As Katie Holmes turns 34 on Dec. 18, take a look at some of her sweetest moments with daughter Suri in the Big Apple
Red Bull Stratos Redbull Stratos steve mcnair vice presidential debate Martha Raddatz Chris Lighty JJ Watt
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Daily Use Self Training Workout Advice For A ... - Fitness Spotlight
If you are lacking fitness, then you are not clear as to which health and fitness approach to take. What gets people stuck in a rut is no substantial desire or information on how to get in shape. Although a lot of people are convinced that exercising is difficult, it doesn?t have to be. It can be a lot of fun. Use these tips in order to add fun into your exercise routine.
An easy way to get your body moving is to crank up some great music. No one can resist dancing to an infectious beat or and addictive song blasting on the radio. You would be missing out if you don?t build music into you exercise program! Turn on your favorite songs, and start moving! Music can lift your spirits and give you the extra push you need to follow through with your fitness goals.
TIP! Motivation will almost always beat mere talent. -Norman R. Augustine
Get an workout video game to play. Fitness games are an easy way for you to add variety to your workout regimen. When you are engrossed in your video game, you will not be thinking about the workout that you are getting. By doing this, you will be able to increase the length of your workout because tiredness is not a factor.
Some people are anxious about being seen while working out. Having sexy, new exercise clothes can make you feel better about working out. Clothing nowadays has a wide variety of colors and sizes. Make sure your exercise clothing is cool-looking and puts you in the right mood to exercise. You?ll be more motivated to exercise.
TIP! Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. -Albert Einstein
Rewarding yourself is a great way to motivate yourself to complete a goal. Just give yourself little perks to keep yourself going and help you stay motivated. Get yourself a small candy or a book you?ve wanted. Reward yourself by getting something that you have put off purchasing. My vote goes for a home gym fitness equipment, as this is that kind of a reward that will keep you motivated for the rest of your life. You will feel proud.
Daily Use Self Training Workout Advice For A Physically Fitter Body0 votes, 0.00 avg. rating (0% score)
Source: http://www.fitnessspotlight.net/daily-use-self-training-workout-advice-for-a-physically-fitter-body/
Video: A spill with a chill: Penguin takes tumble on ice
Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.
Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/50143906/
ener1 national chocolate cake day epstein joshua komisarjevsky barney frank barney frank kim richards
Visit Roundhill Slopes For The Best Snowboarding In New Zealand
For professional skiers, the pristine slopes of New Zealands ski resorts have always posed a challenge, and it has, over the years, become one of the most favored places for skiers and snowboarders. There are many ski resorts in different shapes and sizes, catering to all types of skiers and boarders. One of the most popular ski slopes is Roundhill which is situated in stunning and beautiful Mackenzie Country.
Beautiful Vistas All Around
Roundhill, NZ is a very popular ski field which offers beautiful views of Mt. Cook, Lake Tekapo, and the Southern Alps. Unlike its counterparts in Europe, United States, and Australia, there are very few ski resorts as such in New Zealand. Instead they have, what is known as club fields, which are small private and family run businesses throughout the Southern Alps which run the ski slopes. Ski New Zealand offers some very nice family ski runs throughout the Canterbury Highlands besides Mackenzie Country. Roundhill, NZ offers slopes that cater to all grades of skiers, from beginners, intermediate, and the highly skilled and professional skiers and snowboarders.
Ski Slopes for All Ages
One of the easily accessible slopes in Ski New Zealand, the Roundhill ski field is found in one of the most beautiful locations of New Zealand, close to Lake Tekapo in Mackenzie Country. Being situated between Christchurch to Queenstown, it is only 3 hours drive from either, making it accessible for people residing in both major cities. Roundhill, NZ has become popular with parents who would like to teach their children to ski, as it has a very big ski run especially for beginners which feature a platter lift along with two beginners rope tows. For the intermediate skiers and snowboarders, they have provided T-Bars which give access to plenty of well-maintained intermediate trails with natural curves and dips.
Easy Access for International Skiers
For skiers and snowboarders who have more experience, Ski New Zealand offers one of the steepest vertical drop slopes in the Southern hemisphere at Roundhill, NZ. One of the advantages of skiing in New Zealand for skiers from abroad is the fact that getting to the main ski fields on the South Island is easy, through Christchurch International Airport. Getting to the ski slopes from the airport can also be arranged very easily, with good roads between Christchurch to Queenstown. For those who find driving difficult, there are regular shuttle services between the towns and the ski areas to add to your enjoyment.
Source: http://goarticles.com/article/Visit-Roundhill-Slopes-for-the-Best-Snowboarding-In-New-Zealand/7210968/
About the Author:
Southern Boarding is an experienced Content writer and publisher for Business Development. Visit at http://www.southernboarding.com/ to know more about Selwyn Snowfields and Heli Skiing New Zealand.
jionni lavalle earthquake san francisco donald payne elizabeth berkley lenny dykstra jenelle evans jenelle evans
How mobile video calling is changing communication | Your Daily ...
The next competition in technology is your face ? anywhere, anytime.
As the cameras and screens of smartphones and tablets improve, and as wireless networks offer higher bandwidth, more companies are getting into the business of enabling mobile video calls.
The details vary from one service to the next, but the experiences are similar: From anywhere in the world with a modern wireless network, a smartphone?s screen fills with the face of a friend or relative.
The quality is about the same jerky-but-functional level as most desktop video. Sound is not always perfectly synced with the image, but it is very close. The calls start and end the same way, by pressing a button on the screen.
Mobile video calling has risen so quickly that industry analysts have not yet compiled exact numbers. But along the way, it is creating new business models, new stresses on mobile networks and even new rules of etiquette.
?All the communications ? social messages, calls, texts and video ? are merging fast,? said Eric Setton, co-founder and chief technology officer of Tango Mobile, whose free video calling service has 80 million active users. An additional 200,000 join daily, Setton said.
Once an interesting endeavor for a few startups like Tango, mobile video has caught the attention of big companies. Apple created FaceTime and made it a selling point for the iPad. In September, the company made FaceTime available on cellular networks instead of limiting it to Wi-Fi systems, almost certainly in response to increasing consumer demand.
Last week, Yahoo purchased a video chat company called OnTheAir. And in 2011, Microsoft paid $8.5 billion for Skype, a service for both video and audio-only calls. Though most people use Skype on desktop and laptop computers, the software for the service has been downloaded more than 100 million times just by owners of phones running Google?s Android mobile operating system.
Microsoft built a service for its Windows 8 mobile phone that lets people receive calls even when Skype isn?t on.
Google, which has more than 100 million people a month using its Google Plus social networking service, now offers more than 200 apps for its video calling feature. It says it is interested not in making money on the applications, but in learning more about them so it can sell more ads by getting people to use its free video service, called Hangouts.
