More sightz of the day: China debuts Jiaozhou Bay Bridge

This photo taken Wednesday, June 29, 2011 released by China's Xinhua news agency shows the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province. China opened Thursday, June 30, 2011, the world's longest cross-sea bridge, which is 42 kilometers (26 miles) long and links China's eastern port city of Qingdao to an offshore island, Huangdao

Sightz of the day: Its a crazy world we live in, Check out this Basketball court

 This court is located in Germany. Check out more views and people having fun on it after the jump. Its summertime. Ha!

Arsenal lures Fabregas for £35 million as Nasri looks to finalize Manchester United move

Barcelona and Aresnal were locked in talks on Wednesday over Cesc Fabregas with Barcelona increasingly confident they will get Fabregas to the Nou Camp in a deal woth 35 million pounds. The Arsenal exodus would also see both wiz Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy boosting the ranks of Manchester United.

Although a new Fabregas bid was not formally tabled, Barcelona were back in contact with Arsenal following their rejection last week of a 27 million pounds offer. The talks on Wednesday were understood to be productive and while there remains some difference in valuations, there is mounting sense is most protracted transfer saga is finally nearing an end. Barcelona have increase their valuation of Fabregas to almost 35 million pounds with Arsenal believed to be holding out of that, with add-ons, they can present to their fans as more like 40 million pounds

Significantly, Arsenal have adopted a very different strategy with Barcelona to last summer, when they would not entertain any form of talks. They also quickly issued a public statement to make it clear that their captain was not for sale. Arsenal’s engagement in private correspondence this summer suggests an acceptance that they will not block Fabregas’s departure as long as there is an acceptable offer. From a PR perspective, it would also be helpful for them to clinch one or more of their own transfer targets — they have made significant progress on Gervinho, Gary Cahill and Ricardo Alvarez — before any announcement on Fabregas.

Fabregas is currently in Spain and said he was “calm” when asked on Wedneday about his future. “If a player is on the market it is because a club doesn’t want you”, he said

Nasri and Clichy could also be following Fabregas out of the Emirates. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes that a £20 million bid could be enough to lure Nasri. Despite Arsène Wenger’s insistence earlier this month that, “one thing’s for sure: we’re not selling him [Nasri] to Manchester United”, Ferguson has become encouraged by his chances of landing the French international.

With the player refusing to commit to a new contract, Arsenal risk losing the 24 year-old for nothing when his deal expires next summer. United have been informed that Nasri is prepared to leave for Old Trafford. Yet Wenger’s resistance to selling one of his best players to United, particularly if it coincides with the loss of Fabregas, is likely to provide a formidable obstacle to Ferguson

Talks involving third parties linked to United and Nasri took place earlier this month and senior figures at Old Trafford believe the economics of the deal, with Arsenal standing to receive a substantial fee for a player entering the final year of his contract, will ultimately prove decisive in their favour.
Manchester City are monitoring Nasri’s situation, with the player listed as a secondary target, but are ready to bid £7 million for defender Clichy .
United have taken their summer spending to £49.8 million by completing the £18.3 million signing of Atlético Madrid goalkeeper David de Gea. He is set to make his debut against Seattle Sounders on July 20.
United chief executive David Gill has claimed that the punishment meted out to Ferguson and Wayne Rooney by the Football Association last season has added to the belief at Old Trafford that United are victims of disciplinary double standards.
“I genuinely believe there have been some poorish decisions that, in my opinion, wouldn’t necessarily have hit other clubs,” said Gill. “What better way to demonstrate the authorities are being tough than by hitting one of the biggest clubs the hardest?”

Manchester United in a 20 Million pounds deal for Nasri 

Despite the insistence of Arsene Wenger earlier this month that, 'One thing's for sure: we're not selling him (Nasri) to Manchester United,' Ferguson has become increasingly confident in his chances of prising Nasri from Arsenal.

With the player refusing to commit to a new contract at the Emirates, Arsenal risk losing the France international for nothing when his current deal expires next summer and United have been informed that Nasri is prepared to leave Arsenal for Old Trafford.

Wenger’s resistance to selling one of his best players to United, particularly if it coincides with the loss of captain Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona, is likely to provide a formidable obstacle to Ferguson’s attempts to sign Nasri.

Talks involving third parties linked to United and Nasri took place earlier this month and senior figures at Old Trafford believe that the economics of the deal, with Arsenal standing to receive a substantial fee for a player entering the final year of his contract, will ultimately prove decisive in their favour.

Manchester City are monitoring Nasri’s situation, with the former Marseille player listed as a secondary target should priority signings fail to arrive at Eastlands. 

But with Arsenal due to report for pre-season training next Tuesday, United are ready to make their move in an effort to capitalise on the uncertainty surrounding the futures of both Nasri and Fabregas.

United took their summer spending to £49.8m by completing the £18.3m signing of Atletico Madrid goalkeeper David de Gea on Wednesday.

The Spain U21 keeper, who has yet to learn English, is set to make his debut against Seattle Sounders on July 20.

Meanwhile, United chief executive David Gill has claimed that the punishment meted out to Ferguson and Wayne Rooney by the Football Association last season has added to the belief at Old Trafford that United are victims of disciplinary double standards.

Ferguson received a five-match touchline ban and £30,000 fine for comments about referee Martin Atkinson, while Rooney was suspended for two games as punishment for swearing into a television camera.

Gill, an FA board member, said: "I do genuinely believe there have been some poor-ish decisions that, in my opinion, wouldn’t necessarily have hit other clubs.

"That’s not to say I’m condoning Wayne’s comments, because I don’t think they were correct, or what Sir Alex said [about Atkinson] because it wasn’t helpful.

"But at the same time, the actual punishments were harsh. We’re possibly being caught up in being one of the biggest clubs and the 'Respect' agenda being there.

"What better way to demonstrate the authorities are being tough than by hitting one of the biggest clubs the hardest?" Gill, speaking in 'Champ19ns - The Inside Story of United's 19th League Title,' added: "Wayne recognised it was wrong and apologised almost immediately.

