Gates to testify in $1B lawsuit against Microsoft (AP)

SALT LAKE CITY ? Microsoft's Bill Gates was set to testify Monday in a $1 billion antitrust lawsuit accusing the software maker of duping a competitor prior to its rollout of Windows 95.

The case against Microsoft has been ongoing in federal court in Salt Lake City for about a month.

Utah-based Novell Inc. sued Microsoft in 2004, claiming the Redmond, Wash., company violated U.S. antitrust laws through its arrangements with other computer makers when it launched Windows 95. Novell says it was later forced to sell WordPerfect for a $1.2 billion loss.

The company argues that Microsoft co-founder Gates ordered company engineers to reject WordPerfect as a Windows 95 application because he feared it was too good. WordPerfect's share of the market then plummeted from nearly 50 percent to less than 10 percent as Microsoft's own office programs took hold.

Novell attorney Jeff Johnson has conceded that Microsoft was under no legal obligation to provide advance access to the Windows 95 operating system so Novell could prepare a compatible WordPerfect version. Microsoft, however, enticed Novell to work on a version, only to withdraw support months before Windows 95 hit the market, he said.

Microsoft lawyer David Tulchin said Gates decided against installing WordPerfect because it threatened to crash Windows and couldn't be fixed in time for the rollout. He argued that Novell's missed opportunity was its own fault, and that Microsoft had no obligation to give a competitor a leg up.

"Novell never complained to Microsoft," Tulchin said during arguments Friday. "There's nothing in the evidence, no documents."

Johnson maintains Novell was tricked in violation of federal antitrust laws so Microsoft could monopolize the market.

"We got stabbed in the back," he said.

Microsoft is seeking a dismissal, calling the claims groundless.

Throughout arguments Friday, U.S. District Judge Frederick Motz openly expressed doubts that Novell's claims had merit.

"I don't see why I have to give a product to a competitor so he can beat me," Motz told Novell attorneys.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111121/ap_on_hi_te/us_antitrust_lawsuit_microsoft

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Egypt Protests: Death Toll Rises As Clashes Between Police, Protesters Continue

CAIRO -- Egyptian police clashed with anti-government protesters for a fifth day in central Cairo Wednesday as a rights group raised the overall death toll from the ongoing unrest to 38.

The clashes came one day after tens of thousands of protesters in Tahrir Square rejected a promise by Egypt's military ruler to speed up a presidential election to the first half of next year. The military previously has floated late next year or early 2013 as the likely date for the vote, the last step in the process of transferring power to a civilian government after Hosni Mubarak's ouster.

In a televised address late Tuesday, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi did not set a date for handing authority to a civilian government, but instead offered a referendum on the immediate return of the armed forces to their barracks.

The Tahrir crowd, along with protesters in a string of other cities across the nation, want Tantawi to step down immediately in favor of an interim civilian council to run the nation's affairs until elections for a new parliament and president are held.

Wednesday's street battles centered around the heavily fortified Interior Ministry, near the iconic square, with police and army troops using tear gas and rubber bullets to keep the protesters from storming the ministry, a sprawling complex that has for long been associated with the hated police and Mubarak's former regime.

The protesters say they have no wish to storm the ministry but were preventing the police and army from evicting them from Tahrir by pinning them down a safe distance away from the massive plaza.

Elnadeem Center, an Egyptian rights group known for its careful research of victims of police violence, said late Tuesday that the number of protesters killed in clashes nationwide since Saturday is 38, nine more than the Health Ministry's death toll. The clashes also have left at least 2,000 protesters wounded, mostly from gas inhalation or injuries caused by rubber bullets fired by the army and the police. The police deny using live ammunition.

Shady el-Nagar, a doctor in one of Tahrir's field hospitals, said three bodies arrived in the facility on Wednesday. All three had bullet wounds. "We don't know if these were caused by live ammunition or pellets because pellets can be deadly when fired from a short distance," he said.

The five days of clashes are the longest spate of uninterrupted violence since the 18-day uprising that toppled the former regime in February, deepening the country's economic and security woes. the unrest also threatens to cloud the country's first post-Mubarak parliamentary elections since Mubarak's February ouster, which are scheduled to begin on Nov. 28.

In his address, Tantawi rejected all criticism of the military's handling of the transitional period and sought to cast himself and the generals on the military council he heads as the nation's foremost patriots. Significantly, he made no mention of the protesters gathered in Tahrir Square or elsewhere in the country.

"Our demands are clear," said Khaled El-Sayed, a protester from the Youth Revolution Coalition and a candidate in the Nov. 28 parliamentary election. "We want the military council to step down and hand over authority to a national salvation government with full authority."

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/23/egypt-protests-death-toll_n_1109469.html

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A Walkable Roller Coaster for the Coaster-phobic, and More from TreeHugger [EcoModo]

This week on TreeHugger, a giant robotic snake teaches us a lesson about climate change, a walkable roller coaster, new iPhone apps to try, and more! More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/-7_tw0KA8-4/a-walkable-roller-coaster-for-the-coaster+phobic-and-more-from-treehugger

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Video: Gingrich leading GOP field in new poll

>>> the presidential campaign trail an apparent surge for newt gingrich . if you've again following now leading in a new " usa today " gallop poll , putting him ahead of mitt romney . gingrich is the sixth different republican to lead in the polls. gingrich had a few choice words for the occupy wall street protesters.

>> they take over a public park they didn't pay for to go nearby to use bathrooms they didn't pay for to beg for food they don't want to pay for to obstruct places from people who go to work so they can explain that they are the paradigms of virtue to which we owe everything.

>> the most explosive quote from that gathering he said the protesters need to gate job and take a bath.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/45393862/

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Okla. State to examine travel rules after deaths (AP)

OKLAHOMA CITY ? Oklahoma State University officials will examine the school's travel policy in the wake of a plane crash that killed women's basketball coach Kurt Budke, an assistant coach and two other people in central Arkansas, a spokesman said Sunday.

