Source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=976d67e61879cf0d5354b8c346d2df7e
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Monday, December 5, 2011
Power in Numbers: China Aims for High-Tech Primacy
[unable to retrieve full-text content]China?s booming economy and growing technological infrastructure may thrust it to the forefront of the next generation of computing, many American experts say.
Bloggers' Breast Cancer Diagnoses, Only Days Apart, Illustrates The ...
In Tuesday?s Lady News, we told you that former Frisky contributor Susannah Breslin has been diagnosed with breast cancer and linked to her?Forbes Woman blog?about the experience of getting her first mammogram and finding out the results. Susannah has received a lot of get well messages from friends and strangers alike as a result of being so open about her diagnosis; but she has also likely inspired other women to get mammograms, including women who are younger than 50, the recommended age for women to begin routine mammograms.?
One woman we know was inspired by Susannah?s diagnosis is her friend Xeni Jardin, editor at Boing Boing. Yesterday, Xeni tweeted throughout her mammogram appointment, giving readers a live, firsthand account of what to expect. As she waited for her results, Jardin expressed some fear of what she might find out. Sadly and shockingly, Xeni?confirmed via Twitter?last night that like Susannah, she too has breast cancer.
Even if you don?t know Susannah and Xeni personally ? I, for the record, know Susannah and am merely a fan of Xeni?s writing ? this story illustrates just how prevalent breast cancer is and should also serve as further evidence of just how absolutely dangerous the current U.S. Preventative Services Task Force guidelines for breast cancer screenings are. Those guidelines say that?women shouldn?t routinely get screened until they hit 50 (as opposed to their 40s), and those between 50 and 74 should only have mammograms every two years. While the new guidelines do say that women younger than 50 should get screened if there?s a family history of breast cancer, it?s important to note that a new study from the?Radiological Society of North America found that?among a group of more than 1,000 breast cancer patients in their 40s,?64 percent had?no?family history. Simply put, 50 is just not early enough for the average woman to start getting regular breast cancer screenings. What?s the harm in getting checked earlier? Other than saving insurance companies money, that is.
While USPSTF is not recommending women get screening earlier than age 50, stories from real women that have inspired others to ignore them. I hope Susannah gets some comfort and strength in knowing that in sharing her story, she inspired Jardin to get checked and that as a result, her breast cancer was also caught early. The two them have a decisively better shot at beating their cancers because they were caught early. And so will the other women who will now get screened (and possibly diagnosed) because of what they have written. As Susannah said to me when I emailed her to tell her I was thinking of her, ?When you turn 40, I will be expecting a mammogram report from you!? Consider it done.
[Yahoo]
[Reuters]
[Forbes]
[Twitter]
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Egypt awaits poll results, protesters honor dead (Reuters)
CAIRO (Reuters) ? Egypt will hear the results of elections which Islamist parties expect to win on Friday and protesters rallied in Cairo to remember 42 people killed in clashes with police last month.
"Without Tahrir, we wouldn't have had these elections," said Mohamed Gad, in the Cairo square that was the hub of the revolt that ousted Hosni Mubarak in February. "God willing, the elections will succeed and the revolution will triumph."
But many of the young people who took to the streets early this year now fear their revolution risks being stolen, either by the army rulers or by well-organized Islamist parties.
The Muslim Brotherhood, banned but semi-tolerated under Mubarak, says its Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) expects to win 43 percent of party list votes in the first stage of a complex and lengthy election process that lasts into January.
Many had forecast that the Brotherhood would convert its decades of grassroots social and religious work, as well as its opposition to Mubarak, into a solid electoral showing.
But the Brotherhood's website also forecast that the Salafi al-Nour party would gain 30 percent of the vote, a shock for some Egyptians, especially minority Christian Copts, who fear it will try to impose strict Islamic codes on society.
Nour said on Thursday it expected 20 percent of the vote.
As in Saudi Arabia, Salafis would want to bar women and Christians from executive posts. They would also ban alcohol, "un-Islamic" art and literature, as well as mixed beach bathing.
If implemented, such curbs would wreck Egypt's vital tourism industry, which employs about one in eight of the workforce.
