KABUL (Reuters) ? Afghanistan will press Pakistan for access to Taliban leaders during a one-day visit to Kabul by Pakistan's foreign minister, with Afghan officials hoping to ease cross-border strains and lay the ground for peace negotiations with the insurgents.
Hina Rabbani Khar will visit Kabul on February 1 to discuss reconciliation and nascent plans for peace talks ahead of a meeting between representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban in Saudi Arabia.
Khar's trip will mark the first high-level meetings between officials from the countries in months.
Pakistan is seen as critical to U.S. efforts to stabilize Afghanistan before foreign combat troops leave in 2014.
"We hope it will mark a new phase in the relationship between both countries," Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Janan Mosazai said Monday.
Senior Afghan security sources told Reuters that Afghan officials would use Khar's visit to press for access to Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a co-founder of the Taliban captured in Pakistan in 2010, as well as other members of a Taliban council known as the Quetta Shura, after the Pakistani city of Quetta where the leaders are said to be based.
Afghan officials want direct access to senior Taliban members and advisers because they are the main decision makers for the insurgency and will be crucial to winning support for the fledgling peace process.
Pakistan has consistently denied giving sanctuary to insurgents and denies the existence of any Quetta Shura.
Baradar, a close associate of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden before the September 11 attacks in the United States, had been ranked second to Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar.
He was captured in Pakistan's biggest city of Karachi by Pakistani and U.S. intelligence agents in February 2010.
"When the Pakistan delegation visits here, we will be asking for direct access to the Quetta Shura, or access to Mullah Baradar, who has been in Pakistan custody, as a gesture of good faith," said a senior Afghan security source.
"We want sincere cooperation from Pakistan in regards to peace talks," said the source, who declined to be identified.
Ties between the neighbors were severely damaged after the assassination in Kabul last September of Afghanistan's main peace negotiator, Burhanuddin Rabbani, by an insurgent messenger carrying a bomb concealed in his turban.
Afghanistan accused Pakistan of involvement in the attack and of trying to sabotage negotiations with the Taliban, charges Islamabad denied.
"PARANOID"
Critics accuse Pakistan of using militant groups as proxies in Afghanistan to counter the growing influence of rival India there and of trying to use the proxies to ensure a government in Kabul that is friendly toward Pakistan. Pakistan rejects the allegations and says it wants peace in Afghanistan.
Peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government will be held in Saudi Arabia this year, an Afghan official in the Saudi capital Riyadh told Reuters by telephone.
"The talks will be held in Saudi, but there is no set date yet," the official, who declined to be named, told Reuters.
Saudi Arabia, along with Pakistan and the United States, backed Islamist insurgents fighting Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s, and later became one of only three countries to recognize the Taliban government.
Riyadh also has considerable influence in Pakistan because of its economic support and it may be able to influence Pakistan's Afghanistan policy.
The Taliban announced this month they would open a political office in the Qatari capital Doha to support possible peace talks with the United States and key allies, seen by supporters as the best chance of reaching a cease-fire ahead of the foreign troop withdrawal over the next three years.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai fears being sidelined by U.S.-led efforts to forge peace with the Taliban, so he may be pushing for alternative talks in Saudi Arabia.
"The government has been paranoid since the secret talks opened between the U.S. and the Taliban, and we believe Pakistan feels the same," the Afghan security source said.
As a confidence-building measure, the Islamist group which ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until the U.S.-led invasion of the country in late 2001 called for the release of five members being held at Guantanamo Bay, a U.S. military enclave in Cuba.
A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul declined to comment on the likelihood of separate Afghan-Taliban negotiations, but said senior U.S. envoys had consistently called for Pakistan to be part of efforts to end a war stretching into its 11th year.
"We support an Afghan process that includes Afghans talking to Afghans," he said.
(Additional reporting by Amena Bakr in DUBAI, editing by Michael Georgy and Sanjeev Miglani)
OAKLAND, Calif. ? Many in the crowd outside Oakland City Hall shouted "Burn it! Burn it!" as masked protesters readied to set fire to an American flag. That's when a woman emerged from the scrum, screaming for them to stop, that it would hurt the cause.
Moments later, the flames began, and suddenly a movement that seemingly vanished weeks ago was back in the spotlight, this time for an act of protest that has long divided the nation and now the movement itself.
The images of the flag-burning went viral in the hours after Saturday's demonstrations on Oakland's streets, with Occupy supporters denouncing the act as unpatriotic and a black mark on the movement. Others called it justified.
The flag-burning, however, raised questions about whether the act will tarnish a movement of largely peaceful protests and alienate people who agree with its message against corporate excess and economic inequality.
"I'm quite confident that the general view is that violence of this sort ? whether it's symbolic or otherwise ? is contrary to the spirit of the movement and should be renounced," Columbia University sociologist Todd Gitlin said.
Gitlin, who is writing a book about the movement, noted that flags have had a prominent place at the Occupy Wall Street encampments that sprang up last fall. They are typically pinned to tents or waving from wooden flagpoles.
"I was thinking how they have come to embrace the American flag as a hallmark of this movement; it's very common to see American flags honored and elevated at these encampments," he said.
Flag-burning has been a powerful symbol since the days of the anti-Vietnam War movement. Congress at the time passed a law to protect the flag in 1968, and most states followed suit.
In 1989, the U.S. Supreme Court decided such laws were unconstitutional restrictions on free speech. The court's decision set off a move in Congress to pass a constitutional amendment to prohibit desecration of the flag. An attempt in 2006 failed by only one vote in the Senate.
In Oakland, social activism and civic unrest have long marked the rough-edged city across the bay from San Francisco. Beset by poverty, crime and a decades-long tense relationship between the police and residents, its streets have seen many clashes, including anti-draft protests in the 1960s that spilled into town from neighboring Berkeley.
At Occupy Oakland, flag-burning is nothing new. A well-known Bay Area activist burned three during protests that temporarily shut down the Port of Oakland in November.
Troy Johnson, an Occupy Oakland member, said he arrived just in time Saturday to watch his friend, whom he would not name in order to protect his identity, emerge from City Hall with an American flag in tow.
"He asked the crowd, `What do you want us to do with the flag?'" Johnson recalled. "They said, `Burn it! Burn it! Burn it!'"
As many egged on the bandanna-masked men, lighters were passed around. A photographer on assignment for The Associated Press said a woman rose from among the crowd to urge against the flag-burning. She then threw the flag to the ground and tried to put out the fire, shouting at them that it would only hurt their cause.
