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160、 Mom: Lindsay Attending AA Meetings by Gina Serpe
Fri Dec 1, 2:11 PM ET



Los Angeles (E! Online) - So much for anonymous.

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    Lindsay Lohan's mother, Dina, has told E! News' Ryan Seacrest that her daughter has been attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, though the elder Lohan stopped short of saying that the starlet has formally entered the program.

Dina Lohan made the comments to Seacrest on his KIIS-FM Los Angeles radio show Friday, adding that her 20-year-old daughter does not have a drinking problem per se, but is simply attending the meetings as many of her friends do and have found them beneficial.

"That is true," she replied, when asked if Lindsay was attending AA meetings. "You know, a lot of people she hangs out with go, and it's a positive thing. As a parent, you tell them what you can tell them, but she's 20 and I'm not gonna say, 'Stay home and don't go out,' that's a ridiculous thing to do.

"I'm there for support, and I'll obviously give her my opinion, but she's very smart." (For the full clip, check out The Vine.)

The mother of three has never publicly come out against her eldest daughter's nonstop partying and the bad press that results.

Over the summer, James G. Robinson, the producer of the Lindsay star vehicle Georgia Rule, issued a public letter to the actress, deriding her behavior on the movie set as that of a "spoiled child" and saying that her party-hearty ways were affecting production.

Dina quickly defended her daughter, saying Lindsay was a consummate professional who had to be taken to the hospital because of on-set conditions, not because of late nights, and calling Robinson's public scolding "ridiculous."

"I'm a mother and will do what I need to do to protect my child," she said at the time. "I don't feel it should be aired out and everyone should know. It's personal."

At least until now.

Reports of Lohan being active in the 12-step program first began circulating in November, when paparazzi photos of the Mean Girls star donning a red sobriety chip reading "90 Days" made the Internet rounds. The chips are typically distributed to AA members to commemorate different lengths of sobriety.

At the time, however, Lohan's rep told the New York Post that the chip was a tribute to one of the actress' friends, who had recently hit the alcohol-free benchmark.

On Friday morning, the tab's Page Six gossip column reported that Lohan had attended "several" AA meetings this week, only to be spotted partying at GQ's Men of the Year dinner Wednesday night.

For her part, the tabloid-hounded Lohan has long denied that her hard-partying ways were either out of control or even that hard.

During a recent stop at the     Oprah Winfrey Show to promote Bobby, Lohan played down her bad publicity: "I'm 20 years old. Is it a crime to go...dancing with your friends? It's not. I have a life and I have my family and I have work and I have those three things."

Unfortunately, she also has the media.

Reporters and paparazzi have devoted much space to her nightclub rounds with     Paris Hilton and     Britney Spears over the past week. Her well-chronicled November misadventures also included another fender-bender and an on-stage tumble that knocked her out of hosting the World Music Awards in London.

While Lindsay's publicist has yet to comment on Dina Lohan's remarks, the rep is blasting the press for piling on the actress.

Leslie Sloane Zelnick has lashed out at media outlets for mocking Lohan's heartfelt―and obviously self-penned―letter of condolence issued in the wake of her Prairie Home Companion director     Robert Altman's death last month.

Lohan wrote that she felt she "had the wind knocked of me" upon hearing of his death, adding that Altman "left us with a legend that all of us have the ability to do. So every day when you wake up. Look in the mirror and thank god for every second you have and cherish all moments."

She signed the letter, "BE ADEQUITE."

Los Angeles Times columnist Patt Morrison, in an entry on the Huffington Post, deemed the letter "alarmingly incoherent" and claimed that Altman himself would have found its "sardonic potential."

The London Independent's Andrew Gumbel mused that she may have written the note "on one of her legendary party benders."

"Was the actress on a misguided―and utterly botched―quest for publicity, exploiting the death of a revered director for her own purposes?" Gumbel wrote.

Sloane Zelnick defended the prose and its intentions to Reuters. "She was completely shocked and blown away that he just died. It was written very quickly, and it was from the heart," the publicist said.

"She was devastated. She started crying. She quickly put something together on her BlackBerry. Here was a girl who found something special in this man that she felt so close to."

