Russian court bans “extremist” Pussy Riot video

MOSCOW (Reuters) – A Russian court ruled on Thursday that video footage of the Pussy Riot punk group protesting against President Vladimir Putin in a church was “extremist” and should be removed from websites.

The demonstration last February offended many Russian Orthodox Christians. But Putin has been criticized by U.S. and European leaders over what they saw as disproportionate jail sentences imposed on three Pussy Riot members. Their trial was also seen by Putin’s critics as part of a clampdown on dissent.

The Moscow court said it had based its ruling on conclusions by a panel of experts who studied the video, showing band members in colorful mini-skirts and ski masks dancing in front of the altar of Moscow’s main Russian Orthodox cathedral.

Judge Marina Musimovich said the footage “has elements of extremism; in particular there are words and actions which humiliate various social groups based on their religion”. She said it also had calls for mutiny and “mass disorder”.

The verdict said that free distribution of the video could ignite racial and religious hatred.

The court’s ruling applies to other videos released by the band, including a performance in Moscow’s Red Square, where calls for mass disorder could be heard. Such calls were not made inside the church.

The websites are now likely to be included in a state register and could be blocked if the banned content is not removed.

The Russian communications regulator Roskomnadzor said that once the court decision takes effect it will monitor how it is implemented.

Three members of Pussy Riot convicted in August of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred for their “punk prayer”, which the Russian Orthodox Church has cast as part of a concerted attack on the church and the faithful.

The women said the protest, in which they burst into Christ the Saviour Cathedral and called on the Virgin Mary to rid Russia of Putin, was not motivated by hatred and was meant to mock the church leadership’s support for the longtime leader.

Band members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina are serving two-year jail sentences over the protest last February. A third member, Yekaterina Samutsevich, walked free last month when her sentence was suspended on appeal.

“To me this is a clear attribute of censorship – censorship of art and censorship of culture, of the protest culture which is very important for any country, let alone for Russia,” Samutsevich told reporters outside court.

“Now of course the fact that they will be blocking all Pussy Riot videos as I understand, all photos – this is horrible. Naturally, I will lodge an appeal and I will try to do it today,” she added.

Putin, a former KGB officer who has cultivated close ties with the Orthodox church over 13 years in power, has rebuffed Western criticism about the prison terms meted out.

(Additional reporting Valery Stepchenkov; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

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US rabbi says jailed American in good health

HAVANA (AP) — A prominent New York rabbi and physician visited an American subcontractor serving a long jail term in Cuba and said the man is in good health, despite his family’s concerns about a growth on his right shoulder.

Rabbi Elie Abadie, who is also a gastroenterologist, told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview following Tuesday’s 2 1/2-hour visit at a military hospital in Havana that he personally examined Alan Gross and received a lengthy briefing from a team of Cuban physicians who have attended him.

He said the 1 1/2-inch growth on Gross’s shoulder appeared to be a non-cancerous hematoma that should clear up by itself.

“Alan Gross does not have any cancerous growth at this time, at least based on the studies I was shown and based on the examination, and I think he understands that also,” Abadie said.

Abadie said the hematoma, basically internal bleeding linked to the rupture of muscle fiber, was likely caused by exercise Gross does in jail. He said the growth ought to eventually disappear on its own.

Gross’s plight has put already chilly relations between Cuba and the United States in a deep freeze. The Maryland native was arrested in December 2009 while on a USAID-funded democracy building program and later sentenced to 15 years in jail for crimes against the state.

He claims he was only trying to help the island’s small Jewish community gain Internet access.

Gross’s health has been an ongoing issue during his incarceration. The 63-year-old, who was obese when arrested, has lost more than 100 pounds while in jail.

Abadie, a rabbi at New York’s Edmund J. Safra Synagogue, said Gross’s weight is appropriate for a man his age and height.

Photos that Abadie and a colleague provided to AP of Tuesday’s meeting with Gross showed him looking thin, but generally appearing to be in good spirits.

In one photo, Gross holds up a handwritten note that says “Hi Mom.”

“He definitely feels strong. He is in good spirits. He feels fit, to quote him, physically. But of course, like any other person who is incarcerated or in prison, he wants to be free. He wants to be able to go back home,” Abadie said.

Gross’s family has repeatedly appealed for his release on humanitarian grounds, noting his health problems and the fact that his adult daughter and elderly mother have both been battling cancer.

