Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
KABUL (Reuters) - One of Afghanistan's most surprising success stories lies tucked away on a potholed street notorious for suicide bombings and lined with rusting construction equipment.
The work of the country's top tax collector is more inspiring than the view from his office in Kabul. Taxes and customs raised $1.64 billion last financial year, a 14-fold increase on 10 years ago. That means, now, the government can pay just over half of its recurrent costs such as salaries.
Thanks to tougher enforcement procedures, Afghanistan's tax to GDP ratio today stands above 11 percent - ahead of neighboring Pakistan's dismal 9 percent.
Increasing revenues is vital as donors begin reducing aid ahead of the 2014 drawdown of NATO troops, who have provided the backbone for security since U.S. forces invaded after the September 11 attacks on the United States.
By the end of this year the United States alone will have spent $100 billion on Afghan reconstruction. But future pledges are a fraction of that.
"We are largely dependent on international aid. We would like to be independent," said Abdurrahman Mujahid, the new head of the revenue department. "I would like a sustainable Afghanistan for all the children."
Despite rising revenues, the government will rely heavily on donors for years to come. Taxes, customs and mining revenue will only meet $2.5 billion out of a $7 billion budget this year.
Most of the revenue comes from large corporate taxpayers, who complain their payments have not improved power cuts, potholed roads or security.
Corporations pay a flat tax of 20 percent - the same rate for an individual earning over $2,000 a month.
But unlike developed countries where personal income tax generates a sizeable chunk of revenue, most Afghans scoff at the idea of giving the government some of their meager earnings.
The average annual income, in a country ranked one of the world's poorest, is just $470, according to the World Bank. Those making less than $100 a month don't have to pay tax.
"It's not a good government," said moneychanger Abdurrahman Arif, 28, as he held a wad of soiled notes and scanned for customers. "I don't pay tax. The rich people don't and the government should go to them before they come to me."
Afghanistan has a similar problem to neighboring Pakistan - the very wealthy don't pay their share, and weak institutions often have little way of forcing them.
Authorities admit that taxing the rich isn't easy in a country where the powerful often command militias. But Mujahid promises tax evaders will "be introduced to the law enforcement agencies".
SUBSTANTIAL ACHIEVEMENT
Much of Afghanistan's money is in an undocumented black economy. Corruption is endemic and the country produces 90 percent of the world's opium. Billions of dollars in cash leave the country every year in suitcases.
The security situation is discouraging. Taliban and other militias have made gains in many areas as foreign combat forces wind down their missions.
But some Afghans still manage to make money. Many businesses are fuelled by the aid dollars that have poured into the country over the last decade. Luxury supermarkets, travel agencies and stationery shops crowd the capital's streets.
A U.S. embassy official in Kabul commended Afghanistan's ability to raise tax revenues.
"It's a pretty substantial achievement," the official said, but noted the nation still faced a large funding gap, partly because of its huge security bill.
"It's going to continue being a problem until they can get revenues from the extractive industry, and that's going to take some time," the official said, referring to Afghanistan's rich but undeveloped mineral deposits.
Donors currently pay for just under half Afghanistan's operating costs - mostly government salaries - and more than three-quarters of all development projects like roads, dams and electricity equipment.
Rampant corruption means this money is often stolen, angering donors, fuelling anti-government rage and keeping aid from some of the world's neediest families.
Donors hope that if Afghans foot more of the bill for public services they may become less tolerant of graft from their leaders.
PUGNACIOUS PREDECESSOR
Mujahid, the new head of the revenue department, has large shoes to fill. His predecessor Ahmad Shah Zamanzai oversaw much of the department's growth and didn't shrink from confrontation.
When a vice-president refused to pay tax on income from renting out houses he owned, Zamanzai threatened to leak it to the press. Elections were approaching. The vice president paid up.
Under Zamanzai, the tax department jailed more than 20 tax evaders, froze bank accounts, slapped on travel bans and shuttered the premises of businesses that refused to pay.
In one showdown, he took on the glitzy wedding halls that have mushroomed up in the capital. When the 60 or so venues refused to pay their dues, he had police padlock a dozen of the biggest until the rest fell into line.
Zamanzai was appointed head of the state-run Pashtany Bank as part of a bureaucratic reshuffle this month. His first task, he said, would be to use skills honed in the tax department to extract overdue loan repayments from powerful Afghans.
But the tough tax enforcement has angered some businessmen.
Najib Ullah Latify's spotless factory, full of humming machinery and rows of workers in blue overalls and yellow hard hats, stands a few minutes drive from the tax office. High Standard Pipe employs 850 people and supplies pipes for projects providing clean water all over Afghanistan.
Latify said he'd expand but harassment from the tax man was hurting his business.
In recent years, he says, he's been repeatedly overcharged by the tax office and promised refunds have not been credited. Officials frequently offer to slash his tax bill in return for bribes, he added. When he refuses, he says, officials disrupt his imports and suspend his license.
"I don't know what to do, I have shouted everywhere that they are ruining my business," he said.
"I don't mind paying taxes. Even if 60 percent of it is spent on drinking and shopping and trips for (politicians') wives, maybe 40 percent will go to schools or hospitals. But they must tax me correctly."
The new tax chief, Mujahid, was not familiar with Vitaly's case, but promised to investigate. More than 10 tax collectors - whose basic salaries start at $180 a month - have been fired for corruption in the last two years.
"Corruption is a part of public life in Afghanistan," said Mujahid. "We have the aim to make this department corruption-free."
This year he's planning to finish computerizing tax records, usher through a law on Value Added Tax, and strengthen collection in the provinces - more than 90 percent of government taxes currently come from the capital.
