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The long-awaited analysis drew angry ridicule from environmentalists and officials in California and some of the dozen-plus other states that also wanted to implement the greenhouse gas emissions reductions sought by California.

In a 48-page document describing the reasoning behind its December decision, the EPA argues that California doesn't have the "compelling and extraordinary conditions" required for a waiver under the Clean Air Act, because the rest of the nation also suffers the effects of global warming.

"In my judgment, the impacts of global climate change in California, compared to the rest of the nation as a whole, are not sufficiently different to be considered 'compelling and extraordinary conditions' that merit separate state GHG (greenhouse gas) standards for new motor vehicles," says the document, which was signed by EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson and will be published in the Federal Register.

Environmentalists and California officials disagreed, contending that California has been granted Clean Air Act waivers in the past to deal with problems that are also happening elsewhere, such as diesel pollution.

Critics also argued that California does, in fact, have unique problems from global warming because no other state has its combination of wildfire risks, high smog levels, rising sea level and water shortage problems.

"There's no other state that can claim the same wide range of severe impacts that California is already suffering," said David Doniger of the Natural Resources Defense Council. He called the analysis "the latest cynical brush-off of global warming from this administration."

The EPA has been sued by California, more than a dozen other states and a coalition of environmental groups over the decision. Congressional Democrats have also released internal agency documents showing that career staff believed Johnson should grant the waiver.

"The law does not direct me to carry out a popularity contest," Johnson told The Associated Press Friday. "I needed to go by what the law directed me to do, informed by legislative history. ... It's the right decision."

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the National Automobile Dealers Association supported him in statements Friday.

"By rejecting a confusing multistate approach, the administrator recognizes the need for a single national solution to address energy security, tailpipe emissions and global climate change," said NADA vice president Andy Koblenz.

The Clean Air Act gives California special authority to regulate vehicle pollution because the state began such regulations before the federal government. But a federal waiver is required, and if California gets one, then other states can adopt California's standards, too.

California's tailpipe emissions law would have forced automakers to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent in new cars and light trucks by 2016.

Twelve other states—Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington—had adopted California's tailpipe standards and the governors of Arizona, Colorado, Florida and Utah had said they also plan to adopt them. The rules were under consideration elsewhere, too.

In denying the waiver, Johnson argued that a nationwide approach would be better and said it would be provided by a new law raising fuel economy standards. California officials argued that California's law would be stronger and act faster.

The EPA document released Friday cites a series of statistics to assert California does not have special threats from global warming, including a sea level rise on the California coast equal to or less than elsewhere in the U.S.; temperature increases in California higher than the national average, but equal to or lower than some other places, including Alaska; and precipitation increases not too different from other areas.

Environmentalists didn't dispute those specifics but insisted that taken together, California's global warming problems are unique. They also noted that in making the case that global warming doesn't only threaten California, the EPA document presents an unusually detailed portrait of the dangers of climate change from an administration that has opposed any mandatory emissions controls.

Johnson said Friday he still hasn't decided whether or when to issue plans for curbing greenhouse gases from new automobiles nationally, something President Bush announced last year after the Supreme Court ruled that the EPA had the authority to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

Source:origin1.montereyherald.com/politics/ci_8406976?n click_check=1 

Tens of thousands of Gazans on Friday protested against Israeli raids that killed 35 Palestinians, as Israel mulled a ground operation to stop rocket fire from the Hamas-run territory.

Late Friday an activist of Islamic Jihad and a 17-year-old girl were killed in an Israeli air raid on Jabaliya refugee camp in the north of the Gaza Strip, hospital sources said.

A little earlier a militant of Hamas's military wing was killed in a similar raid while a two-year-old girl, Malak Karsarna, died after being wounded by a shell blast near Beit Hanun, the sources added.

The deaths brought to 6,198 the number of people killed in Israeli-Palestinian violence since 2000, most of them Palestinians, according to an AFP count.

The demonstrators poured into the streets throughout the impoverished and isolated territory in response to Hamas calls to denounce the air strikes, whose victims include several children.

"They've killed my right to childhood," read a sign held by a child, clad in a red-stained white funeral shroud, who attended a large rally in Jabaliya.

Among the protesters in Gaza City was Khalil al-Hayyah, a Hamas leader who lost a 25-year-old son in an air strike Thursday.

"We will never recognise Israel, even if it assassinates all our leaders and kills our children," he shouted to the crowd.

A senior Hamas official told worshippers at a Gaza City mosque that the coastal strip which the Islamists have ruled for more than eight months was facing war.

"Gaza today faces a real war, a crazy war led by the enemy against our people," said Ismail Haniya, the premier in a Hamas-led government which Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas fired after Hamas seized control of Gaza.

Haniya lashed out at the US administration, which he claimed backs the Israeli attacks by portraying them as "legitimate self-defence." He also accused the Arab world of "encouraging the Israeli aggression" through its silence.

Abbas meanwhile expressed concern at what he called the "dangers of an Israeli escalation" in the Gaza Strip, his office said in a statement received by AFP.

He urged Israel to cease its attacks on the territory and also called on Palestinian militants to stop rocket attacks on Israel.

"It is in the interest of the Palestinian people not to give Israel any pretext to continue its aggression," Abbas said.

The 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) also condemned the Israeli raids and urged the United Nations to rein in the Jewish state.

But Israeli Deputy Defence Minister Matan Vilnai warned his country "will not shy away from any action" to halt the near-daily rocket fire from Gaza.

"By intensifying the rocket fire and extending their reach they are bringing onto themselves a worse catastrophe as we will use all means to defend ourselves," Vilnai told army radio.

Vilnai's spokesman took strong exception to media reports that quoted the minister calling for a "Holocaust" in Gaza. "The minister used the Hebrew term 'shoah' which means 'catastrophe' and in this context does not refer to the 'the Shoah' -- the Holocaust," said Eytan Guinsburg.

Defence Minister Ehud Barak said earlier Israel was considering the possibility of launching a widescale ground operation in Gaza.

Israel says its strikes target rocket-launching sites. Gaza militants have fired more 125 rockets at Israel since Wednesday, according to the Israeli army.

The attacks from Gaza injured a handful of people and killed a civilian who became the first Israeli to die since May as a result of the near-daily rocket fire.

The violence has overshadowed the Israeli-Palestinian peace process which was revived at a US-hosted conference in late November but has made little progress since.

The latest escalation around Gaza flared early on Wednesday when an Israeli strike killed five Hamas militants in the southern town of Khan Yunis. In retaliation, the Islamists launched a barrage of rockets into southern Israel.

Several of the rockets hit the coastal city of Ashkelon, raising fears inside Israel that Gaza militants are receiving longer-range projectiles and fuelling calls for a ground operation.

A five-month incursion in 2006 -- conducted after Gaza militants seized an Israeli soldier in a cross-border raid -- killed several hundred Palestinians but failed to stop the rocket fire.

The chief of Israel's left-wing Meretz party, Yossi Beilin, said Hamas had offered a truce around Gaza over the past two weeks but the overtures had been rejected by the Israeli leadership, which brands the movement a terror outfit.

Source:news.theage.com.au/thousands-of-gazans-pr otest-over-deadly-israeli -raids/20080301-1w3r.html 

DICE has always been known as a pot stirrer, but we weren’t quite prepared for just how avant-garde the developer is going with Mirror’s Edge. EA wouldn’t want it any other way of course, but it did take us back during GDC 2008.

Electronic Arts held a slick GDC 2008 party to showcase Mirror’s Edge, which was interesting enough to make the dungeon-full of journalists forget about their tapas and Tom Collins for a few. The first person view was familiar enough, but the lack of pistol, SMG or bazooka in the hands of the hero (in Mirror’s Edge’s case, the heroine) took a bit to get used to.

From what we know of Mirror’s Edge so far, the lead character known as Faith has no “super” powers per se, but definitely wields the athletic prowess of earthly comic book leads such as Batman or the Black Panther. Or, in the real world, Faith could be mistaken for wielding the power of parkour– that crazy French urban gymnastics routine for those not afraid of heights; it crops up in Nike commercials every now and then. So is Mirror’s Edge really an urban acrobat sim running at altitude? In certain ways–yes–but DICE made sure to throw in some good ol’ king-fu for good measure.

