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Thursday, May 23, 2013
Joseph Farman, 82, Is Dead; Discovered Ozone Hole
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Mr. Farman?s single-minded and at times officially derided study of atmospheric changes in the Antarctic led to one of the most important environmental discoveries of the 20th century.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Publicist: Founding member of The Doors dies at 74
Ray Manzarek, the keyboardist and founding member of The Doors who had a dramatic impact on rock 'n' roll, has died. He was 74.
Publicist Heidi Robinson-Fitzgerald says Manzarek died Monday at the RoMed Clinic in Rosenheim, Germany, surrounded by his family. Robinson-Fitzgerald says his manager, Tom Vitorino, confirmed Manzarek died around 3:30 p.m. EDT. He had bile duct cancer.
Manzarek founded The Doors after meeting then-poet Jim Morrison in California. The band went on to become one of the most successful rock 'n' roll acts to emerge from the 1960s and continues to resonate with fans decades after Morrison's death brought an effective end to the band.
The Chicago native continued to remain active in music after Morrison's 1971 death. He briefly tried to hold the band together by serving as vocalist, but eventually the group fell apart. He played in other bands over the years, produced other acts, became an author and worked on films.
The Doors were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Manzarek is among the most notable keyboard players in rock history. His lead-instrument work with the band at a time when the guitar often dominated added a distinct end-times flavor that matched Morrison's often out there imagery and persona.
The group is best known for hits like "L.A.Woman," ''Break On Through to the Other Side," ''The End" and "Light My Fire" ? a song particularly colored by his keyboard work ? and came to symbolize the decadence of Los Angeles as the counterculture grew in the U.S.
Manzarek is survived by his wife, Dorothy, his son Pablo and two brothers, Rick and James.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/publicist-founding-member-doors-dies-74-211838531.html
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Tuesday, May 21, 2013
93% The Sapphires
All Critics (124) | Top Critics (28) | Fresh (115) | Rotten (9)
The harmonies they strike in this reality-inspired charmer are sweetly sublime.
You could drive an Abrams tank through the film's plot holes, but you'll likely be too busy enjoying yourself to bother.
"The Sapphires" feels like a movie you've already seen, but it's nonetheless thoroughly enjoyable, like a pop song that's no less infectious when you know every word.
"The Sapphires" sparkles with sass and Motown soul.
Sapphires is hardly a cinematic diamond mine. But this Commitments-style mashup of music and melodrama manages to entertain without demanding too much of its audience.
The mood is so charming and the music so inspiring that you continually cut it a break.
By-the-numbers in every sense of the word, the film tracks a tried-and-true sort of triumph while featuring renditions of soul classics so bursting with energy and joy you won't care that the originality meter is leaning on empty.
Even when it seems contrived The Sapphires is a feel-good movie in the most positive meaning of that term, thanks to the Motown music and O'Dowd's cheeky charm. Like the Four Tops, I loved every sugar pie, honey bunch moment. I can't help myself.
Unfortunately, it has been turned into a routine and uninspiring movie, following a tired, old formula the entire way.
A surefire crowdpleaser with all the ingredients for the type of little-movie-that-could sleeper success that Harvey Weinstein has nurtured in years and award seasons past.
You've seen this story before, but never pulled off with so much joie de vivre.
They can put a song across just like the Dreamgirls. What's not to like?
Exuberant but fairly formulaic.
Doesn't always mix its anti-prejudice message and its feel-good nostalgia with complete smoothness. But despite some ragged edges it provides a reasonably good time.
Director Wayne Blair -- another veteran of the stage show -- finds his footing during the film's many musical numbers.
Despite the prosaic plot and reserved approach taken by Blair, Briggs, and Thompson, it's tough to get cynical about such a warmhearted picture that strives to tell so uplifting a story.
A movie with enough melody and camaraderie to cover up its lack of originality.
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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_sapphires_2012/
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Monday, May 20, 2013
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Source: http://dc716.com/?p=50015
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Sunday, May 19, 2013
Dear American Consumers: Please don t start eating healthfully. Sincerely, the Food Industry
Dear Consumers: A disturbing trend has come to our attention. You, the people, are thinking more about health, and you're starting to do something about it. This cannot continue.
Sure, there's always been talk of health in America. We often encourage it. The thing is, we only want you to think about and talk about health in a certain way--equating health with how you look, instead of outcomes like quality of life and reduced disease risk. Your superficial understanding of health has a great influence over your purchasing decisions, and we're ready for it, whether you choose to go low-calorie, low-fat, gluten-free or inevitably give up and accept the fact that you can't resist our Little Debbie snacks, potato chips and ice cream novelties. Whatever the current health trend, we respond by developing and marketing new products. We can also show you how great some of our current products are and always have been. For example, when things were not looking so good for fat, our friends at Welch's were able to point out that their chewy fruit snacks were a fat free option. Low fat! Healthy! Then the tide turned against carbohydrates. Our friends in meat and dairy were happy to show that their steaks, meats and cheeses were low-carb choices. Low carbs! Healthy! But we're getting uneasy. In 2009, Congress commissioned the Inter-agency Working Group (IWG) to develop standards for advertising foods to children. The IWG included the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Congress identified these organizations as having "expertise and experience in child nutrition, child health, psychology, education, marketing and other fields relevant to food and beverage marketing and child nutrition standards." We were dismayed when the IWG released its report in 2011. The guidelines said that foods advertised to children must provide "a meaningful contribution to a healthful diet." For example, any food marketed to children must "contain at least 50% by weight one or more of the following: fruit; vegetable; whole grain; fat-free or low-fat milk or yogurt; fish; extra lean meat or poultry; eggs; nuts and seeds; or beans." This report was potentially devastating. These organizations, experts in nutrition, were officially outlining what constituted "a meaningful contribution to a healthful diet." Thankfully, we have a ton of money and were able to use it to get the IWG to withdraw the guidelines. In a public comment posted on the FTC website, our friends at General Mills pointed out that under the IWG guidelines, the most commonly consumed foods in the US would be considered unhealthy. Specifically, according to General Mills, "of the 100 most commonly consumed foods and beverages in America, 88 would fail the IWG's proposed standards." So you see? If you people start eating the way the nutrition experts at the CDC and USDA recommend that you eat, that would delegitimize almost 90 percent of the products we produce! Do you realize how much money that would cost us? According to the General Mills letter, if everyone in the US started eating healthfully, it would cost us $503 billion per year! That might affect our ability to pay CEOs like General Mills' Ken Powell annual compensations of more than $12 million. But revamping the