"We have various issues with the ban: one being consistency. What’s going to happen now? Is the referee under pressure to send everyone off?

"I think sometimes in celebration people do swear and all that means is that, to my mind, it’s a dangerous course the FA have gone down, because consistent application is what’s required and I’m not sure that’ll necessarily happen.

"There are certain things you should wait until the start of the season to change.

"But it’s a lesson to Wayne. He’s subsequently scored a great goal against Chelsea and smiled - that’s what we want to see.

"There should be exuberance, but you look at the abuse he was subjected to and I know people say you’ve got to rise above it, but I defy anyone being vilified to that level to always retain your cool."

[Telegraph]
Haha, is Arsenal ready for this?

Mesothelioma, The symptoms, the prognosis, the treatment, the cure

Once in a while, we go out of our 'comfort zone' to perform some social responsiblity that will aid some folks out there who really are in need. Since we cannot flip out some dollars here and there just yet for the needy how about we get into some delicate issues? Good huh? Not to waste your time, today we are talking about a very important issue  - talking about mesothelioma the incurable form of cancer (say like AIDS) caused by asbestos that affecting close to 3000 Americans (not to talk overseas) each year. We bring you professional advice, so pay attention.


SYMPTOMS
Previously, diagnosing mesothelioma in its early stages had been a difficult, almost impossible task, because the early symptoms of this disease resemble those of similar diseases and sometimes even basic illnesses. The severity of mesothelioma is defined by four stages, with prognosis becoming bleaker as each stage progresses, so the discovery of symptoms in the first two stages is essential for ensuring a greater mesothelioma life expectancy. Additionally, the difficulty in diagnosing mesothelioma is caused by a large latency period, meaning that it can take decades between the initial exposure to asbestos and development of symptoms. However, if you or a loved one has been exposed to asbestos and experiences initial symptoms such as chest pain, violent coughing, and fatigue, it is essential that you consult with a physician immediately.
Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that many people are not even aware they may have. The symptoms are very subtle in the beginning and may go unnoticed. Some people experience no symptoms at all. This can lead to mesothelioma being left undiagnosed or misdiagnosed for several years. It is imperative that a person seek out medical attention at the first signs of mesothelioma. If the mesothelioma is left undiagnosed and untreated, the cancer can spread throughout the body.
Early symptoms of mesothelioma are generally shortness of breath and a heavy feeling in the chest area. Ninety percent of all patients will notice these two symptoms. However, because the symptoms do not seem serious many choose not to seek out medical care. The shortness of breath or heaviness is caused by a fluid buildup in the lungs. These two symptoms should be taken seriously, especially if a person has a history of asbestos exposure.
[Get more ]

PROGNOSIS
Prognosis refers to the likely outcome of a particular individual's illness.  Similar to other forms of cancer, a person’s life expectancy depends upon several factors:
Type of cancer
Location and size of tumor
Cell type
Stage of the cancer at the point of diagnosis
Ability of the patients to receive and respond to treatment
Overall health and age of the individualAmount to which the cancer has spread or metastasized.
 Sadly, in the case of mesothelioma, it is rare for a favorable prognosis to be achieved. This is due to the fact that malignant mesothelioma appears dormant for two to five decades after the initial exposure to asbestos has occurred. This means that the cancer has often advanced to Stage III or IV before the correct diagnosis is made by a physician. By this time, the cancer has often spread from its original location to other areas in the body lowering treatment success rates.
Patients who have better overall health and are younger in age typically have a more favorable outcome than those who are older or have other health issues.  Additionally, non-smokers or those who quit tend to have a better prognosis than smokers.
Commonly, those who are experiences severe symptoms, and a lack of relief from palliative treatments, may have a weakened prognosis. Symptoms such as chest pain and shortness of breath are often signs that the cancer has progressed to a later stage.
Mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos. Since asbestos was common in male-dominated jobs, such as chemical and power plants, more men have been diagnosed with the disease. Women, in turn have been in less clinical studies so the information is not as abundant, however, according to the University of South Wales, females may have a greater prognosis expectancy due to a larger amount of the gene estrogen, which the university believes may lead to  tumor suppression.
[Get More] 

PREVENTION
The only prevention for mesothelioma and other asbestos diseases is to avoid exposure to asbestos.  However, due to the wide-spread use of asbestos in many homes, public buildings and work places until the early 1970’s, millions of people have already been exposed. At-risk professions include:

Construction Workers
Auto mechanics
Building engineers
Railroad workers
Shipyard employees

Those who are involved in or exposed to building renovations are at risk of asbestos exposure. Every safety precaution should be taken when dealing with asbestos, including protective equipment, safety procedures, and work practices.
The tragedy of asbestos diseases, including mesothelioma, is that it could have been prevented had appropriate precautions been taken when the issue was first known. Following are some facts regarding the time line in which dangers surrounding asbestos were first reported:
In the early 1900’s, asbestos was reported to be the cause of lung related illnesses and deaths.
In the 1930’s England was already adopting regulations to minimize workers’ exposure to asbestos.
In the United States, Federal asbestos regulations were not passed until the 1970’s.

Even upon learning of the potential risks of asbestos, companies did not employ appropriate safety measures. Consequently, asbestos diseases, such as mesothelioma, are on the rise. Between 2,000 and 4,000 new mesothelioma cases are reported each year.
Because mesothelioma has a long latency period of up to 30-50 years, diagnosis often does not occur until the asbestos cancer is in its late stages. It is important that you communicate with your doctor regarding any asbestos exposure, particularly if the exposure was over a long period of time.  Time is critical when determining the most appropriate mesothelioma treatment, so giving your doctor information provides you the best opportunity to receive an early diagnosis.
[Mesothelioma]

TREATMENT
A diagnosis is always difficult, whether it is pleural mesothelioma or another variety. Because this is such an aggressive malignancy, patients and their families may have a difficult time addressing the issue of treatment. However, because options for mesothelioma patients are steadily increasing, the discussion of treatment with one’s primary oncologist, family members, and loved ones is important. Nearly all mesothelioma patients have treatment options-be they curative or palliative that can extend survival, alleviate pain, and increase quality of life.
Each mesothelioma case is considered individually and there is no singular prescribed roadmap for the management of malignant mesothelioma. What's best for each individual patient will depend on any number of factors. Diagnostic procedures such as x-rays, MRIs, CT scans, and biopsies will be used to determine these factors and these tests will assist your primary care physician and/or oncologist in determining the best treatment for the individual and their particular circumstances.

