Saturday, January 14, 2012

iOS 5.1 beta 3 appears on developer iPhone, available only OTA? (update: live on ADC)

It's been a while since the last beta, but per a screenshot sent in by a tipster, Apple's already begun pushing iOS 5.1 beta 3 to development iOS devices. The 77.4MB update curiously isn't live on Apple's developer website just yet (see update), but when it lands we'll hopefully gleam more than "bug fixes and improvements."

Update: Per MacRumors, the build in question is 9B5141a and restores the 3G toggle absent on the iPhone 4S.

Update 2: It's live on the developer portal.

[Thanks, Justin]

Continue reading iOS 5.1 beta 3 appears on developer iPhone, available only OTA? (update: live on ADC)

iOS 5.1 beta 3 appears on developer iPhone, available only OTA? (update: live on ADC) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/09/ios-5-1-beta-3-released-over-ota/

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Friday, January 13, 2012

N.H. voters say most mass marketing ineffective (CNN)

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ZERO David Nelson and Friends at Sebastopol Community Center

Date: Saturday January 21, 2012

Time: 7:00pm doors open, 7:30 show starts

Cost: $35 - $75

Description:

Join the Sebastopol Community Center on January 21st?for an evening of music and friends, to support the Seva Foundation! The show features performances by?Zero, David Nelson and Friends, and Wavy Gravy.

For more than 30 years, Seva has served people around the world who are struggling for health?and cultural survival. Seva has programs in Asia, Latin America & Africa that cure cataract blindness and in Native American Communities in the U.S. that combat the epidemic of diabetes and promote healthy communities.

This show is sure to sell out, please purchase your tickets in advance.

Notables:

Pre-Show VIP Reception (5:30-7:00pm): Tickets are $75 and include appetizers, beer, wine & refreshments.?VIP's will also receive a limited edition event poster signed by Wavy Gravy.

Although this is an all ages show,?they discourage bringing children. It will be crowded and there will be alcohol served.

Address: 390 Morris Street

City: Sebastopol

State: CA

Zip: 95472

Phone number: 707-823-1511

E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Source: http://www.sonomauncorked.com/wine-country-events/music-events/zero-david-nelson-and-friends-at-sebastopol-community-center/

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Thursday, January 12, 2012

No doubt about it: Bama is the best after BCS rout

Alabama's Trent Richardson celebrates after the BCS National Championship college football game against LSU Monday, Jan. 9, 2012, in New Orleans. Alabama won 21-0. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Alabama's Trent Richardson celebrates after the BCS National Championship college football game against LSU Monday, Jan. 9, 2012, in New Orleans. Alabama won 21-0. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Alabama head coach Nick Saban celebrates with AJ McCarron (10) after the BCS National Championship college football game Monday, Jan. 9, 2012, in New Orleans. Alabama won 21-0. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Alabama's AJ McCarron celebrates after the BCS National Championship college football game against LSU Monday, Jan. 9, 2012, in New Orleans. Alabama won 21-0. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Alabama's Josh Chapman (99) and Courtney Upshaw (41) tackle LSU's Kenny Hilliard (27) during the second half of the BCS National Championship college football game Monday, Jan. 9, 2012, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

LSU's Jordan Jefferson wipes his face on the bench during the second half of the BCS National Championship college football game against Alabama Monday, Jan. 9, 2012, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

(AP) ? As required, Alabama's players whooped it up amid the confetti and fireworks, yet there was something muted about this championship celebration.

Turns out, these guys knew the ending to the sequel before they even got to the Big Easy.

For two months, the Crimson Tide stewed over its first meeting with top-ranked LSU. By the time the team touched down in New Orleans, there was little doubt in anyone's mind about the outcome. Not just win, but dominate.

Boy, did they ever.

With a smothering display of old-school football, No. 2 Alabama blew out the Tigers 21-0 in the BCS championship game Monday night, celebrated a bit and headed back to Tuscaloosa with its second national title in three years.

