Eric Cantor Blames Obama for Republicans' Harmful Tax Policy (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in response to the State of the Union address by Barack Obama. President Obama discussed the "Buffett Rule," which says essentially that very wealthy people should shoulder a fair share of the nation's tax burden, according to CBS. Cantor attempted to sting Obama in his commentary -- but was Cantor's speech honest?

Warren Buffett's secretary, Debbie Bosanek, is said to have paid a higher tax rate than her billionaire boss, according to the Washington Post. Cantor claimed to "care about Warren Buffett's secretary," according to Politico. Cantor rhetoric then took a confusing turn by trying to pass the buck for his own party's policies and blame the tax inequality problem on the Obama Administration.

Let's take a quick look at the facts.

If you examine the tax history chart from the Tax Policy Center you can see what the highest tax rates have been since income taxes were established. The top tax rate has been exactly the same since the Bush tax cuts for tax year 2003. The Obama administration has not raised the marginal income tax level.

Here's another fact you can see: During the Reagan-Bush I era the highest tax rate dropped like a rock while the economy tanked. During the Clinton years it was raised a bit, and the economy prospered. During the Bush II era it dropped again, and look, what a shock -- the economy tanked.

If Buffett pays a lower tax rate than Bosanek it's not because Obama made her pay more. It's because right-wing administrations keep lowering the taxes, letting rich people pay less.

The lesson to be learned here is that a nation cannot prosper while the wealthy continue a class war against the poor and redistribute wealth from the poor to the rich by failing to pay their fair share.

If the Obama administration is to blame in any way for this situation it's by failing to raise taxes on the wealthy investor class to reverse the catastrophic harm caused by the unending efforts of the right wing to protect the rich.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120131/pl_ac/10884421_eric_cantor_blames_obama_for_republicans_harmful_tax_policy

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New 'True Blood' trailer hints at royal return

"True Blood's" Russell Edgington could soon be ready to reclaim his throne.

By Ree Hines

"True Blood" fans still upset by the less-than-regal season-three sendoff of big bad Russell Edgington can take heart. A new trailer for the fifth season of the series hints that the former vampire king of Mississippi could soon rise again.

"In Bon Temps, nothing stays buried forever."

That's the sole message of the trailer, delivered one word at a time as the camera pans up through a deep pit of rubble.

Of course, a tease like that could mean almost anything for a drama filled with vamps and other creatures of the night, but given the fact that Edgington was last seen burned, chained in silver and being buried alive (well, undead) in cement -- courtesy of Bill Compton, Eric Northman and their unlikely accomplice Alcide Herveaux -- he's certainly due for a vengeful return.

After all, his last words were "You will regret this!"

Are you looking forward to the return of "True Blood" and the possible return of the king? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page.

Related content:

Source: http://theclicker.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/30/10271162-new-true-blood-trailer-hints-at-royal-return

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Sun unleashes an X1.8 class flare on Jan. 27, 2012

ScienceDaily (Jan. 30, 2012) ? The sun unleashed an X1.8 class flare that began at 1:12 PM ET on January 27, 2012 and peaked at 1:37. The flare immediately caused a strong radio blackout at low-latitudes, which was rated an R3 on NOAA's scale from R1-5. The blackout soon subsided to a minor R1 storm.

Models from NASA's Goddard Space Weather Center predict that the CME is traveling at over 1500 miles per second. It does not initially appear to be Earth-directed, but Earth may get a glancing blow.

Initial movies from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) look as though there was an eruption and coronal mass ejection (CME) associated with the event, and NOAA's GOES satellite also detected a solar energetic particle (SEP) event a half hour after the flare peak. How these CMEs and SEPs form and evolve, as well as their association with the flare event itself will be studied in the coming hours and days as more data and movies from NASA's SDO, STEREO and SOHO instruments become available.

What is a solar flare? What is a coronal mass ejection?

For answers to these and other space weather questions, visit NASA's Spaceweather Frequently Asked Questions page at: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/spaceweather/index.html

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Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120130100202.htm

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Cabbage Chemistry--Finding Acids and Bases

Colorful Cabbages: Use this veggie to test for acids and bases around the house--with colorful results! Image: iStockphoto/PacoRomero

Key concepts
Chemistry
Acids
Bases
Light

Introduction
You might have done experiments with well-labeled acids and bases in school, but have you ever wondered whether a certain food or chemical around the house is an acid or a base? You can find out using a red cabbage to make an indicator solution.

When two or more ingredients are entirely dissolved in one another, you have a solution. For example, mixing salt with water creates a clear solution, even though the salt is there and the solution tastes salty. When mixed with water, whether a chemical "donates" a charged particle (called an ion) to the solution?in this case, a hydrogen ion?or "accepts" one from it determines whether it's an acidic or basic solution. An indicator changes color when exposed to such a mixture, depending on whether the solution is acidic or basic.

Background
Acids are solutions that lose hydrogen ions and usually taste sour. Some very common household solutions are acids, such as citrus fruit juices and household vinegar. Bases are solutions that pull hydrogen ions out of solution and onto themselves, "accepting" them, and usually feel slippery. Bases have many practical uses. For example, "antacids" like TUMS are used to reduce the acidity in your stomach. Other bases make useful household cleaning products.

To tell if something is an acid or a base, you can use a chemical called an indicator. An indicator changes color when it encounters an acid or base. There are many different types of indicators, some that are liquids and others that are concentrated on little strips of "litmus" paper. Indicators can be extracted from many different sources, including the pigment of many plants. For example, red cabbages contain an indicator pigment molecule called flavin, which is a type of molecule called an anthocyanin. Very acidic solutions will turn an anthocyanin red whereas neutral solutions will make it purplish and basic solutions will turn it greenish-yellow. Consequently, the color an anthocyanin solution turns can be used to determine a solution's pH?a measure of how basic or acidic a solution is.