161、Washington hosts Hollywood elite for Kennedy Honors
Sun Dec 3, 2006 12:12am ET


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More Entertainment News... Email This Article | Print This Article | Reprints [-] Text [+] By Joel Rothstein

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Washington's elite mingled with artistic icons at the Kennedy Center Honors on Saturday, paying tribute to five people for their lifetime contributions to the arts and American culture.

At a dinner for 250 hosted by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, even many familiar Washington heads were turning as the 29th annual honors were awarded to movie mogul Steven Spielberg, country singer Dolly Parton, musical theater composer and stage producer Andrew Lloyd Webber, conductor Zubin Mehta and singer-songwriter Smokey Robinson.

Parton bounded through the State Department entrance hall as if she was ready to grab a microphone and start singing.

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"This is like hillbillies in the city," she said as she admired the desk of Thomas Jefferson, the third U.S. president, on display in one of the historic building's ornate halls.

Spielberg, a well-known political foe of the current administration, emphasized the nonpolitical nature of the event a day before he and the other honorees are expected to meet President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, at the White House. Spielberg said such disagreements would "remain in suspended animation for 48 hours."

Rice told guests that her first date was a Smokey Robinson concert but that her father insisted on joining the date as a chaperon, she said, out of concern that "there was too much power in Smokey's soul."

Per tradition, the Kennedy Center selected this year's honorees based on the recommendations from a diverse nominating committee whose members range from comedic actor Dan Aykroyd to opera singer Beverly Sills.

London native Webber wrote theater masterpieces including "The Phantom of the Opera" and "Cats." Parton, one of 12 children born to a Tennessee sharecropper, had more than 20 gold or platinum albums, appeared in 15 movies and has been nominated for an Oscar, an Emmy, a Golden Globe, and countless other awards.   Continued...

162、French rock bands cross Channel to boost careers
Sun Dec 3, 2006 5:59am ET

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Washington hosts Hollywood elite for Kennedy Honors
Is there such thing as bad publicity for stars?
Bollywood stars face court action over kiss
VIDEO: Schumacher is back
More Entertainment News... Email This Article | Print This Article | Reprints [-] Text [+] By Dominique Vidalon

LONDON (Reuters) - In the Windmill, a dingy pub in south London, a rock band with a smouldering male singer is on stage, driving the sweating crowd wild with raw guitar riffs.

Another night on London's thriving gig scene? Not quite. The band may sing in English, but it's French.

Neimo, a stylish Parisian act with a touch of New Wave, is one of a growing number of young French bands crossing the Channel in the hope of boosting budding careers.

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Britain's independent label scene and French radio's language quota system that limits the amount of air time groups singing in English get mean that landing a record deal is seen as easier overseas than at home.

"I feel we are pioneers," said Bruno Alexandre, 29, lead singer of Neimo, a band whose catchy pop and arrogant rock is influenced by Blondie, New Order, David Bowie and the Stooges.

"Confidence in French rock has never been so high ... We really have our place in Britain, which is a shop window for the rest of the world."

The last time music put France on the map was the explosion of "French Touch" in the early 1990s, when electro and house artists like Daft Punk and Air invaded the world's dance floors.

The odd song in French has also made it overseas. Remember Belgian act Plastic Bertrand's "Ca Plane Pour Moi" and French singer Serge Gainsbourg's "Je T'aime...Moi Non Plus"?   Continued...

163、French rock bands cross Channel to boost careers
Sun Dec 3, 2006 5:59am ET

advertisement
Entertainment News
Washington hosts Hollywood elite for Kennedy Honors
Is there such thing as bad publicity for stars?
Bollywood stars face court action over kiss
VIDEO: Schumacher is back
More Entertainment News... Email This Article | Print This Article | Reprints [-] Text [+] By Dominique Vidalon

LONDON (Reuters) - In the Windmill, a dingy pub in south London, a rock band with a smouldering male singer is on stage, driving the sweating crowd wild with raw guitar riffs.

Another night on London's thriving gig scene? Not quite. The band may sing in English, but it's French.

Neimo, a stylish Parisian act with a touch of New Wave, is one of a growing number of young French bands crossing the Channel in the hope of boosting budding careers.