Treatment Options

Cancer treatment usually focuses upon destroying malignant cells and preserving healthy ones. This can be accomplished in a number of ways. At the present, patients will typically utilize three primary mechanisms for mesothelioma treatment. Either surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, or some combination of the three are considered the most effective for the treatment of malignant mesothelioma. What course of treatment is recommended will largely depend on these issues:

The type of mesothelioma and location of the tumor
The size of the tumor(s)
The degree to which the cancer has spread or metastasized
The staging of the cancer – I, II, III, etc.
The age of the patient
The overall physical health of the patient
Setting up any type of treatment may involve seeing a variety of doctors, including an oncologist (cancer specialist), pulmonologist (lung specialist), or radiologist. Patience is sometimes necessary to determine the exact malignancy variety and location, but knowing these factors will undoubtedly assist the oncologist in prescribing the best possible method of mesothelioma treatment.

Surgery for Mesothelioma Treatment

Surgery can be performed on mesothelioma patients for one of two reasons: in an attempt to cure the disease or for palliative reasons in order to keep the patient more comfortable and improve the quality of life. Because mesothelioma is nearly always diagnosed in its later stages, curative surgery is typically not an option. Once the tumor has metastasized outside the pleural cavity, palliation is typically the only ends for which surgery is utilized.As tests are developed that may help to diagnose mesothelioma at an earlier stage, surgery may become more of an option in the future. At that point, doctors may be able to attempt to remove the cancer and some of the surrounding tissue in an attempt to stabilize the disease.

More often, however, surgery is used as a palliative measure. For example, doctors may opt for a surgery called a pleurodesis, which involves injecting talc into the lungs to prevent fluid from returning. A thoracentesis, a surgical procedure that removes fluid from the lungs by means of a thin needle, may also be recommended.

In severe cases, a pleurectomy may be recommended for palliative purposes. This involves removing the pleura - the lining of the lung - and can control fluid build-up and lessen pain and breathing difficulties.

Advancements in Mesothelioma Surgery involves Chemotherapy and radiation Therapy Read more

Mesothelioma Cure

Following the backlash of asbestos-related exposures and illnesses, many people were wondering how scientific research was going to proceed. The response has been encouraging, with cancer specialists and other doctors working each day towards a cure for malignant mesothelioma. While a way to completely eliminate the cancer from the body does not presently exist, there are several successful mesothelioma treatment programs as well as clinical trials that are working towards developing a way to eliminate this unfortunate form of cancer.
Treatments for patients of malignant mesothelioma commonly fall in line with treatment of other lung and lung-related cancers. Curative treatments are those which remove the cancer from the body completely. While there are no cures for mesothelioma, any treatment could theoretically be curative, so long as it is successful in completely removing the cancer from the body. While the treatment may be curative, it is important to remember that curative treatments do not rule out the recurrence of the disease.
While curative treatments may not prevent the disease from recurring, it is important to be aware of current initiatives that are working towards a total cure for the disease. There have been instances of unique treatment programs that have prevented the recurrence of the disease for several years. Paul Krauss was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 1997 and given only a few months to live by his physician. Today, Paul Krauss is still alive and active and has dedicated himself towards spreading awareness of the disease and working with others in developing treatment programs that would be as successful as his has been.
Combination treatments, which integrate two or more different treatment options, such as surgery coupled with radiation, or surgery paired with radiation and chemotherapy have been successful in extending life expectancies. Medical researchers believe that when the right combination of therapies is found, prognoses will be far longer than anyone could have imagined when the disease first manifested. Technology has also afforded new possibilities to mesothelioma patients. CT (Computer Topography) scans have been able to map three-dimensional images of the body's internal organs for targeted chemotherapy or radiation therapy to be administered.
Another novel technique is being integrated with surgical resections of mesothelioma tumors. Heated chemotherapeutic agents have shown increased proficiency in the elimination of cancer cells. Side effects of chemotherapy have, in the past, prevented physicians from delivering an optimal dosage of the drug. However, a novel procedure known as intracavity heated chemotherapy treatment has integrated these two concepts into a successful program. Heated chemotherapeutic agent is administered directly to the affected area during the surgical removal, destroying any remaining cancer cells in the area and extending prognoses well beyond typical timeframes.
It is through technology and advancements such as these that cancer specialists and physicians are laying the groundwork for a cure.
[Maacenter]
 
If you have someone suffering from this, please show them love. and go through our resources again.

Justin Timerlake to buy Myspace

 Myspace - remember it? The popular social networking site that was laid to rest by both facebook and twitter. Well, it seems the new King of Pop have decided to place his dollars on it to get it back to life. He has teamed up with a group to get the network up and running again. What can we say? Here is the report.
Pop star Justin Timberlake is part of a group that said Wednesday it will buy MySpace from News Corp., a bid to add some cool to a social network that has been losing it for some time.

