Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Eurozone unemployment ends 2011 at record high

FILE - In this Oct. 30, 2007 file photo, employees are silhouetted at the Boehringer Ingelheim pharmaceutical factory in Ingelheim, central Germany. The Federal Labor Agency said Tuesday, Jan 31, 2012 that Germany's unemployment is back over 7 percent, after jumping 0.7 percentage points in January as winter hits certain industries such as construction. (AP Photo/Michael Pobst, file)

FILE - In this Oct. 30, 2007 file photo, employees are silhouetted at the Boehringer Ingelheim pharmaceutical factory in Ingelheim, central Germany. The Federal Labor Agency said Tuesday, Jan 31, 2012 that Germany's unemployment is back over 7 percent, after jumping 0.7 percentage points in January as winter hits certain industries such as construction. (AP Photo/Michael Pobst, file)

FILE - The Feb 24, 2011 file photo shows a workers mounting a door at the assembly line of the Golf production in the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg, Germany. The Federal Labor Agency said Tuesday, Jan 31, 2012 that Germany's unemployment is back over 7 percent, after jumping 0.7 percentage points in January as winter hits certain industries such as construction. (AP Photo/Ferdinand Ostrop)

(AP) ? Unemployment across the 17 countries that use the euro ended 2011 at a record high of one person in every 10, official figures showed Tuesday, a day after EU leaders acknowledged they would have to boost economic growth with the same urgency that they had shown in combating their nations' debts.

Eurostat, the EU's statistics office, said the 10.4 per cent unemployment rate in December was unchanged at its highest level since the euro was launched in 1999, as November's was revised upward from a previous estimate of 10.3 percent. Unemployment has been steadily rising over the past year ? in December 2010, it stood at 9.5 percent ? largely because of Europe's debt crisis.

There are huge disparities across the eurozone, however, with those countries at the front line of Europe's current financial turmoil, such as Greece and Spain, suffering record rates of unemployment that are stoking concerns about the social fabric of their societies ? Spain's unemployment stands at a staggering 22.9 percent and Greece's is not far behind at 19.2 percent.

What even those figures mask is that unemployment among the young is much, much higher. Latest figures from Spain show unemployment among people aged under 25 was 48.7 percent, prompting concerns that an entire generation of people could fail to accumulate the necessary skills and experience for a prosperous life.

At the other end of the scale, some countries like Austria are operating not far off what is considered to be the natural rate of unemployment in an economy of 4.1 per cent, while Germany's rate at a post-unification low of 5.5 per cent.

Since Europe's debt crisis exploded around two years ago, the focus has been on austerity, with governments getting their houses in order with big, often-savage spending cuts, and tax increases.

However, there are growing signs that Europe is changing tack, and that measures to boost growth and jobs are now central to the crisis resolution effort.

On Monday, at a summit in Brussels designed to shore up the euro's budgetary defenses against debt, EU leaders promised to stimulate growth and create jobs across the region.

"Yes we need discipline, but we also need growth," said Jose Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, the EU's executive arm.

The leaders pledged to offer more training for young people to ease their transition into the work force, to deploy unused development funds to create jobs, to reduce barriers to doing business across the EU's 27 countries and ensure that small businesses have access to credit.

The task is hand is massive, with just under 16.5 million people unemployed in the eurozone, up 751,000 on the year before. Across the EU, which includes non-euro countries such as Britain and Poland, the number of unemployed stands at 23.8 million, or 9.9 percent of the potential work force.

Even if reforms to economies across Europe help boost growth and potential employment opportunities, there are many headwinds that will be difficult to overcome, not least the fear that many economies will slip back into recession in the wake of ongoing austerity measures and subdued global demand.

"Governments in these countries urgently need to deliver labor market reforms that make it more attractive to hire workers and ensure that young people in particular are not put at risk of permanent exclusion from the work force," said Tom Rogers, a senior economic adviser at consultants Ernst & Young .

"Such reforms, if swiftly implemented, could have a powerful impact on confidence in the near term, and help ease the burden of the current crisis," Rogers added.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-31-EU-Europe-Economy/id-392c7c5fdb474a70b43fc58123deda08

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CCMI: Roaming costs contribute to lost business in 1 of 4 Fortune ...

According to a research from CCMI, a majority of Fortune 1000 companies are pursuing alternatives to control the exorbitant wireless bills incurred when employees do business internationally.

Here?s what the report, commissioned by Truphone, reveals:

  • 40% of companies are forbidding or curtailing business usage of wireless devices while abroad to help manage costs.
  • 24% said that they have lost business as a result of roaming costs.
  • Nearly 37% of companies surveyed spend $1,000 or more per month per user on average wireless roaming costs for their international travelers, with stories of single monthly bill charges ranging from $10,000 to $200,000.

In addition, the study also reveals other key findings related to roaming expenditures, alternatives corporations are using to offset roaming costs, travel trends and more? You can get the full report from here, and while at Truphone?s website ? download their VoIP app to save some cash yourself. It [app] is available for all popular platforms, including the iOS and Android?

About The Author

Dusan Belic

Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The "convergence" is what he's most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do. In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it's an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he's there to try it out. He admits though, he's still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which "sings" perfectly with the mobile PIM application. Dusan used to run SymbianWatch.com which later became part of IntoMobile. He lives in Serbia, South-East Europe, from where he edits the site on a daily basis.

');NS_AdDivs.push(NS_AdDiv);NS_AdZones.push(NS_AdZone);NS_Ads++;

Source: http://www.intomobile.com/2012/01/30/ccmi-roaming-costs-contribute-lost-business-1-4-fortune-1000-companies/

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Monday, January 30, 2012

Jerkface Guy Sexts a Naked Picture of a Teenage Girl to Teach Her a Lesson [Crime]

Eugene Foster, a 31-year-old man, found a nude picture of his girlfriend's daughter on her phone and decided to teach her a lesson by sending that naked picture of her to everyone on her contact list. Uhh... yeah, that's pretty much historically horrible parenting. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/exzjK9N6aNo/jerkface-guy-sexts-a-naked-picture-of-a-teenage-girl-to-teach-her-a-lesson

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Neeson's "Grey" wins box office weekend (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? Survival story "The Grey" starring Liam Neeson in a battle against weather and wolves led the box office pack with a better-than-expected $20 million in ticket sales over the weekend.