The Crimson Tide also claimed the top spot in the final Associated Press poll for the eighth time, tying Notre Dame for the most of any team in college football. Coach Nick Saban's team was an overwhelming choice with 55 of 60 first-place votes.

"We knew what we were capable of," offensive lineman Barrett Jones said. "I guess that's kind of arrogant, but it's the way we felt. We felt like we were capable of dominating, and we did that."

Credit one of the greatest defenses in college football history, a bunch of NFL-ready players such as Courtney Upshaw and Dont'a Hightower who made sure LSU (13-1) never had a chance.

When Jordan Jefferson dropped back to pass, he was swept under by a tide of crimson. When the LSU quarterback took off running, he must've felt like Alabama had a few extra players on the field. It sure seemed that way.

"It feels like a nightmare," Jefferson said. "We just didn't get it done on offense. Some defenses have your number, and Alabama had our number."

LSU beat the Crimson Tide (12-1) in overtime on Nov. 5, a so-called Game of the Century that was roundly criticized as a dud because neither team scored a touchdown.

The Rematch of the Century was next, after Alabama worked its way back up to second in the rankings to claim a spot in the BCS title game. Turns out, it was even less of a classic than the first meeting, much closer to "Speed 2" than the "Godfather II."

But the Alabama defense was a thing of beauty, putting its own spin on this postseason of high-scoring shootouts.

"They are unbelievable," said Jones, relieved that he only has to go against them in practice. "That defense is as good as any defense I've ever seen. They rush the passer, they have awesome linebackers and they're great in coverage. They really don't have any weaknesses. They have to be as good as any defense ever."

LSU didn't cross midfield until there were less than 8 minutes remaining in the game. The Tigers finished with just 92 yards and five first downs, on the wrong end of the first shutout in the BCS' 14-year history.

"This defense is built on stopping them, and that's what we did," said Upshaw, the game's defensive MVP. "We wanted to come out and show the world we beat ourselves the first game. We wanted to come out and dominate from start to finish, and that's what we did."

The Crimson Tide, piling up 384 yards and 21 first downs, spent much of the night in LSU's end of the field, setting up Jeremy Shelley to attempt a bowl-record seven field goals. He made five of them, matching a bowl record. Then, as if responding to all the critics who complained that an offensive powerhouse such as Oklahoma State or Stanford should've gotten a shot in the title game, Alabama finally made a long-overdue trip to the end zone.

With 4:36 remaining, Heisman finalist Trent Richardson broke off a 34-yard touchdown run.

It was the lone TD that either of the Southeastern Conference powerhouses managed over two games, plus that overtime period back in November.

"It felt so good to get that touchdown against LSU," lineman D.J. Fluker said. "That's all we talked about. We said we were going to get (Richardson) a touchdown, and we did it."

On LSU's one and only trip into Alabama territory, the Tigers quickly went back, back, back ? the last gasp ending appropriately with the beleaguered Jefferson getting the ball jarred from his hand before he could even get off a fourth-and-forever pass.

"We didn't do a lot different," Saban said. "We did some things on offense formationally. Our offensive team did a great job. Defensively, we just played well, played the box. Our special teams did a great job."

The coach has now won a pair of BCS titles at Alabama, plus another at LSU in 2003. He's the first coach to win three BCS titles, denying LSU's Les Miles his second championship. The Tigers will have to settle for the SEC title, but that's not likely to ease the sting of this ugly performance.

"I told my team that it should hurt," Miles said. "We finished second. It's supposed to hurt."

LSU simply couldn't do anything ? running or passing. Kenny Hilliard led the Tigers with 16 yards rushing, while Jefferson was 11 of 17 passing for 53 yards, usually hurrying away passes before he was sent tumbling to the Superdome turf. He was sacked four times and threw a mystifying interception when he attempted to flip away a desperation pass, only to have it picked off because his intended receiver had already turned upfield looking to block.

