Neeson's 'The Grey' tops box office with $20M (AP)

NEW YORK ? Beware the Liam in Winter. Liam Neeson's "The Grey" topped the weekend box office with $20 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, continuing the actor's success as an action star in the winter months.

The Alaskan survivalist thriller opened above expectations with a performance on par with previous Neeson thrillers "Taken" and "Unknown." Those films, both January-February releases, opened with $24.7 million and $21.9 million, respectively.

But the R-rated "The Grey," which has received good reviews, drove home the strong appeal of Neeson, action star. It's an unlikely turn for the 59-year-old Neeson, previously better known for his dramatic performances, like those in "Schindler's List" and "Kinsey."

"Liam is a true movie star, period," said Tom Ortenberg, CEO of Open Road Films. It's the second release for the newly formed distributor, created by theater chains AMC and Regal.

"My guess is that Liam Neeson in action thrillers would work just about any time of year."

January is often a dumping ground for less-stellar releases, a tradition held up by two badly reviewed new wide releases: "Man on a Ledge," with Sam Worthington, and "One for the Money" with Katherine Heigl.

"One for the Money" fared better, earning $11.8 million, while "Man on a Ledge" opened with $8.3 million.

Those were reasonably solid returns, and, in an unusual twist, were both ultimately for Lions Gate Entertainment. Its film studio, Lionsgate, released the romantic comedy "One for the Money." The action thriller "Man on a Ledge" was released by Summit Entertainment, which Lions Gate bought for $412.5 million earlier this month.

"One for the Money" was helped by a promotion with Groupon, the Internet discount site, with which Lionsgate previously partnered for "The Lincoln Lawyer." David Spitz, head of distribution for Lionsgate, said the large number of older, female subscribers of Groupon matched well with the audience of "One for the Money."

Groupon email blasts, he said, had a significant promotional effect.

Last week's box-office leader, "Underworld: Awakenings," Sony's Screen Gem's latest installment in its vampire series, came in second with $12.5 million, bringing its cumulative total to $45.1 million.

The unexpectedly large haul for "The Grey," strong holdovers (such as the George Lucas-produced World War II action film "Red Tails," which earned $10.4 million in its second week) and the bump for Oscar contending films following Tuesday's nominations added up to a good weekend for Hollywood. The box office was up about 15 percent on the corresponding weekend last year.

So far, every weekend this year has been an "up" weekend, after a somewhat dismal fourth quarter in 2011.

"`Mission: Impossible,' I think, really helped reinvigorate the marketplace, and that's carried over into the first part of the year," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "That's good news for Hollywood after the down-trending box office of 2011."

Oscar favorites "The Descendants," "Hugo" and "The Artist" sought to capitalize on their recent Academy Awards nominations. Each expanded to more theaters and saw an uptick in business.

Fox Searchlight's "The Descendants," which is nominated for five Oscars including best picture, added 1,441 screens in its 11th week of release. It added $6.6 million and has now made $58.8 million, making it one of Fox Searchlight's most successful releases.

Sheila DeLoach, senior vice president of distribution for Fox Searchlight, said the film's nominations and its recent Golden Globes wins (for best drama and best actor, George Clooney) "played a big role" in its weekend box office.

Paramount's "Hugo," which led Oscar nominations with 11 including best picture, saw a 143 percent jump in business over its last weekend. In its tenth week of release, it earned $2.3 million, bringing its total to $58.7 million.

The Weinstein Co.'s "The Artist," with 10 Oscar nominations including best picture, expanded a modest 235 screens to bring it to a total of 897 screens in its 10th week of release. It earned $3.3 million, with a total of $16.7 million.

The Weinstein Co. is being careful with the black-and-white, largely silent film. Thus far, it has appealed particularly to older audiences.

"It's not the same type of picture as any other picture in the marketplace," said Erik Loomis, head of distribution for the Weinstein Co. "Now that the nominations are out, we're going to look to capitalize on it as best we can. ... We're being very, very meticulous with it. We're not throwing it out there and grabbing every theater we can. At some point, we'll open the floodgates on the movie, maybe closer to the awards."

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "The Grey," $20 million.

2. "Underworld: Awakening," $12.5 million.

3. "One for the Money," $11.8 million.

4. "Red Tails," $10.4 million.

5. "Man on a Ledge," $8.3 million.

6. "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close," $7.1 million.

7. "The Descendants," $6.6 million.

8. "Contraband," $6.5 million.

9. "Beauty and the Beast," $5.3 million.

10. "Haywire," $4 million.

___

Online:

http://www.hollywood.com/boxoffice

___

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by Rainbow Media Holdings, a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corp.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_en_mo/us_box_office

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Video: Buy Citi, Sell BofA?

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/46191864/

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Abbott wins 3rd US title with mesmerizing grace

Jeremy Abbott salutes the crowd after his routine in the men's free skate at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Jeremy Abbott salutes the crowd after his routine in the men's free skate at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Jeremy Abbott laughs while holding up his first place medal after winning the men's free skate event at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Jeremy Abbott competes in the men's free skate at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Jeremy Abbott competes in the men's free skate at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Jeremy Abbott competes in the men's free skate at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) ? Rust will no longer be Johnny Weir and Olympic champion Evan Lysacek's only worry if they come back.

Jeremy Abbott proved he's capable of contending with the best in the world ? past and present ? in winning his third title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Sunday. Needing only to stay on his feet to claim the title, he put on a sublime display of quiet elegance and superior skill that was simply bewitching.

"I skate to give a performance like that and so I felt really good," Abbott said. "I was really nervous when I started, I was shaking a little bit. But from the second I set for the quad I was like, 'I'm going to do this.' I just really took it into my hands and made sure that I did what I needed to do."

His final score of 273.58 was the highest ever at the U.S. championships, and puts him within striking distance of world champion Patrick Chan. It was about 12 points better than 2006 Olympic champion Evgeni Plushenko scored in winning his seventh European title Saturday.

Adam Rippon, a two-time junior world champion, was second. Ross Miner finished third for a second straight year.

