Monday, November 28, 2011

Home Owner Insurance Price Quote

[unable to retrieve full-text content]It is difficult to get a home owner insurance price quote for a straight home owner insurance policy because there is virtually no 'straight' home owner insurance policy.

Source: http://www.articlecrush.com/finances/credit-finances/home-owner-insurance-price-quote/

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Sunday, November 27, 2011

Christian Bale says he's done playing Batman

Christian Bale has had enough of all things Batman.

The 37-year-old thesp, who played the Caped Crusader in "Batman Begins," "The Dark Knight" and the upcoming "The Dark Knight Rises," said the latter film will be the last time fans see him in bat garb, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

MORE: Christian Bale Brawling on the Dark Knight Rises Set

"I wrapped a few days ago so that will be the last time I'm taking that cowl [Batman hood] off," Bale told the publication. "I believe that the whole production wrapped yesterday, so it's all done. Everything's finished. It's me and [director] Chris [Nolan] ? that will be the end of that Batman era."

But, this isn't the first time the Oscar winner let on that his time with the franchise was coming to an end.

Last November, Bale told E! News in a sit down, "The thing is that this will be, I believe, unless Chris says different, this will be the last time I'm playing Batman."

MORE: Batman vs. Catwoman: Christian Bale and Anne Hathaway Suit Up on the Set of The Dark Knight Rises

And just in case you're wondering if some sort of costar spat was involved with Bale's decision (he has notoriously flown off the handle before on set), he had nothing but good things to say about his costars, particularly regarding Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, and Joseph Gordon Levitt's talents in the flick.

"When Chris watched the screen test, he agreed that Anne did a wonderful job," Bale said. "In many ways, she has the hardest job. There are a number of people who feel that the Catwoman role has been defined previously. So, I always saw Anne's role as being the toughest job of any of us."

As far as Hardy, he described him as "a phenomenal actor."

MORE: Batman Baddie Tom Hardy Reveals Secrets of His Dark Knight Rises Costume

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"I like working with him a great deal," Bale went on. "He goes the whole hog. I know that Bane has been seen in movies before. But, in my eyes, Tom is essentially creating Bane for the first time so there's great freedom for him to be able to do so."

And he was also impressed by Gordon-Levitt's performance as John Blake in the film.

"Joseph is a very intriguing guy," Bale continued. "I would see Joseph's performances in other films while we were filming. He's somebody who truly seems to love acting. He's a good, smart guy. He did a very good job in the movie."

PHOTOS: Superhero Fashion Police

? 2011 E! Entertainment Television, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45454021/ns/today-entertainment/

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Gun issue represents tough politics for Obama (AP)

WASHINGTON ? They are fuzzy about some issues but the Republican presidential candidates leave little doubt about where they stand on gun rights.

Rick Perry and Rick Santorum go pheasant hunting and give interviews before heading out. Newt Gingrich and Herman Cain speak to the National Rifle Association convention. Michele Bachmann tells People magazine she wants to teach her daughters how to shoot because women need to be able to protect themselves. Mitt Romney, after backing some gun control measures in Massachusetts, now presents himself as a strong Second Amendment supporter.

President Barack Obama, on the other hand, is virtually silent on the issue.

He has hardly addressed it since a couple months after the January assassination attempt on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Ariz., when he promised to develop new steps on gun safety in response. He still has failed to do so, even as Tucson survivors came to Capitol Hill last week to push for action to close loopholes in the background check system.

Democrats have learned the hard way that embracing gun control can be terrible politics, and the 2012 presidential election is shaping up to underscore just how delicate the issue can be. With the election likely to be decided largely by states where hunting is a popular pastime, like Missouri, Ohio or Pennsylvania, candidates of both parties want to win over gun owners, not alienate them.

For Republicans, that means emphasizing their pro-gun credentials. But for Obama and the Democrats, the approach is trickier.

Obama's history in support of strict gun control measures prior to becoming president makes it difficult for him to claim he's a Second Amendment champion, even though he signed a bill allowing people to take loaded guns into national parks. At the same time, he's apparently decided that his record backing gun safety is nothing to boast of, either, perhaps because of the power of the gun lobby and their opposition to anything smacking of gun control.

The result is that while Republicans are more than happy to talk up their support for gun rights, Obama may barely be heard from on the issue at all.

"Gun control is a fight that the administration is not willing to pick. They're not likely to win it," said Harry Wilson, author of a book on gun politics and director of the Institute for Policy and Opinion Research at Roanoke College in Virginia. "They certainly would not win it in Congress, and it's not likely to be a winner at the polls. ... It comes down to one pretty simple word: Politics."

Administration officials say they are working to develop the gun safety measures promised after the Giffords shooting, and they say have taken steps to improve the background check system. White House spokesman Matt Lehrich says the White House goal is to "protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens while keeping guns out of the hands of those who shouldn't have them under existing law."

But when it comes to guns and politics, Democrats haven't forgotten what happened in 1994. That year, President Bill Clinton was pushing for passage of a landmark crime bill featuring a ban on assault weapons, and then-House Speaker Thomas Foley, D-Wash., twisted Democrats' arms to get it through the House. Come November, Democrats suffered widespread election losses and lost control of the House and the Senate. Foley was among those defeated, and Clinton and others credited the NRA's campaigning with a big role in the outcome. And when the assault weapons ban came up for congressional reauthorization in 2004, it failed.

Given that history, the NRA expects to see Obama treading carefully on guns through 2012.

"It's bad politics to be on the wrong side of the Second Amendment at election time," said Wayne LaPierre, NRA executive vice president. "They're trying to fog the issue through the 2012 election and deceive gun owners into thinking he's something he's not, which is pro-Second Amendment."

For gun control advocates, it adds up to frustration with Obama and the Democrats. The group Mayors Against Illegal Guns argues that polling shows voters support certain gun safety measures like stronger background checks ? although a recent Gallup poll also finds more support for enforcing current laws than for passing new ones.

"Good policy here is good politics," said John Feinblatt, an adviser to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is a co-chair of the mayors' group. "Unfortunately, for too long the administration has bought the conventional wisdom" that gun control is bad politics.

But the NRA outspends gun-control groups by wide margins, and analysts say that when it comes time to vote, the gun issue is more likely to motivate gun rights activists than gun control supporters.

Since becoming president, Obama has been extremely cautious on the issue. In his 2004 Senate race, for example, Obama said it was a "scandal" that then-President George W. Bush didn't force renewal of the assault weapons ban. But Obama himself has done nothing to promote that issue since becoming president.