A.J. McCarron was the offensive MVP, completing 23 of 34 passes for 234 yards. Richardson added 96 yards on 20 carries. But an even bigger cheer went up when the defensive award was presented to Upshaw, who had seven tackles, including a sack, and spent a good part of his night in the LSU backfield.

"The whole defense is the MVP," Upshaw said. "The whole defense. Roll Tide, baby. Roll Tide!"

With the way his defense was playing, McCarron simply had to avoid mistakes and guide the offense into field-goal range. He did that to perfection.

"When you have a great offensive line like I have, and great players around you, it makes your job easy as quarterback," McCarron said. "I've got to give all the credit to them. I wish I could have the whole team up here."

While LSU was used to getting big plays from its Honey Badger, cornerback and return specialist Tyrann Mathieu, Marquis Maze dealt the first big blow for the Crimson Tide with a 49-yard punt return midway through the opening quarter. He might've gone all the way to the end zone if not for a leg injury that forced him to pull up. Punter Brad Wing was the only defender left to beat, but Maze had to hobble out of bounds.

McCarron completed a 16-yard pass to Darius Hanks at the LSU 10, setting up Shelley for a 23-yard chip shot field goal. If nothing else, Alabama had accomplished one of its goals coming into the game: to at least get close enough to the end zone for its embattled kickers to have a better chance of converting.

In the first meeting, Shelley and Cade Foster combined to miss four field goals ? all of them from at least 44 yards. In the do-over, Foster handled kickoffs while Shelley also connected from 34, 41, 35 and 44 yards. Not that it was a flawless kicking performance. Shelley had another kick blocked and pushed another wide right. In addition, he clanged the extra point off the upright after Richardson's touchdown.

It didn't matter.

LSU's best weapon was Wing, who averaged nearly 46 yards on nine punts. That was about the only highlight for the purple and gold, which failed to match its BCS title game victories in 2003 and 2007, the last two times the game was played in New Orleans, about 80 miles from its Baton Rouge campus.

"We couldn't sustain any consistency," Miles said.

Miles never considered switching to backup quarterback Jarrett Lee, who started the first eight games for the Tigers ? four of those while Jefferson was serving a suspension for his involvement in a bar fight.

In all likelihood, it wouldn't have mattered.

Not against an Alabama team that was determined to write a different ending.

"We fell short the first time and we didn't play well," safety Mark Barron said, "but we showed that we were the better team tonight. We shut them out."

___

Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-10-BCS%20Championship%20Folo/id-4f17ca831f91467f83605143cb7117c1

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Greek deficit to exceed target in 2011

Greek Deputy Prime Minister Theodoros Pangalos speaks during a business forum in front of United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in the Lagonissi resort south of Athens, on Wednesday, Jan.11, 2012. Debt-crippled Greece is seeking to boost investment from the United Arab Emirates, and officials from both countries expressed interest in boosting economic ties. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Greek Deputy Prime Minister Theodoros Pangalos speaks during a business forum in front of United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in the Lagonissi resort south of Athens, on Wednesday, Jan.11, 2012. Debt-crippled Greece is seeking to boost investment from the United Arab Emirates, and officials from both countries expressed interest in boosting economic ties. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, right, shakes hands with Greek Deputy Prime Minister Theodoros Pangalos during a business forum in the Lagonissi resort south of Athens, on Wednesday, Jan.11, 2012. Debt-crippled Greece is seeking to boost investment from the United Arab Emirates, and officials from both countries expressed interest in boosting economic ties. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

(AP) ? Debt-crippled Greece's budget deficit is expected to hit 9.6 percent of economic output in 2011, about half a percentage point above target, the development minister admitted Wednesday.

Michalis Chryssochoidis said that an increase in the use of European Union structural development funds had contributed to lowering government overspending from 10.6 percent of gross domestic product in 2010.

