RIM now faces legal challenge on "BBM" trademark (Reuters)

TORONTO (Reuters) ? Research In Motion, still smarting over having to change the name of its yet-to-come operating system, faces a similar trademark challenge to its popular instant-messaging service BlackBerry Messenger.

The service, which allows BlackBerry users to send each other text and multimedia files and see when they are delivered and read, is widely known and even promoted by RIM via the shorthand BBM.

That has proven an encumbrance to BBM Canada, which measures radio and television audience data and expects its day in a Federal Court against RIM by February.

The company's chief executive, Jim MacLeod, said he wants RIM to stop advertising the BBM moniker but would also consider changing his much smaller company's name, for a price.

"We have to be practical, they operate worldwide, we don't. But we're not prepared to just walk from our name," MacLeod said.

RIM seems equally determined to keep using the BBM name and not to pay MacLeod's company anything.

"We believe that BBM Canada is attempting to obtain trademark protection for the BBM acronym that is well beyond the narrow range of the services it provides and well beyond the scope of rights afforded by Canadian trademark law," it said in an emailed statement.

RIM has launched its BBM Music song-sharing service in recent months, and heavily promoted third-party apps that tie into its instant messaging product, which boasts some 50 million active users.

BBM Canada was established in 1944 as the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement. It changed its name to BBM in the 1960s and to BBM Canada in the early 1990s, MacLeod said. The company, owned by a collection of broadcasters and advertisers, has annual revenue of around $50 million. RIM's sales were more than $5 billion last quarter.

"I'm sure to a really big company this looks like relatively small numbers, but to us it's a big deal," said MacLeod. BBM Canada employs around 650 people, compared with RIM's roughly 17,000.

Earlier this month RIM dumped the "BBX" name for its new operating system after being served with an injunction in a trademark fight with U.S.-based Basis International. RIM has renamed the platform as BlackBerry 10.

Industry Canada denied RIM's 2009 request to register the BBM trademark, saying the name was already in use, but has granted RIM until January 5 to respond.

BBM Canada launched its legal action late last year.

MacLeod said his company contacted RIM in July, soon after RIM launched a large-scale BBM advertising campaign. In response to BBM Canada's cease-and-desist letter RIM said there couldn't possibly be any confusion between the two names - a similar tactic was later used in the BBX spat.

RIM repeated that line of argument in Friday's statement.

"The services associated with RIM's BBM offering clearly do not overlap with BBM Canada's services and the two marks are therefore eligible to co-exist under Canadian trademark law. The two companies are in different industries and have never been competitors in any area."

MacLeod sought a meeting to discuss the issue with RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie several months ago, but said he has received no response.

McLeod pointed out that RIM had even taken legal action of its own against software startup Kik Interactive over its instant messaging service that includes claims of trademark infringement.

"It's a trademark they don't even own, it's ours," MacLeod said.

(Reporting by Alastair Sharp; editing by Rob Wilson)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/software/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111223/wr_nm/us_rim_bbm

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'War Horse': The Reviews Are In!

Steven Spielberg's holiday offering is a 'litmus test' for moviegoers' feelings about the director, one critic says.
By Eric Ditzian


Tom Hiddleston in "War Horse"
Photo: DreamWorks

The Christmas holiday offers a staggering array of fresh cinematic choices. The last two weeks have given us films about chipmunks and tigers, 19th-century detectives and 21st-century spies, motion-captured adventurers and motorcycle-riding hackers. Shoot, there are not one but two Steven Spielberg flicks to choose from when all of your presents have been opened and that post-holiday-meal coma has set in.

The most recent is "War Horse," which nabbed two Golden Globe nominations and is likely to garner a slew of Oscar nods, including Best Picture and Best Director (even if the reviews are mixed). The movie, which hit theaters on Sunday (December 25), isn't polarizing so much as it is, in critic Bill Goodykoontz's lovely phrasing, a "litmus test" for moviegoers' feelings about Spielberg's films in general. Some reviewers have lauded the beautiful cinematography and stellar cast, while others have taken issue with the film's overly sentimental tone.

Read on for a deep dive into "War Horse" reviews.