Hangouts can be used for two-person or group calls, or for a video conference with up to 10 people.
?On a high level, Google works better when we know who you are and what your interests are,? said Nikhyl Singhal, director of product management for Google?s real-time communications group. ?Video calling is becoming a basic service across different fronts.? While Singhal is an occasional user, he said, his 4-year-old daughter ?is on it every day.?
Don?t expect video calling to improve productivity. Tango uses the same technology that enables video calls to sell games that people can play simultaneously. It sells virtual decorations like balloons to drop around someone?s image during a birthday call (both parties see the festive pixels).
Google says some jokey applications on Hangouts, like a feature that can put a mustache over each caller, seem to encourage people to talk longer.
Currently, popular two-way games like Words With Friends on Facebook work by one player making a move and then passing the game over to the other player, not watching moves as they are made.
Another promising area is avatars, like cartoon dogs and cats, that mouth speech when a user wants to have a video call but doesn?t want to be seen.
The prospect of having to appear on-screen at any given moment might sound like a nonstarter for people who worry about bad hair days. But in fact, using mobile devices for video calls may be less bother than it seems.
?There may be natural inhibitions to being seen, but when I?m on a mobile device I?m out and about, so I?m more likely to be presentable,? said Michael Gartenberg, a consumer technology analyst at Gartner. ?How people use this remains to be seen, but they are starting to expect it.?
Yet a new etiquette for mobile video calls is already emerging. People often text each other first to see if it?s OK to appear on camera. Video messages sent in the text box of a phone, like snippets of a party or a child?s first steps, are also useful precursors to video conversations. Singhal said making avatars for users of Hangout would be ?an extraordinarily important area? as well.
The greatest challenge for the business may not be getting more consumers to use the service, but making sure the service works. Most phones have slight variations in things like camera placement and video formatting from one model to the next.
?A camera can show you upside down if you load the wrong software on it,? said Setton of Tango.
As a result, the 80 engineers among Tango?s 110 employees have adjusted their software to work on more than 1,000 types of phones worldwide. The top 20 models have more than a million customers each, but the complexity of building software for a wider range of phones has made it hard for new mobile video companies to enter the field, Setton said.
Tango?s average video call used to last six minutes, Setton said, but when the company started adding other applications to go with the videos, like games and designs that float over people, the average call length rose to 12 minutes.
Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/personal-tech/computing/How-mobile-video-calling-is-changing-communication/articleshow/17555630.cms
Source: http://yourdailyupdateblog.com/archives/34717
dancing with the stars cast mickael pietrus heart transplant the international preppers geraldo obama trayvon martin
Chimp from '70s experiment died of ?broken heart?
Nim Chimpsky (ABC News)
True story: A chimp born in captivity in 1973 was taken from his sedated mother and, as part of a scientific project, he's raised by a family in New York City and learns to communicate with humans through sign language.
But the chimp couldn't fit in with humans and, when he is returned to life with other chimps, couldn't fit in as a primate either.
Ultimately, after a tragic turn that led him to be a caged test subject in a medical lab, the chimp, named Nim Chimpsky, died prematurely at 26. In the wild, apes can live to be as old as 60.
The controversial experiment from the 1970s is being revisited in the HBO film "Project Nim," which brings back the story of this animal tale with a sad end.
Nim was taken from his mother at the Institute for Primate Studies in Oklahoma in 1973 and brought to New York City by Columbia psychology professor Herb Terrace.
The newborn chimp was brought to Terrace's former student, Stephanie LaFarge, who raised him as she had her other seven children, even breast-feeding him.
Nim learned to sign and do human stuff, like sleep in a bed and drink beer. He became a media star, landing on the cover of New York magazine.
But Nim also grew bigger and more aggressive. Eventually, after attacking his caretakers, he was moved back to the Institute for Primate Studies. When that facility ran out of money, he was moved again to a New York University lab, where he was caged and subjected to experiments.
A public outcry led him to be released to an animal sanctuary in Texas, where he died in 2000. Terrace defended his research to ABC News, noting that it was conducted before the scientific community had become sensitized to the issue of animal rights. "Everyone I know was blind to this issue," he said.
Bob Ingersoll, one of Nim's caretakers, told ABC News that Nim's early death could have been caused by stress or, sadly, "It might actually be fair to say he died of a broken heart."
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/chimp-1970s-experiment-died-broken-heart-191501645.html
nba playoffs rosario dawson young jeezy world wildlife fund gsa keith olbermann andrew bynum
Intensified chemotherapy shows promise for children with very high risk form of leukemia
Dec. 10, 2012 ? Young patients with an aggressive form of leukemia who are likely to relapse after chemotherapy treatment can significantly reduce those odds by receiving additional courses of chemotherapy, suggest the findings of a clinical trial led by investigators at Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center in Boston.
The trial leaders will present the results of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute ALL Consortium study, which involved nearly 500 patients under age 18 with B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL), at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) conference.
Trial participants received an initial course of "induction" chemotherapy for B-ALL, a cancer of the blood that is one of the most common cancers in children below age 15. After a month of treatment, the patients had a bone marrow sample sent for a test able to measure levels of leukemia that cannot be seen under a microscope. Thirty-five of the patients were deemed to have a very high risk of relapsing because they retained relatively large numbers of leukemia cells as measured by this test. An additional 16 patients were also considered very high-risk because their leukemia cells had certain chromosomal abnormalities.
These 51 patients then received an intensified treatment regimen consisting of two additional rounds of chemotherapy using agents not typically given to newly diagnosed patients with B-ALL. This was followed by an intensified consolidation phase of therapy to keep the disease in remission, and then a standard maintenance phase to further deter the disease from returning.
Investigators estimate that, five years after reaching complete remission, the rate of event-free survival (a measure of survival without relapse or development of another cancer) was 76 percent for these very high-risk patients. By contrast, less than half of similar patients who receive standard chemotherapy reach the five-year mark without relapsing.
"Pediatric patients with B-ALL traditionally receive a standard course of chemotherapy if their risk of relapse is low, and a slightly intensified course if their risk is higher," says the study's lead author, Lynda Vrooman, MD, of Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center. "In this study, we identified a new risk group -- those with a very high risk of relapse -- and studied the effect of a novel, even more intensive chemotherapy regimen on their outcome."
"Though it involved a relatively small number of patients, the new trial is one of the first to show improved outcomes for this set of patients as a result of an intensified chemotherapy protocol," says senior author Lewis Silverman, MD, of Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center. Trial leaders will continue to track the study participants to gauge the durability of the remissions produced by the intensified treatment.
Co-authors of the study include Kristen Stevenson, MS, and Donna Neuberg, ScD, of Dana-Farber; Marian Harris, MD, of Boston Children's Hospital; and Stephen Sallan, MD, of Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center.
Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:
Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/WQBGIz6jH00/121210200429.htm
People Water Fred Willard Emmy nominations 2012 Ramadan 2012 Michelle Jenneke batman Colorado Shooting News
Monti says still in charge as markets fear Italy crisis
OSLO/ROME (Reuters) - Prime Minister Mario Monti tried to reassure rattled financial markets on Monday that Italy would not be left adrift following his surprise decision to resign and Silvio Berlusconi's return to frontline politics.
Monti's weekend announcement that he would quit soon because Berlusconi's People of Freedom (PDL) party had withdrawn its support for his technocrat government pushed up Italy's borrowing costs and prompted a stock market sell-off on Monday.
"I understand market reactions. They need not be dramatised," Monti told reporters in Oslo where he attended the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union and where other EU leaders queued up to praise him.
The former European Commissioner said he was confident the elections would produce a responsible government "which should be in line with the huge efforts already pursued by Italy ... Markets should not fear a decision-making vacuum."
He added: "Let me remind markets that the current government has not left; it's fully in charge and will be so until a new government comes in after the elections."
The campaign for a vote expected in mid-February is likely to be fought over Monti's reform agenda, which Berlusconi, his predecessor as prime minister, said had condemned Italy to recession and forced him reluctantly to run for a fifth term.
European leaders were anxious to stress that any new government must stick to Monti's economic reform agenda.
"Monti was a great prime minister of Italy and I hope that the policies he put in place will continue after the elections," said European Council President Herman Van Rompuy in Oslo.
There were similar comments from policymakers ranging from French President Francois Hollande to the head of the European bailout fund Klaus Regling and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos warned that instability in Italy could spill over and put Spain's fragile public finances at risk of further turmoil.
Attention is now focused on whether Monti will enter politics himself, either as a candidate or by endorsing one of the centrist forces that have backed his reforms and made more or less explicit pleas for him to run.
"I'm not considering this particular issue at this stage. All my efforts are being devoted to the completion of the remaining time of the current government," he said in Oslo.
Monti has repeatedly warned of the danger posed by the rise of populist, anti-European forces in the region and said he hoped such forces would not dominate the Italian election campaign.
CENTRE-LEFT LEADS
Monti's decision to resign once the 2013 budget is approved, probably before Christmas, has brought forward to February an election that had already been expected in March or by the latest April.
Opinion polls suggest Berlusconi has little chance of re-election, and he has struggled to reassert a previously undisputed domination of rival factions and courtiers in his deeply divided centre-right party.
In contrast, his enemies in the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) under Pier Luigi Bersani hold a strong lead and are likely to form the next government on a broadly pro-European platform, largely in line with Monti's agenda.
Bersani - who hopes that the former European Commissioner will stay on in some capacity, possibly as Italy's president - said on Monday that "precisely because Monti should still be able to be of service to this country, it would be better for him to stay out of the (election) contest".
Berlusconi's strategy appears designed to ensure he retains influence in the next parliament with a substantial voting bloc that, among other things, can protect his business and personal interests.
After several weeks of calm, markets bridled at the prospect of Berlusconi's return to lead the centre right, just over a year after a financial crisis drove the scandal-plagued billionaire from office to be replaced by Monti's technocrats.
The main measure of investors' confidence, the spread between Italian 10-year government bonds and their German equivalent, widened to 352 basis points on Monday from 325 late on Friday, reflecting worries over a return to the political uncertainty that dogged Italy last year.
Milan's blue-chip share index dropped over 2 percent, with sharper falls in banking stocks, which are seen as most vulnerable to a renewed debt crisis.
"IRRESPONSIBILITY"
Berlusconi's reappearance on the frontline and the prospect of a messy anti-Monti election campaign galvanised attention in Italy and abroad, reawakening memories of the financial and sexual scandals that peppered the media magnate's last government.
Not that such memories have had much chance to slumber. On Monday the prosecutor in Berlusconi's trial on charges of having sex with a juvenile prostitute accused the 76-year-old of delaying tactics after the young woman failed to appear as a witness.
The Roman Catholic Church made outspoken and thinly veiled criticism of the former premier that could influence the PDL's conservative voting base.
"What leaves one astonished is the irresponsibility of those who think of arranging things for themselves while the house is still burning," the head of the Italian bishops' conference, Angelo Bagnasco, told the Corriere della Sera.
French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici also weighed in.
"The direction that Italy has been going in for the last year and a half is a solid direction, there is no reason to worry," he told Reuters in an interview.
"Berlusconi is returning to politics, but I'm convinced that he will not return to power," he said.
With a new government likely to be formed in a few months, Italy's European partners have now started to look more closely at Bersani, the overwhelming victor in a centre-left primary election last month.
A no-frills former communist who is close to Italy's unions, Bersani has promised to stick to Monti's promises on fiscal discipline.
While Italy's election laws are likely to give Bersani a strong majority in the lower house, the complicated rules may make it more difficult for him to take control of the Senate, posing a possible risk to the formation of a stable government.
Whoever wins will have to confront a severe recession, record unemployment and a ballooning public debt expected to surpass 126 percent of gross domestic product this year.
The depth of the crisis was underlined on Monday, with data showing GDP shrinking 2.4 percent in the third quarter and industrial production dropping 1.1 percent in October.
(Additional reporting by Luke Baker, Vegard Botterli, Lisa Jucca, Silvio Aloisi, Giancarlo Navach, Alessia Pe, Maria Pia Quaglia and Jean-Baptiste Vey; Editing by Barry Moody, David Stamp and Will Waterman)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/europe-hails-great-monti-italy-crisis-hits-markets-144333176--finance.html
drew brees sandusky Sam Champion Hulk Hogan sex tape orioles venezuela Sarah Jones
Condos For Rent At The Beach
If you're thinking of taking a vacation at the beach, there are plenty of luxurious condos for rent. Renting a condominium instead of hotel room can be a great idea for a variety of reasons. They're more affordable; they're more spacious; and the amenities are unparalleled. What's more, there are plenty of attractions right outside the front door. Hotels are fine for a night or two, but if you want to settle in for a week, a month, or a season, it's preferable to lease a condo.
Most hotels are designed for short term stays and they charge accordingly. They have daily maid service and offer just the basics of beds, a television, and a bathroom. This means that without cooking facilities, you're going to have to go out for every meal. That adds up to quite a large sum of money. In a condominium, there will be a full kitchen stocked with dishes, pots, pans, silverware, a fridge, a stove, and a microwave. When you arrive, you can head to the grocery store and stock up on food and beverages for your vacation. You can still go out to eat on occasion, but not three times a day for as long as you're there. That will save you big bucks and keep the restaurant meals as special dates.