Obama's commitment to act on gun safety may also be complicated by an unrelated controversy over a Justice Department program aimed at stanching gun trafficking into Mexico. The government lost track of numerous weapons in connection with the program.

Obama has vowed to figure out what went wrong with the operation and make sure it's corrected, but with Republicans seizing on the issue to attack the White House, the politics around taking action on guns hasn't gotten any easier.

So for now, supporters who hoped to see Obama adopt a stronger stance on guns and act in the wake of the Giffords shooting look like they're going to be disappointed. "We haven't given up hope," said Dennis Henigan, acting president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, "but our impatience is growing with each passing day."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111125/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_guns

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Saturday, November 26, 2011

Diabetes drug shows promise in reducing risk of cancer

Thursday, November 24, 2011

An inexpensive drug that treats Type-2 diabetes has been shown to prevent a number of natural and man-made chemicals from stimulating the growth of breast cancer cells, according to a newly published study by a Michigan State University researcher.

The research, led by pediatrics professor James Trosko and colleagues from South Korea's Seoul National University, provides biological evidence for previously reported epidemiological surveys that long-term use of the drug metformin for Type-2 diabetes reduces the risk of diabetes-associated cancers, such as breast cancers.

The research appears in the current edition of PLoS One.

"People with Type-2 diabetes are known to be at high risk for several diabetes-associated cancers, such as breast, liver and pancreatic cancers," said Trosko, a professor in the College of Human Medicine's Department of Pediatrics and Human Development. "While metformin has been shown in population studies to reduce the risk of these cancers, there was no evidence of how it worked."

For the study, Trosko and colleagues focused on the concept that cancers originate from adult human stem cells and that there are many natural and man-made chemicals that enhance the growth of breast cancer cells.

Using culture dishes, they grew miniature human breast tumors, or mammospheres, that activated a certain stem cell gene (Oct4A). Then the mammospheres were exposed to natural estrogen ? a known growth factor and potential breast tumor promoter ? and man-made chemicals that are known to promote tumors or disrupt the endocrine system.

The team found that estrogen and the chemicals caused the mammospheres to increase in numbers and size. However, with metformin added, the numbers and size of the mammospheres were dramatically reduced. While each of the chemicals enhanced growth by different means, metformin seemed to be able to inhibit their stimulated growth in all cases.

"While future studies are needed to understand the exact mechanism by which metformin works to reduce the growth of breast cancers, this study reveals the need to determine if the drug might be used as a preventive drug and for individuals who have no indication of any existing cancers," he said.

"Though we still do not know the exact molecular mechanism by which it works, metformin seems to dramatically affect how estrogen and endocrine-disrupting chemicals cause the pre-existing breast cancers to grow."

In addition, further research needs to be done with human cultures to see if metformin can reduce the risk of pancreatic and liver cancers in Type-2 diabetics as well, he said.

###

Michigan State University: http://www.newsroom.msu.edu

Thanks to Michigan State University 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/115463/Diabetes_drug_shows_promise_in_reducing_risk_of_cancer

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Friday, November 25, 2011

Will Frontier Communications Be Able to Reverse Its Decline? (The Motley Fool)

Frontier Communications (NYSE: FTR - News) reported a steep 30% fall in third-quarter net income, to $20.4 million, mainly due to a decrease in its subscriber base. Let's take a closer, Foolish look at Frontier's problems.

The numbers
The company's total revenues fell by 8%, to $1.3 billion. The reason for this drop was the fall in the number of subscribers across various segments, including business and residential customers, video, switched access, and directory. The drop in net income came from acquisition expenses and reduced operating incomes that were in part offset by lower taxes.

Local and long-distance service revenues fell sequentially and year over year, dropping by 12%, to $605 million, from last year's third quarter. Data and Internet service revenues remained relatively flat from the previous year's quarter at $457 million.

The sky is falling!
The previous year saw Frontier virtually triple its revenues after gaining 4.8 million rural landlines from Verizon (NYSE: VZ - News). This reversed the trend of falling revenues as the company saw its top line jump after the acquisition. But that was just temporary.

The company continues to bleed both customers and revenues mainly because of the increasing obsolescence of landline telephones. A look at sequential and year-over-year data shows this trend. Residential customer count fell sequentially by 2.3%, as well as from the previous year's quarter by 10.2%, to 3.1 million subscribers. Business customers also dropped sequentially by 2.2% and 9.8% from the previous year to 319,379 subscribers. But Frontier has made sure it's able to compensate for this and trim costs as much as possible.

Shaving off unprofitability
Some of the subscriber cuts were due to the company's efforts to reduce the number of customers for the unprofitable FiOS offering that was inadvertently acquired through its Verizon acquisition. FiOS is Verizon's bundled fiber optic offering that combines television, Internet, and telephone services.

So far, the company has been successful in shaving off 9,900 FiOS TV subscribers and 3,100 FiOS Internet subscribers. It has also discouraged customers from ordering the new service, using tactics like raising the installation fee to $500 in Oregon. Having done that, the company wants to shift focus to providing telephone and high-speed Internet services in Oregon and other markets that it got hold of through the Verizon deal. Frontier has also entered into tie-ups with DISH Network (Nasdaq: DISH - News) and DIRECTV (Nasdaq: DTV - News) to resell their satellite TV packages to its customers.

Frontier's efforts seem to be paying off, as it has witnessed the strongest broadband growth rate since the acquisition. The company has been able to bring broadband access to 592,000 new homes and has managed a net addition of 16,200 high-speed Internet subscribers while removing almost $500 million in annual costs.

The Foolish bottom line
With the industrywide trend of shrinking landline subscribers, Frontier has not made the mistake of hard-selling the obsolete technology. Instead, it has shifted focus to promoting its high-speed broadband services in order to retain and grow its precious customer base. This could very well be the solution to the company's falling revenues. However, until Frontier begins to show some improvement at least in terms of top-line numbers, I'd rather stay on the sidelines.

Keki Fatakia does not hold shares in any of the companies mentioned in this article. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personalfinance/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/fool/20111123/bs_fool_fool/rx165755

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Ex-PSU officer questioned player treatment

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) ? A former Penn State official charged with enforcing discipline at the school said Tuesday that Joe Paterno's players got in trouble more often than other students, and got special treatment compared to non-athletes.