Materials
??? ?A small red cabbage
??? ?Pot of boiling water
??? ?Strainer
??? ?Two large bowls or pots
??? ?Grater
??? ?Tablespoon measurer
??? ?Large spoon (optional)
??? ?Three or more small, white paper cups (small, white paper drinking glasses or dishes will also work)
??? ?Goggles or other protective eyewear
??? ?Lemon or lime juice
??? ?Vinegar
??? ?Bleach-based cleaning product
??? ?Other foods to test, such as clear soda pop, baking soda solution, egg whites, tomatoes, cottage cheese (optional)

Preparation
??? ?Grate a small red cabbage. If you do not want to grate the entire cabbage, grating half of a cabbage should be enough. Put the fine, pulpy grated cabbage into a large bowl or pot.
??? ?Boil a pot of water. Use caution when handling the boiling water. Pour the boiling water into the bowl with the cabbage pulp until the water just covers the cabbage.
??? ?Leave the cabbage mixture steeping, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is room temperature. This should take at least half an hour. The liquid will become red or purplish-red in color.
??? ?Place a strainer over another large bowl or pot and pour the cabbage mixture through the strainer to remove the cabbage pulp. Press down on the pulp in the strainer, such as by using a large spoon, to squeeze more liquid out of the pulp.
??? ?In the bowl, you should now have only liquid that will either be purple or blue in color. This will be your indicator solution, which you will use to test the pH of different liquids.
??? ?Children should wear goggles or other protective eyewear and adults should supervise and use caution when handling bleach and vinegar, because they can irritate eyes and skin.

Procedure
??? ?Fill a small, white paper cup, drinking glass or white dish with one tablespoon of your cabbage-indicator solution. What is the color of your indicator solution?
??? ?Add drops of lemon or lime juice to the indicator solution until you see the solution change in color. Gently swirl the solution and make sure the color stays the same. What color did the solution become?
??? ?The color of the solution will change depending on its pH: Red color indicates the pH is 2; Purple indicates pH 4; Violet indicates pH 6; Blue indicates pH 8; Blue-green indicates pH 10; Greenish-yellow indicates pH 12.
??? ?Based on its color, what is the pH of the lemon or lime juice solution?
??? ?In another small, white paper cup, add one tablespoon of your original cabbage-indicator solution. Add drops of vinegar until you see the solution change color. What color did the vinegar solution become? What is the pH of the solution?
??? ?In a third small, white paper cup, add one tablespoon of your original cabbage-indicator solution. Handling it with caution, add drops of the bleach cleaning product until you see the solution change color. What color did the bleach solution become, and what does this indicate about its pH?
??? ?If you want to test the pH of other foods, again add one tablespoon of your original cabbage-indicator solution to a small, white paper cup and add drops of the food until you see the solution change color. If the food is not in liquid form, crush it or dissolve it in a small amount of water before adding it to the indicator solution. What color did the solution become, and what does this indicate about its pH?
??? ?Extra: There are other vegetables and fruits that can be used to make pH indicators as well: red onion, apple skins, blueberries, grape skins and plums. Which different sources of pigment produce the best indicators?
??? ?Extra: You can use an indicator solution to write secret messages. Just use full-strength lemon juice to write an invisible message on paper and let the message dry. To reveal the message, paint cabbage-indicator over the paper with a paintbrush.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=6b0f50c8613b6859b0ce729c805b6eff

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Logitech's Q3 2012 report confirms Revue is sold out, Harmony remote refresh 'in the coming months'

Logitech's Q3 earnings for the 2012 fiscal year don't have many surprises since the company already revealed it was dropping out of the Google TV team. In prepared remarks, company management confirmed it is completely sold out of new units, closing the door on any users still trying to nab a $99 Revue (who shouldn't be too heartbroken, since Vizio is promising a second gen unit is on the way at the same price). There is promise however, if you're looking for a new Harmony remote model, while interim CEO Guerrino De Luca says the company is late in providing a successor to the best selling Harmony One and other models, resulting in a 30 percent drop in sales, it plans to strengthen the lineup "in the coming months." In other segments, it's seeing growth in those iPad accessory keyboards, for more details check the press release embedded after the break or in the PDFs linked below.

Continue reading Logitech's Q3 2012 report confirms Revue is sold out, Harmony remote refresh 'in the coming months'

Logitech's Q3 2012 report confirms Revue is sold out, Harmony remote refresh 'in the coming months' originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Prepared remarks (PDF), Slides (PDF)  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/26/logitechs-q3-2012-report-confirms-revue-is-sold-out-harmony-re/

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O2 UK network security blunder exposes customers' phone numbers to websites

Update: O2 says that as of 1400 GMT today it has fixed, the problem, and that "technical changes" as part of "routine maintenance" were to blame for the issue, which affected customers from Jan. 10 until today. The network's full statement is available on its official blog.

Original story: If you're browsing the web on your phone or tablet on O2 UK, then the network could be exposing your phone number to every website you visit. O2 customer Lewis Peckover recently discovered that when you're browsing over 3G on O2, your handset's phone number is often included in the HTTP headers sent to each website you visit, in plain text.

HTTP headers are information exchanged between your browser and the web server before a page is loaded. In theory, the way O2 includes your phone number -- alongside more mundane information like your IP address, browser and OS -- means that any website you visit could easily find out your number. It's worth pointing out that the header used by O2 to send phone numbers -- "x-up-calling-line-id" -- isn't one that's routinely logged by web servers. However, just a couple of lines of code would allow a malicious server to find your phone number just by having you visit a website over 3G.

Lewis Peckover has set up a site to allow O2 customers to see whether they're affected. We've tried this with an O2 SIM in our Galaxy Nexus, and sure enough, there our phone number was in the list of "headers received". If you're on O2, make sure you've got Wifi disabled on your device, then click here and see if you spot your phone number among the HTTP headers. For what it's worth, early reports indicate that not all O2 customers are affected, though a large proportion apparently are.

This isn't an Android-specific problem, however due to the fact that it's a network-level issue, it'll affect Android phones just the same as any other device that's browsing over O2's data network. For this reason, just about anything that connects via HTTP over O2's network could potentially access this information. For its part, O2 says it's "investigating" the issue, and while this is a big deal for O2 customers, the fact that this is a network-level problem should mean that a fix will be relatively quick and easy to deploy.

