Make your list and check it twice with Amazon Santa for iPad (Appolicious)

With the hottest toys flying off store shelves, it?s time to get those Christmas lists to Santa Claus, ASAP. Luckily, he?s working with Amazon this year via the new iPad app Amazon Santa.

Designed with family in mind, Amazon Santa offers a six-category shopping experience, sorted by movies, music, books, toys, etc., for even the youngest shoppers. Items are displayed as photos of varying sizes, and your wishers can tap to add to their personalized wish list ? and you can have as many lists as you like. There?s also a search function, but products are limited ? there are still a half-million available ? to family-friendly selections. After your wishers have had their fill of wish-list creation they can send a list directly to Santa?s workshop. In actuality, this will be sent to whoever owns the Amazon account you?ve logged in with (they?ll get an email notifying of the delivery), but that?s a secret you can keep to yourself.

After Santa has received the list, it can also be shared with other family members so items already purchased can be tracked. Don?t want the elves to make needless duplicates.

I love the interface of Amazon Santa, and if Amazon?s full catalog of products was available, I think I?d rather use this app to shop the store than the likes of Amazon Mobile. Scrolling through the available items was interactive and entertaining, and kids should like having the ability to compile their own wish lists. Parents should feel good about letting kids ?shop? in private since no purchasing is available in-app. Santa wish lists also remain private to everyone except parent-selected contacts.

If you have little ones who need to contact Santa, download Amazon Santa.

Love shopping apps? Create a list of your favorites here.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/applecomputer/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/appolicious_rss/rss_appolicious_tc/http___www_appolicious_com_articles10396_make_your_list_and_check_it_twice_with_amazon_santa_for_ipad/43822604/SIG=13ho37b90/*http%3A//www.appolicious.com/shopping/articles/10396-make-your-list-and-check-it-twice-with-amazon-santa-for-ipad

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Pakistani model's nude photo causes fury

EDS NOTE: PARTIAL NUDITY - Pakistanis look at a website displaying Veena Malik's photo on the website of FHM India, at an Internet cafe in Karachi, Pakistan, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011. Malik, a Pakistani actress who posed in the nude for the magazine with the initials of Pakistan's feared and powerful intelligence agency on her arm, has triggered fury across Pakistan. Malik's photo on the FHM India website, in advance of its publication in the magazine's December issue, has been lighting up social network sites since earlier this week. (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)

EDS NOTE: PARTIAL NUDITY - Pakistanis look at a website displaying Veena Malik's photo on the website of FHM India, at an Internet cafe in Karachi, Pakistan, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011. Malik, a Pakistani actress who posed in the nude for the magazine with the initials of Pakistan's feared and powerful intelligence agency on her arm, has triggered fury across Pakistan. Malik's photo on the FHM India website, in advance of its publication in the magazine's December issue, has been lighting up social network sites since earlier this week. (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)

FILE - In this Saturday, Sept. 4, 2010 file photo, Veena Malik, Pakistani actress and former girlfriend of Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif who is allegedly under investigation over the match fixing charges, poses in Lahore, Pakistan. A Pakistani actress who posed in the nude for an Indian magazine with the initials of Pakistan's feared and powerful intelligence agency on her arm has triggered fury across this conservative nation. Veena Malik's photo on the website of FHM India, in advance of its publication in the magazine's December issue, has been lighting up social network website Facebook and Twitter since earlier this week.(AP Photo/K.M.Chaudary, File)

FILE - In this Saturday, Sept. 4, 2010 file photo, Veena Malik, Pakistani actress and former girlfriend of Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif who is allegedly under investigation over the match fixing charges, poses in Lahore, Pakistan. A Pakistani actress who posed in the nude for an Indian magazine with the initials of Pakistan's feared and powerful intelligence agency on her arm has triggered fury across this conservative nation. Veena Malik's photo on the website of FHM India, in advance of its publication in the magazine's December issue, has been lighting up social network website Facebook and Twitter since earlier this week.(AP Photo/K.M.Chaudary, File)

ISLAMABAD (AP) ? A Pakistani actress who posed in the nude for an Indian magazine with the initials of Pakistan's feared and powerful intelligence agency on her arm has triggered fury across this conservative nation.

Veena Malik's photo on the website of FHM India, in advance of its publication in the magazine's December issue, has been lighting up social network websites since earlier this week.

Many here anticipate a backlash, as nationalists and Islamists regularly stage rallies against anything they deem an insult to Islam or to the national honor. India and Pakistan have fought three wars, and the Inter-Services Intelligence agency or ISI has been accused of sponsoring terrorist attacks inside India.