The fire-starter is not an anarchist, but a typical member of Occupy Oakland who feels the system has failed them, said Johnson, who pulled out his cellphone to show his recording of the flag-burning.
"I would describe him as someone who loves his country, but also disappointed in the system that's running this country," said Johnson, who goes by the nickname "Uncle Boom" and was a sergeant in the U.S. Army.
Johnson said he wouldn't stop the flag-burning because the country is based on freedom of speech and expression.
"To the veterans who fought for this country, I wholeheartedly apologize," he said. "Because when they took the oath to join the military, they fought for the flag. But they also fought for the right to express ourselves."
Another Occupy member, Sean Palmer, who served in the Marines, said he opposed flag-burning. "I think they should've hung it upside down, because that's the international call for distress and that's what we are, in distress," Palmer said.
Saturday's protest culminated in rock- and bottle-throwing and volleys of tear gas from the police, as well as the City Hall break-in that left glass cases smashed, graffiti spray-painted on the walls and, finally, the flag-burning.
Police said more than 400 people were arrested; at least three officers and one protester were injured.
Police said Monday that they were still trying to determine how many of those arrested were from Oakland. In the past, the majority of those arrested in Occupy sweeps were not Oakland residents and this has rankled city officials. Mayor Jean Quan has called on the loosely organized movement to "stop using Oakland as its playground."
Officials said vandalism and activities related to Occupy Oakland have cost the financially strapped city $5 million since October.
Oakland Councilwoman Libby Schaaf said she was disgusted not to see the American and California flags atop the grand staircase inside City Hall on Monday. The destruction to her workplace couldn't have come at a worse time as the city is grappling with closing a $28 million budget deficit.
"To do this to us in a week were we have to lay off so many city workers is so unconscionable," Schaaf said.
Protester Julion Lewis-Tatman said he led the crowd in the plaza outside City Hall, but did not take part in the flag-burning.
"I love this country to death, but burning the flag means nothing to me," he said. "We're burning down the old system and we're starting a new country."
___
Beth Duff-Brown reported from San Francisco. Deepti Hajela contributed to this story from New York.
___
Online:
AP interactive: http://hosted.ap.org/interactives/2011/wall-street-protest/
Way back in 2009 there was no large event dedicated to technology startups in the UK. TechCrunch, under Mike Arrington, was busy trying to get its TechCrunch50/Disrupt programme going in the US, and outside of local meetups, the TC event juggernaut still had yet to arrive in Europe. My friend and colleague Robin Wauters was doing Plugg in Brussels, but there wasn't a startup event in London. So I launched a personal project, an event I called GeeknRolla, the name for which I literally dreamt up in a London pub. Despite those amateurish beginnings, about 400 people turned up that year, and I ran it again for the next couple of years as a fun side project. But times move on and after running it single-handedly for three years in a row, I'm going to bring the GeeknRolla "mojo" to a new event (while we wait for the TC event machine to spin up in Europe, and more on that later so stay tuned). Thus, GeeknRolla and the Dublin Web Summit, are merging to create the London Web Summit. It'll be on March 19th in The Brewery Venue, in London's "Tech City" area.
WASHINGTON ? Fresh off campaigning for Newt Gingrich in Florida, former candidate Herman Cain says he also would be comfortable supporting Mitt Romney if he's the one who wins the Republican presidential nomination.
Cain made his remarks as Floridians were heading to the polls Tuesday for their GOP primary.
Cain told NBC's "Today" show that he endorsed Gingrich and campaigned with him Monday because he found Gingrich's tax plan similar to his own proposal, dubbed his "9-9-9" plan.
Cain said he would be "very comfortable" with Romney, too, but that both candidates carry negatives that would be attacked by President Barack Obama's re-election campaign.
Cain dropped out of the race in early December. He said he wouldn't run again, joking that his "biological clock is ticking."
Lumbar disc degeneration more likely in overweight and obese adultsPublic release date: 30-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dawn Peters healthnews@wiley.com 781-388-8408 Wiley-Blackwell
Elevated BMI linked to greater extent and severity of degenerative disc disease
One of the largest studies to investigate lumbar spine disc degeneration found that adults who are overweight or obese were significantly more likely to have disc degeneration than those with a normal body mass index (BMI). Assessments using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) show elevated BMI is associated with an increased number of levels of degenerated disks and greater severity of disc degeneration, including narrowing of the disc space. Details of this study now appear in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR).
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that obesityone of the most preventable risk factors for a number of diseaseshas more than doubled since 1980. According to WHO, in 2008 roughly 1.5 billion people aged 20 and older were overweight, with more than 200 million men and close to 300 million women considered obese. In the U.S., studies estimate one in three children is overweight or obese and excess weight could lead to more severe obesity in adulthood.
Moreover, previous research has linked higher BMI to low back pain, which is often debilitating and can limit function, impact psychological well being, diminish overall quality of life, and is associated with substantial socioeconomic and health-care costs. Experts suggest that disc degeneration is one cause of low back pain, and therefore, BMI could be involved in the development of degenerative disc disease. To expand the knowledge of this important health concern, a team of researchers led by Drs. Dino Samartzis and Kenneth M.C. Cheung at the University of Hong Kong in Hong Kong investigated the association between elevated BMI and presence, extent, and severity of lumbar spine disc degeneration on MRI in adults.
The team recruited 2,599 participants aged 21 and older from Southern China between 2001 and 2009. Participants were from diverse social and economic backgrounds and were recruited regardless of whether they had lower back pain or not. The study group included 1,040 men and 1,559 women who had a mean age of 42 years. Researchers conducted radiographic and clinical assessments, and MRIs of the lumbar spine were obtained for all subjects.
Study findings reveal that 73% of participants displayed disc degeneration, with men (76%) having a significantly higher prevalence of degeneration than women (71%). Not surprisingly, increasing age was found to increase the prevalence of disc degeneration. BMI assessments of the study group show that 7% of subjects were underweight, 48% were in the normal weight range, 36% were overweight, and 9% were obese.
"Our research confirms that with elevated BMI there is a significant increase in the extent and global severity of disc degeneration. In fact, end-stage disc degeneration with narrowing of the disc space was more pronounced in obese individuals," said Dr. Samartzis. The authors suggest that with weight gain, physical loading on the disc and/or a chronic low-grade inflammation from the fat cells may play a role in disc degeneration. Dr. Samartzis further added that "Since overweight and obesity are worldwide concerns whose prevalence continues to rise, our study's findings have considerable public health implications. If these issues continue to plague society, they can further affect spine health leading to low back pain and its consequences."