More secular-minded Egyptian parties, some of which were only formed after Mubarak's fall, had always feared that they would not have enough time to put up a credible challenge to their experienced and better-funded Islamist rivals.
The liberal multi-party Egyptian Bloc has said it is on track to secure about a fifth of votes for party lists. The youthful activists who launched into politics after the revolt that toppled Mubarak on February 11 made little impact in the polls.
The first-stage poll results were due to be announced at 8 p.m. (1800 GMT) after successive delays, state television said.
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said staff of his Carter Center, which monitors polls around the world, had reported "enthusiastic participation ... and a largely peaceful process, for which the Egyptian people should be proud.
"However, the process is far from complete, and there are several areas for improvement before the next two rounds of voting. We hope that steps can be taken to help ensure the integrity and transparency of these elections," he added.
POINTERS TO CHANGE
The world is watching the first post-Mubarak election for pointers to change in Egypt, the most populous Arab nation and one hitherto seen as a firm U.S. ally committed to preserving its peace treaty with Israel and fighting Islamist militancy.
The United States, which still gives Egypt about $1.3 billion a year in mostly military aid, has urged the ruling generals to step aside swiftly and make way for civilian rule.
Islamist electoral success in Egypt would underline a trend in North Africa, where moderate Islamists have topped polls in Morocco and post-uprising Tunisia in the last two months.
Egypt's ruling generals, who have promised civilian rule by July, have said they will keep powers to appoint or fire a cabinet, even after an elected parliament is installed.
The Brotherhood's FJP seemed to back away from a statement from its leader that the majority in parliament should form a government, saying discussion of the issue was premature.
The FJP says its priorities are ending corruption, reviving the economy and establishing a true democracy in Egypt.
It may not necessarily ally with its Salafi rivals in parliament, perhaps preferring more moderate coalition partners to help reassure Egyptians and foreigners of its pragmatism.
Senior FJP official Essam el-Erian said before the vote that
Salafis, who had kept a low profile and shunned politics during Mubarak's 30-year rule, would be "a burden for any coalition."
After Friday prayers, a few thousand demonstrators rallied in Tahrir Square, the hub of the anti-Mubarak revolt, to honor the 42 "martyrs" and push demands that the army step down now.
"I came to thank the youth for what they have done for the country. We have to bow to them," said Zeinab al-Ghateet, a woman in her 50s wearing an Egyptian flag around her neck.
Kamal al-Ganzouri, asked by the army to form a "national salvation government," aims to complete the task soon.
Protesters in Tahrir have rejected Ganzouri, 78, saying the army must give up power and let civilians take over now.
"It is unacceptable that after the revolution, an old man comes and governs. We don't want the army council anymore. they should go back to barracks," said Menatallah Abdel Meguid, 24.
Crowds chanted: "Run us over with your tanks. Oh country, revolt, revolt, we don't want (Field Marshal) Tantawi or Ganzouri."
(Writing by Alistair Lyon,; editing by Peter Millership)
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Sunday, December 4, 2011
In Turkey, Biden touts political freedoms (AP)
ISTANBUL ? A free political climate is essential to economic innovation, and countries that try to censor the Internet are pursuing a "dead end," U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told a group of young entrepreneurs gathered in Istanbul on Saturday.
The international forum, which drew hundreds of attendees, followed up on a meeting in Washington last year aimed at deepening ties between the United States and Muslim communities around the world.
Biden said a political system based on freedom of speech and religion also is the "truest shield" against sectarian strife that has afflicted the Middle East, as well as western Europe in past centuries.
He stressed the importance of a "free political climate in which ideas and innovation can flourish," adding that governments should not try to close the Internet to free expression.
"Those countries will find that that approach is a dead end," he said.
America has a history of innovation, Biden said, noting the success of companies such as Apple and Google, as well as breakthroughs in medical technology such as mobile phone apps that can help diagnose malaria.
He also praised Turkey, noting that the Muslim ally's economy has tripled in size over the last decade.
Turkey's deputy prime minister, Ali Babacan, said Turkey was an example for the region of how Islam and democracy can coexist peacefully.