Hotel rooms are just that: rooms. They aren't designed for a couple or a family to hang out for a week or a month. If more than one person is sharing the space, there will be very little private time. Even the best of friends and the most harmonious families will get a bit sick of each other after a couple of days. But in condos for rent at the beach, there will be separate bedrooms and living spaces. That means everyone can have a little alone time when they need it. If you've brought your kids along, you can put them to bed in the evening and shut the door. Then the adults can watch DVDs, sit on the balcony and gaze at the moon or what have you.
Amenities in a condo complex include pools, Jacuzzis, barbecue pits, fitness centers, and more. Many units are within walking distance of the ocean and the white, sandy beaches and have easy access to shopping, museums, the Ferris wheel, birding trails, dolphin sighting boat rides, golf courses, and lots of restaurants. There's something for everyone right outside the door of your vacation abode.
When it's time to take a trip, head to the condos for rent in your destination locale. All of these amenities and more are waiting in the affordable, spacious, amenity-filled beach rental of your choice.
About the Author:
If you are planning a vacation to the area, there are Gulf Shores Condos for Rent that are sure to create the perfect atmosphere for a memorable getaway. Interested visitors to the area should visit http://www.benderrealty.com today to explore the various options available.
Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Condos-For-Rent-At-The-Beach/4316838
adrian gonzalez Jerry Nelson Foo Canoodle Isaac path Tropical Storm Isaac path Hurricane Katrina
To fight incurable metastatic breast cancer, resistance must be broken
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 10-Dec-2012[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Mary Beth O'Leary
moleary@cell.com
617-397-2802
Cell Press
One of the most frustrating truths about cancer is that even when a treatment works, it often doesnt work for long because cancer cells find ways to resist. However, researchers reporting studies done in mice in the December 11, 2012, issue of Cancer Cell, a Cell Press publication, may have a way to stay one step ahead in the case of aggressive metastatic breast cancer.
The findings emphasize the importance of basic cancer biology for advancing treatments that are more effective and less toxic, the researchers say.
"We need to gain a better understanding of the wiring diagram of cancer cells in order to anticipate resistance mechanisms and plan the right combination therapies," says Mohamed Bentires-Alj of the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research in Switzerland. "Moreover, we need to better understand how cancer progresses to metastases."
After all, the spreading of cancer through metastasis is responsible for most cancer-related deaths.
In the new study, Bentires-Alj and his colleagues examined cancer cell lines and primary breast tumors to see what happens when those cancers are treated with a new type of therapy that targets the so-called PI3K pathway.
"The PI3K pathway is frequently mutated and activated in several human cancers where it plays a key role in tumor development and maintenance as well as in resistance to therapy," Bentires-Alj says, which explains why clinical trials evaluating some 26 PI3K inhibitors are now underway.
While those inhibitors are promising, there is some bad news, as the new work shows. When triple-negative breast tumors are hit with PI3K inhibitors, cancer cells begin to produce a chemical that ramps up a second cancer pathway (JAK2/STAT5)one that encourages the cancer to spread.
Now for the good news: when the researchers treated mice with an aggressive form of breast cancer with drugs to block both PI3K and JAK2/STAT5 pathways, their tumors grew more slowly, spread less readily, and, ultimately, the animals lived longer.
If Bentires-Alj has his way, the findings in mice will lead to clinical trials in the patients who are most likely to benefit: those with particularly aggressive, triple-negative breast cancers.
"We are in the era of personalized medicine," he says. "We hope that this combination therapy will be tested in clinical trials and that the right patients will be selected for these studies."
###
Britschgi et al.: "JAK2/STAT5 Inhibition Circumvents Resistance to PI3K/mTOR Blockade, Providing a Rationale for Co-targeting these Pathways in Metastatic Breast Cancer."
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 10-Dec-2012[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Mary Beth O'Leary
moleary@cell.com
617-397-2802
Cell Press
One of the most frustrating truths about cancer is that even when a treatment works, it often doesnt work for long because cancer cells find ways to resist. However, researchers reporting studies done in mice in the December 11, 2012, issue of Cancer Cell, a Cell Press publication, may have a way to stay one step ahead in the case of aggressive metastatic breast cancer.
The findings emphasize the importance of basic cancer biology for advancing treatments that are more effective and less toxic, the researchers say.
"We need to gain a better understanding of the wiring diagram of cancer cells in order to anticipate resistance mechanisms and plan the right combination therapies," says Mohamed Bentires-Alj of the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research in Switzerland. "Moreover, we need to better understand how cancer progresses to metastases."
After all, the spreading of cancer through metastasis is responsible for most cancer-related deaths.
In the new study, Bentires-Alj and his colleagues examined cancer cell lines and primary breast tumors to see what happens when those cancers are treated with a new type of therapy that targets the so-called PI3K pathway.
"The PI3K pathway is frequently mutated and activated in several human cancers where it plays a key role in tumor development and maintenance as well as in resistance to therapy," Bentires-Alj says, which explains why clinical trials evaluating some 26 PI3K inhibitors are now underway.
While those inhibitors are promising, there is some bad news, as the new work shows. When triple-negative breast tumors are hit with PI3K inhibitors, cancer cells begin to produce a chemical that ramps up a second cancer pathway (JAK2/STAT5)one that encourages the cancer to spread.
Now for the good news: when the researchers treated mice with an aggressive form of breast cancer with drugs to block both PI3K and JAK2/STAT5 pathways, their tumors grew more slowly, spread less readily, and, ultimately, the animals lived longer.
If Bentires-Alj has his way, the findings in mice will lead to clinical trials in the patients who are most likely to benefit: those with particularly aggressive, triple-negative breast cancers.
"We are in the era of personalized medicine," he says. "We hope that this combination therapy will be tested in clinical trials and that the right patients will be selected for these studies."
###
Britschgi et al.: "JAK2/STAT5 Inhibition Circumvents Resistance to PI3K/mTOR Blockade, Providing a Rationale for Co-targeting these Pathways in Metastatic Breast Cancer."
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-12/cp-tfi120612.php
barbara walters tupelo honey limp bizkit stations of the cross nike foamposite galaxy bill maher seabiscuit
ROCCAT ISKU FX keyboard ships worldwide, lights up gaming for $100
ROCCAT's ISKU FX keyboard intrigued us back in the summer by adding some synchronicity to the usual gaming keyboard formula. We're glad to hear, then, that it's shipping just as much of its audience will get the games that should be its match. Players in multiple countries can pick up the ISKU FX this week at prices of either $100 for Americans or €100 in European countries like ROCCAT's native Germany. For the money, they're getting both 16.8 million hues to choose from as well as Philips Ambilight-style flashes in supporting games -- and the familiar control over a ROCCAT mouse if they're not always in the mood for an elaborate show. The ISKU FX might not lure in those who already have serious input at hand, but it could be the right complement to a new PC.
