Arab woman wins on Israel?s ?The Voice?

March 24, 2013

JERUSALEM?(JTA) -- An Israeli-Arab woman beat out three other competitors to win Israel's second season of "The Voice."

Lina Makhoul, 19, of Acre, will receive a record contract and a scholarship to music school.

After winning the three-month long contest, Makhoul, who is Christian, said during the live finale that she had been victimized by racism throughout the filming of the popular reality show.

"Thank you for listening, believing, taking part, and putting the music first," Makhoul said after her victory.

In her final performance, Makhoul sang Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah."
?

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Source: http://www.jta.org/news/article/2013/03/24/3122921/arab-woman-wins-israels-the-voice-contest

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Write Your Email's Conclusion First to Get More Responses

Nobody carefully reads every word of every email. To avoid getting lost in the shuffle, Inc. suggests ignoring what you learned in English class and starting every email with your conclusion.

Say you're trying to get your boss to move a department meeting to an offsite location. You might write an email like this:

Since it's often easier to generate creative ideas in unfamiliar locations, I'd like to suggest moving our meeting to the sushi restaurant across the street.

Instead, Inc. suggests writing more like this:

I think we should move our meeting to the sushi restaurant across the street, since it's often easier to generate creative ideas in unfamiliar locations.

Writing this way serves two purposes. One, it means your most important point will show up in the preview pane of most email clients. Second, it plants your central idea in the recipient's head right away, and lets your supporting points hammer it home. Check out Inc. for more email tips.

How To Write a Convincing Email | Inc.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/cELV_tK2tmY/write-your-conclusion-first-in-emails-to-get-more-responses

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Court: Can drug companies pay to delay generics?

FILE - In a Jan. 7, 2008, file photo then-Attorney Donald Verrilli talks to media outside the Supreme Court. Now President Barack Obama's top Supreme Court lawyer, Solicitor General Verilli will argue before the Supreme Court this week whether it is legal for patent-holding pharmaceutical companies to pay rivals, who make generic drugs, to temporarily keep those cheaper versions of their brand-name drugs off the market. The Obama administration is taking the position that the agreements are illegal if they?re based solely on keeping the generic drug out of consumer's hands. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

FILE - In a Jan. 7, 2008, file photo then-Attorney Donald Verrilli talks to media outside the Supreme Court. Now President Barack Obama's top Supreme Court lawyer, Solicitor General Verilli will argue before the Supreme Court this week whether it is legal for patent-holding pharmaceutical companies to pay rivals, who make generic drugs, to temporarily keep those cheaper versions of their brand-name drugs off the market. The Obama administration is taking the position that the agreements are illegal if they?re based solely on keeping the generic drug out of consumer's hands. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

FILE - In this Aug. 12, 2011 file photo, Jeremy Lazarus, president-elect of the American Medical Association (AMA) speaks in Portland, Oregon. The Supreme Court will struggle this week with whether it?s legal for patent-holding pharmaceutical companies to pay rivals, who make generic drugs, to temporarily keep those cheaper versions of their brand-name drugs off the market. Now AMA President, Lazarus said in a statement,"The AMA believes that pay-for-delay agreements undermine the balance between spurring innovation through the patent system and fostering competition through the development of generic drugs. Pay for delay must stop to ensure the most cost-effective treatment options are available to patients." (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

This March 2011 photo provided Actavis Inc. shows Actavis CEO Paul Bisario at the pharmaceutical company's corporate headquarters in Parsippany, N.J. On Monday, March 25, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments of pharmaceutical company interests in recouping billions of dollars spent developing new drugs pitted against the government's desire to get cheaper generic drugs on the market earlier to save American consumers money. "By doing what the FTC wants, you're going to hurt consumers rather than help them," said Bisaro. Fighting between generic and brand-name drugmakers in court is risky and time consuming, he said, while settlements bring certainty, allow generic drug sales years before patents expire and reduce legal costs. (AP Photo/Actavis, Maryanne Russell)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Federal regulators are pressing the Supreme Court to stop big pharmaceutical corporations from paying generic drug competitors to delay releasing their cheaper versions of brand-name drugs. They argue these deals deny American consumers, usually for years, steep price declines that can top 90 percent.

