NEW YORK ? Four Detroit Lions, including quarterback Matthew Stafford, and two Chicago Bears have been fined by the NFL for incidents in their game last Sunday.
Stafford instigated a scuffle when he grabbed the helmet of Bears defensive back D. J. Moore and threw him to the ground. Stafford has been fined $7,500, while Moore is hit for $15,000 for striking back at Stafford and being ejected.
Also docked $15,000 is Lions rookie DT Nick Fairley for driving Bears QB Jay Cutler into the ground.
Chicago receiver Earl Bennett has been fined $10,000 for wearing orange shoes, his second uniform violation.
Detroit DE Kyle Vanden Bosch is docked $7,500 for unnecessary roughness: Vanden Bosch threw Bears RB Matt Forte to the ground late.
Detroit guard Rob Sims also has been hit for $7,500 for a late tackle.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? The International Monetary Fund is inserting itself more forcefully into Europe's efforts to resolve its debt crisis, hoping to stem a contagion that is spreading worldwide and threatening global growth.
Uncertainty is turning into frustration and near-panic among policymakers outside Europe as larger European economies such as Italy, Spain and France come under attack by financial markets and bank funding stresses worsen.
Until now, Europe has tried to navigate its way out of the two-year crisis on its own and the IMF has worked as a partner in a rescue "Troika" alongside the European Commission and European Central Bank in bailing out debt-stricken Greece.
But patience, both among officials outside of Europe and in markets, is running thin with what many view as Europe's painfully slow decision-making process.
Three steps taken this week could strengthen the IMF's role in handling the crisis.
The IMF said on Thursday it would not be joined by EU or ECB officials when it conducts an in-depth review in late November of Italy's economy and the fiscal and structural reforms needed to fend off the crisis there, a fresh step in the global lender's approach.
By going it alone, the IMF would assert its leadership role and potentially instill greater market confidence.
This followed a surprise move on Wednesday when the IMF ousted Antonio Borges, its European director. It replaced him with an influential insider, Reza Moghadam, who has worked behind the scenes to reshape the IMF's lending tools and strengthen the way it monitors economies.
Borges cited personal reasons for his decision to step down immediately. Last month, he misstepped in suggesting publicly that the IMF could buy Spanish or Italian bonds alongside the euro zone's bailout fund. He had to issue a hasty retraction to say the IMF could only lend to member countries and could not intervene in bond markets.
European officials also said on Thursday there have been discussions about the European Central Bank possibly lending to the IMF, which would give the global lender enough money to bail out bigger euro zone countries.
Emerging market countries such as China, Russia and Brazil have indicated privately to IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde they stand ready to help Europe, as well as other countries, but only if their funding is done through the IMF.
"There is great concern about Europe," IMF Spokesman David Hawley told a news briefing on Thursday that was dominated by questions on Italy and Greece.
"Emerging market countries have expressed readiness to augment the resources of the Fund," Hawley said. "At this stage we don't have precise money".
The Federal Reserve, likewise, is extremely worried about Europe and does not see how the U.S. banking system can escape unscathed. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has warned that inadequate European crisis management raises the risk of "cascading default, bank runs and catastrophic risk that must be taken off the table."
European leaders had hoped they would stem the contagion by setting up a bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility. But more than three months later, it has failed to raise the 1 trillion euros it needs, and financial contagion is spreading quickly from the euro zone's periphery to eastern and central Europe and to other vulnerable emerging countries.
If Italy and Spain need rescuing, the 1 trillion euros European leaders are seeking would not be enough. The only lender left with sufficient firepower would be the IMF.
(Additional reporting by Stella Dawson and Mark Felsenthal in Washington)
The protest vote prevails when a landslide victory is expectedPublic release date: 18-Nov-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: SINC info@agenciasinc.es 34-914-251-820 FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology
Researchers at the Juan March foundation and the Duke University (USA) have analysed the reason for casting a protest vote as a way of expressing unhappiness with a party during elections. Moderate voters are more likely to vote in this way than those at the extreme left or extreme right of the political spectrum.