Continue reading ROCCAT ISKU FX keyboard ships worldwide, lights up gaming for $100
Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals
Source: ROCCAT
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/WWAFSaLdBTg/
Kitty Wells Marissa Mayer Jon Lord weather.com Colorado shootings dark knight rises Aurora shooting
Monday, December 10, 2012
Valve developing gaming console | Technoholik.com
Valve?s Gabe Newell spoke to Kotaku during this year?s Video Game Awards about his plans for the coming years. The recently released Steam's Big Picture mode has received better than expected results, according to Newell, which is being developed as a precursor to Valve?s ambitions to get into the living room.
The company is developing technologies around a gaming console that would be much like Xbox and PlayStation, in purpose and system. The next big milestone on the development path will be a stable release of Steam Linux that is capable of running Steam's Big Picture. Valve is simultaneously working on a new game engine that is destined for the console, and subsequently lead to a new game from the studio.
Source: Kotaku
Source: http://technoholik.com/news/gaming/pc/valve-developing-gaming-console/4411
johnny depp jerry sandusky raul ibanez completely wrong hayden panettiere mila kunis stacey dash
Best Innovation Policy for Your Business | Regional Economic ...
In every business, you will find a bunch of leaders as well as followers. Leaders are the ones who adapt to change, and use new innovation policies in their businesses and products when the need arises. In order to come up with the best innovation policy, it is important that it is born after a series of new and artistic ideas, and then these driving innovation policies are implemented, this would result in making some sweeping changes in the brand image of your product and company, and gain u massive customer loyalty.
While marketing a product, it is more about creating a product that would be new better, and presentable. These new products may be created completely from starch, or an amendment to an existing product or idea. Nevertheless, the idea is to create driving innovation policies that would attract customers from all over, and come up with an innovation policy that would make it easier to market the product.
Innovation policy may consist of making your product better throughout the time, and coming up with different kinds of products that may gain you huge revenues in the end. The reality of taking managing a business is that, without improving your products throughout, there is no chance that your business would survive. Therefore, driving innovation policies are a must, that would keep your business alive and competitive in the market. The main reason behind this fact is that because of the changing taste of customers, products are likely to have a very short life in the market. Even if you take the example of any of the successful companies, you will notice that they keep coming with newer ideas and policies to keep their market image alive, and gain even more customers with every new product. From companies producing handbags to mobile phones, driving innovation is the key to success. Without having a sound innovation policy, any of these businesses would be destined to failure.
In order to come up with the best policy, it is important that you amalgamate productive management style to your business. An effective productive management style would mean that the management is able of producing a certain kind of working environment that results in a motivated staff, and this is the reason why employees from every level play their role in taking the business towards success. The best driving innovation policy is the one in which you create a rewarding system for your employees for any of the contribution they make in producing an effective innovation policy. The rewarding system is one of the most successful driving innovation, as when employees realize that their work is being recognized by the company, they would eventually like to work even harder and make even better improvements to the company policies. Moreover, a well-planned rewarding system would also bring the whole workforce together, as they would find it easier to work together and come up with effective driving innovation.
Source: http://www.redeplan.org/best-innovation-policy-for-your-business.html
the third man 2012 nfl draft order mohamed sanu chris polk chicago bulls st louis blues rueben randle
HUAWEI donates computers and USD 10,000 to Mkanyageni - Jiachie
The Huawei Technologies (T) Company Limited Executive Director, Mr. Kenneth Luo (second right) shake hands with the Minister of Communication, Science and Technology, Hon. Professor Makame Mnyaa Mbarawa (second left) when he (Mr. Luo) hands over the dummy cheque of US dollars 10,000 (Tsh. 16m) donated by Huawei Technologies (T) Limited to Mkanyageni Primary School?s Head Teacher, Mr Ramadhani Ngwali (third left) during a handover ceremony held at school?s premises in Pemba over the weekend. Looking on first right is the Huawei?s Public Relations Director Peter Jiang, Pemba District Commissioner Mr. Jabu Khamis Mbwana (first left), and Huawei?s Marketing Director Moses Hella (fourth left). During the event Huawei also donated five computers to the school as part of the company?s ICT talents development initiative dubbed ?Huawei ICT Star? program
The Minister of Communication, Science and Technology, Hon. Professor Makame Mnyaa Mbarawa (second right-standing) speaks to Mkanyageni Primary School?s teachers and pupils (not in the picture) during a handover ceremony of? US dollars 10,000 (Tsh. 16m) donated by Huawei Technologies (T) Limited to Mkanyageni Primary School. The ceremony was held at school?s premises in Pemba over the weekend. Listening upfront, first right is the Huawei?s Executive Director, Mr. Kenneth Luo, Public Relations Director Peter Jiang, (first left) and Huawei?s Marketing Director Moses Hella (fourth left). During the event Huawei also donated five computers to the school as part of the company?s ICT talents development initiative dubbed ?Huawei ICT Star? program.
The Minister of Communication, Science and Technology, Hon. Professor Makame Mnyaa Mbarawa (left) stresses a point to Huawei?s Technologies (T) Company Limited Executive Director, Mr. Kenneth Luo (right) during a handover ceremony of? US dollars 10,000 (Tsh. 16m) donated by Huawei Technologies (T) Limited to Mkanyageni Primary School. The ceremony was held at school?s premises in Pemba over the weekend. Huawei also donated five computers to the school as part of the company?s ICT talents development initiative dubbed ?Huawei ICT Star? program.
The Huawei?s Technologies (T) Company Limited Public Relations Director Mr Peter Jiang (right) shake hands with Mkanyageni Primary School Head Teacher Mr Ramadhani Ngwali to congratulate him after receiving a donation of US dollars 10,000 (Tsh. 16m) and five computers from Huawei Technologies (T) Limited as part of the company?s ICT talents development initiative dubbed ?Huawei ICT Star? program. The handover ceremony was held at school?s premises in Pemba over the weekend. Center is the Marketing Director of Huawei Technologies (T) Limited Mr. Moses Hella,
======= ?======== ?======= ?======
HUAWEI donates computers and USD 10,000 to Mkanyageni Primary School
By our correspondent, Pemba.
HUAWEI Technologies Tanzania Limited has donated five computers and USD 10,000 (Tsh. 16m) to Mkanyageni Primary School in Pemba, as part of the company?s initiative dubbed ?Huawei ICT Star? program that aims at fostering Information Communication Technology (ICT) development and talent training in Tanzania.
Speaking during the handover ceremony at the school?s premises in Pemba at the weekend, Huawei Technologies? Tanzania Channel Director Mr. Moses Hella said the support will go a long way in enabling Mkanyageni Primary School?s students to learn the ICT skills and improve the school?s learning environment.
