Analysis: Gingrich forces GOP into grueling debate

Republican presidential candidate and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich arrives with his wife Callista during a?South Carolina Republican presidential primary night rally, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Republican presidential candidate and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich arrives with his wife Callista during a?South Carolina Republican presidential primary night rally, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Republican presidential candidate and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich arrives during a?South Carolina Republican presidential primary night rally, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Republican presidential candidate and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks during a?South Carolina Republican presidential primary night rally, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks during a?South Carolina Republican presidential primary night rally, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Columbia, S.C. Callista Gingrich looks on at right. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and his wife Ann, at center, wave to the crowd of supporters at his South Carolina primary election night rally in Columbia, S.C., Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich won the Republican primary Saturday night. (AP Photo/Brian Snyder, Pool)

(AP) ? Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich took a giant step Saturday toward becoming the Republican alternative to Mitt Romney that tea partyers and social conservatives have been seeking for months.

Gingrich's come-from-behind win in the South Carolina primary snatches away the quick and easy way for the GOP to pick its presidential nominee. Only days ago, it seemed that party activists would settle for Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who stirs few passions but who has the looks, money, experience and discipline to make a solid case against President Barack Obama in November.

Now, the party cannot avoid a wrenching and perhaps lengthy nomination fight. It can cast its lot with the establishment's cool embodiment of competence, forged in corporate board rooms, or with the anger-venting champion of in-your-face conservatism and grandiose ideas.

It's soul-searching time for Republicans. It might not be pretty.

Romney still might win the nomination, of course. He carries several advantages into Florida and beyond, and party insiders still consider him the front-runner. And it's conceivable that former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum can battle back and take the anti-Romney title from Gingrich. After all, he bested Gingrich in Iowa and New Hampshire.

But Santorum's third-place finish in South Carolina will doubtlessly prompt some conservative leaders to urge him to step aside and back Gingrich, as Texas Gov. Rick Perry did Thursday.

Even if Santorum revives his campaign in Florida, the fundamental intraparty debate will be the same. Voters associate Gingrich and Santorum with social issues such as abortion, and with unyielding fealty to conservative ideals. That's in contrast to Romney's flexibility and past embraces of legalized abortion, gun control and gay rights.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul will stay in the race, but he factors only tangentially in such discussions. His fans are largely a mix of libertarians, isolationists and pacifists, many of whom will abandon the GOP nominee if it's not the Texas congressman.

Strategically, Romney maintains a big edge in money and organization. He faces a dilemma, however. Gingrich resuscitated his struggling campaign in this state with combative debate performances featuring near-contempt for Obama and the news media. Romney likely would love to choke off that supply by drastically reducing the number of debates.

Ducking Gingrich after losing to him in South Carolina would suggest panic or fear, however, and all four candidates are scheduled to debate Monday in Florida.

Gingrich is benefitting "from the inherent animosity and mistrust GOP primary voters have with mainstream media," said Republican strategist Terry Holt. "Their first instinct is to rebel, and that's what they did. The question is whether he can sustain that anger and build it into a legitimate challenge to the frontrunner."

Gingrich tried to stoke that anger with his victory speech Saturday. He referred repeatedly to "elites" in Washington and New York who don't understand or care about working-class Americans. He decried "the growing anti-religious bigotry of our elites."

Gingrich made $3.1 million in 2010, but he nonetheless is tapping middle-class resentment in ways reminiscent of Sarah Palin. "I articulate the deepest-held values in the American people," he said.

Despite their contrasting personalities, Romney and Gingrich don't differ greatly on policy. Both call for lower taxes, less regulation, ending "Obamacare" and a robust military. They promise to cut spending and increase jobs without offering many details of how they would do so in a divided nation and Congress.

Romney vs. Gingrich in some ways mirrors the Democrats' 2008 choice between Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, which turned mostly on questions of personality, style and biography. The Republicans' choice, however, will plumb deeper veins of emotion and ideology.