"There's a lot of achievements, but for sure we have problems, and the biggest problem is corruption," he said.
Chrome/Firefox/Safari: Whether you're researching a new car purchase or a term paper, you're probably going to be dealing with a lot of different web pages. Annotary lets you highlight and mark up sites, save them for later, and even share your research with collaborators.
Annotary exists as a browser extension for Chrome, Safari, and Firefox. Just invoke the app on a page you're using for research, and it will present you with a toolbox to save the page to your Annotary bookmarks and mark it up. You can highlight relevant blocks of text, and then type your own annotations into an on-screen sticky note. Once you're done, the page and all of your notes will be saved to your Annotary account, and you can even share the marked up page on social media or through email.
In theory, this is pretty similar to the Evernote Web Clipper. However, I enjoy being able to make notes directly on the page itself, rather than just copying relevant passages to a separate app. Annotary is free, so give it a shot for your next research project.
Known to be the Sin City, Las Vegas proves that whilst it is viewed as as such it can still stand up against crimes. Las Vegas police is one particular of the most productive and productive police forces in the US. Its legal branch which involves the judicial method is amongst the elite in the nation. Not to mention the finest attorney services in Las Vegas that is expanded to numerous discipline of law.
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1315 N. SHARTEL AVENUE
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK 73103
(405) 788-3849
recommended reading Note : Theres often an Excellent Tax Attorney in Michigan to the Rescue
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You don't have to be a fan of info-graphics in social-justice docs to be troubled by one showing that the price of processed food has decreased in almost exact proportion to the rise in cost of fresh fruits and vegetables.
"A Place at the Table" presents a shameful truth that should leave viewers dismayed and angry: This nation has more than enough food for all its people, yet millions of them are hungry.
One thing is clear from "A Place at the Table": You cannot answer the question "Why are people hungry?," without also asking "Why are people poor?"
It specifically addresses our country's hunger crisis. But it also speaks to larger hungers. Hungers for independence, a dignified life, a better chance for ones children-in short, the American dream. See it and weep.
As rich as we are as a nation - still - many of our citizens are, at best, malnourished. One in six says they regularly don't have enough to eat.
It deserves to be seen, along with "Food, Inc.," "King Corn" and other muckraking food docs of recent years.
It doesn't offer much in terms of optimism, but provides an eye-opening glimpse into a frequently overlooked social issue.
Jacboson and Silverbush know how to make this potentially unpleasant news palatable and inspiring.
A documentary about the shocking extent of hunger in America, affecting 1 in 4 children.
Provides plenty of moving case studies...[but] it's most useful for its prismatic look at the problem of American hunger, examining the problem's recent history, its root causes...and its inextricability from other national crises...
Hunger in America, seen through the eyes of its victims, with an emphasis on children. Sobering documentary addresses a shameful problem.
As moving as the real lives are, for a film clearly intending to be a call for action, hunger cries out for more journalism and not just depressing stories and statistics.
A Place at the Table makes a strong case that hunger for one is a problem for all.
Directors Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush explore the surprisingly difficult obstacles to ending a situation where about 1 child out of 4 faces insecurity over where to get a meal.
A Place at the Table may bring to light a hunger epidemic the entire United States faces, but it also casts an even darker shadow on an already tainted world.
Powerful docu explores the problem of hunger in America.
An explosive investigative documentary about the injustices emanating from agricultural capitalism, how it's more about who gets to define what food is, and exactly who hugely profits from it.
...joined by an eclectic array of advocates and advisors to hit home the fact that, daily, millions of Americans go hungry.
Fine but conventional documentary on the problem of hunger in contemporary America.
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By Steve Keating ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Tiger Woods's renewed success has him back on top of the world rankings but questions thrown at him after Monday's triumph at Bay Hill were about something he has not done for a long time, win the Masters. While all signs point to Woods being close to his best after years of struggling with injuries, personal strife and a tedious swing overhaul, his comeback will not be complete in many minds, including his own, until he snaps a drought in the majors that dates back to the 2008 U.S. Open. ...
A half century after his music career began, Eric Burdon is as prolific as ever.? The founding Animals singer released a new solo album, ?Til Your River Runs Dry, just this past January, and he?s now preparing to publish his life story.? The rock legend has signed a joint deal with Alfred Music Publishing and his record label, ABKCO, to release a memoir titled Breathless sometime later this year.
?I live my life, breathless?A life of constant motion and excitement,? Burdon says in a statement.? ?A life that many will envy and most would avoid!? I?m extremely fortunate, at age 71, to look back on my life and write down some of the incredible things that have happened to me.?
He adds, ?I?m writing this book to help myself remember the past, acknowledge the present and help the new generation to discover their own truth?I am writing this book for all of you who helped me discover who I am today.?
Speaking about the project with ABC News Radio, Burdon notes that he expects this book to be more accurate than his past writing efforts thanks to the Web.
?I?m doing more research than I ever did, and there?s more research available than in previous writings because of the Internet,? he explains.? ?And the closer [to] the truth you get, the better it is.?
In recent years, of course, many famous rock musicians have published autobiographies, something that, Burdon admits, will make it a challenge for his own book to stand out.
?It?s all down to stories, man,? he declares.? ?If you got good stories to tell, then?you?re on the way to entertaining people, and that?s what counts.?
The British-born singer reveals that Breathless will begin at ?day one, when little Eric entered the world, and there was a war raging between us and the Nazis.?
He also points out that while many rock biographies he?s read seem to focus on humorous aspects of various musicians lives, he maintains that his story won?t shy away from the serious times he?s struggled through.
