Faye Dunaway to fight eviction from New York apartment

Actress Faye Dunaway plans to fight a lawsuit aiming to evict her from her rent-controlled apartment in New York, her attorney said on Thursday.

Dunaway's landlord filed a complaint on August 2 seeking to evict her from the apartment on East 78th Street, alleging it is not her primary residence.

A hearing scheduled for Thursday before Judge John Stanley in New York City Civil Court was adjourned. Instead, Dunaway's lawyer Elizabeth Shollenberger met with the landlord's attorney, Craig Charie of Rosenberg & Estis, in an effort to resolve the matter.

"We didn't come to a settlement today," Shollenberger said afterwards. The parties will return to court October 4. Dunaway, 70, is in California, and was not present.

Dunaway first signed a lease for the one-bedroom apartment in 1994, and her rent is $1,048.72 a month. In court papers, Henry Moses of 7 of 8 Realty Co. claimed Dunaway maintains a home in West Hollywood, California, where she is registered to vote and has a driver's license.

Shollenberger told a crowd of reporters that the actress calls New York her home, and she is not voluntarily leaving the apartment.

"She has not moved out," the veteran housing lawyer said, contradicting what Dunaway said in a phone interview on August 3, when she said she left the apartment in May.

Dunaway has expressed concern about the condition of the apartment, Shollenberger said.

"There's water damage in the apartment that she said she's been complaining about for years," the attorney said. "For someone who is an older person, having water damage leads to all kinds of mold problems, respiratory problems."

Dunaway will be able to keep the apartment and continue to pay rent while the case is pending, Shollenberger said.

Film producer Jon Peters accused in harassment case

Hollywood producer Jon Peters' former personal assistant testified on Friday that he crawled into bed with her uninvited at an Australian hotel.

Shelly Morita's testimony came in a Los Angeles Superior Court trial of her $1 million sexual harassment lawsuit against the 66 year-old producer of such films as "Superman Returns" and "Batman".

Peters, who spent time working as a hair stylist in the 1970s, is thought to be one of the inspirations for actor Warren Beatty's womanizing hairdresser in the 1975 film "Shampoo." He was not in court on Friday.

Morita, 44, said that when she and Peters were staying in separate hotel rooms in Australia during the making of "Superman Returns" in 2005, she was startled to find her boss lying next to her in the middle of the night.

"He said, 'I can't sleep ... I'm lonely, let me just stay here with you,'" Morita testified. Morita said she repeatedly told Peters to leave, and that he eventually did.

She also told the court that later on the trip, Peters urged her to share a joint of marijuana with him.

"He leaned over and pushed his face against my mouth and blew smoke," she said. "I pushed him off. He laughed and thought it was funny."

Peters denies the allegations and his lawyers contend that they were concocted with help from an attorney representing plaintiffs in other cases against Peters.

Peters launched his producing career with the 1976 film "A Star Is Born" featuring Barbra Streisand.

Morita, who filed her lawsuit in 2006 after quitting her job, is seeking $1 million for emotional distress and $500,000 in lost wages, plus punitive damages.

Country hunk Luke Bryan confined by "Tailgates"

If you're trying to distinguish between the young male country singers who all seem to be releasing albums at once, and you're not sure which one Luke Bryan is, here's the key: He's the one with the teeth.

The really, really super-white teeth. Seriously: Just to keep from blinding us with Georgia's superior dental hygiene, the record company really should have Photoshopped those choppers gray.

As for other characteristics that might make it easy to tell him apart from fellow rural hunks like Jake Owen, Chris Young and Eric Church, that's a little tougher.

"Tailgates & Tanlines," Bryan's pleasantly sung and modestly accompanied third album, isn't half-bad, but it goes out of its way to remind you of a hundred country songs you've already heard in the past few years.

And that doesn't leave nearly enough individuality to sink your incisors into.

Too many of the songs fall victim to the modern country trap of simply listing the trappings that make rural Southern life great, even when the theme is romance. The title is not accidental: Girls dancing on tailgates show up in both the first and third tracks, and that's even before you get to the song that has a tailgate in its title.

At least in the album's first half, emotions end up taking a back seat to the familiar tropes of tractors, four-wheel drives, and moonshine.

This is true, surprisingly, even of the lead-off single, "Country Girl Shake It for Me," ostensibly a barroom rump-shaker in the tradition of Trace Adkins' "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk" and Big & Rich's "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)." Bryan is describing a sexy dancer's down-and-dirty charms, but by the time he tells her to "shake it for the catfish swimming down deep in the creek, for the crickets and the critters and the squirrels," you wonder whether he's really set on a booty call or becoming a Junior Ranger.

In at least one case, rural specifics work in Bryan's favor, because he's not using them as a backdrop to liven up an otherwise generic love song. "Harvest Time" is the rare country song that actually celebrates a farming community, as opposed to the contemporary overuse of John Deeres as some kind of country aphrodisiac.

A few sadder songs later in the proceedings turn out to be standouts, if not necessarily obvious choices for follow-up singles.

The ballad "You Don't Know Jack" tells a tale of alcoholic woe that half-cleverly plays off the titular whiskey pun. "Tailgate Blues" takes the dancing girl off the back of Bryan's pickup and puts the lonesome singer there instead, out in the wilderness, crooning, "I catch my buzz in the black of night." And the album finally slips into the sheer poetry of lost intimacy with a closer co-written by the great Radney Foster, "I Knew You That Way."

There, the bygone love Bryan is lamenting is so strong, it doesn't even make him think about catfish.

How to Wash your New Colored Clothes

We always want our clothes to stay and look new forever. If we buy bright colored clothes, we want them to stay as bright as they were at the time of buying. It can be made possible to some extent, if you take a few additional steps while washing them. Washing can actually decide the future life of your clothes. If you take it as a difficult task, it will show you only the problems in doing it and leave you frustrated and annoyed. You should remember the time when you were buying the garment. How excited you were to have that particular dress and how much money you have spent on it. This thought will encourage you to take up the challenge of saving your valuable possession.



Tips to Wash New Colored Clothes

• Read the care label on the garment thoroughly and carefully. It will take a few seconds but will save the time later, that you will have to spend on looking for some solutions to repair it.
• Follow the indications provided on the label, like washing in cold water, use of a specific detergent and the drying process, as they are because they are given by the experts who know each fabric and its washing techniques.
• Do not mix colored clothes with white clothes. But, sometimes if you do so, then you can use color catcher sheets that catch the bleeding color and do not allow it to stick on other clothes. The fabrics made out of pastel colors do not bleed and hence, can be washed with the white clothes.
• Bright colors like orange, yellow, purple, etc., can be washed together and colors like green and blue can go together.
• Try to wash dark colors together.
• Turn the clothes inside out so that it prevents faster fading of the clothes from outside.
• Soak the clothes in cold water containing salt or oxygen bleach, for few minutes. (It is advisable to carry out this activity before wearing the garment for the first time.)
• Wash the clothes in cold water. A gentle wash is sufficient for colored clothes. Do not heavy wash them.
• Do not stuff the machine with clothes. The machine will be forced for tough wash as there will be a load of clothes and cause color fading.
• Make use of special laundry detergents available for colored clothes if there are any stains on the clothes.
• When washing of the clothes is done, remove them out of the machine immediately as allowing them to stay there for long can lead to leaching of color on other clothes.
• Avoid the use of machine dryer to dry the clothes to prevent fading of color. Stuffing too many clothes in the dryer also can harm the clothes. They need to move freely so put them one by one or two at a time. Drying them in the air will be more helpful as they can also breath fresh air and remain fresh.
• Make sure that you place colored clothes on one side of the rope while hanging them to dry.

