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Tuesday, January 31, 2012
The EU Is Investigating Samsung Over Unfair Patent Lawsuits [Samsung]
Monday, January 30, 2012
Dick Van Dyke Presents Mary Tyler Moore With Lifetime Achievement Award (omg!)
It's been 51 years since audiences first fell in love with Mary Tyler Moore on The Dick Van Dyke Show.
The admiration continued Sunday, when the 75-year-old actress was honored by the Screen Actors Guild with a lifetime achievement award, presented by her TV husband, Dick Van Dyke.
PHOTOS: 2012 SAG Awards - What the Stars Wore!
During her speech, Moore revealed how using her middle name professionally changed the course of her career. "I spoke it out loud. It sounded right," Moore told the star-studded audience. "I wrote it out on the form, and it looked right. And it was right."
VIDEO: Best and worst SAG dresses of all time
Van Dyke, 86, spoke fondly of the actress, saying: "I know everyone loves her, but I mean, I'm serious about it. I saw her first."
Moore -- who had a benign tumor on the lining tissue of her skull removed in May 2011 -- was also recognized for raising awareness and funds for diabetes research.
PHOTOS: Sizzling seniors
Previous Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement recipients include Betty White, James Earl Jones, Julie Andrews, Clint Eastwod and Robert Redford.
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Time short for Gingrich to close gap in Florida (AP)
POMPANO BEACH, Fla. ? Newt Gingrich slammed GOP rival Mitt Romney on Sunday for the steady stream of attacks he likened to "carpet-bombing," trying to cut into the resurgent front-runner's lead in Florida in the dwindling hours before Tuesday's pivotal presidential primary.
And despite surging ahead in polls, Romney wasn't letting up, relentlessly casting Gingrich as an influence peddler with a "record of failed leadership."
In what has become a wildly unpredictable race, the momentum has swung back to Romney, staggered last weekend by Gingrich's victory in South Carolina. Romney has begun advertising in Nevada ahead of that state's caucuses next Saturday, illustrating the challenges ahead for Gingrich, who has pledged to push ahead no matter what happens in Florida.
An NBC News/Marist poll published Sunday showed Romney with support from 42 percent of likely Florida primary voters, compared with 27 percent for Gingrich.
Romney's campaign has dogged Gingrich at his own campaign stops, sending surrogates to remind reporters of Gingrich's House ethics probe in the 1990s and other episodes in his career aimed at sowing doubt about his judgment.
Gingrich reacted defensively, accusing the former Massachusetts governor and a political committee that supports him of lying, and the GOP's establishment of allowing it.
"I don't know how you debate a person with civility if they're prepared to say things that are just plain factually false," Gingrich said during appearances on Sunday talk shows. "I think the Republican establishment believes it's OK to say and do virtually anything to stop a genuine insurgency from winning because they are very afraid of losing control of the old order."
Gingrich objected specifically to a Romney campaign ad that includes a 1997 NBC News report on the House's decision to discipline Gingrich, then speaker, for ethics charges.
Romney continued to paint Gingrich as part of the very Washington establishment he condemns and someone who had a role in the nation's economic problems.
"Your problem in Florida is that you worked for Freddie Mac at a time when Freddie Mac was not doing the right thing for the American people, and that you're selling influence in Washington at a time when we need people who will stand up for the truth in Washington," Romney told an audience in Naples.
Gingrich's consulting firm was paid more than $1.5 million by the federally-backed mortgage company over a period after he left Congress in 1999.
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, trailing in Florida by a wide margin, stayed in his home state, where his 3-year-old daughter, Bella, was hospitalized. She has a genetic condition caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 18th chromosome. Aides said he would resume campaigning as soon as possible.
Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who has invested little in Florida, looked ahead to Nevada. The libertarian-leaning Paul is focusing more on gathering delegates in caucus states, where it's less expensive to campaign. But securing the nomination only through caucus states is a hard task.
The intense effort by Romney to slow Gingrich is comparable to his strategy against Gingrich in the closing month before Iowa's leadoff caucuses Jan. 3. Gingrich led in Iowa polls, lifted by what were hailed as strong performances in televised debates, only to drop in the face of withering attacks by Romney, aided immensely by ads sponsored by a "super" political action committee run by former Romney aides.
But Romney aides say they made the mistake of assuming Gingrich could not rise again as he did in South Carolina. Romney appears determined not to let that happen again.
"His record is one of failed leadership," Romney told more than 700 people at a rally in Pompano Beach Sunday evening. "We don't need someone who can speak well perhaps, or can say things we agree with, but does not have the experience of being an effective leader."
Gingrich has responded by criticizing Romney's conservative credentials. Outside an evangelical Christian church in Lutz, Gingrich said he was the more loyal conservative on key social issues.
"This party is not going to nominate somebody who is a pro-abortion, pro-gun-control, pro-tax-increase liberal," Gingrich said. "It isn't going to happen."
But Gingrich, in appearances on Sunday news programs, returned to complaining about Romney's tactics. "It's only when he can mass money to focus on carpet-bombing with negative ads that he gains any traction at all," he said.
Romney and the political committee that supports him had combined to spend some $6.8 million in ads criticizing Gingrich in the Florida campaign's final week. Gingrich and a super PAC that supports him were spending about one-third that amount.
Gingrich worked to portray himself as the insurgent outsider, collecting the endorsement of tea party favorite Herman Cain, whose own campaign for president foundered amid sexual harassment allegations.
It was unclear how aggressively Gingrich would be able to compete in states beyond Florida. The next televised debate, a format Gingrich has used to his advantage, is not until Feb. 22, more than three weeks away.
Romney already has campaigned in Nevada more than Gingrich, is advertising there, and stresses his business background in a state hard-hit by the economy. His campaign welcomed the Sunday endorsement of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Nevada's largest newspaper.
Michigan and Maine, where Romney won during his 2008 campaign, also hold their contests in February. Arizona, a strong tea-party state where Gingrich could do well, has its primary Feb. 28.
___
Associated Press writers Steve Peoples in Naples and Shannon McCaffrey in Lutz contributed to this report.
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Sunday, January 29, 2012
American economy not healthy yet, but it's healing (AP)
WASHINGTON ? The American economy may not be truly healthy yet, but it's healing.
The 2.8 percent annual growth rate reported Friday for the fourth quarter was the fastest since spring 2010 and was the third straight quarter that growth has accelerated.
Experts cautioned, however, that the pace was unlikely to last and that it's not enough to sharply drive down the unemployment rate.