"The good news is that absorption of European Union funds has exceeded all expectations," Chryssochoidis said at an economic forum near Athens where the government hopes to attract investment from the United Arab Emirates.

But Greece, which is relying on billions in rescue loans from its European partners and the International Monetary Fund to keep afloat, had pledged to cut the 2011 deficit to 9 percent of GDP.

Athens ran up high budget deficits for years, building a suffocating debt load set to exceed 160 percent of GDP in 2011. In exchange for a vital euro110 billion ($140 billion) international bailout in May 2010, the country implemented a harsh austerity program, slashing pensions and salaries while repeatedly hiking taxes and raising retirement ages.

The cutbacks sparked deep popular resentment, with labor unions staging a string of general strikes and protests that often turned into street battles between stone-throwing youths and riot police.

The country's interim coalition government is now rushing to pass a new batch of reforms and cutbacks, to secure a second, euro130 billion bailout package approved in October but not yet finalized. Prime Minister Lucas Papademos has urged defiant unions to accept further income losses, warning that the country could otherwise face a disorderly bankruptcy in March and be forced to leave the euro.

Fitch Ratings said on Wednesday that Greece's financial troubles could still worsen the eurozone crisis if it can't work out a debt reduction deal with creditors, part of the second bailout package.

Fitch's head of sovereign ratings David Riley said Greece "still has lots of potential to plunge Europe into crisis" and that "time is running out."

Greece is in talks with private investors about a voluntary 50 percent reduction in the value of their Greek bond holdings. Athens is seeking to wrap up the complex negotiations ahead of a visit by international debt inspectors, expected next week.

It needs to agree the deal before it can get another installment in its rescue loans, which it will need to repay euro14 billion in bonds that come due in March.

On Tuesday, Greek Deputy Finance Minister Philipos Sachinidis said that while there was no agreement yet on the bond swap the discussions were at a "satisfactory" point.

Riley said one complicating factor in the private creditors' deal was the European Central Bank's refusal to write down its estimated euro45 billion in Greek bonds. That means private bondholders have to be asked to take on more losses to reach a given reduction in Greece's debt load ? which is hoped to fall to 120 percent of GDP by 2020 if the deal goes through.

___

David McHugh in Frankfurt contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-11-EU-Greece-Financial-Crisis/id-8adda9b0081e49da86ed2e769d412909

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Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Russian troops clash with Chechen militants, 8 killed

By BNO News

MOSCOW, RUSSIA (BNO NEWS) -- Eight people were killed on Sunday and more than a dozen others were injured when troops clashed with militants in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Chechnya, officials said on Monday.

The violence occurred on Sunday morning in the Vedensky district of Chechnya when Russian troops and police officers clashed with local militants. The shootout left four soldiers and four militants killed, while sixteen soldiers were injured.

Describing the scene, Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov said the security forces were in the middle of deep snow and thick fog while facing an armed group consisting of 10 to 15 people, including several senior militants. However, police sources told RIA Novosti that the militants had been 'blocked' in the area's forest while additional troops were gathering at the site.

Violent clashes are not uncommon in the region, where Russia has been battling Islamist insurgency in the North Caucasus, which saw two violent wars against separatists in Chechnya during the past 20 years. Ingushetia, along with the neighboring republic of Dagestan, has been experiencing increased violence from both street brawls and terrorism in the recent years.

(Copyright 2012 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. Info: sales@bnonews.com.)

Monday, January 9th, 2012 at 12:30 pm | BNO News | Leave a Comment

Source: http://wireupdate.com/russian-troops-clash-with-chechen-militants-8-killed.html

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9-1-1 dispatchers can save more lives by coaching bystanders in CPR

ScienceDaily (Jan. 9, 2012) ? More people will survive sudden cardiac arrest when 9-1-1 dispatchers help bystanders assess victims and begin CPR immediately, according to a new American Heart Association scientific statement published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

In the 2010 resuscitation guidelines, the association advised 9-1-1 dispatchers to help bystanders assess anyone who may have had a cardiac arrest and then direct them to begin CPR.