Jared Genser, counsel to Alan Gross, said late Tuesday that Rabbi Abadie is not Gross’s physician and he would like an oncologist of his choosing to evaluate him.

“While we are grateful Rabbi Abadie was able to see Alan, we have asked an oncologist to review the test results to determine if they are sufficient to rule out cancer. More importantly, if Alan is so healthy, we cannot understand why the Cuban government has repeatedly denied him an independent medical examination by a doctor of his choosing as is required by international law,” said Genser.

Gross and his wife recently filed a $ 60 million lawsuit against his former Maryland employer and the U.S. government, saying they didn’t adequately train him or disclose risks he was undertaking by doing development work on the Communist-run island.

They filed another lawsuit against an insurance company they say has reneged on commitments to pay compensation in case of his wrongful detention.

Separately, a lawyer for Gross has written the United Nations’ anti-torture expert, saying Cuban officials’ treatment of his client “will surely amount to torture” if he continues to be denied medical care.

Rumors have been swirling in U.S. media that Cuba might soon release Gross as a gesture of good will or in the hopes of winning concessions from the administration of President Barack Obama, but Abadie said that those reports appeared to be false.

“As far as I know there is no truth to it,” he said.

Abadie said he met with senior Cuban officials who expressed their desire to resolve the case “as quickly as possible,” but would not say specifically who he spoke with or what they offered.

“They claim that they are more than willing to sit at the table,” he said.

Cuban officials have strongly implied they hope to trade Gross for five Cuban agents sentenced to long jail terms in the United States, one of whom is already free on bail.

Abadie said Gross made clear that he does not want his case linked to that of the agents, known in Cuba as “The Five Heroes,” because he does not believe he is guilty of espionage.

But Abadie said Gross is hoping for a “constructive and productive” dialogue between U.S. and Cuban officials to resolve his case.

___

Follow Paul Haven on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/paulhaven.

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Italian tax police probe Google Italy again

ROME (Reuters) – Italian police launched a new tax probe into Google Italy this week after earlier investigations found the group had failed to declare income and still owed sales tax, an economy ministry document showed on Wednesday.

The earlier probe, which was launched by Italian financial police in 2007, found that Google had developed a system to transfer profits from its Italian operations to Ireland so it could benefit from a more favorable tax regime.

The investigation is the Internet search giant’s latest entanglement with European tax authorities, following problems in France and Britain over its Irish strategy.

In Italy, investigations of the years 2002-2006 found that Google had failed to declare at least 240 million euros ($ 310 million) of income to authorities and owed more than 96 million euros in sales tax, according to the ministry’s response to questions in parliament.

It said police had launched a new probe on Monday to check the company was meeting its fiscal obligations in Italy.

Google said in a statement that it complies with tax law in every country in which it operates.

“We are confident we comply with Italian law,” a spokeswoman said, adding the firm would cooperate with authorities and answer any questions for the investigation.

Italian officials have stepped up tax surveillance and collection efforts in recent months as part of government efforts to bring Italy’s huge public debt under control.

Police have also been assessing the practices of other multinational online businesses who are managing to shift profits made in Italy into countries where they can pay less tax, the ministry said.

($ 1=0.7746 euros)

(Reporting By Danilo Masoni, Giuseppe Fonte and Catherine Hornby; Editing by Mike Nesbit)

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Global High Fructose Corn Syrup Use May Be Fueling Diabetes Increase