Malik has broken Pakistani religious and national taboos in the past. She is a target for conservative ire and a heroine to some Pakistani liberals.

Conservative cleric Maulana Abdul Qawi declared on Aaj TV on Saturday that her latest venture into controversy was a "shame for all Muslims."

In an interview with Pakistani Geo television broadcast Saturday, however, Malik said the nude photo was published in violation of her agreement with FHM India and she was considering legal action against the magazine.

Malik acknowledged having been photographed for a "bold but not nude shot." She said the editor of the magazine had promised that he would cover most of the photo with the ISI initials.

The photo was intended to poke fun at the Indian fear of Pakistani spies, she said, adding "whatever happens (in India), people say ISI is behind that."

Magazine editor Kabeer Sharma said Malik had given full consent for the shoot and the picture.

"We have all the record(s)," he told the Pakistani television station. "Veena was very excited about that ISI idea."

Zubair Khan, a 40-year-old shopkeeper in the northwestern city of Peshawar, agreed, saying the photo had given rival India another opportunity to insult Pakistan.

"She has earned a bad name for the entire Pakistan nation," he said.

Others questioned the authenticity of the photo.

"It seems to be an Indian attempt to malign Pakistan by faking her nude pics, or she might have done it to get a cheap publicity," said Lubna Khalid, 38, a housewife in the southern port city of Karachi.

Twitter commentator Umair Javed however called on Pakistanis to "make copies of the picture and bury it in your backyard. This way, our grandkids will know there were some amongst us who lived free!"

Asked by reporters whether Pakistan would "pursue the matter" legally, the country's Interior Minister Rehman Malik said Saturday, "First, let us see whether it is real or fake."

Malik does most of her work in India. The entertainment sector there is booming, while Pakistan's is moribund. Her ties to Pakistan's archrival have landed her in controversy in the past.

During a much-publicized talk show appearance early this year, she lashed out her nemesis Abdul Qawi, who criticized her for having a scripted love affair with an Indian actor on an Indian reality show.

"What is your problem with me?" an angry Malik demanded of the scholar, who had accused her of insulting Islam.

Daily News

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2011-12-03-AS-Pakistan-India-Photo/id-9633165332f641bbba5211a11383b9ff

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Cantor Fitzgerald Is Hiring a Communications Manager - PRNewser

By Nadine Cheung on December 2, 2011 5:49 PM

Calling all PR pros! Cantor Fitzgerald is looking to hire a new communications manager to join its New York team.

You?ll be responsible for planning print, broadcast and new media outreach campaigns for the firm in the institutional, commercial and investment banking space, while handling publicity for the company?s spokespeople and executives. In addition to organizing press events, you?ll handle writing and distributing press releases and announcements.

To be considered, you should have at least three to five years of experience in public relations or communications. Cantor Fitzgerald is looking for someone who is skilled at generate news and comfortable working with senior-level executives. Detail-oriented go-getters who thrive under deadlines should apply here.

For more job listings, go to the Mediabistro job board, and to post a job, visit our employer page. For real-time openings and employment news, follow @MBJobPost.

In our four-week Social Media 101 online conference and workshop starting January 19, you?ll get hands-on, basic training on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, Foursquare, YouTube, and Flickr. Speakers include Jessica Bennett (Newsweek.com, The Daily Beast), Erica Swallow (Mashable), and Brian Stelter (The New York Times). Register today!

Source: http://www.mediabistro.com/prnewser/cantor-fitzgerald-is-hiring-a-communications-manager_b30972

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White House renews veto threat on defense bill (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The White House on Friday accused the Democratic-controlled Senate of "political micromanagement" at the expense of national security after it approved legislation requiring military custody of suspected terrorists, even those captured within the U.S., and indefinite detention of some without trial.

In a statement, National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor renewed the White House threat of a presidential veto of the sweeping $662 billion defense bill that includes the far-reaching policy changes on how to handle suspected terrorists. The Senate voted 93-7 Thursday night for the legislation.

Vietor pointed out that counterterrorism experts from Republican and Democratic administrations had said the provisions would restrict the president's authority in the fight against al-Qaida and jeopardize national security.

"By ignoring these non-partisan recommendations, including the recommendations of the secretary of defense, the director of the FBI, the director of national intelligence and the attorney general, the Senate has engaged in political micromanagement at the expense of sensible national security policy," he said.