Earlier Sunday, Caydee Denney and John Coughlin won their first pairs title together after winning the previous two years with other partners.

The U.S. men have been in a bit of a funk without Lysacek and Weir the past two years. No one's come close to winning a medal at the world championships, and the Americans did so poorly last year they actually lost the third spot they've had since 2002.

Abbott is one of the most technically sound skaters in the world, with beautiful edges that carve the ice like a master craftsman and perfect body control. He's also one of the few skaters who has managed to maintain the balance between the performance quality that makes figure skating so entertaining and the tough physical tricks the system now demands. But he's never been commanded the international respect Lysacek and Weir did, flopping at the 2009 world championships and again at the Vancouver Olympics.

Even last year, when the U.S. title was there for his taking with Lysacek and Weir gone, Abbott struggled so mightily he failed to even make the world team.

But Abbott is a different man now, and the rest of the world ? Lysacek and Weir included ? would do well to take notice.

"When I was competing with (Lysacek and Weir), both had these larger-than-life personalities and took all the attention," Abbott said. "I really feel I've come into my own. I feel like, with them coming back, it would be just like any other competition. Personally I wouldn't feel any different with them than without them."

Abbott landed the only quadruple jump of the day, and his spins were so tight and perfectly centered that coaches will no doubt be asking for a DVD of them. But it was his presence that was truly spectacular. He picked the music for his free skate, a Muse song that he found on his iPod. He played a part in the choreography, too, resulting in perfect harmony between skater and song. It was as if he let the music wash over him and tell his skates what to do. The audience was so spellbound you could hear his blades carving the ice, and it wasn't until the final notes of his music faded that fans erupted in applause.

Abbott, meanwhile, was so caught up in his own moment that he stood at center ice for a good 10 seconds, not moving a muscle.

"I really at that moment was just feeling the energy of the audience. It was a cool moment to see," Abbott said. "I've won this twice before but both times it was a little surreal and I didn't get the opportunity to take it all in. This time I was lucid and calm. I got to take in the moment and the energy.

"No tears were shed," he cracked. "I was just really enjoying the moment."

The only damper on his day was news that his stepfather, Allen Scott, had blacked out during his performance. The 64-year-old Scott was taken to a hospital, and Abbott said he was able to talk with him.

"His heart rate is down. His blood pressure is really high, but he's coherent," Abbott said. "He's OK and my whole family is with him."

If Abbott comes remotely close to this performance at the world championships in March, it will go a long way toward regaining that third spot. Abbott and Rippon will need to finish with a combined placement of 13 or better.

"It's very important to our federation and other skaters," Rippon said. "But going into worlds, it won't be my focus. This competition was about getting all the monkeys off my back and being able to move forward from that. I know I'm capable of a lot more than I did today and hope that I can show that (at worlds)."

Rippon will need a bit more energy than he had Sunday, when he skated tentative and flat, as if he was trying to hold onto his spot on the podium rather than move up.

He's lucky he didn't get a ticket for loitering as he geared up for a triple axel-step-double toe combination, holding his edge on the entry for what seemed like forever and leaving no doubts about what was coming. Not only did he not do his planned quadruple salchow, he only did a double. A well-done double but a double nonetheless, with nowhere near the point value of a quad or even a triple.

What saved Rippon was his artistry. He has the extension of a ballet dancer, and he used every part of his body, from the tips of his toes to the top of his head, to express his music.

"It wasn't completely perfect, but I'm very proud of what I did," Rippon said.

Armin Mahbanoozadeh, a distant third after the short program, needed a strong effort to have any chance of overtaking Rippon and making the world team. He went the opposite direction, instead, dropping off the podium after taking a big splat on his quadruple toe attempt and turning out on the landings of two other jumps.

Miner took advantage, moving up a spot with a strong program that had only one error, a fall on a triple axel.

Denney and Coughlin had won the last two U.S. titles, each with a different partner. They teamed up in May and, even in a sport where couples have all the stability of Jell-O, their matchup came just three weeks after Coughlin and Caitlin Yankowskas finished sixth at the world championships.

Clearly, though, Denney and Coughlin knew what they were doing. As good as each other was with someone else, they're that much better together. Their performance Sunday was one of the best of the entire week in any discipline, any event. The highlight was their carry lift. Coughlin carried Denney three-quarters of the way around the rink, and did it with such speed and strength she looked as light as a feather pillow. Midway through, she switched positions, turning in the opposite direction of the way he was skating.

You know how tough it is to pat your head and rub your stomach at the same time? Try that, times 10.

"I've been dreaming all week about doing that carry after skating clean and that feeling from the audience," Coughlin said. "Oh, I had so much fun."

___

Follow Nancy Armour at http://www.twitter.com/nrarmour

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-29-US%20Championships/id-7f26ce35e34a4bf5b186e5518334c86b

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Motorola Droid Razr Maxx Review: 4G LTE With Solid Battery Life Just Got Real

The Droid Razr Maxx by Motorola is a very special phone. You see, I had a bit of a thing for the Droid Razr when it first came out, but it wasn't quite perfect. It felt a bit light, and I had trouble holding it in my hand since it was so big and so thin at the same time. Plus, battery life was a bust. It wasn't awful, but it only lasted about nine hours, meaning most people would need to bring a charger along every day. The Droid Razr Maxx throws all those problems into the trash can, and only gains about 18g and 1.89mm in return.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/SUtxNDfVm3k/

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McGee's leads Wizards over Bobcats again 102-99 (AP)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. ? JaVale McGee scored 22 points and had 10 rebounds as the Washington Wizards defeated the Charlotte Bobcats for the second time in a week, 102-99 on Saturday night.

The matchup between two teams tied for the fewest wins in the NBA came down to the final shot, but Matt Carroll's 3-point attempt at the buzzer fell short.

McGee had a chance to seal the game with less than 6 seconds to go, but missed two foul shots. But that was about all McGee didn't do right, as shot 9 of 14 from the field. Like many others this season, McGee exposed Charlotte's poor interior defense, using an effective hook shot in the lane.