Image courtesy of iStockphoto/TheCrimsonMonkey

It doesn’t matter where you look: the U.S., Mexico, Malaysia or Portugal, the more high fructose corn syrup consumption, on average, the more diabetes. A new study of 43 countries in Global Public Health, published online November 27, found that adult type-2 diabetes is 20 percent higher in countries that consume large quantities of high fructose corn syrup. “The study adds to a growing body of scientific literature that indicates HFCS consumption may result in negative health consequences distinct from and more deleterious than natural sugar,” Michael Goran, of the University of Southern California Department of Preventive Medicine and co-author of the new study, said in a prepared statement. Countries in which per person annual high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) consumption was less than 0.5 kg had similar BMIs, daily calorie intake and total sugar intake as did countries in which HFCS was higher. The big difference in these two groups of countries was diabetes prevalence. The link between HFCS and poor health outcomes–such as obesity or diabetes-has often been speculated, but it has been difficult to prove. The availability of the cheaper-than-sugar sweeteners starting in the U.S. in the 1970s appears to have helped boost the number of overall calories people imbibe. In the U.S. today, for example, high fructose corn syrup is in everything from sodas to ketchup. In fact, we each consume, on average, some 24.8 kilograms of this processed corn sweetener every year. With the extra calories, weight gain has quickened, leading to more obesity, one of the strongest risk factors for type-2 diabetes. HFCS may also pose a greater risk for diabetes greater than pure sugar alone. Instead of a composition evenly divided between fructose and glucose like table sugar, HFCS contains as much as 30 percent more fructose. (The exact quantities are unknown because manufacturers are not required to disclose the amount on food and beverage packages.) Glucose is metabolized quickly and used as energy or retained as fat. But fructose processing is more complex. It is broken down primarily in the liver and seems to induce less leptin production (a hormone that signals fullness to the body) and less insulin (which is why sweeteners composed primarily of fructose are sometimes recommended for people who already have diabetes). Some studies have also found fructose consumption increases the types of fats that are linked to insulin resistance, a hallmark of diabetes. These scattered findings suggest that “our metabolism has not evolved sufficiently to be able to process the fructose from high fructose corn syrup in the quantities that some people are consuming it,” Stanly Ulijaszek, of the University of Oxford and study co-author, said in a prepared statement. Some illuminating international differences emerged during the course of the study. For example, the European Union imposes production quotas for HFCS for member countries. Those countries, such as Sweden, that do not use the sweetener in their own food supply can export it to countries, such as Hungary, that are willing to buy more for residents. This distribution imbalance allowed the researchers to compare countries that were similar in other respects (BMI, gross national product, etc.) but different in HFCS consumption. While the U.S. is the largest producer–and consumer–of HFCS and has been for decades (thanks in large part to farm subsidies), other countries are just beginning to experience high amounts of HFCS in the food system. Mexico, for example, long limited imports of HFCS to protect their own sugar market. In 2008, however, those barriers were removed, and for the past few years, HFCS has been flooding in from the U.S. The authors of the study argue that with the new findings, perhaps some of these policies should be revisited. Further research into the mechanisms for the possible link between HFCS consumption and diabetes risk remains to be done. But, “if HFCS is a risk factor for diabetes–one of the world’s most serious chronic diseases–then we need to rewrite national dietary guidelines and review agricultural trade policies,” Tim Lobstein, director of policy at the International Association for the Study of Obesity, said in a prepared statement.

Follow Scientific American on Twitter @SciAm and @SciamBlogs. Visit ScientificAmerican.com for the latest in science, health and technology news.
© 2012 ScientificAmerican.com. All rights reserved.

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#My2K: Obama uses Twitter to prod Congress

President Barack Obama sits in front of a screen displaying a question he tweeted during a "Twitter Town Hall" …

President Barack Obama urged Americans on Wednesday to help him pressure Congress to prevent a Jan. 1 tax hike on the middle class, saying it was up to the public to make sure Washington doesn't "screw this up."

"When the American people speak loudly enough, lo and behold Congress listens," Obama said, flanked by Americans who answered the White House's call to detail what that tax increase would cost them personally.

"We really need to get this right. I can only do it with the help of the American people," the president said. "It's too important for Washington to screw this up."

Obama's remarks were part of a ramped-up public campaign to pressure Republicans in Congress, who have resisted his calls for letting Bush-era tax cuts that chiefly benefit the wealthiest Americans expire. The president wants to extend reductions on income up to $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for families. But he wants taxes above that level to rise in order to spare popular government programs from the budget-cutter's ax.

Republicans want to extend the tax cuts for higher earners, insisting that a tax hike on that group will reduce investments that generate jobs at a time when the economy is still sputtering and unemployment remains high. The GOP has signaled it would be willing to consider boosting tax revenue as long as Democrats agree to overhaul popular entitlement programs like Medicare or Medicaid. But key Democrats have refused to include those programs in talks on avoiding the "fiscal cliff" of tax increases and spending cuts due to take effect Jan. 1.

"Let's keep middle-class tax low. That's what our economy needs, that's what the American people deserve," Obama said. "And if we get this part of it right, then a lot of the other issues surrounding deficit reduction in a fair and balanced and responsible way are going to be a whole lot easier.

"If we get this wrong the economy's going to go south," the president warned. "It's going to be much more difficult for us to balance our budgets and deal with our deficits because, if the economy's not strong, that means more money's going out in things like unemployment insurance and less money's coming in in terms of tax receipts and it just actually makes our deficit worse."