General Tips to Wash Your Laundry

• Sorting of clothes is the most important step before laundering them.
• The labels on each garment will make the sorting job easier to some extent. There are clear indications on the label about the type of the fabric and the technique to wash it.
• Separate the new colored fabrics from the old ones. Also separate the clothes that should be washed by hand, especially the woolens.
• Check the water temperatures required for washing.
• Put correct amount of laundry detergent and the clothes in the machine. You can also make use of white vinegar to remove stains and make the clothes softer.
• Select a gentle wash at the beginning and a heavy wash followed by that.
• Place the clothes by spreading them out well on the rope for faster drying.

That is all you have to do to prevent your new colored clothes from faster fading and increase their life. Isn't it simple? You no longer have to worry about losing that attractive look of your favorite dress. Love your clothes and take good care of t

People more open about hair restoration

People who get hair restoration in 2010 are more apt discuss the work they've had done than they would have been in 2008, U.S. researchers say.

A member study conducted by the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery asked whether their patients were more likely, just as likely or less likely to discuss their hair restoration procedures with their family and friends in 2010 compared to 2008.

The survey indicates 56.4 percent of members said their patients would be more likely to discuss their hair restoration as they were in 2008. In addition, 36.2 percent of members said their patients would be just as likely to discuss and only 7.4 percent responded they would be less likely to discuss their hair restoration procedures as they were in 2008.

"Hair loss is a very common medical condition, affecting 50 percent of all men and more than 25 percent of women worldwide," Dr. Jerry E. Cooley, president of the ISHRS, says in a statement. "So, it's no surprise that more people are talking about their hair loss and not feeling embarrassed anymore to admit that they've turned to hair restoration surgery to correct it."

In the United States, 101,252 hair restoration procedures were performed in 2010, the study says.

In 2010, 85.9 percent of all hair restoration surgical patients worldwide were male and 14.1 percent of all hair restoration surgical patients worldwide were

Shuttles prepare for new display homes

In a rare sight, two of NASA's space shuttle orbiters were together as their decommissioning continued at Florida's Kennedy Space Center.

The retired shuttles Discovery and Endeavour presented a rare photo opportunity Thursday as they passed each other while swapping buildings in the ongoing process of being prepared for their eventual homes in museums, Florida Today reported.

Discovery was moved from temporary storage in the Vehicle Assembly Building to Orbiter Processing Facility Bay No. 1, while Endeavour made the reverse move, NASA said.

Discovery will be displayed at the National Air & Space Museum Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia, while Endeavour will head to the California Science Center in Los Angeles.

Atlantis, which will remain at the Kennedy Space Center for display, currently is in Orbiter Processing Facility Bay No. 2.

Locklear and Wagner get engaged

Heather Locklear's publicist says the U.S. actress is engaged to her longtime beau, actor Jack Wagner.

A representative for the former star of "Spin City," "Melrose Place," "T.J. Hooker" and "Dynasty" confirmed her engagement Friday.

Wagner is a daytime drama veteran, having starred on "General Hospital" and "The Bold and the Beautiful," as well as the nighttime soap "Melrose Place" with Locklear.

Locklear and Wagner have been dating since 2007.

Locklear, 49, was previously married to rockers Tommy Lee and Richie Sambora. She and Sambora have a daughter.

Wagner, 51, was married to his "GH" co-star Kristina Malandro. They have two sons.

Simon Cowell wants to give Pippa a job

British music producer and TV personality Simon Cowell says he will hire Pippa Middleton if she demonstrates an interest in a show business career.

Middleton became an overnight celebrity after she served as maid of honor at her sister Kate's wedding to Britain's Prince William in April.

"I haven't heard her sing, but if she walked in and said, 'I want to be a TV star,' I would sign her on the spot," The Sun newspaper quoted Cowell as saying. "She has the X Factor. To overshadow your sister when she's the one getting married? That was impressive."

Cowell has served as a judge on the talent competition shows "American Idol," "Britain's Got Talent" and the British series "The X Factor." He will soon be seen on the upcoming U.S. edition of "The X Factor."

People in the news

Amy Winehouse's father Mitch says unreleased tracks, lyric books and letters have been stolen from the late British soul singer's London home.

The 27-year-old Grammy Award winner died last month after a long battle with drugs and alcohol.

Officials said they were awaiting the results of toxicology tests before they can determine the cause of her death.

Mitch Winehouse told Sky News about 20 people, including family, friends, security and police, have had access to her house since his daughter died.

The grieving father told the news agency he was trying to find out who took the items so he can recover them.

Shortly after the singer's death, Mitch Winehouse was seen distributing some of her clothing and accessories to fans milling about outside her house.

Monkees cut concert tour short

American pop group The Monkees announced this week they have canceled the last nine dates on their concert tour.

Known for their songs "I'm a Believer" and "Daydream Believer," the band outsold The Beatles and The Rolling Stones in 1967.

Original Monkees members Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones and Peter Tork embarked on a 45th anniversary tour earlier this year, but announced Tuesday the rest of their scheduled gigs, including dates in the United States and United Kingdom, had been scrapped, the BBC said.

"I am disappointed but the situation was unavoidable and I want to apologize to all the fans," Dolenz said in a statement on his Facebook page. "The Monkee Tour has, indeed, been canceled but for reasons that I cannot discuss at this time. I can say that the reasons pertain to business and are internal matters."

"I can only say that it has to do with business matters," the BBC said Tork wrote in a statement on his Facebook page. "I sincerely regret that it is not possible to continue this wonderful tour. I especially regret the inconvenience to those of you whose plans have been disrupted. Thank you for all your love and support. I hope to see you on the road sometime."

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Music/2011/08/13/Monkees-cut-concert-tour-short/UPI-44121313218320/#ixzz1Uudmmz1J

Israel pressured to cut defense spending

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is under growing pressure to slash defense spending in the face of mushrooming domestic protests against the high cost of living at a time when the military seeks hefty increases to counter a host of security threats.

The Yediot Ahronot daily reported Thursday that Netanyahu opposes cutting the defense budget, currently pegged at $13 billion, or 7 percent of gross domestic product.

Netanyahu "believes that demands for reductions in the defense budget do not take into account the threats that face our country's security," the newspaper reported.

The hard-line premier is supported by Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who declared Thursday: "The protest is important but we're not Switzerland. We need security because we're in stormy waters."

They have, however, convinced the military to agree to hold the next year's defense budget at current levels.

Amid preparations for the military to counter anticipated trouble in September when the United Nations is expected to vote on an independent Palestinian state, Barak noted, "You can never be ready for every scenario."

The nationwide protests across the political spectrum, with mass demonstrations demanding affordable housing, lower food prices and more jobs, are seen as Netanyahu's biggest domestic challenge since he took office in 2009 for the second time.

The demands for economic reforms -- and even Netanyahu's resignation -- have dramatically shifted the national debate to the economy, eclipsing even the security issue that usually dominates the media.

Netanyahu has promised major spending programs to still the upsurge of discontent.

The political upheaval that has swept the Arab world since January raised new perils and damaged Israel's relations with other U.S. allies, such as Egypt.

Egypt was the first Arab state to sign a peace agreement with Israel in 1979 but that's in jeopardy following the February fall of President Hosni Mubarak.

This means Israel will likely have to deploy military forces along its southern border for the first time since 1979, a costly undertaking.