The Obama administration, backed by consumer groups and the American Medical Association, says these so-called "pay for delay" deals profit the drug companies but harm consumers by adding 3.5 billion annually to their drug bills.

But the pharmaceutical companies counter that they need to preserve longer the billions of dollars in revenue from their patented products in order to recover the billions they spend developing new drugs. And both the large companies and the generic makers say the marketing of generics often is hastened by these deals.

The justices will hear the argument Monday.

Such pay-for-delay deals arise when generic companies file a challenge at the Food and Drug Administration to the patents that give brand-name drugs a 20-year monopoly. The generic drugmakers aim to prove the patent is flawed or otherwise invalid, so they can launch a generic version well before the patent ends.

Brand-name drugmakers then usually sue the generic companies, which sets up what could be years of expensive litigation. When the two sides aren't certain who will win, they often reach a compromise deal that allows the generic company to sell its cheaper copycat drug in a few years ? but years before the drug's patent would expire. Often, that settlement comes with a sizeable payment from the brand-name company to the generic drugmaker.

Numerous brand-name and generic drugmakers and their respective trade groups say the settlements protect their interests but also benefit consumers by bringing inexpensive copycat medicines to market years earlier than they would arrive in any case generic drugmakers took to trial and lost. But federal officials counter that such deals add billions to the drug bills of American patients and taxpayers, compared to what would happen if the generic companies won the lawsuits and could begin marketing right away.

A study by RBC Capital Markets Corp. of 371 cases during 2000-2009 found brand-name companies won 89 at trial compared to 82 won by generic drugmakers. Another 175 ended in settlement deals, and 25 were dropped.

Generic drugs account for about 80 percent of all American prescriptions for medicines and vaccines, but a far smaller percentage of the $325 billion spent by U.S. consumers on drugs each year. Generics saved American patients, taxpayers and the healthcare system an estimated $193 billion in 2011 alone, according to health data firm IMS Health.

But government officials believe the number of potentially anticompetitive patent settlements is increasing. Pay-for-delay deals increased from 28 to 40 in just the last two fiscal years and the deals in fiscal 2012 covered 31 brand-name pharmaceuticals, Federal Trade Commission officials said. Those had combined annual U.S. sales of more than $8.3 billion.

The Obama administration argues the agreements are illegal if they're based solely on keeping the generic drug off the market. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli, speaking at Georgetown Law School recently, noted that once a generic drug gets on the market and competes with a brand-name drug, "the price drops 85 percent." That quickly decimates sales of the brand-name medicine.

"These agreements should actually be considered presumptively unlawful because of the potential effects on consumers," Verrilli said.

In the case before the court, Brussels, Belgium-based Solvay ? now part of a new company called AbbVie Inc. ? reached a deal with generic drugmaker Watson Pharmaceuticals allowing it to launch a cheaper version of Solvay's male hormone drug AndroGel in August 2015. Solvay agreed to pay Watson an estimated $19 million-$30 million annually, government officials said. The patent runs until August 2020. Watson agreed to also help sell the brand-name version, AndroGel.

AndroGel, which brought in $1.2 billion last year for AbbVie, is a gel applied to the skin daily to treat low testosterone in men. Low testosterone can affect sex drive, energy level, mood, muscle mass and bone strength.

The FTC called the deal anticompetitive and sued Watson, now called Actavis Inc.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta rejected the government's objections, and the FTC appealed to the Supreme Court.

The federal district and appellate courts both ruled against the government, AbbVie, which is based in North Chicago, Ill., said. "We are confident that these decisions will be upheld by the Supreme Court."

The Generic Pharmaceutical Association's head, Ralph Neas, said the settlements are "pro-consumer, pro-competition and transparent." He said every patent settlement to date has brought a generic drug to market before the relevant patent ended, with two-thirds of the new generic drugs launched in 2010 and 2011 hitting the market early due to a settlement.