Romney appeals to Republicans who want a competent, even-tempered nominee with a track record in business and finance. His backers are willing to overlook his past support of abortion rights and his seeming tone-deafness on money matters ? even if it feeds caricatures of him as a tycoon.

Until Saturday, GOP polls had shown Romney easily ahead on the question of who would be Obama's toughest challenger. South Carolina exit polls, however, showed Gingrich with an edge among those who said it was most important that their candidate be able to beat Obama.

Romney will try to regain that advantage in Florida, which votes Jan. 31. It's not clear what strategies will work. In his concession speech Saturday, Romney said Obama has attacked free enterprise and "we cannot defeat that president with a candidate who has joined that very assault on free enterprise."

He was alluding to Gingrich's past criticisms of Romney's record running Bain Capital, a private equity firm. But Gingrich and a friendly super PAC dropped their references to Bain days ago.

Romney hinted at another approach. "Our party can't be led to victory by someone who also has never run a business and never led a state," he said. Gingrich's background didn't seem to bother South Carolina's Republicans, however.

What they've done is steer the primary contest into more emotional, and possibly dangerous, waters. They rewarded a candidate who gave voice to their resentment of the news media, federal bureaucrats and what they see as undeserving welfare recipients and a socialist-leaning president.

Two South Carolina debate moments crystalized Gingrich's rise. Both involved an open disdain for journalists, whether feigned or not.

In Myrtle Beach on Monday, the Martin Luther King holiday, Gingrich acidly told Fox News' Juan Williams that he would teach poor people how to find jobs, and that Obama has put more Americans on food stamps than any other president. Gingrich repeated the food stamp lines in his speech Saturday night.

At Thursday's debate in North Charleston, Gingrich excoriated CNN's John King for raising an ex-wife's claim that Gingrich once asked for an "open marriage," to accommodate his mistress.

Conservatives inside the hall and out seemed to love the tongue-lashing. The details of Marianne Gingrich's allegations, which Gingrich denied almost as an afterthought, seemed to matter much less to voters. That's remarkable in a state whose GOP electorate is nearly two-thirds evangelicals.

Mike McKenna, a Republican strategist, said Gingrich seems to be drawing many people, including tea party activists, who are fairly new to politics. They don't know or care much about Gingrich's legacy of leading the 1994 Republican revolution in Congress, or his subsequently lucrative career as a writer and speaker that sometimes veered from conservative orthodoxies, McKenna said.

Instead, he thinks these voters are reacting emotionally to someone they hope "can take the fight to the president, to the media, to whomever. They are not particularly concerned about what kind of president he will be."

Therein, of course, is the potential peril of a Gingrich candidacy. Along with his verbal fireworks he carries baggage that might give Democrats more to exploit than do Romney's policy flip-flops and record at Bain.

Gingrich's impressive South Carolina victory will force Republicans in Florida and other states to make a hot-or-cool choice.

They can pick the data-driven Harvard MBA grad who smoothed out the Winter Olympics and now runs a by-the-numbers nationwide campaign. Or they can pick the pugnacious firebrand who didn't manage to get his name on the Virginia primary ballot but who wows an angry electorate that can't wait to lay into Obama in debates next fall.

___

EDITOR'S NOTE: Charles Babington covers politics for The Associated Press.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-21-GOP%20Campaign-Analysis/id-cabfd0f4de284042959a3cfa70c47012

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Katy Perry Unfollows Russell Brand on Twitter

Princeton RB recovering from stroke (AP)

PHILADELPHIA ? Princeton freshman running back Chuck Dibilio is recovering at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital after suffering a stroke on Thursday.

"They removed a clot in the main artery of his brain," said his father, Chuck, Sr. "They are trying to find out what caused it, so they can prevent it in the future. As far as a long-term prognosis, we are a long way from knowing, but we appreciate all of the support Chuck has received."

Dibilio, 19, of Nazareth, Pa., was the Ivy League Rookie of the Year, Princeton's first since 1983. Dibilio was also a first-team All-Ivy League honoree.