John Wall added 13 points and 10 assists for the Wizards (4-16).

The Wizards also got 21 points from Nick Young, while reserves Trevor Booker and Jordan Crawford chipped in with 16 and 12 points, respectively.

Kemba Walker became the third Bobcats (3-18) player to register a triple-double, recording 20 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. The 6-foot-1 Walker joined Stephen Jackson and Boris Diaw as the only players in franchise history to record such a feat.

Diaw, back in the starting lineup for the Bobcats, had 21 points and 10 assists. Byron Mullens scored 23 points, while Carroll and Tyrus Thomas each added 13.

The Bobcats have lost eight straight.

The Wizards held the lead for most of the game, but the Bobcats battled back from 12 points down to take the lead at 92-90 on a dunk by Mullens. But that lead was short-lived as McGee hit a running hook in the lane two possessions later to give the Wizards a 96-94 lead they would never relinquish.

Trailing 102-99 with 41.2 seconds left, the Bobcats had a chance to tie, but burned almost the entire 24-second clock unable to get a look at an open 3-pointer as the Wizards stepped up the defense. Eventually, Diaw drove the lane but missed and McGee quickly grabbed the rebound.

The Bobcats immediately fouled.

McGee missed both shots and the Bobcats called timeout with 4.6 seconds left.

Carroll got a good look on the ensuing inbounds play, but his 3-point attempt to tie the game hit off the front rim.

Notes: Washington shot 53 percent from the field and won despite being outrebounded by the smaller Bobcats 42-32. ... The Bobcats were playing without five players, including their two leading scorers: Gerald Henderson and D.J. Augustin. Augustin has missed the last four games with a toe injury, while Henderson sat out after re-injuring his back in Friday night's loss to the 76ers.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_sp_bk_ga_su/bkn_wizards_bobcats

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Insert Coin: Dash car stereo gives your iPhone a new home, away from the cupholder (video)

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line.

We're pretty fond of new ways to integrate smartphones with car stereos here at Engadget, which is why we're particularly intrigued by a new Kickstarter project called Dash. Unlike MirrorLink, which reflects a phone's interface onto a larger touchscreen, this nifty creation puts the smartphone front and center in the stereo itself. While the Dash will initially support only the iPhone 4 / 4S and iPod Touch -- which connects via the dock connector -- the company seems ambitious to target other platforms in the future.

The Dash comes in two parts, the double-DIN stereo itself, along with a detachable aluminum faceplate that's held to the main unit with neodymium magnets. The only interface element is a volume knob, as every other interaction is performed on the iPhone's 3.5-inch display -- just promise to keep your eyes on the road when you sort through your tunes. The stereo contains four 50W channels and two 2V preamps. The Dash is currently projected to ship in July for $300, but a $250 donation serves as a discounted preorder right now. It'll be available in a variety of colors, which you can peep in the gallery below, and be sure to check out the project's video after the break.

Gallery: Insert Coin: Dash car stereo

Continue reading Insert Coin: Dash car stereo gives your iPhone a new home, away from the cupholder (video)

Insert Coin: Dash car stereo gives your iPhone a new home, away from the cupholder (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink OhGizmo!  |  Kickstarter, Devium  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/wxhZXtLh8lU/

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Sea Water Could Cause Uranium Pollution From Nuclear Fuel Rods

New submitter Required Snark writes "UC Davis researchers have found a mechanism where the sodium in sea water can cause uranium nano-particles to be released from nuclear reactor fuel rods. Normally the uranium oxide compounds composing the rods are very resistant to leaching into water. This could have serious consequences for the Fukushima disaster, since sea water was used for emergency cooling."

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/wVNl4QU05jI/sea-water-could-cause-uranium-pollution-from-nuclear-fuel-rods

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LaHood flips on Senate bill (Politico)

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood walked back from comments Wednesday that he doesn?t think the House and Senate can bridge their differences on a major rewrite of the nation?s surface transportation policy.

Speaking at the Washington Auto Show on?Thursday, LaHood praised the Senate?s work on a two-year bill crafted by Senate Environment?and Public Works Committee?Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and top Republican Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), but the secretary was largely silent on the House bill.

Continue Reading

?What I said that wasn?t printed was that we?ve had extraordinary leadership in the Senate. Sen. Boxer produced a bill with Sen. Inhofe. It?s a bipartisan bill. It was voted out of committee, the environmental committee, 18-0. Now none of that got in the story,? LaHood said of a Washington Post story about his remarks?Wednesday at the Transportation Research Board conference.

The Post quoted LaHood telling the TRB audience that ?I believe we?ll probably have to wait until next year to get to a surface transportation bill because of the huge differences,? including wide gaps on how to pay for the bill and how long it should last.

?I want to make sure everybody understands the Senate has worked hard on a transportation bill and they?re bringing their bill to the floor. I spoke with Sen. Boxer about that today and I complimented her on a bill that got voted out of her committee 18-0. Unheard of in the halls of Congress,? he said.

About two hours earlier, Boxer defended LaHood at a separate press conference. ?I think he feels a little differently now because he felt that he was not exactly quoted correctly,? she said.

LaHood mentioned that House Transportation?and Infrastructure Committee?Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) is moving ahead with his bill, but didn?t offer the outright praise he gave Boxer?s bill. The House version will be paid for partly through opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration, a nonstarter with the Obama administration and most Democrats.

?So we?ve got the president, we?ve got the chairman in the House, we?ve got the chairman in the Senate all talking about a surface transport bill. Hallelujah! Maybe we?ll get a bill this year. I have my fingers crossed,? LaHood said.

The House and Senate bills have many things in common like program consolidation at the Department of Transportation and a large expansion of the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan program. But the House is eyeing five years, more than twice as long as the Senate bill.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told Boxer that the banking and Finance committees will take up their portions of the bill next week, Boxer said Thursday. The House T&I Committee will mark up its bill on Feb. 2.

Burgess Everett contributed to this report.