Vicky Triponey, who resigned her post as the university's standards and conduct officer in 2007, confirmed that she sent a 2005 email to then-president Graham Spanier and others in which she expressed her concerns about how Penn State handled discipline cases involving football players. The Wall Street Journal published excerpts from the email on Tuesday.

Paterno "is insistent he knows best how to discipline his players ... and their status as a student when they commit violations of our standards should NOT be our concern ... and I think he was saying we should treat football players different from other students in this regard," Triponey wrote in the Aug. 12, 2005, email.

"Coach Paterno would rather we NOT inform the public when a football player is found responsible for committing a serious violation of the law and/or our student code," she wrote, "despite any moral or legal obligation to do so."

The email surfaced as Penn State is reeling in the aftermath of criminal charges filed this month against Jerry Sandusky, a former assistant football coach accused of molesting eight boys, some on campus, over a 15-year period.

The scandal has resulted in the ousting of school President Graham Spanier and Paterno, whom trustees felt did not do enough about one accusation involving a 10-year-old boy. Athletic Director Tim Curley has been placed on administrative leave, and Vice President Gary Schultz, who was in charge of the university's police department, has stepped down.

Schultz and Curley are charged with lying to a grand jury and failing to report to police, and Sandusky is charged with 40 counts of child sex abuse. All maintain their innocence.

Interviewed by The Associated Press at her Charleston home, Triponey said that throughout her tenure at Penn State there was "an ongoing debate" over who should deal with misconduct by football players.

Her 2005 email was sent the day after a heated meeting in which Paterno complained about the discipline process.

"He knew better than anyone how to discipline them. We wanted to show him the (disciplinary) data and suggest that 'Well, whatever it is we're doing, it's not working.' They're getting into trouble at a greater rate than they should. We wanted to find a way to address that," she said. "The meeting ended up being a one- sided conversation with the coach talking about his frustrations, his anger, his not being happy with the way we were running the system."

Paterno's lawyer, Wick Sollers, defended his client in a written statement.

"The allegations that have been described are out of context, misleading and filled with inaccuracies," he said. "In the current atmosphere, it is not surprising that every aspect of Penn State University's academics and athletics will be reviewed."

Penn State football has long been regarded as an example of a well-run program that graduates an above-average percentage of its players while operating within the rules and winning on the field. But the Sandusky case has forced a re-examination of the Nittany Lions and Paterno's 46-year tenure as coach, highlighted by two national championships.

A review of Associated Press stories over the last decade shows at least 35 Penn State players faced internal discipline or criminal charges between 2003-09 for a variety of offenses ranging from assault to drunk driving to marijuana possession. One player was acquitted of sexual assault.

Penn State has hired former FBI director Louis Freeh to lead an internal investigation of the Sandusky case, while the NCAA announced last Friday it was launching its own inquiry focused on Sandusky and whether Penn State exercised "institutional control" in handling accusations against him. Asked Tuesday whether other disciplinary cases at Penn State would be reviewed, an NCAA spokeswoman said she had nothing else to say at this time.

Triponey, who arrived at Penn State in 2003 ? four years after Sandusky retired and a year following an alleged assault by him in the football showers ? told ESPN's "Outside the Lines" she was not involved in any conversations with or about the former assistant coach.

She told the AP that pressure to go easier on football players increased as her tenure went on.

"Many times, (because of) the pressure placed on us by the president or the football coach, eventually, we would end up doing sanctions that were not what another student would've got," she said. "It was much less. It was adapted to try to accommodate the concerns of the coach."

Triponey said she's a longtime football fan and worked at universities for most of her career. She said the relationship with coaches was different at other places, citing Randy Edsall, whom she worked with at Connecticut, as an example of someone who ran an open program and helped his players learn from mistakes. Edsall is now head coach at Maryland.

"He would invite us to go on road trips to the away games so we could see inside the program," Triponey said. "But there was a wall at Penn State where we never had that kind of relationship."

Curley and Spanier did not reply to messages for comment. A representative for Curley told the Journal that "he tried to make sure all student athletes were treated equally with regard to the code of conduct."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-11-22-FBC-Penn-State-Paterno-Triponey/id-b50de6dbb7294c4195c42e867ea3587c

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Thursday, November 24, 2011

Yahoo's San Francisco billboard closing up shop after more than a decade

Oh, 1999. Simpler times, those. IT departments were frantically prepping for Y2K, Jeff Bezos (or his head, at least) was named Time's "Person of the Year" and the tech bubble was getting ready to burst at the seams. That same year, the lights on Yahoo's "A nice place to stay on the internet" billboard turned on for the first time on the highway leading to the Bay Bridge. Those lights, which have seen their share of ups and downs for internet companies, will be turned off for the last time in the coming weeks. Clear Channel confirmed that there will, indeed, be vacancy in that space come next month.

Yahoo's San Francisco billboard closing up shop after more than a decade originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Nov 2011 23:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/yRYuQ7dpie0/

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Nicki Minaj named Billboard's "Rising Star" (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? Singer and rapper Nicki Minaj was named Billboard's 2011 Rising Star on Wednesday, following her international success this year with her album, "Pink Friday."

Minaj, 28, who is signed to Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment, took the opportunity of Billboard's announcement to confirm her next album on Twitter.

Set for release on February 14, Valentine's day next year, Minaj's second album will be called "Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded," after the rapper's alter ego, Roman Zolanski.

The New York native stormed the Billboard charts this year, becoming the first artist to have seven songs in the Hot 100 singles chart at the same time, including hits such as "Your Love," "Super Bass" and "Fly" featuring Rihanna, while "Pink Friday" reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

"Nicki Minaj has established herself as a force in hip-hop and pop music, and we're thrilled to recognize her accomplishments over the past year," said Billboard's editorial director Bill Werde on Billboard.com.

Minaj is the fourth recipient of the award, following Jazmine Sullivan in 2010, Lady Gaga in 2009 and Colbie Caillat in 2008, and will join country music star Taylor Swift, who was named Woman of the Year, to collect the award at the annual Billboard Women in Music event in New York on December 2.

(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111123/music_nm/us_nickiminaj

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The Stupid Things You Do When Shopping (and How to Fix Them) [Mind Hacks]

The Stupid Things You Do When Shopping (and How to Fix Them)It's officially holiday shopping season, and retailers are counting on your consumer impulses to drive you to buy everything your lustful heart desires. If you've ever ended up with a cart full of fishbowls, bedazzlers, and life-sized giraffe statues, you know shopping fever can cause you to make some pretty stupid choices. Here's a look at some of the most common motivators of bad shopping decisions and what you can do to put a stop to them.