"Certainly, it's a little early, we're still kind of recovering from this, but we'll certainly look at the policy," university spokesman Gary Shutt said. "Any time you have a terrible accident like this, definitely you look at the policy."

A memorial service is scheduled for 1 p.m. Monday at Gallagher-Iba Arena for Budke, 50, assistant coach Miranda Serna, 36, and the others who died in Thursday's crash. Organizers were working to finalize plans Sunday.

The two coaches were killed when the plane they were riding crashed into a wooded hillside in central Arkansas. The pilot, Olin Branstetter, 82, and his wife, Paula, 79, also died.

Budke and Serna's deaths come more than 10 years after two men's basketball players and eight others associated with the program were killed in a January 2001 plane crash in Colorado. Changes were made to the travel policy, including rules requiring two pilots to be on board for all OSU travel involving student athletes and aircraft to be powered by two or more turbine engines.

"It does not apply to recruiting trips for coaches," who were allowed to make travel arrangements at their own discretion, Shutt said.

Budke and Serna were flying to Little Rock to watch two prospective recruits play in a game, two days before the Cowgirls were scheduled to play two weekend games, Shutt said.

"Obviously the high school season coincides with the college season, so if you want to go see players you need to have the flexibility and ability to make quick trips," Shutt said.

The National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the crash, already has ruled out weather as a factor. A spokesman didn't immediately return calls and emails seeking comment on Sunday.

According to Federal Aviation Administration records, Branstetter passed a medical examination, was certified to be a commercial pilot and was flight-instrument rated.

"Every pilot, regardless of age, is required to have a medical exam a minimum of every two years, and every pilot must also do a check ride with a certified instructor every two years," FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford said. "That means you have to both prove that you're medically fit to fly, as well as ride with someone who can sign off on your abilities to handle the duties that come with being a pilot."

Shutt said it was his understanding that Branstetter hadn't taken coaches on any other flights before Thursday's crash. Branstetter, a former state senator, was an Oklahoma State University alumnus and donated to scholarships at the school, Shutt said.

Meanwhile, the Cowgirls' participated in a light practice on Saturday, Shutt said. The Cowgirls were scheduled to play Grambling State on Saturday and Texas-Arlington on Sunday, but those games were canceled.

Associate head coach Jim Littell has been named interim head coach. The next game is set for this coming Saturday.

"The intent is to resume the season at some point," Shutt said. "(Team officials) will assess things and move forward as quickly as they can."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111121/ap_on_sp_co_ne/bkw_fatal_plane_crash_coaches_killed

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iLuv iSP210 MusicPac Portable Stereo Speaker Case for iPad

I love my iPad 2, but I have to admit that its speaker is lacking. ?I find myself cupping my hand around the back of the iPad 2 to try to redirect the sound to the front – where my ears are. ?The iSP210 MusicPac Portable Stereo Speaker Case for iPad from iLuv is a [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/11/18/iluv-isp210-musicpac-portable-stereo-speaker-case-for-ipad/

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Perry: Obama policies have made border less safe (AP)

NEW YORK ? Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry on Friday criticized President Barack Obama for policies Perry said have endangered agents patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border, the latest attempt by the Texas governor to shift the focus from his GOP rivals and his struggling campaign to the Democratic incumbent.

But several of Perry's claims against Obama are either exaggerated or misrepresented.

Perry, in New York City to accept an award from the Federal Law Enforcement Foundation, said inadequate funding and "bureaucratic bungling" by Washington had made the southern border more dangerous.

He singled out Operation Fast and Furious, an arms trafficking probe run by the Justice Department that allowed AK-47s and other weapons to leak into the black market.

"Our own federal government provided more than 2,000 firearms to some of the most dangerous criminals in North America," Perry said, adding that Attorney General Eric Holder should show the same courage and sense of responsibility as agents in the field.

Holder has acknowledged mistakes in the operation, which focused on gun shops in Phoenix and tried to track gun-smuggling beyond straw purchasers to previously unreachable gun-running kingpins. Officials say agents lost track of nearly half of the 2,000 guns. Some of the firearms were recovered at crime scenes in Mexico.

The operation came to light after two assault rifles purchased by a buyer under scrutiny in the operation turned up at the scene of an Arizona shootout that killed a Customs and Border Protection agent.

Many Republicans have sharply criticized Operation Fast and Furious and some have called on Holder to resign.

The Associated Press has reported that an investigation into the operation has turned up Justice Department documents indicating that the so-called "gun walking" tactic also was used during the Republican administration of George W. Bush.

Perry's advisers hope his stepped-up criticism of Obama and Washington could help reinvigorate Perry's lagging effort less than seven weeks before Iowa's caucuses on Jan. 3.

Polls show Perry badly trailing several of his rivals in Iowa, including former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Georgia businessman Herman Cain.

Perry's latest campaign ad took out of context a comment Obama made and gave viewers the impression that the president had said all Americans are lazy. Obama was talking about the U.S. record of attracting foreign investment.

In an interview with Fox News, Perry wrongly claimed that Obama came from a privileged background and didn't understand ordinary people's problems.

"He never had to really work for anything. He never had to go through what Americans are going through," Perry said. "We need a president who has been through their ups and downs in life and understands what it's like to have to deal with the issues of our economy that we have today in America."

Obama was raised by a single mother who, at times, used food stamps, and his grandparents in a modest apartment in Honolulu.

Democrats are responding to Perry's new strategy by tweaking him for his well-publicized flubs.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi answered Perry's invitation to meet and debate his proposal for a part-time Congress by ridiculing a debate performance in which Perry forgot the name of the third federal agency he would dismantle.

"He did ask if I could debate here in Washington on Monday," Pelosi said. "Monday I'm going to be in Portland in the morning, I'm going to be visiting some of our labs in California in the afternoon, and I can't remember what the third thing was."