The U.S. leader arrived in Turkey late Thursday and has been meeting with top officials here. He has urged Turkey to impose new sanctions on Iran, while praising Ankara for its role in pressuring Syria to stop its deadly crackdown on anti-government protesters.
Also Saturday, Biden visited Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is recovering from a surgery. No statement was made after the meeting which lasted about two hours. In a picture distributed by Erdogan's office, the prime minister was seen standing next to Biden as the two leaders smiled. Erdogan was wearing a shirt and jacket but no tie.
Biden later met Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, in Istanbul.
Ahead of his visit to Turkey, Biden urged Turkey in emailed remarks to Turkish daily Hurriyet that Ankara should reopen a seminary that trained generations of Greek Orthodox patriarchs, saying "the continued closure of the seminary is an anomaly and an unnecessary mark against Turkey's international image."
The Halki Theological School on Heybeliada Island, near Istanbul, was closed to new students in 1971 under a law that put religious and military training under state control. The school closed its doors in 1985, when the last five students graduated.
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Saturday, December 3, 2011
Former South African police chief loses appeal (AP)
JOHANNESBURG ? A top South African appeals court has rejected a former national police chief's appeal of his corruption conviction.
Mthunzi Mhaga, spokesman for the prosecution, says Jackie Selebi has 48 hours to report to prison officials following Friday's ruling.
Selebi was convicted in July after a nation beset by violent crime heard months of testimony that he accepted money and gifts in exchange for meeting a drug smuggler's business associates and tipping him off to investigations. A judge later sentenced Selebi, who also is a former Interpol president, to 15 years in prison.
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Deal by deal, U.S. ambassador turns salesman in China (Reuters)
BEIJING (Reuters) ? Businessmen in sober suits leapt to their feet, jostling with cameras and mobile phones to snap a quick shot as the new U.S. ambassador to China strode to the podium at a hotel ballroom in Jinan, in coastal Shandong province.
Nine hours later, after a speech on energy cooperation, signing ceremonies for deals of a few million dollars each, and dinner with the governor, he was back on the train to Beijing.
This is how Gary Locke, the first Chinese-American ambassador to Beijing and a local celebrity, is trying to raise U.S. sales in China -- deal by deal, ballroom by hotel ballroom, in cities most Americans have never heard of.
While every U.S. ambassador has put in a plug for American goods and services, Locke takes the effort to a new level. The former commerce secretary has hit the pavement in six provincial cities to try to narrow the trade deficit that gives his boss, President Barack Obama, political heartburn.
"Certainly these trips can help publicize the great products and services made in America that could help meet the needs of China but at the same time create jobs in America," Locke told Reuters as the train sped through fields of winter wheat.
"You may not get immediate sales, or the amount of sales from these initial transactions might be small. But really you need to track the growth of these sales, these exports by these American companies over the next several years."
The effort is needed, say U.S. businesses, which often complain about China's opaque markets and the difficulty of selling to the Chinese government and state-owned businesses.
"I'm not aware that previous ambassadors have actually led trade missions organized in the U.S. around China," said Christian Murck, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China. "It reflects a personal commitment."
American exports to China rose by nearly a third to $91.9 billion in 2010, reversing a fall in sales the previous year, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. But they are still dwarfed by Chinese exports to the United States of $365 billion.
FROM COFFEE TO CHEMICALS
Even before he arrived in China, Locke made a splash. A photo of him wearing a backpack and buying a coffee in the airport Starbucks drew enthusiastic online comments from Chinese used to seeing their own officials flanked by guards and aides.
Locke, who does not speak Mandarin, has turned his celebrity to promoting everything from machines to energy-saving lights.
The wares displayed at folding tables under the Jinan Hotel's crystal chandeliers were nothing a consumer could touch. While American stores are filled with goods made in China, the companies accompanying Locke to Jinan included specialty chemicals and equipment makers, with products designed to upgrade China's inefficient and polluting energy sector.
Small firms in particular find it hard to meet the right person or figure out when tenders are issued, let alone sell products that are often pricier than the Chinese competitor.