The authors note that disc degeneration is a complex process involving structural and chemical changes of the disc. They recommend that future studies that investigate risk factors for disc degeneration should take into account the impact of overweight and obesity on the disease. Dr. Cheung concludes, "Deeper understanding of how elevated BMI contributes to disc degeneration and low back pain could aid in the development of novel interventions that can improve quality of life for those with these disabling conditions."
###
This study is published in Arthritis & Rheumatism. Media wishing to receive a PDF of this article may contact healthnews@wiley.com
Full citation: "The Association of Lumbar Intervertebral Disc Degeneration on MRI in Overweight and Obese Adults: A Population-Based Study." Dino Samartzis, Jaro Karppinen, Danny Chan, Keith D.K. Luk and Kenneth M.C. Cheung. Arthritis & Rheumatism; Published Online: January 30, 2012 (DOI: 10.1002/art.33462).
URL Upon publication: http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/art.33462.
Author Contact: Dr. Samartzis can be reached at dsamartzis@msn.com or +852 9584-2395.
About the Journal:
Arthritis & Rheumatism is an official journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and the Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals (ARHP), a division of the College, and covers all aspects of inflammatory disease. The American College of Rheumatology (www.rheumatology.org) is the professional organization who share a dedication to healing, preventing disability, and curing the more than 100 types of arthritis and related disabling and sometimes fatal disorders of the joints, muscles, and bones. Members include practicing physicians, research scientists, nurses, physical and occupational therapists, psychologists, and social workers. The journal is published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the ACR. For more information, please visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1529-0131.
About Wiley-Blackwell:
Wiley-Blackwell is the international scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly publishing business of John Wiley & Sons, with strengths in every major academic and professional field and partnerships with many of the world's leading societies. Wiley-Blackwell publishes nearly 1,500 peer-reviewed journals and 1,500+ new books annually in print and online, as well as databases, major reference works and laboratory protocols. For more information, please visit www.wileyblackwell.com or our new online platform, Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com), one of the world's most extensive multidisciplinary collections of online resources, covering life, health, social and physical sciences, and humanities.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Lumbar disc degeneration more likely in overweight and obese adultsPublic release date: 30-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dawn Peters healthnews@wiley.com 781-388-8408 Wiley-Blackwell
Elevated BMI linked to greater extent and severity of degenerative disc disease
One of the largest studies to investigate lumbar spine disc degeneration found that adults who are overweight or obese were significantly more likely to have disc degeneration than those with a normal body mass index (BMI). Assessments using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) show elevated BMI is associated with an increased number of levels of degenerated disks and greater severity of disc degeneration, including narrowing of the disc space. Details of this study now appear in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR).
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that obesityone of the most preventable risk factors for a number of diseaseshas more than doubled since 1980. According to WHO, in 2008 roughly 1.5 billion people aged 20 and older were overweight, with more than 200 million men and close to 300 million women considered obese. In the U.S., studies estimate one in three children is overweight or obese and excess weight could lead to more severe obesity in adulthood.
Moreover, previous research has linked higher BMI to low back pain, which is often debilitating and can limit function, impact psychological well being, diminish overall quality of life, and is associated with substantial socioeconomic and health-care costs. Experts suggest that disc degeneration is one cause of low back pain, and therefore, BMI could be involved in the development of degenerative disc disease. To expand the knowledge of this important health concern, a team of researchers led by Drs. Dino Samartzis and Kenneth M.C. Cheung at the University of Hong Kong in Hong Kong investigated the association between elevated BMI and presence, extent, and severity of lumbar spine disc degeneration on MRI in adults.
The team recruited 2,599 participants aged 21 and older from Southern China between 2001 and 2009. Participants were from diverse social and economic backgrounds and were recruited regardless of whether they had lower back pain or not. The study group included 1,040 men and 1,559 women who had a mean age of 42 years. Researchers conducted radiographic and clinical assessments, and MRIs of the lumbar spine were obtained for all subjects.
Study findings reveal that 73% of participants displayed disc degeneration, with men (76%) having a significantly higher prevalence of degeneration than women (71%). Not surprisingly, increasing age was found to increase the prevalence of disc degeneration. BMI assessments of the study group show that 7% of subjects were underweight, 48% were in the normal weight range, 36% were overweight, and 9% were obese.
"Our research confirms that with elevated BMI there is a significant increase in the extent and global severity of disc degeneration. In fact, end-stage disc degeneration with narrowing of the disc space was more pronounced in obese individuals," said Dr. Samartzis. The authors suggest that with weight gain, physical loading on the disc and/or a chronic low-grade inflammation from the fat cells may play a role in disc degeneration. Dr. Samartzis further added that "Since overweight and obesity are worldwide concerns whose prevalence continues to rise, our study's findings have considerable public health implications. If these issues continue to plague society, they can further affect spine health leading to low back pain and its consequences."
The authors note that disc degeneration is a complex process involving structural and chemical changes of the disc. They recommend that future studies that investigate risk factors for disc degeneration should take into account the impact of overweight and obesity on the disease. Dr. Cheung concludes, "Deeper understanding of how elevated BMI contributes to disc degeneration and low back pain could aid in the development of novel interventions that can improve quality of life for those with these disabling conditions."
###
This study is published in Arthritis & Rheumatism. Media wishing to receive a PDF of this article may contact healthnews@wiley.com
Full citation: "The Association of Lumbar Intervertebral Disc Degeneration on MRI in Overweight and Obese Adults: A Population-Based Study." Dino Samartzis, Jaro Karppinen, Danny Chan, Keith D.K. Luk and Kenneth M.C. Cheung. Arthritis & Rheumatism; Published Online: January 30, 2012 (DOI: 10.1002/art.33462).
URL Upon publication: http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/art.33462.
Author Contact: Dr. Samartzis can be reached at dsamartzis@msn.com or +852 9584-2395.
About the Journal:
Arthritis & Rheumatism is an official journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and the Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals (ARHP), a division of the College, and covers all aspects of inflammatory disease. The American College of Rheumatology (www.rheumatology.org) is the professional organization who share a dedication to healing, preventing disability, and curing the more than 100 types of arthritis and related disabling and sometimes fatal disorders of the joints, muscles, and bones. Members include practicing physicians, research scientists, nurses, physical and occupational therapists, psychologists, and social workers. The journal is published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the ACR. For more information, please visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1529-0131.