Timberlake will become a part owner and play "a major role in developing the creative direction and strategy for the company moving forward," according to Specific Media, the company that he will partner with.
The deal is for $35 million, mostly in Specific Media stock, according to a person familiar with the matter. The deal values MySpace at a fraction of what News Corp. paid for the site six years ago and paves the way for the layoff of about half of the 500 workers, the person said. As part of the exchange, News Corp. will receive a private equity stake in Specific Media.
With Timberlake's help, the buyers hope to revitalize MySpace and transform it into a destination for original shows, as well as bolster its already available video content and music.
"There's a need for a place where fans can go to interact with their favorite entertainers, listen to music, watch videos, share and discover cool stuff and just connect. MySpace has the potential to be that place," Timberlake said in a statement.
The sale is expected to close later Wednesday, a day before the end of News Corp.'s fiscal year. News Corp. will maintain less than a 5 percent stake in the site, said the person, who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
News Corp. bought MySpace for $580 million in 2005, but users, advertisers and musicians who once relied on it for promotion fled the site for other hotter social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Less than half of MySpace's 74 million monthly visitors are now in the United States, where its visitor count dropped by half in May to 35 million, according to tracking firm comScore Inc.
Specific Media confirmed the acquisition but not the terms of the deal Wednesday.
"We look forward to partnering with someone as talented as Justin Timberlake, who will lead the business strategy with his creative ideas and vision for transforming MySpace," said Specific Media CEO Tim Vanderhook in a statement. "This is the next chapter of digital media, and we are excited to have a hand in writing the script."
MySpace CEO Mike Jones, the last member of a three-member executive team appointed to fix the site in April 2009, said in a memo to staff Wednesday that he would help with the transition for two months before departing.
MySpace launched in 2003, founded by entrepreneurs Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson, who is every MySpace user's first friend. It became a popular Internet destination and a key way for little-known musicians to market themselves and interact with their fans.
But MySpace lost its footing over the years as the fun of customizing one's profile began to bore its users and heavy use of banner advertisements slowed the speed at which pages load. Meanwhile, Facebook, founded in 2004, limited what users and advertisers could do, but kept pages clean, and freshened them with its "news feed" of updates, a feature that MySpace later copied.
People found Facebook easier to use and a great migration from MySpace to Facebook picked up several years ago. When Facebook began allowing apps, including music functions and addictive games like "FarmVille," MySpace was left in the dust. According to comScore, Facebook now has more than a billion users worldwide.
"Apps were the breaking point and MySpace could never recover from that," said Charlene Li, a social media analyst and founder of Altimeter Group.
Rohit Kulkarni, an 18-year-old member of the San Jose, Calif. pop punk band Four O'Clock Heroes, said his group once exclusively used MySpace to reach fans with their music, but they haven't checked the site in months. They opened their Facebook band page last year.
"Most of our following was already on Facebook anyways," Kulkarni said. "Nowadays, people use Facebook over MySpace because it's integrated into almost everything, like all your mobile phones. I'm guessing that's why it became more popular."
Even "FarmVille" game-maker Zynga has taken a role promoting music, as shown recently when Lady Gaga unveiled her new album there.
Timberlake's involvement is a clear sign that MySpace will try to reconnect with its musical roots.
Over the last 11 quarters, News Corp. had cumulatively lost about $1.4 billion on the business segment that houses MySpace. By getting rid of the site before the close of the fiscal year, News Corp. has rid itself of about $250 million in losses this year, estimated Barclays Capital analyst Anthony DiClemente.
At $35 million, Specific Media gets an Internet property for a price that Li called "ridiculously low" and values each monthly U.S. visitor at about $1 each. Its new owners should be able to recoup their investment if the company gets each user to click on about 20 ads over their lifetime, she said.
Specific Media, based in Irvine, Calif., brokers the sale of ads to websites and has dabbled in creating original programming and matching it with sponsors. The company was founded in 1999 by brothers Tim, Chris and Russell Vanderhook.
[AP]

Sightz Pick: Tiger Woods in New look

Golf Superstar Tiger Woods sported this look to a recent press conference. I have nothing on it. I can say its cool but then, I don't know about you and he is happy too. Well, nice Tiger.

Tracy Morgan at it again - offends in latest stand-up

Tracy Morgan can't stay out of trouble. Still reeling from the hot soup he landed himself in and embarking on an 'apology tour' after calling out gays and threatening to kill his son if he turns or turned  gay, guess the comedian has more up his sleeves. Seems Tracy can't afford to crack jokes these days without catching a controversy; the latest - the disabled. Catch the news when you continue.

Tracy Morgan may want to invest in a bus, because his apology tour may not be over just yet.

The Arc, a nonprofit advocacy group serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, is the latest organization demanding an apology from the comedian for remarks he made during his stand-up routine Saturday — his first performance since his infamous antigay rant.
Uh-oh.
This time Tracy ranted about "retarded kids" and "cripples." Oh boy.
The "30 Rock" actor put his foot in his mouth this time while performing two hourlong shows on Saturday night at Caroline's comedy club in New York, where he once again denied he was homophobic and claimed his father was the lead singer of the Village People.

But during his routine, things once again went south for the comic when he began telling the crowd not to "mess with women who have retarded kids."
"Them young retarded males is strong," he said. "They're strong like chimps."
He then segued into a bit about hooking up with a girl he called "a cripple" with a dialysis machine and a prosthetic arm, while groans could reportedly be heard from the crowd.
"Tracy Morgan should apologize immediately," The Arc's CEO, Peter Berns, told E! News. "This quote is far too offensive to be excused as comedy, and it is very hurtful to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families.
"Mr. Morgan has an incredibly powerful platform from which to fix this, and if he's learned anything in the last few weeks, he can't bomb this apology," Berns added.
It was the comic's first time onstage since his June 3 show, in which he said he'd "stab" his son if he came out as gay.
He had argued that homosexuality is a choice because "God don't make mistakes."
He quickly issued an apology, saying he went too far and "was not funny in any context."
Then Tracy kept apologizing. And apologizing some more. He met with young gay teens and visited Nashville again to say sorry to anyone he offended with his rant.
That resulted in GLAAD officials saying Tracy actually ended up drawing much-needed attention to issues that gays face.
Time will tell whether people with developmental disabilities will feel the same way about Morgan's publicized onstage antics.
[MSNBC]

Some Good News!! Crash course diet reverses Type 2 diabetes in a week

People with Type 2 diabetes get new hope today as scientists show the disease can be reversed in as little as seven days by going on a crash-course diet.Adhering to the strict 600 calorie-a-day diet causes fat levels in the pancreas to plummet, restoring normal function, found Prof Roy Taylor of Newcastle University.