The GDC demo of Mirror’s Edge didn’t get too far into the back-story of exactly why Faith is jumping from rooftop to rooftop, or why the police are spewing lead in her direction. We did, however, learn that the agile badass has been instructed by a male team member to hand off a messenger tube of lord-knows-what to another parkour princess; like they were both involved in some kind of aerial 4x100 relay event.

What the demo lacked in plot set-up, it more than made up for it with a thorough run-through of the gameplay mechanics. It was skillfully illustrated that a user can pretty much successfully perform any leap worked into the mission objective, as long as enough foot speed was generated beforehand. Obviously accelerating by foot can be done by simply getting a bigger running start before launching off of a platform or hurtling over a wall, but it was the combo system developed for Mirror’s Edge that left us wanting a build of this interesting title, stat. Just as parkour appears as an aggressive form of ballet when executed with precision, Faith will gain cat-like speed when maneuvers are gracefully parlayed together into one flowing event. If done properly, the result is like an entire gymnast floor routine set on the building tops of a beautiful, sprawling city. Make no mistake about it: this is as close to parkour fanatics will EVER get to a video game honoring their beloved activity. The combat adds additional edge, however, mainly due to its hand-to-hand nature. Faith knows kung-fu and she knows it well as demonstrated when a few snaps and roundhouses landed squarely on five-o. We’re guessing there will be anxious moments where combat cannot be avoided with a clever leap, just to keep the gameplay a bit fresh through the intermingling of flight-and-flight.

Keeping Mirror’s Edge from being a sports title is the fact that your character won’t be leaping for score or be pitted against other agile gymnasts for a gold medallion. DICE wanted to keep the intrigue factor high in Mirror’s Edge, so expect each jump, hurdle and flip to be for a very good purpose; like keeping Faith alive. On more than a few occasions the mobile heroine was being pursued by law enforcement with less mobility but more firepower. The only way to keep from catching a bullet is to keep Faith on the run, which means users will need to rely on fast-twitch gaming skills, puzzle solving abilities and just plain intuition. Helping out in the puzzle solving and decision making areas of staying alive are red highlighted environmental objects. Objects can range from a platform or a railing to a sheer building face or even a helicopter skid. Once you see red, you’ll know it’s time to act; this is where general game skill and decisiveness will pay big dividends. DICE does hold your hand a bit with the color markers, but putting the puzzle pieces together and actually executing the Prince of Persia-like acrobatic sequences is what will separate the women from the girls in Mirror’s Edge.

Mirror’s Edge is already looking great from both a visual and gameplay standpoint. Stay tuned for a full hands-on preview of DICE’s latest princess.

Source:previews.teamxbox.com/xbox-360/1889/Mirrors -Edge/p1/ 

The boxing ring really is no country for old men.

There are no Oscars awaiting Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield should they continue with their mad idea to fight a third time. Just a grim ending; two shot fighters making fools of themselves and the sport.

It is a sad reflection on the heavyweight division that a match of this sort is even considered.

This is the market we are in. Last week Wladimir Klitschko and Sultan Ibragimov anaesthetised the Madison Square Garden crowd over 12 uneventful rounds.

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You can't sell that. Next week Oleg Maskaev and Samuel Peter battle for world heavyweight supremacy. I bet the tickets are flying out.

Regrettably, there would be huge interest in Tyson-Holyfield III. Until the bell rings. After that it would be an embarrassment. Who suffers? Boxing.

That is the real disaster.

Tyson was Hollywood, the box office machine that kept the heavyweight flame alive after Muhammad Ali.

You couldn't take your eyes off him 20 years ago. Now you have to look away.

The same applies to Holyfield for different reasons. Holyfield thinks he is a young guy. He has forgotten that he is, in boxing terms, an old man.

He is deluding himself, but at least he will be in shape.

Tyson admitted his heart had gone out of the fight game long ago. He can't even get into shape.

For his last appearance against Kevin McBride in June 2005 his old friend and trainer Jeff Fenech had to start by doing 30-second rounds in the gym.

That's how poor a condition Tyson was in. Tyson lost in the sixth to an opponent who would not have got near him in his pomp. His pomp was 20 years ago. Frightening. He is as big as a house, old and fat.

I know that he has a thing about Holyfield. He resents those defeats in 1996 and 97. He hates the fact he quit by biting Holyfield's ear.

But that is not sufficient motivation to get Tyson into shape. Holyfield, we know, is different. He will still look great when he is 60 years old. He is not, however, fit to box. He should have quit a decade ago.

In an interview in GQ magazine this month, Lennox Lewis speaks about the offers he has had to make a comeback.

Lewis says he might consider taking off his pyjamas were the numbers to hit Û50million. In other words there is no chance of him fighting again. You have to applaud that.

This week our youngsters have been out in Pescara on Italy's Adriatic Coast seeking qualification for the Beijing Olympics.

That is the future, young men doing themselves and their sport proud.

Britain already has four boxers through to China, led by Frankie Gavin, who won gold at lightweight in the World Amateur Championships in Chicago last October.

Maybe Tyson and Holyfield should tune in to watch the finals today. It might serve as a reminder of what they used to be.

Holyfield took light-heavyweight bronze at Los Angeles in 1984. A proud moment. Not a word you would associate with this latest venture.

Checkout My Website.. www.barrymcguigan.com

Source:www.mirror.co.uk/sport/boxing/2008/03/0 1/the-saddest-men-on-the- planet-89520-20336348/&nb sp;

NEW YORK - Stocks fell sharply Friday after a series of depressing economic and corporate reports as well as high oil prices stoked concerns about the health of the economy. The major stock indexes fell more than 2.5 percent and the Dow Jones industrials lost 315.79 points.

Investors were unnerved by disappointing quarterly results from American International Group Inc. and Dell Inc.

Oil prices continued to stir concern about inflation after pushing past $103 per barrel for the first time.

While stocks made sharp gains in the first three days this week even amid somewhat lackluster economic readings, the litany of concerns investors succumbed to Friday reflected the undercurrent of uncertainty that has kept Wall Street on edge for months.

"We really had to face a plethora of negative news," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Jefferies & Co. in Boston. "We just ran out of gas this week."

Hogan said while stocks held up admirably early in the week amid an uneven flow of economic news, they couldn't hold their gains after the latest round of weak economic signals.

The Dow fell 315.79, or 2.51 percent, to 12,266.39.

Broader stock indicators also tumbled. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 37.05, or 2.71 percent, to 1,330.63, and the Nasdaq composite index declined 60.09, or 2.58 percent, to 2,271.48.

For the week, the Dow lost 0.93 percent, while the S&P 500 gave up 1.66 percent and the Nasdaq fell 1.38 percent.

Friday's losses sent stocks lower for February, the fourth straight month of declines.

Light, sweet crude jumped to a record of $103.05 in early electronic trading before settling down 75 cents at $101.84 a barrel on New York Mercantile Exchange.

Insurer AIG announced a $5.29-billion quarterly loss largely because of steep declines in the value of a portfolio of contracts known as credit default swaps. Such contracts pledge to cover missed payments on debt.

Computer maker Dell posted a 6 percent decline in its quarterly profit, falling below analysts' expectations, and warned its business could suffer from reduced customer spending.

[Last modified February 29, 2008, 23:30:03]

Source:www.sptimes.com/2008/03/01/Business/E conomic_worries_push.shtml 

Nedburn Thaffe, Gleaner Writer

PORT MARIA St Mary:

Several communities across the parish of St Mary are to benefit from a donation of 100 computers, valuing US$80,000 (J$570 million) to be distributed throughout the parish.

The computers were donated by Microsoft Jamaica through the efforts of the Kiwanis Club of St Mary and St Mary Charities, last Tuesday, on the grounds of Goldeneye Hotel, Oracabessa, St Mary.

Among those present were Robert Montague, minister of state in the Office of the prime minister and member of parliament for the Western St Mary. He said the donation would help in the facilitation of the parish's Community Internet Café Programme, a project aimed at 'closing the digital divide' throughout the parish by making computer usage and Internet access available to all persons.

Police stations too

Services, he said, would be made available to persons through various community groups, churches and youth clubs. Donations would also be made to a number of divisional police stations in the parish.

Montague said the donation marks Phase Two of the programme for the parish. He said the first phase of the programme saw 30 persons receiving training in basic computer system which was carried out in Kingston at the offices of Microsoft Country Manager, Joe Mckinson.

A system, he said, will be set up where knowledge can be passed on to young persons in the community, particularly those from disadvantage families.

He said the programme will also fit in well with plans for the implementation of the 'Digital Town Hall', which also falls under the umbrella of local government reform in Jamaica.