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 4:16 p.m. on January 26, 2012.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/politico_rss/rss_politico_mostpop/http___www_politico_com_news_stories0112_72042_html/44319814/SIG=11mmbuicv/*http%3A//www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/72042.html

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Turkish state TV airs Holocaust film (AP)

ANKARA, Turkey ? Turkey has marked the international Holocaust Remembrance Day by airing a French epic documentary about the Holocaust.

TRT television's documentary channel showed filmmaker Claude Lanzmann's "Shoah" late on Thursday, on the eve of the remembrance day.

The filmaker said this is the first time the film was broadcast on state television in a Muslim country.

The documentary was aired as part of a campaign to promote understanding between Jews and Muslims and to fight Holocaust denial.

In March, a Los Angeles-based Farsi satellite channel had also broadcast the 9-plus-hour documentary in Iran, where President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has questioned historical accounts of the Holocaust.

Lanzmann worked for 11 years on the film, which was released in 1985.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_re_eu/eu_turkey_holocaust_film

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Upbeat and on a roll, Obama showing some swagger (AP)

CHANDLER, Ariz. ? If President Barack Obama is showing some swagger, it shouldn't be a surprise.

His job approval ratings point to an uptick. The Navy SEAL unit that killed Osama bin Laden just pulled off a daring rescue that Obama authorized in Somalia. He's fresh off a big speech before Congress, and the Republicans who want his job are criticizing each other probably more than they are Obama.

As he hits the road for three days of travel to important political states, Obama is on a roll.

Feeling good, he even tried his hand at a bit of public crooning a few days ago, channeling the Rev. Al Green to a fundraising crowd at the Apollo Theater in New York and securing the highest of pop culture distinction: a ring tone.

It could be a fleeting moment for Obama. While the economy is improving with indicators trending positively, unemployment remains high at 8.5 percent and international debt crises and tensions could unravel the gains. A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows signs of increasing optimism that the economy will improve with 37 percent saying it will get better in the next year, the highest level in that poll in more than a year.

For now, Obama is not hiding his upbeat demeanor.

Arriving in Iowa on Wednesday, he jogged, grinning, to a rope line of a couple of dozen supporters. He later expressed nostalgia for the days in 2007 when he was campaigning in Iowa, and he struck a defiant tone against congressional Republicans that was even sharper than the repudiation he offered Tuesday night in his State of the Union address.

"Our economy is getting stronger, and we've come too far to turn back now," he told workers and guests at a conveyor manufacturing plant in Cedar Rapids. Speaking of Republicans, he said, "Their philosophy is simple: We're better off when everyone is left to fend for themselves and play by their own rules."

"Well, I am here to say they are wrong," he said.

In a stop later in the day in Arizona, Obama stripped off his jacket and joked about the warm weather to a crowd at an Intel chip plant, seeming to revel in being out on the stump.

He even mixed it up with the state's Republican governor, Jan Brewer, confronting her over how she depicted him in her book. Reporters witnessed the two in intense conversation after Brewer greeted Obama on the tarmac at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, and Brewer later said it was over a passage in her book in which she describes Obama as lecturing her over immigration.

A White House official said Obama, who opposes Arizona's controversial immigration law, responded to an invitation from Brewer to meet with her by telling the governor he'd be glad to, but adding that Brewer had inaccurately described their last meeting in her book.

The spring in his step comes as polls show slight improvement in his job approval ratings. A Washington Post/ABC poll last week had him evenly split 48-48 on that question. A Gallup tracking poll has him even in recent surveys, compared with a few months ago when more disapproved than approved.

On the road through Friday, Obama will bask in the afterglow of his prime-time address and use the power of the presidency to compete for headlines with leading GOP White House hopefuls Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich as they knock heads ahead of the Jan. 31 Florida primary. He will try to promote a populist message of income equality that Obama's team believes can resonate with voters.

Underscoring the political subtext, four of the five states he will visit will hold Republican presidential caucuses or primaries within the next month. The two caucuses ? in Nevada and Colorado ? come within two weeks of his visit.

If 2011 began with overtures to Republicans and big business, 2012 is about operating on his own terms. He will challenge Congress to pass his initiatives, some of which he has tried before without success. For now, Obama is liberated. The thrust and parrying of governing has not picked up in Washington yet.

The road gives him an opportunity to goad congressional Republicans, believing he has been able to sway public opinion with his presidential megaphone before. He cites Washington's decision to extend, for two months, a payroll tax cut for workers. He's now seeking to extend it for the full year, and while there's little doubt that Congress eventually will agree, Obama prodded anyway.

"Your voices convinced Congress to extend this middle-class tax cut before," he said. "You remember there was little resistance there last year. I need your help to get them to do it again. Tell Congress to pass this tax cut without drama, without delay. No soap operas. Just get it done."

Political events are going his way as well.

Just as he stepped up his call for a minimum 30 percent tax rate for millionaires, Romney released his tax returns under pressure, revealing that he paid an effective tax rate of 14 percent. That not only underscored Romney's wealth, it also provided an argument for altering the nation's tax laws, a central element of Obama's re-election campaign.

Gingrich on Wednesday helped keep the focus on Romney's wealth, saying that the wealthy businessman lived in "a world of Swiss bank accounts and Cayman Island accounts and automatically $20 million income for no work."

Romney and Gingrich have been forced to target each other in the GOP presidential contest, freeing Obama from the fray. For instance, Romney has ads in Florida and Nevada blaming the housing crisis on Gingrich and concludes that nothing would make Obama happier than Gingrich winning the nomination.

___

AP Deputy Polling Director Jennifer Agiesta in Washington and Associated Press writer Cristina Silva in Las Vegas contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama

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Google Authenticator / CyanogenMod incompatibility fixed

Last night's update to the Google Authenticator app caused headaches for a few CyanogenMod users by force-closing at startup on their devices. However, CM users will be pleased to hear that a fix has been swiftly rolled out by Google just hours after the incompatibility came to light. To grab the fix, simply head on over to the Android Market and hit that "update" button.

