Natalie Portman, Kristen Stewart most bankable Hollywood stars

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Actresses Natalie Portman and Kristen Stewart are Hollywood’s most bankable stars and provide studios with the highest average returns for their films, according to Forbes.com.

Academy award winner Portman topped the list of best actors for the buck, providing about $ 42.70 for every dollar she earns.

“Black Swan,” for which she won her best actress Oscar, was produced for an estimated $ 13 million and earned $ 329 million in global box office sales.

“We estimate that for every dollar Portman is paid by the studios, she returns $ 42.70. Compare that to Eddie Murphy, our most overpaid star, who returns $ 2.30 for every dollar he gets paid,” Forbes.com said.

“Twilight” star Stewart was not far behind, bringing in $ 40.60. She also topped the Forbes list of highest-earning actresses with an estimated $ 34.5 million in salary in 2012.

“Stewart was able to earn a ton over the last three years and offer a healthy return thanks to ‘Twilight,’” according to Forbes.com. “Even though she was paid $ 25 million to star in the last two films, she was clearly worth the money.”

Forbes.com analyzed salaries, estimated box office grosses from the actor’s last three films over the previous three years to calculate the studio’s return on investment. The most bankable stars tended to be featured in the most profitable films.

Stewart’s two co-stars in the “Twilight” films were also good investments for the studio. Robert Pattinson came in fourth with a return of $ 31.70 and Taylor Lautner was No. 6, making $ 29.50 for the studio for every dollar he was paid.

(This story was refiled to correct spelling of Kristen)

(Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

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Some cancer docs say their income tied to treatments

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A survey of cancer doctors finds that some believe they get paid more when they administer their patients’ chemotherapy and other drugs, raising concerns about conflict of interest and the potential for overtreatment.

Researchers found that oncologists, surgeons and other cancer specialists who get paid based on the number of services they provide were seven times more likely to say their pay increases when they oversee their patients’ chemotherapy treatments, compared to doctors who are paid a flat rate or salary.

“I think there is evidence out there that doctors are very responsive to financial incentives… So I think some patients should realize that doctors who are prescribing chemotherapy may be benefiting financially,” said Dr. Nancy Keating from Boston’s Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the study’s senior author.

According to Keating and her colleagues, who published their study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology on Wednesday, some cancer doctors offer chemotherapy and other therapies in their offices.

Indeed, the researchers note, previous studies have found that as much as 65 percent of an oncologist office’s income typically comes from administering treatments. The rest comes from evaluating and managing patients’ cancers.

There are some advantages to patients in getting treatments at their doctors’ offices, such as not having to travel to a hospital, but some observers worry the practice gives doctors incentive to prescribe more chemotherapy or more expensive drugs because they’ll make more money.

In the last decade, the U.S. government tried to reduce the profit margin doctors were able to make by administering chemotherapy to their patients, but Keating told Reuters Health that didn’t solve the problem.

“I think there is some evidence out there that doctors just started prescribing more profitable drugs. So this is still an issue,” she said.

While the study could not determine whether patients received any unnecessary treatments, the researchers wanted to see whether doctors believe their pay is tied to their ability to give patients chemotherapy.

The researchers used a survey from 2005 through mid-2007 of 480 oncologists, who treated patients from across the country.

Overall, most participants said their income would be unaffected by prescribing chemotherapy or other drugs, or by referring patients to other specialists or hospices.

But 27 percent of the doctors said their pay would increase based on how much chemotherapy they administered and 25 percent said they’d get paid more if they administered more growth factors, such as so-called hormonal drugs, that regulate cell growth.

Doctors who were in some way paid based on how many services they provide – known as fee for service – were about seven times more likely to say their incomes would increase if they administered more chemotherapy or growth factors, compared to doctors who got a flat salary.

Doctors who had their own practices or were part of a smaller oncology group were about nine times more likely to say their income would increase if they administered their patients’ chemotherapy, compared to those who worked in a hospital.