The Story
"The film deals with the relationship between Albert Narracott (Jeremy Irvine) and his horse, Joey. It's a sprawling story that uses the background of World War I as a framework, but it's really a very direct journey. Albert's father (Peter Mullan) buys a horse, Albert falls in love with it, WWI begins, the horse is sold to Captain Nicholls (Tom Hiddleston), and Albert decides to enlist so he can find his horse and keep him safe. The film follows Joey from owner to owner, using the horse's journey as a way of dipping into a number of stories along the way, and eventually reaching a rousing and nakedly tear-jerking finale. It is an episodic film, and how you feel about the movie as a whole will depend largely on whether or not you are moved by the various stops along the way." — Drew McWeeny, HitFix

The Performances
"The cast is exemplary down the line, with both names and newcomers delivering expansive, emotional and almost entirely sympathetic performances. Neither side in the conflict is ennobled or demonized; like Joey (and a striking black steed who's his companion for a while), the grunts are just pawns in the hands of unseen manipulators of countless fates. Irvine is the very picture of a sturdy, well-intentioned, ruddy-faced English country lad of a hundred years ago and Mullan and [Emily] Watson look to have come from the earth they tread. Tom Hiddleston cuts a striking figure as an English officer who understands Joey early on, setting an example for the many others who briefly come and go through the horse's life as the war grinds on." — Todd McCarthy, The Hollywood Reporter

The Action
"Spielberg's battle scenes are a marvel of sight and sound — the latter literally shakes the theatres from the pop of rifles and the thunder of cannons. Spielberg tugs at the heart strings, but he's also not afraid to smack you upside the head with combat that realistically shows the madness of war. He interrupts the action too often, perhaps fearing a punitive censor rating. There are long stretches of 'War Horse' where Joey passes from hand to hand like the precious golden circle of 'The Lord of the Rings,' as this barnyard Balzac further demonstrates its wisdom and stoicism while dispensing silent life lessons." — Peter Howell, Toronto Star

The Dissenters
"[It's] overlong, painfully earnest and sometimes even hokey. Clearly, Spielberg intended 'War Horse' as a throwback, an homage to good, old-fashioned, heartrending storytelling, full of recognizable types and uplifting themes. The skies are so impossibly colorful in such a retro way, they look like hand-painted backdrops on a soundstage. And the dialogue is so frequently on-the-nose and repetitive, it might just make you cringe." — Christy Lemire, The Associated Press

The Final Word
" 'War Horse' is a sort of litmus test for how you feel about Steven Spielberg's films. It's a beautiful movie, stunning to look at, with echoes of film history all throughout, reaching back to 'Gone With the Wind,' 'The Searchers,' Spielberg's own 'Saving Private Ryan' and more. It's also unapologetically sentimental. Spielberg all but begs you to cry, and unless you're a heartless cad, you probably will." — Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic

Check out everything we've got on "War Horse."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1676446/war-horse-reviews.jhtml

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(AP)

Islam is not a religion nor is it a cult. It is a complete system.
Islam has religious, legal, political, economic and military components. The religious component is a beard for all the other components.

Islamization occurs when there are sufficient Muslims in a country to agitate for their so-called ?religious rights.?
When politically correct and culturally diverse societies agree to ?the reasonable? Muslim demands for their ?religious rights,? they also get the other components under the table. Here?s how it works (percentages source CIA: The World Fact Book (2007)).
As long as the Muslim population remains around 1% of any given country they will be regarded as a peace-loving minority and not as a threat to anyone. In fact, they may be featured in articles and films, stereotyped for their colorful uniqueness:

United States ? Muslim 1.0%
Australia ? Muslim 1.5%
Canada ? Muslim 1.9%
China ? Muslim 1%-2%
Italy ? Muslim 1.5%
Norway ? Muslim 1.8%

At 2% and 3% they begin to proselytize from other ethnic minorities and disaffected groups with major recruiting from the jails and among street gangs:

Denmark ? Muslim 2%
Germany ? Muslim 3.7%
United Kingdom ? Muslim 2.7%
Spain ? Muslim 4%
Thailand ? Muslim 4.6%

From 5% on they exercise an inordinate influence in proportion to their percentage of the population.
They will push for the introduction of halal (clean by Islamic standards) food, thereby securing food preparation jobs for Muslims. They will increase pressure on supermarket chains to feature it on their shelves ? along with threats for failure to comply. ( United States ).