"By doing what the FTC wants, you're going to hurt consumers rather than help them," said Paul Bisaro, CEO of Actavis of Parsippany, N.J.

Bisaro said consumers will save an estimated $50 billion just from patent settlements involving Lipitor, the cholesterol-lowering drug made by Pfizer Inc. of New York that reigned for nearly a decade as the world's top-selling drug.

Lipitor's patent ran until 2017, but multiple generic companies challenged it. Pfizer reached a settlement that enabled Actavis and a second company to sell slightly cheaper generic versions starting Nov. 30, 2011 and several other generic drugmakers to begin selling generic Lipitor six months later. The price then plummeted from Pfizer's $375 to $530 for a three-month supply, depending on dosage, to $20 to $40 for generic versions.

Because generic companies tend to challenge patents of every successful drug, the FTC's position would impose onerous legal costs on brand-name drugmakers and limit their ability to fund expensive research to create new drugs, said the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, which represents brand-name drugmakers.

According to the 2010 RBC Capital Markets study, when trial victories, settlements between drugmakers and dropped cases are combined, generic companies were able to bring their product to market before the brand-name drug's patent expired in 76 percent of the 371 drug patent suits decided from 2000 through 2009.

Consumer, doctor and drugstore groups have lined up to support the Obama administration in this case.

"AARP believes it is in the interest of those fifty and older, and indeed the public at large, to hasten the entry of generic prescription drugs to the marketplace," said Ken Zeller, senior attorney with the AARP Foundation Litigation. "Pay-for-delay agreements such as those at issue in this case frustrate that public interest."

The American Medical Association, the giant doctors' group, believes pay-for-delay agreements undermine the balance between spurring innovation through patents and fostering competition through generics, AMA President Dr. Jeremy A., Lazarus said. "Pay for delay must stop to ensure the most cost-effective treatment options are available to patients."

Drugstores also believe pay-for-delay deals "pose considerable harm to patients because they postpone the availability of generic drugs which limits patient access to generic medications," said Chrissy Kopple of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores.

Eight justices will decide this case later this year. Justice Samuel Alito did not take part in considering whether to take this case and is not expected to take part in arguments.

___

The case is Federal Trade Commission vs. Actavis, Inc., 12-416.

AP Business Writer Linda A. Johnson in Trenton, N.J., contributed to this report.

___

Follow Jesse J. Holland on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/jessejholland

Follow Linda A. Johnson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LindaJ_onPharma

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-03-24-Supreme%20Court-Pay%20For%20Delaying%20Generics/id-ea723db16dae4eaf8e775e84ef9e3bb7

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New Video: Plies ? Low Miles (Official Video) | News, Movies$Tv ...

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://rayenter10ment.wordpress.com/2013/03/23/new-video-plies-low-miles-official-video/

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Apple, Microsoft and Adobe give reasons for higher prices in Australia, can't guarantee you'll like them

Talk about ants in their pants. After giving regulators the runaround and repeatedly dodging the question of why they charge Australians so much more than Americans for the same products, senior executives from Apple, Microsoft and Adobe have finally been forced to sit down in front from a parliamentary committee. They weren't always especially helpful, mind you, but they did at least offer some justification as to why, on average, their products cost 50 percent more in that country. Read on for a quick rundown of who said what.

[Image credit: Delimiter]

Filed under: Internet, Software, Apple, Microsoft

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Source: Reuters, Herald Sun, The Australian, ZDNet

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/z7FvTDAMOR0/

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Ford Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid test drive (video)