Microsoft country manager Joe Mckinson said that the 100 Hurricane brand computers donated runs on the company's latest operating system, Windows Vista, as well as their latest productivity tool, Microsoft Windows 2007.

He lauded the move taken by persons in the parish and said "Microsoft is proud to have partnered with the people of St Mary insofar as the digital inclusion is concern." He added, "The embrace of technology in today's world is very critical and St Mary seems to be taking a lead in that direction."

Source:www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20080301/news /news1.html 

IN many small Connecticut towns, football, that quintessential high school sport, is not king. High school students have come of age without the pomp of halftime marching bands, the adoration of the star quarterback, or the annual game played against an arch-rival in a packed stadium on a chilly November morning.

Granby Memorial High School used to be one of those places, with soccer the main fall sport for boys. But now that’s about to change as Granby, like several small-town Connecticut schools, has decided to field a football team this fall.

Last month, after two years of study, the Granby Board of Education voted to allow parents to form a football program at the school, but the approval comes with a price. The board said the parents must raise $90,000 to cover the cost of the team for the first two years — from uniforms and shoulder pads to stipends for three coaches and the cost of referees.

Granby joins a growing number of Connecticut schools that have added football to their rosters, with every new team either fully or partly financed by private contributions. Last fall, Oliver Wolcott Technical High School in Torrington fielded a junior varsity team; like Granby, Lewis S. Mills High School in Burlington plans to form a junior varsity squad in time for the coming season in September.

Canton High School and Nonnewaug High in Woodbury had their first varsity seasons in 2007; neither team won a game.

Football is not new to Connecticut. Towns like Southington, Ansonia and Greenwich have rich gridiron traditions. But in some towns where soccer has ruled fall sports for decades, football is gaining as an alternative.

Rose H. Stone, president of the Granby High School Football Supporters and a mother of three burly sons, said football will offer a much-needed option for boys who aren’t interested in playing soccer or running cross-country in the fall.

“It’s healthy for kids,” she said. “It teaches self-discipline, and playing as part of a team. Football also has room for lots of kids who aren’t really so athletic. You don’t have to run fast, and you can do well if you are big and overgrown.”

The rise of football in small-town Connecticut has come gradually over the past decade. Coventry High has had a varsity team since 2001, when parents paid for the entire program. Since then, the school district’s funding has increased so that it now covers about 20 percent of its budget, with the rest paid for through private fund-raising, ticket receipts and a fee of $125 per player. The annual Thanksgiving game against Cromwell now draws more than 1,000 spectators.

“Football has become huge,” said Nancy D. Levinson, Coventry’s athletic director. “Going to the game is the thing to do. And kids seem prouder to wear their varsity jackets.”

The Granby school board’s decision to field a team met with a decidedly mixed response in this commuter town of 11,000 on the Massachusetts border. Over the past 40 years Granby has been transformed from a sleepy rural town of dairy farms and shade-grown tobacco fields to a suburb of Hartford with six traffic lights, a Starbucks, several chain stores and the Cambridge Brew House, which serves Abijah Rowe Ale, named after one of the town’s early settlers.

Trevor J. Corallo, 15, who plays on the Granby High soccer team, worried that football would draw talent from the soccer team, drain excitement from the program and hurt Granby’s reputation as one of the state’s premier soccer towns.

“It’s going to ruin the Granby soccer tradition,” he said. “There will be a slow decline, and we’ll end up with an average soccer team and an average football team.”

But others are more excited about what football will bring to the school.

At a recent Granby basketball game, held in the gymnasium festooned with 11 boys’ state soccer championship banners, Michael Stone, 14, said he looked forward to making the football team.

“I like to hit kids, and you can’t do that in soccer,” he said.

The high school cheerleaders also say they look forward to encouraging the football team. Now they cheer only at basketball games and at competitions.

“It would help us get better for our cheerleading competitions and be lots of fun,” said Jillian R. Lombardi, 16.

Source:www.nytimes.com/2008/03/02/nyregion/n yregionspecial2/02footbal lct.html?_r=1&ref=nyregio nspecial2&oref=slogin  

THE much-hyped Apple iPhone is officially on the way, nine months after it was launched in the US, four months after it launched in Britain, and costing more here than anywhere else.

Mobile giant O2 confirmed yesterday that the first of the iPhones, which combine a phone with a widescreen iPod music player and an internet browser, will go on sale in Ireland on March 14.

But Irish consumers will have to make a significant financial commitment if they want to own the latest must-have gadget. As well as paying out between €399 and €499 for the iPhone itself, depending on the storage capacity, they will also have to sign up to an 18-month contract with o2 costing at least €45 per month.

It means the cheapest iPhone will set you back €1,209 over the next year and a half.

"You can't compare it with other products," Danuta Gray, O2 Ireland CEO said yesterday. "Comparing it with a standard handset is just not like-for-like. I have music on it, videos on it, DVDs, photo albums, camera.

"To me it's just an amazing device and I think the type of price here compared with this type of functionality is where the value should be judged."

The device, which plays videos and music and sends email, as well as having an impressive touch-screen navigation system, will be sold in an 8GB and 16GB version here. The 16GB version will cost €499, compared with approximately €430 in Britain and €370 in the US, as of yesterday's exchange rates.

However, despite the price tag, O2 is confident that the queues seen in the US last June and in Britain last November will be replicated here.

"I'd say your Apple freaks will be queuing out the door when we launch," Ms Gray said.

"I think people are familiar with what the product is but I think there's an excitement that they can now get it in Ireland," she added.

Ms Gray said that the company was confident that criticism in the US of internet loading times would not be heard here despite the phone running on an aging EDGE system, which is slower than mobile broadband.

O2 said that Irish people who had imported iPhones and 'hacked' past security would not receive an amnesty.

"We won't accept unlocked phones," Ms Gray said.

- Jason O'Brien

Source:www.independent.ie/national-news/bite-of- the-apple-iphone-will-set -you-back-83641200-130215 0.html 

The move came a day after court filings revealed internal dissent over which Windows XP computers would be considered capable of running the new operating system — and a feeling on at least one executive's part that the company had "botched" the marketing of computers as "Vista Capable."

Only copies of the year-old operating system that are sold in boxes directly to consumers are affected by the price cuts — not the versions pre-loaded on personal computers. The cuts will range from 20% to 48%.

The reductions are to coincide with the late March release of Vista Service Pack 1, a collection of security fixes and other improvements.

Microsoft said the new prices will apply to the Home Premium and Ultimate versions of Vista, in both their full editions and the editions that upgrade an older or more basic operating system.

Both versions serve the tiny percentage of users who install an operating system on their own; most people get the latest version of Windows only when they buy a new PC.

Windows Vista's January 2007 launch was plagued by delays. To keep consumers buying PCs in the holiday season of 2006, Microsoft and PC makers promised free Vista upgrades later to shoppers who bought Windows XP computers.

At the launch, Microsoft was widely criticized for offering too many versions of the operating system — including Home Basic, which didn't have the snazzy new signature look called "Aero" — and for setting the price too high for the high-end versions.

Brad Brooks, a corporate vice president for Windows marketing at Microsoft, said in an interview that the company has since tested lower prices and found "product was moving much, much faster."

Brooks said he expects so many customers to buy Vista at the new prices that the price cuts will increase Microsoft's revenue, not subtract from it.

A federal judge recently said consumers could pursue a class action suit against Microsoft for labeling PCs as "Vista Capable," even though many were not powerful enough to run all of Vista's features, including the Aero interface.

Company e-mails produced in court chronicle Microsoft settling on a plan to market a wide range of XP-based PCs as "Vista Capable" after company officials realized in early 2006 that 30% or fewer of computers on the market could run the full-fledged version of Vista with Aero.

That realization apparently caused computer makers like Dell to worry that people would stop buying PCs for almost a year — until Vista launched.

The e-mails also showed Microsoft lowering the bar for "Vista Capable" to protect Intel's sales of some widely used chips that weren't powerful enough for the full Vista experience.

Microsoft employee Anantha Kancherla was particularly blunt in his March 2006 response to a question about whether a certain PC configuration would be considered "Vista Capable."

"Based on objective criteria that exist today for "capable," even a piece of junk will qualify," he wrote. "For the sake of Vista customers, it will be a complete tragedy if we allowed it."