The Senate bill must be reconciled with a House-passed version in the closing days of the session. The administration opposes provisions in the House bill that would require military commissions for suspected terrorists and limit the president's authority to transfer terrorist suspects from the U.S. naval facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to installations in the United States, even for trial. It also would make it difficult for the administration to move detainees to foreign countries.

Overall, the Senate bill would authorize money for military personnel, weapons systems, national security programs in the Energy Department, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. Reflecting a period of austerity and a winding down of decade-old conflicts, the bill is $27 billion less than President Barack Obama requested and $43 billion less than Congress gave the Pentagon this year.

In a resounding vote, the Senate unanimously backed an amendment to impose harsh sanctions on Iran as fears about Tehran developing a nuclear weapon outweighed concerns about driving up oil prices that would hit economically strapped Americans at the gas pump.

"Iran's actions are unacceptable and pose a danger to the United States and the entire world," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

In an escalating fight with the White House, the bill would ramp up the role of the military in handling terror suspects. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and FBI Director Robert Mueller both oppose the provisions as does the White House, which said it cannot accept any legislation that "challenges or constrains the president's authorities to collect intelligence, incapacitate dangerous terrorists and protect the nation."

The bill would require military custody of a suspect deemed to be a member of al-Qaida or its affiliates and involved in plotting or committing attacks on the United States. American citizens would be exempt. The bill does allow the executive branch to waive the authority based on national security and hold a suspect in civilian custody.

The legislation also would deny suspected terrorists, even U.S. citizens seized within the nation's borders, the right to trial and subject them to indefinite detention.

The series of detention provisions challenges citizens' constitutional rights, tests the boundaries of executive and legislative branch authority and sets up a confrontation with the Democratic commander in chief. Civil rights groups fiercely oppose the bill.

"The bill is an historic threat to American citizens and others because it expands and makes permanent the authority of the president to order the military to imprison without charge or trial American citizens," said Christopher Anders, ACLU senior legislative counsel.

The bill reflects the politically charged dispute over whether to treat suspected terrorists as prisoners of war or criminals. The administration insists that the military, law enforcement and intelligence agents need flexibility in prosecuting the war on terror after they've succeeded in killing Osama bin Laden and Anwar al-Awlaki.

Republicans counter that their efforts are necessary to respond to an evolving, post-Sept. 11 threat, and that Obama has failed to produce a consistent policy on handling terror suspects.

On Iran, Sens. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill., had widespread bipartisan support for their amendment, which would target foreign financial institutions that do business with the Central Bank, barring them from opening or maintaining correspondent operations in the United States. It would apply to foreign central banks only for transactions that involve the sale or purchase of petroleum or petroleum products.

The sanctions on petroleum would only apply if the president determines there is a sufficient alternative supply and if the country with jurisdiction over the financial institution has not significantly reduced its purchases of Iranian oil.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111202/ap_on_go_co/us_congress_defense

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Polar ice sheets are synchronized swimmers

Glaciers in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres advance and retreat together

Web edition : Thursday, December 1st, 2011

When the last ice age was coming to a close about 19,000 years ago, the ice sheets that cover Antarctica began to shrink to their current sizes at about the same time as those in the Arctic, a new study finds.

That implies that the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, long thought to be relatively stable compared with the western? side of the ice-clad continent, ?is in fact, not so stable,? says geologist Michael Weber of the University of Cologne, Germany. And if the much larger East Antarctic Ice Sheet were to break off into the Weddell Sea, the resulting sea level rise would be tremendous, says Weber, who, with his colleagues, reports the findings in the Dec. 2 Science.

?Before our study, people thought Antarctic ice sheets began their retreat around 14,000 years ago,? says Weber. After gathering data from samples of deep-sea sediment plumbed from the Weddell Sea off? East Antarctica, the researchers now suggest that Antarctic glaciers started to shrink 5,000 years earlier, around the same time as their counterparts in the Northern Hemisphere.

The sediments the researchers studied contained fossils made of carbonate, a chemical compound that?s easy to calculate the age of but rarely found in ice cores used to establish a timeframe for glacial growth and retreat. ?This is some of the first carbonate found at high latitudes,? says geochemist Jess Adkins of Caltech, who calls the study a ?fantastic breakthrough.?

Because the seafloor sediments accumulated as varves, or repeating layers that reflect the passage of time much like tree rings, Weber?s team calculated the age of Antarctic carbonate shells at a certain layer, and then simply counted the layers downward to reconstruct the history of glacial activity.