The discovery, a "radical change" in understanding of the condition, holds out the possibility that sufferers could cure themselves - if they have the willpower.

Until recently received medical wisdom was that Type 2 diabetes was largely irreversible.

But this small-scale study indicates that defeating it could be easier than commonly thought.

Prof Taylor asked 11 volunteers, all recently diagnosed, to go on what he admitted was an "extreme diet" of specially formulated drinks and non-starchy vegetables, for eight weeks. 

After just a week, pre-breakfast ('fasting') blood sugar levels had returned to normal, suggesting a resumption of correct pancreas function.
After eight weeks, all had managed to reverse their diabetes. Three months on, seven remained free of it.
Prof Taylor explained that too much fat "clogged up" the operation of the pancreas at a cellular level, preventing normal secretion of insulin which regulates blood sugar.
When this fat was removed - by way of the diet - normal function resumed.
He said: "This is a radical change in understanding Type 2 diabetes. It will change how we can explain it to people newly diagnosed with the condition.
"While it has long been believed that someone with Type 2 diabetes will always have the disease, and that it will steadily get worse, we have shown that we can reverse the condition."
Gordon Parmley, 67, from Stocksfield in Northumberland, one of the volunteers, said: "At the end of the trial, I was told my insulin levels were normal and after six years, I no longer needed my diabetes tablets.
"Still today, 18 months on, I don’t take them. It’s astonishing really that a diet – hard as it was – could change my health so drastically."
The idea of the crash diet came from the observation that gastric bypass patients often quickly stopped being Type 2 diabetics.
Many thought this was because surgery affected gut hormones which had a knock-on impact on the pancreas.
But Prof Taylor thought it might really be because the surgery severely constrained what patients could eat. He set up the diet experiment to test his 'fat' hypothesis.
He said special MRI scans showed the proportion of fat in volunteers' pancreases dropped during the eight weeks, from eight to six per cent.
"This study does not just show proof of principal, it shows proof of mechanism," he concluded.
He believed the diet would also work in people who had suffered from Type 2 diabetes for years, as bariatric surgery patients tended to remain diabetes-free. He is presenting the findings to the American Diabetes Association conference in San Diego this weekend.
Dr Iain Frame, director of research at Diabetes UK, which supported the study, said: "It shows that Type 2 diabetes can be reversed, on a par with successful surgery without the side effects. However, this diet is not an easy fix."
Whether the reversal "would remain in the long term" was still an open question.
Despite the diet's potential, Prof Taylor was a little pessimistic about how many would stick to it.
"Maybe five per cent," he said. "However, if they did, it would save the NHS many millions of pounds."
Almost a tenth of the entire NHS budget, or about £9 billion a year, is spent managing diabetes and its complications. Most of that is spent on type 2 diabetics, who outnumber type 1 diabetics by about nine to one. 
[Telegraph]

Romance advice from First Lady - Michelle Obama

Arsenal Reject £27 million offer from Barcelona for Cesc Fabregas

 Still the modern day slavery FIFA talked about? You could bet your life Fabregas wants to seal that deal.
Yet Fabregas is contracted to Arsenal until 2015, meaning that the club do not have to worry unduly about him running down his current deal for at least another two years.

What they do have to weigh up, however, is the immeasurable impact on the dressing-room of a captain who, in his heart of hearts, would probably like to be at Barcelona. The injury record of Fabregas is another consideration. He suffered a series of hamstring injuries last season and, while that may be remedied by his first proper summer break since 2007, his value would clearly diminish if he endured similar problems next season.
Relations between Barcelona and Arsenal have also been strained over the past year. Barcelona's two offers for Fabregas last summer were accompanied by numerous public statements about the Arsenal captain from players and club directors, something that caused considerable irritation to Arsenal.
Barcelona were then angered earlier this year when Arsenal successfully persuaded Jon Toral, a 16 year-old midfield, to join them. As well as Toral and Fabregas, Arsenal have previously recruited Fran Merida and Ignasi Miquel from the Barcelona academy.
The whole issue is particularly sore for Barcelona given that Arsenal eventually paid only £700,000 in compensation for Fabregas and are now in a position to have rejected bids in excess of £30 million.
Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, has been back at the club's London Colney training base this week and is understood to be relaxed about the Fabregas situation.
Arsenal are well aware of Fabregas's stated desire to rejoin Barcelona, but believe that the 24 year-old appreciates that he can only leave if an acceptable offer emerges. If that does not happen, as was the case last summer, they believe that he will continue to be committed to Arsenal.
Fabregas is currently in Jakarta and, while he still regards Barcelona as his dream destination, has seemed more cautious in his recent public pronouncements. In an interview earlier this week, he simply said that Pep Guardiola, the Barcelona manager, had been his "idol" as a player.
Rosell, though, pointedly praised Fabregas earlier this week for having done everything he could to join Barcelona and said that he "really wants to come".
Guardiola has a budget of £40 million for new players this summer, although that has been swelled by £9 million following the sale of Bojan Krkic to Roma.
"This year we won't offer the same as last year because a year has gone by and Cesc today is not worth 40 million [euros]," said Rosell.
Barcelona have significant debt and Rosell is determined to implement the self-sustaining philosophy at the Nou Camp which Arsenal currently follow. For this reason, there remains the possibility of another club, such as Manchester City, Inter Milan, Chelsea or Real Madrid, making a far higher bid for Fabregas. "I am concerned about the club's economic sustainability – we have to balance the books," said Rosell.
Arsenal have also already turned down bids this summer for Nicklas Bendtner and Gael Clichy, from Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool, respectively. Wenger is also focused on his own summer targets, which include Gervinho, Ricardo Alvarez, Christopher Samba, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Gary Cahill.
Samba, the Blackburn defender, made his ambition clear on Thursday. "For four-and-a-half years I have been at Blackburn and fought against relegation," he said. "If a good opportunity presents itself, I want to take it. I hope the club will understand if I want to make the step up and not prevent a deal."
Carlos Vela, meanwhile, expects to be back at Arsenal next season following his loan spell with West Bromwich Albion.
[Telegraph]

“We wonder Arsenal is so adamant on refusing to sell Cesc when they sold their best stars previously. If Patrick Viera, Flamini, Thiery Henry could go, why not Fabregas. Someone is really jealous. Ha!”