"The Grey" knocked last weekend's winner, "Underworld: Awakening," to second place. The vampire and werewolf sequel starring Kate Beckinsale brought in $12.5 million from Friday through Sunday at domestic theaters, according to studio estimates compiled by Reuters on Sunday.

In "The Grey," Neeson returns to an action role as a man who leads a team of plane crash survivors who must fight harsh weather and a fierce pack of wolves in the Alaskan wilderness.

The movie played at 3,185 North American (U.S. and Canadian) theaters and earned a per-theater average of $6,279, according to the box office division of Hollywood.com.

Distributor Open Road Films acquired the film for about $5 million and had projected up to $12 million in debut weekend sales. The film beat that forecast because "it doesn't look like every other movie out there. In a crowded marketplace, I think it's important to be distinctive," said Open Road Films CEO Tom Ortenburg.

Katherine Heigl's new comedy, "One for the Money," finished in third place with $11.8 million, topping industry forecasts of less than $10 million for the film based on a best-selling book by Janet Evanovich. Distributor Lions Gate Entertainment said readers who loved the book helped the movie beat expectations.

"We think the audience that showed up are not frequent moviegoers. They're just huge fans of Janet Evanovich," said David Spitz, head of domestic distribution for Lions Gate.

In the film, Heigl plays a cash-strapped woman who joins a bail-bond business and must track down a wanted man who happens to be an ex-boyfriend. Audiences surveyed by exit polling firm CinemaScore game the movie a B-minus on average.

OSCAR BOOST

The weekend's other new movie, crime drama "Man on a Ledge," landed in fifth place. The film was distributed by Lions Gate's newly acquired Summit Entertainment unit as release dates and marketing plans were set well before the studios combined earlier this month.

"Man on a Ledge" took in $8.3 million, within studio forecasts. The movie features "Avatar" star Sam Worthington as a fugitive who threatens to jump from a hotel ledge.

"Red Tails," a drama about black fighter pilots in World War Two, brought in $10.4 million to land in fourth place in its second weekend in theaters.

Also this weekend, a crop of films capitalized off last week's Oscar nominations.

"The Descendants," starring George Clooney as a father dealing with a family crisis, expanded to 2,001 theaters from 560 and gained 176 percent from last weekend. The movie took in $6.6 million, lifting its domestic tally to $58.5 million since its release last November. The movie has added $27 million in international markets for a worldwide total of $85.5 million.

Black-and-white silent film "The Artist" increased its weekend sales by 40 percent from a week earlier, bringing in $3.3 million after adding 235 more screens. To date, the film has grossed $16.7 million domestically.

Family film "Hugo," which led the Oscar nominations with 11, also jumped 143 percent to $2.3 million. Its total sales to date stand at $58.7 million domestically.

Open Road Films, a joint venture between theater owners Regal Entertainment Group and AMC Entertainment Inc, released "The Grey." The film unit of Sony Corp distributed "Underworld: Awakening." "Red Tails" and "The Descendants" were released by divisions of News Corp's Fox Filmed Entertainment. Privately-held The Weinstein Co released "The Artist," and Viacom Inc unit Paramount Pictures distributed "Hugo."

(Reporting By Lisa Richwine; Editing by Xavier Briand and Paul Simao)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120129/film_nm/us_boxoffice

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Sunday, January 29, 2012

Egypt says it has ended US lobbyists' contract

An Egyptian woman reacts casting her ballot at a polling station in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. Egyptians cast their ballots on Sunday for the upper house of parliament, a largely consultative body with limited powers. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

An Egyptian woman reacts casting her ballot at a polling station in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. Egyptians cast their ballots on Sunday for the upper house of parliament, a largely consultative body with limited powers. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

(AP) ? Egypt's Foreign Ministry said Sunday it has ended a contract with three Washington lobbying firms to cut expenses, denying reports that the Americans were the ones to sever the contract.

The rupture occurred as Cairo faces criticism from Washington for banning at least 10 Americans and Europeans from leaving the country as part of an investigation into foreign-funded civil society organizations. Among those barred was Sam LaHood of the U.S.-based International Republican Institute, who is the son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

The ban sparked anger in the United States, and Washington warned on Tuesday that the campaign raised concerns about Egypt's transition to democracy and could jeopardize American aid that Egypt's battered economy needs badly after a year of political and social unrest.

The travel ban was part of an Egyptian criminal investigation into foreign-funded democracy organizations after soldiers raided the offices of 10 such groups last month, including the IRI and its sister organization, the National Democratic Institute, as well as several Egyptian organizations.

Both the IRI and the NDI, linked to the Republican and Democratic parties, monitored Egypt's recent parliamentary elections.

The Egyptian investigation is closely linked with the political turmoil that has engulfed the country since the fall of Hosni Mubarak nearly a year ago. The generals who took power after Mubarak's fall have accused "foreign hands" of being behind protests against their rule, and they frequently depict the protesters themselves as receiving foreign funds in a plot to destabilize the country.

The December raids have drew sharp U.S. criticism, and President Barack Obama has spoken by telephone with Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the head of the ruling military council, to emphasize "the role that these organizations can play in civil society," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Thursday.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry's statement was issued two days after Politico reported that former Republican Rep. Bob Livingston, former Democratic Rep. Toby Moffett and longtime lobbyist Tony Podesta ended their contract with the Egyptian government.

The lobbyists confirmed in a statement Saturday that they were immediately terminating their four-year relationship with the Egyptian government.

"We hope that Egyptians continue to enjoy the deepening of democracy in their country, and that Egypt remains a strong, stable and vital ally of the United States," the three lobbyists said in a joint statement.

Politico reported earlier that the firms came under criticism after circulating talking points justifying Egyptian security forces' raids on a number of NGOs including American groups.

Meanwhile, a delegation from Egypt's Defense Ministry has arrived in New York, Egypt's state news agency reported.