Stupid Thing #1: You Love Free Stuff, Even When It's Bad For You

The Stupid Things You Do When Shopping (and How to Fix Them)The power of free can be very compelling, so much so that you feel inclined to take any free item just because it's offered. This may not seem like such a bad thing because a free gift seems particularly harmless. The problem is, just because you're not paying with money doesn't mean you're not paying at all. The power of free can cause you to make choices you wouldn't otherwise make, and the consequences can be worse than letting go of a few precious dollars.

Dan Ariely, the author of Predictably Irrational, conducted an experiment where he and his team offered free tattoos to people at a night club. 76 people wanted to take advantage of this free offer. The crowd were an average age of 26 and were essentially sober (rating an average of 2.64 on a drunkenness scale of 1 to 11), and most of them only wanted a permanent tattoo because it was free:

When we asked the people in line for the free tattoos if they would get the tattoo if it were not free, 68% said they would not. They were only getting it because it was free. We also asked the participants if they knew that there were free tattoos being offered at the party. The 90% that knew they would be giving away free tattoos were asked two follow-up questions. First, when asked when they made their decision to get a tattoo that night before or after arriving at the party, 85% said they made their decision before arrival and 15% made the decision after arriving. When further asked, on a scale of 0-100, how likely did they think they were to get a tattoo that night, people were on average 65% sure they would be getting a tattoo.

A handful of participants didn't even know what kind of tattoo they wanted, but simply that they didn't want to pass up this opportunity. We do this frequently when free offers are made, and the easy way to solve the problem is to ask yourself a simple question: if this free thing was simply half price, or lightly discounted, would I still want it? If you answer yes, it might be worthwhile. If not, you should urge yourself to take a pass. The problem with free stuff is that there's often another form payment involved, like the sacrifice of personal information, and having your address sold to other companies who will send you a torrent of junk mail isn't necessarily worth what you seemingly gained for free.

Stupid Thing #2: Your Brand Loyalty Is Just a Bad Habit

The Stupid Things You Do When Shopping (and How to Fix Them)If you've ever been called a fanboy/girl or consider yourself brand loyal, you might just be lazy. Some companies will treat you better than others, and often times you'll stick around for that reason, but consider all the options you haven't tried. People tend to judge products they don't use as inferior simply because they're comfortable with what they've got. This results in missed opportunities and, often times, wasted money.

The problem occurs when we develop a brand habit that we confuse with loyalty. You've probably used the same brand of toothpaste, sandwich bags, or writing implement for most of your life. You also probably haven't tried many of the other brands. You found something you liked well enough, got used to it, and continued to buy it without really considering any alternatives. Once this habit has been built, you also develop a resistance to change (like with most bad habits). This resistance causes you to defend your choices, even if you might be wrong. We call this brand loyalty, but it's really just defensive behavior and being too lazy to try something new. Science Daily suggests a possible solution:

When companies get consumers motivated about their products, they are just as motivated to protect the brand as they are themselves. So it's really more about the self than the brand. When people can self-affirm through other means and activities, they're not defensive at all.

For example, if you've developed an obsession with gadgets and consider yourself a go-to person for purchasing choices, you're self-affirming through the brands you like. There's nothing wrong with having your opinions on a few products, but if you can feel like an expert about something that doesn't involve consumption you'll have an easier time shedding your brand loyalty habits. This will help you keep an open mind and not ignore possibly better and cheaper products you'd have otherwise have ignored.

Stupid Thing #3: Your Desire for Greater Social Status Affects Your Choices

The Stupid Things You Do When Shopping (and How to Fix Them)You might think you're always out to buy the best possible product, but most of the time your purchasing decisions are just a means of competing for social status. In a consumer society, you do this because your product choices are a means of expressing yourself. With the massive amount of choice, it's easy to convince yourself that what you buy strongly conveys your personality in a way that makes you appear trendy and more attractive. In reality it helps you fit into a stereotype and dump money into a series of purchases that are ultimately pretty meaningless.

This is because everything is capable of becoming a product, whether it's a part of popular culture or belongs to a group trying to defy it. David McRaney, writer of the book and blog on self-delusion You Are Not So Smart, explains how the system works:

In the 1960s, it took months before someone figured out they could sell tie-dyed shirts and bell bottoms to anyone who wanted to rebel. In the 1990s, it took weeks to start selling flannel shirts and Doc Martens to people in the Deep South. Now, people are hired by corporations to go to bars and clubs and predict what the counter culture is into and have it on the shelves in the cool stores right as it becomes popular.

While something may start out as authentic, it quickly loses that status as it grows in popularity and becomes a product. People then seek out new, more authentic experiences and the cycles repeats. There's little we can do about this, and it's not necessarily a problem. The thing we have to accept in a consumer society is that the choices we make about the stuff that we like is not really that important. You should dress in clothing that you feel makes you look your best and you should own the computer, toaster, or toothpaste you enjoy. What you shouldn't do is believe that those decisions make you special or more authentic, because then you're playing into a system whose only interest is winning your money. Real authenticity has to come from you.

Stupid Thing #4: You Set Yourself Up for Buyer's Remorse

The Stupid Things You Do When Shopping (and How to Fix Them)You've heard that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, and you've probably also applied it to your shopping experiences. Perhaps you bought an iPhone and wished for an Android, then switched and realized Android wasn't so great after all (or vice versa). Or maybe you've rushed into a decision to grab a limited-time offer only to find you spent a bunch of money on something you didn't want. With all the choices available, and all the manipulative advertising surrounding them, it's easy to make mistakes?or at least think you're making them?when choosing a product.

You might think that the solution to buyer's remorse is weighing all your options carefully, but you'd be wrong. We are terrible at predicting the future, especially when it comes to our happiness, and we're generally happier when we just make a choice?even if that choice might be a bad one. Near-endless deliberation just stresses us out and causes us to wonder if we made the right decision after the fact. You can avoid that by just not thinking too much and going with your gut.

The Stupid Things You Do When Shopping (and How to Fix Them)Of course, you don't want to end up buying a bunch of stuff you don't need or really want as much as you might initially think. Doing that can incite buyer's remorse as well. It's common to make a quick buying decision because of a good deal and then find yourself regretting that choice soon after. The best thing you can do to combat this problem is to enforce a mandatory holding pattern of 24 hours or more before making any medium or large purchases and only buy from stores with great return policies. This way you won't purchase on a whim, and if you do end up with buyer's remorse you'll be able to undo the damage.