According to the e-mails, Jim Allchin, the executive in charge of Windows at the time, wasn't involved in the decision to brand a wide swath of XP computers as "Vista Capable."

Upon learning the details, Allchin wrote, "We really botched this."

It`s a bigger problem than many parents may be aware of. So much so that the Bismarck Police Department held a workshop Thursday evening to talk to parents about what they can do to keep their kids away from drugs and alcohol.

Studies show consistently that North Dakota kids lead the nation in binge drinking and are the most likely to get in a car with someone who has been drinking. Tonight, the Police Department hoped to educate parents on what their kids are doing and what the latest trends are.

"We know if there`s any hope at teaching kids the right stuff we have to get parents involved. That`s where they get the best information and the best support to make good decisions regarding drugs and alcohol," says Teresa Carrigan, Police Youth Worker.

The Police Department says alcohol is involved in all of the leading causes of death in teens.

Source:www.kfyrtv.com/News_Stories.asp?news=16233 

Getting straighter teeth may not have to be the ordeal it once was. Robotics are the newest trend in straightening teeth.

Braces are a right of passage for many teenagers. They can be a hassle, painful and time consuming, with trip after trip to the orthodontist. But what if you were told there's a way to get the whole process done in half the time?

Sitcom character Ugly Betty has a mouth full of unsightly metal that makes for great comedy. But, in reality, braces don't have to look like that anymore. Wires are thinner and brackets are tinier -- some are even invisible. But for many patients the main concern is how long they have to wear them.

"They're telling me in six months to a year I can have this all done," said Scott Hansen, Patient.

As a restaurant owner, 39-year-old Scott Hansen says his appearance means a lot. He had already been wearing braces for two years and was facing possibly two more. Then he found out about a new system called SureSmile.

SureSmile promises to speed the process up by incorporating computers, three-dimensional imaging and robotics into the process.

"Treatment times are probably 12 months, not 24-26 months, so it's been remarkable," said orthodontist Mike Hayward, DDS.

In suburban Palatine, Hayward has been using SureSmile for two years and claims it's helping straighten teeth anywhere from 25-to-50 percent faster without compromising results

So how does it work? On the first visit a specialized 3-D scan creates a precise picture of the teeth. The 3-D image is sent to the company's headquarters where a treatment plan is mapped out.

And then, instead of human hands bending wires , there is this: it's a robot that does the wire shaping.

Why machine over man? The robot's job is to follow the computer measurements and create wires so precise they can guide teeth more accurately. That, in theory, should speed up the straightening process.

With conventional braces, the orthodontist usually makes many adjustments to wires, and sometimes the teeth don't move as planned so more adjustments are needed. With SureSmile the custom wires are sent to the orthodontist ready to go. No adjustments are made and that can mean less pain. Plus, fewer wires are involved, and that results in fewer visits.

"It is huge and I think it will change the whole complexion of orthodontics," said Hayward.

Wheaton orthodontist Robert Weber says, hold on, it not time to give up on traditional orthodontics.

"A robot can only do so much," said Robert Weber, DDS.

Weber uses many of the latest, high-tech treatments, including iBraces. They go behind the teeth and also rely on computer imaging and robotics bending. He thinks it makes the process easier and, in some case, faster but says it's not perfect and doubts the human touch will ever be replaced.

"There is no reason to walk away from somebody who is not using the latest technology," Weber said, "because right now that technology is in its infancy."

Going the robotic route may cost more, but orthodontists say what's passed on to the patients should not be substantial. Because the newer technique requires less maintenance and time in the chair, there may eventually be a cost savings. One pitfall with the speculated wires is that if they break they can't be fixed until the company sends a new wire.

Source:abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=new s/health&id=5989123&n bsp;

Sydney - Claims and counter-claims flew yesterday after senior Australian batsman Matthew Hayden was officially reprimanded for calling Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh an "obnoxious little weed".

Tensions continued to simmer in a summer of cricket acrimony ahead of Sunday's first final in the one-day tri- series here between the two fierce rivals.

Cricket Australia commissioner Ron Beazley late on Wednesday upheld a charge that Hayden had breached the code of conduct with his public comment about Harbhajan and issued a reprimand.

Hayden pleaded innocent and escaped a possible suspension and fine.

The Hayden incident is the latest in a series of controversies, and follows a racism row, threats by India to leave, and players fined for aggressive behaviour.

The fallout continued yesterday with Harbhajan claiming Hayden was one of the most disliked figures in cricket.

"I don't want it to be a slanging match, but you only need to speak to international cricketers and international teams to know in what opinion they hold Hayden," Harbhajan told Sydney's The Daily Telegraph.

Harbhajan also accused Australia of trying to cover up their on-field sledging by hiding among their teammates to avoid being detected by TV cameras.

Another unnamed Indian player told the Hindustan Times that Hayden was "insane" and vowed to give him "the fight" he is asking for.

"It's not strategy, it's insane and asking for a fight. And if he wants that, we'll give it to him," the player told the paper.

"He will not stop making sarcastic or plain rude remarks, whether he is fielding or batting. It is very difficult to not get upset and we don't see why he is allowed to get away with his constant barbs."

The latest controversy has again reactivated hostilities between the two teams. - Sapa-AFP

Source:www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=4279152&nb sp;

JERUSALEM — Palestinian militants in Gaza fired at least eight imported, Katyusha-style rockets on Thursday at Ashkelon, on the Israeli coast, in what Israeli officials said was a serious broadening of the conflict.

Ashkelon has been an occasional target of these longer-range rockets, but never of so many in one day. The attack scored a direct hit on a house there for the first time.

The rocket attacks came on the second day of deadly Israeli airstrikes on Gaza. These attacks killed at least 19 Palestinians, among them four boys, Palestinian hospital officials said.

Many of the others killed were from the military wing of Hamas, known as the Qassam Brigades, which claimed responsibility for the latest rocket fire.

Hamas, the Islamic group that controls Gaza, also continued to fire locally made rockets known as Qassams at Sderot, on the Israeli border, where a civilian was killed by rocket on Wednesday. Thousands of these rockets have been fired at Israel over the past seven years.

The 122-millimeter Katyushas, based on a Russian design, are manufactured in many countries and have a range of at least 10 miles, longer than the relatively crude Qassams. Israelis refer to the Katyushas fired at Ashkelon as “grad” rockets.

No one was hurt in the attacks on Ashkelon, a city of 120,000 whose center lies about 10 miles north of the Gaza Strip, but there was significant damage to the building that was hit, said Micky Rosenfeld, an Israeli police spokesman. Six of the rockets hit central areas and residential neighborhoods, he said, while the others landed in open fields outside the city.

Israel’s strikes in Gaza on Thursday started in the early morning and were aimed at armed men and rocket-launching squads, an army spokeswoman said.

Among the militants killed was Hamza al-Hayya, the son of Khalil al-Hayya, a senior Hamas leader and legislator, the senior Mr. Hayya said. The Israeli Army said the attack was a strike against a squad about to launch rockets. Hamas confirmed that Hamza al-Hayya was leading a rocket squad.

In Gaza, reacting to the news of his son’s death, Khalil al-Hayya said, “I thank God for this gift,” according to The Associated Press, adding, “This is the 10th member of my family to receive the honor of martyrdom.”

Seven members of the Hayya family and a neighbor were killed in May in an Israeli airstrike that hit the family home in Gaza. Khalil al-Hayya was not in the house at the time. Military officials said at the time that the army had “identified and hit a five-member terrorist cell” that was the target of the attack. That month, Hamas had also intensified its rocket fire from Gaza, killing two Israelis in Sderot.

Images filmed by cameramen in Gaza on Thursday showed distraught family members gathering in blankets the body parts of the four boys, ages 8 to 12, who were killed in one of the Israeli strikes. Relatives said they had been playing soccer outdoors not far from their homes near Jabaliya, in the northern Gaza Strip.

The army spokeswoman repeated that the strike was aimed at rocket launchers and that anyone in the vicinity of rocket launchers was at risk.

An Israeli security official said the rockets that landed in Ashkelon on Thursday were “probably made in Iran” and had most likely reached Gaza via Egypt. He was speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give out such information. An examination of the remains of similar rockets that struck Ashkelon earlier this year led Israeli officials to conclude that they had been made in Iran.

David Baker, an Israeli government spokesman, said the attacks constituted “a definite escalation, and one that we will not tolerate.” He said Israel was “well aware of the steps it must take to halt the rocket fire,” but did not elaborate on any additional Israeli response.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who was in Tokyo on Thursday at the end of an official visit, told reporters there, “We will reach out for the terrorists and we will attack and we will try to stop them.”