?It?s not always funny out there.? In fact, it can be downright tragic at times,? says Burdon, while noting, ?if you can make light out of tragedy, you?re well on your way.?
He also explains that growing up in the U.K. during the 1940s and ?50s, he developed ?a strong gallows humor? that?s kept him going ?under all kinds of circumstances.?
Breathless will be available in print, audio and eBook versions.? As Burdon finishes writing the memoir, he also has lined up a series of concerts in support of ?Til Your River Runs Dry.? Visit EricBurdon.com to check out all of his upcoming tour dates.
NEW YORK (AP) ? T-Mobile USA has revamped its pricing plans, the latest move in an industry that's still experimenting feverishly with various ways of luring customers and getting current ones to pay as much as possible. Here's how T-Mobile's gambit compares.
T-Mobile USA
The most significant change is that T-Mobile is breaking the cost of the phone away from the monthly service fee. Instead, the company will sell the phone on an installment. It's making a big deal out of the fact that it will no longer have two-year service contracts, but it's replacing them with two-year financing contracts. To buy an iPhone 5 from T-Mobile, you'll be putting $100 down and then paying $20 per month for two years to pay off the phone. That's on top of service fees that start at $50 per month for unlimited talk, text and 500 megabytes of data. An additional $10 per month gives you another 2 gigabytes of data. Add $20 instead, and you get unlimited data. If you leave T-Mobile within the two-year period, you'll still be charged $20 a month until the two-year contract runs out.
Pros: T-Mobile's plans are generally cheaper than the competition. If you've paid off your phone, your monthly bill declines. You can pay off the phone early if you want, with no penalty. You can also buy "unlocked" phones, or bring them over from AT&T, and get a good deal on monthly service. T-Mobile's "4G" service is relatively fast ? at least, faster than Sprint, in places where Sprint doesn't have LTE. T-Mobile also offers unlimited data service, for peace of mind.
Cons: T-Mobile's data network coverage is poor in rural areas. It's only now rolling out an "LTE" network, and it doesn't have access to the low frequencies where Verizon Wireless and AT&T run their wall-penetrating LTE networks. There's no option to share a data plan among many devices, but T-Mobile makes it relatively inexpensive to add a line to the plan: $10, which comes with 500 megabytes of data usage.
Bottom line: The price over two years for a 16-gigabyte iPhone 5 with unlimited calling, unlimited texting and 2.5 gigabytes of data usage per month, excluding taxes, is $2,020.
Verizon Wireless, AT&T
Last year, the two big guns in the wireless industry trotted out "shared data" plans that let a family tap into a common pool of data usage every month. They're betting on a future where phones will be just one of many devices connected to wireless networks.
Pros: The shared data plans make connecting tablets, laptops and mobile hotspots cheaper. Verizon has stellar coverage and the largest high-speed "LTE" network. AT&T has less coverage, but more than T-Mobile and Sprint, and it has a fast "4G" network in most places LTE isn't available.
Cons: For single phones, AT&T's and Verizon's prices are considerably higher than T-Mobile's ? you pay for that extra network coverage and reliability. Neither offers new customers unlimited data. The two-year contracts are complicated, with early termination fees and varying periods before you're eligible to buy a new phone at a subsidized price.
Bottom line: The price over two years for a 16-gigabyte iPhone 5 with unlimited calling, unlimited texting and 2-3 gigabytes of data usage per month is $2,635, excluding taxes.
Sprint Nextel
The No. 3 wireless company has done the least to revamp its pricing plans ? they're pretty much the same they've been for the last five years.
Pros: Sprint has stuck to offering unlimited data plans, which is good for peace of mind. It sells smartphone service for as little as $35 per month through its Virgin Mobile subsidiary.
Cons: Unlimited data service is only good if the network is fast enough to serve up all the data you need, and Sprint's network is in a complicated transition period. Its "3G" service is very slow. It's complemented in places by Clearwire's "4G" network, and it's in the early stages of an "LTE" buildout. With unlimited data as the only option, Sprint-branded smartphone service isn't cheap. The two-year contracts are complicated, with early termination fees and varying periods before you're eligible to buy a new phone at a subsidized price.
Bottom line: The price over two years for 16-gigabyte iPhone 5 with unlimited calling, texting and data, excluding taxes, is $2,840.
?I found it nearly impossible to keep myself from comparing the British full bust brands with the Polish ones I encountered. It was the biggest challenge of my trip and I believe it's an easy mistake to make when ordering internationally. If we approach these producers as if they're the British brands in disguise, we will continually be disappointed, frustrated, and confused. The British brands preach a singular and consistent message about correct bra fitting, proper breast appearance, and technical construction. It's inevitable that their devoted converts -- and I count myself as one! -- would want to apply their mandates to other lingerie cultures. However, if we remove our familiar conceptions of how these companies should be, we can understand Polish lingerie in it's own context. This post discusses how Poland's location may have effected it's collections or design direction:?
The United States is a big country and full of eager consumers, but we're also a country that's geographically distant from the strongest full bust manufacturers.? Thus, our options have historically been confined to naive or formerly native brands such as Wacoal, Maidenform and Victoria's Secret. We must remember it's expensive, complex, and time consuming to move European lingerie from their region to ours. However, Poland has a bit of an advantage in the other direction. They have a closer neighbor that is also a big country and definitely full of eager consumers: Russia.