___(equals)

Elliott reported from Washington. Associated Press reporter Pete Yost in Washington also contributed to this report.

___

Follow Beth Fouhy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/bfouhy

Follow Philip Elliott on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Philip_Elliott

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111118/ap_on_el_pr/us_perry_obama

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Bag Week Review: Crumpler Pinnacle of Horror

This is my new go-to bag. That's saying something, too. Despite reviewing dozens of computers bags during my tenure at TechCrunch, I've stuck with the Ogio HipHop for years. It's made four CES trips, three to CEDIA, a few E3s and countless random flights around the country. I love it. But now it's just hanging in my closest. The Crumpler Pinnacle of Horror now hangs on the hook by my door, always ready to hit the road.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/dbQ_ylxMX7g/

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Lern2Play

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http://www.lern2play.com Lern2Play.com features a large MMORPG Forum with over 265,000 posts. Active MMORPG and MMO community and MMO Games Forums. Join now to talk about Lord of the Rings Online, World of Warcraft, Age of Conan, Star Wars Galaxies and more.enhttp://www.lern2play.com/images/lern2play/misc/rss.jpghttp://www.lern2play.com http://www.lern2play.com/movies-tv-and-music/115456-courageous-2011-a.html http://www.lern2play.com/movies-tv-and-music/115455-elite-squad-the-enemy-within-2010-a.html http://www.lern2play.com/movies-tv-and-music/115454-margin-call-2011-a.html http://www.lern2play.com/movies-tv-and-music/115453-the-descendants-2011-a.html http://www.lern2play.com/movies-tv-and-music/115452-happy-feet-two-2011-a.html http://www.lern2play.com/movies-tv-and-music/115451-london-boulevard-2010-dvd-dvdrip-1-link-no-rar.html http://www.lern2play.com/movies-tv-and-music/115450-into-the-abyss-2011-a.html http://www.lern2play.com/movies-tv-and-music/115449-a-very-harold-kumar-3d-christmas-2011-a.html http://www.lern2play.com/movies-tv-and-music/115448-johnny-english-reborn-2011-a.html http://www.lern2play.com/movies-tv-and-music/115447-outrage-2010-a.html http://www.lern2play.com/movies-tv-and-music/115446-sherlock-holmes-2-a-game-of-shadows-2011-dvd-dvdrip-1-link-no-rar.html http://www.lern2play.com/movies-tv-and-music/115445-jack-and-jill-2011-dvd-eng-dvdrip-hq-1-link-no-rar.html http://www.lern2play.com/movies-tv-and-music/115444-arthur-christmas-2011-a.html http://www.lern2play.com/movies-tv-and-music/115443-w-e-madonnas-movie-2011-dvd-dvdrip-1-link-no-rar.html http://www.lern2play.com/movies-tv-and-music/115442-j-edgar-2011-a.html

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/lern2play

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Compared to stress testing, patients who undergo CT angiography more likely to undergo subsequent invasive, more costly cardiac procedures

ScienceDaily (Nov. 16, 2011) ? In an analysis of Medicare data of nearly 300,000 patients who underwent outpatient evaluation for coronary artery disease by either computed tomography (CT) angiography or stress testing, those who underwent CT angiography were more likely to have subsequent cardiac testing procedures that were more costly and invasive, such as cardiac catheterization, according to a study appearing in the November 16 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on cardiovascular disease. This issue is being released early online to coincide with the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions.

"Technologic advances in computed tomography have facilitated the development of coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) as a noninvasive diagnostic test to evaluate patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD). The anatomical information provided by CCTA is distinctly different from the functional information provided by stress testing using electrocardiography (ECG), echocardiography, or myocardial perfusion scintigraphy [MPS; diagnostic imaging technique using a radioactive tracer that is administered within the myocardial capillary system] to assess myocardial ischemia [insufficient blood flow to the heart muscle]," according to background information in the article. The number of CCTA procedures among Medicare beneficiaries has increased steadily since the procedure was first reimbursed. The association of CCTA with subsequent use of cardiac tests and procedures and with clinical outcomes is not well established. CCTA may detect atherosclerotic plaques that are not hemodynamically (affecting blood circulation) significant and lead to additional tests and procedures, such as coronary catheterization and revascularization, that would not otherwise have been performed, thereby increasing expenditures, the authors write.

Jacqueline Baras Shreibati, M.D., of the Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, Calif., and colleagues compared health care utilization and Medicare expenditures of beneficiaries who underwent initial diagnostic evaluation for CAD in the outpatient setting, using either CCTA or stress testing (MPS, stress echocardiography, or exercise ECG). The researchers used claims data from a 20 percent random sample of 2005-2008 Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries 66 years or older with no claims for CAD in the preceding year, who received non-emergent, noninvasive testing for CAD (n = 282,830).

The researchers found that patients who underwent CCTA were about twice as likely to undergo subsequent cardiac catheterization (22.9 percent vs. 12.1 percent), more than two times as likely to undergo a percutaneous coronary intervention (procedures such as balloon angioplasty or stent placement used to open narrowed coronary arteries) (7.8 percent vs. 3.4 percent), and about three times as likely to undergo coronary artery bypass graft surgery (3.7 percent vs. 1.3 percent), compared to patients who underwent MPS.

Patients undergoing CCTA had a slightly lower likelihood of hospitalization for acute heart attack (0.19 percent vs. 0.43 percent) than patients undergoing MPS at 180 days. Patients undergoing CCTA had a similar likelihood of all-cause mortality (1.05 percent vs. 1.28 percent) than patients undergoing MPS.

Regarding spending, average total spending ($29,719) and CAD-related spending ($14,943) in the subsequent 180 days was significantly higher among patients undergoing CCTA, who had nearly 50 percent higher CAD-related average expenditures than patients undergoing MPS. Compared with MPS, there was lower associated spending with stress echocardiography (-$4,981) and exercise electrocardiography (-$7,449).