Reuters Pictures

Editors Choice: Best pictures
from the last 24 hours.
View Slideshow

Britain's independent label scene and French radio's language quota system that limits the amount of air time groups singing in English get mean that landing a record deal is seen as easier overseas than at home.

"I feel we are pioneers," said Bruno Alexandre, 29, lead singer of Neimo, a band whose catchy pop and arrogant rock is influenced by Blondie, New Order, David Bowie and the Stooges.

"Confidence in French rock has never been so high ... We really have our place in Britain, which is a shop window for the rest of the world."

The last time music put France on the map was the explosion of "French Touch" in the early 1990s, when electro and house artists like Daft Punk and Air invaded the world's dance floors.

The odd song in French has also made it overseas. Remember Belgian act Plastic Bertrand's "Ca Plane Pour Moi" and French singer Serge Gainsbourg's "Je T'aime...Moi Non Plus"?   Continued...

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164、'Latexhibition' works on display in Ind. Fri Dec 1, 3:59 PM ET



BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - A one-day art exhibit on the Indiana University campus includes works created from condoms. The display, called "Latexhibition," was created to mark World     AIDS Day on Friday.

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Christopher Fisher, an IU doctoral student, got the idea from a display last year at San Francisco State University. Fisher is research coordinator for the Sexual Health Research Working Group, which is presenting the exhibit.

Students from two human sexuality classes created most of the art works, which will be judged Friday. About 10 other students also contributed to the exhibition.

___

Information from: The Herald-Times, http://www.heraldtimesonline.com

165、Alligator soup raises eyebrows in China By ELAINE KURTENBACH, Associated Press Writer
Fri Dec 1, 3:41 PM ET



SHANGHAI, China - Even in anything-edible-goes-in-the-pot China, the Huifu Fine-food Restaurant is drawing attention with special menu offerings that include alligator kebabs and soup ― complete with the endangered species' head and tail.

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The restaurant, in the scenic city of Huangshan in eastern Anhui province, has been doing a roaring business since it started serving alligator dishes last month, staff said Friday.

"Yes, we do serve alligator here, but the amount is limited every day so you'd better book it at least two or three days ahead," said a staffer at the restaurant, who like many media-shy Chinese refused to give his name.

He said the most recommended dishes were alligator steak and soup. "Both of them keep the natural taste of the alligator meat," he said.

The species of alligator served at Huifu ― the "alligator sinensis" ― is a critically endangered species in its natural habitat, with only about 150 thought to be living in the wild in Anhui and neighboring Jiangxi and Zhejiang provinces along the Yangtze river.

The restaurant obtained a special license from the Forestry Ministry for serving meat from reptiles raised at a breeding center, said a manager at the restaurant, who gave only her surname, Lin. She said four restaurants in Anhui were serving alligator.

Despite the establishment of protection zones and laws against poaching, the population in the wild is falling by 4 percent to 6 percent a year, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

The number of farmed alligators has soared to more than 10,000 because the animals breed prolifically in captivity, unlike another rare Chinese species, the giant panda.

Although breeding centers are struggling to prevent inbreeding among the captive species, the number hatched each year exceeds 1,500.

The Chinese penchant for exotic dishes includes all sorts of creatures, including snakes and other reptiles ― "anything that flies, walks or swims," according to one traditional saying.

While some reports questioned the wisdom of stimulating demand for an endangered species and potentially encouraging poaching, supporters say sales of alligator meat and skins can help support efforts to save the species.

The alligators slaughtered for food are only those in the third generation of captive breeding ― those most likely to be affected by inbreeding, said Wu Xiaobing, an expert on Chinese alligators at the Wuhu-based College of Life Science, Anhui Normal University.

166、Army scammed into buying golf balls By BRIAN WITTE, Associated Press Writer
Thu Nov 30, 6:28 PM ET



BALTIMORE - On paper, the U.S. Army was supposed to be getting "a ball bearing assortment" for $1,409. It was bad enough that the order form marked up the price from $682.50. But there was something about the order that was way out of bounds: It was for 420 golf balls for a civilian employee at the Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground.

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Douglas Atwell is now facing up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty in federal court Wednesday to bribery in a scam to defraud the government.