Unemployment stands at 8.5 percent ? its lowest level in nearly three years after a sixth straight month of solid hiring. And Friday's Commerce Department report suggests more hiring gains ahead.
For the final three months of 2011, Americans spent more on vehicles, and companies restocked their supplies at a robust pace.
Still, overall growth last quarter ? and for all of last year ? was slowed by the sharpest cuts in annual government spending in four decades. And many people are reluctant to spend more or buy homes, and many employers remain hesitant to hire, even though job growth has strengthened.
The outlook for 2012 is slightly better. The Federal Reserve has estimated economic growth of roughly 2.5 percent for the year, despite abundant risk factors: federal spending cuts, weak pay increases, cautious consumers and the risk of a European recession.
Economists noted that most of the growth in the October-December quarter was due to companies restocking their supplies at the fastest rate in nearly two years. That pace is expected to slow.
"The pickup in growth doesn't look half as good when you realize that most of it was due to inventory accumulation," said Paul Ashworth, an economist at Capital Economics.
Ashworth expects annualized growth to slip below 2 percent in the current January-March quarter. Other economists have similar estimates.
Stocks opened lower after the government reported the growth figures. The Dow Jones industrial average closed down about 74 points. Broader indexes were mixed.
In a normal economy, roughly 3 percent growth is a healthy figure. It's enough to keep unemployment down ? but not so much growth as to ignite inflation.
But coming out of a recession, much stronger growth is needed. By some estimates, the economy would have to expand at least 5 percent for a full year to drive down the unemployment rate by 1 percentage point.
In many ways, the economy did end 2011 on a strong note. Companies invested more in equipment and machinery in December.
People are buying more cars, and consumer confidence has risen. Even the depressed housing market has shown enough incremental gains to lead some economists to detect the start of a turnaround.
In the final three months of 2011, consumer spending grew at a 2 percent annual rate. That was up modestly from the July-September quarter. Consumer spending is critical because it fuels about 70 percent of the economy.
Much of the growth was powered by a 15 percent surge in sales of autos and other long-lasting manufactured goods.
Incomes, which have been weak because of still-high unemployment, grew ever so slightly, at a tepid 0.8 percent annual rate, following two straight quarterly declines. Unless pay picks up, consumers who have dipped into savings in recent months may pull back.
"Consumers don't have much income growth, and to even achieve a 2 percent growth rate in spending in the fourth quarter, they had to run down their saving rate," said Nigel Gault, chief economist at IHS Global Insight.
And government spending at all levels fell at an annual rate of 4.6 percent in the fourth quarter and 2.1 percent for the year ? the sharpest drop since 1971. Defense cuts at the start and end of the year were a key factor. With Congress aiming to shrink budget deficits, the likelihood of further federal spending cuts could weigh on the economy.
Economic growth is measured by the change in the gross domestic product, or GDP. The GDP reflects the value of all goods and services ? from machinery to manicures to hotel bookings to jet fighters ? produced in the United States.
Friday's estimate of GDP growth was the first of three for the October-December quarter. The figure will be revised twice, in February and then in March.
Ian Shepherdson, an economist at High Frequency Economics, is among the more optimistic analysts. He said he thought business investment in capital goods would be stronger and consumer spending higher this year.
Many fear that a likely recession in Europe could cool demand for U.S. manufactured goods. Growth would slow. Without many more jobs and better pay, consumer spending could weaken.
The Fed signaled this week that a full economic recovery could take at least three more years.
Although things may not be good, they're getting better.
Gault predicts the economy will create an average of 150,000 jobs a month in 2012 based on his expectation that the year will be slightly stronger than 2011. Last year, the economy created an average 133,000 jobs a month.
"We are starting to see improvements in the housing market, and consumers are working down their debt levels," Gault said. "That is all good and will help us this year."
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Saturday, January 28, 2012
Android Smartphone Round-Up: December/January Edition
We took a break from the Android round-up in December because, well, to be honest I was on vacation. But January gave us a few extra smartphones and the holidays are over, so we're back. What we've got for you today leans into more expensive turf, and unfortunately, our favorite Android devices for the past two months are also exclusively at Verizon, so Big Red subscribers should pay attention. Without further ado, these are our favorite December/January releases of the Android persuasion: The Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the LG Spectrum, and the Motorola Droid RAZR Maxx. Enjoy!Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/OzaJJNDDpwA/
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Guilty plea in Utah airplane knife smuggling case (AP)
SALT LAKE CITY ? A Utah man accused of smuggling a knife onto an airplane and threatening to kill police pleaded guilty to a reduced charge in federal court Thursday.
David Alan Anderson entered a guilty plea to a single count of possessing a dangerous weapon in Salt Lake City's U.S. District Court.
Prosecutors dropped two other felony charges in exchange for the plea.
The 60-year-old faces a maximum prison term of 10 years at sentencing April 9.
Anderson was arrested Sept. 18 after being removed from a Las Vegas-bound Delta Airlines flight in Salt Lake City. Authorities said he threatened to kill his seatmate in a dispute over a shared armrest.
Police later found Anderson had a knife in a carry-on bag and was arrested.
"I'm going to kill you in front of your children," Anderson told a police officer during an interrogation, authorities said in court papers.
Defense attorney Steven Killpack later told a judge that Anderson was a distinguished retired Salt Lake City attorney who was not taking his medications for anxiety and a biploar disorder.
A judge initially held Anderson in jail, but released him late October on the condition that Anderson undergoes mental health treatment prior to a federal trial.
On Thursday, Killpack said the plea agreement is an excellent resolution to Anderson's case.
Anderson mistakenly left a folding knife inside a briefcase and never intended to take it onto the plane, Killpack said.
A security officer monitoring an X-ray machine when Anderson came through with the knife did not see the weapon. That person was sent for further training, Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Lorie Dankers has said.
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Friday, January 27, 2012
Woods shoots 69, in contention in Abu Dhabi (AP)
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates ? Tiger Woods moved into contention after the second round of the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship with a 3-under 69 Friday, two shots behind leader Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark.
Olesen shot a 67, making seven birdies in his first 12 holes for a one-shot lead over 18-year-old Gareth Maybin of Northern Ireland (70) and Matteo Mannasero of Italy (65).
"For me it's very special. It's not many years ago I was watching them on TV," Olesen said of the world's best golfers. "I know it's tough, but I'm trying to keep playing my own game and do my best."
Woods had three straight birdies on the back nine to finish at 5-under 139.