MENA quoted military attache Gen. Mohammed el-Kishki as saying that the visit was aimed at discussing "cooperation between the two countries in military affairs."

Egypt's army, which took power after the February 2011 ouster of Hosni Mubarak, receives 1.3 billion dollars a year in U.S. foreign assistance.

The country's aid package has come under pressure by members of Congress who want assurances that Egypt will abide by a 1979 peace treaty with Israel, and that the military rulers will respect democratic freedoms.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-29-Egypt-US/id-60588042fcbb4f53afb65e31b8331ce0

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Despair, crackdowns breed more violence in Tibet (AP)

BEIJING ? A young man posts his photo with a leaflet demanding freedom for Tibet and telling Chinese police, come and get me. Protesters rise up to defend him, and demonstrations break out in two other Tibetan areas of western China to support the same cause.

Each time, police respond with bullets.

The three clashes, all in the past week, killed several Tibetans and injured dozens. They mark an escalation of a protest movement that for months expressed itself mainly through scattered individual self-immolations.

It's the result of growing desperation among Tibetans and a harsh crackdown by security forces that scholars and pro-Tibet activists contend only breeds more rage and despair.

That leaves authorities with the stark choice of either cracking down even harder or meeting Tibetan demands for greater freedom and a return of their Buddhist spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama ? something Beijing has shown zero willingness to do.

"By not responding constructively when it was faced with peaceful one-person protests, the (Communist) party has created the conditions for violent, large-scale protests," said Robbie Barnett, head of modern Tibetan studies at New York's Columbia University.

This is the region's most violent period since 2008, when deadly rioting in Tibet's capital Lhasa spread to Tibetan areas in adjoining provinces. China responded by flooding the area with troops and closing Tibetan regions entirely to foreigners for about a year. Special permission is still required for non-Chinese visitors to Tibet, and the Himalayan region remains closed off entirely for the weeks surrounding the March 14 anniversary of the riots that left 22 people dead.

Video smuggled out by activists shows paramilitary troops equipped with assault rifles and armored cars making pre-dawn arrests. Huge convoys of heavily armored troops are seen driving along mountain roads and monks accused of sedition being frog-marched to waiting trucks.

For the past year, self-immolations have become a striking form of protest in the region. At least 16 monks, nuns and former clergy set themselves on fire after chanting for Tibetan freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama, who fled to India amid an abortive uprising against Chinese rule in 1959.

China, fiercely critical of the Dalai Lama, says Tibet has been under its rule for centuries, but many Tibetans say the region was functionally independent for most of that time.

In a change from the individual protests, several thousand Tibetans marched to government offices Monday in Ganzi prefecture in Sichuan province. Police opened fire into the crowd, killing up to three people, witnesses and activist groups said.

On Tuesday, security forces opened fire on a crowd of protesters in another area of Ganzi, killing two Tibetans and wounding several more, according to the group Free Tibet.

On Thursday in southwestern Sichuan province's Aba prefecture, a youth named Tarpa posted a leaflet saying that self-immolations wouldn't stop until Tibet is free, the London-based International Campaign for Tibet said. He wrote his name on the leaflet and included a photo of himself, saying that Chinese authorities could come and arrest him if they wished, group spokeswoman Kate Saunders said in an email.

Security forces did so about two hours later. Area residents blocked their way, shouting slogans and warning of bigger protests if Tarpa wasn't released, Saunders said. Police then fired into the crowd, killing a a 20-year-old friend of Tarpa's, a student named Urgen, and wounding several others.

The incident, as with most reported clashes in Tibetan areas, could not be independently verified and exact numbers of casualties were unclear because of the heavy security presence and lack of access. The topic is so sensitive that even government-backed scholars claim ignorance of it and refuse to comment.

The government, however, acknowledged Tuesday's unrest, saying that a "mob" charged a police station and injured 14 officers, forcing police to open fire on them. The official Xinhua News Agency said police killed one rioter and injured another.

"The Chinese government will, as always, fight all crimes and be resolute in maintaining social order," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in comments on the incident.

The harsh response points to a deep anxiety about the self-immolations, said Youdon Aukatsang, a New Delhi-based member of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile.

"They're worried that there is an underground movement in Tibet that is coming to the surface," she said.

Tibetan desperation has been fed both by the harsh crackdown ? security agents reportedly outnumber monks in some monasteries ? along with a deep fear that the Dalai Lama, probably the most potent symbol of Tibet's separate identity, will never return.

The 76-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate handed his political powers to an elected assembly last year. That was intended to ensure the Tibetan cause would live on after him, but was met with considerable anxiety among many Tibetans who saw it as a sign he was giving up his role as leader of their struggle.

Dibyesh Anand, a Tibet expert at London's University of Westminster, said resistance to Chinese rule is likely to grow more fierce.

"Protests will get more radicalized since the Tibetans in the region see no concession, no offer of compromise, no flexibility coming from the government," he said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/china/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_re_as/as_china_tibet_spiral_of_violence

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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Newt Gingrich promises to build a moon colony by 2020; make it a U.S. state (Yahoo! News)

The plan is bold, but it could run afoul of international treaties

The?race for the Republican presidential nomination is about to blast off into outer space: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich announced that, if elected, he'd?establish a colony on the moon by 2020.

In a speech to supporters on the Florida space coast, Gingrich called for a "grandiose" effort to colonize?space. "It's the second great launch of the adventure John F. Kennedy started," said Gingrich.

Gingrich opened up the possibility of the moon becoming the 51st state, something he believes could happen once a permanent settlement reaches a population of 13,000 Americans.?While a 1967 United Nations document says that no one country can claim sovereignty over the moon, the U.S., Russia, and China failed to sign a more recent U.N. treaty to settle the question of?who owns the moon.

The bold move hopes to boost the former speaker's presidential campaign in the Sunshine State, where space exploration remains a big industry. Florida will hold its GOP presidential primary vote on Tuesday, January 31.?Polls show the race is close.