In meetings, I heard a few comments about the Russian market and Polish suppliers which piqued my interest. On one dimension of this subject, lingerie professionals all agreed that their Russian customers prefer dramatic, luxurious designs. One shop employee thought their taste leaned towards the guady side, while another suggested that they were visually bored when lingerie shopping in Poland. A company CEO told me that their largest market was in Russia and another brand admitted that it was a complex process to export successfully there. This relationship brings up many questions and might be an explanation of why Polish lingerie can seem so...well, foreign? On a previous post in this series, a commenter wrote that the marketing standards threw her off, that the images felt risque or excessively done up. There are also some bras (i.e., Corin's Amanda) that aren't my taste at all, but I was told were bestsellers in Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, etc. On our side of things, French companies have had to react to their growing American market and release more padded, beige, or simple styles. Likewise, some of the full bust Polish brands have a deeper bond with, or have evolved alongside, demand in Russia and the surrounding area.
Have you ever noticed photographs of Polish lingerie look 'different'??
Do you like opulent, dramatic bras?? Have you ever considered we might share a "North American" sense of beauty & lingerie??
If you're Russian, of Russian descent, or have ever visited Russia, let me know your thoughts!
I'd love to hear what everyone here thinks of this...
Higher soy intake prior to lung cancer diagnosis linked to longer survival in womenPublic release date: 25-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Nicole Racadag nicole.racadag@asco.org 571-483-1354 American Society of Clinical Oncology
In this News Digest:
Summary of a study being published online March 25, 2013 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, reports that Chinese women who consumed more soy before being diagnosed with lung cancer lived longer compared with those who consumed less soy.
Quote for attribution to Jyoti Patel, MD, American Society of Clinical Oncology Cancer Communications Committee member and lung cancer expert
Links to additional information on Cancer.Net, ASCO's cancer information Website
New results from a large observational follow-up study conducted in Shanghai, China, indicate that women with lung cancer who consumed more soy food prior to their cancer diagnosis lived longer than those who consumed less soy. The study, published March 25 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, provides the first scientific evidence that soy intake has a favorable effect on lung cancer survival.
"To our knowledge, this is the first study to suggest an association between high soy consumption before a lung cancer diagnosis and better overall survival," said lead study author Gong Yang, MD, MPH, a research associate professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. "Although the findings are very promising, it's too early to give any dietary recommendations for the general public on the basis of this single study."
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death among women worldwide, with only one in seven patients surviving for 5 years after diagnosis. Emerging evidence suggests that female hormones, particularly estrogens, may affect lung cancer outcomes. Soy contains isoflavones, estrogen-like substances that are also known to affect molecular pathways involved in tumor development and growth.
A recent study by the same research team showed that high intake of soy food was associated with a 40 percent decrease in lung cancer risk.
This new study assessed the impact of soy intake on lung cancer survival among participants of the Shanghai Women's Health Study, which tracked cancer incidence in 74,941 Shanghai women. Information on usual dietary intake of soy food (soy milk, tofu, fresh and dry soybeans, soy sprouts, and other soy products) was collected in-person at study enrollment and again two years later. Soy food and isoflavone content of various food products was calculated based on the Chinese Food Composition tables. During the course of the study, 444 women were diagnosed with lung cancer. The median time between the first dietary assessment and cancer diagnosis was 5.8 years.
In this analysis, patients were divided into three groups according to soy food intake prior to lung cancer diagnosis. The highest and lowest intake levels were equivalent to approximately 4 oz or more and 2 oz or less tofu per day, respectively. Patients with the highest soy food intake had markedly better overall survival compared with those with the lowest intake ? 60 percent of patients in the highest intake group and 50 percent in the lowest intake group were alive at twelve months after diagnosis.
The risk of death decreased with increasing soy intake until the intake reached a level equivalent to about 4 oz of tofu per day. Researchers found no additional survival benefit from consuming higher amounts of soy. Similar trends were observed when dietary isoflavone intake was evaluated.
The findings may not necessarily apply beyond this study's population, which has a very low prevalence of cigarette smoking, a known risk factor for the development of lung cancer, and postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy use, a factor that may negatively affect lung cancer prognosis. In addition, the overall soy food intake is higher in Chinese women than in Western women.
"But given the increasing popularity of soy food in the U.S. and elsewhere, and a sizable number of women who don't smoke, the results of this study could have wider relevance," said Yang.
Future research will explore whether consumption of soy food after diagnosis of lung cancer affects survival, particularly among patients with early-stage disease, who may benefit most from a nutritional intervention.
This research was supported by the U.S. National Cancer Institute and conducted by investigators at Vanderbilt University in collaboration with those from the Shanghai Cancer Institute and NCI.
ASCO Perspective
Jyoti Patel, MD, ASCO Cancer Communications Committee member and lung cancer expert
"This study provides some early evidence that consuming large amounts of soy food may help women, particularly never smokers, live longer if they should develop lung cancer."
###
Helpful Links from Cancer.Net, ASCO's cancer information website:
General Nutrition Recommendations - http://www.cancer.net/all-about-cancer/risk-factors-and-prevention/diet-and-nutrition/general-nutrition-recommendations
The Role of Major Nutrients in Cancer Prevention - http://www.cancer.net/all-about-cancer/risk-factors-and-prevention/diet-and-nutrition/role-major-nutrients-cancer-prevention
Guide to Lung Cancer - http://www.cancer.net/cancer-types/lung-cancer
The Journal of Clinical Oncology is the tri-monthly peer-reviewed journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the world's leading professional society representing physicians who treat people with cancer.
ATTRIBUTION TO THE JOURNAL OF CLINICAL ONCOLOGY IS REQUESTED IN ALL NEWS COVERAGE.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
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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.