food environment will also cost you money. The General Mills letter stated "a shift by the average American to the IWG diet would conservatively increase the individual's annual food spending by $1,632." Sure, we've heard talk about costs to the individual that arise from being obese. One 2010 paper from the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services estimated that the annual costs to an individual for being obese can be upwards of $8,000. We like to think of this as a small price to pay for consumer freedom. Of course, we don't necessarily want you to be unhealthy. It's just that it's so much more profitable to provide foods that happen to be unhealthy. We've been able to industrialize the food system so that we can produce massive amounts of the cheapest ingredients available, in the cheapest, most efficient way possible. On top of that, we understand human biology. Humans evolved in situations in which food was scarce. This led to an evolutionary adaptation that causes you to crave salty, sugary and fatty foods. Consuming foods with these characteristics actually lights up the same pleasure centers in the brain as cocaine. Who wouldn't play upon that biological craving to increase profits? If one company didn't, their competitors would, so we all kind of have to do it. We are also able to provide you with perceived value. Because it doesn't cost us that much more to make a soda, say, 42 ounces instead of 22, we can almost double the size of a beverage and only charge you 20 percent more. How could you resist a deal like that? You can't. Trust us, we know. So you see, dear consumer, everything is fine. We've got a good thing going here. There's no need for you to start worrying about the industrial food system. If you do start thinking about your weight, check out our line of Healthy Choice frozen meals. If that doesn't work, our friends over in the pharmaceutical industry, the health and fitness industry and the healthcare industry will be happy to help you to continue to fulfill your role as an American Consumer. Images: by the author ? Follow Scientific American on Twitter @SciAm and @SciamBlogs. Visit ScientificAmerican.com for the latest in science, health and technology news.? 2013 ScientificAmerican.com. All rights reserved.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dear-american-consumers-please-don-t-start-eating-155100012.html
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IRS gave Obama foundation fast, retroactive non-profit approval while stalling conservative applications (Michellemalkin)
Money tangle: The IRS and its tea party tempest
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Internal Revenue Service is feeling the sort of heat that targeted taxpayers feel from the tax agency. It's the sense that a powerful someone is breathing down your neck.
Republicans in Congress are livid with the IRS over its systematic scrutiny of conservative groups during the 2010 and 2012 elections. Democrats agree that something must be done. President Barack Obama also isn't at all happy with the tax collectors.
That kind of commonality in Washington is about as rare as a budget surplus. So expect a bumpy ride for the IRS, unloved in the best of times, as a Justice Department criminal investigation and multiple congressional inquiries try to get to the bottom of it all.
A look at the matter:
IN BRIEF
The central issue is whether IRS agents who determine whether nonprofit organizations have to pay federal income taxes played political favorites or even broke the law when they subjected tea party groups and other conservative organizations to special scrutiny.
Also foremost in the concerns of Congress: Why senior IRS officials, for many months, did not disclose what they had learned about the actions of lower-level employees despite persistent questions from Republican lawmakers and howls from aggrieved organizations.
___
WHY IT MATTERS
The IRS is expected to be pesky, even intimidating, to miscreants, but at all times politically neutral. Nonpartisanship is the coin of its realm, perhaps more so than in any other part of government.
"I will not tolerate this kind of behavior in any agency but especially in the IRS, given the power that it has and the reach that it has into all of our lives," Obama said in ousting the agency's acting chief, Steven T. Miller.
On Thursday, on the eve of House hearings at which Miller has been called to testify, the president named Daniel Werfel, a senior White House budget official, to take charge of the agency temporarily.
IRS actions in the period covering the 2010 congressional elections and the early going of the 2012 presidential campaign have tattered the perception that the agency is clean of political leanings. Whether that was also the reality remains to be discovered.
A report by the Treasury Department's top investigator for tax matters found no evidence that sheer partisanship drove the targeting. But the watchdog disclosed Friday that he is still investigating. His report faulted lax management for not stopping it sooner.
It's a sensitive time for the agency's professionalism to be in doubt because the IRS soon will loom even larger in people's lives. It's to be the enforcer of the individual mandate to carry insurance under Obama's health care law, itself an object of suspicion for many conservatives. To the right, that's insult upon injury from the left.
___
WHAT WOULD MAKE IT MATTER EVEN MORE
Any effort from top levels of the administration or political operatives to manipulate the IRS for campaign purposes would put the scandal in the realm of Nixonian skullduggery.
The public record as it is known does not show interference.
No ties to anyone outside the IRS have been discovered. At the same time, early IRS assurances that high-level people inside the agency did not know what was going on have been contradicted by evidence that the head of the agency's tax-exemption operation and later its deputy commissioner were briefed about it and did not tell Congress.
___
RED-FLAG WORDS
To qualify for exemption from federal income taxes, organizations must show they are not too political in nature to meet the standard. In the cases in question, applications that raised eyebrows were referred to a team of specialists who took a much closer look at a group's operations. That's normal.
But in early 2010, IRS agents in the Determinations Unit began paying special attention to tax-exempt applications from groups associated with the tea party or with certain words or phrases in their materials, according to the IRS inspector general's report. That's not normal.
The red-flag keywords came to include "Patriots," ''Take Back the Country" and "We the People."
That August, agents were given an explicit "be on the lookout" directive for "various local organizations in the Tea Party movement" that are seeking tax-exempt status. Such organizations saw their applications languish except when they were hit with lots of questions, some of which the IRS was not entitled to ask, such as the names of donors.
In June 2011, after the congressional elections, Lois G. Lerner, in charge of overseeing tax-exempt organizations, learned of the flagging and ordered the criteria to be changed right away, the inspector general said. The new guidance was more generic and stripped of any explicit partisan freight. But it did not last.
In January 2012, the screening was modified again, this time to watch for references to the Constitution or Bill of Rights, and for "political action type organizations involved in limiting/expanding government."
The Constitution and Bill of Rights are touchstones for liberals, too. But in modern politics, they've been appropriated as rallying cries of conservatives and libertarians. Finally, that May, such flagging ended.
Altogether, specialists reviewed a variety of potentially too-political applications, presumably covering the liberal-conservative spectrum. But fully one-third of the cases were of the tea party-patriot variety. During the height of the flagging, the inspector general says, all applications fitting the conservative-focused criteria went to the specialists while others that should have stirred concern did not.
