Mark Emmert hammered by BCS president, ex-NCAA investigators

Published Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 at 6:10 pm EDT Last updated 10 hours and 57 minutes ago

At some point NCAA membership will have to address the overwhelming ogre in the room: Why does embattled president Mark Emmert still have a job?

The reason could be this simple: Firing Emmert could do more harm than good.

?If you force him out, you?re essentially telling everyone he has failed,? one NCAA president told Sporting News. ?When you?re dealing with (litigation), it?s not prudent to admit failure at the highest office.?

The NCAA currently is in the process of defending lawsuits from Emmert?s handling of the Penn State case, including one from Joe Paterno?s family.

Of greater concern is the Ed O?Bannon case, where former athletes are suing the NCAA for use of their likeness?a watershed case that will be heard later this month and could lead to student-athletes getting a share of television money.

The last thing the NCAA needs is to publicly admit it has zero direction in such a tenuous time for college sports? governing body. It also doesn?t need more public relations gut punches like it sustained (again) on Wednesday, when Sports Illustrated spoke to ex-NCAA investigators who further detailed a dysfunctional organization on the brink of implosion.

One ex-investigator told SI, ?The time is ripe to cheat. There?s no policing going on.?

It was Emmert himself who admitted earlier this year that the NCAA hired the attorney of an incarcerated former booster they were investigating to help investigate the very institution they were investigating.

If that?s not bad enough, numerous NCAA investigators have left during Emmert?s tenure; some by their own choice and others fired. Julie Roe Lach, the head of the enforcement division, was forced out earlier this year because of the failed Miami investigation.

Emmert said in January that the association hired Miami booster Nevin Shapiro?s attorney in December of 2011, then tried to say he found out about it a year later. In the SI story, former investigators say Emmert was so involved in cases, he would discuss the status of cases with presidents of schools under investigation.

?He is incapable of looking in the mirror and figuring out that he could be the problem,? one administrator of a BCS school told Sporting News. ?A leader with a personality like that, it affects everyone he manages and it affects the way the organization is run.?

Remember this: Emmert was hired by the NCAA membership. His job is to execute their academic and athletic (and financial) goals. The only way he leaves is if those same presidents admit they failed, too?by hiring him.

Source: http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/story/2013-06-12/mark-emmert-ncaa-investigators-criticize-performance-sports-illustrated

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What Does It Mean to "Make Sex Normal"? | Psychology Today

[unable to retrieve full-text content]While writing my previous article about the importance of sex in relationships, I started thinking about the taboo nature of sex in North American culture. In the article I mentioned that ?North America is arguably a highly ...

Source: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-passion-paradox/201306/what-does-it-mean-make-sex-normal

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No bomb found aboard LA-to-Texas Southwest flight

Members of the bomb squad walk onto a Southwest Airlines plane on the ground at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport after the FBI says a "telephonic bomb threat" against a Southwest flight from Los Angeles to Texas led to the plane being diverted to Phoenix on Monday, June 10, 2013. Flight 2675 left Los Angeles International Airport at 2:12 p.m. and was heading to Austin before the threat was received by telephone. The plane landed safely at the Phoenix airport at about 3 p.m. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Members of the bomb squad walk onto a Southwest Airlines plane on the ground at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport after the FBI says a "telephonic bomb threat" against a Southwest flight from Los Angeles to Texas led to the plane being diverted to Phoenix on Monday, June 10, 2013. Flight 2675 left Los Angeles International Airport at 2:12 p.m. and was heading to Austin before the threat was received by telephone. The plane landed safely at the Phoenix airport at about 3 p.m. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

A Southwest Airlines plane sits on the ground in a remote section at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport after the FBI says a "telephonic bomb threat" against a Southwest flight from Los Angeles to Texas led to the plane being diverted to Phoenix on Monday, June 10, 2013. Flight 2675 left Los Angeles International Airport at 2:12 p.m. and was heading to Austin before the threat was received by telephone. The plane landed safely at the Phoenix airport at about 3 p.m. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Members of the bomb squad walk onto a Southwest Airlines plane at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Monday, June 10, 2013. The FBI says a "telephonic bomb threat" against a Southwest flight from Los Angeles to Texas led to the plane being diverted to Phoenix. Flight 2675 left Los Angeles International Airport at 2:12 p.m. and was heading to Austin before the threat was received by telephone. The plane landed safely at the Phoenix airport at about 3 p.m. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

PHOENIX (AP) ? No explosives were found on a Southwest Airlines plane that was diverted to Phoenix with 143 passengers on board, authorities said.