The Ford Fusion Energi joins the C-MAX Energi and Focus Electric as the company's third vehicle with a charging connector and access to California's HOV lanes. While it's a larger car than the C-MAX Energi, it weighs about the same and features pretty much the same plug-in hybrid powertrain with 195 net horsepower and three EV driving modes. It combines a 2-liter DOHC 16V Duratec (Atkinson cycle) engine and CVT with an AC synchronous motor powered by a 7.6kWh Lithium Ion battery. This pack takes about 2.5 hours to fill up with a 240V charging station and provides a range of 21 miles (100MPGe) at up to 85MPH in all-electric mode. Both autos share the same unfortunate battery protrusion in the trunk area, and while it's less of an issue in the Fusion sedan than the wagon-like C-MAX, it detracts from the overall package. The Fusion Energi also packs the company's latest and greatest tech, including MyFord Mobile, SmartGauge with EcoGuide, Eco Cruise and SYNC with MyFord Touch. Sure, that's pretty exciting, but how does it actually drive? Find out after the break.

Gallery: Ford Fusion Energi test drive

Filed under: Transportation

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Ruth Montano, Woman Facing Deportation For Barking Dogs, Tells Her Story (VIDEO)

3 hours ago (12:00 AM)

The irony is that it's easier to for a dog to move here than it is for a human. The dog might go to a shelter and from there to a new family and nobody is going to ask for country of origin.

Klabb: The irony is that it's easier to for a dog

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Klabb/ruth-montano-woman-facing-deportation-dogs_n_2927694_238967288.html

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3 hours ago (11:31 PM)

She is not in deportation proceedings because of barking dogs, she is in deportation proceedings because she is illegal.

Plenty of people with barking dogs are not deported, because they are LEGAL, unlike Ruth.

BeasTT: She is not in deportation proceedings because of barking dogs,

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/BeasTT/ruth-montano-woman-facing-deportation-dogs_n_2927694_238962946.html

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4 hours ago (10:50 PM)

If she's illegal - deport her promptly. Why is this even up for discussion?

Armando_Cedillo: If she's illegal - deport her promptly. Why is this

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5 hours ago (10:08 PM)

Other, unbiased websites are reporting, the un-vetted illegal non-immigrant ~ Monta?o, was seen by police officers on site as pulling up to her mobile home driving an uninsured, unregistered vehicle without a Driver's License

14 years in the USA, unauthorized to work in the USA, and procreating 3 Anchors to assure her "pathway to U.S. Citizenship" but, still refuses to assimulate in the USA by learning English

Maybe, had she learned English to read U.S. Immigration Laws ~ She would know why she's being forcibly deported by the Obama Administration.

Guess, know one has told her ~ Obama is forcibly deporting illegals out of the USA at the rate of 1 each & every 77 seconds, 24/7 for the past consecutive 50 months - nearly 2 million deported so far . .. ... ....

Viper1st: Other, unbiased websites are reporting, the un-vetted illegal non-immigrant ~

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Viper1st/ruth-montano-woman-facing-deportation-dogs_n_2927694_238947995.html

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3 hours ago (11:36 PM)

Oops....I was defending her on the grounds that barking dogs are no reason to deport someone and saying that if she doesn't speak English well, it is a skill that can be learned. I also said that perhaps it was all due to miscommunication over language.

What I didn't get is why her kids couldn't translate for her if there was a communication problem. Since the article didn't specify she was an illegal, I was defending her. Sheesh.....well, I meant well.

island_fever1: Oops....I was defending her on the grounds that barking dogs

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5 hours ago (10:04 PM)

Fine up standing potential American citizen.

Robert_Card: Fine up standing potential American citizen.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Robert_Card/ruth-montano-woman-facing-deportation-dogs_n_2927694_238947327.html

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dtairtime

It is what it is

5 hours ago ( 9:39 PM)

She has three kids here.

If they go to school it will cost taxpayers about $45,000 per year just to educate her kids.

Just the cost of education outweighs all other possible benefits for illegal immigration. Once we add in the environmental damage that 12-20 million people do and add up all the lost wages citizens miss out on or are forced to accept less due to too much labor commodity and we have some real issues.