Higher soy intake prior to lung cancer diagnosis linked to longer survival in womenPublic release date: 25-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Nicole Racadag nicole.racadag@asco.org 571-483-1354 American Society of Clinical Oncology
In this News Digest:
Summary of a study being published online March 25, 2013 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, reports that Chinese women who consumed more soy before being diagnosed with lung cancer lived longer compared with those who consumed less soy.
Quote for attribution to Jyoti Patel, MD, American Society of Clinical Oncology Cancer Communications Committee member and lung cancer expert
Links to additional information on Cancer.Net, ASCO's cancer information Website
New results from a large observational follow-up study conducted in Shanghai, China, indicate that women with lung cancer who consumed more soy food prior to their cancer diagnosis lived longer than those who consumed less soy. The study, published March 25 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, provides the first scientific evidence that soy intake has a favorable effect on lung cancer survival.
"To our knowledge, this is the first study to suggest an association between high soy consumption before a lung cancer diagnosis and better overall survival," said lead study author Gong Yang, MD, MPH, a research associate professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. "Although the findings are very promising, it's too early to give any dietary recommendations for the general public on the basis of this single study."
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death among women worldwide, with only one in seven patients surviving for 5 years after diagnosis. Emerging evidence suggests that female hormones, particularly estrogens, may affect lung cancer outcomes. Soy contains isoflavones, estrogen-like substances that are also known to affect molecular pathways involved in tumor development and growth.
A recent study by the same research team showed that high intake of soy food was associated with a 40 percent decrease in lung cancer risk.
This new study assessed the impact of soy intake on lung cancer survival among participants of the Shanghai Women's Health Study, which tracked cancer incidence in 74,941 Shanghai women. Information on usual dietary intake of soy food (soy milk, tofu, fresh and dry soybeans, soy sprouts, and other soy products) was collected in-person at study enrollment and again two years later. Soy food and isoflavone content of various food products was calculated based on the Chinese Food Composition tables. During the course of the study, 444 women were diagnosed with lung cancer. The median time between the first dietary assessment and cancer diagnosis was 5.8 years.
In this analysis, patients were divided into three groups according to soy food intake prior to lung cancer diagnosis. The highest and lowest intake levels were equivalent to approximately 4 oz or more and 2 oz or less tofu per day, respectively. Patients with the highest soy food intake had markedly better overall survival compared with those with the lowest intake ? 60 percent of patients in the highest intake group and 50 percent in the lowest intake group were alive at twelve months after diagnosis.
The risk of death decreased with increasing soy intake until the intake reached a level equivalent to about 4 oz of tofu per day. Researchers found no additional survival benefit from consuming higher amounts of soy. Similar trends were observed when dietary isoflavone intake was evaluated.
The findings may not necessarily apply beyond this study's population, which has a very low prevalence of cigarette smoking, a known risk factor for the development of lung cancer, and postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy use, a factor that may negatively affect lung cancer prognosis. In addition, the overall soy food intake is higher in Chinese women than in Western women.
"But given the increasing popularity of soy food in the U.S. and elsewhere, and a sizable number of women who don't smoke, the results of this study could have wider relevance," said Yang.
Future research will explore whether consumption of soy food after diagnosis of lung cancer affects survival, particularly among patients with early-stage disease, who may benefit most from a nutritional intervention.
This research was supported by the U.S. National Cancer Institute and conducted by investigators at Vanderbilt University in collaboration with those from the Shanghai Cancer Institute and NCI.
ASCO Perspective
Jyoti Patel, MD, ASCO Cancer Communications Committee member and lung cancer expert
"This study provides some early evidence that consuming large amounts of soy food may help women, particularly never smokers, live longer if they should develop lung cancer."
###
Helpful Links from Cancer.Net, ASCO's cancer information website:
General Nutrition Recommendations - http://www.cancer.net/all-about-cancer/risk-factors-and-prevention/diet-and-nutrition/general-nutrition-recommendations
The Role of Major Nutrients in Cancer Prevention - http://www.cancer.net/all-about-cancer/risk-factors-and-prevention/diet-and-nutrition/role-major-nutrients-cancer-prevention
Guide to Lung Cancer - http://www.cancer.net/cancer-types/lung-cancer
The Journal of Clinical Oncology is the tri-monthly peer-reviewed journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the world's leading professional society representing physicians who treat people with cancer.
ATTRIBUTION TO THE JOURNAL OF CLINICAL ONCOLOGY IS REQUESTED IN ALL NEWS COVERAGE.
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By Simon Evans DENVER, Colorado, March 23 (Reuters) - Furious Costa Rica coach Jorge Luis Pinto said it was an "embarassment to football" that Friday's World Cup qualifier with the United States was played in strong snow, while his federation promised to make an official protest. The U.S. won 1-0 but Pinto was riled the game was played on a snowy field with a covering that became deeper as the game wore on. "It was an embarrassment to football, disrespectful to the game," an animated Pinto told reporters. ...
BRUSSELS (AP) ? Authorities from Cyprus and the so-called troika of international lenders ? the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund ? reached agreement on a bailout loan for the country of up to 10 billion euros. A look at key parts of the deal:
?Cyprus had to come up with 5.8 billion euros somehow to secure the bailout.
?Depositors in the country's second-largest bank, Laiki, with accounts of more than 100,000 euros will lose an unspecified amount of their money. The move is expected to yield 4.2 billion euros overall ? or most of the needed amount.
?The remainder of the money will come from tax increases and privatizations.
?Cyprus had to agree to restructure its banking sector, which is unusually large for the size of its economy.