[Image credit:?Steve Jurvetson]

(Source)

This article was written by Fox Van Allen and originally appeared on Tecca

More from Tecca:

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_technews/20120126/tc_yblog_technews/newt-gingrich-promises-to-build-a-moon-colony-by-2020-make-it-a-u-s-state

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Friday, January 27, 2012

Summary Box: Davos studies China's investments (AP)

EYES ON CHINA: Attention at Davos, the invitation-only gathering in the Swiss Alps, turned Thursday to China, and how and whether it could help developed economies in Europe and the United States avoid new recessions.

BIG BETS: Chinese companies and government funds have been using vast reserves of cash to buy up foreign companies and invest in foreign government bonds in recent years.

LINGERING WORRIES: With billions of dollars in Chinese investments pouring into their countries, some governments have accused China of seeking to exploit the economic weakness of others to grab valuable natural and technological resources at rock-bottom prices.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_davos_forum_summary_box

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Assessment of COPD exacerbation severity with the COPD Assessment Test

Assessment of COPD exacerbation severity with the COPD Assessment Test [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 27-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Nathaniel Dunford
ndunford@thoracic.org
212-315-8620
American Thoracic Society

Exacerbation severity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can be reliably assessed with the COPD Assessment Test (CAT), according to a new study from the UK.

"There is currently no widely accepted standardized method for assessing symptom severity at exacerbations in COPD patients," said Dr Alex J Mackay, MBBS, MRCP, clinical research fellow at the Academic Unit of Respiratory Medicine, University College London. "Incorporating CAT scores into the assessment of COPD patients may provide a standardized, objective method for assessing symptom severity in both clinical practice and clinical trials."

The findings were published online ahead of print publication in the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

The study involved 161 COPD patients who completed the eight-item CAT questionnaire at least once under supervision at the clinic. The CAT was also completed by 75 patients during 152 treated COPD exacerbations. The CAT is a validated health status questionnaire that has been successfully used in previous studies to measure COPD symptoms in both primary and secondary care settings. It includes questions assessing cough, phlegm, chest tightness, breathlessness, activity limitations, sleep, and energy levels.

Frequent exacerbators (?2 exacerbations per year) had significantly higher baseline CAT scores than infrequent exacerbators. CAT scores in the 152 exacerbations assessed rose significantly from an average baseline value of 19.46.8 to a value of 24.17.3 at exacerbation. Change in CAT score from baseline to exacerbation onset was weakly but significantly related to change in CRP but not to change in fibrinogen. Rises in CAT score at exacerbation were significantly associated with falls in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1). Median recovery time, as determined using symptom diary cards, was significantly related to the time needed for CAT scores to return to baseline.

"In our patients with COPD, CAT scores reflected exacerbation severity, as measured by both exacerbation length and reduction in lung function," said Dr. Mackay. "CAT scores at exacerbation were also weakly related to systemic inflammatory markers and were elevated in stable patients with a history of frequent exacerbations. Our results indicate that the CAT can be used as a score of the multi-dimensional nature of COPD exacerbation severity."

"The CAT is validated, free, and easy to administer, and can be easily incorporated into the usual care of patients with COPD at no additional cost," concluded Dr. Mackay. "It may also be useful in clinical trials as an objective measure of new interventions aimed at reducing exacerbation severity. Since our results indicate that CAT scores may reflect levels of systemic inflammatory markers, albeit weakly, this finding may have particular relevance in clinical trials of anti-inflammatory therapeutic agents in COPD. "

###

About the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine:

With an impact factor of 10.191, the AJRRCM is a peer-reviewed journal published by the American Thoracic Society. It aims to publish the most innovative science and the highest quality reviews, practice guidelines and statements in the pulmonary, critical care and sleep-related fields.

Founded in 1905, the American Thoracic Society is the world's leading medical association dedicated to advancing pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine. The Society's 15,000 members prevent and fight respiratory disease around the globe through research, education, patient care and advocacy.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share 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.


Assessment of COPD exacerbation severity with the COPD Assessment Test [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 27-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Nathaniel Dunford
ndunford@thoracic.org
212-315-8620
American Thoracic Society

Exacerbation severity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can be reliably assessed with the COPD Assessment Test (CAT), according to a new study from the UK.

"There is currently no widely accepted standardized method for assessing symptom severity at exacerbations in COPD patients," said Dr Alex J Mackay, MBBS, MRCP, clinical research fellow at the Academic Unit of Respiratory Medicine, University College London. "Incorporating CAT scores into the assessment of COPD patients may provide a standardized, objective method for assessing symptom severity in both clinical practice and clinical trials."

The findings were published online ahead of print publication in the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

The study involved 161 COPD patients who completed the eight-item CAT questionnaire at least once under supervision at the clinic. The CAT was also completed by 75 patients during 152 treated COPD exacerbations. The CAT is a validated health status questionnaire that has been successfully used in previous studies to measure COPD symptoms in both primary and secondary care settings. It includes questions assessing cough, phlegm, chest tightness, breathlessness, activity limitations, sleep, and energy levels.

Frequent exacerbators (?2 exacerbations per year) had significantly higher baseline CAT scores than infrequent exacerbators. CAT scores in the 152 exacerbations assessed rose significantly from an average baseline value of 19.46.8 to a value of 24.17.3 at exacerbation. Change in CAT score from baseline to exacerbation onset was weakly but significantly related to change in CRP but not to change in fibrinogen. Rises in CAT score at exacerbation were significantly associated with falls in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1). Median recovery time, as determined using symptom diary cards, was significantly related to the time needed for CAT scores to return to baseline.

"In our patients with COPD, CAT scores reflected exacerbation severity, as measured by both exacerbation length and reduction in lung function," said Dr. Mackay. "CAT scores at exacerbation were also weakly related to systemic inflammatory markers and were elevated in stable patients with a history of frequent exacerbations. Our results indicate that the CAT can be used as a score of the multi-dimensional nature of COPD exacerbation severity."