About Wiley-Blackwell:
Wiley-Blackwell is the international scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly publishing business of John Wiley & Sons, with strengths in every major academic and professional field and partnerships with many of the world's leading societies. Wiley-Blackwell publishes nearly 1,500 peer-reviewed journals and 1,500+ new books annually in print and online, as well as databases, major reference works and laboratory protocols. For more information, please visit www.wileyblackwell.com or our new online platform, Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com), one of the world's most extensive multidisciplinary collections of online resources, covering life, health, social and physical sciences, and humanities.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
MILWAUKEE ? MILWAUKEE (AP) ? Drew Gooden scored 23 points and the undermanned Milwaukee Bucks made sure the Lakers' road struggles continued, beating Los Angeles 100-89 on Saturday night.
Kobe Bryant scored 27 for the Lakers, who are 1-7 on the road this season.
Ersan Ilyasova and Mike Dunleavy added 15 points each for the Bucks, who managed to beat the Lakers without two of their best players.
Already scrambling to compensate for the long-term absence of injured center Andrew Bogut, the Bucks found themselves without guard/forward Stephen Jackson on Saturday because of an NBA suspension.
Bryant made six free throws to break Jerry West's franchise record for free throws made. Coming into Saturday's game, Bryant needed three makes to tie West's mark of 7,160.
Bryant also came closer to becoming the Lakers' career leader in field goals made. He was 10 of 21 from the floor Saturday, leaving him three short of the 13 field goals he needed to tie Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's franchise record of 9,935 field goals made.
Even without Bogut and Jackson, the Bucks were in control most of the way. Ilyasova hit a jumper at the horn to end the third quarter, and the Bucks took an 80-73 lead into the fourth.
The Bucks led 85-76 after an inside score from Ilyasova with just under eight minutes left, but Bryant scored five straight points to cut the lead to four.
But Luc Richard Mbah a Moute hit a jumper, then Gooden scored on a turnaround hook shot and hit a pair of free throws to run the lead back to 91-81.
Andrew Bynum scored inside, but Dunleavy hit a long jumper to give the Bucks a 93-83 lead with just over two minutes left.
After Bryant made a pair of free throws, Dunleavy drilled a 3-pointer to put the game away with 1:24 left.
The Bucks managed the beat the Lakers without Jackson, whose suspension was announced a few hours before the game.
The NBA suspended Jackson one game for verbal abuse of a game official and failure to leave the court in a timely manner at the end of the Bucks' 107-100 loss at Chicago on Friday night.
It's another rough moment for Jackson, who was benched by coach Scott Skiles in the Bucks' Jan. 20 game at the New York Knicks.
Bogut, meanwhile, fractured his left ankle in Wednesday's game at Houston and is expected to miss eight to 12 weeks ? a crushing blow for Milwaukee.
Without Bogut, the undersized Bucks faced a tough test from the Lakers' pair of 7-footers: Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum.
But they held their ground on defense early on, taking a 51-43 lead at halftime. The Bucks forced the Lakers into 10 turnovers in the first half, and limited Gasol to six points on 3 for 10 shooting.
Gasol finished the game with 12 points and 15 rebounds, but was 6 for 18 from the floor.
Lakers rookie guard Andrew Goudelock scored 13 points despite being hospitalized for dehydration overnight. Goudelock was coming off his best performance of the year, having scored a career-high 14 points against the Clippers on Wednesday.
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Demi Moore arrives at Variety's 3rd Annual Power of Women Luncheon in Beverly Hills, Calif., in this Sept. 23, 2011 photo. A 911 recording released Friday Jan. 27, 2012 by Los Angeles fire officials revealed frantic efforts by friends of Demi Moore to get help for the actress who was convulsing as they gathered around her and tried to comfort her. Moore was "semi-conscious, barely," according to a female caller on the recording. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)
Demi Moore arrives at Variety's 3rd Annual Power of Women Luncheon in Beverly Hills, Calif., in this Sept. 23, 2011 photo. A 911 recording released Friday Jan. 27, 2012 by Los Angeles fire officials revealed frantic efforts by friends of Demi Moore to get help for the actress who was convulsing as they gathered around her and tried to comfort her. Moore was "semi-conscious, barely," according to a female caller on the recording. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? A 911 recording revealed frantic efforts by friends of Demi Moore to get help for the actress who was convulsing as they gathered around her and tried to comfort her.
Moore was "semi-conscious, barely," according to a female caller on the recording released Friday by Los Angeles fire officials.
The woman tells emergency operators that Moore, 49, had smoked something before she was rushed to the hospital on Monday night and that she had been "having issues lately."
"Is she breathing normal?" the operator asks.
"No, not so normal. More kind of shaking, convulsing, burning up," the friend says as she hurries to Moore's side, on the edge of panic.
Another woman is next to Moore as the dispatcher asks if she's responsive.
"Demi, can you hear me?" she asks. "Yes, she's squeezing hands. ... She can't speak."
When the operator asks what Moore ingested or smoked, the friend replies, but the answer was redacted.
Asked if Moore took the substance intentionally or not, the woman says Moore ingested it on purpose but the reaction was accidental.
"Whatever she took, make sure you have it out for the paramedics," the operator says.
The operator asks the friend if this has happened before.
"I don't know," she says. "There's been some stuff recently that we're all just finding out."
Moore's publicist, Carrie Gordon, said previously that the actress sought professional help to treat her exhaustion and improve her health. She would not comment further on the emergency call or provide details about the nature or location of Moore's treatment.
The past few months have been rocky for Moore.
She released a statement in November announcing she had decided to end her marriage to fellow actor Ashton Kutcher, 33, following news of alleged infidelity. The two were known to publicly share their affection for one another via Twitter.
Moore still has a Twitter account under the name mrskutcher but has not posted any messages since Jan. 7.
Meanwhile, Millennium Films announced Friday that Sarah Jessica Parker will replace Moore in the role of feminist Gloria Steinem in its production of "Lovelace," a biopic about the late porn star Linda Lovelace. A statement gave no reason for the change. The production, starring Amanda Seyfried, has been shooting in Los Angeles since Dec. 20.
During the call, the woman caller says the group of friends had turned Moore's head to the side and was holding her down. The dispatcher tells her not to hold her down but to wipe her mouth and nose and watch her closely until paramedics arrive.
"Make sure that we keep an airway open," the dispatcher says. "Even if she passes out completely, that's OK. Stay right with her."