"I'm not a doctor. I can't say what his future looks like. It's much better than where he was. But it's bad, because he's a 19-year-old kid, and he had a stroke," said Rob Melosky, head coach at Nazareth Area High, where Dibilio starred. "The doctors are confident he can come back to normal. But the part that everyone is concerned with right now, is why it happened."

Dibilio set an Ivy League record for a freshman by rushing for 1,068 yards.

"The biggest concern is his health," Melosky said. "He's been moving his extremities, and the doctors have been impressed by the big gains he's made in a short period of time."

Dibilio scored eight touchdowns this season, as the Tigers finished 1-9.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120121/ap_on_sp_co_ne/fbc_princeton_dibilio

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Rosenthal: They believed, Alex Smith delivered

49ers quarterback is 2 victories away from ultimate football glory after nearly being left for dead

Image: Smith scores TDGetty Images

49ers quarterback Alex Smith runs in for a touchdown during his team's victory over the Saints in the divisional playoffs last Saturday.

updated 6:06 p.m. ET Jan. 20, 2012

Gregg Rosenthal

?We want Carr. We want Carr!?

It was the lowest moment of Alex Smith?s seven-year career in San Francisco, Oct. 12, 2010. The winless 49ers hosted the Eagles on Sunday Night Football, and the crowd was looking for blood.

After his fourth-quarter fumble, thunderous boos poured down on Smith. He was hearing it all game from the crowd, but this matched anything I?ve ever heard ? even in Philadelphia. The unmistakable chant that came with the booing was even more depressing.

?We want Carr. We want Carr!?

The home crowd wanted Smith benched in favor of backup quarterback David Carr. The fan base collectively waved the white flag. They were tired of their No. 1 overall pick bust and wanted to try another. It was only Week 5 of a rapidly devolving season.

Coach Mike Singletary tried to remove Smith from the game, but the quarterback barked back. He talked his way into staying in the contest. He wound up throwing for more than 300 yards with three touchdowns in a comeback attempt that fell just short, like so many other 49er games during Smith?s tenure.

The fans got their wish two weeks later when Carr replaced an injured Smith during a loss to the Panthers. Troy Smith wound up starting six games for the 2010 49ers. Alex Smith?s beleaguered run in San Francisco was all but over. If nothing else, that gave the fans something to smile about.

Between rare and extinct
David Carr tells us a lot about Alex Smith. Just like Smith, Carr was a No. 1 overall draft pick viewed as a franchise savior. Like Smith, Carr fell flat on his face.

Carr didn?t face the same injury struggles as Smith. Carr didn?t have two head coaches question his toughness. But after five years in Houston, Carr was beat up mentally and physically. When Carr hit free agency, he wanted to take a break.? He wanted out.

"I need to take a deep breath and be around a good environment and just start enjoying the game again,'' Carr said in 2007. ?I wanted to be on a team that was fun and exciting and whether I had a chance to play right away, it didn't matter to me.''

Smith had his chance to take a deep breath last offseason. His family wanted him to leave San Francisco, toasting to new beginnings after this season. Smith didn?t want to go anywhere.

That desire to finish what he started won over new 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh.

"I wanted to get to know him. I had never met him," Harbaugh said last week of his first meeting with Smith in January 2011. "I was just kind of looking in through the keyhole. But I guess the things that I wanted to know, if you boiled it down to one thing, was, did he want to start? Did he want be in the fire? Or did he want to wear the ball cap backward and backup somewhere??

Harbaugh was asking if Alex Smith wanted to be David Carr. (Or Vince Young. Or Matt Leinart. Or JaMarcus Russell.)

"I really felt that he had the competitive drive, the (desire) to prove himself, him wanting to do it here. That's the thing that probably intrigued me the most. That character of wanting to come back and do it here in San Francisco, which is pretty rare ? probably somewhere between rare and extinct. That's not just for football players. That's about anybody. ... And I thought we could really work with that character. To me that was special."