In short, if you were with the tea party, you were guaranteed a close second look and almost certainly months more of delay. If you were leading a liberal activist group, maybe yes, maybe no.
___
ON THE RECEIVING END
"Dealing with this was like dealing with tax day every day for 2? years," says Laurence Nordvig, executive director of the Richmond Tea Party in Virginia. "Like your worst audit nightmare."
His group applied for tax-exempt status in December 2009 and finally got it in July 2012.
Tom Zawistowski applied for the tax exemption for his group, the Ohio Liberty Coalition, in June 2010 when the flagging was gathering steam. He got it in December 2012, after the presidential election.
The IRS asked him for the identity of the group's members, times and location of group activities, printouts of its website and Facebook pages, contents of speeches and the names and credentials of speakers at forums. He said the IRS also audited his personal finances and his wife's.
"The intent of this was to hurt the ability of tea party groups to function in an election year," he said.
An Associated Press analysis of 93 "tea party" or "patriot" groups found that most were shoestring operations, with only two dozen raising more than $20,000 a year.
___
FIVE-OH WHAT?
If the IRS merely rolled over and played dead when it got an application for a tax exemption, the government would be even more broke than it is and big money would have an even more pernicious grip on campaigns.
The IRS knows better than most that politically driven organizations, out to elect and defeat candidates, can masquerade as "social welfare" or other charitable entities under the tax-exempting articles of Section 501 (c) of the tax code.
Or they can align themselves with one, allowing unlimited donations to be raised and the identities of the contributors to stay secret as long as the nonprofit entities don't go too far in overt politicking.
In recent years, advocacy groups have paired their nonprofit arms with "super" political action committees, moves that took hold after a series of court rulings ? including the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision ? loosened the rules on money in politics.
The rulings gave rise to such pairings as the American Crossroads super PAC with its Crossroads GPS nonprofit on behalf of Republicans in the 2012 campaign, and the Priorities USA Action super PAC with its own nonprofit arm, for Obama's benefit.
Section 501 (c) (3) can be the most lucrative financially for organizations because in addition to conferring tax-exempt status, it allows donations to qualifying groups to be tax deductible.
Section 501 (c) (4) doesn't permit tax-deductible donations but gives groups more latitude to lobby and to dabble more directly in political campaigns as long as "social welfare" remains their primary mission. They can also keep their donors secret, a big benefit over more blatantly political super PACs.
It's all complex, squishy and in some ways subjective, so it might not come as a shock that the IRS would look for shortcuts such as political buzzwords and slogans when deciding what a group is really up to. But the record as yet known does not show that the scrutiny cut both ways.
In congressional testimony about the discredited IRS actions, Attorney General Eric Holder said there is good reason to take a skeptical look at some Section 501 applications but "it has to be done in a way that does not depend on the political persuasion of the group."
___
BY THE NUMBERS
The inspector general's office reviewed 296 tax-exempt applications that had been flagged as potentially too political. Of them, 108 were ultimately approved, 28 were withdrawn by the applicant, none had been rejected and 160 were still open in December 2012, some languishing for more than three years.
___
STONEWALLING?
Hearing complaints of IRS harassment from constituents, lawmakers began asking a lot of questions of the agency starting in mid-2011. They got a lot of answers ? just not answers revealing what was going on.
In multiple letters, some as long as 45 pages, as well as in meetings and congressional hearings, senior IRS officials laid out in painstaking detail the process of checking tax-exempt applications but did not disclose what they had come to learn of the flagging.
Miller, for example, was told by staff in May 2012 about the inappropriate screening but did not pass that on in communications with inquiring members of Congress or in his appearance two months later with the House panel most concerned about the reports.
Lois G. Lerner, in charge of overseeing tax-exempt organizations at the IRS, was briefed about the screening a year earlier and ordered an end to explicit tea party-type flagging. But she did not tell lawmakers about that when asked about the constituent complaints.
___
ABOUT THAT SKULLDUGGERY
A number of presidents or their operatives have tried to twist the IRS against "dissidents" or political opponents. Presidents Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower and John Kennedy are among them.
President Richard Nixon, though, surely takes the cake here.
The Senate Judiciary Committee cited his IRS manipulations, including his pursuit of those on his "enemies list," in the articles of impeachment accusing the president of high crimes and misdemeanors in the Watergate scandal and of actions "subversive of constitutional government."
Article 2, Abuse of Power, said: "He has, acting personally and through his subordinates and agents, endeavored to obtain from the Internal Revenue Service, in violation of the constitutional rights of citizens, confidential information contained in income tax returns for purposes not authorized by law, and to cause, in violation of the constitutional rights of citizens, income tax audits or other income tax investigations to be initiated or conducted in a discriminatory manner."
Nixon resigned after it became clear that a Senate impeachment trial would drive him from office.
___
Associated Press writers Stephen Braun and Stephen Ohlemacher contributed to this report.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/money-tangle-irs-tea-party-tempest-144831224.html
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Saturday, May 18, 2013
Google-built media player hits the FCC, reveals only a Hitchhiker's Guide reference
With much of its information obscured it's hard to say what Google has planned for this new device revealed by its FCC filing, but the model number at least indicates someone has a sense of humor. Called an "H840 device" and rocking the model number H2G2-42 (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - 42, the ultimate answer to the question of life, the universe and everything) it has WiFi of the 802.11 b/g/n varieties, but that's all we know for sure. The natural question is whether this is a proper revamp of / follow up to the failed Nexus Q project, particularly with its appearance coming so closely after the unveiling of its Google Play Music All Access subscription. Of course, Google has no shortage of mysterious device projects in store, we're hopeful this one will reveal all of its secrets soon.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD, Google
Source: TabletGuide.nl, FCC
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/XztiuvF_y2A/
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Mayor: Deal to sell Kings has been signed
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) ? Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson announced to screaming throngs of Kings fans Friday that the deal to sell the NBA franchise to a group led by software tycoon Vivek Ranadive has been signed.
The announcement at a City Hall rally brings to an end nearly five months of maneuvering by Johnson to secure a new ownership group, convince the council to commit to building a new downtown arena, and to show the NBA that the capitol city of the most populous state in the nation has the fan base to make the venture successful.
"This was one heck of a comeback," Johnson, a former NBA All-Star, said on a stage shared with two dozen investors, fans and politicians who had worked to keep the franchise in the city.
Earlier this week, NBA owners rejected a bid to move the franchise to Seattle. Investor Chris Hansen, whose agreement to buy the team from the Maloof family and move them to the Pacific Northwest shocked the city in January, fought to acquire the team to the bitter end. He even negotiated to buy a minority share when it became clear the league opposed relocation.