Ehud Barak, the defense minister, was quoted by Israeli news media as saying that the possibility of a large-scale Israeli ground operation in Gaza was “real and tangible,” and that Israel was not afraid of undertaking one.

The Israeli government and the military have so far indicated reluctance to embark on a large ground invasion of Gaza, with some officials saying privately that they fear a heavy toll in lives on both sides and are skeptical about what such a move would achieve.

In what appeared to be a signal to Hamas, the Israeli Air Force struck one of its police posts in the Shati refugee camp near Gaza City on Thursday evening, close to the home of Ismail Haniya, the leader of the Hamas administration. Two Hamas militants were killed but Mr. Haniya was unharmed, Palestinians said. After Israeli threats of retaliation in the recent widening of rocket fire into Israel, many of the Hamas leaders are reported to have gone into hiding.

The rockets that slammed into Sderot left the streets mostly deserted.

A bodyguard for Avi Dichter, Israel’s public security minister, was lightly wounded by shrapnel when a rocket hit the campus of a college on the outskirts of Sderot shortly before Mr. Dichter arrived. A 47-year-old man who was studying logistics at the college was killed by rocket fire there on Wednesday, the first Israeli fatality from rocket fire in nine months.

The latest surge of hostilities started on Wednesday morning, when the Israeli Air Force carried out a strike in southern Gaza and killed five members of the Qassam Brigades. Hamas then bombarded Sderot in retaliation.

Three Palestinian boys and a 5-month-old baby were among those killed in subsequent Israeli strikes on Wednesday, medical officials in Gaza said.

New Delhi, Feb 28 The capital is gearing up for India’s largest consumer exhibition on mobile phones and accessories - Mobile Asia 2008 - to be held at Pragati Maidan from February 29 to March 3.

Organised by the Indian Cellular Association (ICA), the four-day exhibition will also highlight the latest technological developments in the Indian mobile market with several domestic as well as global companies showcasing a slew of their latest products and offering.

Some of the leading mobile handset manufacturers and service providers that will participate include Airtel, Vodafone, LG, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, i-mate, Intex, Leuci, SanDisk, Scratchgard, Sony Ericsson, Tata Teleservices, World Phone and World Space Radio.

The main highlights on the anvil are global launches by handset companies and business-to-business interactions between industry players.

“Mobile Asia is by far India’s biggest consumer mobile event attracting over 300,000 visitors over the four days. It is truly reflective of India’s position as the fastest growing mobile telecom market in the world,” said Mr Lloyd Mathias, chairman of Mobile Asia.

“This year, Mobile Asia will focus on GenNext to ensure consumers see the latest in mobiles - the world’s largest convergent device. The mobile handsets of today blend the ease of use and mass appeal of the telephone, with the computing power of the PC and the networking power of the Internet.”

India is the world’s fastest growing mobile phone market with lowest call tariffs of below 2 US cents.

The country added a whopping 8.77 million new mobile phone subscribers last month with the total number of telephone subscribers reaching 242.40 million, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

India has set a target of 500 million telecom users and 20 million broadband subscribers by 2010.

Source:www.navhindtimes.com/articles.php?Story_ID=022914 

n the late 1990s and early 2000s, it seemed Will Ferrell couldn’t not be funny.

Impressions of Alex Trebek, Robert Goulet and the cowbell guy from Blue Öyster Cult garnered comic notoriety on Saturday Night Live; later, his turns as unabashed men-children in Old School, Elf and Anchorman earned him instant quotability.

But recently his film roles have blended together: Talladega Nights, Blades of Glory and his latest, Semi-Pro, all cast him as a cocky doofus who can’t win some big sporting event unless he gets his shit together. In Semi-Pro, the year is 1976; the sport is basketball; Ferrell’s a washed-up funk musician who’s also the owner/promoter/starting forward for a team in the American Basketball Association; the goal’s a spot in the NBA. We sat down with Ferrell to call him on the déjà vu.

Your role in Semi-Pro seems awfully familiar. How do you feel about the fact that all your roles are reminiscent of each other?
Uh, well…you know… [Pauses] I guess they are in the sense of these ultimately buffoonish characters who are confident in various ways but really shouldn’t be, but I actually find all those characters pretty different from each other. I don’t know if it’s because that’s a theme that’s, um, interesting to me—it’s a lot of what we find in American males. Yeah. So I guess that’s as good an answer as I can give you. I’m the least self-analytical person ever, so I just do what I think is funny and I don’t look back.

Are there roles you want that you’re not getting now?
I don’t know. Once again, I just kind of…the ideas I have for future projects aren’t shaped in any way by those types of thoughts or goals, like, “I’d really love to do a historical drama. I’m dying to play Abraham Lincoln.” They’re more broad concepts that pop into my head, and the characters fall into place. I don’t really have aspirations to be Tom Hanks. If I continue to just do the comedies I’m doing, I’ll be fine.

Why is it that some comedians do want to veer away from comedy?
Anyone who does anything creative is always gonna want to change. I guess ultimately a lot of comedians just wanna be taken seriously. My wanting to do different stuff just comes out of, “God, it’d be fun to try that,” but I’m not sitting here going, [Whispers, clenches fist] “No one knows what I can really do.”

Because of your roles, people don’t know much about you personally. How would your wife describe you?
I think she would say I’m definitely a funny person. I’m not an “on” person, though I can be if I feel like it’s called for. She often says, “If you were on all the time, I’d want to kill you.” But I’m relatively [Pauses] normal? Uh, yeah, that’s kind of a boring answer, but I get to act out in what I do.

Tell me about a time when you got angry or upset.
Um… [Long pause] A good one. When was the last time I got, um, let’s go back to that. I’m trying to think…I have a pretty sunny disposition.

Okay, what about a pet peeve?
I hate when someone drives my car and resets all the radio presets. I don’t understand it. If I was ever driving someone’s car, I would never touch the things that were set. That’s kinda stupid, but [Laughs] it’s not like, “I…hate&hell ip;blind people.”

A few years ago, the newswires picked up a hoax story about your death. First of all, that was a hoax, right?
Yes. I’m here. In front of you. I’m not a Will Ferrell impersonator… Actually, you know what? That’s something I got upset about. I was watching Billy Bush, the guy on Access Hollywood, reporting on it, and he was really flippant. He was like, “Reports are circulating that Will Ferrell has died. Well, there’s no reason to go boo-hoo.” And I was like, Fuck. You. That made me mad.

Did you do a counter-hoax?
No, ’cause you know what? It strangely and sadly caught me off guard in such a way that gave me an icky feeling. I thought, Shit, I gotta call my mom and dad. I remember my parents were really affected, like, [Grabs side] uh, that’s awful. Why would anyone do that? It’s not funny.

If, God forbid, you had died, how would you like to be remembered?
Honestly, as someone who’s a pretty genuine person, who did not have a bad cocaine habit as has been rumored. And, you know, didn’t take things too seriously in terms of [Points to Semi-Pro poster] all this stuff.

Source:www.timeout.com/chicago/articles/over -out/26919/force-of-will& nbsp;

The latest figures on home loan affordability forecast further interest rate hikes and a housing shortage will squeeze home owners even further.

The Real Estate Institute of Australia has released its findings for the December quarter, labelling it the "grimmest picture of home loan affordability in 22 years".

Home loan affordability deteriorated across Australia, except in Western Australia during the latest period.

The proportion of family income required to meet average home loan repayments rose to 37.4% in the December quarter, the highest level reached in just over two decades.

The rental market

The financial pain was felt by renters too.

The report says that with home loan affordability deteriorating significantly, many potential home buyers are remaining in the rental market, tightening vacancy rates and driving up costs.

Rents increased in relation to income during 2007, accelerating toward the end of the year.

Overall in Australia, renting families required 23.9% of their median family income to meet rent payments in the December quarter 2007. This compares with 22.4% of family income required for rent in December 2006, and 23.3% in September 2007.

The year ahead

REIA President Noel Dyett predicts home loan affordability will continue to worsen during 2008, and measures announced by the Rudd government to address the problem are unlikely to have an immediate effect.

"Buyers can expect the pain to continue for some time. [the] Government should act immediately to provide more assistance to first home buyers, by increasing the First Home Owners Grant," he said.

Mr Dyett also says data on rental affordability is not a source for optimism.