This post was delightfully illustrated by Dana Zemack. Check out more of her stick figure comics on her web site and follow her on Twitter. Title photo remixed from an original by Jason Aron (Shutterstock).

You can follow Adam Dachis, the author of this post, on Twitter, Google+, and Facebook. Twitter's the best way to contact him, too.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/QhgYJE-qDBg/the-stupid-things-you-do-when-shopping-and-how-to-fix-them

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Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Cyprus president visits offshore gas rig (AP)

NICOSIA, Cyprus ? Cyprus' president visited a gas drilling rig off his country on Monday and defended its right to conduct such exploration, despite strong opposition from Turkey which sees the search as disregarding Turkish Cypriot claims to any potential riches.

"My presence here underscores the Cyprus Republic's sovereign rights which we are determined to exercise," Dimitris Christofias said on the rig owned by U.S. company Noble Energy.

Christofias' remark was directed at Turkey which disputes Cyprus' oil and gas search because it doesn't recognize the island as a sovereign country.

Cyprus was split into a Greek-speaking south and a Turkish-speaking north in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Turkish Cypriots declared an independent state in 1983 which only Turkey recognizes and keeps 35,000 troops there.

Although the island joined the European Union in 2004, only the internationally recognized south enjoys membership benefits. The dispute also is a key obstacle to Turkey's own troubled EU membership bid.

Talks to reunify Cyprus are now in their fourth year, and Christofias has accused the Turkish side of backtracking on key issues, including how power will be shared under a federation.

Turkish Cypriots accuse Christofias of dithering and rejecting all their proposals.

Turkey warned that drilling may jeopardize the talks, but on Monday Christofias repeated that it could act as an incentive to speed up deal because Turkish Cypriots would share in any gas wealth.

"I want to tell our Turkish Cypriot compatriots that, God willing, this effort will succeed and I want to stress that this is a challenge to Turkey to change its stance so we can solve the Cyprus issue the soonest," Christofias said.

Christofias and a small group of senior government officials flew by helicopter to the rig for a firsthand look at the rig situated about 115 miles (185 kilometers) off the island's south coast.

Noble last week said its preliminary estimate put the gas deposit's size at between 3 to 9 trillion cubic feet of gas, with a 60 percent chance it will successfully recover it.

Exploratory drilling began in September, and Cypriot officials said they will formally announce firm estimates early next month. Commerce Minister Praxoulla Antoniadou has said that a trillion cubic feet of gas would be enough to meet the country's energy needs for three decades.

Christofias said the drilling is "going well" and that a second licensing round for exploratory drilling elsewhere inside Cyprus' 17,000 square-mile (51,000 square-kilometer) exclusive economic zone would be announced "shortly."

"This is an effort which will ensure ? if it succeeds ? the life, future and welfare of future generations," said Christofias, adding that bringing any gas to shore and using it will take "a few years."

Regional tensions were stoked recently after Turkey dispatched a warship-escorted research vessel to look for gas deposits in the area in retaliation to the Cypriot government's move.

Ankara also signed a maritime accord with the Turkish Cypriots and said it would pursue its own drilling which Christofias denounced as "actions outside international law."

"We are strictly moving within the framework of international law and that's what we're doing with Noble and with all those we're working with," Christofias said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/energy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111121/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_cyprus_drilling

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Tony Rezko, Blago ex-fundraiser, gets ... - Crain's Chicago Business

(Updated 12:30 p.m.)

(AP) ? A former top fundraiser for ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich, whose trial exposed Illinois' pay-to-play political culture, was sentenced Tuesday to 10 1/2 years in prison. He will get credit for time he has already served.

Antoin "Tony" Rezko, a former Chicago real estate developer and fast-food entrepreneur, has been in custody for 3? years while awaiting sentencing.

Rezko's attorneys had asked U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve to set him free, arguing that he already has served more time than others who were convicted as part of the federal investigation of Blagojevich have or are expected to.

But St. Eve told Rezko in court that his "selfish and corrupt actions" had damaged the trust people have in their government.

"You defrauded the people of Illinois, you engaged in extensive corruption throughout the state of Illinois," the judge said.

Rezko appeared gaunt, his ankles shackled. He showed no initial reaction when the sentence was handed down, but several relatives began crying.

Prosecutors had asked that Rezko receive a prison term of between 11 and 15 years.

Rezko was convicted in 2008 of fraud, money laundering and plotting to squeeze $7 million in kickbacks from firms that wanted to do business with the state during Blagojevich's tenure. The governor was arrested six months later and convicted this year on charges that included trying to sell or trade an appointment to President Barack Obama's old Senate seat. He is set to be sentenced next month and is expected to get about 10 years.

The 56-year-old Rezko also was a political fundraiser for Obama during his campaigns for Illinois senator, though not for his presidential campaign. Obama has not been accused of wrongdoing in the case, but his relationship with Rezko became an issue during the 2008 election.

Rezko's sentencing was delayed after he agreed to cooperate with prosecutors investigating Blagojevich and others. He also offered to testify at the corruption trials of Blagojevich and millionaire businessman William Cellini, who was convicted Nov. 1 of conspiring with Rezko and others to shake down the Oscar-winning producer of "Million Dollar Baby."

But the government said he ultimately did not yield any useful information, and prosecutors said they eventually concluded Rezko's persistent lies long after he was charged would have made him a vulnerable, ineffective witness.

The judge agreed with prosecutors.

"It was your own actions which decreased your value as a witness for the government," St. Eve told Rezko in court on Tuesday.

In court papers, Rezko's lawyers offered a picture of the Syrian immigrant as an eager philanthropist who was "shocked" by Blagojevich's proposed brainstorming on ways to profit from his gubernatorial decisions.

Prosecutors, though, said Rezko often took the initiative and described him standing before the then-governor and other confidants at an office chalkboard, diagramming various scams.

During Rezko's nine-week trial, prosecutors said he raised over $1 million for Blagojevich and got so much clout in return he could control two powerful state boards. They accused him of plotting with admitted political fixer Stuart Levine to squeeze payoffs from money management firms that sought to invest the assets of the $40 billion state Teachers Retirement System and said he plotted with Levine to get a $1.5 million bribe from a contractor who sought state approval to build a hospital.

Levine pleaded guilty and became the government's star witness at the Rezko and Cellini trials. Rezko's lawyers complained that, in exchange for Levine's cooperation, prosecutors had recommended a prison term of just 5? years. But prosecutors say Levine's cooperation with the government started sooner, lasted longer and reaped more dramatic results.