Johnson said that the deal reached between the Maloofs and the Ranadive group did not include an investment from Hansen.
NBA Commissioner David Stern praised Hansen's proposal and said the NBA might consider expansion once a new TV deal is in place.
The mayor was conciliatory toward Seattle, but said he focused throughout the negotiations on promoting Sacramento as thriving city with 19 sellout seasons, one of the longest streaks in the NBA.
"Seattle is a great city and we want them to get a team. For us, it was never a competition. It was about our community telling our story," Johnson said, adding: "It's about not letting someone take something that's not theirs."
The NBA is expected to officially approve the sale next week.
A person familiar with the deal previously told The Associated Press that the Maloofs had reached an agreement to sell a 65 percent controlling interest at a total franchise valuation of $535 million. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to talk publicly.
The plan for the Kings' future includes a $447 million downtown arena that will be built on at the western gateway to the city near the Sacramento River.
The Sacramento ownership group also includes 24 Hour Fitness founder Mark Mastrov, former Facebook senior executive Chris Kelly and the Jacobs family that owns communications giant Qualcomm.
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Coppola's 'Bling Ring' at home at decadent Cannes
Director Sofia Coppola poses for photographers during a photo call for the film The Bling Ring at the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Thursday, May 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
Director Sofia Coppola poses for photographers during a photo call for the film The Bling Ring at the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Thursday, May 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
From left, actors Emma Watson, Claire Julien and director Sofia Coppola pose for photographers during a photo call for the film The Bling Ring at the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Thursday, May 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
From left, actors Emma Watson, Claire Julien, director Sofia Coppola, actors Israel Broussard, Taissa Fariga and Katie Chang pose for photographers during a photo call for the film The Bling Ring at the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Thursday, May 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
Actor Claire Julien poses for photographers during a photo call for the film The Bling Ring at the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Thursday, May 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
CANNES, France (AP) ? Sofia Coppola was just 8 years old when she first came to the Cannes Film Festival. Her father, Francis Ford Coppola, was there to premiere a work-in-progress cut of a film he had spent years wrestling with: "Apocalypse Now."
"I have nice memories of Cannes," Coppola said in an interview Thursday on the roof of the Palais, the festival center. "I remember coming here as a kid and then my first movie, 'Virgin Suicides,' had our first screening ever here. I feel like my career started here."
Growing up in such surroundings, one would think, would have heavily informed Coppola's latest film, "The Bling Ring," a deadpan drama about celebrity-obsessed teenagers in Los Angeles who break into the homes of Paris Hilton and other stars. But Coppola says the movie world she grew up in isn't the same as today's star-crazed culture.
"I definitely noticed that people would act different around my dad. It was just part of my growing up," Coppola says. "This world feels unfamiliar to me, this kind of reality-star, tabloid culture."
"The Bling Ring," which opened Cannes' Un Certain Regard section Thursday, is Coppola's third film in a row that deals heavily with the famous. Following her "Marie Antoinette" (her modern-styled take on the French royal) was 2010's "Somewhere," a minimalist drama about a renowned actor and his 11-year-old daughter.
"The Bling Ring" is based on a true story, recounted in a Vanity Fair article, about high-schoolers who, after seeing online when certain stars are expected at a premiere or other event, take the opportunity to steal designer bags, shoes and clothes from their homes, lingering to pretend to live in celebrity opulence.
There's wry irony in premiering such a film at Cannes, the decadent French Riviera resort town of high-end boutiques and luxury hotels.
"It seems like the perfect setting for 'The Bling Ring' when you see people walking around in their heels," says Coppola, who favors a less flashy style. "It's a glamorous place, so it feels appropriate."
Coppola cast mainly newcomers in the lead roles (Israel Broussard, Katie Chang, Claire Julien), with the notable exception of "Harry Potter" star Emma Watson, who assumes a thick Valley Girl accent for her character. Watson praised Coppola for her easy calm; Chang noted her gentle openness with actors.
"The Bling Ring," which will be released in the U.S. on June 14, has already drawn comparisons to the recent, day-glo debauchery of Harmony Korine's "Spring Breakers." The differences between the two films are many, but both feature the thrill of young, attractive girls breaking bad for the sake of glorious superficiality. (The movies also share a new distributor, A24 Films.)
Though Coppola hasn't seen "Spring Breakers," she says, "I can understand that there's this sort of trash culture aspect that's in the air."
And if there's an epicenter of that culture, it may be Paris Hilton's shoe closet. Coppola shot in Hilton's mansion where the teens rummage through her footwear and lounge in her nightclub room. (The hotel heiress appears fleetingly in the film.)
Like "Somewhere," ''Bling Ring" paints a light, hazy portrait of Los Angeles.
"I wasn't trying to do a story about L.A. I just came across this article, and you couldn't set it somewhere else," says Coppola, who lived in L.A. in her 20s but now resides in New York with her husband, Thomas Mars of the band Phoenix, and their two daughters.
"There's something exotic about it, and it's not like anywhere else. To me, it's the center of this aspect our culture."
___
Follow AP Entertainment Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jake_coyle
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Disney: Sexy 'Brave' makeover just temporary
Movies 
17 hours ago
A Mighty Girl
Merida, left, dressed to impress, and from the film.
It?s the before-and-after makeover heard around the world.
When Princess Merida of ?Brave? was crowned the 11th princess at Walt Disney World this weekend, she had a new look that included not only a tiny waist, sultry eyes, and cleavage but also the teal gown that the feisty tomboy so detested in the Oscar-winning movie. It was as if Merida stepped onto the cover of ?Vogue? magazine and her rebellious spirit was photo-shopped right out of the red-headed heroine.
Nearly 212,000 of her fans weren?t having it. Through a Change.org petition, ?Keep Merida Brave,? girl empowerment blog ?A Mighty Girl,? demanded that Disney reconsider the redesign. By Wednesday, word had spread on the Internet that Disney had removed the sexified image from its official princess website, and the movement declared itself victorious.
But much of it has turned out to be as fictitious as the bow-and-arrow-carrying princess herself. The party girl image of Merida was never used on Disney?s official sites or Facebook pages, a Disney spokesperson told NBCNews.com Thursday.