Daniel Kselman, researcher at the Juan March Foundation and co-author of the study that analyses such behaviour states that "the protest vote is just a way of expressing discontent. In order for it to be effective, a lot more voters from your party need to vote for other. However, if there are enough people casting the protest vote, strategic changes need to be adopted or previously ignored political questions need to be faced."
The authors of the study created a probabilistic model that allowed them to distinguish between "strategic voters", who vote for a party despite it not being their favourite because their first choice has no chance of winning, and "protest voters", who choose another party purely to 'punish them' even though they have a chance of winning.
Kselman points out that "protest voters show their unhappiness by voting for a party either more to the right or more to the left of the political spectrum than their preference in the hope that a rise in votes for the competition will encourage their own party to go in one direction or another."
According to the results of the study, when ideological voters are unhappy, they simply abstain from voting. Furthermore, the protest vote is more likely during elections in which it is hope that a party will win by a landslide victory.
The expert explains that "this applies to the current situation in Spain where many believe that the People's Party (PP) will gain an absolute majority. Since there is likely to be a landslide victory in the upcoming elections this Sunday, we expect to see many protest votes from traditional Socialist Party (PSOE) voters, whether for the PP or other parties. This does not mean that they are changing their party preference because they can in fact vote for the PSOE again in the next elections."
As a result, such voting behaviour will increase the diversity of a party and could also help to strengthen smaller parties. Kselman concludes that "sometimes smaller parties begin to receive the majority of their support through protest votes. Consequently, when building up an independent following of their own, such support allows them in time to become significant and important political forces. Therefore, the protest vote could allow new parties to enter mainstream politics."
###
References:
Daniel Kselman, Emerson Niou. "Protest voting in plurality elections: a theory of voter signaling", Public Choice 148 (3): 395-418, 2011. DOI 10.1007/s11127-010-9661-2.
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
The protest vote prevails when a landslide victory is expectedPublic release date: 18-Nov-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: SINC info@agenciasinc.es 34-914-251-820 FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology
Researchers at the Juan March foundation and the Duke University (USA) have analysed the reason for casting a protest vote as a way of expressing unhappiness with a party during elections. Moderate voters are more likely to vote in this way than those at the extreme left or extreme right of the political spectrum.
Daniel Kselman, researcher at the Juan March Foundation and co-author of the study that analyses such behaviour states that "the protest vote is just a way of expressing discontent. In order for it to be effective, a lot more voters from your party need to vote for other. However, if there are enough people casting the protest vote, strategic changes need to be adopted or previously ignored political questions need to be faced."
The authors of the study created a probabilistic model that allowed them to distinguish between "strategic voters", who vote for a party despite it not being their favourite because their first choice has no chance of winning, and "protest voters", who choose another party purely to 'punish them' even though they have a chance of winning.
Kselman points out that "protest voters show their unhappiness by voting for a party either more to the right or more to the left of the political spectrum than their preference in the hope that a rise in votes for the competition will encourage their own party to go in one direction or another."
According to the results of the study, when ideological voters are unhappy, they simply abstain from voting. Furthermore, the protest vote is more likely during elections in which it is hope that a party will win by a landslide victory.
The expert explains that "this applies to the current situation in Spain where many believe that the People's Party (PP) will gain an absolute majority. Since there is likely to be a landslide victory in the upcoming elections this Sunday, we expect to see many protest votes from traditional Socialist Party (PSOE) voters, whether for the PP or other parties. This does not mean that they are changing their party preference because they can in fact vote for the PSOE again in the next elections."
As a result, such voting behaviour will increase the diversity of a party and could also help to strengthen smaller parties. Kselman concludes that "sometimes smaller parties begin to receive the majority of their support through protest votes. Consequently, when building up an independent following of their own, such support allows them in time to become significant and important political forces. Therefore, the protest vote could allow new parties to enter mainstream politics."
###
References:
Daniel Kselman, Emerson Niou. "Protest voting in plurality elections: a theory of voter signaling", Public Choice 148 (3): 395-418, 2011. DOI 10.1007/s11127-010-9661-2.