He started slowly before making three birdies over five holes. Woods dropped a shot on the 16th after an errant drive landed in deep rough.
"I thought I played well today," Woods said. "I made a couple putts here and there, but it was tough out there. The greens got a little quicker, a little bit drier and the rough is certainly getting deeper and more lush."
The best score of the day came from Manassero, who made seven birdies in a bogey-free round.
Woods is tied for fourth in a group that includes Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy (72) and Robert Karlsson of Sweden (72).
Spain's Sergio Garcia (69), Ireland's Padraig Harrington (69) and South Africa's Charl Schwartzel (70) were at 140.
It was a day of mixed fortunes at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club. McIlroy's round was marred by a two-shot penalty for brushing away sand in front of his ball, which sat on the fringe on the ninth. Fourth-ranked Martin Kaymer (73) failed to make the cut in a tournament he has won three times. Meanwhile, a relatively unknown 22-year-old Dane surged into the lead of the star-studded tournament in a bid to win his first event on the European Tour.
Much of the attention was on Woods, who is trying to follow up his season-ending victory last month at the Chevron World Challenge with another win. That ended a two-year run without a victory, a period in which the 14-time major winner endured a series of injuries and turmoil in his personal life.
Woods had a bogey-free first round but admitted the greens fooled him much of the day. He seemed to figure them out Friday, making several key putts including a 10-footer for his final birdie on the 15th.
But he said players were "grinding along" and it was anyone's tournament to win with the leaderboard featuring nine players within two shots of Olesen.
Woods is optimistic the changes in his swing instituted by new coach Sean Foley are paying off.
"Certainly I have much more experience within the system, and I've grown to understand what Sean wants me to do and how my body is going to do those things and produce the numbers he wants me to produce," Woods said. "If you would have asked me (six to eight months ago) if I would understand the system as well as I do and the numbers I'm producing, I probably would have said no ... Now I do and when we talk, it's very simple."
While Woods was the picture of consistency Friday, the big-hitting McIlroy took fans on a rollercoaster ride after holding a share of the lead after the first round.
The 22-year-old U.S. Open champion, playing with Woods for a second day, opened with a bogey and double bogey after an errant drive and some shaky putting. He rallied with three birdies before a double bogey on the ninth. That's where he got a two-shot penalty for brushing away the sand in front of his ball. Playing partner Luke Donald (72) spotted the infraction and called him on it.
Rather than get rattled, McIlroy produced two birdies on the next three holes to end at even par.
"Obviously, that wasn't the best start, 3 over through three. I battled back really well to get it back to even par after eight," McIlroy said. "Made a mistake on 9 when I brushed the sand off the green, wasn't thinking clearly and a penalty there. Felt like I played the back nine well. Even par, considering everything that happened out there today, is a decent score." Players are allowed to brush away sand on the green but not on the fringe.
"I mean, my ball was just maybe six feet off the green and there was a lot of sand in between my ball and the hole. I just brushed the sand and Luke was like, 'I don't think you can brush sand off the fringe,'" he said. "And I'm like, 'Oh, yeah, you're right'. Just one of those things ... You're going to get a bad deal every now and again, and just have to take it on the chin and try and come back and get the shots back as quick as possible."
Kaymer headlined the list of 60 players to miss the cut of 2 over. The 27-year-old German, who had come in as a favorite after his past success on the course, blamed putting for his troubles.
"Expectations were very high," he said. "When you go to a tournament where you've played very well in the past, you expect you're going to be successful somehow and it hasn't happened this week. It's OK. I practiced hard in the winter and it will come together at some stage."
British Open winner Darren Clark also missed the cut after shooting a 9-over 153. Others failing to qualify for play on the weekend included Colin Montgomerie of Scotland (147), Edoardo Molinari of Italy (149), American Todd Hamilton (149) and Michael Campbell of New Zealand (149).
___
Follow Michael Casey on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mcasey1
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'30 Rock' star back at work after hospitalization (AP)
SALT LAKE CITY ? Comedian and "30 Rock" cast member Tracy Morgan is back at work in New York after a brief hospitalization in Utah.
Morgan's publicist, Lewis Kay, says Morgan appreciates fans' concern. The actor was hospitalized Sunday while attending the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, where the elevation is 7,000 feet.
Kay says Morgan suffered from exhaustion and altitude. Morgan also has diabetes.
Kay says no drugs or alcohol were found in Morgan's system.
Recordings of 911 calls made on the night he collapsed, and obtained by The Associated Press, indicate Morgan passed out at the Blue Iguana restaurant.
One caller says he didn't know if the actor had been drinking, but said he was unconscious. An ambulance later took him to a nearby hospital. He was released a day later.
___
AP Writer Jennifer Dobner contributed to this report.
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Thursday, January 26, 2012
Obama to propose tax credit for natural gas trucks (Reuters)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? President Barack Obama was set on Thursday to promote a plan for greater use of natural gas and open up more land for offshore drilling during a campaign-style tour aimed at shoring up confidence in his economic stewardship.
At a stop in Las Vegas, Nevada, Obama will seek to counter Republican criticisms of his energy policies by rolling out a proposal to offer tax incentives for companies to buy natural gas trucks, which would help build demand for abundant supplies of the fuel.
In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, Obama acknowledged the nation's booming natural gas sector, which has grown dramatically in recent years as advances in technology have unlocked vast new reserves.
Obama will talk up the idea during a visit to a UPS facility in Las Vegas, which received stimulus funding to invest in liquefied natural gas vehicles and construct a public LNG refueling station.
"We think that we're going to be looking at 600,000 jobs in natural gas extraction here in the United States and all the industries that come with it," Obama said in an interview with Univision on Wednesday in Arizona.
The president was also to visit Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, Colorado, where the Air Force was installing a one-megawatt solar panel system, and where last year it test-piloted jets that run on advanced biofuels.
Obama, seeing some improvement in his poll numbers, is touring five states after his combative State of the Union address in which he took aim at income inequality and also announced new proposals on manufacturing, student loans and energy.
But his effort to keep a spotlight on his policy prescriptions suffered a setback on Wednesday when a tense encounter in Arizona with Republican Governor Jan Brewer grabbed headlines and dented his hopes of portraying himself as above the partisan fray.
A CLEAN ALTERNATIVE?
Using domestic natural gas as a "clean" alternative to importing foreign oil has been heavily promoted by Texas oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens and has attracted support from both sides of the aisle in Congress.