Atwell, 51, placed orders from 2003 to 2004 with co-defendant Wayne Silbersack, a salesman for Lawson Products. The orders were for more than $429,500 in equipment that was paid for by the Army, federal prosecutors said.

"It is disgraceful that a company salesman conspired with a government employee to engage in this scheme to defraud the taxpayers and line their own pockets," U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein said in a statement.

Silbersack, 65, who pleaded guilty on Monday, also faces up to 15 years in prison on a bribery charge.

Silbersack, of Forest Hill, issued invoices that inflated prices and falsely described the items ordered by Atwell, prosecutors said. The scam concealed the use of government money to get items for personal use of Atwell and other government employees, prosecutors said.

Atwell, of Port Deposit, managed a "tool crib" at one of the Aberdeen Test Center buildings. He charged the items to his government purchase card.

By processing the invoices, Atwell received a Dell computer, which was falsely described in an invoice as "electrical assortment parts LP 5002." It was marked up from $1,973 to $2,485.

He also received a shed, disguised on invoices as a "large hardware assortment." It was marked up from $2,840 to $6,521.

Silbersack received more than $78,000 in commissions for sales to Atwell's government credit card.

More than $288,000 worth of merchandise was delivered to Silbersack's house or picked up outside the base, prosecutors said.

U.S. District Judge William Quarles scheduled sentencing for Feb. 5 for Silbersack and Feb. 6 for Atwell at U.S. District Court in Baltimore.

Two other civilian employees who have been charged in the case have court dates scheduled for next week.

167、Producers outraged by faux-Italian foods By MARIA SANMINIATELLI, Associated Press Writer
Sat Dec 2, 12:29 PM ET



ROME - Imagine a delicious dinner of pasta with meat sauce and grated parmesan. Add a salad of fresh mozzarella and Roman tomatoes sprinkled with Tuscan olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Maybe you'll wash it down with some Amaretto liqueur.

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But there's a catch: none of this food was actually made in Italy.

Foods that look or sound Italian but are produced elsewhere amount to $66 billion in annual sales ― nearly half the $135.5 billion worth of real Italian food that is sold worldwide in a year, says Coldiretti, Italy's farmers association.

Italian producers have launched a campaign to set the record straight in hopes of boosting their own sales.

"They might not be illegal, but they are deceptive," Coldiretti's spokesman, Paolo Falcioni, said. "It's wrong for two reasons: You take the (market) of the real food, but most importantly you're deceiving the consumer."

It's possible the fine print identifies a food as not being made in Italy, but Italian flag colors or Italian references on labels can lead rushed consumers to think otherwise, Falcioni said.

For Italians, many of whom believe they have the world's best cuisine, that's tough to swallow.

"I was in China four days ago, and in a supermarket in Shanghai I bought balsamic vinegar from Modena ― with the label written in Italian ― that was made in Germany!" Falcioni said.

Italians insist the finest balsamic vinegar is produced in the small northern Italian city of Modena, which is also home to automaker Ferrari. It's expensive: a flask the size of a perfume bottle can cost $100.

The top buyers of fake Italian food are in Australia and the United States, where a mere 2 percent of "Italian" cheeses are actually made in Italy.

Gary Litman, vice president for European affairs for the     U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said it's too late to rename imitation Italian products that are already firmly established. "You cannot change history that easily," he said.

The problem is particularly widespread in the case of Parmesan cheese, which has spawned countless imitations worldwide.

Authentic Parmesan, called Parmigiano Reggiano in Italy, is produced solely in and around the northern town of Parma. It uses unpasteurized milk with no additives and the cows are fed specific fodder.

"The presence of the Parmesan product ― especially grated ― is absolutely massive in the United States. And the production process has nothing to do with ours," said Giorgio Bocedi, a lawyer for the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese consortium.

Makers of Parmigiano Reggiano sold 112,000 tons of cheese in 2005 ― a fraction of the estimated 600,000 tons of imitations worldwide, the consortium says.

Litman said most American buyers probably don't care whether the cheese was made in Parma. "No one thinks it's coming from Parma. They don't even know where Parma is. They couldn't find it on a map."