Although the researchers feel confident suggesting the advance and retreat of the Arctic and Antarctic ice sheets may have occurred simultaneously, they still don?t fully understand the mechanism that may have provoked the synchronized melt. Escalating atmospheric temperatures, increased circulation of warm surface or deep-sea water, and rising sea levels are all potential culprits for the global glacial retreat 19,000 years ago.

?The oceans didn?t heat up until later,? says Andrew Mackintosh of the Arctic Research Centre at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand. He suggests that melting of the Northern Hemisphere ice sheet caused oceans to rise across the globe, shifting Southern Hemisphere ice into deeper water, which then spurred the Antarctic ice sheet?s retreat.

The new findings also suggest more broadly that melting or freezing ice sheets at one pole affects the ice and ocean waters at the other end of the world. If a melting cycle accelerates again, coastal populations could be endangered by rising sea levels.

?Warming ocean water is a problem for the future,? says Mackintosh. ?A change of one degree can make a huge difference to the ice sheet.? He believes that understanding how polar ice sheets responded to environmental factors in the past may help predict how changing climate conditions will affect glacial masses over the next century.????

Found in: Earth

Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/336542/title/Polar_ice_sheets_are_synchronized_swimmers

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Pay ban on donor organs doesn't include bone marrow, court says

A federal law banning compensation for organ transplants doesn't extend to bone marrow harvested from a donor's blood, a federal appeals court said Thursday in a ruling that could attract thousands of new donors in a national campaign to save the lives of those afflicted with cancer and genetic disorders.

The 1984 National Organ Transplant Act included bone marrow in its list of "organs and parts thereof" for which donors could face criminal charges and five years in prison for providing them in exchange for money or other "valuable consideration."

Though bone marrow is naturally replenishable, unlike livers, kidneys and other whole organs, its sale was barred because the extraction method used at the time the law was passed was painful and risky for the donor and authorities feared the poor would be induced to submit to the procedure to earn money.

In the last 20 years, though, medical advances have brought about a less intrusive method by which the life-saving marrow stem cells are harvested from a donor's bloodstream in much the same way as blood is drawn at a blood bank. The new process, known as apheresis, filters out excess marrow stem cells that circulate in the bloodstream, as opposed to the surgical extraction method, known as aspiration, which inserts a large needle into the hip bone and siphons out the cells.

A unanimous three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the marrow cells taken from a donor's blood were blood parts, not organ parts, and that a donor is therefore free to accept compensation for a donation.

"This is a fundamental change to how deadly blood diseases will be treated in the country," said Jeff Rowes, the Institute for Justice attorney who argued the case before the 9th Circuit panel in February. "Compensation will expand the donor pool by at least hundreds and potentially thousands each year."

More than 3,000 Americans die each year waiting for a suitable marrow donor, Rowes told the court, representing a group of cancer patients and their families, a Minnesota doctor specializing in bone marrow treatments and the California nonprofit MoreMarrowDonors.org.

The lead plaintiff in the case is Doreen Flynn of Lewiston, Maine, a single mother of five trying to ensure that a broader field of potential donors is available when her three daughters suffering from Fanconi anemia need marrow transplants after treatment for the potentially fatal genetic disorder.

"That is, like, the best Christmas news ever!" said a jubilant Flynn upon hearing that the 9th Circuit had ruled to exclude marrow from the compensation ban. Her 13-year-old daughter is already on medication to stave off the need for a marrow transplant while waiting for a well matched donor, and Flynn must decide soon whether to put one of her 7-year-old twins on the same medication, she said.

MoreMarrowDonors.org wanted the organ transplant law struck down or amended to allow the nonprofit to offer $3,000 scholarships or housing payments to attract new registrants to the National Marrow Donor Program. The registry has more than 7 million members, but many joined years ago during donor drives for friends or family members and are often reluctant to donate to a stranger.

Although the extraction procedure has been greatly simplified, it remains difficult to find the right genetic match between donor and recipient, the plaintiffs argued. Unlike blood, of which there are only four types, marrow comes in millions of types.

The plaintiffs sued U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr., alleging that the federal law treating bone marrow in the same way as organs that can't be regenerated violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution. The appeals court panel ruled that the older extraction method directly drawing cells from the marrow was reasonably included in the ban on compensation but that the marrow cells filtered out of a donor's blood were blood parts, not marrow parts.

"We construe 'bone marrow' to mean the soft, fatty substance in bone cavities, as opposed to blood, which means the red liquid that flows through the blood vessels," said the opinion written by Judge Andrew J. Kleinfeld, an appointee of President George H.W. Bush. "The statute does not prohibit compensation for donations of blood and the substances in it, which include peripheral blood stem cells."