The researchers write that it is likely that further cardiac testing was frequently ordered by physicians because abnormal CCTA results were common in this patient cohort (because the prevalence of anatomical CAD increases steadily with age and the median [midpoint] age of patients in this study was 73.6 years). "We do not have data on the results of any of the diagnostic tests used in this study, however, so clinical registry studies will be needed to further explore the reasons for increased testing after CCTA compared with stress testing."

"CCTA still comprises a relatively small proportion [about 3 percent] of noninvasive testing for coronary disease in the United States, but a substantial increase in use of CCTA is likely over the next decade. Our data suggest that increased use of CCTA may greatly increase subsequent diagnostic testing and invasive cardiac procedures. The increased use of invasive procedures and the higher spending on care after CCTA documented in this study suggest that clinicians and policy makers should critically evaluate the use of CCTA in clinical practice, based on studies of subsequent outcomes," the authors conclude.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by JAMA and Archives Journals.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. Jacqueline Baras Shreibati, Laurence C. Baker, Mark A. Hlatky. Association of Coronary CT Angiography or Stress Testing With Subsequent Utilization and Spending Among Medicare Beneficiaries. JAMA, 2011; 306 (19): 2128-2136 DOI: 10.1001/jama.2011.1652

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/8LYwEz18X0E/111116055429.htm

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'Immortals' ascends to No. 1 weekend with $32.2M (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? The action adventure "Immortals" claimed the top spot at the weekend box office with $32,2 million, debuting ahead of Adam Sandler's comedy "Jack and Jill," which opened at No. 2 with $25 million.

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Hollywood.com are:

1. "Immortals," Relativity Media, $32,206,425, 3,112 locations, $10,349 average, $32,206,425, one week.

2. "Jack and Jill," Sony, $25,003,575, 3,438 locations, $7,273 average, $25,003,575, one week.

3. "Puss in Boots," Paramount, $24,726,193, 3,903 locations, $6,335 average, $108,035,359, three weeks.

4. "Tower Heist," Universal, $12,773,765, 3,370 locations, $3,790 average, $43,465,615, two weeks.

5. "J. Edgar," Warner Bros., $11,217,324, 1,910 locations, $5,873 average, $11,315,858, one week.

6. "A Very Harold & Kumar 3-D Christmas," Warner Bros., $5,915,143, 2,875 locations, $2,057 average, $23,237,525, two weeks.

7. "In Time," Fox, $4,081,881, 2,591 locations, $1,575 average, $30,598,618, three weeks.

8. "Paranormal Activity 3," Paramount, $3,611,283, 2,776 locations, $1,301 average, $100,808,835, four weeks.

9. "Footloose," Paramount, $2,726,736, 2,215 locations, $1,231 average, $48,767,514, five weeks.

10. "Real Steel," Disney, $1,864,688, 1,758 locations, $1,061 average, $81,612,804, six weeks.

11. "Moneyball," Sony, $1,066,267, 813 locations, $1,312 average, $71,857,836, eight weeks.

12. "Courageous," Sony, $1,012,220, 905 locations, $1,118 average, $31,565,808, seven weeks.

13. "The Ides of March," Sony, $944,292, 696 locations, $1,357 average, $38,358,318, six weeks.

14. "The Rum Diary," FilmDistrict, $803,456, 947 locations, $848 average, $12,371,440, three weeks.

15. "Dolphin Tale," Warner Bros., $693,294, 705 locations, $983 average, $69,634,072, eight weeks.

16. "Rockstar," Eros International, $612,235, 112 locations, $5,466 average, $612,235, one week.

17. "Anonymous," Sony, $582,527, 482 locations, $1,209 average, $3,753,918, three weeks.

18. "Margin Call," Roadside Attractions, $545,521, 199 locations, $2,741 average, $3,312,204, four weeks.

19. "50/50," Summit, $507,529, 424 locations, $1,197 average, $33,841,644, seven weeks.

20. "Like Crazy," Paramount Vantage, $504,512, 70 locations, $7,207 average, $1,055,778, three weeks.

___

Online:

http://www.hollywood.com

___

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by Rainbow Media Holdings, a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corp.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111114/ap_on_en_mo/us_box_office

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Monti vows to quickly form next Italian govt (AP)

ROME ? Italy's new premier-designate economist Mario Monti says he will get to work quickly to try to form a new government, assuring the nation that it can heal its disastrous finances.

Monti told reporters Sunday night he will carry out the task "with a great sense of responsibility and service toward this nation." He added that Italy must "heal its finances" and resume growth because today's leaders owe it to future generations.

The former European Union competition commissioner received the formal mandate from President Giorgio Napolitano. Monti must now draw up a Cabinet, lay out his priorities and see if he has enough support in Parliament to govern effectively.

Hours earlier, Silvio Berlusconi's party gave its crucial approval for Monti to assemble a government, but insisted that it last only long enough to implement urgently need economic reforms.

Berlusconi resigned reluctantly as premier late Saturday, bowing out after world markets pummeled his country's borrowing ability, reflecting their loss of faith in his economic program. Berlusconi quit shortly after the Italian parliament approved new reform measures demanded by the European Union and central bank officials.

Angelino Alfano, head of Berlusconi's conservative Freedom People party, said he told Napolitano that Monti has his party's "consensus" to try to form a government.

"We have given our willingness to Professor Monti," Alfano said.

But whether Berlusconi's forces will give Monti crucial support in Parliament depends on who Monti choses for his Cabinet and what his government's priorities will be. Alfano stressed that no opposition members should be in the Cabinet.

"Our preference is for technocrats to join" the Cabinet, Alfano told reporters.