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) ? Benetton withdrew an advertisement using an image of Pope Benedict kissing an imam on the mouth after the Vatican protested on Wednesday at the Italian clothing firm's latest shock campaign.
Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi called the unauthorised and "manipulative" use of the pope's picture in the photo montage totally unacceptable and suggested it might take legal action against the company.
"This is a grave lack of respect for the pope, an offence against the sentiments of the faithful and a clear example of how advertising can violate elementary rules of respect for people in order to attract attention through provocation," he said in a statement.
A large banner with the image of the pope and the imam was hung from a bridge near the Vatican on Wednesday morning but later removed.
Benetton said the purpose of its campaign was "exclusively to fight the culture of hate in every form" but said it had nontheless decided to withdraw the image.
"We are sorry that the use of an image of the pontiff and the imam should have offended the sensibilities of the faithful in this way," it said in a statement.
Other photo montages in the same campaign, in which Benetton says it supports the Unhate Foundation, show other world leaders kissing each other on the mouth.
U.S. President Barack Obama is shown kissing Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in one.
The Italian clothing company has run controversial advertising campaigns in the past, including one that showed grieving parents at the bedside of a man dying of AIDS.
(Reporting By Philip Pullella; editing by Andrew Roche)
U.S. stocks are set to edge lower Wednesday ahead of a full day of economic reports.
Investors will receive data Wednesday on consumer prices, factory production, foreign demand for U.S. debt and a measure of homebuilder confidence. Positive reports could be further evidence that the U.S. economy is not in danger of slipping back into another recession.
Concerns linger about Europe's debt crisis. Greece's new prime minister Lucas Papademos' government will face a confidence vote later in the day. The government must pass austerity measures to receive additional financial assistance.
Policymakers are warning that Europe's debt crisis poses dangers to the global economy and Italian bond yields remain at elevated levels -- a sign of ongoing risk aversion.
Ronald Spogli, former U.S. ambassador to Italy, visited CNBC Monday to discuss how the new Italian prime minister can work toward bringing Italy out of its current debt crisis:
The European Central Bank stepped in to stem an accelerating selloff of euro zone government bonds, traders said. European shares were higher on the move but lost ground as the yield on Italian 10-year bonds continued to hover near 7 percent, but were off session highs.
?It is clear that they [Europe] have a severe liquidity crisis developing and it is becoming more and more clear that they are going into a severe recession,? said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist at Windham Financial Services in Charlotte, Vermont.
?They have got to get their act together and resolve this issue or this recession is going to be worldwide.?
Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said the crisis was already affecting emerging nations and Japan in multiple ways, while the Bank of England forecast Britain was on the brink of a contraction due to the crisis.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
ScienceDaily (Nov. 16, 2011) ? Patients hospitalized with severe sepsis who experience new-onset atrial fibrillation have an associated increased risk of in-hospital stroke and death, according to a study appearing in JAMA. The study is being released early online to coincide with its presentation at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the most common arrhythmias among critically ill patients. "Previous studies have demonstrated that 6 percent to 20 percent of patients with severe sepsis develop new-onset AF, suggesting that severe sepsis may be a predisposing factor for new-onset AF," according to background information in the article. "Chronic AF is a known risk factor for stroke and death, but the clinical significance of new-onset AF in the setting of severe sepsis is uncertain."
To examine the association of new-onset AF during severe sepsis with adverse outcomes of in-hospital mortality and ischemic stroke, Allan J. Walkey, M.D., M.Sc., of the Boston University School of Medicine, and colleagues conducted a study that included administrative claims data from the California State Inpatient Database from nonfederal acute care hospitals for January 1 through December 31, 2007. Data were available for 3,144,787 hospitalized adults. The researchers identified 49,082 cases of severe sepsis that met qualifying criteria for the study. New-onset AF was defined as AF that occurred during the hospital stay, after excluding AF cases present at admission.