Mr. Hella said that ICT is an enabler of technology innovation, driving social and economic development, and creating value for individuals and society as a whole.??By enabling students acquire ICT skills, we will be creating a society that is technologically advance, a society that can survive in this world faced by lots of technological changes due to globalization.??ICT skills will enable students get an easy access to information through internet connection that can help them in their studies and therefore improve their academic performance and ultimately change their lives completely,? Moses said.
Mr. Hella added that in the future, a number of schools will be selected and Huawei will assist them according to their needs, adding that the candidates for the program are selected after sending their application to Huawei offices and then the application goes through a screening process done by the Huawei team to ensure that the aid goes to serve the purpose of the program.?On his part the guest of honour of the event, Hon Minister of Communication, Science and Technology, Professor Makame Mnyaa Mbarawa Said Huawei?s support came at the right time when the government is putting much effort in imparting the information and communication technology skills to primary and secondary schools? students in the country.
He said that the Huawei?s ICT Star program is a stepping stone to Tanzania?s technological advancement in the global world as more students will be imparted with the skills hence having more ICT?s experts in the country.??He also urge Mkanyageni Primary School administration to take care of the five computers donated by HUAWEI and use the USD 10,000 (Tsh. 16m) given to the school in projects that will see the school?s performance improve.???I urge the school?s administration without forgetting the students to handle the donated computers with care and invest the USD 10,000 (Tsh. 16m) in projects that can help the school?s performance improve,? said Prof. Mbarawa.
Earlier, the Mkanyageni Primary School Head teacher, Mr Ramadhani Ngwali applauded HUAWEI?s support and said that the donation will help in improving the school?s learning environment and performance and also urged other companies to emulate HUAWEI?s example.
?We are very grateful for the support from HUAWEI Technologies (Tanzania) Company limited and we promise to take care of the computers in a way that they will help many students to acquire ICT skills once their studies are over,? Ngwali said.
Source: http://michuzijr.blogspot.com/2012/12/huawei-donates-computers-and-usd-10000.html
uc berkeley harrison barnes brett ratner stevie nicks anchorman capybara duggars
Chavez faces new cancer battle, another operation
A person holds up an image of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez among religious images during a demonstration in support of him at the Simon Bolivar square in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday Dec. 9, 2012. Chavez was heading back to Cuba on Sunday for more cancer surgery after announcing that the illness returned despite two previous operations, chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Chavez said Saturday that if there are "circumstances that prevent me from exercising the presidency further" Vice-President Nicolas Maduro should replace him for the remainder of his term. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
A person holds up an image of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez among religious images during a demonstration in support of him at the Simon Bolivar square in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday Dec. 9, 2012. Chavez was heading back to Cuba on Sunday for more cancer surgery after announcing that the illness returned despite two previous operations, chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Chavez said Saturday that if there are "circumstances that prevent me from exercising the presidency further" Vice-President Nicolas Maduro should replace him for the remainder of his term. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
People pray during a demonstration in support of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez at the Simon Bolivar square in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday Dec. 9, 2012. Chavez was heading back to Cuba on Sunday for more cancer surgery after announcing that the illness returned despite two previous operations, chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Chavez said Saturday that if there are "circumstances that prevent me from exercising the presidency further" Vice-President Nicolas Maduro should replace him for the remainder of his term. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
A Venezuelan woman cheers during a demonstration in support of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez in front of the embassy of Venezuela in Havana, Cuba, Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012. Chavez is to return to Cuba Sunday for another surgery in his battle against cancer, which has led him to speak publicly of a successor for the first time. Chavez said Saturday that if there are "circumstances that prevent me from exercising the presidency further" Vice-President Nicolas Maduro should replace him for the remainder of his term.(AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A woman holds a picture of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez as supporters gather at Simon Bolivar square in Caracas,Venezuela, Sunday Dec. 9, 2012. Chavez is to return to Cuba Sunday for another surgery in his battle against cancer, which has led him to speak publicly of a successor for the first time. Chavez said Saturday that if there are "circumstances that prevent me from exercising the presidency further" Vice-President Nicolas Maduro should replace him for the remainder of his term.(AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
A woman reacts during a demonstration in support of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez at the Simon Bolivar square in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday Dec. 9, 2012. Chavez was heading back to Cuba on Sunday for more cancer surgery after announcing that the illness returned despite two previous operations, chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Chavez said Saturday that if there are "circumstances that prevent me from exercising the presidency further" Vice-President Nicolas Maduro should replace him for the remainder of his term.(AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) ? Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez flew to Cuba on Monday for a third cancer operation after designating the vice president as his political heir.
State television showed images of Chavez hugging Vice President Nicolas Maduro and other aides before boarding the presidential jet.
Chavez raised a fist as he climbed the stairs alone. From the doorway of the plane, he waved and shouted "Long live our homeland!"
The president has said he will undergo cancer surgery in Havana in the coming days. Chavez, who had returned from Cuba early Friday, said on television Saturday that tests had found a return of "some malignant cells" in the same area where tumors were previously removed.
He also said for the first time that if he suffers complications, Maduro should be elected as Venezuela's leader to continue his socialist movement.
State television reported that Chavez departed for Cuba after 1 a.m. on Monday. Video of his departure was shown hours later.
"I hope to return soon," Chavez said at an earlier meeting with military commanders where he promoted his defense minister, Diego Molero, to the rank of admiral in chief.
Seated together at the presidential palace, Chavez showed Molero and other military commanders a golden sword that once belonged to independence hero Simon Bolivar. Chavez held the sword as he told the officers that he fully trusts them.
He also warned of potential conspiracies by enemies, both foreign and domestic.
"I'm totally sure that our homeland is safe," Chavez told them. He urged them "not to give in to intrigue."
Chavez, a former army paratroop commander who was first elected in 1998, won re-election in October and is due to be sworn in for a new six-year term on Jan. 10.
Lawmakers on Sunday voted unanimously to grant Chavez permission to leave the country for the operation.
He has called his relapse a "new battle" and said there are risks. It will be his third operation to remove cancerous tissue in about a year and a half.
The president underwent surgery for an unspecified type of pelvic cancer in Cuba in June 2011, after an earlier operation for a pelvic abscess. He had another cancer surgery last February after a tumor appeared in the same area. He has also undergone chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
Chavez said in July that tests showed he was cancer-free. But he had recently reduced his public appearances and on Nov. 27 returned to Cuba for hyperbaric oxygen treatment. Such treatment is regularly used to help heal tissues damaged by radiation treatment.
Chavez's supporters poured into city plazas across the nation on Sunday to pray for his recovery. Some wiped tears, while others held photos of him and chanted in unison: "Ooh-Ah! Chavez isn't going away!"