Smith?s seven fourth-quarter comeback victories this season are special. His league-leading interception percentage says a lot. But the most impressive part of Smith?s season is that he?s there at all. He survived.

The things Alex carries
Alex Smith carries his six seasons through the professional football meat grinder everywhere he goes. He carries the old playbooks; the losses; the chants; the manipulative coaches; the shoulder surgeries.

Smith has gone through this 14-3 season hesitant to look back. It?s as if he doesn?t want to jinx what?s happening.

Seven offensive coordinators
Smith?s first offensive coordinator was Mike McCarthy, who pushed the team to draft Smith over Aaron Rodgers with the No. 1 pick in 2005.

One touchdown, 11 interceptions by Smith later, McCarthy scored the Packers' head coaching job before his coaching stock sunk any further.

Norv Turner came next and guided Smith to a promising second season. Smith appeared to have turned a corner. It?s a reminder what good teaching can mean for a young quarterback.? Smith wouldn?t learn that lesson again until 2011.? Turner left after ?06 for the Chargers head coaching job.

Jim Hostler, Mike Martz, Jimmy Raye, and Mike Johnson followed Turner to disappointing results. Each man had a new idea of how an NFL offense should look and how Smith fit into their system. Some liked Smith more than others. Every spring meant a new playbook.

Smith?s seventh coordinator was the charm. Jim Harbaugh knows the quarterback position as well as any head coach, but he also brought in a terrific staff to help him. It?s one of the most underrated skills a head coach can have. Can he choose the right men to assist him?

Offensive coordinator Greg Roman and quarterbacks coach Geep Chryst have both done a fabulous job with Smith. It was Chryst who took over the play-calling late in the divisional round win over the Saints. Along with Harbaugh, the three men collaborate on one of the smartest offensive attacks in the league.

They create big-play opportunities without taking much risk. They accentuate what Smith does well and limit his weaknesses being exposed. They put Smith in position to succeed. That?s coaching.

2 misguided head coaches
Alex Smith?s rookie season was Mike Nolan?s rookie season as a head coach. Both men looked comfortable in their new role.

Nolan ran the 49ers through fear. He often seemed unnecessarily paranoid and played misguided mental games. When Smith?s shoulder was hurt in 2007, Nolan implied publicly that Smith wasn?t fighting through the injury. Nolan came out told the 49ers team behind closed doors that Smith was using his shoulder injury as an excuse for poor play. Smith fought back by speaking out.

?I felt it was trying to undermine me with my teammates,? Smith said back then.

Smith had shoulder surgery after the season.

The next 49ers head coach was a defensive-minded motivational speaker: Mike Singletary. Singletary said multiple times he didn?t think quarterback was the most important position on the field. He once called Smith ?meek.? After Singletary was fired, he was asked what he learned from the experience.

"You gotta have a quarterback," Singletary said.

These were the men in charge. They never believed in Smith.

Harbaugh saw something different in that first meeting with Smith. Most importantly, he saw a quietly improved player on film. Harbaugh?s effusive and immediate praise of Smith almost seemed comical. (He once said Smith had ?armadillo skin .?)

Smith, a free agent, publicly expressed doubt he?d return to San Francisco before Harbaugh started recruiting Smith with regular meetings. No one in San Francisco knew what to make of it. Why would the new hot shot coach stick out his neck for Smith?

?I?ve been studying Alex Smith and watching him and I believe that Alex Smith can be a winning quarterback in the National Football League,? Harbaugh said. ?Very accurate passer. Very athletic. And a guy that has played and been durable.?

This was January 2011. Harbaugh embraced the quarterback no one wanted. The message hasn?t changed since. The love affair has only grown.

The teammates
Smith was benched for the following quarterbacks during his 49ers career: Tim Rattay, Ken Dorsey, Trent Dilfer, Shaun Hill, J.T. O?Sullivan, and Troy Smith.

Guys like Carr and Cody Pickett replaced Smith when he was hurt. Only Hill went on to a modicum of success after leaving San Francisco.