Lmao!! Conan Shreds Apple’s Final Cut Pro X

Really Hilarious!!
Earlier this week, Apple released Final Cut Pro X, the latest version of its famous (and well used) professional video editing software. Because this is essentially a ground-up rewrite and overhaul, there are lots of new features in the software, but the app is also missing some functionality that longtime users came to rely on.

The response in the professional community, at least right now, is largely negative. So Conan O’Brien and his editors decided to mock Apple’s latest software. As you can see from the clip above, it’s hilarious.

One quibble: The “X” is pronounced “ten” a la Mac OS X, not “X” as in “X-Factor.”

We haven’t had a chance to use Final Cut Pro X in-depth enough to test its merits against Final Cut 7 or the excellent Adobe Premiere CS5.5, but we can see how the new features that might make some all-digital workflows more productive could wreak havoc for shops that already have a dedicated Final Cut 7 install base or work with tape.

Have you used Final Cut Pro X? Let us know your thoughts on the app and Conan’s response to it in the comments.

Thanks to [Mashable]

Loving this: All About Girls' Generation "Paradise in Phuket" Teaser

WoW, Amazing! Guess we cannot wait to get our hands on it. Super Cool and can we say beautiful ladies.

NBA Draft Update - Basketball Wires - MiamiHerald.com

NBA Draft Update - Basketball Wires - MiamiHerald.com

Pregnant Nigerian woman turns refugee camp tenant in Europe

After a forced emigration to Europe  following the crisis that hit Libya where she had stayed with her husband for years, 32-year-old Nigerian Mrs. Madeline Adebisi, an expectant mother now lives in uncertainty in a refugee camp, unsure of what the future holds. She is about to be delivered of a baby, even as there is no word from her husband, who left Tripoli in April.
Like many a Nigerian who had dreamt of a better living, 32-year-old Mrs. Madeline Adebisi and her husband  sought a greener pasture in Libya. Presumably, they both had sweet tales to share there, until a few weeks ago. The North African country is at war. 
The ongoing fierce attempt to force Libya’s strongman Col. Muammar Gaddafi to relinguish his 41-year reign has since dragged the helpless woman among many others, through the valley of the shaddow of death. Now, she lives on tenterhooks in an Italian refugee camp in Lampedusa, a tiny Island South of Sicily. 
Mrs. Adebisi live in utter agony, unsure of what the future holds for her. Worse still, her heart harbours a killing tempest: She may not see her beloved husband again, dead or alive!
Her predicament began two months ago with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) bombardments. Poised to fight dirty, Gaddafi made good his vow to ‘unleash an unprecedented wave of illegal immigration’ on Europe. And the ships have since been arriving from Libya.
Caught in the web, Mrs Adebisi, with her pregnancy, got on the emergency trip to “nowhere in particular” against her wish. The journey as Newsweek put it, “takes about four days and conditions on the ship are often horrific. There is little food and there are no toilets on board. Expectant women are often forced to insert catheters before boarding so that their urine won’t ‘poison’ the superstitious men.”
The woman was on the trip without her beloved husband who had left Tripoli in search of work after losing his job. She has since been left living with a group of other African women who, like her, had lost their jobs in a hospital when the war broke out.  According to Newsweek, soldiers loyal to Gaddafi had forced them to relocate to a small house near the port. But after a few days, they were pushed into a boat with hundreds of others midnight and set to sea.
Three days later, after the ship failed to dock on the Island of Malta, it lost its rudder off Lampedusa’s shore. Unable to steer, its captain abandoned the wheel and the ship smashed onto the rocks, a stone’s throw to the Door to Europe, a statue erected as a memorial for immigrants who died at sea while trying to reach the continent.
“They just kept screaming and screaming, calling desperately for help. I was so worried we would lose some of those babies,” Lt. Marco Persi of Italy’s military police reportedly recalled.
At that moment, hapless Mrs. Adebisi must have said her last prayer hurriedly. “I thought I was dead that night when the boat crashed… I was sure my life was over,” she said in crass hopelessness. She has since been living in the refugee centre in La Spezia on Liguarian coast. 
According to reports, “she is about to be delivered of a baby, but she has no idea as to whether her husband is alive or dead because she has not seen him or heard from him since April when he left Tripoli.”
Perhaps Mrs. Adebisi is lucky to still be counted among the living as many in her shoes never lived to tell their stories, which has left Lampedusa’s coastline marred carcasses of capsized boats; the ports filled with shipwrecks; some with blankets, children’s toys and jackets. Deaths in the Mediterranean waters are common to the extent that fishermen now snag bodies in their nets instead of fish.
But when the woman will have the opportunity to re-unite with the rest of her family here in Nigeria is a question left for destiny to decide.
The massive wave of perilous migration may not be surprising, after all. Libya is a key transit country for African immigrants trying to go to Europe for improved living. Records show that in the last five months, no fewer than 45,000 migrants, 10 times more than the figure last year, had made their ways to Lampedusa.
Libya is not the lone “donor” of such immigrants. Thousands of Tunisians have flooded into the Lampedusa after the fall of their President, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, in the heat of the uprising  that engulfed the country in January.
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has estimated that in the past two months, at least, 1,600 people have died at sea while fleeing their countries for European shores.  

[Nation]

iPhone 5 to Sport 'Radical' New Look

Still on our new iphone 5 updates. We bring you another report. This time, what to expect.

A larger, sleeker, faster iPhone 5 is coming this September, if a fresh wave of rumors is to be believed.

The latest phone from Apple will feature a brand new processor, a better camera, and could even sport a radical new look according to various media reports.