The possible collapse of the embattled regime in northern neighbor Syria could also trigger greater military activity and possible conflict with a successor regime.

Meantime, Iran, which Israel considers an existential threat, is bent on expanding its influence into the Levant, while its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, is gaining political and military power. Many see another Israeli war with Hezbollah as inevitable.

To counter these threats, Netanyahu and Barak have been putting together an ambitious five-year plan for an expanded defense budget.

Few details have yet to emerge but it seems next year's defense budget will be held at current levels to meet protesters' demands.

The Israeli military "prides itself of having managed to stick to the budget for the past four years, something it didn't do previously," observed Haaretz commentator Amos Harel.

"But the inability to plan for the long term undermines the army's effectiveness and strength."

The generals have a costly procurement list that includes acquiring 40 of Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighters to maintain the air force's supremacy in the region. Israel has already ordered 20 of the aircraft for $2.75 billion but it wants another 20 to have two squadrons of the world's most advanced combat aircraft.

The navy is acquiring three new Dolphin-class submarines, reputedly capable of launching nuclear-tipped cruise missiles, from Germany. Berlin, still haunted by the Holocaust, is providing them at heavily discounted prices.

But the Israeli navy also wants at least two more missile-armed corvettes to bolster its plans to become a long-range, deep-water navy with heavy firepower.

It also needs to provide protection for Israel's newfound natural gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean which will transform the Jewish state's economy.

And billions of dollars are needed to build up a multi-tier missile defense system, developed and built by Israel Aerospace Industries and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, to counter the vast arsenal of missiles held by Hezbollah, the Palestinian Hamas, Syria and Iran.

Washington has pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to help fund the systems but the U.S. defense budget is also being slashed because of economic woes and further pledges may be problematical.

U.S. congressional leaders have reassured Israel that U.S. military support, including $3 billion a year in military aid, will not be affected.

But as Israelis themselves are now seeing, large military budgets are becoming difficult to sustain.

The iPad trumps oil: Apple is most valuable US co.

Investors seem to think you want an iPad more than oil, as Apple Inc. became the most valuable company in the United States, surpassing Exxon Mobil Corp. on Wednesday.

Apple briefly flirted with the top spot on Tuesday afternoon before settling back slightly below the oil giant.

Wednesday was the first time that Apple managed to stay No. 1 after the stock market closed.

Apple's stock fell 2.8 percent to close at $363.69, which brings the iPhone and iPad maker's market capitalization to $337 billion. Exxon's stock fell 4.4 percent to close at $68.03. That gives the oil company a market cap of $331 billion.

The change of the guard took place two days after global markets saw its worst fall since 2008 as investors worried about the U.S. credit downgrade and the possibility of another recession. Exxon had been the most valuable company since 2005, and Apple only took No. 2 in May 2010 when it surpassed Microsoft Corp.

The power shift, while largely symbolic, is a substantial milestone for Apple, which has enjoyed a triumphant comeback since the 1990s, when it struggled to stay afloat before Steve Jobs returned to take the helm.

But it's not just the comeback. Gleacher & Co. analyst Brian Marshall says Apple is giving investors something that has never been seen before. Apple's numbers are huge, with nearly $30 billion in revenue in the latest quarter, for example. Yet Marshall said the 35-year-old company is "growing like a startup."

"Even in 2008 and 2009 Apple grew like a weed and the world was coming to an end," Marshall said.

Apple grew its net income 70 percent to $14 billion and its revenue 52 percent to $65 billion in the fiscal year that ended last September. A year earlier, even as other companies — though not Exxon — were reeling from the economic meltdown, Apple's earnings grew 35 percent and its revenue 14 percent.

Apple wasn't always a tech darling. The company once known as Apple Computer Inc. was on a steep decline before Jobs returned in 1997.

With Jobs as CEO, Apple dreamed up gadgets that people didn't even think they needed until they got their hands on them — or saw friends and relatives with them. There were music players, smartphones and tablet computers before Apple introduced the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad. But the Apple gadgets' sleek, minimalist design and intuitive software gave them a loyal following not just by tech geeks but the everyday consumers.

"Never underestimate the power of Joe Sixpack relative to expenditures on consumer electronics," Marshall said.

People want their gadgets, especially those made by Apple, even in a recession and even as they watch their stock portfolios and retirement funds shrink.

Even so, Apple commands just a sliver of the overall smartphone and computer market. For that reason, Apple can grow at such a fast pace. "They have just a tremendous runway in front of them," Marshall said.

Exxon, which set a record in 2008 for the highest quarterly earnings by any company, has limited prospects because its growth is tethered to oil prices and new oil discovery.

Apple's growth is limited only by innovation. Investors expect it to grow as long as it keeps making products that people want. So investors are betting on Apple's stock even though it currently makes less money than Exxon.

In its latest quarterly report, Apple said stronger iPhone and iPad sales helped more than double its net income to $7.3 billion and grow revenue by 82 percent to $29 billion.

Exxon, meanwhile, posted a 41 percent increase in its second-quarter earnings to nearly $11 billion, the largest since it set a record of nearly $15 billion in the third quarter of 2008. Its revenue grew 36 percent to $125 billion.

International companies that vie for the most valuable spot include PetroChina Co., the publicly traded unit of China's biggest oil and gas company, and Petrobras, Brazil's state-controlled energy company.

In the U.S., Exxon and General Electric had been trading off the No. 1 and No. 2 spots until Microsoft surpassed them both in early 1999, at the height of the dot-com boom. By 2000, though, GE was No. 1 once again. According to data from FactSet, the three were close over the next five years, though Apple was ascending quickly. Exxon, which is based in Irving, Texas, took the top spot in 2005 and remained there until Wednesday.

Apple, which is based in Cupertino, California, generally introduces a new product every three years, which means something new in 2013. Marshall does not expect the company to slow down any time soon.

In fact, he expects Apple to pass yet another milestone next year, when it's likely to surpass Hewlett-Packard Co. as the world's largest technology company by revenue. In the most recent quarter, HP reported $32 billion in revenue, compared with Apple's $29 billion in its latest quarter.

Japan scientists coax sperm from stem cells

Scientists in Japan said Friday they have for the first time succeeded in coaxing sperm cells from mouse embryonic stem cells, a breakthrough that could one day help humans overcome infertility.

The sperm were used to fertilize eggs and were found to produce "healthy offspring that grew into fertile male and female adult mice," said the study in a special online edition of the US journal Cell.

Potential use of the technology in humans is at least a decade away, the Kyoto University team said.

But the experiment is exciting because it tackles one of the biggest obstacles in biology -- making embryonic stem cells into sperm precursors, known as primordial germ cells, which then can become healthy sperm.

"This is the first (study) to report the generation of fully functional germline cells from ES (embryonic stem) cells," lead author of the study, Mitinori Saitou, professor at the department of anatomy and cell biology graduate school of medicine, Kyoto University, told AFP by email.

Researchers took mice that were unable to produce normal sperm and injected them with the stem cell-derived primordial germ cells, or PGCs.

These PGCs "produced normal-looking sperm, which were then used to successfully fertilize eggs," said the study.

The team intends to continue studying the technique and its effects in further generations of male and female mice.

Sperm from mice stem cells offers infertility hope

A team of scientists has reported producing viable sperm using the stem cells of mice in an experiment that researchers hope could one day lead to treating infertile men.

The Kyoto University researchers managed to induce mice stem cells into creating sperm precursors, which were transplanted into infertile male mice. The mice then produced sperm that was successfully used to fertilize eggs in a lab dish.