"The CAT is validated, free, and easy to administer, and can be easily incorporated into the usual care of patients with COPD at no additional cost," concluded Dr. Mackay. "It may also be useful in clinical trials as an objective measure of new interventions aimed at reducing exacerbation severity. Since our results indicate that CAT scores may reflect levels of systemic inflammatory markers, albeit weakly, this finding may have particular relevance in clinical trials of anti-inflammatory therapeutic agents in COPD. "

###

About the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine:

With an impact factor of 10.191, the AJRRCM is a peer-reviewed journal published by the American Thoracic Society. It aims to publish the most innovative science and the highest quality reviews, practice guidelines and statements in the pulmonary, critical care and sleep-related fields.

Founded in 1905, the American Thoracic Society is the world's leading medical association dedicated to advancing pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine. The Society's 15,000 members prevent and fight respiratory disease around the globe through research, education, patient care and advocacy.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share 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/2012-01/ats-aoc012412.php

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Thursday, January 26, 2012

US Army chief 'comfortable' with cuts to force

The U.S. Army chief said he is "comfortable" with plans to shrink the size of his force as the Pentagon prepares to slash eight brigades as part of defense cuts worth $260 billion over five years.

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General Raymond Odierno, chief of staff of the Army, told Reuters: "We're now out of Iraq, we're reducing our commitment in Afghanistan, so we can now bring the size of the Army down. And I feel comfortable with how we're going to do that."

He was speaking on Wednesday, as the Pentagon prepared to unveil a smaller Army and the withdrawal of two brigade combat teams from Europe. Those fixed brigades will be replaced by rotational units.

The Pentagon will preview President Barack Obama's budget proposal for the Pentagon on Thursday.

It is expected to cut $260 billion in projected defense spending over the next five years and favor services like the Navy and the Air Force over the Army and Marines.

"It's more about the timeline we bring it down on, and I'm satisfied with that timeline,? Odierno said.

Related: US will have world?s strongest military despite cuts ? Panetta

A U.S. official confirmed media reports that the Pentagon plans to slash eight Army brigades and reduce the overall force to as few as 490,000 over the next decade from around 565,000.

But Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta have said they will not hollow-out the force with the kind of cuts the military endured in the wake of the Vietnam war.

Indeed, U.S. officials have pointed to concerns about China's military buildup and North Korea's nuclear advances as they explain plans to focus more on the Asia-Pacific region.

Related: New defense strategy sets Obama's gaze on Asia

Odierno, fresh from a trip to Asia, acknowledged the need for naval and air assets in any military strategy for the Pacific.

But he stressed that the Army will keep playing an important role in the region, and pointed to the 19,160 soldiers deployed in South Korea as a deterrent against the North.

Indeed, Odierno saw no downsizing of the Army presence in Asia and said it will further supplement its forces with troops who rotate in and out of the region.

"That's what we got to decide: How much rotational presence will we be able to do," Odierno said.

Related: Pentagon to unveil revised defense strategy

Odierno noted that the Army could play an important diplomatic role engaging with militaries in Asia, given that 22 out of the 28 chiefs of defense in the Pacific are army officers.

Seven out of the world's 10 largest land armies in the world are in the Pacific, he added.

That common army background "will help us to build relationships," he said.

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News

Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46144140/ns/us_news-security/

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Reuters Magazine: Springtime for Europe? (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Political convulsions in the euro zone have only just begun. Six prime ministers have been kicked out of office, protesters have occupied public spaces, nationalist parties have grown in popularity, and two countries have appointed technocratic leaders. And that was just 2011. The coming year is likely to prove even tougher on the economic front as the crisis continues to rage, austerity bites, and unemployment mounts. Euro zone countries are being forced to choose between fiscal discipline or the disintegration of their shared currency. Under pressure from Germany, governments have agreed to sign up for treaty changes that will require them to balance their budgets, pay down their debts, and give the European Commission in Brussels more power to interfere with national budgets. Such loss of sovereignty could provoke a backlash from the people - and boost the support of right-wing euro-skeptic parties such as France's National Front. It's possible that the treaty changes may not even get ratified.

The euro zone could start coming apart at the seams, not just economically but politically. Populist parties in northern Europe - such as the True Finns and Holland's PVV - could gain traction by arguing that their citizens shouldn't have to bail out the Greeks, the Italians, and the Portuguese. Meanwhile, pretty much everybody could grow unhappy with the Germans for dictating how to run their countries. Anti-foreigner sentiment could rise across the board. In a nightmare scenario, protectionism would return while border checks and capital controls would be reimposed.

The conventional view is that economic crises are the breeding grounds of extremists, particularly right-wing ones. Such worries are legitimate, but the economic and political strains of the present do not have to play out like a repeat of the 1930s. Everything depends on the actions of political elites and the general population.

For politicians, the most important challenge will be to contain the crisis without getting too far ahead of what the people are prepared to tolerate - both in terms of austerity and loss of sovereignty. The best bet is probably for the southern countries to emphasize structural reforms to boost long-term growth - such as pushing up pension ages, freeing up labor markets, and fighting corruption - rather than passing yet more short-term spending cuts and tax hikes that will drive their economies deeper into recession. For this strategy to be possible, the northern countries will have to cut the southerners some slack, which would require a significant change of mindset, especially from Angela Merkel, Germany's chancellor.

Whatever is done on the policy front, there will be political upheavals. In some respects - the defenestration of incumbent prime ministers or presidents - the politics will be "normal." This year may not be quite as dramatic as 2011, when half a dozen leaders, including Italy's Silvio Berlusconi, Greece's George Papandreou, and Spain's Jos? Luis Rodr?guez Zapatero, bit the dust. But we will probably witness the biggest fall yet: that of France's Nicholas Sarkozy, who is fighting off a stiff challenge from Fran?ois Hollande, the socialist candidate. Some countries could also see big shifts in the political landscape as old parties collapse and new ones take their place. This outcome is most likely in Italy and Greece, where corrupt political elites, known in each country as "castes," have for decades fed off the state rather than serving the public interest. Disaffection with traditional politics in both countries is high. When Berlusconi and Papandreou fell, it was telling that the opposition parties were not in a position to replace them. Instead, both countries turned to technocrats - Mario Monti, an economist and former European Commissioner, and Lucas Papademos, formerly vice president of the European Central Bank.