More: Lew.io; via: ThinkBroadband

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/W0LTWSsLFNU/story01.htm

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'One day I will be back': Deported coach dreams of US return

By msnbc.com staff

Miguel Aparicio,?a former Phoenix high school coach whose deportation to Mexico sparked a national outcry, says he has been?struggling with his life since leaving Arizona.

?I feel so depressed,? Aparicio recently told The Arizona Republic in Phoenix. ?Sometimes when I?m dreaming, I wake up in the middle of the night and I think I?m in Phoenix. But then I look around and I realize, no, I?m not.?

The former?high school cross-country coach's story unfolded last summer when his deportation came on the day?the Obama administration made a policy change that would allow thousands of undocumented residents like Aparicio to remain in the country.

Read original story: Deportee?struggles to readjust to life outside Phoenix?

In June, Immigration and Customs Enforcement's director John Morton announced that prosecutors and immigration agents would consider a defendant's history and community ties when deciding whether to press for deportation.

Aparicio's?lawyer, Jose Luis Pe?alosa, was quick to jump on the policy change, filing a motion on his client's behalf. But,?it came too late and failed to win the man's stay of deportation.

Aparicio has been described in local news outlets as a coach who contributed a great deal of success and good to Phoenix-area schools, despite being an undocumented worker and having a DUI on his record.?

These days, Aparicio spends his days tending 26 sheep on his family's farm in Guanajuato.?He's also dreaming of his return to America, according to the newspaper.

"I am just waiting to see if they change something about immigration," he told the Arizona newspaper. "I am just hoping because I do not feel like the ICE officers were really fair with me. They just looked at the negative stuff. They did not look at the positive stuff. And I have a lot. I know for sure that one day I will be back."

More from msnbc.com and NBC News:

Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/23/10219297-one-day-i-will-be-back-deported-coach-dreams-of-us-return

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Romney defends investments, readies tax returns (AP)

WASHINGTON ? A day before Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney planned to release his income tax returns, his old investments in two controversial government-backed housing lenders stirred up new questions at the same time his campaign targeted rival Newt Gingrich for earning more than $1.6 million in consulting fees from one of the lenders.

Romney's latest financial disclosure report listed several investments, worth as much as $500,000, in U.S.-backed lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Romney, Gingrich and other GOP critics repeatedly have singled out the two quasi-government entities as prime villains in the housing crisis that played a central role in the nation's long and deep recession.

While continuing to hammer Gingrich for his consulting work for Freddie Mac, the Romney campaign sought to deflect questions about the former Massachusetts governor's investments. They include a mutual fund worth up to $500,000 that includes assets from both lenders among other government income, and separate investments in each of the lenders in Romney's individual retirement account, each worth between $100,000 and $250,000.

Romney campaign officials said Monday that a trustee handles the investments and that Romney had no role in choosing or managing them.

The dimensions and the sources of Romney's wealth, which he has estimated to be as much as $250 million, have become a central issue in the roiling GOP primary campaign. For months, Romney dismissed calls to release his personal income tax records. But after mounting criticism from his rivals and others, coupled with his stinging weekend loss to Gingrich in the South Carolina primary, Romney agreed to release his 2010 return and 2011 estimate. Both sets of records could provide new details about his investments and his annual take as founder of the Bain Capital private equity firm.

Romney's tax returns are likely to sketch out critical information about the tax strategies he employs. Tax experts said these likely include his use of a low 15 percent capital gains rate to reduce the taxes he pays on dozens of large investments that flow into his blind trust, charitable donation strategies that benefit philanthropies but also further reduce his tax burden and investments routed through offshore affiliates that could help him defer some tax payments.

Romney already has acknowledged that his current tax rate is about 15 percent, a level far lower than standard rates for high-income earners and similar to the capital gains rate. But some tax law and tax policy experts suggest that Romney likely has paid similarly low rates throughout his Bain years, continuing through the 13 years since he left the firm.

Joseph Bankman, a Stanford University business and law professor who has testified before Congress on the taxes paid by private equity firms like Bain, said Romney's background as a financier, coupled with his growing wealth and ability to use sophisticated tax tactics, makes it highly likely that he has paid taxes at the going capital gains rate for most of his career.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120123/ap_on_el_pr/us_romney_s_wealth

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Digital lockers a growing piracy concern

SAN FRANCISCO?? Digital storage services like Megaupload, which was accused of criminal copyright violations on Thursday, play a small but growing role in a broader piracy problem that continues to evolve and dog the entertainment industry.

Some 3 million Americans every month used Megaupload, which is among the largest digital lockers, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) said. Other entertainment executives said that number surged when other sites popular with digital pirates, such as LimeWire, were taken down.

"When we look at piracy behavior and uncompensated theft of music, a significant portion of consumer behavior migrates toward these locker sites" after shutdowns, said Victoria Bassetti, a music industry consultant and former anti-piracy chief at record label EMI.

"Anecdotally, when we have pre-release leaks, the first week there is a massive amount of consumer trade that goes directly to Megaupload's door."

Peer-to-peer systems like BitTorrent, which have little central coordination and are harder to stop, still have about three times as much usage among consumers as digital lockers, said NPD market researcher Russ Crupnick.

Only about 3 percent of the U.S. Internet audience relied on digital storage for legitimate purposes or piracy in the third quarter, he said.

Megaupload and its ilk may be a bigger factor in video piracy because movies take much longer to download via peer-to-peer networks, Crupnick said. Digital lockers allow anyone to upload, store and distribute links to most forms of electronic content.

The U.S. Justice Department released an indictment Thursday accusing Megaupload's founders and other officers of criminal conspiracy, arguing that they encouraged copyright violations and in some cases copied protected content themselves. Four people involved with the site were arrested in New Zealand.

The indictment cited internal emails referring to piracy and Megaupload's policy of rewarding users whose content was downloaded most often, which prosecutors said encouraged the distribution of prime Hollywood fare.

An attorney for the company said Friday that the site merely allowed users to upload material and that it would fight the charges.

RIAA spokesman Jonathan Lamy said that lockers were "generally the fastest growing form of Internet piracy."

Like other shutdowns, the interruption of Megaupload will send some pirates to rivals but should encourage others to buy or rent content legally, Lamy said.

"The realistic objective is not to eliminate piracy but to make it as inconvenient as possible," he said. "Some of the users you peel off."