Rezko has spent much of his time in jail in solitary, rarely getting fresh air and subject to a diet that has resulted in him losing 80 pounds, according to a recent defense filing.

"Just looking at you, physically, is evidence of the great fall that you have had," St. Eve said.

? ?

(Note: Your first name and last initial will appear with your remarks.)

Source: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20111122/NEWS02/111129954/tony-rezko-blago-ex-fundraiser-gets-decade-in-prison-for-corruption

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Egypt crowds chant rejection of election plan

Egypt's military leader promised to speed the transition to civilian rule, saying Tuesday that presidential elections will be held by the end of June 2012. But the major concession was immediately rejected by tens of thousands of protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square, who responded with chants of "Leave, leave!" now.

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Late Tuesday, tear gas was pouring into Tahrir Square but dissipated in about 10 minutes, according to tweeted reports by NBC's News' Richard Engel.

The protests continued hours after Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi vowed that landmark parliamentary elections will start on schedule on Monday, the first vote since longtime authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak was ousted in an uprising nine months ago. And he said the military was prepared to hold a referendum on immediately transferring power to a civilian authority if people demand it.

Tantawi said he has accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Essam Sharaf's civilian government and politicians who attended a 5-hour crisis meeting with the ruling generals said the military intended to replace Sharaf's cabinet with a "national salvation" government. It was not clear who might head the new Cabinet, but names of a couple presidential hopefuls were mentioned.

"Our demands are clear," said Khaled El-Sayed, a protester from the Youth Revolution Coalition and a candidate in the upcoming parliamentary election. "We want the military council to step down and hand over authority to a national salvation government with full authority." He also demanded that the commander of the military police and the Interior Minister, who is in charge of the police, be tried for the "horrific crimes" of the past few days, when 29 people were killed in clashes, most of them in Cairo.

The standoff culminated four days of clashes and demonstrations around the country that have constituted the most sustained challenge so far to nine months of military rule. It plunges the country deeper into a crisis that may only hamper the democratic transition the protesters are fighting for.

Slideshow: Violent clashes in Egypt (on this page)

In Tahrir Square, the atmosphere was reminiscent of the 18-day uprising that toppled Mubarak, with jubilation over the large turnout mixed with the seething anger directed at the military. On Tuesday, the protesters had called for a million people to turn out and drew a massive crowd of tens of thousands.

The crowds carried an open wooden coffin with a body of a slain protester wrapped in white and held a funeral in the middle of the square.

A stuffed military uniform was hung from a central light pole with a cardboard sign on its neck saying "Execute the field marshal," a reference to Tantawi, Mubarak's defense minister of 20 years. People cheered when the effigy was hung and state television showed some hitting it with sticks or shoes.

Men in the square opened a corridor in the middle of the crowds and formed a human chain to keep it open, giving easy access to motorcycles and ambulances ferrying the wounded to several field hospitals in the square.

Sweet smells of popcorn and cotton candy mingled with tear gas and burning garbage.

As night fell on the square, thousands streamed in over a bridge across the Nile river. Men and women carrying blankets and boxes of supplies chanted: "Down with the field marshal."

The latest round of unrest began Saturday when security forces violently evicted a few hundred protesters who camped out in Tahrir. The perceived use of excessive force angered activists, who began to flock to the square. A joint army and police attempt to clear the square on Sunday evening failed, leaving protesters more determined to dig in there.

The clashes played out amid charges that the military was trying to cling on to power after an elected parliament is seated and a new president elected. The military recently proposed that a "guardianship" role for itself be enshrined in the next constitution and that it would enjoy immunity from any civilian oversight.

Further confusing the political situation, the military-backed civilian government on Monday submitted a mass resignation in response to the turmoil.

In his brief televised address to the nation, Tantawi did not mention a specific date for the transfer of power, although the presidential election has long been considered the final step in the process. The military has previously floated the end of next year or early 2013 as the date for the presidential vote.

"The armed forces, represented by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, has no desire to rule and puts the country's interests above all. It is ready to hand over responsibility immediately and return to its original duty of defending the country if the people want that and through a public referendum if it is necessary," he said.

Tantawi sought to cast the military as the nation's foremost patriots and angrily denounced what he called attempts to taint its reputation.

But he hinted at conspiratorial plots behind the protests, much like Mubarak did in his final days.

He spoke of forces "who are working in the dark to incite sedition and drive a wedge between the people and the Armed Forces or between different segments of the Egyptian people."

"At the end we will hand over power to an elected civil authority," Tantawi said, but he did not offer to step down. The crowd in Tahrir Square responded with chants of, "the people want the fall of the Field Marshal."

The crowds in Tahrir immediately rejected Tantawi's proposals with chants of "erhal," or leave.

"We are not leaving, he leaves," chanted the protesters. "The people want to bring down the field marshal," they shouted.

A youth group that played a key role in the anti-Mubarak uprising said it decided to remain in the square until the military handed over power to a civilian presidential council to run the country's affairs. Beside a representative of the military, the council should include pro-reform leader and Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, said the April 6 group.

"The military council has failed to manage the transitional period, and the generals' hands are tainted by the blood of the nation's youth and have been collaborating with the counterrevolution," the group said in a statement.

Others in the square said the referendum was just a ploy to divide people.

American students arrested
Three American students at the American University of Cairo, which sits on Tahrir Square, were arrested outside the university's campus Monday night, Morgan Roth, a spokeswoman for the university, told NBC News.

She did not specify whether any charges had been filed or what any charges may be, but she named the three students as Luke Gates, an Indiana University student from Bloomington, Indiana; Gregory Porter, a Drexel University student from Glenside, Pennsylvania; and Derrik Sweeney, a Georgetown University student from Jefferson City, Missouri.

The three were on a study abroad program with the American University of Cairo.

They were being held at the Abdeen police station in Cairo, NBC reported.

Egyptian television said that they had been arrested after being seen throwing fire bombs from the roof of a building owned by the American University of Cairo, NBC News' Richard Engel reported.

George Gates, the father of a 21-year-old Luke Gates, also confirmed to NBC that his son had been arrested "sometime late last night," and said the family was in contact with the Department of State.

On what appears to be Luke Gates' Twitter feed, Gates lists his location as Cairo, Egypt and makes references to being in Tahrir Square.

His last post, dated Monday, November 21, read, "reports of tear gas being fired from AUC campus on Tahrir, university officials have started investigating."