The offspring were healthy and fertile, according to a paper published online Thursday in the scientific journal Cell.

Members of the research team, led by Mitinori Saitou, said they believe their success may help in the development of infertility treatments in humans, although they said many hurdles remain.

"We have high hopes, but it's not that easy," Saitou told the Associated Press by telephone Friday from Kyoto, in western Japan. "There are many difficult issues ahead in applying this to humans. But it is a first step."

Experts outside the group say it's an important first step toward infertility treatment although there would be a long way.

"This is a very good experiment for thinking about treatment of infertile man but a very very long way," said Toshio Suda, developmental biology professor at Keio University.

He said the Kyoto team's findings were great work but it is not easy to prepare the mature sperm cells at present. If some hurdles are cleared, it could successfully identify "which gene is very important to prepare the sperm."

"American Idol" producer says Jennifer Lopez coming back

It is not quite official, but it is pretty close. Singing star Jennifer Lopez will return as a judge on top-rated TV singing contest "American Idol," the program's lead producer said on Wednesday.

Executive Producer Nigel Lythgoe, in an interview on "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest's radio show, was asked whether Lopez would return for an 11th season, and he said yes.

"I believe we're still waiting for the official announcements, but I'm delighted to say that all three judges, along with the brilliant host of 'American Idol,' is back for the next season," Lythgoe told Seacrest.

Lopez returns to join longtime "Idol" judge Randy Jackson and rocker Steven Tyler, the Aerosmith frontman.

Her decision to rejoin the No. 1-rated U.S. TV show has been the source of much speculation in Hollywood since the singer said earlier this summer that she was undecided.

Indeed, just last week at a meeting of television critics in Los Angeles, top programing executives for the Fox network, which airs "Idol," were tight-lipped on the subject.

Fox entertainment president Kevin Reilly told reporters that he had no headline-making announcements -- "maybe like confirm Jennifer Lopez or something. No luck there."

Showbiz news web site TheWrap.com has reported that Lopez had already closed a deal that would pay her just over $20 million to return for the upcoming season, which will begin in January.

Louboutin loses to YSL in battle of red soles

A fight by fancy French footwear king Christian Louboutin for the exclusive right to put red soles on shoes got kicked out of court Wednesday in a victory for rival Yves Saint Laurent.

The legal battle in a New York court pitted two fashion leaders in a bitter contest for what Louboutin said was the soul of its extravagantly expensive shoes -- the signature scarlet outsole.

In federal court, US District Judge Victor Marrero ruled that Louboutin -- even if widely recognized for its trailblazing use of red under the shoe -- could not stop competitors like YSL from doing the same thing.

"Because in the fashion industry color serves ornamental and aesthetic functions vital to robust competition, the court finds that Louboutin is unlikely to be able to prove that its red outsole brand is entitled to trademark protection," said Marrero, who revealed himself as an ardent admirer of the sexy slip-ons.

The million-dollar suit for "trademark infringement, unfair competition and false designation of origin" was filed in April in New York claiming that a series of YSL shoes would mislead consumers familiar with Louboutin's scarlet soles.

An attorney for Louboutin told AFP he was "profoundly disappointed."

"Even though the judge agreed that Louboutin's red sole mark was famous and well known, he appears to have concluded 'sua sponte' that in the fashion industry one ought not be able to use a single color as a trademark," Harley Lewin added.

"We are currently evaluating all alternatives."

Louboutin's glam footwear was featured on the consumer-worshipping television series "Sex and the City" and sells about 240,000 pairs each year in the United States alone, with revenues of about $135 million.

A pair typically costs hundreds of dollars, but can sell for far more, with the Maggie Leopard-Toe Pump, complete with red-lacquered under soles, listed at $1,095 in the Neiman Marcus department store.

Peppering his ruling with references to sources as diverse as pop star Jennifer Lopez and poet Walt Whitman, Marrero acknowledged Christian Louboutin's "bright idea."

Louboutin's "bold divergence from the worn path paid its dividends," he said.

The judge even waxed lyrically about the sheer appeal of the shoes.

"When Hollywood starlets cross red carpets and high fashion models strut runways and heads turn and eyes drop to the celebrities' feet, lacquered red outsoles on high-heeled, black shoes flaunt a glamorous statement that pops out at once," he wrote.

But allowing the color red to be trademarked was a step too far -- even for shoes that good, ruled Marrero.

"Awarding one participant in the designer shoe market a monopoly on the color red would impermissibly hinder competition among other participants. YSL has various reasons for seeking to use red on its outsoles."

YSL's spat with Louboutin was over four shoes from the fashion house's 2011 Cruise collection: the Tribute, Tribtoo, Palais and Woodstock models. They all have red outsoles.

However, YSL says it has featured red soles all the way back to the 1970s.

As for Christian Louboutin's claim to a breakthrough in fashion design, YSL is scornful.

The idea for red soles was "copied from King Louis XIV's red-heeled dancing shoes or Dorothy's famous ruby slippers in 'The Wizard of Oz,'" Judge Marrero quoted YSL as saying.

Fashion editor starts petition to bring McQueen exhibition to London

Following the closing of the New York Metropolitan Museum's record-breaking Savage Beauty display, voices have been raised that it should travel the world. UK Grazia fashion editor-at-large Melanie Rickey is now calling on social media to make it happen and "bring McQueen home."

"The fact remains that the exhibition should have been staged in London," she writes on her blog. "It is a well known fact that most British editors think that the McQueen exhibition took place in New York is a scandal."

As for why exactly Savage Beauty should come to the British capital, Rickey lists these reasons:

1. Lee Alexander McQueen was born and raised in London by Londoners.

2. He was educated at London's most famous art school St Martins School of Art, and trained on London's most famous tailoring street, Savile Row.

3. He lived and worked in London.

4. He began and made his name and career in London.

5. He loved London.

6. The Alexander McQueen business is based in London, and directed by an English designer.

6. British people want this.

According to Rickey, London's Victoria & Albert Museum " would love to host the exhibition" and would "really want to present McQueen's work to our huge fashion and design audience here in the UK."

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty attracted more than 650,000 visitors, which is comparable to the Met's Mona Lisa (1963) and Treasures of Tutankhamun (1978) exhibitions.

Galliano: Kate Moss wedding dress was 'rehab'

John Galliano, the flamboyant fashion designer who fell from grace after an anti-Semitic outburst in Paris, has said making supermodel Kate Moss' wedding gown this summer was his "creative rehab."

Galliano, long a favorite of arguably the most sought-after model in the world, has been an outcast since a rant in a Paris bar led to him being sacked in February as Christian Dior's creative director and put on trial.

He also was dismissed from his eponymous label, majority owned by Dior.

In the upcoming September issue of Vogue US, Galliano says that dressing Moss reawakened his creative powers, following treatment for addiction to drink, valium and sleeping pills in the United States and Switzerland.

"She dared me to be John Galliano again," the Gibraltar-born and London-bred designer was quoted as saying in his first post-trial comments. "I couldn't pick up a pencil. It's been my creative rehab."

Moss said she commissioned her old friend to create the dress for her July wedding to rocker Jamie Hince in England because his outfits made her happy.

"I've lived in his dresses for years, and they just make me feel so comfortable," she said in Vogue's main cover story on what amounted to a fashionista's royal wedding.

The white dress combined an understated classic look with a slightly translucent skirt.

"When I put the dress on, I'm really happy. I forget everything," Moss said.