The crisis has created an opportunity for a break with the past. In Italy, Berlusconi's center-right PDL party could easily fall apart. That might open the way for a stronger centrist group to emerge around the so-called Terzo Polo (or Third Pole) led by Pier Ferdinando Casini. There's even a possibility that the new technocrats will develop a taste and aptitude for politics and create a new centrist political force of their own. In Greece, both Papandreou's left-wing Pasok party and the right-wing New Democracy party are beset with internal rivalries. In each party, there are traditionalists, who tend to be euro-skeptics, as well as more centrist, pro-European modernizers. In one scenario, the modernizers on left and right could break away from their current colleagues and join with each other as well as some small center parties to create a new force.

But it won't just be the politicians who determine how the political landscape changes. How the people behave will also be critical. Last year saw the birth of a new phenomenon: the Indignados. Hundreds of thousands of mostly young, largely apolitical nonviolent Spaniards occupied city centers in Madrid and Barcelona. They were objecting to austerity, greedy bankers, and incompetent politicians.

The Indignados were copied in Greece and in Italy, where they were called the Aganaktismenoi and the Indignati respectively. They were partly inspired by the mass rallies in Egypt during the Arab Spring, and they shared some ideas with the Occupy movements in the United States and Britain. But despite creating a lot of noise, the Indignados have not coalesced into a political force. That's partly because they are diffuse, and partly because they haven't developed positive programs. Their name gives it away: they are indignant about what is happening but tend not to have constructive ideas about what can be done better. In some cases, moreover, their protests were also hijacked by violent extremists. Such violence was mostly avoided in Spain, but in Athens protesters threw Molotov cocktails at the police, and in Rome the Black Bloc, an anarchist group, attacked banks, smashed windows, and set cars on fire. Although the Aganaktismenoi and the Indignati were not responsible, their cause suffered.

The slightly older educated middle classes, meanwhile, were largely silent in these southern countries. Sure, they were indignant, too, but they didn't take to the streets in large numbers. Instead, they fumed in the privacy of their homes. They blamed their politicians for mismanaging their economies and destroying their wealth, but they have been largely passive. Admittedly, there have been a few attempts by this demographic to organize themselves. In Milan, for example, citizens campaigned via social media for Giuliano Pisapia, a non-traditional politician. He went on to defeat Berlusconi's candidate, Letizia Moratti, in the mayoral race in May. And in Greece a group mainly composed of intellectuals set up an organization called Koinonikos Syndesmos, a pro-European pressure group campaigning for a new type of politics to serve the national interest rather than vested interests.

What euro zone countries now need is the engagement of their liberal-minded middle classes on a much wider scale. These groups need to slough off their natural passivity and organize themselves as a counterweight to the potential growth of extremism in the years ahead. However the financial side of the crisis plays out, the active involvement of constructive citizens could be an important element in stopping European politics from taking a very nasty turn.

(Hugo Dixon is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. Any opinions expressed are his own.)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120125/bs_nm/us_davos_reutersmagazine_springtime

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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Google Maps, Listen and Goggles get updates

Google apps updates

Google Maps, Google Listen and Google Goggles have each received updates today in the Android Market. Here's what's new:

Google Maps Navigation now has a cool feature that will switch the app to "night mode" when you're going through a tunnel. Not sure how much navigating you'll need to do while you're actually in the tunnel, but it looks cool. 

Google Listen is getting its second update this month! So much for being shipped off to the land of forgotten apps. New today is a bug fix that "fixes an issue in which Listen while in the background would improperly take audio focus from other apps."

And finally, there's Google Goggles, which is getting a few bugfixes in version 1.7.1. Fixed are the following: 

  • Don't store inaccurate locations for queries in search history
  • Show the description field for user-submitted results
  • Don't crash when loading large bitmaps
  • Performance enhancements in continuous mode

Worthy updates, all. Head on into the Android Market or use the links below to get your updates.

Download: Google Maps; Google Listen; Google Goggles



Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/EiKgT-EYIAg/story01.htm

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Japan announces first trade deficit since 1980

(AP) ? Japan marked its first trade deficit since 1980, a 2.49 trillion yen ($32 billion) shortfall for 2011 caused in part by last year's tsunami and the rising value of the yen, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday.

Government data released Wednesday said the value of Japan's exports fell 2.7 percent to 65.55 trillion yen ($843 billion) for 2011. The drop was attributed to the economic impact of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami and the rise in the value of the yen against the U.S. dollar, along with a gloomier outlook in the global economy.

In December, the trade balance was a deficit of 205.1 billion yen, according to the Finance Ministry figures.

The data underscore the growing pressures facing the world's third-largest economy, which relies heavily on exports to drive growth. A persistently strong yen, Europe's debt problems and the recent flooding in Thailand are eroding gains made since the March earthquake in Japan disrupted manufacturing.

The turmoil in Europe and the U.S. has driven up the yen as global investors flock to the currency as a relatively safe haven. The yen hit multiple historic highs against the dollar this year.

A rising yen shrinks the value of overseas earnings when repatriated and makes Japanese products less competitive in overseas markets. The yen has weakened to around 77 to the dollar recently, but exporters say it is still too high.

The currency levels have forced manufacturers including Nissan Motor Co. and Panasonic Corp. to shift some production overseas, a trend that could further undermine Japan's exports.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-24-AS-Japan-Trade/id-c90c93df75d849408f6ad38c495e9899

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Monday, January 23, 2012

Advantages of living in the dark: Multiple evolution events of 'blind' cavefish

ScienceDaily (Jan. 22, 2012) ? The blind Mexican cavefish (Astyanax mexicanus) have not only lost their sight but have adapted to perpetual darkness by also losing their pigment (albinism) and having altered sleep patterns. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology shows that the cavefish are an example of convergent evolution, with several populations repeatedly, and independently, losing their sight and pigmentation.