"With tight vacancy rates and a potential subduing of investor interest as a result of interest rate rises, the outlook for improvement in rental affordability is not positive," he said.

Source:news.sbs.com.au/worldnewsaustralia/hou sing_affordability_crisis _grim_541596 

Bloomberg says he will not run for president ... John Lewis switches support from Clinton to Obama; Dorgan backs Democrat ... Clinton focused on upcoming states ... McCain and Obama tangle long distance over al-Qaida in Iraq ... Clinton won't release tax returns until she's the Democratic presidential nominee ... Poll: Pennsylvania Democratic race tightens as Obama gains on Clinton

Bloomberg says he's not running

NEW YORK (AP) _ New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Wednesday he is not running for president.

The New York mayor wrote in a New York Times op-ed posted on its Web site that he has listened carefully to those who encouraged him to run for the White House, but that he is not and will not be a candidate for president.

Bloomberg, an independent, has played coy about his presidential ambitions for two years.

The 66-year-old billionaire businessman had publicly denied interest in running for president ever since one of his political advisers planted the first seeds more than two years ago. But his denials grew weaker in recent months as aides and supporters quietly began laying the groundwork for a third-party campaign.

"I listened carefully to those who encouraged me to run, but I am not _ and will not be _ a candidate for president," Bloomberg wrote.

Among his biggest obstacles was getting on the ballot. The process varies wildly from state to state and would have required him to collect hundreds of thousands of signatures according to a timetable on which the first key date is March 5.

Bloomberg said he will instead work to "steer the national conversation away from partisanship and toward unity; away from ideology and toward common sense; away from sound bites and toward substance."

Lewis switches to Obama

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Civil rights leader John Lewis has dropped his support for Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential bid in favor of Barack Obama.

Lewis, a Democratic congressman from Atlanta, is the most prominent black leader to defect from Clinton's campaign in the face of near-unanimous black support for Obama in recent voting. He also is a superdelegate who gets a vote at this summer's national convention in Denver.

"After taking some time for serious reflection on this issue, I have decided that when I cast my vote as a superdelegate at the Democratic convention, it is my duty as a representative of the 5th Congressional District to express the will of the people," Lewis said in a statement.

Lewis' constituents supported Obama roughly 3-to-1 in Georgia's Feb. 5 primary. His endorsement had been a coveted prize among the Democratic candidates thanks to his standing as one of the last major civil rights leaders of the 1960s.

"John Lewis is an American hero and a giant of the civil rights movement, and I am deeply honored to have his support," Obama said.

Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota endorsed Obama on Wednesday, citing his record on trade.

Clinton looks ahead to Tuesday's races

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) _ Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton said she is optimistic about Tuesday's upcoming primaries and isn't thinking about dropping her presidential bid after the results.

"I don't think about it like that," she told reporters aboard her campaign plane between Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. "I'm doing everything I can to win. That's what I intend to do."

"I feel good about these upcoming states," she added.

Rival Barack Obama has won 11 straight primaries and caucuses and has been increasingly gathering delegates. Texas and Ohio are among four states holding primaries Tuesday. Rhode Island and Vermont also have contests.

"What keeps me going is knowing I would be the best president," she said. "I know that I could handle the problems we have here at home and around the world and I believe I'm the best candidate to take on John McCain in what will be a very challenging election."

McCain, Obama spar over al-Qaida in Iraq

TYLER, Texas (AP) _ Republican presidential hopeful John McCain mocked Barack Obama's view of al-Qaida in Iraq, and the Democratic contender responded that GOP policies brought the terrorist group there.

The rapid-fire, long-distance exchange Wednesday underscored that the two consider each other likely general election rivals, even though the Democratic contest remains unresolved.

McCain criticized Obama for saying in Tuesday night's Democratic debate that, after U.S. troops were withdrawn, as president he would act "if al-Qaida is forming a base in Iraq."

"I have some news. Al-Qaida is in Iraq. It's called 'al-Qaida in Iraq,'" McCain told a crowd in Tyler, Texas, drawing laughter at Obama's expense. He said Obama's statement was "pretty remarkable,"

Obama quickly answered back while campaigning in Ohio. "I do know that al-Qaida is in Iraq and that's why I have said we should continue to strike al-Qaida targets," he told a rally at Ohio State University in Columbus.

"But I have some news for John McCain," Obama added. "There was no such thing as al-Qaida in Iraq until George Bush and John McCain decided to invade Iraq. ... They took their eye off the people who were responsible for 9/11, and that would be al-Qaida in Afghanistan, that is stronger now than at any time since 2001."

Clinton won't release taxes soon

CLEVELAND (AP) _ Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton says she won't release her tax returns until she has the Democratic presidential nomination in hand, and not before tax filing time comes in mid-April.

Clinton argued for openness Tuesday night during her latest debate with Democratic rival Barack Obama.

"I will release my tax returns," Clinton said during the debate. "I have consistently said I will do that once I become the nominee, or even earlier."

Pressed about the timing of releasing her tax returns, campaign aides were more reticent Wednesday, indicating that Clinton would not release the sensitive financial data during a hotly contested primary, but only at tax filing time.

"As is customary, as the Democratic nominee Senator Clinton will release her tax information in April at tax time," said spokesman Jay Carson.

Poll: Pa. Democratic race tightens

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Barack Obama is closing in on rival Hillary Rodham Clinton's once 16-percentage-point lead in Pennsylvania, according to a Quinnipiac University poll.

Clinton led in this survey by 52 percent to 36 percent just two weeks ago. The latest poll indicates that her lead is down to 6 points, 49 percent to 43 percent.

Pennsylvania's primary is not until April 22, but the poll is yet another measurement of Obama's momentum. In two weeks, voters under age 45 have gone from favoring Clinton by 11 percentage points to preferring Obama by 17 points. She leads among women, whites, older voters and those without college degrees; Obama leads among men, blacks and college graduates. A quarter of each candidate's supporters say they might change their minds about whom to back.

The Quinnipiac University poll was conducted by telephone from Feb. 21-25. It involved interviews with 506 likely Democratic voters in Pennsylvania and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.

THE DEMOCRATS

Hillary Rodham Clinton holds a forum on the economy and rallies in Ohio. Barack Obama holds a rally in Ohio before heading to Texas to campaign.

THE REPUBLICANS

John McCain holds town-hall style meetings in Texas.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

"I think the candidacy of Senator Obama represents the beginning of a new movement in American political history that began in the hearts and minds of the people of this nation. And I want to be on the side of the people, on the side of the spirit of history." _ Rep. John Lewis, in a statement announcing he was switching his support from Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton to Barack Obama.

STAT OF THE DAY:

John McCain won Vermont's Republican primary in 2000 with 60 percent of the vote, compared with George W. Bush's 35 percent.

Compiled by Ann Sanner.

A service of the Associated Press(AP)

Source:www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2008/02/27/a p/politics/d8v32ndg0.txt 

MINNEAPOLIS — Thalidomide, a drug once banned worldwide for causing birth defects, is showing promise as a possible treatment for ovarian cancer.

Scientists at the University of Minnesota found that the drug slowed down progression of the disease in women with recurrent ovarian cancer.

It's not a cure, said Dr. Levi Downs, a women's cancer specialist who led the study, which appears in the latest issue of the journal Cancer. But he said it may lead to better treatments and "provide more hope to women diagnosed with the cancer." Ovarian cancer strikes about 25,000 women a year in the United States.

The study is the latest piece of evidence that thalidomide may be a powerful weapon against more than one type of cancer. The drug is used to treat multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer, and is being tested on many other forms, including pancreatic, lung and prostate cancers.

In the 1950s, thalidomide was widely sold in Europe and Canada as a supposedly harmless treatment for morning sickness. But by 1961, it was linked to severe and disfiguring birth defects, and withdrawn from the market. It's estimated that more than 10,000 infants were affected, including many born with missing limbs or flap-like arms after their mothers took a few teaspoons of the drug early in their pregnancies. The United States was largely saved from the epidemic because the Food and Drug Administration refused to approve thalidomide without more evidence of its safety.

But the drug started making a comeback in the 1990s, when it was approved as a treatment for a complication of leprosy.

Since then, the very thing that made it dangerous to fetuses has also made it appealing to cancer researchers, according to Downs, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota Cancer Center.

Scientists discovered that thalidomide interfered with the development of blood vessels. So they began testing it to see if it could cut off the blood flow to cancerous tumors. They also discovered that thalidomide helps boost the immune system to fight cancer cells, said Downs.