According to Vogue, Galliano's rehabilitation extended beyond the dress. He even gave Moss her final dose of encouragement before she exchanged vows.

She wanted "a few words, a story to inspire her -- she loves a bit of direction!" Galliano told the magazine.

"I told her, 'You have a secret: you are the last of the English roses -- and when he lifts your veil he's going to see your wanton past!"

At the party, Moss' father Peter thanked Galliano for the "beautiful dress" and every guest stood to applaud, Vogue's reporter said. "John's eyes well up," the blow-by-blow report noted.

Widely regarded as one of the finest fashion designers of his generation, Galliano faces a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a fine of 22,500 euros ($32,000) if convicted of making anti-Semitic insults, which are illegal in France. Sentencing is on September 8.

US-Brazil energy talks to launch next week

The United States and Brazil next week will formally launch high-level energy talks in Brasilia, the White House announced Friday.

Deputy US Energy Secretary Daniel Poneman will lead a US delegation to the Brazilian capital on August 17 to kick off the initiative, which US President Barack Obama and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff agreed in March.

"The Strategic Energy Dialogue will address our mutual interest in the development of safe, secure and affordable energy in an environmentally sound way, including oil, natural gas, biofuels, clean energy, and civilian nuclear energy," said US National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor.

Poneman will co-chair the launch with his counterpart from Brazil's Ministry of Mining and Energy, Dr. Marcio Zimmermann, Vietor said in a statement.

The US delegation will comprise Obama national security aides and officials from the US Departments of State and Commerce, the US Trade and Development Agency, and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.

Ahead of the talks, the US delegation will meet with government officials and private-sector leaders in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

Obama, Karzai discuss Afghan security handover

US President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Friday discussed progress towards a security handover from US to Afghan forces by 2014, the White House said in a statement.

The two leaders, who spoke for 30 minutes via videoconference, also discussed upcoming an upcoming meeting of foreign ministers of Muslim nations in Istanbul to discuss aid to drought- and famine-hit Somalia.

They also looked ahead to a December international conference in Bonn on Afghanistan's future and talked about their "work together to forge a long-term strategic partnership," the White House said.

Obama and Karzai discussed "progress by coalition and Afghan National Security forces as security responsibility transitions towards a full Afghan lead in 2014," the statement said.

Obama and Karzai also "discussed their shared commitment to Afghan-led reconciliation and support for a strategy of regional engagement" and "agreed to maintain their close consultations going forward."

The conversation came one day after Obama and his national security team received a briefing from US Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker and US and NATO force commander General John Allen.

"The newly arrived team of US leaders in Kabul underscored the continuing momentum of the coalition campaign, development of the Afghan National Security Forces, and support to the Afghan government as they transition to the lead in security," the White House said Thursday.

Bachmann holds her own in heated Iowa debate

Michele Bachmann had a tough act to follow in Thursday's debate against her Republican presidential opponents. Herself.

The congresswoman from Minnesota managed to duplicate the spark and spunk she showed off in the last GOP primary debate—in spades—backing up her improbable surge in the most unpredictable Republican race in decades.

Right at the start of the debate, the petite, lone female candidate coolly turned toward her fellow Minnesotan, Tim Pawlenty, and compared the former governor's record on cap and trade and health care to that of President Obama. She remained placid when Rick Santorum and Ron Paul lashed out at her instead of focusing their blows on the race's unofficial front-runner, Mitt Romney.

Bachmann's fearless performance defied the caricature of her as a screwball candidate from the fringes of the tea party movement—captured in the unflattering photo of her on the cover of Newsweek magazine.

Detractors will find plenty to criticize in Bachmann's latest performance. If she wanted to dispatch those, like Pawlenty, who contend that her two-and-a-half terms in Congress have left her with a thin record, Bachmann didn't help her cause by citing, as one of her signature accomplishments, the "lightbulb freedom of choice act." And her reputation for playing loose with the facts won't be helped by her suggestion that Pawlenty backs a carbon tax (a position he has since repudiated) or that Standard & Poor's vindicated her opposition to the debt ceiling in its downgrade of the nation's credit rating.

(PICTURES: Is Ames Straw poll a presidential picker?)

But Bachmann's confidence on national television made her stand out and telegraphed that she's unafraid of being overshadowed by fellow conservative firebrands hovering, at least for the moment, on the sidelines.

A potentially formidable rival for the nomination, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, confirmed through a spokesman just hours before the debate that he's joining the race. And former vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin is planning to swoop into the Iowa State Fair on Friday, threatening to steal media attention away from Bachmann and the other candidates campaigning there on the eve of Saturday's high-stakes straw poll.

Asked in the debate if she was worried about Palin, Bachmann serenely said the two are "very good friends,'' adding that there's room in the race for her, Perry—and even Fox News debate moderator Bret Baier.

In a another tense moment destined for endless replays on cable television, Bachmann, a born-again Christian, was asked about her remark in 2006 that she would be "submissive'' to her husband and whether that would apply in the White House. The audience booed. Bachmann smiled. "Thank you for that question,'' she said, going on to define "submission" in the context of the couple's marriage of 33 years as a matter of mutual love and respect.

(RELATED: President Obama's path to reelection narrows)

Bachmann's rivals did little to expose her vulnerabilities. Her never-surrender position on raising the nation's debt limit went largely unchallenged, even though a failure by Congress to do so earlier this month could have devastated the economy. "When they dropped our credit rating, I was proved right in my position,'' she said. Standard & Poor's said nothing of the sort. Rather, the ratings agency criticized the protracted, highly partisan squabble and said Congress should have gone farther to cut the deficit.

It wasn't until the end of the debate, when many viewers may have tuned out, that Santorum scolded: "To suggest that we never need to raise the debt ceiling, that is showmanship, not leadership.''

Pawlenty went after her the most aggressively, but his criticism of her lack of executive experience and legislative accomplishments fell flat. Bachmann sought to turn her hard-line tactics into an asset: "I have a consistent record of standing on my convictions. I didn't cut deal with special interests.'' She described herself as the "tip of the spear'' in the fight against Obama's health care program.

For better or worse, Bachmann raised expectations even higher for a first-place finish in Saturday's straw poll, to be held in same Iowa State University arena that hosted the debate. Her strong performance shows that despite her shortcomings, she is a political talent.

Visit National Journal for more political news.

Insulin pump hack exposes medical device danger

A computer threat analyst on Saturday will show a gathering of hackers how easy it is to wirelessly take control of an insulin pump on which a diabetic's life could hinge.

Jerome "Jay" Radcliffe's demonstration at DefCon in Las Vegas will spotlight a critical need to build software defense into pace makers, insulin pumps and other medical gadgets getting "smarter" with computer chips.

"If you look at the history of hacking medical devices, worms and viruses are running rampant," said 'informatics nurse' and hacker Brad Smith, who specializes in medical software.

The list of medical gadgets vulnerable to being hacked wirelessly includes pace makers, intravenous pumps, and blood pressure cuffs, according to Smith.

Radcliffe was diagnosed with diabetes about 11 years ago, when he was 22, and recently employed his software skills to find out whether an insulin pump trusted to keep his blood sugar levels safe could be hacked.

He found he could remotely toy with dosage levels or turn it off.

"It turns out that with this model there is no security," Radcliffe said. "All you need is a serial number to talk to it."

He said that prices of insulin pumps, which cost in the thousands of dollars, precluded him from expanding his research to determine how widespread the vulnerability is.