Still, Obama's proposal, which would need Congressional approval, could face an uphill battle to make it into law, with Republicans offering more resistance to costly energy subsidies.
Similar measures aimed at expanding tax breaks for natural gas vehicles have failed to break through partisan gridlock, and conservative groups have opposed such legislation on the grounds that government should not be in the business of picking winners and losers in the energy sector.
Republicans have hammered Obama on his energy policies, and were enraged over his decision to block the Keystone pipeline, which they say would have created jobs and reduced dependence on oil from the Middle East.
Increasing domestic natural gas consumption would benefit drillers, as U.S. natural gas prices have fallen sharply because of the growing glut and the relatively warm winter.
Producers such as Chesapeake Energy are cutting output in the face of the weakest gas prices in 10 years.
Obama was also expected to announce that the Interior Department will hold the last scheduled offshore lease sale of the government's current five-year drilling plan in June, offering 38 million acres for development in central Gulf of Mexico.
The department held its first offshore lease sale since the massive BP oil spill in December, with companies successfully bidding more than $337 million for rights to drill in the Gulf.
Analysts said those results were a sign that drilling is rebounding in the Gulf after the administration temporarily shut down deepwater exploration after the BP disaster.
Still, oil and gas industry backers have complained that the administration has hindered drilling through slow permitting and a raft of new rules implemented since the 2010 oil spill.
(Editing by Gary Hill and Sandra Maler)
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Lohan sued by pedestrian allegedly struck by star (AP)
LOS ANGELES ? Lindsay Lohan's bad luck with cars continues after a woman who claims she was struck by the actress' sports car sued over her injuries Wednesday. Nubia Del Carmen Preza claims she was struck by Lohan's Maserati while walking through a West Hollywood intersection in September 2010.
Preza's lawsuit states she has suffered "disabling and serious personal injuries, pain, suffering and anguish" and that she is seeking damages for all her medical expenses and lost time at work. A call to her attorney, Gregory Picco, seeking additional details was not immediately returned.
It is the second lawsuit filed against Lohan this month involving an automobile mishap. A paparazzo sued Lohan Jan. 10, claiming that he was struck in January 2010 by a vehicle in which Lohan was riding. Grigor Balyan claims he was trying to shoot pictures of the actress in Hollywowhen he was hit.
Preza's lawsuit states Lohan was driving when she was hit on the afternoon of Sept. 1, 2010, at an intersection just south of the Sunset Strip. At the time, Lohan lived near the intersection.
Lohan's spokesman Steve Honig said neither Lohan nor her attorneys had been served with the lawsuit and could not comment on it.
The model and actress remains on probation for a 2007 drunken driving case filed after she was arrested twice that year on suspicion of driving while impaired.
One of the incidents sparked two civil lawsuits after Lohan chased a vehicle she thought was carrying her former assistant on Pacific Coast Highway. One of the cases has settled. The other, filed by three men who were in the SUV Lohan was driving, may go to trial in March.
Lohan's attorney in that case, Ed McPherson, has said the men had plenty of chances to get out of the vehicle and called the case "absurd."
The "Mean Girls" star has received two positive probation reports since a judge ordered her to perform weekly morgue cleanup duties in November. the actress may be off supervised probation by the end of March.
___
Follow Anthony McCartney at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP.
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
GABA deficits disturb endocannabinoid system
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Changes in the endocannabinoid system may have important implications for psychiatric and addiction disorders. This brain system is responsible for making substances that have effects on brain function which resemble those of cannabis products, e.g., marijuana.
The endocannabinoid system is of particular interest in the field of schizophrenia research because exposure to cannabis products during adolescence and young adulthood appears to increase the risk for developing schizophrenia. Also, in studies examining brain tissue collected from people who had schizophrenia, changes in the endocannabinoid system were highly correlated with changes in the principal inhibitory chemical messenger system in the brain, the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) system.
The current study was conducted in order to research the relationship between changes in the GABA system and changes in the endocannabinoid system. Led by Dr. David Lewis at the University of Pittsburgh, researchers made genetic manipulations in mice that selectively reduced the GABA system function by decreasing the expression of the enzyme that makes GABA, GAD67, or by decreasing the expression of the principal receptor target for endocannabinoids in the brain, the cannabinoid 1 receptor (CB1R), in order to determine whether a change in one is sufficient to cause a change in the other.
Using these techniques, the researchers demonstrated that reduced expression of GAD67 can lead to reduced expression of CB1R, but not vice versa.
"Because activation of the CB1R suppresses GABA release, lower levels of CB1R may help augment GABA release from nerve terminals that have below normal amounts due to reduced GABA synthesis," said Dr. Lewis of the results. "This evidence suggests that reduced GABA signaling is an 'upstream' event in the disease process of schizophrenia and that lower CB1R is a compensation to help normalize GABA signaling."
These findings indicate that GABA abnormalities in schizophrenia are what trigger the disturbances in the endocannabinoid system. Importantly, cannabis use also alters GABA activity in the brain.
"While the whole story is still developing, from these data, it looks like developmental deficits in GABA systems are sufficient to disturb the function of the endocannabinoid system. This could be an important clue to the link between cannabis use and psychosis," commented Dr. John Krystal, editor of Biological Psychiatry.
Additional research will be necessary to further explore such links, including investigations into whether and/or how cannabis exposure affects the relationship between GAD67 and CB1R.
###
The article is "Cortical Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase 67 Deficiency Results in Lower Cannabinoid 1 Receptor Messenger RNA Expression: Implications for Schizophrenia" by Stephen M. Eggan, Matthew S. Lazarus, Samuel R. Stoyak, David W. Volk, Jill R. Glausier, Z. Josh Huang, and David A. Lewis (doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2011.09.014). The article appears in Biological Psychiatry, Volume 71, Issue 2 (January 15, 2012), published by Elsevier.
Elsevier: http://www.elsevier.com
Thanks to Elsevier for this article.
This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.
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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116998/GABA_deficits_disturb_endocannabinoid_system
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Reese Witherspoon, Ryan Reynolds to star in "Big Eyes" (Reuters)
LOS ANGELES, Jan 22 (TheWrap.com) ? Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Reynolds will play Margaret and Walter Keane in an indie biopic about the couple whose art -- especially paintings of doe-eyed children -- became a pop phenomenon in the 1950s and 1960s.
While their art was reproduced and marketed around the country, their home life was unhappy: Margaret Keane was the artist, but her husband took credit. In fact, it carried Walter Keane's name, rather than the shy Margaret's.