?The artwork used on Merida?s official social media sites has always been the imagery from the movie ? there have been no changes," a Disney spokesperson said in a statement. "We routinely use different art styles with our characters and this rendition of Merida in her party dress was a special one-time effort to commemorate her coronation. Merida exemplifies what it means to be a Disney Princess through being brave, passionate and confident and she remains the same strong and determined Merida from the movie whose inner qualities have inspired moms and daughters around the world. ?
Merida?s new look was created for her "special coronation" and is intended to be used in a limited product line this summer and fall. Her image on her official princess page will remain intact, the spokesperson said.
?For a wedding or prom, even a tomboy is going to dress up for a special occasion,? a source familiar with the product line said, describing the idea behind Merida?s newfound glamour. ?That doesn?t change who she is or who she will continue to be or who she remains on the Disney web sites or in most of the products.?
Disney typically creates multiple artwork for each character to use in different platforms for different reasons. But the main look is always the look that everyone knows, the source said.
?It?s not like you walk into the toy aisle and Merida?s flipped over completely to this new look,? the source said. ?This was a one-time special occasion effort.?
Still, the backlash against Merida?s transformation is understandable considering that she was created as an ?anti-princess? of sorts, a tough and feisty warrior resistant to conventional beauty. Creator Brenda Chapman modeled Merida after her own teenage daughter and wants her to be representative of all teenage girls.
?Merida wouldn?t be caught dead looking like that and I think that?s what?s angering everyone,? Chapman told CNN. They?ve totally lost sight of the character in this new design. I understand, with the toys, that they don?t want to put in a lot more money creating a new body for the dolls. But this is a drawing that?s going to be put on tons of merchandise and it doesn?t cost that much money to put a lot of effort into a drawing that portrays the character as who the character is--as opposed to this grotesque, sexist depiction of her.?
The petition also decries the way Disney has introduced Merida into the Princess collection and calls it a "disservice to the millions of children for whom Merida is an empwering role model who speaks to girls' capacity to be change agents in the world rather than just trophies to be admired."
Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/brave-princess-sexy-makeover-not-permanent-disney-says-1C9952299
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Friday, May 17, 2013
Doctors Say Not All Women with Jolie Condition Need Preventive Mastectomies (Voice Of America)
Water-Activated LED Wall: Sounds Dangerous, Looks Beautiful
Water and electricity: historically, not a great combo! But Antonin Fourneau, a French artist and engineer, combines both to remarkable ends in his installation, Water Light Graffiti, which landed in New York this week.
The surface of Water Light Graffiti is dotted by thousands of LEDs, each ringed by a sensor that triggers the light when it's wet. Visitors are welcome to grab a paintbrush or super soaker (or straight-up bucket) and go to town on the board, which fades back to black after a few minutes. The idea, Fourneau says, is to get people creating and interacting without the self-consciousness of actually painting. He describes the installation as a way to "share magically:"
The ?Water Light Graffiti? is a surface made of thousands of LED illuminated by the contact of water. You can use a paintbrush, a water atomizer, your fingers or anything damp to sketch a brightness message or just to draw. Water Light Graffiti is a wall for ephemeral messages in the urban space without deterioration. A wall to communicate and share magically in the city.
The piece debuted in Paris a few months ago, but Fourneau and his patron, the French arts foundation DigitalArti, have been on the road with the installation ever since. It'll be on view at the Grohe showroom as part of New York Design Week until Friday, when it heads back to France. [Grohe]
Source: http://gizmodo.com/water-activated-led-wall-sounds-dangerous-looks-beaut-507615655
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Nigeria growth slows in Q1, oil output recovers
By Alasdair Fotheringham VAJONT, Italy, May 15 (Reuters) - A chest infection was the latest setback to hit Britain's pre-race favourite Bradley Wiggins on the Giro d'Italia on Wednesday. Tour de France champion Wiggins, finished the 11th stage in the main pack behind winner Ramunas Navardauskas to stay fourth overall, two minutes five seconds behind leader Vincenzo Nibali. "I'm not feeling very good at the moment, I've had a pretty rough 24 hours," Wiggins told reporters. "I've got a chest infection and a bog-standard head cold. ...
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nigeria-growth-slows-q1-oil-output-recovers-141948195.html
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Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Nineteen shot in New Orleans Mother's Day parade
(Reuters) - Nineteen people including two children were shot in New Orleans on Sunday when gunfire erupted at a Mother's Day parade, and city police said they were searching for three suspects.
Ten men, seven woman, a girl and a boy both age 10 were hit when wild gunfire opened up at about 1:45 p.m. as the parade marched along North Villere Street, according to police spokesman Garry Flot.
Two victims are undergoing surgery, Flot said in a statement. The children were grazed and are in good condition, he said. It was unclear if the victims were marching or bystanders watching the parade.
Police superintendent Ronal Serpas told reporters that officers saw three suspects running away, with one about age 18 to 22. No arrests were made.
"It appears that these two or three people, for reasons unknown to us, started shooting at, towards or in the crowd," Serpas said, adding that the incident was over in "just a couple of seconds."
Serpas said a witness reported hearing two different types of gunshot, which he said indicated two weapons were involved.
Mayor Mitch Landrieu called the shooting part of "the relentless drum beat of violence" on the streets of New Orleans.
"It's a culture of violence that has enveloped the city for a long, long period of time," Landrieu told a news conference outside University Hospital, where three victims were being treated for serious injuries.
Photographs of the aftermath in the Times-Picayune newspaper showed a man lying on his stomach beside a pool of blood, being helped by two bystanders. Other photos showed a man in shorts sitting on a cobbled street, his calf bleeding and covered with a bandana.
Emergency medical responders took 11 people to Interim LSU Public Hospital in New Orleans, according to hospital spokesman Marvin McGraw
Violent crime in New Orleans ranks above the national average in FBI surveys. A poll of city residents in 2010 found crime to be their greatest concern.
In February, four people were wounded in a shooting outside a nightclub in the city's French Quarter as crowds gathered for Mardi Gras celebrations.
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Brendan O'Brien and Tim Gaynor; Editing by Maureen Bavdek, Xavier Briand and Philip Barbara)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nineteen-shot-orleans-mothers-day-parade-001138827.html
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Monday, May 13, 2013
Rescued women happy to be home, release first statements
CLEVELAND (AP) ? Three women rescued from a house a decade after they disappeared said Sunday that they are happy to be home and pleaded for privacy so they can heal and reconnect with their family.
An attorney for the women also said they are extremely grateful for the support of family, law enforcement and the community.
Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight remain in seclusion and released their first statements since they were found May 6 after Berry escaped and called 911.