?Laiki will be dissolved at once and split into a "good bank" and a "bad bank." The "good bank" portion of Laiki will be folded into the largest bank, the Bank of Cyprus.
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The new pope began Holy Week on Sunday with a sermon invoking the folk wisdom of his grandmother, further emphasizing a new-look papacy that aims to be closer to the people.
Leading his first major service since his election, Pope Francis addressed a vast crowd gathered for Palm Sunday with simple language, urging them to shun corruption and greed and reach out to "the humble, the poor, the forgotten".
Departing from his prepared text and referring to wealth, he said: "You can't take it with you, my grandmother used to say".
Since his election on March 13, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina has broken with the more esoteric and, some would say, ostentatious style of his predecessor Benedict, saying he wants to move the Church closer to the poor and suffering.
"Let us look around: how many wounds are inflicted upon humanity by evil! Wars, violence, economic conflicts that hit the weakest, greed for money, power, corruption, divisions, crimes against human life and against creation," he said.
Francis has decided to hold Holy Thursday service this week in a juvenile jail on Rome's outskirts rather than in the Vatican or in a Rome Basilica, where it has been held by all his predecessor in living memory.
He has also invited simple workers, such as the Vatican gardeners and street cleaners, to attend his morning Masses in the Vatican hotel where is still living ahead of moving into the papal apartments in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace.
The service before some 250,000 people waving palm and olive branches in St. Peter's Square gave the new pope another opportunity to stress that he wants a Catholic Church that has been riven by scandal to be more austere and just.
Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus' entry into Jerusalem five days before he died. At the end of the service, Francis was driven around the square several times in an open jeep so he could be seen by more people in the huge throng, which overflowed and stretched for blocks down to the River Tiber.
The Church today, he said, like Jesus 2,000 years ago, wanted to transmit a message of hope, "especially in the hearts of the simple, the humble, the poor, the forgotten, those who do not matter in the eyes of the world".
After blessing palm and olive branches - both symbols of peace - Francis, wearing red and white vestments, walked to the altar on the steps of St. Peter's Basilica to conduct the outdoor Mass.
He again urged defense of the environment, speaking of "our personal sins: our failures in love and respect towards God, towards our neighbor and towards the whole of creation".
BRAZIL TRIP
Francis confirmed that he will go to Rio de Janeiro at the end of the July to take part in the Church's World Day of Youth, a gathering of Catholic young people that takes place in a different city every two years.
The new pope has inherited a Church riven by problems that include sexual abuse scandals in many countries and allegations of corruption in the central Vatican bureaucracy.
Many people have expressed a wish that Francis could give the Church and the Vatican a better image.
"We are very happy. We are praying and hoping for good things from the pope and from the Church," said Alessandra Paillalef, a fellow Argentine who came to Rome to see her countryman lead Holy Week celebrations, which end on Easter Sunday, next week.
On Saturday afternoon Francis flew by helicopter to the papal summer residence south of Rome at Castel Gandolfo, where his predecessor, now called "Pope Emeritus Benedict" has been living since he abdicated on February 28.
It was the first time in at least 600 years that a reigning pope and a former pope faced each other.
While the Vatican did not disclose what they discussed, it was likely that the conversation included problems of Vatican administration.
Before he resigned, Benedict left a secret report for Francis on the so-called "Vatileaks" scandal in which sensitive papal documents were stolen from the pope's desk and leaked to the media by his butler, Paolo Gabriele.
Last year Gabriele was arrested and sentenced by a Vatican court to 18 months in prison but Benedict pardoned him and he was freed last Christmas.
Pope Francis, left, and Pope emeritus Benedict XVI pray together in Castel Gandolfo Saturday, in this photo provided by the Vatican paper L'Osservatore Romano.
By Claudio Lavanga and Emma Ong, NBC News
Pope Francis and his predecessor Benedict prayed together before having lunch in a historic meeting Saturday.
The new pontiff flew to the papal residence at Castel Gandolfo in the Alban Hills outside of Rome by helicopter Saturday. Pope Benedict XVI has been living there since he resigned Feb. 28, becoming the first pope to step down in 600 years.
Both men wore white papal outfits.
Father Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, said that Benedict and Francis had embraced at the helipad, then went to a private chapel to pray.
Benedict, who looked frail and walked with a cane, told Francis to kneel in front of the altar, but Francis said, "let's kneel together" and they did so, Lombardi said.
"We're brothers," Francis reportedly told the former pope as the two prayed together on the same prie dieu.
They then had a private conversation for about 40 minutes in the library, before going to lunch.
Francis presented Benedict with a gift of an icon of the Virgin Mary.
?When I saw this picture of the Madonna of Humility, my thoughts turned immediately to you,? Francis told his predecessor, according to Eurovision News.
The Associated Press reported that crowds gathered near then villa in the hope of catching a glimpse of history.
The news agency speculated about what the two men would discuss:
The two popes might discuss the big issues facing the church: The rise of secularism in the world, the drop in priestly vocations in Europe, the competition that the Catholic Church faces in Latin America and Africa from evangelical Pentecostal movements.
They might also discuss pressing issues concerning Francis' new job: Benedict left a host of unfinished business on Francis' plate, including the outcome of a top-secret investigation into the leaks of papal documents last year.
Francis might want to sound Benedict out on his ideas for management changes in the Holy See administration, a priority given the complete dysfunctional government he has inherited.
They might also discuss the future of Monsignor Georg Gaenswein, Benedict's trusted aide who has had the difficult task of escorting his old pope into retirement and then returning to the Vatican to serve his successor.