An airport official also said a U.S. citizen who had been arrested while allegedly filming security forces at Tahrir Square was deported Tuesday to the United Arab Emirates from which he had arrived.

State television showed brief footage of the three students, males who appeared to be in their early 20s.

The new wave of protests and violence around the country that began on Saturday has left 29 dead and has thrown Egypt's politics into chaos less than a week before landmark parliamentary elections were to begin.

"The army is making the same mistake as Mubarak. They hear the demands but respond when it's too late," said protester Mustafa Abdel-Hamid, a supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood who came to Tahrir even though his movement has not endorsed the protests over the past four days.

Battered economy
Egypt's military has been backed into a difficult corner. Protesters are demanding it surrender the reins of power ? or at least set a firm date in the very near future for doing so soon. Without that, few civilian political leaders are likely to join a new government for fear of being tainted as facades for the generals, as many consider the current Cabinet.

The political uncertainty and prospect of continued violence dealt a punishing blow to an already battered economy.

Egypt's benchmark index plunged more than 5 percent, the third straight day of declines. Banks closed early and many workplaces sent employees home ahead of schedule for fear of a deterioration in security.

Several main roads were closed to traffic, adding to Cairo's already congested streets.

'Deplorable' violence
The United States, which gives Egypt's military $1.3 billion a year in aid, has called for restraint on all sides and urged Egypt to proceed with elections.

"We are deeply concerned about the violence. The violence is deplorable. We call on all sides to exercise restraint," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters Tuesday.

Political uncertainty has gripped Egypt since Mubarak's fall, while sectarian clashes, labor unrest, gas pipeline sabotage and a gaping absence of tourists have paralyzed the economy and prompted a widespread yearning for stability.

Meanwhile, rights group Amnesty International accused Egypt's rulers on Tuesday of brutality sometimes exceeding that of Mubarak, saying the hopes of protesters had been "crushed."

The group said Egypt's Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) ? which assumed control after an 18-day uprising toppled Mubarak in February ? had made only empty promises to improve human rights.

In a report, Amnesty said military courts had tried thousands of civilians and emergency law had been extended. Torture had continued in army custody, and there were consistent reports of security forces employing armed "thugs" to attack protesters, it added.

"The SCAF has continued the tradition of repressive rule which the January 25 demonstrators fought so hard to get rid of," said Philip Luther, Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa acting director.

"Those who have challenged or criticize the military council ? like demonstrators, journalists, bloggers, striking workers ? have been ruthlessly suppressed in an attempt at silencing their voices ... The brutal and heavy-handed response to protests in the last few days bears all the hallmarks of the Mubarak era."

By August, Amnesty said the military council admitted about 12,000 civilians had been tried by military courts and at least 13 sentenced to death. The trials were "grossly unfair", said the rights group.

NBC News, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45398123/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/

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Finance program named in top 10 | The Daily Aztec

SDSU?s financial planning program has had success as a leader in the area. | thinkstock

SDSU?s financial planning program has had success as a leader in the area. | thinkstock

The San Diego State College of Business Administration was recognized for its financial planning program by Financial Planning magazine as one of the top 10 best financial planning schools in the U.S.

?The main reason we were on the list of the top schools is because our program was the first one in the country,? founder of the personal financial planning program Thomas Warschauer said. ?We were doing it longer than anyone else so we have a lot of experience in trying to help prepare people to meet the needs of employers and the public in financial planning.?

?We are honored that Financial Planning has recognized the college?s commitment to educational excellence,? Michael Cunningham, dean of the SDSU College of Business Administration, wrote in a news release.

Within the personal financial planning major, students are able to provide individuals the help they need to make financial decisions, unlike the corporate finance major where students may be more inclined to help big businesses handle financial problems.

?The editors of Financial Planning magazine wanted to include good schools, so it was based partly on the reputation of San Diego State, on the reputation of the Business School of San Diego State and partly based on this program, which has been around for a very long time and is very well known around the country,? Warschauer said.

The financial program, accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, offers undergraduate, graduate and executive programs to students seeking a career in the financial field.

According to Warschauer, the SDSU financial planning program has a ?very strong relationship? with outside employers who are looking to hire students in the financial program areas.

?The job prospects in this area are very good right now,? he said.

Source: http://www.thedailyaztec.com/2011/11/finance-program-named-in-top-10/

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Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Sprint sets the date for a CES 'exclusive event'

Sprint CES

Time to start the annual CES speculation, and Sprint's first out of the gate with the special events. As the invite notes, this one's immediately after the Tuesday keynote, which happens to be from Intel's Paul Otellini. We really have no idea what Sprint's got up its sleeve here -- could well be an Intel-based Windows 8 tablet (which in and of itself would be pretty cool), but remember that Intel's also getting into the Android game in 2012, so perhaps we'll get our first look at that fare? Or it could just be that the event's after the keynote and has absolutely nothing to do with Intel. We'll find out in about a month and a half.



Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/Gux51Tz4tJ4/story01.htm

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'Dark Knight Rises' Plot Details, 'Conan' Audition Tape Revealed

"The Dark Knight Rises" had a monumental day yesterday, with Christopher Nolan finally revealing some very surprising plot details about his third and final Batman movie. Check out everything he had to say here, but proceed with caution: there be spoilers ahead. In other "Dark Knight" news, we spoke with Gary Oldman about his return [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2011/11/22/dark-knight-rises-plot-details-conan-audition-tape-revealed/

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Monday, November 21, 2011

Gilead Sciences to buy Pharmasset for $11 billion

(AP) ? HIV drugmaker Gilead Sciences Inc. will spend about $11 billion to buy Pharmasset Inc. in what one analyst termed an "amazing risk," a high stakes gamble that could yield billions of dollars in drug sales if a possible groundbreaking hepatitis C treatment pans out.

Gilead said Monday it will pay $137 per share in cash for Pharmasset, a Princeton, N.J., company with no products on the market and a stock that has traded as low as $20.49 in the past year. The announcement sent Gilead's stock tumbling and Pharmasset's soaring.

Analysts see promise in Pharmasset's lead candidate, a pill labeled PSI-7977 that has just started late-stage testing. They say it could become a preferred option for care if it works without the injectable drug interferon, which can leave patients with flu-like symptoms that last for months.

Before the drug reaches the market, though, it must pass through the largest and most expensive stage of clinical testing and receive Food and Drug Administration approval. Analyst Erik Gordon of University of Michigan's Ross School of Business said the price Gilead agreed to pay multiplies the risk in that process.