The following wide receivers have started games during Smith?s tenure in San Francisco: ?Brandon Lloyd, Arnaz Battle, Johnnie Morton, Kevin McAddley, Antonio Bryant, Bryan Gilmore, Darrell Jackson, Ashley Lelie, Isaac Bruce, Bryant Johnson, Jason Hill, Josh Morgan, Michael Crabtree, Braylon Edwards, Ted Ginn, Kyle Williams, and Brett Swain.

Change was the only constant in San Francisco?s passing attack. Personnel objectives changed annually with the rotating offensive systems. Players past their prime were brought in like Morton, Jackson, and Bruce. Failed draft picks from other teams were given a second chance like Lelie, Johnson, Edwards, and Ginn. Very little stuck.

Even today, San Francisco?s wide receivers struggle to beat man coverage. It?s a concern this week going against a Giants defense that can get pressure with their front four and played great man coverage last week in Green Bay.

Harbaugh knows all this. He built an offense around the run game, his tight ends, and carefully orchestrated ?shot plays? the wideouts wouldn?t have to win consistently on the outside. He relied on Smith?s accuracy and decision making.

When Harbaugh has asked Smith and his receivers to carry the offense ? against the Giants and Saints ? they have found a way.

Bad habits
Smith deserves his share of blame for struggling until Harbaugh came along. He doesn?t have the big arm you?d expect of a top pick. He?s smart but has struggled to translate those smarts into instinct. He was deliberate making decisions.

Going back through five years of my game notes, the same word came up repeatedly describing Smith: tentative. He took the safe play. He didn?t have enough confidence in himself, his receivers, or perhaps his offense to make the difficult throw.

That slowly started to change this year. The 49ers are not an aggressive passing team, but Smith has played his best with the game on the line.

Back-to-back fourth-quarter comeback wins in Cincinnati and Philadelphia kick-started things. Smith threw a fourth-and-goal game-winner to Delanie Walker in Detroit. An insane 41-yard toss to Michael Crabtree set up the game-winning field goal in Seattle.

In most of those games, the 49ers still coached around Smith. Their wins were more about the defense, running game and short, safe passes. Last Saturday against the Saints, the 49ers coaching staff gave the keys to Smith.

"The winning touchdown to Vernon Davis ... and I'm taking nothing away from Vernon Davis's catch ... the throw made that play, not the catch," NFL Films guru Greg Cosell said on KNBR this week. ?He threw that ball before Davis even got past the underneath linebacker.?

The 49ers could have played for the tie, but they went for the win because of the confidence they had in Smith. It was the type of instinctive, anticipatory, gutsy throw we haven?t seen from Smith. Smith is starting to mix in aggression with his smarts. That could be a championship combination.

The other side
Alex Smith is Mark Sanchez if Sanchez went through another three years like the one he just had.

Smith took all the abuse we could hurl at him and emerged on the other side. He will never be Joe Montana, but that?s not the point. He?s here. He is one game away from playing in the Super Bowl. After what Smith has been through, he deserves to enjoy this moment.

Perhaps Smith will take a deep breath during the national anthem on Sunday and allow himself a peak at the opposing sideline. Giants backup quarterback David Carr will be standing there, representing the road more traveled.

When the anthem ends, Carr will reach to put on his backward hat. Smith will grab his helmet.


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RolePlayGateway?

THE DETAILS

Genre: Fantasy/Romance

Recruiting: Up to 8 roleplayers

PPD(Post Per Day): 1 PPD

Characters Per RPer: 2

________________________________


Plot
In this roleplay, a small group of angels, and a small group of demons are sent down to Earth for 4 days in human form to prove themselves, and the ranks that they possess. They are to complete their own tasks, given to them specifically. Most angels are sent to save a life, or guide another human back to goodness. While most demons are sent to do the exact opposite. But when each of the chosen ones begin to cross paths(Angels and Demons), sparks begin to form, and everyone ends up with the wrong one. As the four days pass, they eventually learn their new "lovers" are supposedly their enemy, they begin to worry, while hiding their relationships become hard and harder to do. If the Absolute, or the Seraphim were ever to learn of this, a violent war could break out, and things will being to "fall".