The takedown enraged some Internet activists, who launched denial-of-service attacks that temporarily rendered websites of the Justice Department, FBI and big entertainment companies unreachable.

Some of them argued that the arrests showed that there was no need for laws like those that were withdrawn from consideration in Congress this week that would have made it much easier to block access to sites accused of fostering piracy.

But entertainment executives said that they would try again to pass such bills because they are aimed more at attacking demand rather than supply. In addition, many file-sharing sites do not have Megaupload's ties to the United States or allied countries.

"It is not hard necessarily to do something in New Zealand, but it is hard to get people in Russia and China," Bassetti said.

Related:

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46091286/ns/technology_and_science-security/

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After 6 months of famine Somali men return to farm

[unable to retrieve full-text content]MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) ? Six months after the U.N. declared Somalia's capital a famine zone, the number of refugees in the capital is dwindling, as most of the men have gone home to try to revive devastated herds and withered crops.

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-19-AF-Somalia/id-9661a192f62c47d99924398e182a1192

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Nadal into 4th round in Australia; knee is OK

Rafael Nadal of Spain serves to Lukas Lacko of Slovakia during their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill)

Rafael Nadal of Spain serves to Lukas Lacko of Slovakia during their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill)

Spain's Rafael Nadal makes a forehand return to Slovakia's Lukas Lacko during their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/John Donegan)

Spain's Rafael Nadal makes a backhand return to Slovakia's Lukas Lacko during their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill)

Spain's Rafael Nadal passes his towel to a ball boy during his third round match against Slovakia's Lukas Lacko at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/John Donegan)

A bird flies across Rod Laver Arena with food in it's mouth as Slovakia's Lukas Lacko looks on during his third round match against Spain's Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/John Donegan)

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) ? Rafael Nadal moved into the fourth round of the Australian Open without dropping a set or showing any signs that a freak knee injury is bothering him.

Second-ranked Nadal had a 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 win Friday over Slovakia's Lukas Lacko, the last qualifier in the draw, and will next play either John Isner or Feliciano Lopez.

Nadal, who won the 2009 Australian title but has gone out in the quarterfinals due to injuries in the last two years, felt a crack and then sharp pain in his right knee while sitting in a chair at his hotel on the weekend and was concerned that he might not be able to play in his opening match. Medical tests didn't show any serious damage, and he has had the knee heavily taped in his three matches since.

"The knee is fine ... fourth round here, and I have a good feeling," the 10-time major winner said.

Nadal is on the same half of the draw as Roger Federer at a major for the first time since 2005. Federer, who has won four of his 16 Grand Slam titles in Australia, was playing Ivo Karlovic in the following match on Rod Laver Arena.

On the women's side, top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki continued her quest for a first major title with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Monica Niculescu of Romania and third-seeded Victoria Azarenka beat beat Mona Barthel 6-2, 6-4 in a match between champions of two warmup tournaments.

Wozniacki, who needs to reach the quarterfinals to have any chance of retaining the No. 1 ranking, wasted one match point and was broken when she was serving for the match, but broke back immediately to ensure she moved into the Round of 16.

Azarenka, who beat French Open champion Li Na to win the Sydney International last week, has only lost eight games at Melbourne Park and remains one of three women who can overhaul Wozniacki for the top ranking at the Australian Open.

The 22-year-old from Belarus will next meet Czech player Iveta Benesova, who beat Russian qualifier Nina Bratchikova 6-1, 6-3.

Barthel was on a 10-match winning run in Australia after capturing her first title at the Hobart International last week as a qualifier.

Barthel hit 20 winners ? one more than Azarenka ? but she was broken three times and failed to convert three break opportunities.

Azarenka was annoyed with herself for needing five match points to finish off Barthel, and for running out of challenges before she really needed to review a line call in the last game.

"I've been playing in the end not brave enough to finish the match ... I had to get a little," angry, Azarenka said.

Andy Roddick is already out of the tournament, retiring during his second-round match against Australian veteran Lleyton Hewitt late Thursday.

He needed a medical timeout after injuring his right hamstring in the second set and played 16 more games before finally retiring when Hewitt gained a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 lead.

"It's a miserable, terrible thing being out there compromised like that," Roddick said.

The 29-year-old American knew he wouldn't be able to fool an opponent he was playing for the 14th time, one of the few players on the tour older than he is, somebody who was ranked No. 1 before he was and someone with one more Grand Slam title.

"He's a tough guy to play," said Roddick, now 7-7 against Hewitt for his career. "You can try to ham and egg it against a lot of guys. But he's really intelligent. He knew what was going on."

When he knew he needed to win two more sets to advance, he called the trainer, then walked over to shake Hewitt's hand.

"I was hitting the ball as well as I could from a compromised position and still felt like I was just hanging on," he said. "I don't know that it would have been smart to do that for two more sets. And if somehow you pull a rabbit out of the hat, I don't think you play in two days. If I'm looking at timelines, I think there's three weeks or so before I have to play again."

Hewitt, who turns 31 next month, goes to the third round against Milos Raonic, the big-serving, 21-year-old Canadian. If Hewitt eliminates an opponent who has dropped only two service games this year, he could face defending champion Novak Djokovic in the fourth round. Djokovic, who won three of the four major titles last year, kept getting better in his 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 win over Santiago Giraldo.

Fourth-seeded Andy Murray, who lost to Djokovic in last year's Australian final, ousted Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France 6-1, 6-4, 6-4. No. 5 David Ferrer beat American Ryan Sweeting 6-7 (4), 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, and No. 6 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga downed Ricardo Mello of Brazil 7-5, 6-4, 6-4.

Five-time Australian Open champion winner Serena Williams notched her 500th career singles victory Thursday when she beat Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-0, 6-4 in the second round.

"Five hundred is a lot of matches to play, let alone to win," she said, adding that the left ankle she badly sprained two weeks ago wasn't an issue. "It's totally fine. It was my good ankle, so I'm good."

Williams won the Australian Open in 2009 and 2010, but didn't defend her title in 2011 because she was injured.