The new scientific statement provides more specific information about how emergency dispatchers should provide such help and highlights the importance of assessing the dispatcher's actions and other performance measures.

A key goal of the new statement is to increase how often bystanders perform CPR, one of the weaker links in the "Chain of Survival."

"I think it's a call to arms," said E. Brooke Lerner, Ph.D., lead author of the statement and associate professor of emergency medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. "It isn't as common as you think, that you call 9-1-1 and they tell you what to do."

The association makes four recommendations for emergency medical services (EMS) systems and 9-1-1 dispatchers:

  • Dispatchers should assess whether someone has had a cardiac arrest and if so, tell callers how to administer CPR immediately.
  • Dispatchers should confidently give Hands-Only CPR instructions for adults who have had a cardiac arrest not caused by asphyxia (as in drowning).
  • Communities should measure performance of dispatchers and local EMS agencies, including how long it takes until CPR is begun.
  • Performance measurements should be part of a quality assurance program involving the entire emergency response system including EMS and hospitals.

More than 380,000 Americans each year are assessed by EMS for sudden cardiac arrest, which occurs when electrical impulses in the heart go awry and cause it to stop beating normally. Only 11 percent of people who experience sudden cardiac arrest outside the hospital setting survive.

Strengthening the links in the "Chain of Survival" -- the processes that can improve the chance of surviving sudden cardiac arrest -- could improve those odds further. These links include recognizing cardiac arrest quickly and calling 9-1-1; early CPR; rapid defibrillation;effective advanced life support; andintegrated post-cardiac arrest care.

In communities where awareness is high and the Chain of Survival is strong, the usual survival rates for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest can be doubled, Lerner said.

People who lack CPR training but encounter someone who needs it are often afraid to act. Even if the patient is suffering from something other than cardiac arrest, "the chances that you're going to hurt somebody are very, very small," she said. "And if you do nothing, they're not getting the help that's going to save their life."

Since 2008, the American Heart Association has urged that untrained bystanders quickly begin Hands-Only CPR for adults who are unresponsive and not breathing or only gasping. Research has shown that skipping mouth-to-mouth breaths during conventional CPR doesn't reduce survival rates in the first few minutes of CPR, and enables chest compressions to begin about a minute sooner.

"We know that early chest compressions can improve outcomes," Lerner said.

Conventional CPR with compressions and breaths is recommended for all infants and children and for adults whose cardiac arrest is likely to have been caused by asphyxia.

Training dispatchers and implementing the statement's recommendations requires commitment from an entire community, Lerner said. "It takes a lot of people believing in it to make it happen."

Co-authors are Thomas D. Rea, M.D., M.P.H.; Bentley J. Bobrow, M.D.; Joe E. Acker III, E.M.T.-P., M.P.H.; Robert A. Berg, M.D.; Steven C. Brooks, M.D., M.H.Sc.; David C. Cone, M.D.; Marc Gay, B.A., E.M.T.-P.; Lana M. Gent, Ph.D.; Greg Mears, M.D.; Vinay M. Nadkarni, M.D.; Robert E. O'Connor, M.D., M.P.H.; Jerald Potts, Ph.D.; Michael R. Sayre, M.D.; Robert A. Swor, D.O.; and Andrew H. Travers, M.D., M.Sc.

The authors produced the statement on behalf of the American Heart Association Emergency Cardiovascular Care Committee and the Council on Cardiopulmonary, Critical Care, Perioperative, and Resuscitation (3-CPR).