The blind cavefish and the surface dwelling Mexican tetra, despite appearances, are the same species and can interbreed. The cavefish are simply a variant of the Mexican tetra, albeit one adapted to living in complete darkness. A team of researchers from Portugal, America, and Mexico studied the DNA from 11 populations of cavefish (from three geographic regions) and 10 populations of their surface dwelling cousins to help understand the evolutionary origin of the physical differences between them.

While results from the genotyping showed that the surface populations were genetically very similar, the story for the cave populations was very different. The cave forms had a much lower genetic diversity, probably as a result of limited space and food. Not surprisingly the cave populations with the most influx from the surface had the highest diversity. In fact there seemed to be a great deal of migration in both directions.

It has been thought that historically at least two groups of fish lived in the rivers of Sierra de El Abra, Mexico. One group originally colonized the caves, but became extinct on the surface. A different population then restocked the rivers and also invaded the caves.

Prof Richard Borowsky, from the Cave Biology Group at New York University explained, "We were fortunate in being able to use A. mexicanus as a kind of 'natural' experiment where nature has already provided the crosses and isolation events between populations for us. Our genotyping results have provided evidence that the cave variant had at least five separate evolutionary origins from these two ancestral stocks."

Dr Martina Bradic who lead the research continued, "Despite interbreeding and gene flow from the surface populations the eyeless 'cave phenotype' has been maintained in the caves. This indicates that there must be strong selection pressure against eyes in the cave environment. Whatever the advantage of the eyeless condition, it may explain why different populations of A. mexicanus cave fish have independently evolved the same eyeless condition, a striking example of convergent evolution."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by BioMed Central Limited, via AlphaGalileo.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Martina Bradic, Peter Beerli, Francisco Garc?a-de Le?n, Sarai Esquivel-Bobadilla and Richard Borowsky. Gene flow and population structure in the Mexican blind cavefish complex (Astyanax mexicanus). BMC Evolutionary Biology, January 2012 [link]

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

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

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120122201209.htm

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How to untethered jailbreak iPhone 4S & iPad 2 via Greenpois0n Absinthe

You can now untethered jailbreak your iPhone 4S or iPad 2 running iOS 5.0 or iOS 5.0.1 with Greenpois0n Absinthe. It’s been a long wait and we’re all more than


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/OKDBWupfCK8/story01.htm

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Sunday, January 22, 2012

Cruise ship threatens marine paradise

(AP) ? Stone fortresses and watchtowers which centuries ago stood guard against against marauding pirates loom above pristine waters threatened by a new and modern peril: fuel trapped within the capsized Costa Concordia luxury liner.

A half-million gallons (2,400 tons) of black goo are in danger of leaking out and polluting some of the Mediterranean's most unspoiled sea, where dolphins are known to chase playfully after sailboats and fishermen's catches are so prized that wholesalers come from across Italy to scoop up cod, lobsters, scampi, swordfish and other delicacies.

"Compared to the Caribbean, we have nothing to be envious about," said Francesco Arpino, a scuba instructor in the chic port of Porto Ercole, marveling at how the sleek granite sea bottom helps keep visibility crystal clear even 40 meters (135 feet) down.

Divers in these transparent waters marvel at sea horses and red coral, while on the surface sperm whales cut through the sea.

But worry is clouding this paradise, which includes a stretch of Tuscan coastline that has been the holiday haunt of soccer and screen stars, politicians and European royals.

Rough seas hindering the difficult search for bodies by divers in the Concordia's submerged section have delayed the start of a pumping operation expected to last weeks to remove the fuel from the ship. Floating barriers aimed at containing any spillage now surround the vessel.

Concordia lies dangerously close to a drop-off point on the sea bottom. Should strong waves nudge the vessel from its precarious perch, it could plunge some 20-30 meters (65-90 feet), further complicating the pumping operation and possibly rupturing fuel tanks. Italy's environment minister has warned that if those tanks break, globs of fuel would block sunlight vital for marine life at the seabed.

A week after the Concordia struck a reef off the fishing and tourism island of Giglio, flipping on its side, its crippled 114,000-ton hull rests on seabed rich with an underwater prairie of sea grass vital to the ecosystem. The dead weight has likely already damaged a variety of marine life, including endangered sea sponges, and crustaceans and mollusks, even before a drop of any fuel leaks, environmentalists contend.

"The longer it stays there, the longer it impedes light from reaching the vegetation," said Francesco Cinelli, an ecology professor at the University of Pisa, in Tuscany. And the sheer weight of the Concordia will also crush sea life, he said.

The seabed where the Concordia lies is a flouishing home to Poseidon sea grass native to the Mediterranean, Cinelli told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

"Sea grass ... is to the sea what forests are to terra firma," Cinelli said: They produce oxygen and serve as a refuge for organisms to reproduce or hide from predators.

The Tuscan archipelago's seven islands are at the heart of Europe's largest marine park, extending over some 60,000 hectares (150,000 acres) of sea.

They include Elba, where Napoleon lived in exile, and the legendary island of Montecristo, a setting for Alexandre Dumas' novel "The Count of Monte Cristo" ? where rare Mediterranean monk seals have been spotted near the coast.

Montecristo has a two-year waiting list of people hoping to be among the 1,000 people annually escorted ashore by forest rangers to admire the uninhabited island. Navigation, bathing and fishing are strictly prohibited up to 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) from Montecristo's rocky, cove-dotted coast. A monastery, established on Montecristo in the 7th century, was abandoned nine centuries later after repeated pirate raids.

Come spring, Porto Ercole's slips will be full, with yachts dropping anchor just outside the port. It lies at the bottom of a steep hill, whose summit gives a panoramic view of a sprawling seaside villa, once a holiday retreat of Dutch royals, and of the crescent-shaped island of Giannutri, with its ancient Roman ruins.

Alberto Teodori, 49, who said he has been hired as a skipper for the yachts of Rome's VIPs for 30 years, noted that the area thrives on tourism in the spring and summer and survives on fishing in the offseason.

If the Concordia's fuel, "thick as tar," should pollute the sea, "Giglio will be dead for 10, 15 years," Teodori fretted, as workers nearby shellacked the hull of an aging fishing boat.