Several Latin American leaders sent messages wishing Chavez a speedy recovery. Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa, a close ally, announced on Twitter Monday morning that he was traveling to Havana to visit with Chavez.
___
Ian James on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ianjamesap
Associated Pressphish gluten free diet barry zito mac virus santorum drops out bby zimmerman website
Stock market is a wild card in fiscal cliff talks
FILE - In this Nov. 16, 2012, file photo, President Barack Obama acknowledges House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio while speaking to reporters in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, as he hosted a meeting of the bipartisan, bicameral leadership of Congress to discuss the deficit and economy. Admnistration officials say President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner met Sunda, Dec. 9, 2012, at the White House to discuss the ongoing negotiations over the impeding "fiscal cliff." Spokesmen for both Obama and Boehner said the two men agreed to not release details of the conversation, but emphasized that the lines of communication remain open. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
FILE - In this Nov. 16, 2012, file photo, President Barack Obama acknowledges House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio while speaking to reporters in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, as he hosted a meeting of the bipartisan, bicameral leadership of Congress to discuss the deficit and economy. Admnistration officials say President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner met Sunda, Dec. 9, 2012, at the White House to discuss the ongoing negotiations over the impeding "fiscal cliff." Spokesmen for both Obama and Boehner said the two men agreed to not release details of the conversation, but emphasized that the lines of communication remain open. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Congress and the White House can significantly soften the initial impact of the "fiscal cliff" even if they fail to reach a compromise by Dec. 31. One thing they cannot control, however, is the financial markets' reaction, which possibly could be a panicky sell-off that triggers economic reversals worldwide.
The stock market's unpredictability is perhaps the biggest wild card in the political showdown over the fiscal cliff.
President Barack Obama's re-election gives him a strong negotiating hand, as Republicans are increasingly acknowledging. And some Democrats are willing to let the Dec. 31 deadline pass, because a rash of broad-based tax hikes would pressure Republicans to give more ground in renewed deficit-reduction negotiations.
A chief fear for Obama's supporters, however, is that Wall Street would be so disgusted or dismayed that stocks would plummet before lawmakers could prove their newfound willingness to mitigate the fiscal cliff's harshest measures, including deep, across-the-board spending cuts that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says could significantly damage the nation's military posture. Some Republicans believe that fear will temper the president's insistence on a hard bargain this month. Obama and GOP House Speaker John Boehner on Sunday held their first meeting between just the two of them since the election, and spokesmen for both emphasized afterward their lines of communication remain open.
The so-called cliff's recipe of major tax hikes and spending cuts can actually be a gentle slope, because the policy changes would be phased in over time. Washington insiders say Congress and the White House would move quickly in January or February to undo many, but not all, of the tax hikes and spending cuts.
Financial markets, however, respond to emotion as well as to research, reason and promises. If New Year's headlines scream "Negotiations Collapse," an emotional sell-off could threaten the president's hopes for continued economic recovery in his second term, even if Republicans receive most of the blame for the impasse.
"Nobody can predict the markets' reaction," said Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn.
Some Republicans are surprised that the White House has not made clearer efforts to reassure Wall Street that if the Dec. 31 deadline is breached, the worrisome pile of tax increases and spending cuts would not hit all at once.
A few liberal commentators are making just that case.
"If we go past the so-called fiscal cliff deadlines and all the resulting budget cuts and tax increases come into force, the administration can minimize the damage," Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne wrote last week. "Obama can publicly announce he is delaying any cuts, on the theory that Congress will eventually vitiate some of them. And he can make sure the bond markets know of his plans well in advance. ... Everyone (especially Wall Street) should calm down."
Some financial bloggers agree. "Although it would be bad to let the spending cuts and tax hikes fully go into effect, if this thing is addressed in early January, things will be okay," wrote Business Insider's Joe Weisenthal.
So far, the stock markets have stayed calm. The S&P 500 index is up 12 percent for the year.
That might be because investors agree that a temporary trip over the cliff wouldn't be too harmful. Chastened lawmakers, the thinking goes, would quickly minimize the economic damage with a deficit-reduction compromise that eluded them in December.
Or, it's possible that investors view the most pessimistic tones surrounding the fiscal cliff talks as posturing that will give way to a last-minute deal. If that is the thinking ? and if the Dec. 31 deadline instead is breached ? Obama's fear might come to pass: The expectation of a deal might produce a significant decline in stock prices if it doesn't occur.
As bad as that sounds, some liberals think it will be necessary to force many Republicans to drop their opposition to higher tax rates on the wealthy that Obama says are crucial to trimming the deficit.
Rep. Peter Welch, a Vermont Democrat who says temporarily going over the cliff wouldn't be so bad, noted what happened on Sept. 29, 2008. The House surprised investors by rejecting a proposed bailout of the crisis-stricken financial sector. Republicans strongly opposed the plan despite then-President George W. Bush's support. The Dow plunged 777 points, its largest one-day point drop ever.
Four days later the House, shaken by the market reaction, passed a slightly modified bailout bill.
Welch said a similar market meltdown next month, in the event of a fiscal cliff impasse, "is what will force members of Congress eventually to act."
Few lawmakers in either party are eager to predict how the stocks and bonds markets would react to a failure to reach a fiscal cliff accord by year's end.
"Let's not pretend the markets fully understand the politicians, or the politicians fully understand the markets," said Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., who has served in Congress for 37 years.
___
Follow Charles Babington on Twitter: http://twitter.com/cbabington
Associated Pressbud shootout aretha franklin stevie wonder new orleans weather new orleans weather sparkle sacagawea
Egypt panel recommends referendum be held on time
An Egyptian protester takes a picture with his mobile of his children on top of an Egyptian army tank outside the presidential palace, background, in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012. Egypt's military warned Saturday of 'disastrous consequences' if the crisis that sent tens of thousands of protesters back into the streets is not resolved, signaling the army's return to an increasingly polarized and violent political scene.(AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
An Egyptian protester takes a picture with his mobile of his children on top of an Egyptian army tank outside the presidential palace, background, in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012. Egypt's military warned Saturday of 'disastrous consequences' if the crisis that sent tens of thousands of protesters back into the streets is not resolved, signaling the army's return to an increasingly polarized and violent political scene.(AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi is seen during a photo opportunity in his office at the presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012. Egypt's military said Saturday that serious dialogue is the "best and only" way to overcome the nation's deepening conflict over a disputed draft constitution hurriedly adopted by Islamist allies of President Mohammed Morsi, and recent decrees granting himself near-absolute powers.(AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
An Egyptian vendor sells tags that read in Arabic, "no to the constitution," outside the presidential palace, in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012. Egypt's military warned on Saturday of "disastrous consequences" if the crisis that sent tens of thousands of protesters back into the streets is not resolved, signaling the army's return to an increasingly polarized and violent political scene.(AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
An Egyptian protester takes a picture with his mobile of another in front of an Egyptian army tank outside the presidential palace, background, in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012. Egypt's military has warned of 'disastrous consequences' if the political crisis gripping the country is not resolved through dialogue. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
An Egyptian passes riot policemen guarding a gate of the presidential palace under a banner with a defaced picture of president Mohammed Morsi and Arabic that reads "the people want to bring down the regime," at the protests site, in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012. Egypt's military has warned of 'disastrous consequences' if the political crisis gripping the country is not resolved through dialogue. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
CAIRO (AP) ? A national dialogue committee said a referendum on a disputed draft constitution will be held on schedule, but President Mohammed Morsi has agreed to rescind the near-absolute power he had granted himself.