BTW - we have unlimited ag visas available for farmers to get the same workers (for the most part minus the child molesters, dui convicts, gang members, etc) they have now. But they don't have to do that because so many naive people support their desires to pay lower wages, not pay taxes, not follow OSHA, not house them and treat them like dirt.

dtairtime: She has three kids here. If they go to school

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6 hours ago ( 8:21 PM)

So she was not arrested for having a barking dog but for a felony violation of Title 8 United States Code section 1325 relating to improper entry into the United States by an alien.

Pawel_Karczynski: So she was not arrested for having a barking dog

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Pawel_Karczynski/ruth-montano-woman-facing-deportation-dogs_n_2927694_238926574.html

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ugly american

"I drank what?"- Last words of Socrates

4 hours ago (10:20 PM)

Yes, but it doesn't look good or get much sympathy to say that.
There was also "resisting arrest" and "assaulting a peace officer" and "failure to ID" and.....
But she was arrested for the dog.

ugly_american: Yes, but it doesn't look good or get much sympathy

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/ugly_american/ruth-montano-woman-facing-deportation-dogs_n_2927694_238950316.html

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7 hours ago ( 8:04 PM)

This is too bad but they should deport her.

Parade_Keegan: This is too bad but they should deport her.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Parade_Keegan/ruth-montano-woman-facing-deportation-dogs_n_2927694_238922735.html

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7 hours ago ( 7:51 PM)

This statement from the pro-amnesty groups always cracks me up..

"The Obama administration has deported more immigrants than any U.S. president, hitting a total of more than 400,000 people last year. Critics accuse Obama of funneling undocumented immigrants into deportation proceedings indiscriminately."

In Bush's last two years he increased the amount of INS and CBP on the border, in his last year he deported between 250k-300k illegals. This is the same President who is Republican and is for cheap labor and less worker's rights. President Obama and the left state that he is hard on illegal immigration. However, even with the extra boots on the ground from Bush and the increased attention in the country on border security, the 150K increase is only slightly more than a 1% increase in deportations.

And the left lies and says that President Obama is tough on illegal immigration. All the while his elderly uncle who has ignored multiple deportation orders and received a DUI is allowed to stay. And no, he is not dreamer.

I have lived around the world and have seen no country like the US where the media labels illegal immigrants in with legal immigrants and where people whom cross the border, whom know that if they get caught they will be deported, demand to be treated like legal immigrants and citizens.

Don't believe the lies.

Aaron_Watkins: This statement from the pro-amnesty groups always cracks me up..

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Aaron_Watkins/ruth-montano-woman-facing-deportation-dogs_n_2927694_238919733.html

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dtairtime

It is what it is

5 hours ago ( 9:40 PM)

Don't forget he fudged the numbers.

He counts those turned away at the border as deported when it was never done before.

dtairtime: Don't forget he fudged the numbers. He counts those turned

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7 hours ago ( 7:41 PM)

If she's here legally, they need to leave her alone regarding barking dogs.. She can be cited by the city for barking dogs and pay a fine if that's what the city ordinance says. Usually, people get warnings the first time.

As for an altercation with the police, well, that's a differnt story and I'm sure that we don't have all of it.

island_fever1: If she's here legally, they need to leave her alone

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/island_fever1/ruth-montano-woman-facing-deportation-dogs_n_2927694_238917519.html

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6 hours ago ( 8:45 PM)

I agree, I believe that we do not have the whole story. She is responsible for preventing her dogs from disturbing the peace in the neighborhood. As far as for her ever becoming a citizen, not a chance. She is not fluent in English to pass the citizenship test.

lavender_menace: I agree, I believe that we do not have the

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6 hours ago ( 9:01 PM)

I didn't watch the video, so I don't know about her English. But, that's a skill that can be learned. I'm just thinking that barking dogs is a pretty lame excuse to deport someone. And, if she doesn't speak English that well, I'm wondering how the argument with the cops got started or whether or not it was a bunch of miscommunication.

It just seems extreme to me and of course, we don't have the whole story.

island_fever1: I didn't watch the video, so I don't know about

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/island_fever1/ruth-montano-woman-facing-deportation-dogs_n_2927694_238935022.html

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