Scenarios are found below.

Scenarios

Scenario 1:

The demon is sent down to take an innocent person's life, already knowing his victim, he immediately goes after her. The victim ends up coincidently being the highest rank sent down of the angels, while the angel knows she's supposed to save a life, she never gets a feeling of who. In the end, it was her own life she was to save. As the demon begins to fall in love with the angel, he finds it harder and harder to complete his task. Will he kill her? Or will his love for her take over?

Characters Needed:

Female Angel of higher rank: Taken
Male Demon of higher rank:

Scenario 2:

A demon is sent into the Between Realm to find the Demon Prince a new slave. As he found a girl/boy and thought that he/she is suitable for the position he reported back to the prince and was told to collect that girl/boy in 4 days. When he comes back to the Between Real to collect he/she, he begins to fall for her/him? Will he disobey the Demon Prince or will he take the girl/boy he loves back to the Demon Realm to become a slave?

Characters Needed:

Female Human: Taken
Male Demon: Taken

Scenario 3:

Involving an angel taking the life of an innocent rather than saving it, while the victim had supposedly been the demon's to kill. This draw's the two together.

Characters needed:

Male Angel: Taken
Female Demon: Taken

Scenario 4:

He is sent to do the impossible - to redeem a demon. He has 4 days to do it. Unfortunately or fortunately, in those 4 days, he helplessly falls in love with the demon he is supposed to redeem... Will he, an angel, turn his back to his kind and go with his mate or will she/he, a demon, be successfully redeemed by an Angel's love?

Characters Needed:

Male Angel: Taken
Female Demon: Taken

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

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Maldives journalists say gov't intimidating them (AP)

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka ? The Maldives government is threatening and harassing the media over their reporting of a political crisis and the military's arrest of the nation's top criminal court judge, a journalists' group said Thursday.

The Maldives Journalists' Association said in a statement that television stations are being penalized for airing opposition politicians' comments that authorities perceive to be lies.

An independent regulator, the Maldives Broadcasting Commission, accused the communication minister of threatening to withdraw frequencies of television and radio stations after he accused the commission of failing to monitor media.

Communication Minister Adil Saleem denied the allegations of harassment but said that he told the commission that he may have to withdraw media frequencies until the commission works out a mode for proper monitoring.

Judge Abdulla Mohamed was arrested Monday after he released an opposition leader who had been detained without a warrant. He is still under military custody despite the supreme court and the prosecutor general calling for his release.

MJA President Ahmed Zahir said the government has been unhappy over the media reporting on alleged corruption, mismanagement and the arrest, and live telecasts of opposition protests.

"The responsibility of a remark or a comment made by an individual or a political party shall be undertaken by themselves, but not by the broadcaster or the publisher," the MJA said. "Media is only a vessel which carries comments and interviews of both the government and the opposition."

The broascasting commission also said that the minister had no legal power to suspend or revoke a broadcasting license.

"We are concerned that the recent attempts to intimidate the media both directly and indirectly will result in grave consequences to the maturing process of an infant industry," the commission said.

Saleem said of the alleged intimidation, "We are for media freedom, we are for democracy. All we are saying is not to deceive the public."

Saleem said he felt some television stations were using old video clips to exaggerate crowds during live coverage of opposition protests.

On Thursday about 500 protesters gathered in capital Male to demand the release of the judge and a halt to arbitrary arrests. "No to dictatorship. We want justice," they cried.

Maldives was under 30-year autocratic rule until the government of former pro-democracy political prisoner President Mohamed Nasheed was elected in the country's first free elections in 2008.

The current crisis arose after opposition politician Mohamed Jameel Ahmed in a television interview allegedly accused Nasheed's government of trying to undermine Islam with the support of Christians and Jews. Islam is the official state religion of Maldives, and practicing other faiths is banned.