Justice Department spokesman Charles S. Miller said the government hasn't decided yet whether to appeal.

"We're going to have to review it to make a determination about what the government's next step will be," Miller said, declining to comment on the ruling.

The 9th Circuit interpretation applies to its nine-state jurisdiction, but because it is the only federal appeals court to have ruled on the question, its judgment could guide future decisions nationwide.

carol.williams@latimes.com

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/PaOH72MmCtQ/la-me-bone-marrow-20111202,0,3782680.story

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95% Moneyball

Billy Beane: There are rich teams, there are poor teams, then there's fifty feet of crap, and then there's us.Moneyball is a solid triple base hit. It isn't quite a home run, but has the right players and the right manager to get the job done. Lets start with the best player, Brad Pitt, who gives a terrific performance here, and is what makes the film so effective. I feel that I must batter-up Jonah Hill, who I thought did a super job transferring from Comedy to Drama and plays his role subtly and professionally. This had such a Social Network feel to it (especially since Fincher's Dragon Tattoo trailer was before it), since it was written by Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian. Learning about Billy Beane has never been more exciting, and director Bennett Miller makes the experience of Moneyball quite exhilarating.Moneyball is a true story, based on a novel with the same name by Michael Lewis, chronicling the life of Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland Athletics. At this point in Billy's life, his team is handicapped with the lowest salary in baseball. To get his team back on top and to the world series, he must find a competitive advantage for his team to win games. So instead of physically training and working with the players, Beane, along with his new assistant Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), they use statistical data to manage the players' value to guarantee wins, and change the game forever.First things first; Moneyball is not meant to be for fans of baseball, it may be a tad more beneficial to them, but this is a film for anyone who is at all interested in an inspirational sports film, with Brad Pitt. Moneyball looks fantastic. The cinematography is handled very diligently by Wally Pfister; who does quite a decent job putting the audience in the world of baseball, and all of the game scenes are lighted perfectly and with high intelligence. You can tell a lot of input was put into this, considering this film has been in post-production for quite awhile until it was finally released.In a film like this, it's important to keep your audience interested and eager for a second viewing; while it doesn't quite play well on that second reason, this is a very interesting story. Prior to going into this, I had no knowledge of who Billy Beane was or what he did for the game of baseball (which is generally the tactic I use when going into a film I'm excited about), and judging from the trailers, I thought he was an antagonist. Boy, was I incorrect to make that assumption. Beane is surprisingly a good guy, and it's time to bring up the man who was Beane, Brad Pitt.In my opinion, this is probably Pitt's most contained performance yet. It's not his best (see Fight Club or Benjamin Button), but it is quite impressive. What makes the atmosphere of his performance unique from all of his other roles is how low-key he played it. I don't know much about Billy Beane, but it seemed only fitting that Pitt would take on another tough role. Regardless, I still found it low-key and different from his usual bad-ass type roles, which was nice for a change, and I think might be in the running for [another] Academy Award. Aside from Pitt, I enjoyed the performances from Jonah Hill and Philip Seymour Hoffman, who were both very effective in their roles.I wouldn't classify myself as an avid baseball lover or watcher (I'm a pretty big fan of the Chicago Cubs), but I am known from time to time to tune in to a game. For me, baseball is a bit uninteresting to watch all the way through (one of the many reasons why I was skeptical about seeing this), but I found myself fascinated all the way through Moneyball. It put a "twist" on the game, adding a little Social Network-statistic-type mumbo jumbo in. You also have to admire the chutzpah that screenwriter Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network) holds to keep tackling such complex subjects, and succeeding each time.The film was directed by Brett Ratner, who has directed some pretty big blockbuster hits such as the Rush Hour trilogy and X-Men: The Last Stand as well as the upcoming Tower Heist. Looking at those titles, it seems that Ratner can direct anything. He goes from buddy-cop to superheroes to baseball. Now do I think he is a good director? Yes, I do. Regardless of his few failed attempts of what's considered a "good" movie, I've always enjoyed his work, and Moneyball is definitely his most effective film in terms of drama and how it is shot.There was but one fatal flaw that kept me from giving this flick a perfect rating, and that is the replay value. I can't imagine myself viewing this multiple times, which is odd, because I've seen Fincher's The Social Network 20-30 times tops. Nevertheless, even for an individual viewing, Moneyball is worth seeing due to it's stellar performances, interesting plot, solid direction, and a magnificent script from Aaron Sorkin. Moneyball is not a home run, but it sure does swing for the fences.

July 3, 2011

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/moneyball/

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