Bocedi said part of the problem is geographic trademarks are not protected in most countries outside Europe, including the United States, with the only exceptions being wine and spirits. So anyone can use the name Parmesan, which in the U.S. is considered generic.

Litman noted U.S. law requires products to state exactly where they were produced, which the European Union does not.

But the EU has long granted protection within Europe to the names of dozens of what it terms "high quality" goods known by the region where they are produced, such as Parmesan cheese, Feta cheese and Bordeaux wine.

That is not the case everywhere, such as the United States, Australia and Canada. In the latter, for instance, Italy's famed Parma ham has to be sold under a different name because the trademark "Parma Ham" is reserved for a ham produced in Canada.

"To sell in Canada, our brand has become 'Original Prosciutto,'" said Fabrizio Raimondi, spokesman for the Parma ham cooperative.

The issue of protecting regional products is being debated at the World Trade Organization, with some nations outside Europe also keen to protect their products. India wants to protect Darjeeling tea, Sri Lanka its Ceylon tea, Guatemala its Antigua coffee, Switzerland its Etivaz cheese.

Litman said the U.S. would be open to the creation of a WTO database of products that are protected by region, but he said questions remain over how unique a product has to be and how to define its uniqueness.

Some American companies can't see what the fuss is about.

"Maybe (Italian producers) just can't fill the demand," said Frank Scala, president of the Huntington, N.Y.-based Frankie's Gravy, a 10-person business that makes pasta and pizza sauces.

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Choosing Safe Christmas Toys Isn't Child's Play 19 minutes ago



SUNDAY, Dec. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Don't toy with your child's safety this Christmas.

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When picking toys, be sure to consider the youngster's age, interests and skill levels, said Dr. Michael Gittelman, an emergency medicine physician at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.


Adults also need to read product warnings and labels on toys; avoid items with sharp edges and points; look for sturdy construction; quickly discard plastic wrappings after the toy is opened; and keep older children's toys away from younger siblings.


"Children under five years -- and especially those under three years -- are particularly vulnerable to airway obstruction due to small airways, inexperience with chewing and a natural tendency to put everything in their mouths," Gittelman said in a prepared statement.


Choking was the cause of more than 90 percent of toy-related deaths in the United States in 2003, safety experts note. Toy balls and latex balloons were responsible for most of those deaths. Parents can buy a "choke tube" to test if a toy or toy parts pose a choking hazard. A choke tube is a small plastic cylinder with a diameter that's about the same as a child's airway. If an object fits entirely in the choke tube, it's small enough to be a choking hazard.


Riding toys are another major hazard.


"Riding toys (including unpowered scooters) are associated with more injuries than any other toy group," Gittleman warned. "Death may occur when a child is hit by a motor vehicle, or when a child rides the toy into a body of water or down the stairs. The majority of riding toy-related injuries occur when children fall from toys."


The U.S.     Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) offers the following age-appropriate guidelines for toys:

Newborns to age one: crib gyms, floor activity centers, activity quilts, squeaky toys, soft dolls or stuffed animals.
Ages one to three: soft blocks, large blocks, push and pull toys, books, pounding and shaping toys.
Ages three to five: nontoxic art supplies, pretend toys (i.e. play money, telephone), teddy bears or dolls, outdoor toys (i.e. tricycle and helmet).
Ages five to nine: arts and crafts kits, puppets, jump ropes, action figures, miniature dolls.
Ages nine to 14: handheld electronic games, board games, sports equipment with protective gear, model kits, musical instruments.

More information


The CPSC has more about toy safety.

169、Health Highlights: Dec. 3, 2006 43 minutes ago



Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

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Fewer Older Americans Struggle With Disabilities: Study


The number of older Americans with a chronic disability has dropped dramatically in the last 20 years, and the rate of decline has accelerated as well.


That's the encouraging news from a new federal study that found the prevalence of chronic disability among people 65 and older fell from 26.5 percent in 1982 to 19 percent in 2004-05. The findings suggest that the health of older Americans continues to improve at a critical time in the aging of the population, the researchers said.


"This continuing decline in disability among older people is one of the most encouraging and important trends in the aging of the American population," said Dr. Richard J. Hodes, director of the National Institute on Aging (NIA).