No. 2 Petra Kvitova moved into the third round with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 win over Carla Suarez Navarro. Maria Sharapova, one of the three former champions in the women's draw, routed U.S. qualifier Jamie Hampton 6-0, 6-1. No. 7 Vera Zvonareva, a two-time semifinalist at Melbourne Park, No. 9 Marion Bartoli and No. 21 Ana Ivanovic all advanced.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-19-TEN-Australian-Open/id-d1a8853041644707a911e5f0a127fbaf

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Prez Primary Heats Up South Florida Politics

Getty Images

Republican presidential candidates from left to right: Texas Gov. Rick Perry, for U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and U.S. Rep. Ron Paul.

Florida politics heat up as Republicans will select their presidential candidate in just 14 days.
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The five Republican candidates squared off in a feisty debate in South Carolina last night with Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney trading barbs over super PAC TV commercials.

"Well, this is typical of what both Senator Santorum and I have complained about with Governor Romney's super PAC ? over which he apparently has no influence, which makes you wonder how much influence he'd have if he were president," Gingrich said.
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Romney also spoke of his dissatisfaction with the PAC commercials.
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"We all would like to have super PACs disappear, to tell you the truth ... but you know what? This campaign is not about ads, it's about issues," Romney said.
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The former Massachusetts governor and former House speaker lead the field in Florida.
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Romney is the only candidate running commercials in South Florida. His political machine is organized here.
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Fort Lauderdale attorney and Romney's statewide co-chairman, Justin Sayfie, says early and absentee voting have been the campaign's focus.
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More than 400,000 Florida republicans have requested absentee ballots, according to Sayfie.
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"Over 100,000 Republican voters have already voted, have already cast their ballots for who they want to be the presidential nominee," Sayfie said.
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Gingrich has also had a presence in South Florida, making an appearance in Little Havana last week.
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His Florida campaign director, Jose Mallea, told NBC Miami that Gingrich supporters are energized after his performance in last night's debate.
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"We're starting to hear from a lot of people that were undecided, whether it's Tea Party leaders or just volunteers and just voters, saying after last night, 'we feel strongly this is the right candidate,'" Mallea said.
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Romney enjoys a sizeable 41 percent to 26 percent lead over Gingrich in the latest Florida public policy polling survey. Eleven percent of those polled support former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. Texas Congressman Ron Paul garners 10 percent, while Texas Governor Rick Perry rounds out the field with 4 percent.

Posted Tuesday, Jan 17, 2012 - 6:53 PM EST

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Gingrich defends remarks on the poor, food stamps (AP)

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. ? Newt Gingrich is refusing to back down from comments he made about the poor.

In a debate Monday night in South Carolina, Gingrich was asked whether his previous remarks about food stamps and allowing children to work janitor jobs to instill a work ethic were "insulting," particularly to African Americans.

Gingrich replied that "only the elites despise earning money." The former House speaker said he won't stop raising the issues simply because liberals become uncomfortable.

Gingrich said he believes "every American of every background has been endowed by their creator with the right to pursue happiness."

And he said that he will "continue to find ways to help poor people "learn how to get a job, learn how to get a better job and learn someday to own the job."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120117/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_debate_gingrich_food_stamps

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Osborne discussed how Japan, UK can work with IMF on Europe

By Stanley White

TOKYO | Wed Jan 18, 2012 7:38am GMT

TOKYO (Reuters) - Chancellor George Osborne said on Wednesday he discussed with Japanese officials how Britain and Japan can work with Group of 20 countries and the International Monetary Fund to deal with Europe's sovereign debt crisis.

Osborne, who spoke after separate meetings with Japan's prime minister and finance minister, did not give details of their discussions on the issue.

Financial markets are on edge as mass ratings downgrades in Europe and pressure on Greece to secure a deal with its creditors over reduced interest payments on its debt threaten to worsen Europe's sovereign debt crisis and harm the global economy.

"We talked about the global economic situation and how Japan and Britain can work together through the G20 and the IMF in helping reduce the instability in the world," Osborne told reporters.

"We talked specifically about the euro zone crisis and what we need to see from euro zone countries in dealing with that crisis."

Osborne is visiting China and Japan this week in a drive to attract Asian investment and to lessen Britain's dependence on trade with the crisis-hit euro zone.

He said he talked with the Japanese ministers about Iran's nuclear ambitions and they agreed Iran should not have nuclear weapons.

Osborne also agreed with his Japanese counterpart Jun Azumi to seek ways to provide more resources to the IMF, depending on Europe's own efforts, a Japanese finance ministry official said.

The ministers also shared concern about the potential negative impact of the U.S. Volcker Rule on the global economy and financial markets, the official said.

The U.S. could reinforce sanctions against Iran by using the Volcker rule, which limits banks' trading, against firms that fail to comply. Tokyo is worried it could make trading in Japanese government bonds less attractive and profitable.

The two sides did not discuss currency issues, the official said. Japan has intervened in the currency market to sell the yen so as to protect its exporters, a potential source of friction with other governments who do not approve of such action.

U.S. rating agency Standard & Poor's cut its credit rating of the euro zone's EFSF rescue fund on Monday, following a mass downgrades three days earlier to nine of the 17 euro zone members, saying policymakers have not done enough to curb the two-year old sovereign debt crisis. Britain is outside the euro zone and maintains its top credit rating.

Greece risks going bankrupt when 14.5 billion euros (12 billion pounds) of bond redemptions fall due in late March. Without a private-sector bond swap involving a voluntary writedown, a 130 billion euro second international bailout for Greece could fall apart.

(Additional reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Joseph Radford and Michael Watson)

Source: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/01/18/uk-japan-osborne-imf-idUKTRE80H09B20120118?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews

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Anderson scores career-best 30, Magic beat Knicks

New York Knicks' Iman Shumpert, right, loses control of the ball while being crowded by teammate Landry Fields, center, and Orlando Magic's Dwight Howard during the first half of an NBA basketball game in New York, Monday, Jan. 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York Knicks' Iman Shumpert, right, loses control of the ball while being crowded by teammate Landry Fields, center, and Orlando Magic's Dwight Howard during the first half of an NBA basketball game in New York, Monday, Jan. 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York Knicks' Tyson Chandler dunks the ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Orlando Magic in New York, Monday, Jan. 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York Knicks' Carmelo Anthony, right, puts up a shot during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Orlando Magic in New York, Monday, Jan. 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

NEW YORK (AP) ? A wave of double-teams prevented Dwight Howard from the type of night he had in his previous game.