The FBI said Monday that an afternoon flight from Los Angeles to Texas landed in Phoenix after a "telephonic bomb threat" was made.

Laura Eimiller of the FBI's Los Angeles field office says Flight 2675 left Los Angeles International Airport at 2:12 p.m. and was heading to Austin before the threat was received by telephone.

F-16s were scrambled out of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson to monitor the flight as a precaution as it flew into Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, according to NORAD officials.

Flight 2675 landed safely at about 3 p.m., and authorities in Los Angeles asked Phoenix police to check out the possible threat.

The plane's crew and 143 passengers got off the plane and boarded several buses.

All passengers were interviewed by Monday evening, FBI special agent Manuel Johnson said in a statement. Investigators were making all efforts to identify the caller who made the bomb threat, he said.

Sky Harbor spokeswoman Julie Rodriguez said the plane was isolated on the tarmac away from terminals.

Flights took off and landed only on the airport's two south runways Monday evening due to the investigation, and some arrivals were delayed, Rodriguez said.

A spokeswoman for Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co. said the airline would accommodate passengers by booking them on other flights.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-06-11-Plane%20Diverted/id-bafed8bd30b0476b8ff4229763e8acc2

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Leaks detail PC Mobile postpaid contract pricing, launch delays

June 5th came and went, without the introduction of PC Mobile's new postpaid plans and smartphone line-up. MobileSyrup heard the launch had been pushed back to today, but is now reporting the MVNO is delaying it further. A few more details of what the Canadian carrier is expected to offer when it eventually follows through have emerged, however, including the all-important price points. Three contract tiers will be available, costing $35, $50 or $65 per month, with the number of any-use minutes and data allowance increasing with the spend. You'll also be able to purchase "stacks" that give you extra chatter time or megabytes for the month. Full details of the plans are available at the source link, but when PC Mobile will begin promoting them alongside a refreshed handset selection is anyone's guess.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

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Source: MobileSyrup

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/12/pc-mobile-postpaid-delay-pricing-leak/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Drugmakers to cooperate in safety review of diabetes drugs

By Bill Berkrot

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global drugmakers said on Wednesday they would cooperate with an independent review to address concerns of a potential link between widely used diabetes medicines and pancreatic cancer and other safety problems.

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) this week called for a new evaluation of clinical data on drugs used to control blood sugar for patients with type 2 diabetes. They include Merck & Co's $4 billion a year Januvia franchise, Novo Nordisk's Victoza, and Byetta and Onglyza from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co and AstraZeneca Plc, among others.

"People who are taking these medications, or who may consider taking them, should have the benefit of all that is currently known about their risks and advantages in order to make the best possible decisions about their treatment," Dr. Robert Ratner, ADA's chief scientific and medical officer, said in a statement.

The medicines are called incretin mimetics because they mimic hormones the body produces to stimulate release of insulin, and are from classes of drugs known as GLP-1 receptor agonists and DPP-4 inhibitors. GLP-1 drugs boost insulin production by the pancreas and slow absorption of food. DPP-4 inhibitors block an enzyme the breaks down the GLP-1 peptide in the gut, thereby increasing insulin production.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in March said it was studying unconfirmed reports that the drugs cause inflammation of the pancreas and pre-cancerous changes to cells in the pancreas. European health regulators are also studying the issue.

Around the same time, new concerns arose from a small study conducted by a leading diabetes expert, Dr. Peter Butler, from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Butler examined human pancreases from patients who had died of causes unrelated to pancreatic disease and found more pancreas lesions and one cancerous tumor in those who had taken Januvia or Byetta compared with nondiabetics or diabetics who had not taken those medicines.

More than 370 million people are living with diabetes worldwide, with type 2 accounting for 90 percent to 95 percent of the cases, according to the International Diabetes Federation. Without significant lifestyle changes to curb obesity and other causes of diabetes, that number could balloon to as many as 552 million by 2030, the organization projected.

NO FIRM EVIDENCE OF RISK

Bristol-Myers and AstraZeneca issued a joint statement expressing support for the ADA initiative. Merck said it is committed to participating in the ADA effort, and is separately conducting a 14,000-patient heart safety study of Januvia.

Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk, in an emailed comment, said its studies to assess safety signals of its $1.8 billion a year Victoza do not reveal any evidence of increased risk of pancreatitis or pancreatic cancer.

"As far as the ADA proposal is concerned, this is something that I do support from a conceptual basis," said Alan Moses, Novo's global chief medical officer, in a telephone interview.