Bloomberg reports that the new device will include Apple’s A5 dual core processor, the powerful chip included in the iPad 2, as well as an upgraded 8-megapixel camera, over the iPhone 4’s 5-megapixel model.

The most drastic change though could come down to looks. Rumor has it that the iPhone 5 will be curvier and slimmer than its predecessor. “We have been told by a reliable source to expect a radical new design for the upcoming iPhone,” Boy Genius reported.

Apple has launched a new iPhone every June at its annual developer's conference ever since the smartphone's debut.

The company changed things up this year for what may have been a variety of reasons -- supply issues, the delay of the white iPhone 4, but the most likely factor is the launch of the new iOS 5 operating system which is to be released in the 3rd quarter of this year.

This generally falls in line with estimates of a September launch and also correlates to production estimates, according to Chris Caso at Susquehanna Financial.

"Our checks at multiple levels of the supply chain point to a one-to-two-month delay in the production start for the next-generation iPhone vs. our earlier view of a July production start.”

[FoxNews]

Keep the ring and Bentley, Hefner tells Crystal

Haha, Here is how OMG is reporting it.
The runaway bunny still has her engagement bling!
Crystal Harris might have dumped Hugh Hefner just five days before their wedding, but she still gets to keep her $90,000, 3-carat diamond sparkler -- and a nice set of wheels, too!

The 25-year-old stopped by the Playboy Mansion on Sunday to return the ring and Hefner's dog, Charlie, Hefner's rep confirms to Us Weekly. "It was the right thing to do," she told Radaronline.com of her attempt to return the jewelry.
While the 85-year-old mogul was thrilled to have his Cavalier King Charles spaniel back, he told Harris she could keep the engagement ring, along with the Bentley he'd given her, too, his rep confirms to Us.
Lol, Come on Crystal, you can see Hugh really has that old man love for you. lol, Why did you play him dirty.
Read more from OMG 

Apple to unveil new iPhone in September, as court denies Samsung from geting a peek at unreleased iPhone

 Think your iphone 4 is the best you can get? Well, Apple is cutting short your thoughts as reports suggest a new iphone is hitting the shelves in September.The all new iphone 5
Bloomberg reports the tech giant will unveil a new version of the smartphone in September that will feature a faster processor and better camera.

Citing "two people familiar with the plans," the report says the upgraded iPhone will feature the same processor as the iPad 2 and an 8-megapixel camera.
Speaking of the iPad, Bloomberg also says Apple is testing a new version of the tablet featuring a higher resolution screen.
Still On Steve Jobs, Iphone and Samsung, a U.S. judge rejected Samsung's request for a peek at Apple's unreleased iPhone and iPad, which was brought in the course of high-stakes patent litigation between the two companies.
Apple sued Samsung in April, claiming Samsung's Galaxy line of smartphones and tablets infringe several patents and trademarks. Samsung counter-sued, asserting its own patents against Apple.
Late last month, Samsung filed a request for Apple to hand over the unreleased versions of the iPhone and iPad, saying it would be "highly relevant" to its defense. A judge had already ordered Samsung to produce similar materials for Apple, Samsung attorneys argued in court filings.
Apple opposed the request, saying it was an attempt to "harass" Apple into disclosing extremely sensitive trade secrets.
In a ruling released late on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh said Apple's legal claims are only based on its products that have already hit the market.
"Common sense suggests that allegations of copying are necessarily directed at Apple's existing products, to which Samsung has access and could potentially mimic," Koh wrote, "and not at Apple's unreleased, inaccessible, next generation products."
Representatives from Apple and Samsung could not immediately be reached for a comment.
Samsung's Galaxy products use Google's Android operating system, which directly competes with Apple's mobile software.
The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California is Apple Inc v. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd et al, 11-1846.

[Reuters]

The All New Nokia N9

Nokia Chief Executive Stephen Elop unveiled a new smartphone on Tuesday that uses software the firm plans to ditch, a move analysts said would probably condemn the device to obscurity.
Once the undisputed leader in hand phones, Nokia has rapidly lost ground in the smartphone market to Apple's iPhone and Google's Android devices, and at the low end of the market to Asian rivals such as China's ZTE and India's Micromax.