Kudos to Google for making a fix available so quickly, especially given the critical nature of the Authenticator app for its users, and the fact that the glitch only affected unofficial custom firmware.

Continue past the break for the usual Android Market linkage.

read more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/Di7Bc1Goc_w/story01.htm

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Julia Olmstead: Climate Insurance

Julia Olmstead: Climate Insurance
With climate change making extreme weather the new normal, it's prudent to do everything we can to protect our food supply.
Published on Jan 24, 2012 - 6:09:47 AM

By: Julia Olmstead, OtherWords

Jan. 23, 2012 - I feel uneasy sleeping in a house without functioning smoke detectors. I lock my doors at night. I salt my sidewalk when it's icy. I always wear my seatbelt. Like most people, I prefer to minimize my chances of getting hurt or wrecking my car or house, despite the fact that my house, my car, and my health are all (thankfully) insured.

When it comes to agriculture and climate change, I'd like to see our nation take the same approach. Even though most farmers have crop insurance, we should make sure we are also helping them adapt their cropping and livestock systems so that they don't get wiped out by floods and droughts in the first place. Climate change is making extreme weather the new normal. It's prudent to do everything we can to protect our food supply.

Unfortunately, most agriculture lobbyists are too single-minded as they try to influence the soon-to-be-written 2012 Farm Bill. Several farm state legislators, aligned with commodity groups like the American Soybean Association, are advocating for what are called "shallow-loss" revenue insurance programs, in which up to 95 percent of farmers' revenue is guaranteed. But in this push to give farmers unprecedented levels of financial risk avoidance, there has been no mention of the need to help farmers prevent crop and livestock losses in the first place.

Farmers have always been at the mercy of the weather, which is why the federal government has offered subsidized crop insurance since the late 1930s. This kind of income insurance is critical to help keep farmers on the land, but our food supply needs insurance, too.

Right now, there are no requirements for farmers receiving subsidized crop insurance to comply with even the most minimal conservation measures that would help keep topsoil from washing away during floods, much less are they required or even encouraged to adopt farming practices that might help them avoid losing fields of food when extreme weather hits. This puts not only our food supply, but also taxpayers' pocketbooks, at risk. There is currently no limit on how much the federal government can spend on crop insurance payouts, and none proposed if insurance programs are expanded.

There are ways to make agriculture more resilient to extreme weather. Farmers can plant more perennial crops, which require less water and hold on better to soil during floods. In drought-prone regions, they can select drought-tolerant crop varieties or change grazing or irrigation methods, among other strategies. In the same way that I get a lower car insurance rate because my car has airbags, we must encourage farmers to adopt measures like these to reduce risk on the ground. Taking steps to make food production more stable in the face of climate change is good for farmers and for taxpayers.

It's clear from the more than $11 billion the federal government spent on crop insurance in 2011 that our country values keeping farmers in business. If we also value our food supply, we need to couple crop insurance with "climate insurance" to make sure that in the wake of the next round of floods and droughts, our food is safe, and so are our farmers.

Julia Olmstead is a senior associate at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. www.iatp.org
Distributed via OtherWords (OtherWords.org).

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McDonald's 4Q net income jumps 11 pct (AP)

NEW YORK ? Budget-conscious diners continue to flock to McDonald's, but investors are beginning to worry about the fast food giant's higher prices and upcoming expenses.

After the company reported Tuesday that net income jumped 11 percent in the fourth quarter on Tuesday, CEO Jim Skinner said his company can perform well in any economy.

But Skinner also noted that the struggling global economy, volatile costs for ingredients and low consumer confidence present a challenge for the world's biggest burger chain.

McDonald's, which serves as a bellwether for the fast-food industry, has done well throughout the recession and its aftermath with a two-pronged strategy. It's continued to attract a base of cash-strapped customers by keeping prices low, while also luring in new customers with offerings like smoothies, lattes, and remodeled restaurants.

In the fourth quarter, McDonald's net income of $1.38 billion translated to $1.33 per share, beating the $1.29 predicted by analysts polled by FactSet. Revenue jumped 10 percent to $6.82 billion, slightly above expectations of $6.81 billion.

But the profit margin fell slightly at company-operated stores. The company blamed higher commodities costs, as well as rising costs for rent and labor in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Its effective tax rate for the year increased to 31.3 percent from 29.3 percent, which the company indicated was partly from higher taxes in Europe.

On the news, McDonald's shares were down 2 percent to $99.

Foreign currency exchange rates, which helped in previous quarters, did not boost this quarter's results. Such rates were neutral during the quarter as the dollar strengthened. When the dollar is weak, revenue that McDonald's makes overseas translates into more dollars in the U.S.

Higher costs for ingredients also continue to be an issue, even though costs for some ingredients, like wheat and corn, have leveled off. McDonald's said it expects costs for most of its commodities in the U.S. to increase 4.5 to 5.5 percent in 2012, in line with 2011's 4.9 percent increase. Last year, McDonald's raised menu prices three times, for a total price increase of about 3 percent, in March, May and November.

Chief financial officer Pete Bensen said the company would continue to "strategically take increases to offset some but not all of our higher costs."

Bensen added that McDonald's would take "a balanced approach to growing traffic and average check" as it mulled further price increases. The company doesn't want to raise prices too much and risk driving away customers or causing them to trade down to cheaper items.

Like many companies, McDonald's is looking for revenue growth in emerging markets like China and Africa, where fast-growing populations present both high risk and high potential rates of return. Skinner said McDonald's plans to open a net of 900 new restaurants in the coming year, concentrated in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, to add to the current roster of 33,500-plus locations around the world.

About 22 percent of McDonald's revenue comes from Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East, up from 14 percent five years ago. That region grew revenue 13 percent over the year, faster than any other.

In the U.S., McDonald's will focus on getting more customers into the existing 14,000-plus locations. Skinner said the approach was "not rocket science."

"A lot of it is simple things like proper scheduling, positioning and then planning for your shift, planning for that time period from 11 (a.m.) to 1 (p.m.) for example to be able to facilitate faster service, and fast service begets more customers," Skinner said.