“It really is pretty substantial differences. And often, I don’t think people pay that much attention to where their doctor works, but I think it does make a difference,” Keating said.

But Dr. Yu-Ning Wong of the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia cautions that the new study only looks at whether the doctors believed their pay would increase if they could administer chemotherapy or other treatments.

“It didn’t say it actually did,” said Wong, who wrote a commentary accompanying the study.

She also told Reuters Health that she would not want cancer patients thinking they are receiving unnecessary care or treatments based on this study.

Still, Keating and her fellow researchers say, there needs to be a new way to pay doctors “to counter or eliminate these incentives to decrease unnecessary care and ensure that health care resources are used most effectively.”

Until then, Keating said patients should feel free to ask doctors whether they’ll benefit financially from their treatments.

“It’s certainly something I would want to know,” she said. “But I agree it’s not an easy thing to ask, but I do think it’s something to be aware of and I think it’s a fair question to ask.”

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/gPtMdm Journal of Clinical Oncology, online December 26, 2012.

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Taking on Guns and the NRA, One Tweet at a Time

(Updates the number of video views, petition signatures, and twitter impressions)

On Dec. 21, a group of A-list Hollywood celebrities, including Jon Hamm, Reese Witherspoon, Jamie Foxx, and Beyoncé, posted an 80-second, black-and-white video clip on YouTube calling for lawmakers to develop a comprehensive plan to deal with gun violence. The clip, uploaded the same day the National Rifle Association held a press conference calling for armed guards in schools and no new restrictions on guns, has been viewed 4 million times.

The public service announcement is well-produced and hits all the intended emotional chords as it reminds viewers of mass shootings from Columbine to Newtown. It’s is part of a broader “Demand a Plan” social media campaign by the advocacy group Mayors Against Illegal Guns that was launched right after the Newtown massacre. (The group is co-chaired by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg L.P., which owns Bloomberg Businessweek.) The video also raises an intriguing question: Can social media strategies somehow level the playing field with the NRA, a laser-focused, well-financed, and successful lobbying group with four million members?

John Feinblatt, who oversees MAIG and is a chief policy adviser to the mayor, is ready to go on the offensive with the NRA and thinks the moment has arrived for the gun safety movement  to make legislative advances. He says there is “enormous pent up frustration because Americans want to be safe.” Facebook (FB), Twitter, and YouTube (GOOG) can effectively focus that raw energy on Congress and President Barack Obama to get things moving and undercut the NRA’s clout in Washington. “What people want is to be heard and you have to give them that vehicle,” says Feinblatt.

The Demand a Plan site delivers that video testimonials of 30-plus survivors and victims’ family members and all manner of online tools to mobilize support and donations to pressure the White House and Congress. Some 600,000 users have signed an online petition to ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines, require criminal background checks on every gun sold in the U.S., and crack down on arms trafficking. The Demand a Plan campaign has generated 10 million tweet impressions since its launch on Dec. 17, according to Feinblatt. This chart of Google search results for “gun control” shows interest spiking far higher after Newtown, compared with responses to other shooting incidents, going back to 2005.

Yet it’s worth asking if a “Twitter Revolution,” to borrow from the Arab Spring lexicon, can change the U.S. gun policy debate over the long haul? Social media is a great technology for disseminating information, organizing protests, and expressing spontaneous emotion—but it is unclear how effective it might be in a prolonged legislative battle to sway, cajole, and basically electorally threaten lawmakers beholden to the NRA and gun industry money.

“Signing an online petition is easy, but getting the continuing electoral and financial support of millions is difficult,” says Harry Wilson,  a gun industry expert and a public policy professor at Roanoke College in Virginia. “If gun control groups, including MAIG, are not significantly emboldened and empowered by the Newtown tragedy, then they have lost the battle.”

Businessweek.com — Top News

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Tajikistan blocks scores of websites as election looms

DUSHANBE (Reuters) – Tajikistan blocked access to more than 100 websites on Tuesday, in what a government source said was a dress rehearsal for a crackdown on online dissent before next year’s election when President Imomali Rakhmon will again run for office.