The phone is passed around by four people, including a woman who gives directions to the gate and another who recounts details about what Moore smoked or ingested. Finally, the phone is given to a man named James, so one of the women can hold Moore's head.
There was some confusion at the beginning of the call. The emergency response was delayed by nearly two minutes as Los Angeles and Beverly Hills dispatchers sorted out which city had jurisdiction over the street where Moore lives.
As the call is transferred to Beverly Hills, the frantic woman at Moore's house raises her voice and said, "Why is an ambulance not on its way right now?"
"Ma'am, instead of arguing with me why an ambulance is not on the way, can you spell (the street name) for me?" the Beverly Hills dispatcher says.
Although the estate is located in the 90210 ZIP code above Benedict Canyon, the response was eventually handled by the Los Angeles Fire Department.
By the end of the call, Moore has improved.
"She seems to have calmed down now. She's speaking," the male caller told the operator.
Moore and Kutcher were wed in September 2005.
Kutcher became a stepfather to Moore's three daughters ? Rumer, Scout and Tallulah Belle ? from her 13-year marriage to actor Bruce Willis. Moore and Willis divorced in 2000 but remained friendly.
Moore can be seen on screen in the recent films "Margin Call" and "Another Happy Day." Kutcher replaced Charlie Sheen on TV's "Two and a Half Men" and is part of the ensemble film "New Year's Eve."
CHICAGO (Reuters) ? The percentage of workers represented by a union dipped slightly in 2011, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Friday, as organized labor came under attack in states once considered union strongholds, including Wisconsin and Ohio.
In 2011, 11.8 percent of U.S. workers were represented by a union, the BLS said, down from 11.9 percent in 2010 and compared to a peak of 28.3 percent of the workforce in 1954.
Strip out government workers, where 37 percent of the work force nationally is unionized, and union penetration of private industry was just 6.9 percent in 2011, unchanged from 2010.
The total number of union members actually grew slightly last year, to 14,764,000 from 14,715,000 in 2010. But the number of workers represented by organized labor remained steady while the overall number of workers employed in the economy grew, the BLS said.
The number of unionized workers in Wisconsin fell nearly 6 percent in Wisconsin last year, to 358,000 from 380,000, the BLS said, as Republicans passed controversial curbs on the bargaining rights of public sector workers. That bitter debate spurred the largest street marches in Madison since the Vietnam War and two rounds of recall elections so far.
Only 14.1 percent of the state's workers were unionized at the end of 2011, the BLS said, down from 15.1 percent in 2010.
But in other Midwest states that have been battlegrounds for organized labor, the picture was more mixed, the BLS said.
In Indiana, which is poised to enact a right-to-work law banning unions from collecting mandatory dues from workers, union representation actually grew last year, the BLS said.
In 2011, 333,000 workers in the state were represented by a union, up from 313,000 workers in 2010. As a result, 12.4 percent of the state's workforce was union represented in 2011, up from 12.2 percent in 2010.
In Ohio, where an effort to impose union curbs on public workers similar to Wisconsin's was overturned by voters in a November referendum, the percentage of workers represented by a union remained unchanged at 14.7 percent.
The BLS said the highest union penetration rate in 2011 was in New York state, where 24.1 percent of workers were members of a union, followed by Alaska with 22.1 percent of the workforce unionized and Hawaii with 21.5 percent.
The BLS said union presence was weakest in North Carolina, where just 2.9 percent of workers were union members, followed by South Carolina (3.4 percent) and Georgia (3.9 percent).
(Reporting by James Kelleher. Editing by Peter Bohan.)
Designer Jean Paul Gaultier paid homage to Amy Winehouse's unique style at his Paris runway show earlier this week. Imitation is the highest form of flattery, right?
Wrong, if you're the late singer's father, Mitch Winehouse.
"We don't support the Jean Paul Galtier [sic] collection. It is in poor taste," the elder Winehouse tweeted, incensed at his daughter's image being used to sell clothes.
"The family was upset to see those pictures. They were a total shock," he told The Sun.
"We're still grieving, and we've had a difficult week with the six-month anniversary of Amy's death." Mitch said Gaultier's show portrayed "a view of Amy when she was not at her best, [glamorizing] some of the more upsetting times in her life."
Mitch felt it inappropriate to try and cash in on his daughter's legacy.
"To see her image lifted wholesale to sell clothes was a wrench we were not expecting or consulted on. We're proud of her influence on fashion but find black veils on models, smoking cigarettes with a barbershop quartet singing her music in bad taste."
Kelly Osbourne, a close friend of Amy Winehouse, also Tweeted in response: "Although @JPGaultier was paying homage to my friend and icon to the world, I found it to be lucratively selfish and distasteful. Exploitation=evil."
Deaf? Stupid? Preoccupied? Oblivious? Some combination thereof?
Call it what you want, we don't know what's funnier, the fact that this woman dragged a bag on her ankle for at least an entire N.Y. City block, or that some dude was shadily creeping behind her filming it for the purpose of YouTubing this "moment."
TheInsider.com caught up with Project Runway: All-Stars? Gordana Gehlhausen as spoke on everything from her youth in Yugoslavia spent secretly designing to her booming San Diego boutique and even revealed that she fainted onstage during the All-Stars taping.
Miss Piggy rocks the runway
Meg Swertlow: How did it feel to leave so early in the competition?
Project Runway's Elisa: I have no regrets
Gordana: I have kind of mixed feelings. First of all, of course when you commit your time and yourself to it, you get disappointed to be leaving so early. But on the other hand, I really loved everything I created, so I feel like I really left with my head held high. I like what I did, and if there was some misses, then so be it.
Meg: Why did you decide to come back?
Gordana: When I did season six, I was a little bit cheated in the way that I finished fourth and I never was given the opportunity so show at Bryant Park because I?m the only one in all the designers of Project Runway that didn?t get the chance, finishing fourth, because of the situation with Bravo and Lifetime (the switching of the networks). So I kind of felt like well maybe, that would be an invention, and then you know people paid and so I?m like ?yeah why not.? I have a successful boutique in San Diego and it?d have some extra press, so why not, it?s not going to hurt anybody, especially if you are in that industry anyway.
Meg: What have you been up too since season six?
Gordana: Oh yeah, I moved to San Diego, and I have a boutique in the Gaslamp district, which is the heart of downtown, and the boutique was voted ?The Best of San Diego? in 2011, and then I opened a studio across the street in a building and now I am in the process of opening another boutique in Santa Monica which probably will open in February.