New-onset AF occurred during 20,608 hospitalizations (0.65 percent; including sepsis and nonsepsis) and during 2,896 hospitalizations (5.9 percent) of patients with severe sepsis, with analysis indicating that 14 percent of all hospital-associated new-onset AF occurred in the context of severe sepsis. Compared with hospitalized patients without severe sepsis, patients with severe sepsis had a nearly 7 times the odds of having new-onset AF. Factors associated with increased risk of new-onset AF during severe sepsis included demographics (increasing age, male sex, and white race), comorbidities (history of heart failure, obesity, malignancy, and stroke), and various acute factors (such as increasing number of organ failures, respiratory failure and renal failure).
Among individuals with severe sepsis, new-onset AF was associated with increased adjusted risks of in-hospital ischemic stroke. In contrast, patients with severe sepsis and preexisting AF did not have an increased risk of in-hospital ischemic stroke compared with those with severe sepsis and no AF. In patients with severe sepsis, in-hospital ischemic stroke occurred in 75 of 2,896 individuals (2.6 percent) with new-onset AF compared with 57 of 9,986 (0.57 percent) with preexisting AF and 249 of 36,200 (0.69 percent) without AF.
Compared with severe sepsis patients without new-onset AF, patients with new-onset AF had a greater risk of in-hospital mortality (1,629 [56 percent] vs. 18,027 [39 percent] deaths).
The researchers speculate that several potential mechanisms might explain the increased ischemic stroke risk in patients with severe sepsis and new-onset AF. "Severe sepsis alone may be associated with an increased risk of stroke through hemodynamic [blood circulation] collapse, increased systemic inflammation, and coagulopathy [clotting/bleeding disorder]. New-onset AF may simply be a marker for greater severity of illness and, thus, greater stroke risk."
"Given projected estimates of severe sepsis incidence in 1 million Americans in 2011, it is likely that new-onset AF occurs in more than 60,000 patients with severe sepsis in the United States each year," the authors write. "Current guidelines do not address AF that occurs in the setting of severe sepsis or acute infection, suggesting that new-onset AF that occurs during severe sepsis is an underrecognized public health problem. If our findings of increased stroke and death in the setting of AF and severe sepsis are replicated in other data sets, then it will be important to examine management strategies that might diminish the risk of adverse outcomes associated with AF during severe sepsis."
Editorial: Is Severe Sepsis Associated With New-Onset Atrial Fibrillation and Stroke?
In an accompanying editorial, Christopher H. Goss, M.D., M.Sc., of the University of Washington, and Shannon S. Carson, M.D., of the University of North Carolina. Chapel Hill, write that an important question is whether the findings of this study should lead clinicians to intervene with stroke prevention therapy, such as with acute cardioversion (a method to restore an abnormal heart rhythm back to normal), anticoagulation, or both.
"It is difficult to maintain successful cardioversion as long as severe sepsis persists, perhaps because acute risk factors such as high catecholamine [any of several compounds occurring naturally in the body that serve as hormones or as neurotransmitters in the sympathetic nervous system] states have not yet resolved. Anticoagulation presents additional risks for patients with severe sepsis due to coagulation abnormalities and frequent invasive procedures. Given the limitations of these observational data, current practice should not change in favor of interventions that could involve additional risk. Given the small event rate, a randomized trial of anticoagulation for new-onset atrial fibrillation in severe sepsis would be logically difficult. However, further observational studies with large databases assessing how interventions might modify the risk of stroke could provide more useful information."
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by JAMA and Archives Journals.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal References:
A. J. Walkey, R. S. Wiener, J. M. Ghobrial, L. H. Curtis, E. J. Benjamin. Incident Stroke and Mortality Associated With New-Onset Atrial Fibrillation in Patients Hospitalized With Severe Sepsis. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 2011; DOI: 10.1001/jama.2011.1615
C. H. Goss, S. S. Carson. Is Severe Sepsis Associated With New-Onset Atrial Fibrillation and Stroke?JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 2011; DOI: 10.1001/jama.2011.1730
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.
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Public release date: 18-Nov-2011
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