stock. This was primarily due to the increasing loss of video susbcribers.

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Source: http://www.dailymarkets.com/stock/2012/01/13/shaw-communications-beats-in-1q-12/

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