Radcliffe didn't disclose his insulin pump model nor did he outline critical details of the hack to allow time for the maker to address the situation and to avoid tempting DefCon attendees known for software mischief.

"We are not talking about $200 dollars on someone's credit card," Radcliffe said in a reference to hacks for profit. "We are talking about somebody's life."

Medical devices built with wireless connectivity can face the kinds of cyber attacks launched on smartphones, tablets, or laptop computers with similar capabilities, according to Smith.

"We have talked about this in the medical community forever," Smith said. "We have swept it under the carpet."

Radcliffe was wearing his insulin pump at DefCon on Friday and urged diabetics not to panic.

"I'm target Number One right here in the middle of all these hackers, and I have my pump on," he told AFP. "I hope that tells people how worried they should be."

He has shared his findings with the pump maker and been approached by a rival company that boasted of building in strong software defenses.

Hacker drone launches airborne cyber attacks

Computer security specialists showed off a homemade drone aircraft Friday capable of launching airborne cyber attacks, hijacking mobile phone calls, or even delivering a dirty bomb.

Rich Perkins and Mike Tassey built the bright yellow Wireless Arial Surveillance Platform in a garage from a used US Army target drone that they customized to find mobile phones and Internet hotspots.

"It will fly a plotted course and return to base," Perkins said while showing the WASP to AFP at a DefCon hackers gathering in Las Vegas.

"We loaded it up with the ability to attack Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GSM cellular networks."

WASP can grab packets of data being sent over the air on wireless networks, or use unsecured hot spots as gateways through which cyber attacks can be launched on computer systems.

The drone can grab GMS mobile phone identification numbers that can then be used to bill outgoing calls. It can also let hackers impersonate cell phone towers and eavesdrop on people's calls.

Second-hand drones such as that used for WASP can be bought online for about $150.

The rest of the parts were purchased by mail-order for a total tab reaching $6,200, not counting the tremendous number of hours spent working on the project started in 2009.

Perkins said the 14-pound (six-kilogram) drone was built to put the computer security industry on notice that the components are available for such "do-it-youself" creations, which could be used for good or evil.

WASP could find mobile phones in disaster areas, potentially leading rescuers to survivors. It could also fly over a disaster zone to act as a mobile phone tower enabling calls.

On the evil side, WASP could help slip into a company's computer networks through unsecured wireless networks set up in cafeterias or other spots for the convenience of customers and employees.

The modified drone could also identify key executives by their mobile telephones and then track their movements to look for data-stealing opportunities, such as working on a laptop connected wirelessly to the Internet at a cafe.

"I can take the various pieces of your digital life -- Bluetooth headset, cell phone, Wi-Fi -- and find the least secure place you exist and attack you there," Perkins said of WASP.

Such a drone could also carry a small payload, opening up the potential for smugglers to use it or to serve as a targeted biological or nuclear weapon in a terror attack, its creators warned.

"I really fear a policy reaction that stifles research," Perkins said.

"Let's look at how to protect from the bad guys doing the same thing without telling us," he urged.

Perkins and Tassey displayed their creation to security industry professionals here for a major Black Hat conference this week before taking it to DefCon, the world's largest hacker gathering that kicked off Friday.

Authorities wouldn't permit WASP to fly over populated areas such as Las Vegas, but video taken from the drone during a flight over a rural area in the United States was posted online at rabbit-hole.org.

Taiwan police probe China hacking claims

Taiwan's police said Thursday they were investigating claims by the main opposition party that hackers backed by the Chinese state were stealing information related to its presidential campaign.

The Criminal Investigation Bureau said in a statement that it would also offer necessary assistance to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to protect its information.

The DPP, which favours Taiwan's independence from China, said that in the past four months, it had traced more than a dozen cyber attacks every day to Chinese Internet Protocol (IP) addresses.

It said that hackers mainly targeted its presidential campaign planning as the party gears up for the January 2012 elections against the incumbent Ma Ying-jeou of the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang party.

Observers say China would prefer Ma to win instead of DPP chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen.

The accusation comes after the California-based computer security firm McAfee said last week that 72 targets across 14 countries were victims of a massive global cyber-spying campaign, with China seen as the likely culprit.

Chinese state media decried that allegation as "irresponsible".

Taiwan and China have spied on each other ever since they split in 1949 at the end of a civil war. Beijing still regards the island as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.

Taiwan's government websites have frequently faced cyber attacks, usually during disputes between the island and the mainland.

Security expert warns hackers can attack Android

A mobile security expert says he has found new ways for hackers to attack phones running Google Inc's Android operating system.

Riley Hassell, who caused a stir when he called off an appearance at a hacker's conference last week, told Reuters he and colleague Shane Macaulay decided not to lay out their research at the gathering for fear criminals would use it attack Android phones.

He said in an interview he identified more than a dozen widely used Android applications that make the phones vulnerable to attack.

"App developers frequently fail to follow security guidelines and write applications properly," he said.

"Some apps expose themselves to outside contact. If these apps are vulnerable, then an attacker can remotely compromise that app and potentially the phone using something as simple as a text message."

He declined to identify those apps, saying he fears hackers might exploit the vulnerabilities.

"When you release a threat and there's no patch ready, then there is mayhem," said Hassell, founder of boutique security firm Privateer Labs.

Hassell said he and Macaulay alerted Google to the software shortcomings they unearthed.

Google spokesman Jay Nancarrow said Android security experts discussed the research with Hassell and did not believe he had uncovered problems with Android.

"The identified bugs are not present in Android," he said, declining to elaborate.

It was the first public explanation for the failure of Hassell and Macaulay to make a scheduled presentation at the annual Black Hat hacking conference in Las Vegas, the hacking community's largest annual gathering.

They had been scheduled to talk about "Hacking Androids for Profit." Hundreds of people waited for them to show up at a crowded conference room.

Hassell said in an interview late on Thursday the pair also learned -- at the last minute -- that some of their work may have replicated previously published research and they wanted to make sure they properly acknowledged that work.

"This was a choice we made, to prevent an unacceptable window of risk to consumers worldwide and to guarantee credit where it was due," he said.

A mobile security researcher familiar with the work of Hassell and Macaulay said he understood why the pair decided not to disclose their findings.

"When something can be used for exploitation and there is no way to fix it, it is very dangerous to go out publicly with that information," the researcher said. "When there is not a lot that people can do to protect themselves, disclosure is sometimes not the best policy."

Hassell said he plans to give his talk at the Hack in The Box security conference in Kuala Lumpur in October.

Google and Facebook face-off in social games

Facebook is not the only game in town anymore.

The world's largest Internet social network moved on Thursday to shore up support with game developers such as Zynga, who provide one of Facebook's biggest draws, on the same day that Google Inc introduced games on its recently-launched social network.

With the two Web giants competing to attract users to their respective online services, the dueling social gaming announcements underscored what could emerge as a key battleground between the two companies.

"It turns out that people like to play games, and it's core to the social networking use case," said Jeremy Liew, a partner at venture capital firm Lightspeed Venture Partners. Liew, who has invested in social game companies including Playdom, which was acquired by the Walt Disney Co last year, was commenting on Google's games announcement.

On Thursday, Google said it would offer 16 games from third party developers on Google+, including Zynga Poker and the popular Angry Birds game. Google, which previously made an unspecified investment in Zynga, said it will roll out games gradually on Google+, and will make the game feature available to everyone "soon."

Facebook, which is hosting 100 game developers at an event at its Palo Alto. California headquarters on Thursday evening, announced a handful of new features to improve the gaming experience on its website, as well as a new policy loosening restrictions on how developers can market their games on the social network.