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Heart Association.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal Reference:

  1. E. Brooke Lerner, Thomas D. Rea, Bentley J. Bobrow, Joe E. Acker III, Robert A. Berg, Steven C. Brooks, David C. Cone, Marc Gay, Lana M. Gent, Greg Mears, Vinay M. Nadkarni, Robert E. O'Connor, Jerald Potts, Michael R. Sayre, Robert A. Swor, and Andrew H. Travers. Emergency Medical Service Dispatch Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Prearrival Instructions to Improve Survival From Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. Circulation, January 9 2012 DOI: 10.1161/CIR.0b013e31823ee5fc

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120109211829.htm

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Monday, January 2, 2012

Perry campaign plays blame game (Politico)

DES MOINES - With a revamped message and a significant TV presence here, Rick Perry is hoping to revive his disappointing presidential campaign with a surprise finish Tuesday.

But even as they hold out hope that Perry can find a way back into contention, some of his advisers have begun laying the groundwork to explain how the Texas governor bombed so dramatically in a race that he seemed to control for a brief period upon entering the race in August.

Continue Reading

Their explanations for the nosedive come against the backdrop of a campaign riven by an intense, behind-the-scenes power struggle that took place largely between a group of the governor?s longtime advisers and a new cadre of consultants brought on this fall. In the end, the outsiders won out ? and ever since have marginalized Perry?s longtime chief strategist while crafting a new strategy in which the Texan has portrayed himself as a political outsider and culture warrior.

In a series of interviews with POLITICO, sources close to the campaign depict a dysfunctional operation that might be beyond saving because of what they describe as the political equivalent of malpractice by the previous regime.

?There has never been a more ineptly orchestrated, just unbelievably subpar campaign for President of the United States than this one,? said a senior Perry adviser.

Perry?s steep plunge from frontrunner to butt of jokes was chiefly the result of his own embarrassing verbal stumbles, most notably his insta-classic ?oops? moment when he couldn?t recall the names of the cabinet departments he wants to eliminate.

Yet the view of the outsiders who took over Perry?s campaign is that the candidate was set up for failure by an insular group led by Dave Carney, the governor?s longtime political guru, which thought they could run a presidential campaign like a larger version of a gubernatorial race and didn?t take the basic steps needed to professionalize the operation until the candidate was already sinking.

?They put the campaign together like all the other Perry campaigns: raise a bunch of money, don?t worry about the [media coverage], don?t worry about debates and buy the race on TV,? said a top Perry official. ?You have to be a total rube to think a race for president is the same as a race for governor.?

Because Perry had never been defeated in his career in state politics ? and came from behind to crush Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in last year?s Texas gubernatorial primary ? his Texas operation projected an air of supreme self-assurance and indifference to outside advice.

Carney, a longtime GOP strategist who worked for Bush 41?s presidential campaigns, declined to comment for this story.

?I don?t think so,? he said in response to an email asking to get his side. ?Not much good can come from process stories like this.?

In a blistering indictment, sources close to the operation describe a new team that was stunned to arrive in October and find a campaign that wasn?t executing the most rudimentary elements of a modern presidential campaign: no polling or focus groups, no opposition research book on their own candidate to prepare for attacks and debate prep sessions that were barely worth the name.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/politico_rss/rss_politico_mostpop/http___www_politico_com_news_stories1211_70976_html/44042112/SIG=11m3evi11/*http%3A//www.politico.com/news/stories/1211/70976.html

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Sunday, January 1, 2012

'Octomom' case stuns one-child public in China

(AP) ? The photo was undeniably cute: a studio portrait of eight babies in identical onesies and perky white cotton hats, sporting an array of expressions from giggly to goofy, baffled to bawling.

Intended as an advertisement for the studio, the photo grabbed a different kind of attention: In a country that limits most couples to one child, many Chinese were amazed to learn that a couple had spent nearly a million yuan ($160,000) and illegally enlisted two surrogate mothers to help have the four boys and four girls.

The incident has highlighted both the use of birth surrogates, a violation of Chinese law, and how wealthy Chinese do as they please, with scant regard for the rules that constrain others. The most common reaction, though, has been simple disbelief.