France ? Muslim 8%
Philippines ? Muslim 5%
Sweden ? Muslim 5%
Switzerland ? Muslim 4.3%
The Netherlands ? Muslim 5.5%
Trinidad &Tobago ? Muslim 5.8%

At this point, they will work to get the ruling government to allow them to rule themselves under Sharia, the Islamic Law. The ultimate goal of Islam is not to convert the world but to establish Sharia law over the entire world.
When Muslims reach 10% of the population, they will increase lawlessness as a means of complaint about their conditions ( Paris ?car-burnings). Any non-Muslim action that offends Islam will result in uprisings and threats ( Amsterdam ? Mohammed cartoons).

Guyana ? Muslim 10%
India ? Muslim 13.4%
Israel ? Muslim 16%
Kenya ? Muslim 10%
Russia ? Muslim 10-15%

After reaching 20% expect hair-trigger rioting, jihad militia formations, sporadic killings and church and synagogue burning:
Ethiopia ? Muslim 32.8%

At 40% you will find widespread massacres, chronic terror attacks and ongoing militia warfare:

Bosnia ? Muslim 40%
Chad ? Muslim 53.1%
Lebanon ? Muslim 59.7%

From 60% you may expect unfettered persecution of non-believers and other religions, sporadic ethnic cleansing (genocide), use of Sharia Law as a weapon and Jizya, the tax placed on infidels:

Albania ? Muslim 70%
Malaysia ? Muslim 60.4%
Qatar ? Muslim 77.5%
Sudan ? Muslim 70%

After 80% expect State run ethnic cleansing and genocide:

Bangladesh ? Muslim 83%
Egypt ? Muslim 90%
Gaza ? Muslim 98.7%
Indonesia ? Muslim 86.1%
Iran ? Muslim 98%
Iraq ? Muslim 97%
Jordan ? Muslim 92%
Morocco ? Muslim 98.7%
Pakistan ? Muslim 97%
Palestine ? Muslim 99%
Syria ? Muslim 90%
Tajikistan ? Muslim 90%
Turkey ? Muslim 99.8%
United Arab Emirates ? Muslim 96%

100% will usher in the peace of ?Dar-es-Salaam? ? the Islamic House of Peace ? there?s (supposed) to be peace because everybody is a Muslim: we know however that this isnt true is it...?

Afghanistan ? Muslim 100%
Saudi Arabia ? Muslim 100%
Somalia ? Muslim 100%
Yemen ? Muslim 99.9%

Of course, that?s not the case. To satisfy their religiously ordained blood lust, Muslims then start killing each other for a variety of reasons...and they are coming to a neighborhood near you...so keep thinking they are not going to harm you and they "accept" you.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111221/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_apnewsalert

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Uterine fibroids cost the U.S. billions: study (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) ? Uterine fibroids cost the U.S. billions each year in lost work days, pregnancy problems and treatments, a new study finds.

Uterine fibroids are common, non-cancerous growths that form from muscle cells and other tissue in the wall of the uterus. In the U.S., it's estimated that up to 70 percent of white women develop fibroids at some point by age 50; among African-American women, that number is closer to 80 percent.

Often, fibroids cause no symptoms. But at least one-quarter of U.S. women have fibroid symptoms like heavy menstrual periods, bleeding between periods and abdominal or lower back pain.

And in some cases, fibroids can make it hard for a woman to get pregnant, or increase her risk of pregnancy complications like miscarriage and preterm birth.

Since fibroids are so common, "it's very important to understand the societal costs," said researcher Dr. James H. Segars of the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in Bethesda, Maryland.

Based on his team's estimates, uterine fibroids cost the U.S. anywhere from $6 billion to $34 billion each year. That's with both treatment costs and "indirect" costs, like lost work days, taken into account.

In fact, Segars said, the cost of lost work -- days off due to fibroid symptoms or to receive treatment -- turned out to be the biggest expense. The researchers put that cost at anywhere from $1.5 billion to $17 billion annually.

Those cost ranges are very wide, Segars acknowledged. But, he said, they are estimates based on a collection of past studies that varied in how they collected data.

"That was the range in the literature," Segars said. He added that, given how common fibroids are, he would guess that the actual costs are closer to the higher end of his team's estimates.

"But it's very difficult to get at the true cost," Segars said.

The findings, reported in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, are based on figures from recent studies and national databases.

The researchers estimate that the yearly cost of fibroid treatment in the U.S. ranges from about $4 billion to $9 billion.