When the two divorced, both claimed rights to the paintings. Ultimately -- in federal court -- Margaret Keane painted a picture to prove that she was, in fact the artist. When the judge asked Walter Keane to paint, he declined, saying his sore shoulder prevented him from painting.
The judge found for Margaret Keane.
Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski wrote and will direct the film. Tim Burton is producing through his Tim Burton Productions. Lynette Howell and Jamie Patricof are producing through their Electric City Entertainment.
"We are ecstatic to have this dream cast for our dream project," the directors said in a written statement. "Walter is a larger-than-life antihero -- charming, funny, dangerous and a little crazy. Ryan will knock it out of the park. As for Reese, she will be perfect as Margaret -- soulful, decent, transforming from vulnerability to learning to fight for herself."
Alexander and Karaszewski know their biopics: They wrote "Ed Wood," "The People vs. Larry Flint" and the Andy Kaufman biopic "Man on the Moon."
With Burton, they're working on a new version of "The Addams Family."
"Big Eyes" has been on Alexander and Karaszewski's to-do list since at least 2009.
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Heaven help us. |ooc&su|
In 2018, the United States and North Korea exchanged nuclear bombs. Two to each country. The two in the U.S took out most of Los Angles, and a good part of Sacramento. And then for a whole year or so, it seemed as if Californians were the only ones who really suffered...but in 2019, the entire nation was subject to nuclear fallout. The past year, the radiation from the bombs had hung in the air and was pushed along by wind currents, and eventually, it came down to earth. Everyone was subject to a bit of it at first. Some more than others, of course. But almost as soon as the first person went to the hospital for minor effects of it, the nation panicked and everyone took all measures possible to prevent from it. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough for some people.
During that time of radiation babies, were born, naturally. For the women with little radiation, births went just as births are expected to, with mother and child going on perfectly healthy. But those with more radiation weren't faced with such happy endings. In those cases, it wasn't uncommon for mother or child to die. In fact, in most cases neither made it. But there were quite a few occurrences also where the baby made it...although they all suffered from radiation poisoning passed down through their mother.
In eight of those cases in which the babies survived, the radiation didn't effect them in the harmful way it would be expected to. It actually altered them in such a way that gave them special abilities...superpowers, if you will. Of course no one knew this until the children were around three, and started to exhibit these powers. When a man named Gary Batts caught word of this, he adopted, or in some cases even kidnapped, these special children. After he had acquired all of them, he made it his mission to train them. To teach them how to use and control their powers, and not let having them corrupt them. They were all home schooled, and rarely saw life outside of the house...but since it was what they knew, they all seemed to be content with their situation. Well, all accept for the one child that disappeared when they were all around the age of ten.
---
The year is now 2036. All of the children are either seventeen or eighteen years old now. They've mastered their powers, and have been allowed to experience the outside world for the last two years...they'd even been offered the chance to move out. But none of them did. Not even after Mr. Batts passed away. That particular event actually left them lost, not knowing what to do with themselves.
As if coming from a comic book, they've decided that they must become a team of protectors for the dirty New Jersey city riddled with crime. Because they think it's probably what Mr. Batts would want from them. A couple of them have taken up jobs in order to privide for the essentials, but the rest of them usually stay at home. They'll occasionally go out and act as regular citizens...but only a couple times a week or so. They prefer to stay in the comfort of their own home most of the time. But whenever there's word of some kind of crime to be taken care of, they're all in the action.
Also not unlike a comic book, they have their own nemesis who is trying to destroy them. Due to this person also having powers, it can only be assumed that they are the run away member of their little family. And they have obviously chosen to use their powers for 'evil'. What their overall plan is is unknown. They just seem bent on killing their 'siblings'...maybe, just maybe, it could be to leave them the only one with powers. Maybe it's that they want to be the one to actually protect the city instead of harming it.. But again, that information is not known to anyone just yet.
So for now, they just fight.
The children
+TheOneAndOnly+
+TheOneAndOnly+
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight (now their nemesis)
There is a lot to read, I'm sorry =\ Please don't be put off by that...or if it seems confusing. Because I will explain anything that needs explaining if you just ask =)
Also, I want an equal gender count. 4 boys and 4 girls. I may or may not ask people to double, depending on how much interest this gets.
Anyway, that's about it out of me for now I suppose =p
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/sFLMYCdTa8g/viewtopic.php
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Monday, January 23, 2012
Former Penn State coach Joe Paterno's health status serious (Reuters)
(Reuters) ? The health of former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, who was fired last November in the wake of a child sex abuse scandal involving an assistant coach, has deteriorated and his status is serious, a family spokesman said on Saturday.
"Over the last few days Joe Paterno has experienced further health complications. His doctors have now characterized his status as serious," a statement said.
The Paterno family said it would have no further comment on the situation and asked that their privacy be respected "during this difficult time."
Paterno, 85, disclosed on November 18 that he had treatable lung cancer. He has been in and out of the hospital since then for treatment with radiation and chemotherapy, and after he fell at home in December and broke his pelvis.
The winningest coach in major college football history, Paterno was head coach at Penn State for 46 years. University trustees ousted him for failing to tell police what had been passed on to him about the alleged sex abuse.
Longtime Paterno assistant Jerry Sandusky faces 52 counts of sexual abuse of boys over a period of 15 years, including some incidents at the football complex on campus. Disclosure of the charges against Sandusky shocked the university and led to one of the biggest scandals in college sports history.
A Penn State graduate assistant testified to a grand jury that he told Paterno in 2002 that he witnessed Sandusky assaulting a boy in the showers at the football building. Paterno said he passed the information on to his boss, then Athletic Director Tim Curley. But no one told police, and the abuse continued for years, according to prosecutors.
Trustees of the university fired Paterno on November 9 with four games remaining in the football season. His ouster sparked demonstrations by students who felt he was treated unfairly, and anger among some alumni. The two top officers of the university trustees stepped down this week.
University President Graham Spanier was fired along with Paterno, and Curley and a former finance official in the athletic department face charges of lying to a grand jury about the alleged abuse.
Sandusky is under house arrest awaiting trial on the abuse charges. He has pleaded not guilty.
(Reporting and Writing by Greg McCune; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)
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Obama's State of the Union: Jobs, re-election time (AP)
WASHINGTON ? Vilified by the Republicans who want his job, President Barack Obama will stand before the nation Tuesday night determined to frame the election-year debate on his terms, using his State of the Union address to outline a lasting economic recovery that will "work for everyone, not just a wealthy few."