Revenue in Europe, which accounts for the biggest slice of total revenue ? 40 percent ? grew by 9 percent. New items, like hamburger bagel sandwiches, helped the company maintain revenue despite the region's "ongoing economic uncertainty." Executives said they see room for growth in the drive-thru business and breakfast sales there.

The company said it continues to set aside money for renovating restaurants, which it sees as key to attracting new customers. Globally, McDonald's has renovated about 45 percent of its restaurants' interiors and 25 percent of the exteriors. But the all the remodeling has needled some franchisees who have share in the costs.

Mark Kalinowski, an analyst at Janney Capital Markets, reduced his per-share earnings estimate for this year and next on the foreign currency impact and upcoming spending. McDonald's said it expected selling, general and administrative expenses to jump 6 percent in 2012, driven by investments in restaurants as well as spending on the London Olympics and a convention for owner-operators.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/earnings/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_bi_ge/us_earns_mcdonald_s

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Giffords says farewell to Tucson constituents (AP)

TUCSON, Ariz. ? On a bittersweet day for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, the outgoing congresswoman spent her final hours in Tucson as the city's U.S. representative, finishing the meeting she started on the morning she was shot and bidding farewell to constituents who supported her through a long recovery.

It may not be the end, though. The woman whose improbable recovery captivated the nation promised, "I will return."

Giffords spent time Monday at her office with other survivors of the shooting rampage that killed six people and injured 13. She hugged and talked with survivors, including Suzi Hileman, who was shot three times while trying to save her young friend and neighbor, 9-year-old Christina-Taylor Green. The little girl died from a gunshot wound to the chest.

"The last time I did this I had Christina's hand," Hileman said. "It was something that was hanging out there, and now it's not."

Others who met with Giffords included Pat Maisch, who was hailed as a hero for wrestling a gun magazine from the shooter that day, and Daniel Hernandez, Giffords' intern at the time who helped save her life by trying to stop her bleeding until an ambulance arrived.

"It was very touching," said Maisch, who was not hurt in the attack. "I thanked her for her service, wished her well, and she just looked beautiful."

Giffords announced Sunday that she would resign from Congress this week to focus on her recovery. Maisch was sad to think that Giffords would no longer be her congresswoman.

"But I want her to do what's best for her," she said. "She's got to take care of herself."

However, an upbeat Giffords hinted that her departure from public life might be temporary. In a message sent on Twitter, she said: "I will return & we will work together for Arizona & this great country."

In her last act in Tucson as a congresswoman, the Democrat visited one of her favorite charities, the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona.

The food bank established the Gabrielle Giffords Family Assistance Center with $215,000 it received in the wake of the shooting. Giffords' husband and former astronaut Mark Kelly told people who wanted to help Giffords after the shooting that the best way to do so was to donate to one of her favorite charities.

The center has helped 900 families get on food stamps in the last year and offered guidance to needy families seeking assistance with housing, insurance, clothing and other basic needs.

"It's a wonderful thing that she gets to come here and see the center we built," said Bill Carnegie, the food bank's CEO. "But it's also her exit from Congress. I'm concerned about the future."

Giffords' aides had to yell at TV cameramen and reporters who surrounded the congresswoman as she arrived, telling them to back up. Giffords didn't bat an eye and walked with confidence through the crowd and into the building, where she promptly hugged Carnegie and others.

When she saw the center that is named in her honor, she said "Wow" and "Awesome."

When one woman told Giffords, "I love your new hairstyle," she beamed and responded with "Thank you."

Giffords did not address reporters at the center and planned to head to the airport right after her visit. She was expected in Washington on Tuesday for President Barack Obama's State of the Union address.

In her announcement Sunday, Giffords said that by stepping down, she was doing what is best for Arizona.

"I don't remember much from that horrible day, but I will never forget the trust you placed in me to be your voice," she said in a video posted online.

The video showed a close-up of Giffords gazing directly at the camera and speaking in a voice that was both firm and halting.

"I have more work to do on my recovery," the congresswoman said at the end of the two-minute message, appearing to strain to communicate.

C.J. Karamargin, who was Giffords' spokesman until recently, said he can only imagine what she is feeling as she steps down.

"But Gabby would never want to do a job unless she could give everything to it," he said.

"The news of her stepping down was almost more emotional than this time last year because then, she had survived and had a positive prognosis. Now we've got this pause, this comma, in her career ... and she won't be back anytime soon."

Giffords was shot in the head at point-blank range as she was meeting with constituents outside a grocery store. Her recovery progressed to the point that she was able to walk into the House chamber last August to cast a vote.

Giffords' resignation set up a free-for-all in a competitive district.

She could have stayed in office for another year even without seeking re-election, but her decision to resign scrambles the political landscape.

Arizona must hold a special primary and general election to find someone to finish out her remaining months in office. That will probably happen in the spring or early summer. Then voters will elect someone in November for a full two-year term.

Giffords would have been heavily favored to win again.

She was elected to her third term just two months before she was shot, winning by only about 1 percent over a tea party Republican. But she gained immense public support during her recovery.

Among those mentioned as potential candidates were several Republican and Democratic state lawmakers and the name of Giffords' husband, Mark Kelly, although he has publicly quashed such speculation.

A state Democratic party official who met with Giffords on Sunday also suggested that she could return to politics.

Jim Woodbrey, a senior vice chairman of the state party, said Giffords strongly implied at a meeting that she would seek office again someday. He said the decision to resign came after much thought.

"It was Gabby's individual decision, and she was not in any condition to make that decision five months ago," he said. "So I think waiting so that she could make an informed decision on her own was the right thing to do."

___

Associated Press writers Bob Christie and Jacques Billeaud in Phoenix and David Espo in Washington contributed to this story.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_el_ho/us_giffords

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Here's The List Of Google's Biggest Advertisers - Business Insider

Google's revenues were $37.9 billion last year and 96 percent of that came from advertising. It's less clear, however, who Google's biggest advertisers are.

