Officials in California have given up on efforts to resume executing convicts this year, meaning that the state will have gone at least 6 years without executions. A review of lethal injection procedures has been delayed until at least January because the new warden of San Quentin prison wants to…
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Struggling tech giant says acquisitions have helped create growth, but pre-tax losses hit $11.2m in first quarter AOL’s display advertising revenue grew for the first time in more than three years in the first three months of 2011, helped by the acquisitions of Huffington Post, TechCrunch and GoViral. However, AOL reported a pre-tax loss of $11.2m for the quarter, down from a $78m profit in the equivalent period last year, as the business continues to restructure. Total revenues fell 17% to $551m – a better figure than analysts had expected – as the company’s US dial-up internet subscription business continued to wither with revenues down 24% to $215m. Tim Armstrong, the AOL chief executive, preferred to focus on the 4% year-on-year increase in total display advertising revenues to $130.5m – the first growth since the final quarter of 2007 – citing it as an “important milestone” in the turnaround of the beleaguered company. AOL said US display revenue grew 11% to $122m – the first time it has grown since the fourth quarter of 2009. Just over $5m of the $12.2m year-on-year growth in first-quarter domestic revenue was “primarily” due to the acquisition of Huffington Post and TechCrunch – bought for $315m and $25m respectively . US growth was 6% excluding acquisitions. Armstrong said the Huffington Post, which was acquired in January, was the fastest integration project he had ever worked on and that the business had experienced a growth rate of about 30% in the first quarter. The company said Huffington Post “exceeded budgeted revenue” in the first quarter. However, international display advertising revenues fell 46% year on year to $8.5m, while advertising through AOL’s third-party network fell 19% to $87.4m. Total advertising revenues fell 11% to $313m, some $40m down year on year. The company said the performance from ongoing businesses was “essentially flat” year on year, taking into account the $41.8m in ad revenue lost from the closure of some of AOL’s European operations and the disposal of assets including Bebo and ICQ. AOL added that profitability was affected by $9m in deal-related expenses, primarily for the acquisitions of the Huffington Post and GoViral – which it acquired for $69m in January – and $8.4m in “incentive compensation expenses” tied to buy-ups made in 2010 and in the first quarter of 2011. The company also took a $27.8m hit in restructuring expenses related to the Huffington Post acquisition and the “reassessment of our operations in India”. •
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Click here to view this media [ Flashback to 2004. ] This is an interesting little study via Romanesko: Op-ed columnists and TV’s talking heads build followings by making bold, confident predictions about politics and the economy. But rarely are their predictions analyzed for accuracy. Now, a class at Hamilton College led by public policy professor P. Gary Wyckoff has analyzed the predictions of 26 prognosticators between September 2007 and December 2008. Their findings? Anyone can make as accurate a prediction as most of them if just by flipping a coin. Their research paper, “Are Talking Heads Blowing Hot Air? An Analysis of the Accuracy of Forecasts in the Political Media” will be presented via webcast on Monday, May 2, at 4:15 p.m., at www.hamilton.edu/pundit . The paper will also be available at that address at that time. Questions during the presentation can be posed via Twitter using #hcpundit. The Hamilton students sampled the predictions of 26 individuals who wrote columns in major print media and who appeared on the three major Sunday news shows – Face the Nation, Meet the Press, and This Week – and evaluated the accuracy of 472 predictions made during the 16-month period. They used a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being “will not happen, 5 being “will absolutely happen”) to rate the accuracy of each, and then divided them into three categories: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. The students found that only nine of the prognosticators they studied could predict more accurately than a coin flip. Two were significantly less accurate, and the remaining 14 were not statistically any better or worse than a coin flip. The top prognosticators – led by New York Times columnist Paul Krugman – scored above five points and were labeled “Good,” while those scoring between zero and five were “Bad.” Anyone scoring less than zero (which was possible because prognosticators lost points for inaccurate predictions) were put into “The Ugly” category. Syndicated columnist Cal Thomas came up short and scored the lowest of the 26… read on Since a liberal like Krugman tops the list, you won’t hear much about it from the Beltway Villagers. Now check out the bottom of the list: Those scoring lowest – “The Ugly” – with negative tallies were conservative columnist Cal Thomas; U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC); U.S. Senator Carl Levin (D-MI); U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman, a McCain supporter and Democrat-turned-Independent from Connecticut; Sam Donaldson of ABC; and conservative columnist George Will. John McCain, Joe Lieberman and Lindsay Graham are at the bottom of the list, but are always on my freaking TV. I’m just sayin’.