Rakhmon, a 60-year-old former head of a Soviet cotton farm, has ruled the impoverished Central Asian nation of 7.5 million for 20 years. He has overseen constitutional amendments that allow him to seek a new seven-year term in November 2013.

The Internet remains the main platform where Tajiks can air grievances and criticize government policies at a time when the circulation of local newspapers is tiny and television is tightly controlled by the state.

Tajikistan’s state communications service blocked 131 local and foreign Internet sites “for technical and maintenance works”.

“Most probably, these works will be over in a week,” Tatyana Kholmurodova, deputy head of the service, told Reuters. She declined to give the reason for the work, which cover even some sites with servers located abroad.

The blocked resources included Russia‘s popular social networking sites www.my.mail.ru and VKontakte (www.vk.com), as well as Tajik news site TJKnews.com and several local blogs.

“The government has ordered the communications service to test their ability to block dozens of sites at once, should such a need arise,” a senior government official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

“It is all about November 2013,” he said, in a clear reference to the presidential election.

Other blocked websites included a Ukrainian soccer site, a Tajik rap music site, several local video-sharing sites and a pornography site.

VOLATILE NATION

Predominantly Muslim Tajikistan, which lies on a major transit route for Afghan drugs to Europe and Russia, remains volatile after a 1992-97 civil war in which Rakhmon’s Moscow-backed secular government clashed with Islamist guerrillas.

Rakhmon justifies his authoritarian methods by saying he wants to oppose radical Islam. But some of his critics argue repression and poverty push many young Tajiks to embrace it.

Tighter Internet controls echo measures taken by other former Soviet republics of Central Asia, where authoritarian rulers are wary of the role social media played in revolutions in the Arab world and mass protests in Russia.

The government this year set up a volunteer-run body to monitor Internet use and reprimand those who openly criticize Rakhmon and other officials.

In November, Tajikistan blocked access to Facebook, saying it was spreading “mud and slander” about its veteran leader.

The authorities unblocked Facebook after concern was expressed by the United States and European Union, the main providers of humanitarian aid for Tajikistan, where almost a half of the population lives in abject poverty.

Asomiddin Asoyev, head of Tajikistan’s association of Internet providers, said authorities were trying to create an illusion that there were no problems in Tajik society by silencing online criticism.

“This is self-deception,” he told Reuters. “The best way of resolving a problem is its open discussion with civil society.”

Moscow-based Central Asia expert Arkady Dubnov told Reuters that Rakhmon’s authoritarian measures could lead to a backlash against the president in the election. “Trying to position itself as the main guarantor of stability through repression against Islamist activists, the Dushanbe government is actually achieving the reverse – people’s trust in it is falling,” he said.

(Writing by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Pravin Char)

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Jessica Simpson’s Christmas gift: She’s pregnant

NEW YORK (AP) — Jessica Simpson‘s daughter has the news all spelled out: “Big Sis.”

Simpson on Tuesday tweeted a photo of her baby daughter Maxwell playing in the sand, the words “Big Sis” spelled out.

The 32-year-old old singer and personality has been rumored to be expecting again. The tweet appears to confirm the rumors.

“Merry Christmas from my family to yours” is the picture’s caption. Simpson used a tweet on Halloween in 2011 to announce she was pregnant with Maxwell. She is engaged to Eric Johnson and gave birth to Maxwell in May.

One possible complication regarding her pregnancy: She is a spokeswoman for Weight Watchers.

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Obesity declining in young, poorer kids: study

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – The number of low-income preschoolers who qualify as obese or “extremely obese” has dropped over the last decade, new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show.

Although the decline was only “modest” and may not apply to all children, researchers said it was still encouraging.

“It’s extremely important to make sure we’re monitoring obesity in this low-income group,” said the CDC‘s Heidi Blanck, who worked on the study.