"The challenge now is to see how this trend can be maintained and accelerated, especially in the face of increasing obesity," added Richard Suzman, director of the NIA's Behavioral and Social Research Program. "Doing so over the next several decades will significantly lessen the societal impact of the aging of the baby-boom generation."


According to the study, from 1982 to 2004/2005:

Chronic disability rates decreased among those over 65 with both severe and less severe impairments, with the greatest improvements seen among the most severely impaired.
The proportion of people without disabilities increased the most in the oldest age group, rising by 32.6 percent among those 85 and older.
The percentage of Medicare enrollees 65 and older who lived in long-term care institutions such as nursing homes dropped from 7.5 percent to 4 percent.

If the downward trends continue, they could bode well for the Medicare program's fiscal health, suggested the study, a joint effort between the NIA and Duke University. It was published in this week's Proceedings of the     National Academy of Sciences.


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Experimental Ultrasound May Detect Breast Cancer


An experimental ultrasound technique may allow doctors to determine if a woman has breast cancer without having to perform a biopsy, suggest the findings of a study reported this week at a meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.


The technique, called elastography, measures how easily breast lumps compress and bounce back. The study of 80 women found that elastography was nearly 100 percent accurate in distinguishing between malignant and benign breast lumps, the Associated Press reported.


Elastography correctly identified 105 of 106 benign lumps and 17 of 17 cancerous lumps.


If the same kind of results are achieved in a larger study, the technique could spare many women the discomfort, stress, and cost of having a breast biopsy, experts said.


"There's a lot of anxiety, a lot of stress, a lot of fear involved," with a biopsy, Susan Brown, manager of health education at the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, told the AP. "And there's the cost of leaving work to make a second appointment. If this can be done instead of a biopsy, there would be a real cost reduction."


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Concerns Raised About Clotting Drug Used on U.S. Troops


The U.S. Defense Department should look into the use of the blood clotting drug Factor VII on wounded troops in     Iraq, two U.S. Senators say.

Sen. Barbara Mikulski (news, bio, voting record) (D-Md.) and Senate Minority Whip Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) called for the investigation after reports that the drug may have caused life-threatening clots, the Associated Press reported.

In a letter to Dr. William Winkenwerder Jr., Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, Mikulski said the     Pentagon should track all patients who receive Factor VII on the battlefield in order to assess whether they are at increased risk for blood clots and other complications. As of Thursday morning, she had not received a reply.

In related news, a group of experts that specialize in hematology and blood clotting says there are "rightful concerns" about the use of the drug on the battlefield, the AP reported.

The seven scientists and doctors made the comment in an editorial they wrote for an upcoming issue of the journal Applied and Clinical Thrombosis/Hemostasis.

"Our soldiers are already in great danger and the availability of a lifesaving drug such as [Factor VII] is welcome," they wrote. "It is, however, equally important to recognize and investigate the reported adverse reactions with its use to avoid additional risk to these Army personnel."

Factor VII was originally designed to treat patients with rare forms of hemophilia. The U.S. military says the drug gives front-line doctors a way to control potentially fatal bleeding in wounded troops, the AP said.

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U.S. Workers Prefer Traditional Health Plans

A survey released Friday shows that Americans with employer-sponsored health coverage are more likely to sign up for traditional plans instead of consumer-directed products, which have been promoted as a way to reduce healthcare costs.

When given a choice of at least two plans, 55 percent of workers chose a preferred provider organization (PPO), 40 percent selected a health maintenance organization (HMO), and 19 percent went with a consumer-directed plan, the Associated Press reported.

The survey by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Studying Health System Change also found that 39 percent of the 2.7 million people enrolled in employer-sponsored consumer directed health plans in 2006 were not offered other choices.

Consumer-directed health plans feature high deductibles and tax-advantaged savings accounts. This type of plan is supposed to help reduce health care costs by making patients more accountable for their health spending decisions, the AP reported.

However, the survey findings suggest that Americans don't necessarily want that kind of responsibility, said Jon Gabel, one of the study authors and vice president of the Center for Studying Health System Change.

"Most Americans are risk-averse. They don't like making financial decisions," Gabel told the AP.