As his most powerful chance to make a case for a second term, the prime-time speech carries enormous political stakes for the Democratic incumbent who presides over a country divided about his performance and pessimistic about the nation's direction. He will try to offer a stark contrast with his opponents by offering a vision of fairness and opportunity for everyone.
In a preview Saturday, Obama said in a video to supporters that the speech will be an economic blueprint built around manufacturing, energy, education and American values.
He is expected to announce ideas to make college more affordable and to address the housing crisis still hampering the economy three years into his term, people familiar with the speech said. Obama will also propose fresh ideas to ensure that the wealthy pay more in taxes, reiterating what he considers a matter of basic fairness, the officials said.
His policy proposals will be less important than what Obama hopes they all add up to: a narrative of renewed American security with him at the center, leading the fight.
"We can go in two directions," Obama said in the campaign video. "One is toward less opportunity and less fairness. Or we can fight for where I think we need to go: building an economy that works for everyone, not just a wealthy few."
That line of argument is intended to tap directly into concerns of voters who think America has become a nation of income inequality, with rules rigged to help the rich. The degree to which Obama or his eventual Republican opponent can better connect with millions of hurting Americans is expected to determine November's presidential election.
Obama released his video hours ahead of the South Carolina primary, where Republican candidates fought in the latest fierce contest to become his general election rival.
The White House knows Obama is about to get his own stage to outline a re-election vision, but carefully. The speech is supposed to an American moment, not a campaign event.
Obama didn't mention national security or foreign policy in his preview, and he is not expected to break ground on either one in his speech.
He will focus on the economy and is expected to promote unfinished parts of his jobs plan, including the extension of a payroll tax cut that is soon to expire.
Whatever Obama proposes is likely to face long odds in a deeply divided Congress.
More people than not disapprove of Obama's handling of the economy, and he is showing real vulnerability among the independent voters who could swing the election. Yet he will step into the moment just as the economy is showing life. The unemployment rate is still at a troubling 8.5 percent, but at its lowest rate in nearly three years. Consumer confidence is up.
By giving a sneak peek to millions of supporters on his email list, Obama played to his Democratic base and sought to generate an even larger audience for Tuesday's address. He is unlikely to getter a bigger stage all year.
More people watched last year's State of the Union than tuned in to see Obama accept the Democratic presidential nomination in Denver in 2008.
The foundation of Obama's speech is the one he gave in Kansas last month, when he declared that the middle class was at a make-or-break moment and he railed against "you're on your own" economics of the Republican Party. His theme then was about a government that ensures people get a fair shot to succeed.
The State of the Union will be the details to back that up.
But even so, the speech will still be a framework ? part governing, part inspiration.
The details will be rolled out in full over the next several weeks, as part of Obama's next budget proposal and during his travels, which will allow him more media coverage.
On national security, Obama will ask the nation to reflect with him on a momentous year of change, including the end of the war in Iraq, the killing of al-Qaida terrorist leader Osama bin Laden and the Arab Spring protests, with people clamoring for freedom. He is expected to note the troubles posed by Iran and Syria without offering new positions about them.
Despite low expectations for legislation this year, Obama will offer short-term ideas that would require action from Congress. For now, the main looming to-do item is an extension of a payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits, both due to expire by March.
His travel schedule following his speech, to politically important regions, offers clues to the policies he was expected to unveil.
Both Phoenix and Las Vegas have been hard hit by foreclosures. Denver is where Obama outlined ways of helping college students deal with school loan debt. Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Detroit are home to a number of manufacturers. And Michigan was a major beneficiary of the president's decision to intervene to rescue the American auto industry.
Republican leaders in Congress say Obama has made the chances of cooperation even dimmer just over the last several days. He enraged Republicans by installing a consumer watchdog chief by going around the Senate, which had blocked him, and then rejected a major oil pipeline project the GOP has embraced.
Obama is likely, once again, to offer ways in which a broken Washington must work together. Yet that theme seems but a dream given the gridlock he has been unable to change.
The address remains an old-fashioned moment of national attention; 43 million people watched it on TV last year. The White House website will offer a live stream of the speech, promising extra wrinkles for people who watch it there, and then invite people to send in questions to administration officials through social media such as Twitter and Facebook.
Obama's campaign is also organizing and promoting parties around the nation for people to watch the speech.
__
AP deputy director of polling Jennifer Agiesta and Associated Press writer Ken Thomas contributed to this report.
__
Online:
White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov
___
Follow Ben Feller at http://twitter.com/BenFellerDC
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Sunday, January 22, 2012
Tremor Video Acquires ?InPlay? Video Analytics Tech From TubeMogul
Exclusive - Online video ad technology company Tremor Video has purchased InPlay, the video analytics solution for publishers, from TubeMogul. Tremor Video will integrate InPlay directly into VideoHub, its enterprise video platform.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/h77qAJuU8yg/
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Obama meets with Clinton and advisers Friday, attends campaign event (Star Tribune)
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Lana Del Rey: 'I Don't Love Live Television'
Before 'Saturday Night Live,' singer said, 'You can't expect too much.'
By Gil Kaufman
Lana Del Rey on "Saturday Night Live"
Photo: NBC
It's been a rough few days for singer Lana Del Rey. Her instantly legendary awkward network TV debut on "Saturday Night Live" has been dissected, dissed and defended endlessly since last weekend. But the one thing we haven't heard in the wake of the polarizing performance is how Del Rey feels about how she did.
While she still hasn't officially commented on the criticism, the singer spoke to the Fuse network just days before the "SNL" gig and said that, frankly, live performance is not really her thing.
"You can't expect too much from my show," Del Rey said, explaining that her real fans are probably aware that she's more of a songwriter and studio musician than performer and that she thinks people who come to see her show are really just there to hear the songs they already like.
"Sometimes I feel less nervous than other times," she added. "I don't love live television. The only tip I have is just pray and just hope that things work out."
That attitude pretty much fits what Del Rey told MTV News before "SNL," when she said she finds singing on TV "weird."
"[It] depends on the day," Del Rey said. "Depends on what's going on with my family and everyone around me. If I have other things to think about, or I'm trying to get things done for somebody else, and I'm not in my own way, then ... I'm like, 'This doesn't really matter.' Sometimes it seems more important to me than other times."
And though everyone from "NBC Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams to actress Eliza Dushku and singer/actress Juliette Lewis (whose tweets have since been deleted) piled on Del Rey in the moment, since the dust has settled a bit, another actress has come out in defense of the singer.