Those kids are known to be at higher risk of obesity than their well-off peers, in part because access to healthy food is often limited in poorer neighborhoods.

The new results can’t prove what’s behind the progress, Blanck told Reuters Health – but two possible contributors are higher rates of breastfeeding and rising awareness of the importance of physical activity even for very young kids.

Blanck and her colleagues used data on routine clinic visits for about half of all U.S. kids eligible for federal nutrition programs – including 27.5 million children between age two and four.

They found 13 percent of those preschoolers were obese in 1998. That grew to just above 15 percent in 2003, but dropped slightly below 15 percent in 2010, the most recent study year included.

Similarly, the prevalence of extreme obesity increased from nearly 1.8 percent in 1998 to 2.2 percent in 2003, then dropped back to just below 2.1 percent in 2010, the research team reported Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Whether kids are obese is determined by their body mass index (BMI) – a measure of weight in relation to height – and by their age and sex.

For example, a four-year-old girl who is 40 inches tall would be obese if she was 42 pounds or heavier. A two-year-old boy who is 35 inches tall qualifies as obese at 34 pounds or above, according to the CDC’s child BMI calculator. (The CDC’s BMI calculator for children and teens is available here:.)

The new findings are the first national data to show obesity and extreme obesity may be declining in young children, Blanck said.

“This is very encouraging considering the recent effort made in the field including by several U.S. federal agencies to combat the childhood obesity epidemic,” said Dr. Youfa Wang, head of the Johns Hopkins Global Center on Childhood Obesity in Baltimore.

Blanck said between 2003 and 2010 researchers also saw an increase in breastfeeding of low-income infants. Breastfeeding has been tied to a healthier weight in early childhood.

Additionally, states and communities have started working with child care centers to make sure kids have time to run around and that healthy foods are on the lunch menu, she added.

Parents can encourage better eating by having fruits and vegetables available at snack time and allowing their young kids to help with meal preparation, Blanck said.

Her other recommendations include making sure preschoolers get at least one hour of activity every day and keeping television sets out of the bedroom.

“The prevalence of overweight and obesity in many countries including in the U.S. is still very high,” Wang, who wasn’t involved in the new study, told Reuters Health in an email.

“The recent level off should not be taken as a reason to reduce the effort to fight the obesity epidemic.”

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/JjFzqx Journal of the American Medical Association, online December, 25, 2012.

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Jasa SEO Murah

Diseoin.com, Menawarkan Jasa SEO Murah / Optimasi web dan Solusi Internet Marketing. Tim kami berdedikasi dalam Jasa SEO dan memastikan untuk masuk Top 10 peringkat mesin pencari di Google, Yahoo dan MSN.

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Adalah fakta bahwa semakin tinggi peringkat sebuah situs, semakin tinggi pula result kunjungan oleh para pengguna Google. Bisa dibayangkan bagaimana nasibnya situs jualan Anda jika berada di halaman 2, 3 dan seterusnya!

Jika Anda memiliki situs web yang miskin pengunjung terlebih karena tidak berada di “posisi terhormat” di Google, hari ini Anda telah memasuki situs yang tepat! Mulai-lah memperkenalkan website anda kepada dunia!
 
Kami adalah team yang full time bekerja untuk Anda! Kecepatan dan best result adalah target kami. Membuat klien kami puas adalah fondasi utama bisnis jasa kami. Bahkan kami berhak untuk tidak menerima uang sepeserpun jika situs Anda tidak masuk dalam 5 besar hasil pencarian google untuk keywords yang anda tentukan!

SEO kami berdasar pada standarisasi SEO Google. Kami memastikan untuk memberikan Jasa SEO sesuai dengan update terbaru Google Panda dan Penguin sehingga klien kami akan mendapatkan hasil terbaik dalam hal peringkat dan keyword ditargetkan. Selain itu diseoin.com termasuk salah satu Jasa Seo Murah Bergaransi di Indonesia yang sudah berpengalaman

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Start of “Santa Claus rally” dampened by “cliff’ worries

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks edged lower on Monday as caution over the potential for volatility driven by worries about the U.S. “fiscal cliff” dampened enthusiasm at the start of a seasonally strong period for equities.