Search engine marketing company Wordstream has compiled a database of information on Google's advertisers based on its trillion-keyword database and its Google Keyword Tool. It determined the top 10 million search queries of 2011, as well as their average cost-per-click prices as paid by advertisers who bought space next to those results.

The company then, naturally, made an infographic to display its results.

Google's biggest advertiser is Lowe's, the home improvement chain, which spent $59.1 million on ads with the search engine last year.

Its second biggest is Amazon, which spent $55.2 million.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/googles-biggest-advertisers-are-also-its-enemies-2012-1

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Is Facebook Shopping Safe? Survey Says

Consumers like using social media to communicate with companies, but they're less confident about using Facebook as a shopping arena. A new study of active Internet users by ThreatMetrix found that 53 percent distrust Facebook storefronts and another 23 percent are unsure about these storefronts' security from fraud. In contrast, 51 percent felt Google did a better job than Facebook at protecting them from fraud.

Although buying directly from Facebook storefronts is a relatively new form of shopping, 20 percent of customers have already made a purchase this way. (In comparison, 32 percent have bought from a company's website after viewing its Facebook page.)

Why it matters to your business: That 20 percent figure indicates to me that customers are ready to embrace shopping directly on Facebook, but their concerns about its safety show that there are still some security hurdles to overcome. I can relate, because while I'm an avid online shopper, the idea of shopping on Facebook makes me a bit nervous. If you have a storefront on Facebook, make sure your security and privacy policies are clear and easy to find. You need to make customers feel that they're protected by the exact same security on Facebook as they would on your website.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/23/the-new-facebook-of-shopping-survey-says_n_1210567.html

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Women Feel Pain More Intensely Than Men

News | Health

Future research is needed to find out the exact causes of pain perception differences, and which ones would be best to target for more effective pain control

By Rachael Rettner and MyHealthNewsDaily ?| January 23, 2012

When a woman falls ill, her pain may be more intense than a man's, a new study suggests.

Across a number of different diseases, including diabetes, arthritis and certain respiratory infections, women in the study reported feeling more pain than men, the researchers said.

The study is one of the largest to examine sex differences in human pain perception. The results are in line with earlier findings, and reveal that sex differences in pain sensitivity may be present in many more diseases than previously thought.

Because pain is subjective, the researchers can't know for sure whether women, in fact, experience more pain than men. A number of factors, including a person's mood and whether they take pain medication, likely influence how much pain they say they're in.

"Whatever the reason, I think it's important to be aware of this pain discrepancy between men and women and look into it further," said study researcher Linda Liu, a doctoral student in Stanford University Biomedical Informatics program.

Future studies, in both people and animals, should analyze their results to see whether sex differences in pain may be present, Liu said. Many studies in animals do not include females, or fail to report the sex of animals used, Liu said.

The study was published online Jan. 12 in the Journal of Pain.

Sex differences

Most human studies examining gender differences in reported pain have compared the number of women with the number of men with a given condition who say they are in pain. But most haven't looked at how intense the pain is, and many have not included enough people to be able to detect differences between the sexes in pain perception, the researchers said.

The new study included information from more than 11,000 patients whose pain scores were recorded in electronic medical records at Stanford Hospital and Clinics between 2007 and 2010. Patients were asked to rate their pain on a scale of zero (no pain) to 10 (worst pain imaginable).

In all, the researchers assessed sex differences in reported pain for more than 250 diseases and conditions.

For almost every diagnosis, women reported higher average pain scores than men. Women's scores were, on average, 20 percent higher than men's scores, according to the study.

Women with lower back pain, and knee and leg strain consistently reported higher scores than men. Women also reported feeling more pain in the neck (for conditions such as torticollis, in which the neck muscles twist or spasm) and sinuses (during sinus infections) than did men, a result not found by previous research.

Pain perception

It could be that women assign different numbers to the level of pain they perceive compared with men, said Roger B. Fillingim, a pain researcher at the University of Florida College of Dentistry, who was not involved with the new study.

But the study was large, and the findings are backed up by previous work, Fillingim said.

"I think the most [simple] explanation is that women are indeed experiencing higher levels of pain than men," Fillingim said.

The reason for this is not known, Fillingim said. Past research suggests a number of factors contribute to perceptions of pain level, including hormones, genetics and psychological factors, which may vary between men and women, Fillingim said. It's also possible the pain systems work differently in men and women, or women experience more severe forms of disease than men, he said.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=6b0e94164e2a8fad09060ca4039f11fd

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Utah's Favors fined $25,000 for throwing ball into stands (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Utah Jazz forward Derrick Favors has been fined $25,000 for throwing a ball into the spectator stands during a game against the Dallas Mavericks, the National Basketball Association (NBA) said Saturday.

Favors was penalized for his actions with 24.8 seconds left in the third quarter of Utah's 94-91 loss to the NBA champions in Salt Lake City Thursday.

Four technical fouls were called in what proved to be a hot-tempered encounter and Favors was ejected after throwing the ball into the stands to protest a call.

"I was pretty frustrated," Favors told reporters. "I let my emotions get to me."

(Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Ken Ferris)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120121/sp_nm/us_nba_jazz_favors

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The Note's Must-Reads for Monday, January, 23, 2012 (ABC News)

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Ten One Design announces Pogo Sketch Plus capacitive stylus for iPhone and iPad

Ten One Design has just announced their latest and greatest capacitive stylus for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch — the Pogo Sketch Plus. What makes this newer, better version

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/4H7pRENiK78/story01.htm

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Buffett sings in video for China's New Year gala (AP)

BEIJING ? A hugely popular Chinese Lunar New Year variety show has a special guest star playing the ukulele: American billionaire Warren Buffett.

Buffett is shown wearing a dark sweat shirt and singing the folk song "I've Been Working On The Railroad" in the video posted on state broadcaster CCTV's "Spring Festival Gala" website Sunday.

There are no details on the website about where the 45-second clip was shot, but Buffett appears to be sitting in a small room with an elaborate model railroad set up in the background.