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WWE Smackdown 5/6/11 Results – Randy Orton Wins The World Heavyweight Championship – WHAT? WWE is scripted NOT Fake King Haku – WWE All Stars CAW Formula Inside + Gameplay Randy Orton Wins the WWE World Heavyweight Title | Camel Clutch Blog So much for that Christian WWE world heavyweight championship reign. Christian’s big push lasted a total of two days. In a result that is sure to split the WWE Universe right down the middle, Randy Orton defeated Christian at the … Kick-Out!! Wrestling: Smackdown Blackout On Tuesday, May 3, 2011 at the Smackdown tapings in Orlando, FL, Randy Orton defeated Christian for the World Heavyweight Championship. The show will air this Friday on Syfy, I heard about the title change tonight on Twitter as the IWC … *Spoilers* WWE Smackdown Taping Results For 5/6 « WWE News, WWE … This leads to Mark Henry, The Great Khali and Randy Orton coming out. Teddy Long comes out and says he’s going to leave it up to the fans to decide who Christian faces tonight. The crowd goes with Christian vs. Orton. … SPOILERS** WWE SD! Results For Thursday – WWE News and Wrestling … Randy Orton then comes out and says he wants a shot too. Teddy Long comes out and says that he will let the fans decide and the fans pick Orton. Long announces Christian vs. Orton for the title tonight. … WWE Smackdown Taping Results for May 6th, 2011 | WRESTLESCOOP Randy orton has had it too many times all ready and christain had just won it for the 1st time in his career and they pull this shit. Another that pisses me off is, that randy orton never loses a match anymore and cm punk should had won … The_awh89 says: @BTeneshaB Yea Idk if you read the spoilers or not but they allowed Randy Orton to win the world title from Christian smh
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Drug Product Facility From Molecule to Medicine Martine Clozel, Research in the Pharmaceutical Industry Actelion To Appeal Jury Verdict In Asahi Kasei Litigation ZURICH -(Dow Jones)- Europe’s largest biotech Actelion Ltd (ATLN.VX) Wednesday said it will appeal against the final U.S. jury verdict that awarded Asahi Kasei Pharma Corp. (AHKSY) compensatory damages of up to $547 million and punitive … BB Biotech backs Actelion in battle with Elliott (Reuters) | WorldNews ZURICH (Reuters) – Biotech investment fund BB Biotech has come out in support of Actelion Ltd, giving the Swiss biotech group crucial backing in its spat with. Hold the Presses!: Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd (CH) – Actelion to … ALLSCHWIL/BASEL, SWITZERLAND – 04 May 2011 – Actelion (SIX: ATLN) today commented on the verdict issued in regard to Asahi Kasei Pharma Corp. v. Actelion Ltd. et al. (case number CIV 478533, Superior Court of the State of California, … Actelion Dismisses Investor Criticism Ahead Of AGM | Management Actelion Dismisses Investor Criticism Ahead Of AGM ZURICH -(Dow Jones)- Actelion Ltd (ATLN.VX) Monday dismissed criticism from investor Elliott Advisors, who bashed the Swiss firm’s management for having lost a legal battle that could … BIO Technology News – Actelion to appeal US compensation ruling to … Swiss biotechnology group Actelion said Wednesday that it would appeal against $547 million (370 million euros) in damages awarded by a California court to Japanese company Asahi Kasei Pharma. Actelin said in a statement that it had … PharmaTimes says: PT News: Actelion defends actions as lawsuit is lost in USA http://dlvr.it/QZ2Hq #pharmaceuticals
Continue reading …A Florida woman is facing concealed weapons charges over two very well-concealed knives, reports the New York Daily News. Police searched Gloria Perez and another woman after responding to a report of a fight. They found hundreds of illegal prescription pills on the women, say investigators. Perez then became ill…
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Tory MP for Mid Bedfordshire says society ‘saturated in sex’ and teenagers should be taught the ability to ‘just say no’ Teenage girls must be given lessons in how to say no to sex, a Conservative MP has told parliament. Speaking in the Commons on Wednesday, Nadine Dorries, the MP for Mid Bedfordshire, proposed that would result in classes in abstinence, but only for girls aged 13 to 16. She said society was “saturated in sex” and teenagers should be taught that it was as “cool” to say no to sex as to know how to put a condom on their boyfriend. The latest data from the Office for National Statistics show teenage pregnancies are at their lowest rate since the early 1980s. The under-18 conception rate for 2009 was 38.3 conceptions per 1,000 women aged 15 to 17. This represents a fall of 5.9% compared with 40.7 conceptions per 1,000 women aged 15 to 17 in 2008. However, Dorries told MPs the sale of porn magazines in newsagents, and high street shops selling padded bikinis for seven-year-old girls showed “how far the sexualisation of young girls has gone in our society”. “The answer to ending our constant struggle with the incredibly high rate of teenage sexual activity and underage pregnancies lies in teaching our girls and boys about the option of abstinence, the ability to ‘just say no’, as part of their compulsory sex education,” she said. “Peer pressure is a key contributor to early sexual activity in our country. Society is focused on sex. Teaching a child at the age of seven to apply a condom on a banana is almost saying: ‘Now go and try this for yourself’. “Girls are taught to have safe sex, but not how to say no to a boyfriend who insists on sexual relations.” But Chris Bryant, a Labour MP who has investigated Britain’s high rate of teenage pregnancies, said Dorries’ 10-minute rule bill was “the daftest piece of legislation” he had seen. He said: “I am a gay man, so I’m not exactly an expert on heterosexual sex, nor on sex with girls. But … this is not the way to solve any of those problems – for a start, it’s just about girls. You’ve got to talk to the boys and the girls.” He said there was no evidence that teaching abstinence would lead to fewer pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases. “The single most important thing we can do for any young person is give them the self-confidence to be able to make good decisions for themselves,” he said. He added that he had never understood why teaching pupils how to put a condom on a banana or a cucumber was “of any use to anybody”. Dorries has courted controversy as one of England’s most outspoken politicians. The former nurse has criticised David Cameron’s proposal to create all-women shortlists for prospective MPs, and has been attacked for allegedly claiming expenses for furniture and gardening. She denied this, saying her patio furniture was a present from her mother. Dorries has also campaigned to reduce the time during a pregnancy when an abortion can take place from 24 to 21 weeks. In 2009, she was involved in a motion, discussed at the Trades Union Congress, to reduce the number of women wearing high heels at work. High heels give women lower limb pains, which mean they take time off work, the motion said. MPs voted 67 to 61, majority six, in favour of allowing Dorries to bring forward her bill. It will receive its second reading in January, but is unlikely to become law without government support. Conservatives House of Commons Sex education Schools Sexual health Health Young people Jessica Shepherd guardian.co.uk
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Gaddafi regime systematically opened fire on peaceful protests, says international criminal court prosecutor The Gaddafi regime has committed war crimes against Libyan pro-democracy protesters, opening fire “systematically” on peaceful demonstrations, according to a report to be issued today by the prosecutor for the international criminal court, who will seek arrest warrants against top members of regime later this month. The prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, has said he will ask judges at the court in The Hague for up to five warrants. He has not named his suspects but in his report to the UN security council today, he will indicate that they include people who gave orders for the alleged atrocities. “It is indeed a characteristic of the situation in Libya that massive crimes are reportedly committed upon instruction of a few persons who control the organisations that execute the orders,” the report says. “Arresting those who ordered the commission of crimes, should the judges decide to issue warrants, will contribute to the protection of civilians in Libya.” In the course of a two-month preliminary investigation, Moreno-Ocampo’s investigators found widespread evidence of crimes against humanity. “Concerning the manner and nature of the crimes, the shooting at peaceful protesters was systematic, following the same modus operandi in multiple locations and executed through security forces,” the report says. “The persecution appears to be also systematic and implemented in different cities. War crimes are apparently committed as a matter of policy.” As well as the use of live ammunition against unarmed demonstrators, the ICC investigation found evidence of a range of abuses including torture, systematic rape, the use of cluster munitions and other heavy weaponry in urban areas, the use of civilians as human shields and the blocking of humanitarian supplies. It says “civilians in Tripoli and other areas are reportedly subject to different forms of persecution because of their suspected association with the uprising. Systematic arrests, torture, killings, deportations, enforced disappearances and destruction of mosques have been reported in Tripoli, al-Zawiya, Zintan and the area of the Nafousa mountains. The victims are allegedly civilians who participated in demonstrations or talked to international media, activists, journalists, as well as citizens of Egypt and Tunisia that were arrested and expelled en masse because of their perceived association with the popular uprising.” The ICC prosecutor’s office is also looking into several reports that anti-government crowds attacked and killed dozens of immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa, who were suspected of being pro-Gaddafi mercenaries. “A number of sub-Saharan Africans were allegedly arrested by the new authorities in Benghazi and it is unclear whether they were innocent immigrant workers or prisoners of war,” it says. The report was commissioned by the security council on 26 February when it referred the case to the ICC. The investigation is highly significant politically as Nato went to war in Libya on “humanitarian grounds” on the strength of security council resolution 1970 authorising “all necessary measures” to protect civilians. If the court approves the arrest warrants it will help insulate the alliance against international criticism of his prolonged campaign in Libya. Moreno-Ocampo will present his first application for an arrest warrant to the ICC’s pre-trial chamber in the next few weeks. “It will focus on those most responsible for crimes against humanity committed in the territory of Libya since 15 February 2011,” he will tell the security council today. The prosecutor told Reuters news agency on Monday that he would initially ask for up to five warrants. If the judges grant his request, the question will be who should carry out the arrests. Moreno-Ocampo will say today that if the Libyan government fails to act, the security council itself “should evaluate” how to do it. It is unclear whether Russia or China would veto the authorisation of Nato to carry out the arrests. That would most likely involve sending troops into Tripoli. Libya Middle East Muammar Gaddafi Julian Borger guardian.co.uk
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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka—A U.S. diplomat Wednesday asked Sri Lanka to address allegations of possible war crimes toward the end of the country’s civil war and to share political power with an estranged Tamil minority for a lasting peace. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Robert O. Blake told reporters that Sri…
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