Investors are betting Congress will reach a deal to avert most of the austerity measures due to come into force at the start of next year. That has led to the best year for stocks since the post-financial crisis rebound. But those gains may be quickly reversed if a deal is not reached soon.

The S&P 500 index posted its biggest drop in more than a month on Friday as a Republican plan to avoid the cliff – $ 600 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts that could tip the U.S. economy into recession – failed to gain traction on Thursday night.

Sharp moves like that highlight how headlines from Washington can whipsaw markets, especially during the thinly traded period over the Christmas holiday.

Still, with the S&P 500 up 0.7 percent in December and on course for its strongest month since September, some analysts are predicting that stocks will find their footing during a market seasonality known as the “Santa Claus rally.”

“Right now we’ve seen some very constructive action in the market so I think that bodes well for this being a positive seasonal ‘Santa’ period over the coming seven days,” said Ari Wald, a technical analyst at The PrinceRidge Group.

He noted an all-time high in the NYSE advance-decline line, which compares advancing and declining stocks, as indication of strong participation in the rally off November lows.

“Pull-backs are buying opportunities,” said Wald. “There has been really great participation on this move, a lot of small- and mid-cap stocks behaving well, pushing out to the upside; we’re seeing some good leadership from offensive sectors of the market as well.”

A high ratio of advancing stocks to declining issues shows there is broad participation across the equity market.

The Santa seasonality covers the last five trading days of the year and the first two of the new year. Since 1928, the S&P 500 has averaged a gain of 1.8 percent during this period and risen 79 percent of the time, according to data from PrinceRidge.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> dropped 51.76 points, or 0.39 percent, to 13,139.08. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index <.spx> fell 3.49 points, or 0.24 percent, to 1,426.66. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> lost 8.41 points, or 0.28 percent, to 3,012.60.</.ixic></.spx></.dji>

The S&P 500 is up more than 13 percent for the year, having recovered nearly all the losses suffered in the wake of the U.S. election. The yearly gain would be the best since 2009.

Some U.S. lawmakers expressed concern on Sunday the country would go over the cliff, as some Republicans charged that was President Barack Obama‘s goal. Talks are stalled with Obama and House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner out of Washington for the holidays.

“It does seem like we are continuing through the same drift of the same thing we’ve had the past couple of weeks – ‘cliff’ talk,” said Nick Scheumann, wealth partner at Hefty Wealth Partners in Auburn, Indiana.

“You can’t trade on what you don’t know and we truly don’t know what they are going to do,” he said.

Congress is expected to return to Washington next Thursday as President Barack Obama returns from a trip to Hawaii. As the deadline draws closer, a ‘stop-gap’ deal appears to be the most likely outcome of any talks.

Trading volume was muted, with U.S. equity markets closing at 1 p.m. (1800 GMT) ahead of the Christmas Day holiday on Tuesday.

In addition, a number of European markets operated on a shortened session, with other markets closed.

U.S. retailers may not see a sales surge from this weekend as ho-hum discounts and fears about imminent tax hikes and cuts in government spending give Americans fewer reasons to open their wallets in the last few days before Christmas.

Aegerion Pharmaceuticals Inc said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Juxtapid capsules in patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, but will conduct a post-approval study to test long-term safety and efficacy. Shares fell 1.8 percent to $ 25.25.

Herbalife Ltd dipped 4.4 percent to $ 26.06 after the company said it expects to exceed its previously announced repurchase authorization guidance and has retained Moelis & Company as its strategic adviser. The declines put the stock on track for a ninth straight decline.

Yum Brands Inc advanced 1.8 percent to $ 65.01 after Shanghai’s food safety authority said the level of antibiotics and steroids in the company’s KFC chicken was within official limits.