Because of the known risks of birth defects, the government imposes strict rules whenever thalidomide is used, Downs noted. He had to undergo special training to prescribe it. Every patient has to watch a video about the dangers and sign assurances that they were informed of the risks. The drug label warns of "severe, life-threatening human birth defects."

In the latest study, Downs and his colleagues gave thalidomide and a standard chemotherapy drug (topotecan) to one group of 30 ovarian cancer patients, and only the standard drug to a second group of 39 women.

The results were encouraging: 47 percent of the thalidomide group responded to treatment, meaning their tumors shrank or disappeared, compared to 21 percent in the control group. The drug also helped slow recurrences of their tumors.

But he cautioned that the study did not prove a difference in overall survival rate and that more testing is needed.

"This was a small preliminary study to determine if there's something worth studying," he said. "The answer was yes, definitely, because we saw a huge difference in the overall response rate."

Downs said he plans to begin a new study on a chemical cousin of thalidomide, which early studies suggest may be more effective.

Source:www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/nation/55766 61.html 

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Hillary Clinton's troubled White House hopes suffered another body blow Wednesday, as civil rights hero and Democratic elder John Lewis defected to surging rival Barack Obama.

"Something is happening in America," argued Lewis, who walked in the iconic footsteps of Martin Luther King, and said he now sensed a comparable groundswell of historic change was sweeping the country.

The timing of his switch was especially galling for Clinton, six days before Texas and Ohio hold March 4 nominating contests which her campaign admits she must win to keep her White House dreams alive.

Obama meanwhile, in a preview of a possible general election match-up, sparred over Iraq, a slumbering theme sure to erupt again on the campaign trail, with presumptive Republican nominee John McCain.

Lewis, who risked his life in the civil rights revolution of the 1960s, said there was a movement and spirit in the hearts and minds of Americans he had not seen since the 1968 presidential quest of assassinated Democrat Robert Kennedy.

"I want to be on the side of the people, on the side of the spirit of history," he said.

Lewis, 68, was the latest superdelegate -- Democratic party luminaries who can vote how they like at the party convention -- to choose Obama, further weakening Clinton's hopes.

Obama, on a day when he welcomed the one millionth donor to his campaign, said he was honored to have the backing of an "American hero and a giant of the civil rights movement."

Speaking on a Houston television station, Clinton said Lewis had "been my friend and he will always be my friend."

But she said the ultimate outcome depended on "what our positions are, what our experience and qualifications are, and I think that's what voters are going to decide."

McCain, spoiling for a fight with Democrats as he tries finally snuff out the challenge of former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, took a strongly worded shot at Obama over Iraq, playing on the title of the Democrat's latest book.

"Where is the audacity of hope when it comes to backing the success of our troops all the way to victory in Iraq?" Senator McCain said in a statement issued after Obama and Clinton traded blows at a debate late Tuesday.

"What we heard last night was the timidity of despair."

Obama, who opposed the Iraq war and says he will end it in 2009 if elected president, hit back hard at McCain while campaigning in Ohio.

"John McCain may like to say that he wants to follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell, but so far all he's done is follow George Bush into a misguided war in Iraq that has cost us thousands of lives and billions of dollars."

Obama has won 11 straight Democratic party nominating contests, has more popular votes than Clinton, is now beating her in the money-raising stakes, and is attracting more high-profile party endorsements by the day.

The New York senator's frustration at his rise was palpable in their last scheduled televised debate, as she complained her rival had enjoyed glowing media coverage.

But Obama accused Clinton of being part of a tainted political crowd in Washington that "had driven the bus into the ditch" by voting for the Iraq war.

There was more grim news for Clinton from a new poll in Pennsylvania, which votes in a primary in April and would be the third prong of a recovery plan, should she grab victories in Ohio and Texas.

The Quinnipiac University survey had Obama now only six points behind in the state, with Clinton leading 49 to 43 percent. Just two weeks ago the surging Illinois senator was 16 points behind.

Even a six point win for Clinton, and narrow wins in Ohio and Texas, which recent polls suggest are the best she can hope for, would not be enough for her to make up the deficit of around 100 delegates she currently has with Obama.

"Senator Obama is closing in fast on Senator Clinton in Pennsylvania, but it will probably be the voters in Ohio and Texas who decide what role (Pennsylvania) will play in the 2008 presidential election," said Clay Richards, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

"If Senator Clinton survives next week to fight another day, Pennsylvania could become the last battleground of the long Democratic contest," he said.

"But an Obama win in Texas and Ohio would make it difficult for Clinton to halt her rival's momentum."

Source:afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iUBPIAU uM_7kh7_oKdmbFTpXCHHg&nbs p;

Jesse Ryder's no-nonsense batting against England, backed by some surprisingly useful bowling and enthusiastic fielding, raised hopes that perhaps he had finally come of age and that he was finally learning to control his inner demons.

Sadly, reality hit in the early hours of Sunday morning, when he was involved in an altercation in a Christchurch bar which ended in lurid headlines, a gashed hand, and a three-month layoff from the game. It subsequently emerged that he was also out drinking the night before the series decider.

Ryder is a rarity in the modern game, someone who does not conform to the stereotypical media-trained, finely-honed, over-coached player. His batting is based almost entirely on a superb eye for the ball and immense power, the kind who when he fails will be lambasted for his technique, but when he pulls it off empties bars and puts bums on seats.

Before he let his bat do the talking, the initial media comments concerned his weight - he is at least a dozen kilos off being merely solid - but those soon became secondary as his natural ability and surprising athleticism in the field became apparent.

His troubled upbringing had also been well documented. But that can only account for so much. His fondness for a tipple and seeming ability to wind up authority appear uncontrollable and you worry that what happened on Sunday morning is another sign that this leopard may not change his spots.

Stories of his lack of self-discipline are nothing new. Last year, miffed at what he believed was his being unfairly overlooked by selectors, he refused to appear at a World Cup training camp and then declined to appear for New Zealand A. Instead he headed for the UK and a 1000 Euros-a-game contract with Ireland. That relationship ended in tears when he failed to arrive for a match at The Oval following a missed flight - a situation compounded by his complete failure to apologise. One senior Ireland source made it clear that he would not be welcome back any time soon.

Ryder continued to be a celebrity in New Zealand, although there were still a few raised eyebrows when he was included for the series against England. "I think he's made tremendous progress over the last 12 months particularly," said Sir Richard Hadlee, the chairman of selectors. "There have been issues, but we do see him as an exciting talent. He's trained harder, lost a bit of weight, and his attitude to training and his general work ethic has improved. As far as we're concerned as selectors, we're looking at his cricketing ability and any other issues are handled by management."

Hadlee's gamble appeared to have been vindicated as Ryder turned out to be one of the stars of the series, bludgeoning 196 runs at 49 in the five games. Just as importantly, at a time when New Zealand cricket's old guard were moving on, he was an instant hit with the public.

But less than 12 hours after the series was clinched, Ryder found himself in hot water. At 5.30am he became involved in an altercation with a door in a Christchurch bar, which ended with him undergoing surgery on a serious cut to his right index finger. No sooner had New Zealand Cricket's media men been woken from their Sunday-morning slumbers to issue a no-nonsense release about the incident than they had to send out a second statement after it emerged Ryder had been "rude and demanding" with hospital staff.

There was a depressing sense of the inevitable about it all. He seems to give off an air of self destruction. Given his history, he might have been well advised to have gone home after the match. What's more, NZC would have done well to have made sure he did just that. Both are now worse off because he did not.

The real loser here is Ryder himself. Aside from a very sore hand, he will be out of action for at least three months and so will miss the home series against England - the word was that he was unlikely to have been included anyhow - and the return tour to England which follows.

That Ryder has talent is unquestionable. What is less certain is how much time NZC will be prepared to invest in him - although the heartening initial signs are that it is prepared do assist in whatever way it can - and how many times the selectors will put their necks on the line. His marketability, both at home and overseas, diminishes with every lurid headline. As importantly, will Ryder do what he has to. There have been previous offers of help which have been rebuffed.

One has to hope that he spends his enforced absence reflecting on what he could achieve and knuckles down. But one fears that if he was going to change, it would have happened by now.

Source:content-usa.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/stor y/339801.html 

A police car has been hit while making a U-turn in Taranaki in the latest incident of its type, following a two similar crashes which injured motorcyclists late last year.