"At that price, everything had better work perfectly," he said.

Hepatitis C treatments represent a ripe opportunity for drugmakers. The virus can lead to life-threatening liver damage and is the main cause of liver transplants in the United States.

It is spread through the blood, and that can happen through sharing intravenous drug needles or having sex with an infected person. The disease, which can take years to manifest, also could be picked up from blood transfusions before 1992, when the blood supply began being tested for the virus.

Analysts expect the disease to become a bigger health problem due to the large, aging population of U.S. baby boomers, including some people who used intravenous drugs when they were younger.

Pharmasset has a total of three potential hepatitis C treatments in clinical testing, including PSI-7977. That one has already demonstrated its effectiveness in hepatitis C patients with genotypes 2 and 3, but analysts want to see how it works in genotype 1, the most prevalent subset in the Western world and the hardest to treat.

"It could be the dominant player in a new, non-injectable paradigm for the treatment of hepatitis C," Stifel Nicolaus analyst Maged Shenouda said. "That's the bet, but it's a big bet at $11 billion."

Earlier this year, the FDA approved two pills that offered the first new breakthrough treatments for the liver disease in 20 years. The Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. hepatitis C pill Incivek rang up about $420 million in this year's third quarter. Another pill, Merck & Co.'s Victrelis had $31 million in sales in the quarter.

Both of those drugs need interferon to be effective, noted Carol Werther, an analyst for Summer Street Research.

If PSI-7977 works in genotype 1 patients without the injectable, then the deal works out "beautifully" for Gilead, which could wind up with a drug that brings in several billion dollars in annual sales, the analyst said.

"That's the holy grail, that's what everybody wants, get rid of interferon," she said, noting that the drug would still have to be used in combination with other therapies, just not interferon.

Pharmasset plans to start two other late-stage trials in 2012 and hopes to file for marketing approval of treatment in the United States and European Union in the second half of 2013.

Gilead, based in Foster City, Calif., also is developing some of its own hepatitis C treatments, and Chairman and CEO John C. Martin said the deal will allow it to explore new combinations with its drugs under development.

Unlike Pharmasset, Gilead already has several drugs on the market. Its top-sellers include the HIV drugs Atripla and Truvada. Last year, Gilead earned $2.9 billion, or $3.32 per share, on $7.39 billion in revenue.

Gilead said it will pay for the acquisition with cash on hand, bank debt and senior unsecured notes. It expects the deal to close in next year's first quarter, and it forecasts that the deal could start helping Gilead's earnings by 2015.

Shares of Pharmasset soared 85 percent, or $61.47, to close Monday at $134.14, while Gilead's stock dropped more than 9 percent, or $3.62, to close at $36.26.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-11-21-Gilead-Pharmasset-Acquisition/id-d897e06a7f48474a89940fcffebf6f7c

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Must See HDTV (November 21st - 27th)

Doctor Who: The Complete Sixth Series
Both halves of the most recent edition of Doctor Who come to Blu-ray this week. Throw in the 2010 Christmas Special, a Doctor Who Confidential inside look for each episode, plus a few more exclusives and extras and it's generally a better option than buying the two parts individually. We're still not sure exactly where to rank the River Song story arc in the Doctor Who canon, but after long, long teases about what was going on the storyline finally wrapped up in a satisfying way at the end.
(November 22nd, $59.99 on Amazon)

The Walking Dead
Whoa, did something actually happen on this show last week? We're still rooting for Lori to be eaten by zombies (slowly) and if Daryl ever gets killed off we'll stop watching forever but this show has definitely raised our hopes as it comes to a midseason finale this week. Throw in the much more interesting evil Shane and a Glenn-centric storyline and we actually have reasons to watch beyond just gore-of-the-week trickery. Now, if we could just say the same for Hell on Wheels...
(November 27th, AMC, 9PM)

Punkin Chunkin 2011
Once you're stuffed full after a Thanksgiving feast, if you're not watching the brother vs. brother 49ers/Ravens NFL standoff, flip over to Discovery and witness the Punkin Chunkin 2011 competition, where "man meets machine meets mayhem", all hosted by the guys from Mythbusters. Taking place for the 26th year, this annual competition brings teams to a Delaware cornfield to see whose homemade contraptiom can throw a pumpkin the furthest. Admit it, you're intrigued.
(November 24th, Discovery, 8PM)

Continue reading Must See HDTV (November 21st - 27th)

Must See HDTV (November 21st - 27th) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/21/must-see-hdtv-november-21st-27th/

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John Hawkins: Is Obama an Affirmative Action President? Yeah, Probably

MSNBC's Jonathan Capehart got huffy and played the race card after Rick Perry pointed out that Barack Obama has a "privileged" background just like his fellow 1 percenters that he rips on regularly when he's not stuffing their cash in his campaign coffers.

That's the dog whistle that Rick Perry is going for. The president was not raised privileged. He wasn't handed anything. He absolutely had to work for everything that he got. But for Rick Perry to say that President Obama was privileged and didn't have to work for what he got, the code is, he got into Columbia University, he got into Harvard University not through merit, not because he's smart, but because he took the place of someone else through affirmative action, that someone else being someone white.

Maybe other people don't want to say this out loud, but let's be honest: Barack Obama probably wouldn't have gotten into Columbia or Harvard if he were white. Obama's not Cletus-the-pig-farmer dumb, but he doesn't come across as exceptionally intelligent either. Intellectually, he's pretty clearly a cut below most of the Ivy League graduates I know, which is probably why his grades in college are as much of a closely guarded secret as the launch codes for the nuclear football.

Moreover, you really can't have it both ways on affirmative action. Liberals can't essentially say that they believe black Americans are so hapless that they can't compete with white Americans without the help of affirmative action and then complain when people start to question the qualifications of black Americans they think may have benefitted from affirmative action.

That's one of the worst, most corrosive effects of affirmative action. It puts a question mark over the accomplishments of black Americans. If you're black, no matter how brilliant you are or how deserving you are, there are always people wondering if you got the job because your skin was the right color. Is it unfair to the majority of black Americans who've gotten where they are in life based on their own merit? Absolutely, it is. But, is it racist? No, it's just a rational consequence of the sort of un-American, soft bigotry of low expectations that liberals have chosen to wholeheartedly embrace via affirmative action.

?

Follow John Hawkins on Twitter: www.twitter.com/johnhawkinsrwn

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-hawkins/is-obama-an-affirmative-a_b_1100790.html

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