Meg: What brought you to San Diego?
Gordana: Well my season was filmed in Los Angeles, and my husband?s family lives in Orange County in Laguna Niguel and we kind of thought of moving to California, but you know, I didn?t like the vibe of L.A. at that time, everyone was just sort of desperate to make it and the economy fell, a lot of boutiques closed, and then when I came to San Diego I really liked it. It?s alive and very balanced. I like not only fashion but there are also other aspects of my life, and I felt like San Diego would give me all of that.
Meg: What did you think was the most difficult part of being on the show?
Gordana: The endurance, the physical challenge. That?s the one. Because you know, you have to understand that I?m 47, and actually in the first episode I fainted on stage, they didn?t show that, but what happened is, I guess we were outside for awhile and it was 110 degrees and maybe I wasn?t used to all of the humidity, and then standing on the stage and I was thinking to myself, ?Oh my god, I cannot believe I?m doing this,? and I just fainted, and after that it was just like somebody had drained the life out of me. When I watched myself on television I was like, ?Oh my god I look so tired,? and I know why. That was the most difficult thing, and I have to say, I am pretty impressed with what I created under these circumstances, and how my garments came out, so you know as I said, I am walking away with my head high.
Meg: Do you think you would have done everything differently?
Gordana: I mean, what could I have done differently? I mean, not fainting? That would be a blast. The only thing I would have done differently was in the first challenge, I probably would eliminate those little stickers on the dress, but other than that I love everything else.
Meg: How was it designing for that feisty lady, Miss Piggy?
Gordana: I mean, I learned in the meantime that she [Miss Piggy] is a style icon, but see, you have to understand that I come from a communist country where we don?t know Miss Piggy, and so I don?t have that relationship with Miss Piggy. When I was designing for her I had to pretend that I am this little girl you know, who is being Miss Piggy pretty much for the first time, and thinking ?what would I like to feel?? and I created this happy, girly dress, because I don?t have a relationship with Miss Piggy.
Meg: So when did you come over to the states, and what brought you here?
Gordana: Well I ran away from home when I was about eighteen and then I went to Germany for circumstances, and I graduated there and my ex-husband happened to be American, that?s how I ended up in America. It just kind of happened.
Meg: Did you ever think when you were in Yugoslavia that you would be designing clothing on television?
Gordana: Never. I knitted my first sweater when I was seven years old and I was always punished, and my mom had to actually hide the scissors, because I was cutting everything that it was possible to cut, but you have to understand that we didn?t have the resources that you guys have here where if you want to make something you just go and buy stuff. I would literally have to cut sheep wool and make thread out of it, dye it, and then make a sweater. I was using onion peel to dye stuff, it was so primitive. I always loved fashion but my parents are farmers, uneducated, and I didn?t even know that fashion school existed. Today when you see children and they have talent, you kind of direct them, and you should be doing that, there are so many opportunities. But I didn?t have that. I never would have dreamed of being on Project Runway. At the moment, when it hit me, I could not believe it with where I come from that I am even here today. And now I am actually supporting my whole family with fashion.
Meg: Yeah, I heard about that, and I was going to ask, do you think there was added pressure on you in the competition to support your whole family?
Gordana: No, no there was not added pressure, you know because my business is doing well. That was just a bonus, doing something that came from this. The talent level is obviously higher [this season], but I also know that I am good. Obviously, I would not be successful if I was not. Yeah, the judges may have not liked something, but plenty of people do. They are the ones that pull out their wallets and pay for what I do. And so it wasn?t added pressure in that way at all, my pressure was mostly from my physical well-being. For some reason I wasn?t feeling good, and it was so difficult to work under those circumstances, where you are just drained.
Meg: What do you think are every woman?s fashion must-haves?
Gordana: Every woman must have the basics that she feels good in. It doesn?t matter what fashion is saying those should be, it should be something that you feel good and beautiful in. It needs to be something that works for you and your body type, not because it?s in the latest magazine.
Meg: Do you have any favorite trends right now?
Gordana: Well I like layering. And my customers are actually women from about 30 and up, so usually she?s successful and today women take care of themselves and their body, but they don?t necessarily want to shop at Forever21. They want clothes that?s youthful but more sophisticated, and that?s my customer. And I am really good at finding that line between youthful and sophisticated, and not going too far in either way. It seems to be working, and layering for women really gives them the opportunity to create their own style. It?s easy for everybody to put a dress on and that?s it, but you really show more of your identity when you take the pieces you have in your closet and make your own look with how you put them together.
Meg: Are there any fashion trends that you just hate?
Gordana: I wouldn?t say ?hate.? Every fashion trend has its own place and time. When I lived in Charleston, I had a boutique there and 99 percent of my sale was a cotton dress because of the climate, it wasn?t like I really cared for the cotton dresses, but you have to suit the needs. And then you see younger girls wearing something you wouldn?t wear, but hate is a strong world, it?s really about finding something that works for you and your circumstances and place.
Meg: Who are you rooting for now that you?re off the show?
Gordana: I really love all of the designers. They?re all good people, they?re all very talented, I?m just rooting that they all go through the experience in the easiest way possible. I am happy for whoever wins. We all deserve it, so I don?t really want to say that I?m rooting for this person, when I mean really, they all have their own aesthetic and don?t really even sew anymore, and we have people that are doing that for us. We have more of the role of a designer, and then you are put into the sewing room, when you maybe have not done it in awhile. I really love them all and I am happy for whoever wins.
BEIJING (Reuters) ? China on Thursday criticized the European Union for banning oil imports from Iran, Beijing's third biggest crude supplier and a major trading partner.
The European Union agreed on Monday to ban imports of oil from Iran and imposed a number of other economic sanctions, joining the United States in a new round of measures aimed at pushing Iran into reining in its nuclear activities that Tehran says are for peaceful purposes.
China, the world's second largest crude consumer, has long opposed unilateral sanctions that target Iran's energy sector and has tried to reduce tensions that could threaten its oil supply.
Last week, Beijing told a visiting Iranian delegation that returning to nuclear talks was a "top priority." During a tour to Arab states earlier this month, Chinese premier Wen Jiabao also made a strong statement opposing Iran developing and possessing nuclear weapons, but defended China's right to buy Iranian crude oil as normal trade activity.
Asked about the EU embargo, China's Foreign Ministry said in a faxed statement: "It is not a constructive approach to simply pile up the pressure and impose sanctions."
"China hopes relevant parties to resort to measures conducive to regional peace and stability," the statement added.