It also set up another big one for Ryan Anderson.

Anderson scored a career-high 30 points, extending his NBA lead with seven 3-pointers, and the Orlando Magic beat the New York Knicks 102-93 on Monday to complete a perfect four-game road trip.

Taking advantage of extra space as the Knicks focused on Howard, Anderson went 7 of 13 behind the arc and is now 40 of 93 for the season. He missed all three 3-point attempts in the first quarter, but finished with the NBA single-game high this season despite having a cold.

"Early in the game Ryan was missing, but he stuck with it and he played big for us tonight," Howard said.

JJ Redick added 21 points for the Magic, who won three games on the West Coast before finishing in New York and will play at home the next two nights to wrap up a stretch of three games in three nights.

Howard, who tied a career high with 45 points and set an NBA record by taking 39 free throws in Orlando's 117-109 win at Golden State on Thursday, was in foul trouble and finished with eight points and 10 rebounds. The Knicks swarmed him inside, with Tyson Chandler behind him and often bringing another big player to double him.

"He's getting double and triple-teamed at some points," Anderson said. "He's doing a great job keeping composure, being patient, finding guys on the perimeter, and we're moving the ball and that's why we got open shots tonight, just because of him."

So the Magic turned to their perimeter game, going 17 of 35 (49 percent) from 3-point range, trying the record for most allowed by the Knicks. Anderson and Hedo Turkoglu each made two in the fourth quarter, when the Magic took control after trailing most of the game.

"It's a matter of picking your poison," Redick said, "but obviously if we see something early on like tonight, they doubled from the get-go pretty much, that allowed us to really play through him, throwing the ball into him and not necessarily throwing it to him for him to score, but for other guys to get shots."

Carmelo Anthony had 33 points and eight rebounds in his return from a one-game absence with a sprained right ankle, but shot just 9 of 27. Toney Douglas and Iman Shumpert each scored 12 and Amare Stoudemire finished with 10, eight in the fourth quarter after also battling foul trouble.

The Knicks have lost three in a row. They opened a stretch of four home games in a six-game span with another poor shooting night, particularly when the Magic showed them zone defense.

"We're not making no shots right now. It seems like we can't shoot the ball in the ocean right now. Everybody. We get stops and then at the other end we can't score the basketball. I don't know what is it," Anthony said. "We've just got to get out of that shooting slump. We've got to start making shots and it makes it easy on the defensive end. We are playing defense but when you can't score the basketball it makes it hard."

The Knicks scored the first six points and led 23-17 after the first quarter, a lead they would maintain for most of the first three quarters. They were ahead 51-45 at halftime and still up six with 2? minutes left in the third period before the Magic scored the final four points to cut it to 75-73.

New York led for the final time at 85-83 on Stoudemire's dunk with 7:42 remaining. Jameer Nelson made a free throw before Turkoglu and Anderson nailed consecutive 3-pointers for a 90-85 advantage. The Knicks got within three with about 3? minutes left, but Redick scored four straight points to put it away.

Obviously, 17 3s is not going to help you," Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said. "You've got to give them credit. Ryan Anderson made a couple that were tough looks but they made them. First half they didn't make them. They're a hard team to guard."

Turkoglu scored 15 points for Orlando, which has won 14 of last 17 meetings.

NOTES: The Knicks fell to 18-8 on Martin Luther King Day. ... Though unclear exactly what the process would be, D'Antoni said Baron Davis could take part in full practices soon, perhaps next week. The point guard hasn't played since the Knicks signed him because of a herniated disc in his back. ... Jason Richardson sat out with a bone bruise of his left knee.

Associated Press

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Hollywood Golden Age a hot look at Golden Globes (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? Timeless elegance, fitted bodices and mermaid trains ruled the Golden Globes' red carpet on Sunday as A-list celebrities channeled old-style Hollywood glamour.

Angelina Jolie looked like Grace Kelly in her white-satin Atelier Versace gown with a twist of Marlene Dietrich thanks to a red fold over collar, matching red lips and red clutch. "Modern Family" actress Sofia Vergara seemed Jayne Mansfield-esque in her strapless teal Vera Wang gown, ruffled train and Harry Winston jewels.

Charlize Theron could have passed for Lana Turner back in her heyday in Dior Couture with a plunging neckline and thigh-high slit dress, while Evan Rachel Wood was a modern-day Joan Crawford in her sparkling green Gucci Premiere gown, also with a plunging neckline.

"It's old Hollywood glamour. We've never seen this many 40s-style fit and flare dresses," said style expert and TV host Sam Saboura. "It's all about the mermaid shape, the hour-glass shape."

Saboura cited Jolie, Theron, Wood, Vergara, Reese Witherspoon, Kate Beckinsale, Rooney Mara, Salma Hayek, Elle McPherson and Debra Messing as just a handful of actresses who opted for some sort of "fit and flare" dress, many with embellished fishtails of ruffles, tules or feathers.

"So many women wore pink! " said designer Rachel Pally, referring to the likes of Theron, McPherson, Mary J. Blige, Octavia Spencer, Natalie Portman, Sarah Paulson and Heidi Klum.

"Pink is a tricky color to pull off because it can often come across as too cute or too young. But it was great to see different shades of pink, like soft blushes and pastels. They were pretty without being too sweet," Pally said.

PASTEL TO PURPLE

Saboura said pastels will be big in fashion this coming spring, as seen in the soft pinks and lavenders, but he noted that many fashion-forward stars were already skipping to fall 2012 on the red carpet, choosing to wear dark, rich colors.

Vergara, Freida Pinto, French actress Berenice Bejo, Tilda Swinton, Helen Mirren and Madeleine Stowe opted for dark blues or peacock tones. Burgundys and rich purples were favored by Michelle Williams, Viola Davis, Juliana Margulies, Emma Stone and Tina Fey, while greens were seen on Melissa McCarthy, Laura Dern and Kelly Macdonald.