Those treatment options include surgery, with hysterectomy (removal of the uterus) being most common. Other women choose to have just the fibroids removed -- a procedure called a myomectomy.

Other procedures include uterine artery embolization, where tiny particles are injected into blood vessels leading to the uterus, to cut off fibroids' blood supply and shrink them; and endometrial ablation, which destroys the lining of the uterus.

Some women use medications -- like painkillers and hormonal therapies -- to manage heavy bleeding and painful periods. But they don't get rid of the fibroids.

As for pregnancy complications linked to fibroids, Segars' team put the yearly cost at anywhere from $238 million to close to $8 billion -- again, a wide range.

Past studies, Segars said, have not considered pregnancy issues in estimating the cost of fibroids. He and his colleagues based their calculations on the prevalence of complications like miscarriage, preterm birth and cesarean section among U.S. women, plus estimates of how many pregnant women have fibroids.

It's been estimated that anywhere from about 0.4 percent to 11 percent of pregnancies in the U.S. each year are to women with uterine fibroids.

Though precise dollar figures are hard to pin down, Segars said the bottom line is that uterine fibroids appear much more costly than has been appreciated.

And it's particularly concerning, he noted, that fibroids are more common and more severe in African-American women -- who may find it harder to bear the burden of lost wages and other costs.

"This most severely affects the population that's least able to bear the costs," Segars said.

That, he added, underscores the importance of finding ways to prevent fibroids.

No one is sure how to do that, however, because researchers don't know exactly why fibroids form. Black women are at greater risk, as are women who are overweight or obese. On the other hand, women who've given birth seem to have a lower risk than those who've never had a baby.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/sAPWtM American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, online December 12, 2011.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111220/hl_nm/us_uterine_fibroids

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ECB's Stark discusses resignation (AP)

FRANKFURT, Germany ? A top European Central Bank official has publicly discussed the reasons for his surprise resignation, saying he is not satisfied with the direction Europe's currency union has taken.

Juergen Stark said in an interview in Monday's edition of Germany's Wirtschaftswoche magazine that the ECB had done its job by keeping inflation under control across the eurozone, which it does through adjusting interest rates.

But he said some governments had tolerated excessive wage costs and unsustainable real estate booms that preceded today's debt crisis.

Stark is leaving at the end of the year, 2 1/2 years before the end of his eight-year term on the bank's six-member executive board. The council runs the bank day-to-day at its Frankfurt heaquarters, while interest rate decisions are taken by the broader 23-member government council, on which Stark also sits.

Stark was quoted as saying that "there is a broad theme that serves as the reason for this: that I am not satisfied with the way this currency union has developed."

Stark said the ECB had done its part by keeping inflation under control but could not be expected to clean up policy mistakes by individual governments that ran up too much debt or let their economies become uncompetitive through high labor costs.

"Don't overburden the central bank," he said.

He said governments should have avoided financial trouble by reining in labor costs. Stark was quoted as saying governments also failed to rein in excessive real estate booms that collapsed and contributed to the eurozone debt crisis. He didn't mention individual countries but wage costs rose in Greece, hampering the economy and state finances, and Ireland and Spain had debt-fueled real estate booms that collapsed.

The ECB earlier said Stark was leaving at year-end for personal reasons.

Analysts have said he appears to have left because of opposition to the European Central Bank's program to buy government bonds. But Stark was not quoted in the interview as mentioning the bond purchase program.

The purchases lower the borrowing costs faced by indebted governments such as Italy and Spain. High borrowing costs are threatening to leave them unable to be able to borrow anew to pay off bonds that are maturing, resulting in a disastrous default that would shake the eurozone and global economy.

The bank and its President Mario Draghi have said the program is limited and only aimed at steering interest rates, and that governments must reform their finances and not wait for a central bank bailout.

Stark repeated his longstanding opposition to calls for the ECB to sharply increase the bond purchases through its power to create new money. He said that would violate the prohibition in the EU treaty on the ECB using its monetary powers to finance governments, although it is a step that the U.S. Federal Reserve has been allowed to take.

Stark dismissed calls by "real or self-styled experts" to use the "big bazooka" of printing money. "It is a fundamental arrangmenet of a currency union that the monetary financing of state debts through the ECB is not permitted," he said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111218/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_europe_financial_crisis

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