China is the largest buyer of Iranian crude oil, importing 30 percent more from Iran in 2011 compared to the previous year. But China halved its purchases from Iran in January and February, following a dispute over the terms of payment.
(Reporting by Chen Aizhu and Tracy Zheng; editing by Miral Fahmy)
The Steve Job's quote was chosen from an internal competition to name the plane
List?Virgin America's new plane as one of the latest additions to the increasing number of Steve Jobs tributes that include a?posthumous Grammy, a?Mythbusters-style documentary, and a?7' bronze statue. The U.S. airline had the popular Steve Jobs quote "Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish" painted on the side of an?Airbus A320.?This specific quote was chosen among the list of entries for the company's plane naming contest.
Jobs uttered the phrase back in 2005 while giving a?commencement address at Stanford University, although it originally appeared on the back cover of a 1960's American counterculture publication called?Whole Earth Catalog. "On the back cover of [Whole Earth Catalog's] final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself," Jobs said.
It's not too surprising for the company to come up with a Steve Jobs tribute. Virgin America identifies as a?tech-forward company, and offers?fleet-wide wifi as well as touchscreen displays and power outlets on board. Virgin Group head honcho,?Sir?Richard Branson, is also a?known Apple fan.
[via?MacRumors]
This article was written by Mariella Moon and originally appeared on Tecca
Top Transactions: Extraordinary price paid for Walgreens store in St. Paul?
Posted: 2:02 pm Wed, January 25, 2012 By Anne?Bretts Tags: George Zeller, Jason Quilling, Q.T. Properties, Scott Johnson
2101 Ford Parkway, St. Paul The new Walgreens store in St. Paul?s Highland Park sold for twice the amount other Walgreens are fetching or seeking in Minnesota ? a whopping $13.95 million. WIF 11 Ridway St. Paul LLC, an entity managed by the Houston-based Rida Development Corp., bought the store from Brinberg Properties LLC of Minneapolis. ?It?s outside ...
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This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 25th, 2012 at 2:02 pm and is filed under Real Estate, Top Transactions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
CAMP PENDLETON, California ? Military prosecutors worked for more than six years to bring Marine Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich to trial on manslaughter charges that could have sent him away to prison for life.
But only weeks after the long-awaited trial started, they offered Wuterich a deal that stopped the proceedings and could mean little to no jail time for the squad leader who ordered his men to "shoot first, ask questions later," resulting in one of the Iraq War's worst attacks on civilians by U.S. troops.
The 31-year-old Marine, who was originally accused of unpremeditated murder, pleaded guilty Monday to negligent dereliction of duty for leading the squad that killed 24 unarmed Iraqi civilians in the town of Haditha in 2005 during raids after a roadside bomb exploded, killing a fellow Marine and wounding two others.
Wuterich, who was indicted in 19 of the 24 deaths, now faces no more than three months in confinement.
It was a stunning outcome for the last defendant in the case once compared with the My Lai massacre in Vietnam. The seven other Marines initially charged were exonerated or had their cases dropped.
"I was expecting that the American judiciary would sentence this person to life in prison and that he would appear and confess in front of the whole world that he committed this crime, so that America could show itself as democratic and fair," one of the survivors, Awis Fahmi Hussein, told The Associated Press in Haditha.
Military judge Lt. Col. David Jones will hear arguments from both sides Tuesday at Camp Pendleton, Calif., before sentencing Wuterich.
Legal experts said the case was fraught with errors made by investigators and the prosecution that let it drag on for years. The prosecution was also hampered by squad mates who acknowledged they had lied to investigators initially and later testified in exchange for having their cases dropped, bringing into question their credibility.
In addition, Wuterich was seen as taking the fall for senior leaders and more seasoned combat veterans, analysts said. It was his first time in combat when he led the squad on Nov. 19, 2005.
Brian Rooney, an attorney for another former defendant, said cases like Haditha are difficult to prosecute because a military jury is unlikely to question decisions made in combat unless wrongdoing is clear-cut and egregious, like rape.
"If it's a gray area, fog-of-war, you can't put yourself in a Marine's situation where he's legitimately trying to do the best he can," said Rooney, who represented Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, the highest-ranking Marine charged in the case. "When you're in a town like Haditha or Fallujah, you've got bad guys trying to kill you and trying to do it in very surreptitious ways. Marines understand it's a crazy environment. You've got to do the best you can with what you've got."
Marine Corps spokesman Lt. Col. Joseph Kloppel said the deal was not a reflection or in any way connected to how the prosecution felt its case was going in the trial.
The Haditha attack is considered among the war's defining moments, further tainting America's reputation when it was already at a low point after the release of photos of prisoner abuse by U.S. soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison.
It still fuels anger in Iraq today.
"We wonder about such a sentence issued against the defendant. We called upon US to be fair in passing sentences. Regrettably, we are disappointed about the issuance of such sentences," said Khalid Salman Rasif, a member of the Provincial Council in Haditha, adding he would contact the lawyer for victims' families for an explanation.
Kamil al-Dulaimi, a Sunni lawmaker from the Anbar provincial capital of Ramadi, called the plea agreement proof that "Americans still deal with Iraqis without any respect."
"It's just another barbaric act of Americans against Iraqis," al-Dulaimi told The Associated Press. "They spill the blood of Iraqis and get this worthless sentence for the savage crime against innocent civilians."
Wuterich, the father of three children, had faced the possibility of life behind bars when he was charged with nine counts of manslaughter, which will be dropped. Besides now facing a maximum of three months in confinement, he could also lose two-thirds of his pay and see his rank demoted to private when he's sentenced.
.Wuterich, his family and his attorneys declined to comment Monday after he entered the plea. Prosecutors also declined to comment on the plea deal.
During the trial before a jury of combat Marines who served in Iraq, prosecutors argued he lost control after seeing the body of his friend blown apart by the bomb and led his men on a rampage in which they stormed two nearby homes, blasting their way in with gunfire and grenades. Among the dead was a man in a wheelchair.
In the deal, Wuterich acknowledged that his orders misled his men to believe they could shoot without hesitation and not follow the rules of engagement that required troops to positively identify their targets before they raided the homes.
He told the judge that caused "tragic events."
"I think we all understood what we were doing so I probably just should have said nothing," Wuterich told the judge.
He said his orders were based on the guidance of his platoon commander at the time, and that the squad did not take any gunfire during the 45-minute raid.
Many of his squad mates testified that they do not believe to this day that they did anything wrong because they feared insurgents were inside hiding.