"Headbands were also a trend, whether you like them or not," observed Saboura of the accessory worn by Theron and Williams. "With films like 'The Artist' and the forthcoming 'The Great Gatsby,' this is just the beginning of this type of '20s style that we're going to see."

But the consensus among experts seemed to be that Jolie's red fold over collar and matching red lips and clutch purse was among the most stunning looks of the night.

"She looked amazing," said celebrity designer Bruno Schiavi. "The top of the dress was very structured -- I bet it had some corsetry inside -- with a small train at the bottom that was not too over done. She wanted people to look at that red accent with the color red being daring, dangerous and sexy. She was very much 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith,' but not too overdone because she's still a mum."

(Reporting by Zorianna Kit; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Sandra Maler)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/fashion/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120116/en_nm/us_goldenglobes_fashion

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Pet-friendly Housing Suggestions for You and Your Pets | Articles ...

Having your favorite pet at your house could be a rewarding experience, but it's also important that you treat it right. However , before you plan to bring a new pet in your home, make sure that your place is totally safe for it. Though most homes aren't specifically built pet-friendly, they generally feature an environment that isn?t ideal for the pets. However , apartments can be transformed to transform them into more of pet-friendly housing, so making certain complete security and health to the pets. Before purchasing your Melbourne Florida real estate lisiting, make sure you use these tips to ensure your pet will have a good spot to live:

If you're not prepared to incur huge investments in complete redesigning, you can simply add in certain parts that can make your house acceptable for your pets. Nonetheless if you're a pet lover and building a new house, or buying a house, ensure that you choose a pet-friendly housing style that's both cosy and convenient for you and your pet also.

There are particular vital factors that have to be considered basically in developing a pet-friendly housing style. These elements are illuminated below:

Floors ? The floors are more susceptible to be influenced by the pets, because on being in regular contact with the pet, these are more prone to scratches. The wooden floors are way easier to maintain with the pets than the carpets. The standard medium to light finishing for the wooden floors can be highly efficient in minimising the scratches. The ceramic floor tiling is also acceptable as laid out in the pet-friendly housing style is concerned. Not only it appears to be great and attractive, but also doesn't scratch, and offers a pleasing cooling surface for the ultra-furry pets.

Stain-resistant Fabric ? The owners who do not love the sight of shedding pet hairs, can select rugs, fabrics, and non-toxic carpet materials that are healthy for them, and also match with the color of the pet?s fur.

Windows ? It's very important to avoid pooling drapery, vertical blinds, long cords, or baroque tassels in the windows, because the pets can get easily caught in these while playing, and strangle himself.

Room Space ? Eliminate small crawling spaces in your pet-friendly housing, because tiny pets can easily crawl thru these spaces, and then can't come up with a way to come out of it.

Water Bowl ? If you out of the house the majority of the time, you can invest in a re-filling water bowl for your pets, so ensuring the pets aren't left dry in your absence.

If the pets are exposed to the rear yard also , make sure that it is well-fenced, or utilize a leash to guarantee better security of your cherished pet. Depending on the requirements, you can add in more components to your pet-friendly housing style.

Having a pet doesn't complete your responsibilities; it is utmost crucial that you take excellent care of it, and provide it a pet-friendly housing environment to ensure health and happiness. While bringing in a new pet in the house includes plenty of delight, it's also crucial that you make the house safe for it in priority. Human health conditions are not similar to that of the pets, and so, your housing style or design may not fit your pets. So, it is critical that you make the house pet-friendly to make it a better place to live in.

This document was supplied by Sean L Jay who makes a speciality of selling real esate for sale in Palm Bay FLand other areas including real estate for sale in Cocoa Beach FL. He has much experience when handling pet friendly properties, and you can learn more by visiting his web site.

Source: http://www.portalarticle.com/pets-and-animals/pet-friendly-housing-suggestions-for-you-and-your-pets/

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iPhone 4S launch in China draws large crowds, unnecessary violence and SWAT teams (video)

No Apple product launch is complete without long lines, frustration and utter exhaustion. Unfortunately, the arrival of the iPhone 4S has escalated this reality to a new level in China. We're now reading reports of fights breaking out between competing gangs of scalpers in the country, each hoping to get their hands on large quantities of Cupertino's latest smartphone. The conflicts have been significant enough to attract the attention of Chinese police, and we now hear that the Apple Store in Beijing is keeping its doors locked in attempt to make the crowds leave. While we've yet hear of any significant injuries, it seems the company's storefront is now coated with plenty of eggs. If you're interested to keep track of the unfortunate situation, you'll find more coverage below and a video after the break.

Continue reading iPhone 4S launch in China draws large crowds, unnecessary violence and SWAT teams (video)

iPhone 4S launch in China draws large crowds, unnecessary violence and SWAT teams (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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50 Cent Says He Posted Photo-Shopped Images Of Jay-Z & Beyonce's Newborn To Stop Followers From Mocking (omg!)

50 Cent is clearing the air about a post to his Twitter page that appeared to mock Jay-Z and Beyonce's baby Blue Ivy Carter. The post showed photos of a baby with the rapper's face photo-shopped over the infant.

But 50 Cent's rep tells AccessHollywood.com that he "did not post the image. He was not mocking Jay-Z or Beyonce but instead was trying to discourage his followers from doing so."

PLAY IT NOW: Dana Delany Dishes On Working With 50 Cent On ?Freelancers?

After Tweeting a link to the pictures, along with the message, "[Y'all] play [too] much congratulations to JAYZ and Beyonce BABY #BlueIvyCarter IS GEORGOUS," 50 said he only re-Tweeted the photos in an effort to stop his fans from ridiculing the newborn.

"I would never make a picture like that its all over my time line," he later wrote. "[Y'all] play [too] much I'm sure Jay is the happiest he's ever been in his life."

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Jay-Z

The "In Da Club" rapper also remembered his own fond memories of becoming a first-time father.

"I remember when MARQUISE was born I was so happy," 50 Tweeted. "I want to have another kid one day."