"Whitney" star and stand-up comedian Whitney Cummings, who faced her fair share of criticism when her NBC sitcom debuted last year, posted a blog on Thursday in which she pleaded with haters to chill out.
"I have many random thoughts. First, everybody calm down," she wrote. "It's a little troubling that when a young girl fails at something that we keep kicking her why she is down. I get very protective of girls, especially young performers, because they live a hard, emotionally challenging, often physically challenging life where you are constantly given reasons to be insecure and have panic attacks. I totally get the stuff about her not deserving to be there and I don't mean to insult musicians in any way if that's how they feel obviously, but this is an opportunity to show us how hard being a performer is so maybe they can all be cut some slack."
Cummings honed her act for years on the stand-up circuit before breaking through last year with her sitcom and a producer and co-creator credit on "2 Broke Girls," and she said she doesn't feel qualified to judge Del Rey's performance. "It takes a long time to get good, and even when you are good, you can be challenged by new venues and being televised, and cameras, and the uh...fear and terror of being slammed by critics and bloggers," she wrote. "Plus if you are a woman you also get fashion criticism and if you're a pretty woman you're accused of having plastic surgery and if you're not you're 'busted' and people blog about how they don't want to f--- you ... it's not ideal."
Add into that mix the self-hate and self-criticism that many artists have, and Cummings said even when things go perfectly, it's still hard. "So when it goes bad, it's just the worst vortex of misery," she said. "If she fell on her face, she was there, she felt it, and her having lived it is punishment enough. We don't need to keep bashing her unless it makes us feel better about ourselves which ... isn't an ideal reason to hate someone."
Related Videos Related ArtistsSource: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1677592/lana-del-rey-live-performance.jhtml
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Iowa Recount Lifts Rick Santorum Over Mitt Romney
Final caucus tally puts Santorum 34 votes ahead of Romney, as Perry slated to drop out of presidential race.
By Gil Kaufman
Mitt Romney
Photo: Win McNamee/ Getty Images
With the South Carolina primary just days away, front-running Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is suddenly looking for his second win in a row rather than a record third. Though the former Massachusetts governor appeared to eke out a slim eight-point win at the Iowa caucus on January 3, the Des Moines Register reported that the final count of the vote puts former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum ahead by 34 votes.
After a long night of vote counting and nail-biting, Romney appeared to post the slimmest-ever margin of victory in Iowa, but the Register revealed that missing data from eight precincts may never be certified or recovered. GOP officials discovered inaccuracies in 131 precincts, not all of which affected the final vote.
In the end, though, the certified number points to an asterisks-bearing win for Santorum, who won 29,839 votes to Romney's 29,805. In essence, state GOP officials said, the Iowa results come down to a "split decision."
"The results from Iowa caucus night revealed a virtual tie," Romney said after the news broke. "I would like to thank the Iowa Republican Party for their careful attention to the caucus process, and we once again recognize Rick Santorum for his strong performance in the state. ... The Iowa caucuses, with record turnout, were a great start to defeating President Obama in Iowa and elsewhere in the general election."
Iowa was close, but Romney put up a decisive victory in New Hampshire, getting 36 percent of the vote while Santorum wound up in fifth place with around 10 percent.
Though the belated Iowa victory doesn't have the same kick it might have for Santorum had he sealed the deal on the night of the caucus, it does deprive Romney of bragging rights over two victories in a row and could sway primary voters in South Carolina (on Saturday) and Florida (on January 31). Santorum and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich have been battling it out to capture the crucial Evangelical Christian vote in those two states and the after-the-fact win may give Santorum an advantage.
Another possible edge could come from CNN's report Thursday morning (January 19) that Texas governor Rick Perry is slated to suspend his campaign. Perry was touted as a strong contender for the GOP nomination when he entered the race last year, but a series of disastrous debate performances prevented him from climbing out of the single digits in polls.
Check back here around the clock for up-to-the-minute coverage on the primary caucuses and stick with PowerOf12.org throughout the 2012 presidential election season.
Related VideosSource: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1677522/iowa-caucus-rick-santorum.jhtml
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Friday, January 20, 2012
'Women worse at math than men' explanation scientifically incorrect, experts say
ScienceDaily (Jan. 18, 2012) ? A University of Missouri researcher and his colleague have conducted a review that casts doubt on the accuracy of a popular theory that attempted to explain why there are more men than women in top levels of mathematic fields. The researchers found that numerous studies claiming that the stereotype, "men are better at math" -- believed to undermine women's math performance -- had major methodological flaws, utilized improper statistical techniques, and many studies had no scientific evidence of this stereotype.
This theory, called stereotype threat, was first published in 1999 in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. Essentially, the theory is that due to the stereotype that women are worse than men in math skills, females develop a poor self-image in this area, which leads to mathematics underachievement.
"The stereotype theory really was adopted by psychologists and policy makers around the world as the final word, with the idea that eliminating the stereotype could eliminate the gender gap," said David Geary, Curators Professor of Psychological Sciences in the MU College of Arts and Science. "However, even with many programs established to address the issue, the problem continued. We now believe the wrong problem is being addressed."
In the study, Geary and Giljsbert Stoet, from the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom, examined 20 influential replications of the original stereotype theory study. The researchers found that many subsequent studies had serious scientific flaws, including a lack of a male control group and improperly applied statistical techniques.
"We were surprised the researchers did not subject males to the same experimental manipulations as female participants," Geary said. "It is reasonable to think that men also would not do well if told 'men normally do worse on this test' right before they take the test. When we adjusted the findings based on this and other statistical factors, we found little to no significant stereotype theory effect."
The researchers believe that basing interventions on the stereotype threat is actually doing more harm than good, as vital resources are being dedicated to a problem that does not exist.
"These findings really irritate me, as a psychologist, because this is a science where we are really trying to discover what the issues are," Geary said. "The fact is there are still a disproportionate number of men in top levels of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. We need more women to succeed in these fields for our economy and for our future."
The study, "Can stereotype threat explain the sex gap in mathematics performance and achievement?" will be published in the journal Review of General Psychology.
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Thursday, January 19, 2012
iPad Case Reviews ? The Top 5
There are a lot of different options to consider when you?re looking to purchase an iPad case, especially since there are so many companies trying to get your attention. If you have purchased the mighty tablet, and are wanting to figure out what peripheral is going to give you the most bang for your buck, consider the following quick iPad case reviews. These reviews will help you move forward with proper protection and get you ahead of the curve. 1. [...]