Damage done to a highway patrol car after it collided with another vehicle yesterday.

Firefighters clean up the mess after the collision on State Highway 3 just north of Midhirst yesterday.

In yesterday's incident, a police highway patrol car was hit by a following vehicle as it made a U-turn to chase a speeding motorcyclist near Midhirst.

The two-car collision happened on State Highway 3 just north of the township about 2.20pm.

Police said it appeared the patrol car was attempting to do a U-turn to chase a speeding motorist when he was hit by a following vehicle.

Senior Sergeant Shaun Keenan, Stratford, said police would be conducting an internal investigation and would be speaking to both drivers and witnesses.

Mr Keenan said the northbound patrol car had clocked a southbound motorcyclist doing 122km/h.

The driver of the vehicle, who would only be known as Mark, said he could have been in the police officer's blind spot when he attempted to do a U-turn.

He had pulled out to pass the patrol car, using the passing lane, when a motorcyclist sped passed in the other direction.

"The cop put on his brakes and indicated left and went over to the side of the road and then turned straight in front of me."

He said he was only doing just over 100km/h.

Mark said he could not avoid hitting the police car.

"I just braced myself for the crash."

Neither driver was injured in the crash, which caused moderate damage to the patrol car and extensive damage to the other vehicle.

The highway was reduced to one lane, backing up traffic in both directions, for about 50 minutes while emergency services cleaned up the mess.

Two accidents involving police late last year have led to questions over the safety of police turning on busy roads.

In December, two motorcyclists were hurt after a police car did a U-turn in front of them on a tight, windy road in the Upper Buller Gorge near Nelson. The officer was turning to chase a speeding motorcyclist heading in the other direction.

In a second incident in December, a motorcyclist was seriously injured when a police car, responding to an emergency call, made a U-turn on State Highway 2 near Maramarua in Waikato.

Source:www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4419259a10.html

It's not as if Christina Ricci is opposed to playing less-than-glamorous roles.

She spent a goodly portion of Black Snake Moan in ratty underwear while chained to a radiator, after all.

But in Penelope, a sort of modern-day fable, Ricci for nearly the entire movie sports the snout of a pig.

Oink.

Hollywood, as you may have heard, is a fairly image-conscious place. What must her managers or representatives have thought when they saw that in the script?

"I don't think they were too excited about it at first," Ricci said in a recent phone conversation. "(But) once everyone had read the script and seen what an incredibly lovely story this is and what a great message it has for young girls - and everybody - I think we were all very excited."

So was she.

"I've always wanted to be in a fairy tale," she said. "Another thing was that, because this movie is a fairy tale, a lot of it - a lot of the imagery and story - is metaphor. It gives you the ability to not go to an extreme dark place that something like this could go to if it were set in a more realistic environment."

On the other hand: "I don't think I've ever done anything as upsetting as a facial deformity."

Ricci plays the title character, the victim of a family curse that leaves her with the porker nose. Hot-young-actor-of-the-mo ment James McAvoy plays her ne'er-do-well potential love interest (the nose puts off a lot of suitors), and Reese Witherspoon is around late in the game as a friend.

It's all very sweet and, like most of Ricci's projects, different from what she has done. She has, for instance, played a Goth kid in the Addams Family movies, a Harvard student in Prozac Nation and the girlfriend of a serial killer in Monster, among many other roles. All that variety is by design.

"The more different something is, the better," she said. "You don't want to do something you've seen a million times before. . . . There's always a reason to want to do something different. You might feel really passionate about the theme, or you might feel like it's a character you've never seen shown before to audiences, or something you've never done before, or a director you've always wanted to work for.

"There are so many variables and so many reasons to accept a part. Really, as an actor, it's like, 'What will I get to do next?' "

How about Speed Racer? The big-screen version of the legendary Japanese cartoon debuts in May, with Ricci playing Trixie, the girlfriend of Speed (Emile Hirsch). Talk about different: The Wachowskis (The Matrix) are up to their usual high-tech tricks, with lots of CGI animation, which creates quite the challenge for an actor.

"You're in a big, green room," Ricci said, "and that's pretty much it. We'd be on these big, green stages for hours . . . being told what is supposed to be over here, what's gonna be over there, and acting out these scenes. You really just have to lose any sense of inhibition. You really rely on your imagination."

Not that she's complaining.

"Oh my God, it was the most fun I've ever had."

Until the next thing, no doubt.



Reach Goodykoontz at 602-444-8974 or bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepubl ic.com. Read his blog at goodyblog.azcentral.com.

Source:http://www.azcentral.com/ariz...;

AOL on Monday introduced Xdrive Desktop Lite, a new version of the online data storage service. For the first time, Xdrive works on the Mac, thanks to AOL's switch to Adobe AIR technology. Xdrive Desktop Lite is being offered as a public beta.

Xdrive provides users with an online storage repository. Users upload digital files stored on their local hard drive, then can access those files from within the Xdrive application on that computer or other systems with an Internet connection. Users can get up to 5GB of storage via Xdrive for free; additional space costs extra (a 50GB plan costs US$9.95 per month). AOL acquired Xdrive in 2005.

In principle, Xdrive works similarly to Apple's iDisk, which comes as part of Apple's .Mac services, although .Mac enables any WebDAV client, Mac or PC, to access an iDisk volume. Xdrive requires the special desktop client in order to work. The Xdrive Desktop Lite client lets users share files with others, either by e-mailing them links to the files or by embedded HTML code on their own Web pages (the client provides specific links to shared files).

The new public beta release of Xdrive Desktop Lite is built using Adobe AIR, development software designed to enable software makers to use Web technologies like HTML, Ajax, Adobe Flash and Flex on the desktop instead of on the Web.

Anyone with an AOL or AIM user account can register for Xdrive for free. Later this year, anyone will be able to register for Xdrive with any screen name or e-mail address, according to AOL.

Source:www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=9624 

Apple has updated its MacBook Pro notebook line with the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors, larger hard drives and 2GB of memory standard in most models. The Mac maker has also updated its MacBook line for home users.

The new MacBook Pro features the latest Intel Core 2 Duo technology with up to a 2.6GHz processor with 6MB of shared L2 cache; up to 4GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM memory and up to a 300GB hard drive, plus an nVida GeForce 8600M GT graphics chip with up to 512MB of video memory.

Every MacBook Pro now includes a trackpad with Multi-Touch gesture support -- as introduced in the Macbook Air -- for pinch, rotate and swipe. It also has an illuminated keyboard that makes it ideal for dimly lit environments such as airplanes and studios and a built-in ambient light sensor, which automatically adjusts the brightness of the keys as well as the brightness of the display for optimal visibility.

Every MacBook and MacBook Pro includes a built-in iSight video camera for video conferencing on-the-go; Apple’s MagSafe Power Adapter that magnetically connects the power cord and safely disconnects when under strain; the latest generation of 802.11n wireless networking for up to five times the performance and twice the range of 802.11g; built-in Gigabit Ethernet for high-speed networking; Bluetooth; analogue and digital audio inputs and outputs; USB 2.0; FireWire® and a built-in SuperDrive®.

The standard 2.4GHz, 15-inch MacBook Pro costs £1,105 plus VAT. It features a 15.4-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1440-x-900 LCD display; a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB shared L2 cache; 2GB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM, a 200GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5,400rpm; and an nVidia GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB RAM.

The standard 2.5GHz, 15-inch MacBook Pro costs £1,360 plus VAT. Its specs include a 15.4-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1440-x-900 LCD display; a 2.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 6MB shared L2 cache, 2GB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM; a 250GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5,400rpm; and an nVidia GeForce 8600M GT with 512MB RAM.

The standard 2.5GHz, 17-inch MacBook Pro costs £1,530 plus VAT. It has a a 17-inch widescreen 1680-x-1050 LCD display; a 2.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 6MB shared L2 cache; 2GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM; a 250GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5,400rpm; and an nVidia GeForce 8600M GT with 512MB RAM.

Build-to-order options for the MacBook Pro include the ability to upgrade to up to 4GB RAM, a 2.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 200GB (7,200rpm), 250GB (5,400rpm) or a 300GB (4,200rpm) hard drive, Apple Remote, Apple MagSafe Airline Adapter, Apple USB Modem, glossy widescreen display, 17-inch LED-backlit 1920-x-1200 high-resolution display and the AppleCare Protection Plan.

Source:http://www.digitalartsonline....