Obama urged Americans who agree with him to call, write and tweet lawmakers (using the hashtag #My2K), or post messages on their Facebook pages. "Do what it takes to communicate a sense of urgency. We don't have a lot of time. We've got a few weeks to get this thing done."

Still, he said, "I am confident that we will get it done."

The White House says that "a typical middle-class family of four" would pay Uncle Sam an additional $2,200 unless tax cuts are extended for them.

That $2,200 figure is the inspiration for #My2K, part of what the White House describes as an "online push" behind the president's approach. Obama has highlighted Twitter hashtags in past disputes with Republicans: #40dollars in the fight over the payroll tax holiday and #dontdoublemyrate in a feud over student loans.

The president, who spoke to top Republican and Democratic leaders over the weekend, was to make brief public remarks at the top of a meeting with his Cabinet at 3 p.m. before huddling with senior executives from major American corporations.

Here is the list of attendees, as provided by the White House:

• Frank Blake, Chairman and CEO, the Home Depot
• Lloyd Blankfein, Chairman and CEO, Goldman Sachs Group
• Joe Echeverria, CEO, Deloitte LLP
• Ken Frazier, President and CEO, Merck and Co.
• Muhtar Kent, Chairman and CEO, Coca Cola
• Terry Lundgren, Chairman, President and CEO, Macy's Inc.
• Marissa Mayer, CEO and President, Yahoo!
• Douglas Oberhelman, Chairman and CEO, Caterpillar
• Ian Read, Chairman and CEO, Pfizer
• Brian Roberts, Chairman and CEO, Comcast
• Ed Rust, Chairman and CEO, State Farm Insurance Co.
• Arne Sorenson, President and CEO, Marriott
• Randall Stephenson, Chairman and CEO, AT&T
• Patricia Woertz, President and CEO, Archer Daniels Midland

The fiscal cliff refers to an economically painful set of tax hikes and deep spending cuts that come into effect Jan. 1 unless Congress and the president reach a deal.

Read More..

German lawmakers condemn Google campaign against copyright law

BERLIN (Reuters) – Senior German politicians have denounced as propaganda a campaign by Google to mobilize public opinion against proposed legislation to let publishers charge search engines for displaying newspaper articles.

Internet lobbyists say they are worried the German law will set a precedent for other countries such as France and Italy that have shown an interest in having Google pay publishers for the right to show their news snippets in its search results.

Lawmakers in Berlin will debate the bill in the Bundestag (lower house) on Thursday. Google says the law would make it harder for users to retrieve information via the Internet.

Google launched its campaign against the bill on Tuesday with advertisements in German newspapers and a web information site called “Defend your web”.

“Such a law would hit every Internet user in Germany,” Stefan Tweraser, country manager for Google Germany, said in a statement. “An ancillary copyright means less information for consumers and higher costs for companies.”

The campaign has caused outrage among some members of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right coalition.

“The campaign initiated by Google is cheap propaganda,” said conservative lawmakers Guenter Krings and Ansgar Heveling.

“Under the guise of a supposed project for the freedom of the Internet, an attempt is being made to coopt its users for its own lobbying,” the two said in a statement.

Supporters of the law argue that newspaper publishers should be able to benefit from advertising revenues earned by search engines using their content.

Under the plans, publishers would get a bigger say over how their articles are used on the Internet and could charge search engines for showing articles or extracts.

German Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, a member of the Free Democrats (FDP) who share power in Merkel’s government, said she was astonished that Google was trying to monopolize opinion-making. She is responsible for the law.

“PANIC MONGERING”

Germany’s newspaper industry, suffering from economic slowdown and keen to get its hands on any revenues it can, backs the plans and railed against Google’s campaign.

“The panic mongering from Google has no justification,” Germany’s BDZV newspaper association said in a statement.

“The argument from search engine companies that Internet searching and retrieval will be made more difficult is not serious. Private use, reading, following links and quoting will be possible, just as before.”

Internet lobbyists in Brussels fear the European Commission is sympathetic to publisher demands for a piece of Google’s profits online. Recent statements, they say, are proof.

“Consumers are not the only ones facing difficulties,” Michel Barnier, the EU’s internal market commissioner, said in a speech on November 7. “Think of newspaper publishers who see the content they produce being used by others to attract consumers on the net and generate advertising revenues.”

French newspapers and magazines want Google to pay them for linking to their articles on Google. The French government has named a mediator to negotiate with the press and Google to try to get a deal by the end of the year.