But Locke retains the salesman's optimism. "Everyone that has exported to China reports that what may have started off small builds over time, such that we've seen phenomenal increases in exports from the United States to China," he said.
Trade missions like these are very much Chinese affairs, with the local representatives of the American firms greeting clients effusively in Mandarin. The signing ceremony, as always, was replete with hostesses in red, a champagne toast and piped music on endless repeat.
The buffet lunch featured dishes like kelp with garlic, lotus root with ginger and pork lung in spicy sauce.
Locke's presence meant the Shandong governor was there, and the chance for a meal with both drew many of the hard-to-reach bosses of state-owned companies.
"Lots of our customers are refineries in Shandong, and it's hard to meet them. Heads of state-owned enterprises are hard to access," said X.D. Hu, China managing director for specialty chemicals maker Albemarle Corp.
Two of his major clients showed up after the Shandong government sent out invitations for the event.
"They care less about the U.S. ambassador, but the chance to meet the Shandong governor is very exciting for them."
Shandong, one of China's largest provinces in terms of both population and economy, is famously business-oriented. But with its private factories hit hard by the global slowdown, more sales growth has to come from the state-owned sector.
The Jinan trip is the first of five trade missions, each focused on a specific industry, that Locke has pledged to lead.
On the train back to Beijing, embassy staffers were already planning how to make the next one bigger and better.
"Too often U.S. ambassadors get stuck in the geopolitics, things like nuclear negotiations," said James McGregor, senior consultant for APCO Worldwide in Beijing.
"But they should be out promoting American business. That's what the Europeans and Japanese do."
(Additional reporting by Maxim Duncan and Michael Martina; Editing by Don Durfee and Ron Popeski)
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Friday, December 2, 2011
U.S. church leader meets jailed American, Castro (Reuters)
HAVANA (Reuters) ? The head of the U.S. Council of Churches met on Wednesday with jailed contractor Alan Gross and Cuban President Raul Castro, in the latest push by a prominent American to obtain Gross's release and improve relations with the communist-run country.
Gross received a 15-year prison sentence in March for crimes against Cuban state security for smuggling illegal satellite communications equipment into Cuba.
He was under contract with a U.S. company involved in a semi-covert democracy-building program, but says the equipment was only destined to connect local Jewish groups to Internet.
"Two of us visited Alan. We had a very good conversation and he was in good spirits," the Rev. Michael Kinnamon, general secretary of the National Council of Churches, told reporters.
Cuban television said Kinnamon met later with Castro and they discussed the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba and the status of five Cuban agents imprisoned in the United States, but there was no mention of Gross.
Kinnamon said on Wednesday that he was worried about the U.S. contractor's health. Gross has lost nearly 100 pounds (45 kg) since being picked up as he prepared to leave Havana on December 3, 2009, and suffers from a number of chronic ailments.
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter visited Gross earlier this year and said he would work for his release.
Gross's arrest poured cold water on a slight warming trend in the always contentious relations between the United States and Cuba during the first year of the Obama administration.
The White House has called for Gross's immediate release and said little progress can be expected toward better ties between Washington and Havana until his return.
The Cuban government has insisted Gross violated the law, but has signaled its willingness to discuss the case with the Obama administration.
Kinnamon, whose organization enjoys good relations with the Cuban government, said upon his arrival earlier this week at the head of a 15-member delegation that they were interested in helping improve U.S.-Cuba relations and that the Gross case was just one of many outstanding issues.
The group also met on Wednesday with relatives of five Cuban agents sentenced to long prison terms by a Miami court more than a decade ago for leading a spy ring in Florida that watched U.S. bases and anti-Castro groups, some of which were plotting to overthrow the Cuban government by violent means.
Gross reportedly has suggested he be exchanged for the five Cuban agents, though both the Cuban and U.S. governments have said they view the two cases as separate.
"The case of the five Cubans is a bigger subject, it's another situation and we are very much involved in that as well. Many U.S. organizations believe that the sentences were very severe and we're not in agreement," Kinnamon said on Monday.
(Reporting and writing by Marc Frank; editing by Anthony Boadle)
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