The statement came after a meeting that was boycotted by the main opposition leaders who are calling for the Dec. 15 vote to be canceled.
Morsi had called for the dialogue to try to defuse a spiraling crisis, but the decision appeared unlikely to appease the opposition since it recommends the referendum go ahead as scheduled. Morsi's initial declaration was to be rendered ineffective anyway after the referendum.
Gamal Eid, a human rights lawyer, said the recommendations to rescind some powers were a "play on words" since Morsi had already achieved the desired aim of finalizing the draft constitution and protecting it from a judicial challenge.
The charter, which would enshrine Islamic law and was drafted despite a boycott by secular and Christian members of the assembly, is at the heart of a political crisis that began Nov. 22 when Morsi granted himself authority without judicial oversight.
Opposition activists are camping outside the presidential palace and are calling for more protests on Sunday.
Several rallies on both sides have drawn tens of thousands of people into the streets and sparked fierce bouts of street battles that have left at least six people dead. Several offices of the president's Muslim Brotherhood also have been torched in the unrest.
Selim al-Awa, an Islamist at the meeting, said the committee found it would be a violation of earlier decisions to change the date of the referendum.
However, the committee recommended removing articles that granted Morsi powers to declare emergency laws and shield him from judicial oversight.
Members of the committee said Morsi had agreed to the recommendations, but there was no confirmation from the Islamist leader.
Bassem Sabry, a writer and activist, called the changes a "stunt" that would embarrass the opposition by making it look like Morsi was willing to compromise but not solve the problem.
"In the end, Morsi got everything he wanted," he said, pointing out the referendum would be held without the consensus Morsi had promised to seek and without giving people sufficient time to study the document.
The majority of the 54 members of the committee were Islamists, as well as members of the constitutional panel that drafted the disputed charter. But the main opponents were not present at the meeting, which lasted over 10 hours.
The panel also said that if the constitution is rejected by voters, Morsi will call for the election of a new drafting committee within three months, a prospect that would prolong the transition.
Opponents say the draft constitution disregards the rights of women and Christians.
The president has insisted his decrees were meant to protect the country's transition to democracy from former regime figures trying to derail it.
The deepening political rift in Egypt had triggered an earlier warning Saturday from the military of "disastrous consequences" if the constitutional crisis isn't resolved through dialogue.
It was the first political statement by the military since the newly elected Morsi sidelined it from political life.
Weeks after he was sworn in, Morsi ordered its two top generals to retire, and gave himself legislative powers that the military had assumed in the absence of parliament, which had been dissolved by the courts.
The military said serious dialogue is the "best and only" way to overcome the conflict, which has left the country deeply divided between Islamist supporters of the president and his mostly secular opponents.
"Anything other than (dialogue) will force us into a dark tunnel with disastrous consequences, something which we won't allow," the military said in a statement broadcast on state TV and attributed to an unnamed military official.
Heightening the tension, Hazem Abu Ismail, the leader of group of radical Islamists staging a sit-in outside a media complex on the outskirts of Cairo, gave a thinly veiled threat of more violence, saying the protest outside the presidential palace was an "affront" to the president and will not be tolerated.
Earlier this week, the area around the palace was the scene of the worst civilian clashes since Morsi came to power.
In an attempt to calm the situation, Morsi called for Saturday's dialogue. But the main opposition leaders refused to attend, saying it didn't address their main demands and was being held under the threat of violence against protesters.
"No reasonable person would agree to be part of a dialogue held at the point of a sword," the National Salvation Front said in a statement.
The crisis began Nov. 22 when Morsi granted himself authority free of judicial oversight, mainly because he feared a looming court decision that was expected to declare the Islamist-led constitutional drafting assembly illegal and order it disbanded. The assembly then quickly adopted a draft constitution despite a walkout by Christian and secular members.
The moves touched off a new wave of opposition and unprecedented clashes between the president's Islamist supporters, led by the Muslim Brotherhood, and protesters accusing him of becoming a new strongman.
With the specter of more fighting among Egyptians looming, the military sealed off the presidential palace plaza with tanks and barbed wire.
State media also reported that the government was working on a new law to allow the military to arrest civilians, but there was no official word on that either.
The state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper quoted an unnamed military official as saying the move would be "preventive" if the situation worsened.
The report could not be independently confirmed and the law would have to be signed by Morsi before it takes effect.
At the presidential palace sit-in on Saturday, TV footage showed the military setting up a new wall of cement blocks around the palace.
Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Mahmoud Ghozlan accused the opposition of seeking the military's return to politics by "pushing matters to the brink."
He said the military statement showed it agrees on the legitimacy of the elected president, the referendum plans and state institutions, and will protect them from any "attack."
The group's top leader Mohammed Badie and his powerful deputy Khairat el-Shater, meanwhile, held news conferences alleging a conspiracy to topple Morsi, although they presented little proof.
Badie said the opposition, which has accused his group of violence, is responsible for attacks on Muslim Brotherhood offices. He also claimed that most of those killed in last week's violence at the palace and other governorates were Brotherhood members.
"These are crimes, not opposition or disagreement in opinion," he said.
Meanwhile, the opposition accused gangs organized by the Brotherhood and other Islamists of attacking its protesters, calling on Morsi to disband them and open an investigation into the bloodshed.
Meanwhile, with dialogue boycotted by the main opposition players, members of a so-called Alliance of Islamists forces warned it will take all measures to protect "legitimacy" and the president ? comments that signal further violence may lie ahead.
Mostafa el-Naggar, a former lawmaker and protest leader during the uprising that led to Mubarak's ouster in February 2011, said the Brotherhood and military statements suggested the crisis was far from over.
"As it stands, Egypt is captive to internal decisions of the Brotherhood," he said.
Associated Pressthe glass castle jennifer hudson trial north korea threat brandon jacobs brandon jacobs brian dawkins emma roberts
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)