Ariel Castro is suspected of imprisoning the women inside his house for nine years or more, allowing them outside only a few moments, and raping them. A DNA test also confirmed that Castro fathered a 6-year-old girl who Berry gave birth to in the house. The girl escaped the house with Berry.
Castro is being held on $8 million bond. The 52-year-old former school bus driver was charged with four counts of kidnapping and three counts of rape.
The women, now in their 20s and 30s, vanished separately between 2002 and 2004. At the time, they were 14, 16 and 20 years old.
Attorney Jim Wooley read statements attributed to all three women.
Knight, who was the first to disappear and the last of the three released from the hospital, said, "Thank you to everyone for your support and good wishes. I am healthy, happy and safe and will reach out to family, friends and supporters in good time."
Berry added: "Thank you so much for everything you're doing and continue to do. I am so happy to be home with my family."
And DeJesus, the youngest of the three, said: "I am so happy to be home, and I want to thank everybody for all your prayers. I just want time now to be with my family."
The Associated Press does not usually identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault, but the women's names were widely circulated by their families, friends and law enforcement authorities for years during their disappearances and after they were found.
The attorney for the women said none of them will do any media interviews until the criminal case against Castro is over. He also asked that they be given privacy.
"Give them the time, the space, and the privacy so that they can continue to get stronger," Wooley said.
Castro was represented at his first court appearance Thursday by public defender Kathleen Demetz, who said she can't speak to his guilt or innocence and advised him not to give any media interviews that might jeopardize his case.
Castro's two brothers, who were initially taken into custody but released Thursday after investigators said there was no evidence against them, told CNN that they fear people still believe they had something to do with the three missing women.
Onil and Pedro Castro said they've been getting death threats even after police decided to release them. Pedro Castro said he would have turned in his brother if he had known he was involved in the women's disappearance.
"Brother or no brother," he told CNN.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/women-rescued-cleveland-happy-home-144654384.html
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Indian companies at center of global ATM cyber heist
Security
4 hours ago
MUMBAI/BANGALORE, May 12 (Reuters) - The Indian government's cyber watchdog is investigating how security at two companies that are part of the country's vast IT services industry was breached in a global ATM heist that saw $45 million stolen from two banks in the Middle East.
EnStage Inc, which operates from Bangalore, and ElectraCard Services, based in the Indian city of Pune, processed card payments for the two banks that were hit in the theft, several people familiar with the situation said.
"We are investigating the technical aspect," Gulshan Rai, director general of the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), part of the department of electronics and information technology, told Reuters by phone on Sunday.
"What kind of breach has happened in the system, how did it happen, what processes are in place, and the entire technical aspect we will look at," he said, adding that the agency had started its investigation on Saturday.
U.S. prosecutors said on Thursday that hackers broke into two card processing companies, raising the balances and withdrawal limits on accounts that were then exploited in coordinated ATM withdrawals around the world.
The prosecutors did not name the two companies but said one was based in India and the other in the United States.
While details of what happened are still sketchy, experts said the banks could bring claims against the processing companies in court, or they could file claims with their insurers and those of the processing companies.
According to a U.S. official and a bank employee, who both spoke on condition of anonymity, ElectraCard Services was the company that processed prepaid travel cards for National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah PSC (RAKBANK). RAKBANK suffered a $5 million coordinated heist at ATMs around the world on Dec. 21 last year, according to the U.S. indictment.
In a statement on Sunday, ElectraCard, or ECS, said it had been affected by "fraud attacks" in December. It said investigations show that "PIN and Magnetic stripe data seem to have been compromised outside the ECS processing environment."
MasterCard bought a 12.5 percent stake in ElectraCard in 2010. MasterCard, the network under which the cards used in the heist were issued, has said its security was not compromised.
EnStage, which is incorporated in Cupertino, California, but has operations based in Bangalore, is the company that processed card payments for Bank of Muscat of Oman, according to a source close to Bank of Muscat. Bank of Muscat lost $40 million in a coordinated heist on Feb. 19, according to Thursday's indictment.
"Our customers were adversely affected by this sophisticated crime," EnStage CEO Govind Setlur said in a statement in the Times of India newspaper.
Additional monitoring
A statement obtained by Reuters from a company spokesman said: "Since the time the incident occurred, EnStage has retained independent security experts to analyse the intrusion and to recommend enhancements to its information security infrastructure. EnStage has implemented both these enhancements as well as additional monitoring capabilities."
Setlur was travelling and could not be reached for further comment on Sunday.
An employee at the company's office in central Bangalore who did not want to be identified said that about 250 people work in the office but did not give further details.
Bank of Muscat has not commented on the case.
Police in Pune and Bangalore did not immediately have information on the matter when reached on Sunday.
The breach in security at Indian operators is a blow to the country's multi-billion dollar information technology industry, which received about half of all outsourcing contracts in the world in 2011, according to industry data.
India-based IT vendors, who rely on the trust of global clients to handle sensitive data, are dominated by companies providing support services to the global financial industry.
Eddie Schwartz, chief information security officer for RSA Inc, a firm that helps banks fight payment card fraud, said that it is not surprising that hackers would target banks that rely on Indian firms to process transactions.
Schwartz, who is based in Washington, said there is not as much government oversight in India as there is in the United States and Western Europe.
"Hackers view India as a target. It's got a fast-moving economy, a fast-moving IT infrastructure," Schwartz said.
Cyber security experts said the global scope and speed of the $45 million bank theft was unprecedented. The global gang had operatives in 27 countries who fanned out to thousands of ATMs in a matter of hours, withdrawing money using fraudulent prepaid debit cards, according to U.S. prosecutors.
The ringleaders of the global operation were believed to be outside the United States, but U.S. prosecutors have declined to give details, citing the continuing investigation. Germany is the only other country so far to announce arrests.
ElectraCard is based in a plush office park near the airport on the outskirts of Pune, a fast-growing city in western India that is a hub for the IT and auto industries and is home to several universities. A security guard at the office park, where tenants include IBM, would not allow in a Reuters journalist without an appointment on Sunday.
Unlisted ElectraCard had a net loss of 90.2 million rupees ($1.65 million) on net sales of 535.4 million rupees for the fiscal year that ended in March 2012, a sales decline of 1.6 percent, according to a report by ratings agency Crisil.
? Additional reporting by Kaustubh Kulkarni in Pune; writing by Tony Munroe
Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.