He also added another condition: A Monti government "cannot last longer" than the time needed to implement the economic reforms. Berlusconi and his supporters have made clear they want elections soon, not at their scheduled time of spring 2013.

As Alfano spoke, a crowd of Berlusconi supporters cheered and applauded the outgoing premier as he got into a car at his private residence in Rome. That was in sharp contrast to Saturday night, when hundreds of Romans heckled and jeered Berlusconi and popped open bottles of sparking wine to toast his departure.

Monti faces a monumental task: preventing an Italian default that could tear apart the coalition of 17 countries that use the euro and send Europe and the U.S. into new recessions.

Italy's economy is hampered by high wage costs, low productivity, fat government payrolls, excessive taxes, choking bureaucracy, and an educational system that produces one of the lowest levels of college graduates among rich countries.

In addition, as the third-largest economy in the eurozone, Italy is considered too big for Europe to bail out like it did Greece, Portugal and Ireland.

The next Italian government needs to push through even more painful reforms and austerity measures to deal with euro1.9 trillion ($2.6 trillion) in debt ? about 120 percent of the country's economic output. And many of those debts are coming due soon ? Italy has to roll over more than euro300 billion ($410 billion) of its debts next year alone.

Berlusconi spoke Sunday evening to the nation in a televised message, his first public comment since stepping down after 3 1/2 years in office.

"I resigned out of a sense of responsibility and of state, to ward off more speculative financial attacks on Italy," he said.

Looking somber, Berlusconi said he was "sad" that his "generous gesture" of resignation was greeted by "hoots and insults" from crowds outside Parliament. He vowed to keep up his efforts to "renew Italy" through his continued presence as a lawmaker.

Most centrists and center-left parties in the opposition pledged their support Sunday for a Monti government, saying the former European Union competition commissioner has the moral authority and economic know-how to get Italy to pass long-delayed structural economic reforms.

"Italian parties are at fork in the road. Either they speculate on the situation, hoping that they can get some campaign capital from it, or they take up their responsibilities to save the country," said centrist opposition leader Pier Ferdinanco Casini, expressing hope that a new government could last until elections are scheduled for spring 2013.

But Umberto Bossi said his Northern League party won't back any Monti-led government "for now." Bossi said he told Napolitano that his party, whose support kept Berlusconi's conservative coalition in power for years, will be a "vigilant" opposition to any Monti government until the economist spells out his plans.

"For now, we said, 'no.' Then we'll see the program and decide, time by time" whether to support specific legislation, Bossi said. "In any case, we won't give him any blank check."

Bossi's party has been demanding early elections instead. He also has opposed one key remedy, a pension reform that raises the retirement age for women.

But many financial experts say even the new austerity measures passed Saturday are not enough to revive the dormant Italian economy. They raised the retirement age to 67, but not until 2026. They also called for the sale of state property and privatizing some services but contained no painful labor reforms.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111113/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_italy_financial_crisis

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Study Suggests Exercise May Help Memory of Fibromyalgia Patients (HealthDay)

SUNDAY, Nov. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Fibromyalgia patients who stopped taking medication and then exercised regularly for six weeks reported improved memory function and less pain, according to a small, new study.

While the finding is encouraging, it does not suggest a potential change in clinical care for fibromyalgia patients, the study authors stressed.

Senior author Dr. Brian Walitt, director of the Fibromyalgia Evaluation and Research Center at Georgetown University Medical Center, is scheduled to present the findings Sunday with co-researcher, Manish Khatiwada, at the Society of Neuroscience annual meeting, in Washington, D.C.

Fibromyalgia is a disorder marked by widespread pain, fatigue, sleep and cognitive problems. It has no apparent cause and the pain is real, Walitt said, and likely originates from the central nervous system. It typically affects women more than men.

Exercise has long been recommended to fibromyalgia patients, and some find it improves their sense of well-being. "This is a first look at understanding how exercise alters memory performance," Walitt said of the study.

For the trial, nine women received a baseline brain image called a functional MRI test. They were also given tests to assess their working memory and asked about their well-being and pain while on medication. The memory tests involved reading back a sequence of letters at various times after learning them.

Next, the women stopped their medication for a six-week ''washout'' period. Then they had a second round of fMRIs and tests. Then they started a six-week supervised aerobic exercise program, consisting of three 30-minute sessions a week.

"When we took people off the medicine, they performed worse on the tests," Walitt said. But, he added, "As they stayed off the medications for a period of time and exercised, their cognitive performance returned to normal levels [the same as at the start of the study]," he said.

The finding potentially suggests that exercise may lead to improvement in the network of brain areas that are recruited for working memory to function.

"In some ways it is concerning," Walitt said. "One would have hoped that exercise would have made them better [at the memory test]."

Wallit isn't sure what the findings might mean for real-life situations. "It may be if you have a more efficient brain, doing real-life tasks will be better."

While more study is needed, Walitt said that "overall, exercise seems to be a beneficial thing for fibromyalgia patients, in terms of overall well-being. If you can exercise and make it work for you, that's great."

However, he noted, some people with the condition can't tolerate exercise. Working out "is not going to be the answer for everybody and it's not going to fix anybody," he said.

While the study has some flaws, it's basically encouraging for those with the condition, said Dr. I. Jon Russell, a San Antonio fibromyalgia researcher and consultant, and retired professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio.

He thought the amount of time spent off medication during the study should have been longer before repeat testing. But, he said, "the most encouraging thing about this study is that fibromyalgia is continuing to be investigated."

"We have many reasons to believe that aerobic exercise is good for our patients. This study gives some support [to that idea]," Russell said. However, "We shouldn't over-interpret that exercise is the answer."

If patients can and do exercise, he said, "It's likely they will experience additional benefits."

Research presented at meetings should be considered preliminary since it has not undergone the scrutiny required of studies published in peer-reviewed journals.