(Reporting By Edward Krudy; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Dan Grebler)

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Bolivia’s Morales visits Cuba after Chavez surgery

HAVANA (AP) — Bolivian President Evo Morales has made a lightning trip to Havana where key ally Hugo Chavez is convalescing after cancer surgery.

Morales did not speak to foreign journalists during his weekend visit. Cuban state-run media didn’t confirm that he visited Chavez, but said he came “to express his support” for the Venezuelan president. The Cuban government had invited media to cover Morales’ arrival Saturday and departure Sunday but withdrew the invitation with no explanation.

Photos released by Cuban media showed President Raul Castro greeting Morales at the airport in Havana.

Morales aides said Monday he planned to make a statement later about Chavez.

Chavez underwent on Dec. 11 his fourth cancer-related operation since last year, two months after winning reelection to a six-year term. Venezuelan officials say his condition is stable.

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Find room for God in fast-paced world, pope says on Christmas eve

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Benedict, leading the world’s Roman Catholics into Christmas, on Monday urged people to find room for God in their fast-paced lives filled with the latest technological gadgets.

The 85-year-old pope, marking the eighth Christmas season of his pontificate, celebrated a solemn Christmas Eve mass in St Peter’s Basilica, during which he appealed for a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict and an end to the civil war in Syria.

At the mass for some 10,000 people in the basilica and broadcast to millions of others on television, the pope wove his homily around the theme of God’s place in today’s modern world.

“Do we have time and space for him? Do we not actually turn away God himself? We begin to do so when we have no time for him,” said the pope, wearing gold and white vestments.

“The faster we can move, the more efficient our time-saving appliances become, the less time we have. And God? The question of God never seems urgent. Our time is already completely full,” he said.

The leader of the world’s some 1.2 billion Roman Catholics said societies had reached the point where many people’s thinking processes did not leave any room even for the existence of God.

“Even if he seems to knock at the door of our thinking, he has to be explained away. If thinking is to be taken seriously, it must be structured in such a way that the ‘God hypothesis’ becomes superfluous,” he said.

“There is no room for him. Not even in our feelings and desires is there any room for him. We want ourselves. We want what we can seize hold of, we want happiness that is within our reach, we want our plans and purposes to succeed. We are so ‘full’ of ourselves that there is no room left for God.”

PEACE CANDLE

Bells inside and outside the basilica chimed when the pope said “Glory to God in the Highest,” the words the gospels say the angels sang at the moment of Jesus’ birth.

Earlier on Monday the pope appeared at the window of his apartments in the apostolic palace and lit a peace candle, as a larger-than-life nativity scene was unveiled in St Peter’s Square below.

Reflecting on the gospel account of Jesus born in a stable because there was no room for Mary and Joseph in the inn, he said when people find no room for God in their lives, they will soon find no room for others.

“Let us ask the Lord that we may become vigilant for his presence, that we may hear how softly yet insistently he knocks at the door of our being and willing.

“Let us ask that we may make room for him within ourselves, that we may recognise him also in those through whom he speaks to us: children, the suffering, the abandoned, those who are excluded and the poor of this world,” he said.

He asked for prayers for the people who “live and suffer” in the Holy Land today.

The pope called for peace among Israelis and Palestinians and for the people of Syria, Lebanon and Iraq and prayed that “Christians in those lands where our faith was born may be able to continue living there, that Christians and Muslims may build up their countries side-by-side in God’s peace.”

The Vatican is concerned about the exodus from the Middle East of Christians, many of whom leave because they fear for their safety. Christians now comprise five percent of the population of the region, down from 20 percent a century ago.

According to some estimates, the current population of 12 million Christians in the Middle East could halve by 2020 if security and birth rates continue to decline.

At noon (1100 GMT/6 AM ET) the pope will deliver his twice-yearly “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) blessing and message from the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica.

(Reporting By Philip Pullella; Editing by Myra MacDonald)

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