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Rafsanjani rolls the dice one last time to fix Iran's future
By Marcus George
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's best known political grandee, former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, looms large in the history of the Islamic Republic - now registered to run in Iran's presidential election next month he may also get the chance to carve out its future.
Few have wielded such influence in modern Iran as the 78-year-old but since 2009 he and his family have faced political isolation over their support for the opposition movement which lost the disputed election to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Ahmadinejad prevailed thanks to the unwavering support of Iran's most powerful authority, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a move that left gaping divisions in the religious and political elite.
Four years on and the leader is under pressure from political divisions at home and sanctions over Iran's nuclear program which are biting deep into the economy and Rafsanjani's practical outlook may be the tonic Iran now needs.
"Rafsanjani is above all a pragmatist, a problem solver. He looks for ways to get things done," said Shaul Bakhash, of George Mason University in Virginia.
"As president, if Khamenei allows him, I think he would move quickly to hold direct negotiations with the U.S., zero in on getting sanctions lifted, considerably moderate Iran's foreign policy rhetoric and take steps to create conditions for foreign investment," said Bakhash.
Rafsanjani radically alters what was previously seen as a contest between rival conservative groups. He could scupper the hopes of 'Principlists' - those fiercely loyal to Khamenei who want to secure a quick victory and present unity.
Significantly, Rafsanjani may be able to draw on the support of reformist groups which have been sidelined since 2009. "The Principlists will be in serious difficulty because of Rafsanjani. He'll also be representing the reformist camp," said Sadeq Zibakalam, a professor at Tehran University.
LAST MINUTE DEAL?
Earlier this week, Rafsanjani said he would not enter the field without Khamenei's consent over concern such a move would lead to conflicts and disputes.
Analysts say a last minute agreement with the supreme leader may have opened the way for his registration.
There have been signs though that the way was being cleared over the last year. Rafsanjani played a central role in hosting of the Non-Aligned Movement in Tehran last August and some see this as evidence of a deal in the offing. He was also pictured alongside Khamenei and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.
But some say his candidacy may be weaker than it appears.
"What we do not know is whether he still has the stomach for a fight, given his age, the life of ease he has led in the last decade, and the love of wealth he has developed," said Bakhash.
On hearing the name Rafsanjani, many Iranians immediately think of the vast fortunes he has amassed.
Eight years ago, Rafsanjani lost the election to Ahmadinejad, the little known mayor of Tehran at the time, a defeat that echoed the resentment of Rafsanjani as part of the elite and of serving few interests other than this own.
But his past may now get overlooked. "Eight years ago, I didn't vote for Rafsanjani because I thought he only cared for the wealthy, but now I will vote for him," said Moradi, an Iranian in his 60s who sells curtains in Tehran.
Above all, Rafsanjani is remembered for persuading the ailing founder of the Islamic Republic - Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini - to accept a peace deal after eight brutal years of war with Iraq and save Iran from imminent collapse.
Within a year, Khomeini was dead. In a move orchestrated by Rafsanjani, the Assembly of Experts - the state body tasked with choosing Iran's leader - appointed then president Khamenei.
But the rivalry between the two goes back 50 years to before Iran's revolution and is marked by vastly contrasting outlooks. Rafsanjani believed reform was the key to an enduring Islamic state while Khamenei feared it could hasten its demise.
Observers say Rafsanjani may have been out of the picture for the last four years but has not given up.
"Even though he has conflicts (with Khamenei) Rafsanjani will not leave power. He has a spirit which keeps him there ... this is a spirit which I think only he has," said Mohammad Hossein Ziya, the editor of a reformist news website.
PRAGMATIST
Rafsanjani has been described as "a pillar of the revolution" but his well-documented pragmatic policies - economic liberalization, better relations with the West and empowering Iran's elected bodies - appeals to many Iranians.
Rafsanjani is also a harsh critic of Ahmadinejad. When protests erupted on the streets of Iran in June 2009, there was little surprise about his sympathy for opposition supporters.
In what was his last sermon at Friday prayers in Tehran a month later, he incurred the wrath of hardliners by declaring the country was in crisis and calling for the immediate release of political prisoners and freedom of the press.
Step by step, Khamenei moved against Rafsanjani. Last year he was stripped of his powerful post at the head of the Assembly of Experts, a key state institution he had chaired since 2007.
The leadership has also put pressure on the 78-year old through the arrest of Rafsjanjani's daughter Faezeh. Found guilty of "anti-government propaganda" after openly backing the opposition in 2009, she was jailed for six months.
The following day, Rafsanjani's son Mehdi was imprisoned when he returned to Iran after an absence of three years.
Nevertheless, Rafsanjani is a skilled behind-the-scenes operator in the labyrinthine world of Iranian politics and may have a final chance at transforming the system he helped build.
Even then, progress will be slow. "There would be fewer own goals. He would get a better team than Ahmadinejad has had to run things," said Richard Dalton, British ambassador to Iran from 2003 to 2006.
"Financial management would be better - but the structural problems of the Iranian economy would remain."
(Additional reporting by Yeganeh Torbati in Dubai and Zahra Hosseinian in Zurich; Editing by Jon Hemming)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rafsanjani-rolls-dice-one-last-time-fix-irans-181006335.html
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Sunday, May 12, 2013
Judge Tosses DMCA Defenses, Creating Unexpected Copyright Liability For Web Services In New York
Editor?s note: Sid Venkatesan is an IP partner specializing in high stakes IP disputes and IP counseling for technology companies in the Silicon Valley office of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP.?James Freedman?is an associate in Orrick?s IP group and a recent Stanford Law School graduate.? A New York appellate court has recently ruled in?UMG Recordings v. Escape Media Group that the safe harbor protections that Congress designed for Internet companies do not cover sound recordings made before 1972. The decision is a new and unexpected break with earlier decisions by?state?and federal?trial courts.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/CmdbrjWww5s/
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Watch Live: ISS emergency spacewalk to fix ammonia leak
Yesterday NASA reported that an ammonia leak had been discovered on the ISS. Astronauts Tom Marshburn and Chris Cassidy are embarking on an emergency spacewalk to fix the problem. NASA TV is broadcasting the walk live, and you can follow along on the somewhat safer journey past the break.