Police have brought Ahmed before court three times on allegations of hate speech but the court has freed him on all occasions.

The Maldives government has warned of rising Islamic extremism in this Indian Ocean archipelago of 300,000 people.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120119/ap_on_re_as/as_maldives_politics

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Comparison of effects of red wine versus white wine on hormones related to breast cancer risk

[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 19-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: R Curtis Ellison
ellison@bu.edu
508-333-1256
Boston University Medical Center

Aromatase inhibitors (AIs) prevent the conversion of androgens to estrogens, and could play a role in the development of breast cancer. This study of 36 pre-menopausal women consisted of a cross-over intervention trial to determine if there were differences between red wine and white wine in their effects on AIs. Subjects sequentially consumed eight ounces of red wine, followed by white wine (or vice versa), each beverage for a one-month period. The investigators concluded that red wine, but not white wine, was associated with significant effects on some indices of estrogen metabolism; free testosterone and luteinizing hormone were increased, but no significant differences were noted in estrogen levels.

Forum reviewers considered the results interesting and that they contribute to our understanding of the relation of wine to hormonal levels. On the other hand, they were concerned about methodological problems, including a lack of baseline data and variations in the timing during the menstrual period of blood sampling (which could affect estrogen levels). Also, no significant effect of the interventions was seen on blood levels of estradiol.

Further, the Forum thought that it should be pointed out that data are inconsistent on the relation of red wine consumption to the risk of breast cancer; many studies do not show beverage-specific effects on risk. More research will be needed to determine if the polyphenols in red wine can play a role in lowering the risk of breast cancer.

###

Reference: Shufelt C, Bairey Merz CN, Yang YC, Kirschner J, Polk D, Stanczyk F, Paul-Labrador M, Braunstein GD. Red versus white wine as a nutritional aromatase inhibitor in premenopausal women. J Women's Health, 2011;DOI: 10.1089/jwh.2011.3001

Comments on this paper were provided by the following members of the International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research:

Lynn Gretkowski, MD, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Mountainview, CA, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

Erik Skovenborg, MD, Scandinavian Medical Alcohol Board, Practitioner, Aarhus, Denmark

Creina Stockley, clinical pharmacology, Health and Regulatory Information Manager, Australian Wine Research Institute, Glen Osmond, South Australia, Australia

Harvey Finkel, MD, Hematology/Oncology, Boston University Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA

Arne Svilaas, MD, PhD, general practice and lipidology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway

Ulrich Keil, MD, PhD, Institute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University of Mnster, Mnster, Germany

David Van Velden, MD, Dept. of Pathology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Fulvio Ursini, MD, Dept. of Biological Chemistry, University of Padova, Padova, Italy

Gordon Troup, MSc, DSc, School of Physics, Monash University, Victoria, Australia

R. Curtis Ellison, MD, Section of Preventive Medicine & Epidemiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

For the detailed critique of this paper by the International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research, go to http://www.bu.edu/alcohol-forum and click on Recent Reports.

The specialists who are members of the Forum are happy to respond to questions from Health Editors regarding emerging research on alcohol and health and will offer an independent opinion in context with other research on the subject

Helena Conibear co Director
The International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research
helena@alcoholforum4profs.org

Professor R Curtis Ellison co Director
The International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research
ellison@bu.edu
http://www.alcoholforum4profs.org
http://www.bu.edu/alcohol-forum
Tel UK: 44-1300-320869



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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.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 19-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: R Curtis Ellison
ellison@bu.edu
508-333-1256
Boston University Medical Center

Aromatase inhibitors (AIs) prevent the conversion of androgens to estrogens, and could play a role in the development of breast cancer. This study of 36 pre-menopausal women consisted of a cross-over intervention trial to determine if there were differences between red wine and white wine in their effects on AIs. Subjects sequentially consumed eight ounces of red wine, followed by white wine (or vice versa), each beverage for a one-month period. The investigators concluded that red wine, but not white wine, was associated with significant effects on some indices of estrogen metabolism; free testosterone and luteinizing hormone were increased, but no significant differences were noted in estrogen levels.