Haditha prompted commanders to demand troops be more careful in distinguishing between civilians and combatants.
Former Navy officer David Glazier said the case shows such rules are essential to helping the United States prevail in an armed conflict.
"The reality is that this incident has had significant consequences for the U.S. in Iraq," said Glazier, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. "It probably fueled the resistance and so it probably ended up costing additional soldiers and Marines their lives later on."
___
Associated Press writers Barbara Surk and Mazin Yahya in Baghdad, Elliot Spagat in San Diego and Raquel Dillon in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Voters in South Carolina weathered the elements on Saturday and headed to the polls to make their choice for GOP presidential candidate. They picked former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich by a wide margin.
That would have been a surprise a few weeks ago, especially consider Gingrich's rather lackluster performances in both the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary. But following some strong debate performances -- and testy exchanges with moderators -- Gingrich experienced a last-minute surge to the top of the pack in South Carolina. Furthermore, he did it with the strong support of conservative Tea Party and evangelical voters, who appeared happy to overlook an interview given by Gingrich's second ex-wife in which she claimed that he had asked her for an "open marriage."
The loss in South Carolina is a tough pill for Mitt Romney to swallow, who, on the heels of a victory in New Hampshire was thought to have been well on his way toward becoming the presumptive Republican nominee. He began campaigning in the Palmetto State with the support of its governor, Nikki Haley. But a few days before the South Carolina contest, Romney's first-place finish in Iowa was reversed, following a certification of lost votes which gave the win to Rick Santorum. Soon thereafter, Romney saw a dip in his own popularity, coming amid increasing scrutiny of his personal finances, sparked primarily by evasive comments about whether he would release his tax returns.
Now with Gingrich, Romney, and Santorum each winning a primary -- and Ron Paul continuing to nip at their heels, apparently with no plans of leaving the race -- the GOP primary has hit a full reset. The candidates and the media that covers them now head to Florida to compete in its Jan. 31 primary, which is now more important than ever.
The primary season now stands to remain competitive for longer than previously expected, which will give the nation, and its president, more time to view the increasingly hostile spectacle.
Take a look below at the winners and losers of the South Carolina primary, and vote for who you think came out on top:
WINNER: Newt Gingrich
1? of ?8
Gingrich's resurgence and eventual victory was unexpected, to say the least. As of a week ago, he was polling around the middle of the pack and few expected his candidacy to take off in South Carolina. He experienced a small bump in the middle of the week, when Texas Gov. Rick Perry dropped out of the race and threw his support behind the former speaker of the House. But that spark was nearly doused when his ex-wife gave an interview to ABC News claiming that he'd asked her for an open marriage while engaging in an affair with Callista Bisek, a Hill staffer who has since married Gingrich and taken his last name. South Carolina voters seemed largely unfazed by this development, however, and Gingrich managed to use the interview to his advantage during the week when he was asked to answer a question about it at a GOP presidential debate. Gingrich's resurgence and eventual victory was unexpected, to say the least. As of a week ago, he was polling around the middle of the pack and few expected his candidacy to take off in South Carolina. He experienced a small bump in the middle of the week, when Texas Gov. Rick Perry dropped out of the race and threw his support behind the former speaker of the House. But that spark was nearly doused when his ex-wife gave an interview to ABC News claiming that he'd asked her for an open marriage while engaging in an affair with Callista Bisek, a Hill staffer who has since married Gingrich and taken his last name.
South Carolina voters seemed largely unfazed by this development, however, and Gingrich managed to use the interview to his advantage during the week when he was asked to answer a question about it at a GOP presidential debate.
MORE SLIDESHOWSNEXT?>??|??<?PREV
WINNER: Newt Gingrich
Gingrich's resurgence and eventual victory was unexpected, to say the least. As of a week ago, he was polling around the middle of the pack and few expected his candidacy to take off in South Carolina. He experienced a small bump in the middle of the week, when Texas Gov. Rick Perry dropped out of the race and threw his support behind the former speaker of the House. But that spark was nearly doused when his ex-wife gave an interview to ABC News claiming that he'd asked her for an open marriage while engaging in an affair with Callista Bisek, a Hill staffer who has since married Gingrich and taken his last name. South Carolina voters seemed largely unfazed by this development, however, and Gingrich managed to use the interview to his advantage during the week when he was asked to answer a question about it at a GOP presidential debate.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) ? Offering no explanation, the Iowa Republican Party has declared Rick Santorum as winner of the Iowa caucuses, days after saying incomplete vote results precluded it from doing just that.
GOP State Chairman Matt Strawn and the party's State Central Committee issued a statement late Friday naming the former Pennsylvania senator as the winner, "in order to clarify conflicting reports and to affirm the results" that were released Wednesday.
The committee's release Wednesday said Santorum was 34 votes ahead of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in the final certified results from 1,766 precincts. But because eight precincts never turned in certified results, Strawn said in the statement Thursday that the party could not declare a winner. He congratulated both Santorum and Romney. Sixteen days earlier, Strawn had announced that Romney had won the caucuses by eight votes.
Saturday's statement offered no explanation of what had changed since Thursday, and Strawn did not return calls seeking comment.
Two central committee members told The Associated Press that the group held a conference call Friday night to discuss the "confusion" about the results of the caucuses and directed Strawn to issue a statement making it clear that the party considered Santorum the winner.
"There had been too much confusion and we needed to clear things up once and for all," said Steve Scheffler of the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition, a committee member who was on the call.
Another committee member, Drew Ivers of Webster City, said the new statement declaring Santorum the winner was issued "to try to clarify the validity of the Iowa process."
Scheffler said there was no vote by the 17-member committee but it was clear from the call that the consensus was to issue the statement.
The certified results announced by Strawn on Thursday had Santorum with 29,839 votes and Romney with 29,805, a difference of 34. Ron Paul finished third with 26,036. Newt Gingrich finished fourth with 16,163 votes.
Unofficial election night results from the eight missing precincts gave Santorum 81 votes and Romney 46. If those results had been certified to state party officials by Wednesday's deadline, Santorum's lead in the final tally would have been 69 votes.
Way back in 2009 there was no large event dedicated to technology startups in the UK. TechCrunch, under Mike Arrington, was busy trying to get its TechCrunch50/Disrupt programme going in the US, and outside of local meetups, the TC event juggernaut still had yet to arrive in Europe. My friend and colleague Robin Wauters was doing ![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 30-Jan-2012
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