Filed under: Science
Source: Space.com
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Wearable robots getting lighter, more portable
In this May 6, 2013 photo, Michael Gore, center, who is paralyzed from a spinal injury, walks with the use of the Indego wearable robot under the supervision of physical therapist Clare Hartigan during a meeting of the American Spinal Injury Association at a downtown hotel in Chicago. Eleven years ago, Gore was paralyzed from the waist down in a workplace accident, but with the aid of the 27-pound gadget that snaps together from pieces that fit into a backpack he stands and walks with the assistance of science and engineering. The device is among several competing products that hold promise for people with spinal injuries, like Gore, and for people with multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy or for those recovering from strokes. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
In this May 6, 2013 photo, Michael Gore, center, who is paralyzed from a spinal injury, walks with the use of the Indego wearable robot under the supervision of physical therapist Clare Hartigan during a meeting of the American Spinal Injury Association at a downtown hotel in Chicago. Eleven years ago, Gore was paralyzed from the waist down in a workplace accident, but with the aid of the 27-pound gadget that snaps together from pieces that fit into a backpack he stands and walks with the assistance of science and engineering. The device is among several competing products that hold promise for people with spinal injuries, like Gore, and for people with multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy or for those recovering from strokes. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
In this May 6, 2013 photo, Michael Gore, center, who is paralyzed from a spinal injury, walks with the use of the Indego wearable robot under the supervision of physical therapist Clare Hartigan during a meeting of the American Spinal Injury Association at a downtown hotel in Chicago. Eleven years ago, Gore was paralyzed from the waist down in a workplace accident, but with the aid of the 27-pound gadget that snaps together from pieces that fit into a backpack he stands and walks with the assistance of science and engineering. The device is among several competing products that hold promise for people with spinal injuries, like Gore, and for people with multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy or for those recovering from strokes. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
In this May 6, 2013 photo, Jennifer French, center, questions, Michael Gore, who is paralyzed from a spinal injury walking with the use of the Indego wearable robot under the supervision of physical therapist Clare Hartigan, second from left, during a meeting of the American Spinal Injury Association at a downtown hotel in Chicago. Eleven years ago, Gore was paralyzed from the waist down in a workplace accident, but with the aid of the 27-pound gadget that snaps together from pieces that fit into a backpack he stands and walks with the assistance of science and engineering. The device is among several competing products that hold promise for people with spinal injuries, like Gore, and for people with multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy or for those recovering from strokes. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
In this May 6, 2013 photo, Michael Gore, center, who is paralyzed from a spinal injury, walks with the use of the Indego wearable robot during a meeting of the American Spinal Injury Association at a downtown hotel in Chicago. Eleven years ago, Gore was paralyzed from the waist down in a workplace accident, but with the aid of the 27-pound gadget that snaps together from pieces that fit into a backpack he stands and walks with the assistance of science and engineering. The device is among several competing products that hold promise for people with spinal injuries, like Gore, and for people with multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy or for those recovering from strokes. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
In this May 6, 2013 photo, Michael Goldfarb, left, and Ryan Farris, co-inventors of the Indego wearable robot, speak during a meeting of the American Spinal Injury Association at a downtown hotel in Chicago. Their 27-pound invention snaps together from pieces and fits into a backpack and their goal is for the user to be able to carry it on a wheelchair, put it together, strap it on and walk independently. The device is among several competing products that hold promise for people with spinal injuries, like Gore, and for people with multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy or for those recovering from strokes. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
CHICAGO (AP) ? When Michael Gore stands, it's a triumph of science and engineering. Eleven years ago, Gore was paralyzed from the waist down in a workplace accident, yet he rises from his wheelchair to his full 6-foot-2-inches and walks across the room with help from a lightweight wearable robot.
The technology has many nicknames. Besides "wearable robot," the inventions also are called "electronic legs" or "powered exoskeletons." This version, called Indego, is among several competing products being used and tested in U.S. rehab hospitals that hold promise not only for people such as Gore with spinal injuries, but also those recovering from strokes or afflicted with multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy.
Still at least a year away from the market, the 27-pound Indego is the lightest of the powered exoskeletons. It snaps together from pieces that fit into a backpack. The goal is for the user to be able to carry it on a wheelchair, put it together, strap it on and walk independently. None of the products, including the Indego, are yet approved by federal regulators for personal use, meaning they must be used under the supervision of a physical therapist.
Gore, 42, of Whiteville, N.C., demonstrated the device this week at the American Spinal Injury Association meeting in Chicago, successfully negotiating a noisy, crowded hallway of medical professionals and people with spinal injuries in wheelchairs.
When he leans forward, the device takes a first step. When he tilts from side to side, it walks. When Gore wants to stop, he leans back and the robotic leg braces come to a halt. Gore uses forearm crutches for balance. A battery in the hip piece powers the motors in the robotic legs.
"Being able to speak with you eye-to-eye is just a big emotional boost," Gore said to a reporter. "Being able to walk up to you and say hello is not a big thing until you cannot do it."
The devices won't replace wheelchairs, which are faster. None of the devices are speedy enough, for example, for a paralyzed person to walk across a street before the light changes, said Arun Jayaraman of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, who is testing a number of similar devices.
"None of them have fall prevention technology," Jayaraman said. "If the person falls, they can hurt themselves badly. If you fall down, how do you get off a robot that is strapped into you?" They need to be even lighter and have longer-lasting batteries, he said.
Still, Jayaraman said, the devices might help prevent pressure sores from sitting too long in a wheelchair, improve heart health, develop muscle strength, lift depression and ultimately bring down medical costs by keeping healthier patients out of the hospital.
Companies in Israel, New Zealand and California make competing devices, and all the products are becoming less bulky as they are refined. The Indego was invented at Vanderbilt University in Nashville and tested at the Shepherd Center, a rehabilitation hospital in Atlanta. It's now licensed to Cleveland-based Parker Hannifin Corp., which makes precision engineered products like aircraft wheels and brakes.
Like many other research participants in clinical studies, Gore receives a stipend for his participation from Vanderbilt University.
It's unclear exactly how much the devices will cost if they become available for personal use. Some technology news media reports have said $50,000 to $75,000. Indego's makers want to bring the cost below that, said co-inventor Ryan Farris of Parker Hannifin. Experts say it will take years of research to prove health benefits before Medicare and private insurance companies would consider covering the expense.
Paul Tobin, president of the nonprofit advocacy group United Spinal, said wearable robots present an exciting opportunity but that patients should keep their expectations realistic.
"It's going to be critical that people have a thorough medical evaluation before trying something like this, especially if they've been injured for some time," Tobin said. "It won't be appropriate for everyone. For some people, it will be a godsend."
___
AP Medical Writer Carla K. Johnson can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/CarlaKJohnson
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