Forum reviewers considered the results interesting and that they contribute to our understanding of the relation of wine to hormonal levels. On the other hand, they were concerned about methodological problems, including a lack of baseline data and variations in the timing during the menstrual period of blood sampling (which could affect estrogen levels). Also, no significant effect of the interventions was seen on blood levels of estradiol.

Further, the Forum thought that it should be pointed out that data are inconsistent on the relation of red wine consumption to the risk of breast cancer; many studies do not show beverage-specific effects on risk. More research will be needed to determine if the polyphenols in red wine can play a role in lowering the risk of breast cancer.

###

Reference: Shufelt C, Bairey Merz CN, Yang YC, Kirschner J, Polk D, Stanczyk F, Paul-Labrador M, Braunstein GD. Red versus white wine as a nutritional aromatase inhibitor in premenopausal women. J Women's Health, 2011;DOI: 10.1089/jwh.2011.3001

Comments on this paper were provided by the following members of the International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research:

Lynn Gretkowski, MD, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Mountainview, CA, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

Erik Skovenborg, MD, Scandinavian Medical Alcohol Board, Practitioner, Aarhus, Denmark

Creina Stockley, clinical pharmacology, Health and Regulatory Information Manager, Australian Wine Research Institute, Glen Osmond, South Australia, Australia

Harvey Finkel, MD, Hematology/Oncology, Boston University Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA

Arne Svilaas, MD, PhD, general practice and lipidology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway

Ulrich Keil, MD, PhD, Institute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University of Mnster, Mnster, Germany

David Van Velden, MD, Dept. of Pathology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Fulvio Ursini, MD, Dept. of Biological Chemistry, University of Padova, Padova, Italy

Gordon Troup, MSc, DSc, School of Physics, Monash University, Victoria, Australia

R. Curtis Ellison, MD, Section of Preventive Medicine & Epidemiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

For the detailed critique of this paper by the International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research, go to http://www.bu.edu/alcohol-forum and click on Recent Reports.

The specialists who are members of the Forum are happy to respond to questions from Health Editors regarding emerging research on alcohol and health and will offer an independent opinion in context with other research on the subject

Helena Conibear co Director
The International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research
helena@alcoholforum4profs.org

Professor R Curtis Ellison co Director
The International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research
ellison@bu.edu
http://www.alcoholforum4profs.org
http://www.bu.edu/alcohol-forum
Tel UK: 44-1300-320869



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Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/bumc-coe011912.php

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Tornadoes touch down in Indiana, Kentucky and Mississippi (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Tornadoes struck parts of Mississippi, Indiana and Kentucky on Tuesday, including one that hit a home in Mississippi and injured at least one person, meteorologists said.

The Indiana and Kentucky twisters knocked out power lines, downed trees and caused property damage, while a Sheriff's Department dispatcher said the Mississippi tornado struck a home in south Marion County, and a person who was inside suffered a possible broken arm.

Tornadoes are unusual for this part of the year in Indiana and neighboring Kentucky, although twisters occasionally hit Mississippi during the current season, said Dan Pydynowski, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather.com, whose company provides forecasting services.

A cold front combined with a warm and humid air mass contributed to the latest twisters, but those conditions were dissipating, he said.

"The threat's pretty much come to an end everywhere, so I don't think there's any more tornadic activity to worry about anywhere at this point," Pydynowski said.

In the area of Louisville, Kentucky, a twister knocked down trees and power lines along roadways, the National Weather Service said. To the north in Clark County, Indiana, a twister touched down in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart, the Weather Service added. When the twister moved, a vehicle was turned over on nearby Interstate 65, the agency said.

At Madison Municipal Airport in southeast Indiana, a twister also damaged a Beechcraft King Air when it moved the small plane and broke its nose gear, the Weather Service said.

(Reporting By Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120118/us_nm/us_tornado_strikes

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