The video's simplicity contrasts with other performances posted on the website of the gala, which is usually a flashy extravaganza that draws 800 million viewers.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120122/ap_on_bi_ge/as_china_buffett

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New Genetic Clues to Breast Cancer? (HealthDay)

SUNDAY, Jan. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers have identified three new genomic regions they believe are linked with breast cancer that may help explain why some women develop the disease.

All three newly identified areas "contain interesting genes that open up new avenues for biological and clinical research," said researcher Douglas Easton, a professor of genetic epidemiology at the University of Cambridge in England.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, with about 1 million new cases annually worldwide and more than 400,000 deaths a year.

Scientists conducting genome-wide association studies -- research that looks at the association between genetic factors and disease to pinpoint possible causes -- had already identified 22 breast cancer susceptibility loci. Locus is the physical location of a gene or DNA sequence on a chromosome.

"The three [newly identified] loci take the number of common susceptibility loci from 22 to 25," said Easton.

However, the three new susceptibility loci might explain only about 0.7 percent of the familial risks of breast cancer, bringing the total contribution to about 9 percent, the researchers said.

Michael Melner, scientific program director for the American Cancer Society, said this current research adds some important new clues to existing evidence, but he agreed that the number of cases likely associated with these three variants is probably low.

"So the total impact in terms of patients would be fairly small," Melner said.

The study is published online Jan. 22 in Nature Genetics.

To find the new clues, Easton's team worked with genetic information on about 57,000 breast cancer patients and 58,000 healthy women obtained from two genome-wide association studies.

The investigators zeroed in on 72 different single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). A SNP -- pronounced "snip" -- is a change in which a single base in the DNA differs from the usual base. The human genome has millions of SNPs, some linked with disease, while others are normal variations.

The researchers focused on three SNPs -- on chromosomes 12p11, 12q24 and 21q21.

Easton's team found that the variant on the 12p11 chromosome is linked with both estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer (which needs estrogen to grow) and estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer. The other two variants are only linked with ER-positive cancers, they said.

One of the newly identified variants is in an area with a gene that has a role in the development of mammary glands and bones. Easton said it was already known that mammary gland development in puberty is an important period in terms of determining later cancer risk. "But these are the first susceptibility genes to be shown to be involved in this process," he said.

One of the other SNPs is in an area that can affect estrogen receptor signaling, the researchers found.

Melner, noting some of the research is "fine tuning" of other work, said in his view the new understanding of the signaling pathways and their genetic links is the most important finding.

"When you delineate a pathway, you bring up new potential targets for therapy," he said. "The more targets you have, you open up the potential for having multiple drugs and attacking a cancer more easily, without it becoming more resistant."

Overall, Melner added, the results underscore the complexity of the different mechanisms involved in breast cancer development.

More information

For more about the genetics of breast cancer, visit the American Cancer Society.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20120122/hl_hsn/newgeneticcluestobreastcancer

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Rep. Dennis Kucinich: The Future of American Democracy (Huffington post)

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Who Would Want To Join This? Clicky(:

Let's get right down to it...

After the Great War, the humans had finally beat the immortals. They've locked them up the survivors in jail cells, constantly watching them. They have a group of guards in every hallway, armed with holy water, ready to attack and kill anyone that has escaped. Each day the immortals are allowed an hour of "Play time", where they are let outside of the facilitation to socialize and stretch their wings. Of course, there's no escaping that either. The lame excuse of the outdoors is covered with invisible electric wire and more guards.

That's basically it...I would like to be a action/drama roleplay. You can't kill the guards, but you can feed off of them. I want the plot to grow as the roleplay progresses. Who knows, maybe one day the immortals will overthrow the humans.

By immortals I mean: Vampires, fallens, werewolves, etc.

Rate? 1-10...1 being the highest and 10 being the...yeah.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/xJwA14Tym3Q/viewtopic.php

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Egypt army pardons 1,959 detainees, prominent activist (Reuters)

CAIRO (Reuters) ? Egypt's military ruler has pardoned 1,959 people convicted by military courts in the year since President Hosni Mubarak's ouster, including activist Michael Nabil whose hunger strike had brought him close to death.

The state Al Nil television channel said the convicts had been pardoned by Hussein Tantawi, head of the military council that has ruled Egypt since Mubarak's removal in February 2011 in the midst of the Arab Spring protests that swept the region.

The pardon comes just four days before the first anniversary of the 18-day Egyptian uprising which began on January 25, though it was not clear if any of the detainees had yet been released.

Nabil, jailed by a military court for defaming the army, had his prison term reduced to two years from three in December following criticism from international human rights groups.

The 25-year-old was arrested in March and began a hunger strike to protest against his conviction for posting remarks saying the army had tried to quell the uprising against Mubarak.

The generals now ruling Egypt say the army took no part in a police crackdown on protesters and have pledged to hand over to civilian rule by June.

Activists say Nabil's case highlights the Egyptian army's heavy-handed approach to dissenters who criticize its top generals for using tactics reminiscent of Mubarak's regime.

"We can only say the revolution has succeeded when they release all activists, besides Michael, who are still being held in military courts and retry all civilians who have been prosecuted by courts they shouldn't have been prosecuted by," Nabil's brother Mark told Reuters.

No To Military Trials, a pressure group set up after the uprising, says at least 12,000 cases have come before the military courts since February. The group says sentences are often handed out swiftly behind closed doors and without proper legal representation.

It is not clear exactly how many activists and protesters convicted by military courts in the past year remain in jail.

The pardon comes as youth groups plan to hold major demonstrations to mark the anniversary of a revolt they say will not be complete until the generals hand power to civilians.

"The family has only received word of the decree but Michael is still in custody and they are waiting to hear of his movements," Mark Nabil said.

"The revolution must continue as long as any civilian is still being held unjustly in a military prison."

(Reporting by Lin Noueihed and Dina Zayed; editing by Myra MacDonald)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/usmilitary/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120121/wl_nm/us_egypt_military_pardon

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