The international ocean-advocacy group, Oceana, on Thursday, described the national marine park as an "ecological diamond," favored by divers for its great variety of species.

"If the pollution gets into the water, we are ruined," said Raffaella Manno, who with her husband runs a portside counter selling fresh local fish in Porto Santo Stefano, a nearby town where ferries and hydrofoils depart for Giglio.

A wholesaler as well, she said fish from the archipelago's waters is prized throughout Italy for its quality and variety.

"The water is clean and the reefs are rich" for fish to feed, she said, as trucks carrying oil-removal equipment waited to board ferries Wednesday to Giglio. "The priciest markets in Italy come here to buy, from Milan, Turin, even Naples."

Concordia's captain, initially jailed and then put in house arrest in his hometown near Naples, is suspected of having deliberately deviated from the ship's route, miles off shore, to hug Giglio's reef-studded coastline in order to perform a kind of "salute" to amuse passengers and islanders.

The maneuver is apparently a common practice by cruise ships, environmentalists lament.

"These salutes are an established practice by the big cruise ships," said Francesco Emilio Borrelli, a Green party official from Naples. He said that the Greens have received reports of numerous such sightings by ships sailing by the Naples area islands of Capri, Ischia and Procida.

Even before the Concordia tragedy, environmentalists had railed against what they brand "sea monsters," virtually floating cities ? each pumping massive amounts of greenhouse gases ? sailing perilously close to the sea coast to thrill passengers aboard.

They even sail up to Venice, the lagoon city whose foundations are eroded by waves churned up by passing vessels. Venice port officials defend the practice, saying they're escorted by tugboats.

"These virtual cities," said Marevivo in a statement highlighting Cinelli's concerns, "put at risk the richness of biodiversity, which that we must never forget is at the foundation of our very survival on Earth."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2012-01-20-EU-Italy-Paradise-in-Peril/id-ba388a31deaa4502b75b3808c7c511d2

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Congress puts brakes on anti-piracy bills (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? Lawmakers stopped anti-piracy legislation in its tracks on Friday, delivering a stunning win for Internet companies that staged an unprecedented online protest this week to kill the previously fast-moving bills.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said he would postpone a critical vote that had been scheduled for January 24 "in light of recent events."

Lamar Smith, the Republican chairman of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, followed suit, saying his panel would delay action on similar legislation until there is wider agreement on the issue.

"I have heard from the critics and I take seriously their concerns regarding proposed legislation to address the problem of online piracy. It is clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best to address the problem of foreign thieves that steal and sell American inventions and products," Smith said in a statement.

The bills, known as PIPA (PROTECT IP Act) in the Senate and SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) in the House, are aimed at curbing access to overseas websites that traffic in pirated content and counterfeit products, such as movies and music.

The legislation has been a priority for entertainment companies, publishers, pharmaceutical companies and other industry groups who say it is critical to curbing online piracy, which they believe costs them billions of dollars a year.

But technology companies are concerned the laws would undermine Internet freedoms, be difficult to enforce and encourage frivolous lawsuits.

Public sentiment on the bills shifted in recent weeks after Internet players ramped up their lobbying.

White House officials weighed in on Saturday, saying in a blog post that they had concerns about legislation that could make businesses on the Internet vulnerable to litigation and harm legal activity and free speech.

Then on Wednesday, protests blanketed the Internet, turning Wikipedia and other popular websites dark for 24 hours. Google, Facebook, Twitter and others protested the proposed legislation but did not shut down.

The protest had quick results: several sponsors of the legislation, including senators Roy Blunt, Chuck Grassley, Orrin Hatch, John Boozman and Marco Rubio, have withdrawn their support.

In a brief statement on Friday, Reid said there was no reason why concerns about the legislation cannot be resolved. He offered no new date for the vote.

Reid's action comes a day after a senior Democratic aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the measure lacked the 60 votes needed to clear a procedural hurdle in the 100-member Senate.

SWIFT REACTION

The indefinite postponement of the bills drew quick praise from the Internet community, and ire from Hollywood.

"We appreciate that lawmakers have listened to our community's concerns, and we stand ready to work with them on solutions to piracy and copyright infringement that will not chill free expression or threaten the economic growth and innovation the Internet provides," a Facebook spokesman said.

Chris Dodd, chief executive of the Motion Picture Association of America and a former Democratic senator, said the stalling of legislation is a boost for criminals.

"As a consequence of failing to act, there will continue to be a safe haven for foreign thieves," Dodd said.

WAY FORWARD?

Lawmakers, technology companies and the entertainment industry pledged to find a way to combat online piracy and copyright infringement.

Reddit.com, a vocal leader in the protests and among the sites to go dark on Wednesday, said it was pleased the protests were able to slow things down, but said piracy needs to be addressed.

"We really need people at the table who have the technical expertise about these issues who can ensure that whatever bills are drafted have airtight, technically sound language, definitions and frameworks," the company's general manager Erik Martin told Reuters.

Reid expressed hope on Friday that Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, who has been shepherding the bill through Congress, could help resolve differences in the legislation.

"I am optimistic that we can reach a compromise in the coming weeks," Reid said.

Leahy slammed the Senate derailment of the anti-piracy legislation as a "knee-jerk reaction to a monumental problem" but said he is committed to getting a bill signed into law this year.

There are already alternatives in the works.

Senator Ron Wyden introduced a bill last month that he said "meets the same publicly stated goals as SOPA or Protect IP without causing massive damage to the Internet."

Representative Darrel Issa on Wednesday introduced a companion bill in the House.

Issa said SOPA and PIPA lacked a fundamental understanding of how Internet technologies work. The technology sector has shown more optimism about prospects for Issa and Wyden's alternative bill, called the OPEN Act.

"It's a great starting point for discussion, and we're definitely very open to that," said Tiffiniy Cheng, co-founder of Fight for the Future, a nonprofit that helped organize the Internet protests against SOPA and PIPA.

(Reporting by Thomas Ferraro and Jasmin Melvin; editing by Bill Trott, Dave Zimmerman and Andre Grenon)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120120/wr_nm/us_usa_congress_internet

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