More information

For more on fibromyalgia, visit the American Chronic Pain Association.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/meds/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20111113/hl_hsn/studysuggestsexercisemayhelpmemoryoffibromyalgiapatients

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Paying for sex and 'playing dead' - the deceitful gift-giving spider

Public release date: 13-Nov-2011
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Dr Hilary Glover
hilary.glover@biomedcentral.com
44-020-319-22370
BioMed Central

Male nursery web spiders (Pisaura mirabilis) prepare silk-wrapped gifts to give to potential mates. Most gifts contain insects, but some gifts are inedible plant seeds or empty exoskeletons left after the prey has already been eaten (presumably by the male himself!). Males will also 'play dead' if a female moves away and then attempt to re-establish mating. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology examines the reproductive success of deceitful males and shows that females are not impressed by worthless gifts.

Male spiders were provided with either a potential gift of a fly, or a worthless item, such as a cotton wool ball, a dry flower head, a prey leftover (previously eaten housefly), or no gift at all. All the gifts were approximately the same size, so the females would not be able to tell what the gift was without unwrapping it. Males that offered any gift were more likely to successfully mate than males without. However the length of time the females allowed males with worthless gifts to spend transferring sperm was shorter than those with edible gifts (and even shorter for those with no gift at all!).

It appears that both male and female spiders are apparently able to assess the value of the gift and modify their behavior accordingly. Not only did the female spiders end mating sooner with an inedible gift, but male death feigning (thanatosis), which is triggered by the female attempting to end mating and run away with the gift, occurred in half of the matings involving an edible gift, but only once with a worthless gift. Similarly males and females were sometimes seen fighting over edible gifts, but never for a worthless gift.

Maria Albo who led the research explained, "The evolution of male deceit involves a complex equation of costs and benefits. It costs the males to find and wrap a gift, but these costs can be reduced if the male does not have to first catch his gift, or gives one that has already been eaten. The benefit of the gift is longer mating, which leads to more sperm being transferred, and potentially a higher number of offspring. However, the females are wise to deception and terminate mating early for worthless gifts."

She continued, "The final results show that the number of eggs hatching was lower if the female had not received a gift, but there was little difference between females who had received an edible or inedible gift. The success of cheating probably explains why both strategies have co-evolved and are maintained in the population."

###

Media Contact

Dr Hilary Glover
Scientific Press Officer, BioMed Central
Tel: 44-20-3192-2370
Email: hilary.glover@biomedcentral.com

Notes to Editors

1. Worthless donations: male deception and female counter play in a nuptial gift-giving spider. Maria J Albo, Gudrun Winther, Cristina Tuni, Sren Toft and Trine Bilde. BMC Evolutionary Biology (in press)

Please name the journal in any story you write. If you are writing for the web, please link to the article. All articles are available free of charge, according to BioMed Central's open access policy.

Article citation and URL available on request at press@biomedcentral.com on the day of publication.

2. BMC Evolutionary Biology is an Open Access, peer-reviewed online journal that considers articles on all aspects of molecular and non-molecular evolution of all organisms, as well as phylogenetics and palaeontology.

3. BioMed Central (http://www.biomedcentral.com/) is an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the open access publishing model. All peer-reviewed research articles published by BioMed Central are made immediately and freely accessible online, and are licensed to allow redistribution and reuse. BioMed Central is part of Springer Science+Business Media, a leading global publisher in the STM sector.

---

[ | 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.

Public release date: 13-Nov-2011
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Dr Hilary Glover
hilary.glover@biomedcentral.com
44-020-319-22370
BioMed Central

Male nursery web spiders (Pisaura mirabilis) prepare silk-wrapped gifts to give to potential mates. Most gifts contain insects, but some gifts are inedible plant seeds or empty exoskeletons left after the prey has already been eaten (presumably by the male himself!). Males will also 'play dead' if a female moves away and then attempt to re-establish mating. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology examines the reproductive success of deceitful males and shows that females are not impressed by worthless gifts.

Male spiders were provided with either a potential gift of a fly, or a worthless item, such as a cotton wool ball, a dry flower head, a prey leftover (previously eaten housefly), or no gift at all. All the gifts were approximately the same size, so the females would not be able to tell what the gift was without unwrapping it. Males that offered any gift were more likely to successfully mate than males without. However the length of time the females allowed males with worthless gifts to spend transferring sperm was shorter than those with edible gifts (and even shorter for those with no gift at all!).

It appears that both male and female spiders are apparently able to assess the value of the gift and modify their behavior accordingly. Not only did the female spiders end mating sooner with an inedible gift, but male death feigning (thanatosis), which is triggered by the female attempting to end mating and run away with the gift, occurred in half of the matings involving an edible gift, but only once with a worthless gift. Similarly males and females were sometimes seen fighting over edible gifts, but never for a worthless gift.

Maria Albo who led the research explained, "The evolution of male deceit involves a complex equation of costs and benefits. It costs the males to find and wrap a gift, but these costs can be reduced if the male does not have to first catch his gift, or gives one that has already been eaten. The benefit of the gift is longer mating, which leads to more sperm being transferred, and potentially a higher number of offspring. However, the females are wise to deception and terminate mating early for worthless gifts."

She continued, "The final results show that the number of eggs hatching was lower if the female had not received a gift, but there was little difference between females who had received an edible or inedible gift. The success of cheating probably explains why both strategies have co-evolved and are maintained in the population."

###

Media Contact

Dr Hilary Glover
Scientific Press Officer, BioMed Central
Tel: 44-20-3192-2370
Email: hilary.glover@biomedcentral.com

Notes to Editors

1. Worthless donations: male deception and female counter play in a nuptial gift-giving spider. Maria J Albo, Gudrun Winther, Cristina Tuni, Sren Toft and Trine Bilde. BMC Evolutionary Biology (in press)

Please name the journal in any story you write. If you are writing for the web, please link to the article. All articles are available free of charge, according to BioMed Central's open access policy.