"Heavens. To have one family with eight kids ... in an era of family planning where most people have just one, the contrast is just too much," said popular Chinese Central Television news anchor Bai Yansong as he introduced a 20-minute special report on the babies last weekend. "It doesn't sound like news. It sounds more like a fairy tale."

Chinese media are calling the mother "babaotai muqin," or "octomom," a reference to the American woman who gave birth to octuplets using in vitro fertilization.

Much remains uncertain about the family from Guangzhou, the capital of south China's Guangdong province. According to the Guangzhou Daily, a government newspaper, the biological mother carried two of the babies, while two surrogates gave birth to three each. After the babies were born in September and October last year, 11 nannies were hired to help take care of the children, the report said.

While some suspect a hoax, a media officer with the Guangdong Health Department said the case was real and under investigation. He declined to identify the couple, citing privacy concerns.

The story has captivated the public because it symbolizes a bold defiance of the country's strict family planning rules, said Liang Zhongtang, a demography expert at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.

"People are very interested in the policy these days and the need for changes to it," he said. "A lot of people think it should have been dropped a long time ago, or relaxed at least."

A 2001 law prohibits Chinese medical institutions and personnel from performing gestational surrogacy services, in which an embryo created from a couple is implanted into another woman who carries the baby to term.

Still, an underground market is thriving as more couples put off marriage and childbirth until later in life, only to find they are unable to conceive. The law forbids only the medical procedures, and agencies connecting couples and surrogates are easy to find online.

The Guangzhou Daily said the octomom couple resorted to in vitro fertilization and surrogates after years of failed attempts to conceive.

A manager for the Guangdong branch of the Daiyunguke surrogacy agency, Liu Jialei, said that this has been the busiest of his company's seven years in business, with more than 600 surrogates matched to families. His customers are Chinese, but the medical procedures are carried out abroad, in Southeast Asia and Japan, to circumvent the law.

Chinese media reports say many procedures are also done illegally at hospitals in China.

Many Chinese frown on surrogacy, which is often portrayed as a way for the rich to avoid going through pregnancy.

An opinion piece about the eight babies in the China Daily denounced surrogacy as something done by wealthy women unwilling to disrupt their careers or ruin their figures.

Author Cai Hong, a senior writer for the newspaper, wrote that the practice would inevitably give rise to "a breeder class" of poor women who end up "renting their wombs to wealthy people."

But Therese Hesketh, a University College London professor who has done numerous field studies in China on family planning issues, says that her impression is that Chinese who can afford surrogates tend to seek out attractive university graduates, not the underprivileged.

Chinese media say octomom and her family have gone into hiding. A Chinese Central Television investigative report could only dig up former neighbors who described seeing a pack of nannies taking the babies for strolls and to a toddler center for playtime.

A series of outtakes from the portrait session posted to a blog show the logo for the QQ Baby studio prominently displayed in the background, but staff at the shop in Guangzhou denied knowing anything about the photos.

Only the relatively well-off can afford in vitro fertilization and surrogacy or to live in a villa, as this couple reportedly did.

The rich also find it easier to flout the one-child limit, because they are better able to afford the hefty fines for doing so. Some also acquire foreign citizenship, which exempts them from the birth quotas.

On the popular Sina microblog, one user posted an article about the couple and commented: "If you have money, what does the law mean?"

All the hoopla may be boosting the surrogacy business. At Daiyun.com ? an agency whose website is splashed with photos of babies nestled in flowers ? a manager said all the attention made it inconvenient for any staff to speak with reporters.

"But one thing is for sure, our business is getting better and better," said the woman, who would only give her surname, Liu. "More and more people come to us for services."

___

Associated Press researchers Zhao Liang and Yu Bing in Beijing contributed to this report.

___

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Photos on a Chinese blog: http://bit.ly/uxwW80

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-12-30-AS-China-Octomom/id-ddff6f23ef7b4c3a82dc484d11f25b31

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