The changes will expand the types of notifications that Facebook users see when their friends are playing games on the website, rolling back restrictions made last year that provoked grumbles among some game developers.

Social games, such as Zynga's Farmville, are some of the most popular activities on Facebook. More than 200 million users play games on Facebook every month, and the company takes a 30 percent cut of the sale of virtual goods that are bought by users as part of the game experience.

"Our games ecosystem has continued to grow. But there's no question that we want to grow it faster in a more high quality way for our users and developers," Facebook head of games Sean Ryan told Reuters in an interview.

Google launched its social networking site in June, signing up more than 10 million users in the first two weeks.

Google's move to offer games on its social network provides game developers with a compelling alternative to Facebook, said Lightspeed's Liew.

But he said the most important consideration for game makers is which social network has the most users.

"Right now no one is going to be willing to give up Facebook because it's where the users are Today. Google+ got a terrific start but it's got a ways to go," he said.

Among the new gaming features introduced by Facebook on Thursday are the ability to expand the size of the window in which games are played on Facebook's site, new ways for users to create bookmarks for their favorite games and a scrolling "ticker" that highlights the games a person's friends are playing, their recent scores and achievements.

In loosening restrictions on game updates within Facebook's general newsfeed, the company must walk a fine line between helping developers promote their games on the network and irking users that are not avid gamers.

Facebook's newsfeed - which displays a rolling stream of messages, photos and updates from friends - is a vital distribution channel for gamemakers, allowing companies like Zynga, Electronic Arts Inc's Playfish and Playdom to reach vast numbers of users. But is has caused some backlash among Facebook's non-gaming users, who found the constant notifications about their friends progress within various games to be irrelevant and annoying.

Last year, Facebook clamped down on the practice, so that Facebook users would receive notifications only about games which they had also installed. Under the new policy, Facebook users will see notifications about any game their friends are playing.

But Ryan said the company had developed special algorithms that will only display updates if Facebook has a reason to believe they are relevant to the person. If the person shows no interest in certain types of games, Facebook won't serve them updates in the newsfeed.

"No one wants to go back to the bad old days of people being very unhappy about gaming because they feel like they're being spammed all the time," said Ryan.

"That's the key which we really spent months and months working on, is that tricky balance of trying to expose a lot more games to people, but only to the people who we think want to play those games."

Facebook Not Too Concerned With Google+ Games

Facebook is focusing on a range of updates to its gaming platform, part of which includes a set of changes announced Thursday, says Facebook's Sean Ryan, director of game partnerships. "We don't worry about them. We worry about us," Ryan says. He cited as a model McDonald's move a couple years ago into coffee, as a "bold effort," while Starbucks "just focused on how to drive its business." The implication being that Facebook is Starbucks.

Facebook has been working on a revamp of its app platform for the past year or so to improve distribution for games. After the changes announced yesterday, Facebook will soon be rolling out more new features for game apps, Ryan said in a meeting with reporters Friday at Facebook's Palo Alto, Calif. offices.

As far as Google's pitch to charge game developers on Google+ only 5% on transactions compared to Facebook's 30%, Ryan says revenue is not the main factor for developers. He said users will choose the best platform and developers will choose the one with the most users--currently Facebook has more than 200 million monthly users playing games and 85 games with more than 1 million monthly active users. "At the end of the day, (developers) go where the users are," Ryan says. "We're far and away the leader. It's not even close."

Would Facebook ever come down from the 30% fee? The 30% margin is a traditional industry number, Ryan says, at retail stores like GameStop. "Google's is (at) 5% because it doesn't have any users. It's pretty simple... It doesn't mean (30%) is set in stone. It means we think we deliver a lot of value."

Facebook has a delicate symbiotic relationship with game developers. It exploded in growth with its third party platform and early developers like RockYou and Slide. But in recent years Facebook made changes to its platform to improve user experience which also made developers' businesses more challenging. It clamped down on viral messaging--admittedly with a "blunt instrument" says Facebook's Carl Sjogreen--so that users would not get game spam, but that cut down on game developers' massive growth. Facebook also instituted Facebook Credits, its required virtual currency system for which it takes 30% of all transactions on games. It also has a special deal with Zynga parts of which were revealed in Zynga's recent S-1 filing.

One year ago, spam messages from social games was one of the top five reasons people were unhappy with Facebook, according to polling done by the company. Now it "doesn't even show up anymore," says Ryan. That was a major objective in Facebook's goal of ramping up growth.

Now that the company has solved the spam problem, Facebook is trying to help developers more and give them more ability to reach users. "We should do a better job catering to (developers)," Ryan says.

In the new changes, Facebook has revamped how it surfaces content from games into the News Feed. ("Your friend Joe just gave you a cow! Go thank them now") The game notifications that people will see in their News Feed will be more personalized, using an algorithm based on what games people have played in the past as well as what their friends have played. It also surfaces games based on which games get the most "Likes" and Comments on the News Feed.

People still have the ability to click 'X' next to content that appears in their News Feed that they don't like. Game players on Facebook can also select which friends they want to be able to see their gaming activity on a granular level. Ryan says this will attempt to strike a balance between more distribution for game developers and more content that users want to see.

Another change to Facebook apps is that users can now customize which apps appear on their main Facebook page on the left-hand side. They can select "favorites" that they constantly return to. These favorites will also appear as icons in the top right-hand side of all Facebook apps, so that people can quickly switch between games or apps. Some games also can now appear wider in more of a full-screen mode to enable more complex games.

Another big addition is real-time updates in a new "live ticker' inside of apps. This will give people live updates of their friend's activity in games. It can also do things like publish high scores, achievements and the like. Ryan believes these live updates will drive more game play as friends jump in to challenge their friends.

The real-time updates could also enable a whole new set of real-time games that have mostly not been possible. Up until now most games have been asynchronous like FarmVille where users make a few moves by themselves and their friends respond later. Some developers like Kabam have built their own real-time features for users to see when their friends are online and chat in real time. Now some of that type of functionality is built into the Facebook platform. More such features could be coming soon.

Morning Tech Wrap: Google, Facebook, LinkedIn

Google has added games to its Google+ social network. Thursday saw the Internet giant start rolling out a games button at the top of users’ streams, with Angry Birds amongst the first games released, according to Computer World.

Vic Gundotra, senior vice president of engineering at Google, announced the new feature in a blog post, noting that users could hide the games pages when they weren’t playing.

“The experiences we have together are just as important as to our relationships,” writes Gundotra. “We want to make playing games just as fun, and just as meaningful, as playing in real life.”

In a further challenge to Facebook, Google is charging game developers just 5% commission instead of Facebook’s 30%, VentureBeat reports. Since announcing its pricing, Google+ could become far more attractive to potential developers as its user base grows. The only catch is that the percentage is promotional, and a fixed rate is yet to be decided. With Facebook committed to 30% though, it shouldn’t be hard for Google to push its own cut up without too much protest from developers.

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Apparently fighting back, Facebook has announced a set of enhancements to its own social game platform. Users can now brag about successes and leaderboard positions on friends’ Facebook Walls, and there's a new bookmark system on the homepage for easy access to favored apps, VentureBeat reports.

According to Facebook's own blog post, users can see what their friends are doing on other games and apps, using a new real-time “app activity” ticker window. Arjun Sethi, a top executive at 6waves Lolapps, one of Facebook’s biggest game developers, attended an event where Facebook described the announcements.