Article citation and URL available on request at press@biomedcentral.com on the day of publication.

2. BMC Evolutionary Biology is an Open Access, peer-reviewed online journal that considers articles on all aspects of molecular and non-molecular evolution of all organisms, as well as phylogenetics and palaeontology.

3. BioMed Central (http://www.biomedcentral.com/) is an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the open access publishing model. All peer-reviewed research articles published by BioMed Central are made immediately and freely accessible online, and are licensed to allow redistribution and reuse. BioMed Central is part of Springer Science+Business Media, a leading global publisher in the STM sector.

---

[ | 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.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-11/bc-pfs111111.php

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Madonna Opens Up About Being Bullied In Harper?s Bazaar

Madonna Opens Up About Being Bullied In Harper’s Bazaar

Madonna has opened up about being teased about her appearance in school in her revealing interview with Harper’s Bazaar. The 53-year-old singer admits her schoolmates [...]

Madonna Opens Up About Being Bullied In Harper’s Bazaar Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stupidcelebrities/~3/3oZAZyHLgv0/

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Spike TV launches website, campaign to help veterans (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) ? Spike TV is celebrating Veteran's Day with a new initiative aimed at helping lower the unemployment rate for U.S. veterans.

"Hire A Veteran" will showcase companies -- "from Main St. to Wall St." -- who provide jobs for veterans returning home from service, and includes a website with information for job-seeking veterans, with lists of companies looking to hire vets, help with job training and for vets looking to start their own businesses.

Spike TV will air a series of "Honor Roll" spots featuring real veterans talking about companies who have hired them, while stars like Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, George Lucas and Bradley Cooper are filming a series of "Hire A Veteran" promotional clips for the network.

"Spike TV is honored to assist this country's veterans -- real-life heroes who represent the best of what our country is about," Spike TV president Kevin Kay said.

"These young men and women who have bravely served their country are now making the often difficult transition from military service to the general workforce. Hire A Veteran is designed to help in that process."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tv/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111111/tv_nm/us_spiketv_veterans

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Suspected Kurd militants hijack ferry in Turkey (Reuters)

ISTANBUL (Reuters) ? Up to five suspected Kurdish militants claiming to be carrying a bomb hijacked a passenger ferry carrying 25 people in northwestern Turkey on Friday, the country's transport minister said.

Coastguard vessels were tracking the ferry in the Gulf of Izmit but they had not made contact with the hijackers, minister Binali Yildirim told the NTV news channel.

He said the hijackers had not yet made any demands.

Between four and five hijackers were on board the ferry in the Marmara Sea, east of Istanbul, and one of the assailants was standing next to the ship's captain claiming to be carrying a bomb, he said.

"One of the terrorists is standing next to the captain and says he has explosives on him," Yildirim said.

"He is saying they are a wing of the terror organization," he added, using a common description for the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). "So far there has been no concrete demand."

The "Kartepe" ferry was carrying 19 passengers and six crew members between Izmit and Golcuk when it was hijacked around 5.45 pm (1545 GMT), Yildirim said.

Some reports said the assailants had overpowered the captain of the ferry and seized passengers' mobile phones.

Ibrahim Karaosmanoglu, the mayor of Kocaeli, which is located on the Gulf of Izmit, said one assailant had told the crew he was from the PKK.

"The person hijacking the ferry said he was a member of the PKK and wanted to draw attention to it in the media," Karaosmanoglu told broadcasters.

"DON'T INTERVENE"

Security forces were prepared for the possibility the hijacker may want to take the vessel to nearby Imrali island in the Sea of Marmara, where PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan has been jailed since 1999, CNN Turk reported.

"Don't intervene. I have a bomb. I will detonate it," CNN Turk reported the hijacker as telling security forces.

Yildirim said he was only able to receive limited information from the ferry but he had not received any communication to suggest any of the passengers had been harmed.

He said the ferry was zig-zagging its way across the Marmara Sea. Three coastguards and a helicopter were following the 400-passenger capacity ferry.

Kurdish, leftist and Islamic militants are all active in Turkey. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the PKK insurgency since the group took up arms against the state in 1984.

PKK guerrillas have staged a series of attacks on Turkish armed forces this year and killed 24 soldiers in an attack in Hakkari, bordering Iraq, last month.

That attack triggered cross-border operations by the Turkish military against the militants. Several thousand PKK fighters are based in the mountains of northern Iraq, from where they launch attacks on security forces in southeast Turkey.

A series of airplane hijackings have been carried out in the

last two decades but they have been rare in recent years and hijackings at sea are even rarer.

In January 1996, pro-Chechen gunmen hijacked a Black Sea ferry with 200 passengers on board and threatened to blow it up in protest at a Russian attack on Chechen separatists. Those hijackers surrendered three days later.

(Writing by Daren Butler and Jonathon Burch; Editing by Sophie Hares)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111111/wl_nm/us_turkey_hijack

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Legal Schnauzer: CEO Makes Company Disappear In the Midst of ...

How can a multi-million dollar company vanish without a legal trace? Apparently it can happen when a CEO wants to ensure that the closely held business is not included among the marital assets in his divorce case.

That is one of many bizarre lessons to be taken from?Rollins v. Rollins,?the traveling divorce show that started in Greenville, South Carolina, and wound up in Shelby County, Alabama--contrary to common sense and all applicable law.

It appears that Ted Rollins, now the CEO of Charlotte-based Campus Crest Communities, did not want a closely held family business to get divided up in his divorce. So he took steps to ensure that his wife, Sherry Carroll Rollins, would flee with their two daughters to Alabama, where she had family. And that's when the company in question disappeared, meaning Ms. Rollins received nothing from a marital asset in which she had a clear legal stake.