Gaenswein has appeared visibly upset and withdrawn at times as he has been by Francis' side. The Vatican has said Francis' primary secretary will be Monsignor Alfred Xuereb, who had been the No. 2 secretary under Benedict.
NBC News' Ian Johnston and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Related:
Pope Francis spoke of being 'dazzled' by girl, possible change of celibacy rule
Pope stuns newsstand owner by calling to cancel home delivery
Pope's personal touch with crowds a 'nightmare' for security, expert says
This story was originally published on Sat Mar 23, 2013 7:56 AM EDT
FILE - In this March 22, 2013 file photo, Chinese President Xi Jinping's wife Peng Liyuan smiles after arriving at the government airport Vnukovo II, outside Moscow, Russia. New Chinese first lady Peng is emerging as Chinese diplomacy's latest star. A well-known performer on state television, the glamorous Peng was featured prominently on Sunday's state media coverage of President Xi Jinping's activities in Russia. The visit is Xi's first since assuming the presidency earlier this month. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, File)
FILE - In this March 22, 2013 file photo, Chinese President Xi Jinping's wife Peng Liyuan smiles after arriving at the government airport Vnukovo II, outside Moscow, Russia. New Chinese first lady Peng is emerging as Chinese diplomacy's latest star. A well-known performer on state television, the glamorous Peng was featured prominently on Sunday's state media coverage of President Xi Jinping's activities in Russia. The visit is Xi's first since assuming the presidency earlier this month. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, File)
BEIJING (AP) ? Glamorous new first lady Peng Liyuan has emerged as Chinese diplomacy's latest star, charming audiences and cutting a very different profile from her all-but invisible predecessors on her debut official visit abroad to Russia.
A celebrated performer on state television, Peng featured prominently in Sunday's Chinese media coverage of husband and President Xi Jinping's activities in Moscow. The visit is Xi's first since he assumed the presidency earlier this month.
Peng watched song and dance routines at a performing arts school on Saturday, but did not join in as some media reports had suggested she might. Xi's trip continues this week with stops in Tanzania, South Africa and Congo, during which Peng is expected to hold other public events.
An internationally popular first lady could help soften China's sometimes abrasive international image and mark a victory in its so-far unsuccessful struggle to win over global public opinion.
At the same time, she could boost the popularity of the country's new leadership at a time when citizens are feeling increasingly alienated and are fed up with the ruling class's corruption and regal airs.
In recent years, the wives of China's top officials have traditionally gone almost unseen at home and attracted little attention while accompanying their husbands on state visits abroad.
That was in part a negative reaction to Mao Zedong's wife, Jiang Qing, who was widely despised and later imprisoned for her role as leader of the radical Gang of Four, which mercilessly persecuted political opponents during the chaotic 1966-76 Cultural Revolution.
Recently retired Premier Wen Jiabao's wife, Zhang Peili, became known for her role in the country's gem trade and was never seen in public with her husband. Meanwhile, Bo Xilai, one of China's most ambitious politicians, was brought down in spectacular style last year following his wife's involvement in the murder of a British businessman, setting off the country's nastiest political scandal in years.
Women in general wield relatively little power at the top of the Chinese power structure, with just two sitting on the ruling Communist Party's 25-member decision-making Politburo.
Peng's emerging high profile appears to be an extension of Xi's own confidence as he consolidates his control on power and presses a more assertive role for China in global affairs, said Steve Tsang, director of the China Policy Institute at Britain's University of Nottingham. Her training as a singer and stage performer offers the perfect preparation for such a role, he said.
"Peng is projecting a certain poise and confidence that Xi himself is carrying and he doesn't need to worry about what other (politicians) might think of her," Tsang said.
Peng's image was splashed across Chinese newspapers over the weekend, shown descending arm-in-arm with Xi as they descended from their aircraft after arriving in Moscow on Friday. Her visit to the arts school was carried by state broadcaster CCTV on its main Sunday news broadcast and reported in national newspapers.
The popular Beijing News tabloid ran a full page of items on Peng's appearances on Sunday, alongside a photo of her arriving at a speech Xi gave Saturday, dressed in an elegant Chinese-style silk tunic and skirt.
"In her role as first lady on this visit abroad, Peng Liyuan is exhibiting China's soft power," the paper quoted Wang Fan, head the Institute of International Relations at China Foreign Affairs University, as saying. "As a singer and artist and a long-term advocate for poverty relief and other causes, Peng has an excellent public image."
Much of the coverage focused on her personal style, with a report on the mass-market sina.com website noting with satisfaction that the black leather clutch she paired with the outfit was made to order by a Chinese firm in the southwestern city of Chengdu, a flattering contrast with prominent Chinese female politicians scorned publicly for appearing decked head to toe in foreign designer brands.
"In practical terms, this is an important show of support for China's domestic industries, but in the larger sense, it should raise national self-respect and confidence," read a posting on China's popular Weibo microblogging service left by Lin Zhibo, Gansu provincial bureau chief of the Communist Party's flagship newspaper, People's Daily.
Chen Li, a real estate agent from the central city of Changsha, said Peng was well-known for her modest ways and calm, dignified manner.
"She's known to be elegant and fashionable, but she's also very low-key and doesn't seem arrogant in the way that you usually associate with the wives of top leaders," Chen said.
Peng, 50, largely retired from public life after Xi was made China's leader-in-waiting in 2007, but in recent years has won new acclaim as an ambassador for the World Health Organization. Among the issues she has worked on are tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS ? diseases that still carry considerable social stigma in China.