"In principle, Novo Nordisk absolutely supports working with the other companies, but the final details depend on what specifically is being proposed," Moses said, adding "it all depends on the credibility of the data that's being evaluated."

The safety concerns are being discussed on Wednesday and Thursday at a workshop conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).

A document outlining the FDA's presentation at the workshop was handed out at the meeting. Attendees quoted it as saying the agency review of trial data on the drugs did not provide enough evidence to say whether there is a link to pancreatitis, and that long-term study would be required to determine any cancer risk. A FDA spokeswoman could not immediately confirm the contents of the document.

"The FDA basically appears to just be saying 'look, there just isn't enough information here to make an informed decision'," said Mark Schoenebaum, a drug industry analyst with ISI Group who was attending to two-day NIH/NIDDK workshop.

"There are no conclusions at this point in time from the meeting and I doubt very much there will be because the science quite frankly is immature about the whole area of pancreatic cancer," said Novo's Moses, who will address the workshop on Thursday. "Everybody agrees that this is an incredibly complex area."

In an interview with Reuters earlier this week Peter Stein, Merck vice president of clinical research for diabetes, expressed full confidence in the safety of Januvia.

During the workshop, Merck said it will present data on the safety profile of Januvia, known chemically as sitagliptin, including an updated analysis of data from more than 14,000 patients from 25 randomized clinical trials.

Merck last month reported a surprising decline in first quarter sales of Januvia, which has been the drugmaker's fastest growing medicine since its 2006 approval. It was not clear if increased competition, safety concerns or other factors led to the 4 percent slip in quarterly sales to $884 million.

(Reporting by Bill Berkrot and Ransdell Pierson)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/drugmakers-cooperate-safety-review-diabetes-drugs-211448804.html

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Birdsong phone apps 'harming' birds

12 June 2013 Last updated at 03:40 ET

The "harmful misuse" of mobile phone apps that mimic birdsong can stop birds performing important tasks such as feeding their young, experts have said.

Dorset Wildlife Trust said visitors to Brownsea Island were using apps to imitate Nightjar calls to entice birds out so they could photograph them.

The RSPB said birds could be diverted from vital tasks and said people might be "devastated" if they realised.

Hilary Wilson, from developer iSpiny, said the apps were a learning tool.

"We welcome this discussion into the ethics of using recorded songs," she said.

'No respect'

Brownsea Island nature reserve manager Chris Thain said: "Use of these apps is not suitable for nature reserves and can be potentially harmful to sensitive species."

Tony Whitehead, public affairs officer for the RSPB in the South West said: "Repeatedly playing a recording of birdsong or calls to encourage a bird to respond in order to see it or photograph it can divert a territorial bird from other important duties, such as feeding its young.

Continue reading the main story

The nightjar

? Eats moths, beetles and crane flies

? The male attracts mates with a loud "churring" call that contains 1,900 notes per minute

? Equipped with a serrated middle claw, or "comb" to preen its feathers

"It is selfish and shows no respect to the bird. People should never use playback to attract a species during its breeding season."

Mr Thain added: "The apps are becoming quite common, and are great, but their use needs some guidance I feel.

"I'm sure visitors would be devastated if they realised the possible disturbance they were causing to wildlife."

Dr Wilson, who oversees the Chirp! app for iSpiny and said the firm was the UK's leading developer of apps about birds and bird song, said: "Our apps aim to assist in learning and identifying bird songs and calls but we realise that they may be used to encourage birds to respond.

"We urge great caution - birdsong is simply a pleasant sound to human ears, but to birds it is a powerful means of communication... the issue with recordings is simple - out of consideration for both the birds and fellow birdwatchers, just keep the volume low."

Nesting birds are protected under The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which states it is an offence to intentionally disturb them.

Brownsea Island, which now has signs warning visitors about phone app use, has Special Protection Area status for the habitats it provides for birds, including the Nightjar.

The species' habitats have seen a recent recovery in the county.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-22863383#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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Grocery Comparison Site mySupermarket Launches U.S. Megastore For Finding Best Prices Across Amazon, Walmart, Target & More

On the heels of reports that Amazon is preparing to significantly expand its online grocery service AmazonFresh, grocery comparison shopping site?mySupermarket?is today bringing its service the U.S. Operating something like a Kayak for grocery and drugstore products, the new U.S. version of mySupermarket lets shoppers find the best prices across top stores, including Amazon, Walmart, Target, Costco, Walgreens, Diapers.com, Soap.com, and Drugstore.com.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/FG3tS1LHcKA/

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