“They’re really focusing on engagement and retention of the user,” Sethi was quoted as saying. “They have a qualitative and quantitative way to deliver better discovery of games for developers.”

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Leaked images of Google Android’s upcoming Ice Cream Sandwich update have hit the web. Images that first appeared on Android Police and RootZWiki show a new Android interface, complete with transparency, an app shortcut button, and a revamped notification bar.

Along with a couple of new features, the new interface is predominantly dark with a light blue trim, The Next Web reports. According to Android Police, a source said that the update also features a newly designed launched and app drawer, and that the camera has a new panoramic mode.

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LinkedIn is backing away from an advertising scheme to exploit user photos and recommendations, on privacy concerns. The company said in a blog post Thursday that it should have communicated its intentions with the new ad feature more clearly, PC World reports. As a result, it will change how the ads appear.

If a user “followed” a company or service, the new feature would display that user's name and photo when advertising the company. Users soon complained though about privacy and consent, as it became clear they had to opt out, rather than opt in.

The changes, announced yesterday, will see users' names and photos disappear from the ads, replaced with an “XX people in your network are following” banner. Users still have to opt out of the feature if they wish, though.

“What we’ve learned now, is that, even though our members are happy to have their actions, such as recommendations, be viewable by their network as a public action, some of those same members may not be comfortable with the use their names and photos associated with those actions used in ads served to their network,” says LinkedIn's director of product management, Ryan Roslansky, in the blog post.

Good Summer Reading

On 2 June, The Economist cover story asked, “Can AIDS be beaten?” And I’m here to tell you; the answer is a resounding “Yes”. Maybe not all AIDS but a significant piece of it. For the elimination of mother to child transmission of HIV, victory is in sight.

At the recent United Nations High Level Meeting for HIV/AIDS, a Global Plan for the Elimination of Pediatric AIDS (Global Plan) by 2015 was launched. In it was a very detailed roadmap for how we get from where we are to where we want to be.

And where are we? 22 countries in the world shoulder 90% of the pediatric HIV infection burden. Of these, 21 are in sub-Saharan Africa (India is the exception). Some countries, like South Africa, have been remarkably successful in achieving reductions in new pediatric HIV infections. In June, a population study in South Africa reported that national HIV transmission rates from mother to child were 3.5% - which means 96.5% of HIV positive mothers do NOT transmit HIV to their infants during pregnancy, delivery and the first months of infant life. Other countries have had equal results; and others are not doing as well. Nigeria, after South Africa, has the highest burden of HIV among pregnant women with 210,000 mothers infected with the virus. Of these, only 22% are receiving medication that prevents mother to child transmission of HIV. But so many other countries are succeeding in building health systems and providing tests and treatment that contribute to babies born HIV negative and keeping mothers alive to raise them.

Where do we want to go? To a 90% reduction in mother to child transmission of HIV; to less than 5% mother to child transmission rates in each of the 22 high burden countries; and to a 50% reduction in maternal mortality related to HIV/AIDS. And we want to do this by 2015.

How do we get there?

1. Leadership. 5 years ago, South Africa was in the Dark Ages of HIV care with a President and Minister of Health who denied and misled. The new President, Jacob Zuma; and his Minister of Health, Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi, have initiated a period of enlightenment with dramatically effective programs that have been quickly taken to scale.

2. Health Systems. Sub-Saharan Africa has 25% of the world’s disease burden and only 3% of the health care providers. Doctors and nurses trained in Africa frequently leave for better paying jobs and working conditions off the continent; leaving health care facilities chronically understaffed and unable to deliver increasingly effective, yet complex, medical interventions. Health systems need to be strengthened and measures are underway to do this with appropriately trained care providers that can share tasks with doctors and nurses. Mentor Mothers, like the ones employed by mothers2mothers, were cited as an example in the Global Plan.

3. Engage Communities. The best health services are ineffective if people don’t access them. The lives of people living with HIV are complicated. Almost always, HIV isn’t the only challenge people face; and other priorities like finding food, caring for children and the stigma associated with HIV keep people out of care. Communities of people living with HIV need to be engaged in seeking solutions. Health services must leave the facilities and reach out to people in their communities. Local stakeholders must be heard and must contribute to solutions that are most often local.

4. Funds. Here’s the big one. Billions of dollars are going into meeting this challenge; and billions more are needed. The cost of life sustaining antiretroviral drugs has plunged dramatically, from thousands of dollars to one-hundred dollars for one year of therapy. But there have been increases in the number of people needing treatment. At present six million people are receiving drugs for life. Ten million more need these drugs today and aren’t getting them. And exciting evidence from a recent study suggests that by treating more people who are infected with HIV, one can dramatically reduce the number of new people infected. Treatment as prevention. But all of these measures take money. South Africa has invested heavily – both its own money and funds from the U.S. government and the Global Fund. To turn things around in Nigeria, massive investments will be necessary. Other countries are also tapped out; balancing priorities that extend beyond HIV/AIDS related care. And the well is running dry. The United States has been the most generous of countries contributing to fighting the epidemic, yet is being criticized for not doing more. The Global Fund was unable to meet its fund-raising targets for the coming five-years when it called out to donor countries in September 2010; so in the coming years will not be able to reach aspirational levels of funding country efforts to extend care. In June, at the launch of the Global Plan to Eliminate Pediatric AIDS, donors stepped up to make new funding commitments. Johnson & Johnson, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, U.S. Government and others matched money with words. Without more money, words will not get it done.

I’m writing from Ground Zero; where each dollar (or pound or Euro) contributes to more mothers being reached with education and support; that contributes to fewer babies born with HIV; that guides more mothers into life-sustaining care; that promotes family planning and fewer unplanned pregnancies; we know. We know that AIDS can be beaten. We see it every day. We see it mother after mother; family after family. We know that a better future is at hand if all hands come together and pull together.

Obama honors Super Bowl champ Packers despite rivalry

President Barack Obama honored the Green Bay Packers on Friday for winning the Super Bowl despite being a die-hard fan of the team's long-time rival to the south, the Chicago Bears.

Green Bay, winner of four Super Bowls and 13 National Football League titles overall, beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 in Dallas in February for their latest championship, earning the annual invitation to the White House extended to the game's winner.

"I'm just going to come out and say it. This hurts a little bit. This is a hard thing for a Bears fan to do," Obama told the Packers, who had shed their usual green and gold football jerseys in favor of suits and ties.

"You guys come into my house to rub it in," he said with a smile.

The Packers and Bears hold one of the longest and most spirited rivalries in the NFL, with the two Midwestern cities meeting for the first time in 1921.

The White House visit was extra sweet for some of the Packers. Obama said before Green Bay beat the Bears in the a conference championship game in January he would only attend the Super Bowl if the Bears were in it.

The proclamation provided extra motivation for Packers cornerback Charles Woodson, who later said if Obama didn't want to see them play the team would visit him in Washington.

"I know he's a Bears fan, but we're winners so it's all good," Woodson, who earlier presented Obama a share of Green Bay Packers stock, told reporters.

The Packers have more than 112,000 stockholders, and have sold shares to raise funds for things such as stadium improvements. The shares are not traded on an exchange.

Entering the season, the Packers are among the early favorites to earn another White House visit. They won last year despite injuries to several key players, and the Packers boast a young team led by the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player, quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Obama told the Packers to enjoy their Super Bowl victory "while it lasts," pointing to September 25 and December 25 when the Packers and Bears play again.

"If you guys are on a roll by then just keep in mind there is only one person here who can ground all planes in and out of Green Bay if he has to," Obama said.