Copyright 2012 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Hollywood?s Infamous Celeb Feuds

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The Very Real Scaremongering of Ari Levaux

Recently, food columnist Ari Levaux wrote what can only be described as a completely unscientific article in The Atlantic claiming that microRNAs (miRNAs) are a ?very real danger of GMOs.? I won?t go point by point through the horrendous inaccuracies in his piece, as Emily Willingham has more than hacked them to bits. But I do want to make a short comment on this idea that miRNAs are dangerous, and thus something we should worry about when it comes to what we eat.

Every plant and animal out there produces miRNAs. We, for example, are thought to produce thousands. These teeny-tiny snippets of RNA serve regulatory roles in our cells, attaching to bits of messenger RNA and causing changes in expression of different proteins. They are far from evil: indeed, miRNAs are necessary for cells to function properly.

Can miRNAs we eat alter our gene expression? Well, yes. That was the incredible scientific discovery made by the Chinese research team that was recently published in Cell Research. But to make the leap from ?miRNAs we eat can alter gene expression? to ?GMOs are dangerous? requires unbelievable gaps in understanding about GMOs and miRNAs.

First off, there?s no reason to think that the DNA being introduced into GMOs is going to produce more/different miRNAs than it did in the original organism. Ari?s claim that ?new DNA can have dangerous implications far beyond the products it codes for? simply isn?t true because miRNAs are coded for. These small RNA fragments aren?t random or accidental ? they are explicitly detailed within the genome. So a stretch of DNA that didn?t code any miRNAs before isn?t going to suddenly code for a ton of them when it?s placed in a different genome. If we?re worried about potential miRNA effects, we can screen genes we are considering transferring and determine if there is any chance they produce miRNAs before we shuffle around which organism they are in. Indeed, GMOs are tested genetically, to ensure that the target gene has incorporated properly and that the organism is producing the desired protein, and not unexpected products. Genetic modification is a very precise process, and there is no reason to think it would cause a sudden burst of miRNAs.

But perhaps more fundamentally, miRNAs are found in all kinds of life, including every single species that we currently eat. There?s no logical reason that a new miRNA being produced by a GM plant is going to be more dangerous than the multitude of miRNAs we ingest when we eat the non-GM version.

In fact, the potential side effects of non-GM food is, very explicitly, what the Chinese research team showed: that of the millions of miRNAs we eat every day, at least a few make it from our stomachs into our blood, and that a specific one from ordinary rice can change the expression of genes in mice. So if miRNAs are dangerous ? guess what? ? you?re already ingesting them every time you eat. And, to get a little gross, let?s be clear: when we eat something, we don?t just ingest the miRNAs from the species we intentionally eat. Did you know, for example, that foods you eat are allowed to contain mold, hair, insect parts, and even rat poop? All of those bits of organisms which we inadvertently eat have DNA, and ? you guessed it! ? miRNAs, too. If miRNAs are so dangerous, we would never have been able to eat anything previously alive in the first place.

But we can eat other organisms, and we will continue to, because, simply put, miRNAs aren?t that dangerous.

Perhaps what ticks me off most, though, is that Ari?s scaremongering overshadows the very real and interesting implications of the science he failed to cover. The notion that miRNAs may drive some of the interaction between us and our food is incredibly new and totally cool. As the authors write, their research suggests that ?miRNAs may represent a novel class of universal modulators that play an important role in mediating animal-plant interactions at the molecular level. Like vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients derived from food sources, plant miRNAs may serve as a novel functional component of food and make a critical contribution to maintaining and shaping animal body structure and function.?

What if some of the benefits of drinking wine aren?t from the antioxidants, but from the miRNAs present in grapes? What if we can produce beneficial miRNAs, and take them like we do vitamins? Or reduce the expression of harmful ones? Suddenly, we have been given a sneak peek at a whole new facet of nutrition science that we didn?t even know existed. The amazing implications of this research ? not some ludicrous and tenuous connection to anti-GMO propaganda ? should have been what The Atlantic highlighted. Instead, they made a fool of themselves by allowing Ari Levaux to expose just how poorly he understands genetics.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=a176e9e689264e6ff517974cf6ba4ab0

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New Hampshire???s Voting Demographics Similar to Iowa, Only Smaller (ContributorNetwork)

As GOP candidates for president get ready for the New Hampshire presidential primary on Tuesday, they will face a similar demographic only on a smaller scale. Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul will try to convince Republican voters one of them is the right choice to become the nominee against President Barack Obama in November.

Here's a comparison of New Hampshire and the primary election versus the Iowa caucus.

* Iowa has a population of just more than 3 million people. New Hampshire has just 1.3 million people, about 43 percent of Iowa's population. Iowa is also much bigger. There are 99 counties that hold elections in the Midwestern state vs. just 10 in New Hampshire.

* Despite the larger population, residents of New Hampshire may be more politically active. In the 2012 Iowa caucus, the Des Moines Register reported the top five candidates received 115,000 votes. In the 2008 New Hampshire primary, the New York Times reported top five GOP candidates got over 229,000 votes. Perhaps the difference is in the process of choosing candidates. The Iowa caucus lasts for just a few hours in the evening. The New Hampshire primary is an election that goes all day long.

* New Hampshire and Iowa are both similar in the racial makeup of the states. Most of the populations are Caucasian and between the ages of 21 and 49. In 2007, there was a 30 percent growth in minority populations from 2000 to 2006.

* In the 2008 election, new voters accounted for 321,000 people in New Hampshire. There were an estimated 991,000 voters in New Hampshire during the state's last presidential election cycle.

* In the 2008 general election, over 700,000 people voted in an extraordinary voter turnout. Obama won with 384,826 voters over Sen. John McCain with 316,534.

* New Hampshire's polling places are open at various hours throughout the day. It depends upon the city or town in which voters live as to when polls open and close.

* The Granite State is mandated by state law to be the first presidential primary election in the United States. The first primary was held in 1916. A law was passed in 1999 that mandates New Hampshire's primary election must be held at least a week before the next primary election in the United States. Because Iowa is a state that holds caucuses throughout the state, Iowa's caucus date doesn't count.

William Browning is a research librarian specializing in U.S. politics. Born in St. Louis, Browning is active in local politics and served as a campaign volunteer for President Barack Obama and Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120108/pl_ac/10806303_new_hampshires_voting_demographics_similar_to_iowa_only_smaller

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