We have focused on the jurisdictional change of scenery in?Rollins, a shift that simply could not happen under Alabama law, as expressed best in a case styled?Wesson v. Wesson, 628 So. 2d 953 (Ala. Civ. App., 1993).?That's why?Rollins?stands as the worst case of courtroom abuse I've seen in the civil arena.

But oddities in the case hardly are limited to matters of jurisdiction. The virtual disappearance of a company called St. James Capital, LLC might be the strangest event of all. In fact, court documents indicate that a desire to keep St. James Capital under wraps might have been the reason the case shifted to Alabama in the first place.

I didn't think anything could top the cheat job Mrs. Schnauzer and I experienced at the Shelby Courthouse in Columbiana, Alabama, in a case that started thanks to our difficult neighbor with a criminal record. But I would have to say that Sherry Carroll Rollins can top our tale of legal woe. And who could have dreamed that she would wind up in the same courthouse where we got shafted?

You might say that St. James Capital (SJC) was the forerunner of Campus Crest Communities. Information about SJC is sketchy, but Ted Rollins reportedly started the company with his cousin,?R. Randall Rollins of Atlanta. SJC was a real-estate development company, and as seems to be the case with most Rollins businesses, it apparently involved significant dollars.

Ted Rollins hardly is a financial lightweight. But his cousin, Randall Rollins, is among the heaviest of heavyweights. Randall Rollins is the chairman of Rollins, Inc., the company that operates Orkin Pest Control and a number of other profitable ventures. Randall's younger brother, Gary W. Rollins, is president and CEO of Rollins, Inc.

How profitable are the Rollins enterprises? In 2004, The Atlanta Business Chronicle compiled a list of the city's "Stock Market Superstars." At No. 5 on the list was Gary Rollins, with a stock worth of $584.9 million. Right behind him, at No. 6, was Randall Rollins, worth a cool $546.4 (By the way, the No. 4 spot, just ahead of the Rollins brothers, was occupied by a fellow named Ted Turner--worth $843.3 million.)

The same publication compiled a "Barons of Business" for Atlanta in 2005. Gary Rollins was ranked No. 3 on that list, and his stock wealth had soared to $791 million. Randall Rollins was No. 4, with stock wealth of $763.8 million. The Rollins brothers clearly are among the "1 percent" who have done quite well in the Age of Bush. And they are Ted Rollins' cousins'.

Given Randall Rollins' track record, it's safe to say that a company he formed with Ted Rollins would be pretty successful. So how could that company, St. James Capital, disappear in the middle of Ted Rollins' divorce case?

We still are looking for answers to that question. But court documents make it clear that St. James Capital did indeed vanish while Rollins v. Rollins was litigated over about a seven-year period.

Sherry Rollins started the case in 2001 by filing for divorce in Greenville, South Carolina, where she and Ted Rollins lived with their daughters. What happened next? Here is how we described it in a previous post:

Sherry Rollins had sued for divorce in Greenville, South Carolina, where the family had lived, and adultery was one of the primary grounds she cited. A South Carolina judge had issued a temporary order that called for Ted Rollins to pay $3,355 a month in child support, $5,000 a month in alimony, and continue paying the mortgage, taxes, and insurance on the marital home.

When the mortgage went unpaid, Sherry Rollins and her children were forced from their home. Mrs. Rollins fled to Alabama, where her two sons from a previous marriage were living.

Why would Ted Rollins disobey a court order that required him to make sure that Sherry Rollins' right to the "use, possession, and occupancy of the former marital residence" was to remain "undisturbed during the pendency of this action"? The original support order of $8,355 a month was reduced to $4,500 a month, so that must not have been the motive.

Perhaps the answer is found in a contempt order from a South Carolina judge, dated October 17, 2002. (See the full order at the end of this post.) Family Court Judge Robert N. Jenkins Sr. wrote:

I find that Defendant is 40 years of age and in good health. He is employed as President of St. James Capital, LLC, a real estate development company headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina. Defendant testified that the company is involved in a substantial project. Defendant is a graduate of Duke, with an MBA. He lives in his cousin's family compound in the guest house in Atlanta, Georgia, free of charge. He travels, sometimes on private jet aircraft. His family is extremely wealthy. Historically, this family included in their lifestyle funds and benefits provided by Defendant's family, which appear to be available when Defendant wants them for his needs but become unavailable when they are needed for Plaintiff.

Judge Jenkins gave Ted Rollins a pretty stern rebuke, making it clear he was not buying what Mr. Rollins was selling. In 2003, just a few months after this order was issued, Sherry Rollins was forced to flee from her home to Alabama.

By the time Ted Rollins got the divorce case shifted to Shelby County, Alabama, his economic circumstances had mysteriously changed. According to a sworn child-support document in Alabama, Ted Rollins' only income was the $50,000.04 he made working for Reynolds Mortgage Company of Brentwood, Tennessee. There was no mention of St. James Capital.

Ted Rollins's final alimony and child support obligations were based on his declared salary from Reynolds Mortgage, and that's why Sherry Rollins and her two daughters now qualify for food stamps in Alabama.

Under Alabama law, the following items are considered marital assets to be included in the property division of a divorce case:

* Marital home/marital estate
* Vacation home
* Family owned business
* Business investments
* Pension plans
* 401k plans
* Stocks and bonds
* Inheritance

St. James Capital almost certainly would have qualified as a marital asset to which Sherry Rollins had a legal stake. So what happened to the company? Who pulled what strings to make it disappear? In the age of Wall Street greed do corporate types regularly hide their assets in divorce cases? Do big-time law firms, making big-time fees, help them get away with it?

Is it common for this kind of scam to be pulled in Alabama courts? How many citizens in our state fall victim to this sort of judicially sanctioned fraud?

We will be seeking answers to those questions--and more.

Ted Rollins Contempt Order

Source: http://legalschnauzer.blogspot.com/2011/11/ceo-makes-company-disappear-in-midst-of.html

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