She also made headlines last year by appearing alongside Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates as part of a campaign to discourage smoking, a high-profile cause in a country where about two-thirds of men smoke.
Peng is Xi's second wife, and the two are separated in age by almost two decades. While Xi's father was a leading revolutionary and former vice-premier, making his son a member of the "red aristocracy," Peng comes from relatively humble origins and joined the People's Liberation Army when she was 18. The couple has one daughter, a student at Harvard who remains out of the limelight.
While sometimes described as a folk singer, Peng holds the rank of PLA major general and is best known for her stirring renditions of patriotic odes, often while wearing full dress uniform.
Although her rank is largely honorary, her military status could lead to awkward questions, said University of Nottingham's Tsang.
"Sooner or later, someone is going to ask whether that's completely normal, even if she doesn't have any real military or political ambitions," Tsang said.
Gwyneth Paltrow is touting her spring wardrobe edit of outfits to fit your busy life.
By Kurt Schlosser, TODAY
Gwyneth Paltrow manages to captivate large swaths of the population by telling them how to eat, dress and cleanse their colons. The Goop editor was back at it this week with her "Annual Spring Edit" -- a list of essential style items for the season. Grand total: $458,003.
"Find inspiration for outfits for all aspects of your busy life," the actress and mom tells readers of her website.
So what has Paltrow deemed essential? Let's click around and see.
For the "Everyday Punk" look, there's the studded leather iPad case by Valentino ($795) paired nicely with some satin-trimmed leather pumps by Gianvito Rossi ($750).
Wanna look "Pretty in Pastels"? Paltrow calls this your "daytime basic attire," so you're gonna need those embellished shorts by Miu Miu ($2,100). Just don't snag them with your gold, multi-strand cuff by Carolina Bucci ($7,080).
In the "Maxi at Home" category -- in which "for?a night in with guests, a long skirt manages to look dressed up while still conveying a relaxed feel" -- you can maxi your credit card with the Temperley London satin and tulle skirt ($1,615).
You want to be "Bright and Bold" for "city walks and the school run," Paltrow advises. You're walking in the wrong part of the city if you choose the cheapest item of the bunch -- a neon J. Crew sweater ($78). Luckily there's a metal-framed lizard clutch from The Row to dress it up ($5,950).
Just in time for March Madness couch time, the "Silk for Slouching" category is "perfect for lounging around on the weekend." Try not to dribble chicken wing sauce on your pants by Chloe ($1,695) or your herringbone knitted cotton hooded sweater by Alexander Wang ($365).
We like to kid Goop-y Gwyneth for directing us to eat kale in $1,500 stilettos. Over at Jezebel, there's a more dedicated eye trained on the woman who brands herself as your "most trusted girlfriend on the web." Check out the site's Do, Make, Be, Barf: The Year in Goop, for example.
LONDON (AP) ? Broadway sensation "The Book of Mormon" has landed in London, to a warm reception from theatergoers and mixed notices from critics
Reviewers delivered their verdicts on the show Friday, after an opening night that counted celebrities including "Homeland" star Damian Lewis and Duran Duran singer Simon Le Bon among the audience.
The exuberantly profane show by "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone and "Avenue Q" composer Robert Lopez tells the story of two Mormon missionaries sent to spread the word in Uganda.
Most critics praised the production's skill and energy, though the Daily Telegraph's Charles Spencer said "its mixture of satire and syrup ultimately proves repellent."
Daily Mail critic Quentin Letts was even less enthusiastic: "I tired of it after 10 minutes."
And the Guardian's Michael Billington judged it "mildly amusing. ... a safe, conservative show for middle America."
Reviewers were full of praise for stars Gavin Creel and Jared Gertner as the young missionaries Elder Price and Elder Cunningham. Libby Purves in The Times loved the "big belting numbers, witty lyrics and joyfully athletic dances," but was troubled by the show's message.
She said the musical, "beneath its jollity, is morally null and ? without seeming to notice it ? racist."
"I don't see any Ugandans wanting to" see it, she said. "Even though the dances are great."
The Independent's Paul Taylor was more positive, saying: "I absolutely loved it ? albeit slightly guiltily."
Several critics compared the show unfavorably to "Jerry Springer: the Opera," a British musical that drew angry protests from some Christians.
Far from picketing "The Book of Mormon," the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints took out three pages of ads in the program, telling audience members: "You've seen the play ... now read the book."
"The Book of Mormon" won nine Tony Awards in 2011, including best musical, and is a hot ticket in London, where it is sold out through July at the Prince of Wales Theatre.
Among audience members at one preview performance was Prime Minister David Cameron, who was seen laughing heartily throughout.
Stone was impressed the prime minister had attended.
"That would not happen in America," he said. "A politician just wouldn't come to ... they just wouldn't be seen near our (stuff). No way. If you want to get elected, you don't go near Matt and Trey."
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Associated Press writer Hilary Fox contributed to this report.
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Online:
Jill Lawless can be reached at http://Twitter.com/JillLawless
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A half century after his music career began, Eric Burdon is as prolific as ever.? The founding Animals singer released a new solo album, ?Til Your River Runs Dry, just this past January, and he?s now preparing to publish his life story.? The rock legend has signed a joint deal with Alfred Music Publishing and his record label, ABKCO, to release a memoir titled Breathless sometime later this year. ![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sxrCh2kmtm6TVTGvsQOi-kH0cb-rjTU4Mvi_q56VW0El9sDqAH_aHok4Pq0o0eUlsNNWgCzTctIoIhCFm8ErAgHGn2VhpXbtMcT3kNupo=s0-d){kind=small}
Public release date: 25-Mar-2013
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