Source: http://tabletbuzzblog.com/ipad-case-reviews-the-top-5/
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ktcmex: @pasotti_ B-Sides: A Social Media Story #bsides Feb. 23th, 2012 - Mexico City http://t.co/yHmEE7YI Are You In?
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Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Mubarak trial encapsulates divisions in Egypt (AP)
CAIRO ? Hosni Mubarak, on trial for his life, is ferried to court by helicopter from a presidential hospital suite. His sons and co-defendants swagger in wearing designer track suits and no handcuffs. His security chief is treated with near reverence by police in the courtroom.
For activists in Egypt, the scenes only deepen their feeling that the authoritarian system the ousted president oversaw remains largely in place, almost a year since the 18-day uprising that toppled him.
When Mubarak's trial began five months ago, many hoped it would bring not only punishment but a clear sense of victory for a movement that aimed to wipe the slate clean and start again.
Instead, it has boiled down to a bare-knuckled showdown between supporters and foes of the "revolution," reflecting the tensions that have been gripping the country.
Those divisions were clear in court Tuesday as Mubarak's defense began its arguments. His chief lawyer, Farid el-Deeb, went for maximum effect with flowery language depicting him as an unjustly maligned victim who tried to improve Egypt during 29 years in power.
"This man before you, who is 83, has been fatigued and burdened by ailments and mauled by the malice of cunning people," el-Deeb said.
"He is looking to your justice to save him from the oppression that surrounds him from every direction, after his reputation and history have been targeted by tongues and pens."
The courtroom erupted when he said that Mubarak in fact supported the revolution. El-Deeb quoted from a letter he said Mubarak wrote to his lifetime friend Ahmed Shafiq ? who was prime minister at the time of the uprising ? saying that protesters were exercising their right to stage peaceful protests but were infiltrated by criminals and Islamists who destroyed public property and challenged the regime's "legitimacy."
"Lies, lies!" and "Execution for Mubarak!" screamed the lawyers representing the families of protesters killed by police during the revolution.
They rushed at el-Deeb and nearly set upon him, but court police quickly moved to keep them back.
Mubarak, who has worn an unwaveringly grim expression ever since the trial began on Aug. 3, looked content as el-Deeb praised him. For the first time in the trial, he sat in a wheelchair in the courtroom cage where the defendants are kept, rather than lying on a hospital gurney as he has in previous sessions.
Mubarak, his former security chief Habib el-Adly and four top security officers are charged with complicity in the killing of hundreds of protesters and could face the death penalty if convicted. Mubarak's sons Alaa and Gamal, along with their father, are charged with corruption in the same trial, a crime that would carry a prison sentence.
But the near-melee over el-Deeb's speech gave a peek into the issue running under the surface of the trial: what the revolution has really meant for Egypt.
That issue has polarized Egyptian politics since Mubarak's Feb. 11 ouster and the takeover of the reins of power by army generals widely believed to be beholden to him, led by his loyal defense minister of 20 years, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi.
Many of the activists who engineered the anti-Mubarak protests see the generals as just an extension of their former patron's regime with no interest in bringing significant change. Notably, the military only ordered the arrest of the former president and his two sons after mass protests demanding that they be brought to justice.
Activists also charge that the generals have methodically tried to divert attention away from the revolution's main goals ? freedom, democracy and social justice ? and instead decreed a cumbersome transition, allowing Islamist parties to dominate the political landscape and missing what they see as a historic chance to become a truly democratic state.
At the same time, the generals have gone to great lengths to discredit protest leaders and capitalize on Egyptians' longing for stability by demonizing the revolutionaries as foreign agents and troublemakers while projecting an image of themselves as the nation's true patriots.
Activists, lawyers for the victims and some in the public see the soft treatment for the defendants as evidence that those in power still grant Mubarak and those around him the aura of prestige.
Police assigned to courthouse security have been captured on camera offering their former boss el-Adly a salute as he arrived for one of the early hearings. Those images caused an uproar, but el-Adly, who as interior minister commanded the intensely hated police force, continues to walk from the armored police vehicle that brings him from jail to the courtroom without escort or handcuffs. Dark sunglasses, a navy blue baseball cap and a matching prison uniform have become the iconic look of a man whose name once struck fear in the hearts of the regime's foes.
Similarly, Mubarak's sons parade boldly into the courthouse, with Alaa carrying a purple chair that he sits on when inside the defendants' cage. Both Alaa and Gamal, who barely a year ago was thought to be Egypt's second most powerful man after his father, wear immaculate white track suits with matching sneakers.
Two other security commanders face dereliction of duty charges in relation to the crackdown on protesters in the trial. A friend of the Mubarak family, Hussein Salem, who has fled the country, is also a defendant in the corruption component of the trial.
Activists grumble that the treatment contrasts with the use of deadly force by troops in recent months against peaceful protesters demanding that the generals step down immediately ? as well as the use of cursory military tribunals to prosecute at least 12,000 civilians, including protesters, since the generals took over. Those rounded up over the months from Tahrir Square complained of being beaten, hit by clubs or shocked by stun guns while in police custody.
Late Tuesday, witnesses said thugs attacked them in the square, burning tents, apparently trying to clear it out ahead of the Jan. 25 anniversary of the beginning of the uprising. No casualties were reported.
The prosecution last week gave a startlingly harsh and dramatic denunciation of Mubarak in its courtroom summations, calling him a tyrant who maneuvered to get his son Gamal to succeed him.
Tuesday's hearing was the first of five set aside by Judge Ahmed Rifaat to hear the defense argue its case. El-Deeb, who over the years built a reputation as a suave and expensive celebrity lawyer, sharply criticized the prosecution's comments, saying it used phrases that "for no reason insulted Mubarak."
"Mubarak is neither a tyrant nor a bloodthirsty man. He respects the judiciary and its decisions, a clean man who could say no wrong," he said.
"Mubarak has seriously and faithfully worked to the best of his abilities and energy for Egypt and its people, lived a life burdened by his nation's problems," he said. "For that, he is worthy of justice and no one should discredit his efforts, question his loyalty or history."
The victims' lawyers were again enraged when Salwah al-Soubi, a member of the defense team, chanted "Mubarak, we love you!" in addressing the ousted leader in the defendants' cage.
"Sit down and shut up!" shouted some of the lawyers for the victims.
Outside the trial venue, some 300 hundred Mubarak supporters chanted slogans in support of the former president. They came close to fighting with about 100 relatives of the victims, but riot police intervened and separated the two camps.
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