At a telecoms conference in Singapore, Elop reiterated that Nokia would launch its first smartphone using Microsoft's Windows platform later this year, even as he unveiled the new all-screen N9 smartphone, which uses a platform called MeeGo.
The model -- Nokia's first and last to use MeeGo -- can be navigated by a single finger swipe and comes in black, cyan and magenta colors in a polycarbonate design.
"It seems pointless to launch a phone like the N9 on a platform that has been cut by management," RBS analyst Didier Scemama in London said in a research note.
Elop said the N9 was part of Nokia's drive to introduce "an exciting experience around the user interface, the industrial design and the developer platform".
"Our primary smartphone strategy is to focus on the Windows phone," said Elop, who moved to Nokia from Microsoft last year.
"I have increased confidence that we will launch our first device based on the Windows platform later this year and we will ship our product in volume in 2012."
The MeeGo platform -- a newcomer in the market dominated by Google Inc and Apple Inc -- was born in February 2010 when Nokia and Intel unveiled a merger of Nokia's Linux Maemo software platform with Intel's Moblin, which is also based on Linux open-source software.
Nokia pulled back from the project four months ago.
"The N9 comes too close to the expected launch of Nokia's Windows Phone device to have any impact on its current smartphone woes," said Ben Wood, head of research at London-based mobile consultancy CCS Insight.
"The strength of rival ecosystems leaves little room for MeeGo powered devices. It's difficult to see the N9 being anything more than a niche device ... the N9 will be a tough sell."
Research firm IDC's analyst Melissa Chau said the N9 would probably be a prototype to showcase what Nokia can bring in future phones.
"I don't expect, and don't even think Nokia expects, this phone to turn around their fortunes," she said. "All it wants to do with the phone is to inspire some confidence in people that they are not out of the game yet."
Nokia's head of design Marko Ahtisaari, in a dig at Apple's iPhone 4, said the N9's polycarbonate body would give the phone "extremely good antenna performance, so unlike some competitor products, you do not need to hold it in special way to have reliable phonecalls".
FEW CLUES ON STRATEGY
Elop's speech in Singapore was billed by Nokia as "an update on progress in our new strategy", but he provided few details on how he planned to tackle the company's troubles.
Last month, Nokia said it had abandoned hope of meeting key targets just weeks after setting them, raising questions over whether Elop can deliver on a turnaround he promised in February.
Nokia's market value has plunged by more than half since February, after the leak of a memo from Elop that compared the company's market position to a man standing on a burning oil platform.
Nokia's market share has fallen in key markets. In China, for example, it has shrunk to 19 percent from 33 percent two years ago, research firm Gartner estimates.
So-called no-brand handset manufacturers -- small Chinese firms using low-cost chipsets -- control 45 percent of the market in the world's most populous country, Gartner said.
Nokia's woes bear a striking resemblance to troubles at Research In Motion, whose dismal results and failure to deliver exciting new devices on time pushed its shares more than 20 percent lower on Friday.
Shares in the Blackberry maker fell a further 7 percent on Monday after a marketing executive left the company, the second departure in four months and the latest news contributing to a halving in the company's market value this year.
IDC's Chau said Elop's presentation on Tuesday gave few clues on Nokia's future strategies to get back on track.
"From what they have announced today it is really hard to say because they left out so many details," she said.
"It will take a lot of cooperation between Microsoft and Nokia to do it and with this kind of business deal we only have a 50-50 percent (chance) to begin with."
Nokia also said it plans to launch up to 10 new smartphones using its own Symbian operating system. It introduced three affordable handsets which can use dual sim-cards, years after Asian rivals put such features into their phones.
"Any new products by Nokia will be a stop-gap ... until its first Microsoft phone is out in the market," said Seo Won-seok, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities in Seoul.
"It won't be easy for Nokia to aggressively market these products and even new product lineups will be limited given that it is spending heavy resources in developing Windows phones. Under such circumstances, I'm quite doubtful whether they'll get a strong response from customers."
In a research note this month, Nomura said Samsung Electronics would become the world's largest smartphone maker this quarter and Apple would take the number two spot next quarter, pushing Nokia to third place
[Reuters]

Bristol Palin Blasts the Mccains, talks 'Dancing with the stars'

 From Levi Johnston to Meghan McCain, Bristol Palin has been put off by a lot of people.
In her memoir due out Friday, "Not Afraid of Life: My Journey So Far," the 20-year-old daughter of former Alaska governor/potential presidential candidate Sarah Palin reveals her true feelings about the father of her son, the daughter of her mother's 2008 running mate, and much more.

Palin writes that the first time she met the 26-year-old daughter of Sen. John McCain, she "ignored us during the entire visit." This was just before Senator McCain introduced Sarah Palin as his running mate. Palin adds that she "had a sneaking suspicion I might need to watch my back."
"Every time we saw Meghan, she seemed to be constantly checking us out, comparing my family to hers and complaining," she writes. "Oh the complaining."
Cindy McCain, the senator's wife, also rubbed the eldest Palin daughter the wrong way.
"I'd never seen people with so much Louis Vuitton luggage, so many cell phones, and so many constant helpers to do hair and makeup," Palin writes, adding that the would-be first lady looked "like a queen" and held "herself like royalty."
Palin writes that she was shocked when the senator's wife offered to be a godmother to her unborn baby: "I had just met her and I wondered why she wanted any type of guardianship over my child."
Palin also shares not-so-fond memories of her 2010 stint on "Dancing With the Stars," where she and her professional partner, Mark Ballas, finished in third place.
"I noticed some of the contestants rolled their eyes when they realized we'd survived to dance another day," she writes, adding that some of the contenders voted off "literally would not speak to us or acknowledge our presence."

Bristol Palin Saves Most Biting Words for Levi Johnston

The most biting words in the book are reserved for Johnston, Palin's high school boyfriend and the father of her 2-year-old son, Tripp. Palin was drunk on wine coolers when she lost her virginity to Johnston while camping. She writes that she "didn't know that girly flavored wine coolers were just as likely to get you drunk as the hard stuff."
Palin had vowed to wait until marriage to have sex, and when she confronted Johnston about the encounter, he said they would refrain from the act until after saying their vows.
But, Palin writes, they soon became intimate again and she got pregnant with their son shortly after. She writes that she was taking birth control pills at the time to treat menstrual cramps; she went through eight home pregnancy tests before she was convinced of the positive results
Palin refers to Johnston as a "gnat" and claims he "cheated on me about as frequently as he sharpened his hockey skates." She writes that while her parents accepted her pregnancy, he wasn't so supportive, saying the child "Better be a f**king boy."
Even when Tripp was born, according to Palin, Johnston's hands-off attitude persisted. She writes that "doctors tried to hand Levi the scissors to cut the cord but he backed away. He said it was too gross, an odd statement since he's been able to field dress a moose with one arm tied behind his back."
Motherhood is a constant theme of Palin's book. She writes that she was taking birth control pills to treat menstrual cramps when she found out she was pregnant in 2008. She went through eight home pregnancy tests before she was convinced of the positive results.
Now, though she's made hundreds of thousands of dollars lecturing to young adults about abstinence, she relishes her maternal instincts. While visiting Haiti on a humanitarian trip with her parents, Fox News host Greta Van Susteren and the Rev. Franklin Graham, Palin offered to take home a baby reeling from Haiti's 2010 earthquake.
Palin describes seeing an 8-month-old boy at a cholera treatment center whose mother had recently passed away. The baby's father was caring for him and six other children. She writes, "I could tell by his emotion and urgency that he was trying to give the baby up for a chance at life."
"I actually offered to take the baby home," she continues, "but you obviously can't just pick up a child and take him out of the country! (It felt wrong to leave him there, though, whatever 'the system.')"
[ABC]