If no deal emerges, President Francois Hollande’s government will ask parliament to draft a law modifying copyright laws to protect the press from appropriation of its content online, according to a letter signed by two ministers on November 28.

(Additional reporting by Harro ten Wolde in Frankfurt, Claire Davenbport in Brussels and Leila Abboud in Paris; Writing by Madeline Chambers, Editing by Gareth Jones and)

Tech News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Obama urges public to pressure Congress

President Barack Obama sits in front of a screen displaying a question he tweeted during a "Twitter Town Hall" …

President Barack Obama urged Americans on Wednesday to help him pressure Congress to prevent a Jan. 1 tax hike on the middle class, saying it was up to the public to make sure Washington doesn't "screw this up."

"When the American people speak loudly enough, lo and behold Congress listens," Obama said, flanked by Americans who answered the White House's call to detail what that tax increase would cost them personally.

"We really need to get this right. I can only do it with the help of the American people," the president said. "It's too important for Washington to screw this up."

Obama's remarks were part of a ramped-up public campaign to pressure Republicans in Congress, who have resisted his calls for letting Bush-era tax cuts that chiefly benefit the wealthiest Americans expire. The president wants to extend reductions on income up to $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for families. But he wants taxes above that level to rise in order to spare popular government programs from the budget-cutter's ax.

Republicans want to extend the tax cuts for higher earners, insisting that a tax hike on that group will reduce investments that generate jobs at a time when the economy is still sputtering and unemployment remains high. The GOP has signaled it would be willing to consider boosting tax revenue as long as Democrats agree to overhaul popular entitlement programs like Medicare or Medicaid. But key Democrats have refused to include those programs in talks on avoiding the "fiscal cliff" of tax increases and spending cuts due to take effect Jan. 1.

"Let's keep middle-class tax low. That's what our economy needs, that's what the American people deserve," Obama said. "And if we get this part of it right, then a lot of the other issues surrounding deficit reduction in a fair and balanced and responsible way are going to be a whole lot easier.

"If we get this wrong the economy's going to go south," the president warned. "It's going to be much more difficult for us to balance our budgets and deal with our deficits because, if the economy's not strong, that means more money's going out in things like unemployment insurance and less money's coming in in terms of tax receipts and it just actually makes our deficit worse."

Obama urged Americans who agree with him to call, write and tweet lawmakers (using the hashtag #My2K), or post messages on their Facebook pages. "Do what it takes to communicate a sense of urgency. We don't have a lot of time. We've got a few weeks to get this thing done."

Still, he said, "I am confident that we will get it done."

The White House says that "a typical middle-class family of four" would pay Uncle Sam an additional $2,200 unless tax cuts are extended for them.

That $2,200 figure is the inspiration for #My2K, part of what the White House describes as an "online push" behind the president's approach. Obama has highlighted Twitter hashtags in past disputes with Republicans: #40dollars in the fight over the payroll tax holiday and #dontdoublemyrate in a feud over student loans.

The president, who spoke to top Republican and Democratic leaders over the weekend, was to make brief public remarks at the top of a meeting with his Cabinet at 3 p.m. before huddling with senior executives from major American corporations.

Here is the list of attendees, as provided by the White House:

• Frank Blake, Chairman and CEO, the Home Depot
• Lloyd Blankfein, Chairman and CEO, Goldman Sachs Group
• Joe Echeverria, CEO, Deloitte LLP
• Ken Frazier, President and CEO, Merck and Co.
• Muhtar Kent, Chairman and CEO, Coca Cola
• Terry Lundgren, Chairman, President and CEO, Macy's Inc.
• Marissa Mayer, CEO and President, Yahoo!
• Douglas Oberhelman, Chairman and CEO, Caterpillar
• Ian Read, Chairman and CEO, Pfizer
• Brian Roberts, Chairman and CEO, Comcast
• Ed Rust, Chairman and CEO, State Farm Insurance Co.
• Arne Sorenson, President and CEO, Marriott
• Randall Stephenson, Chairman and CEO, AT&T
• Patricia Woertz, President and CEO, Archer Daniels Midland

The fiscal cliff refers to an economically painful set of tax hikes and deep spending cuts that come into effect Jan. 1 unless Congress and the president reach a deal.

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Estudio desmiente que la soja alivie los sofocos de la menopausia

NUEVA YORK (Reuters Health) – Un nuevo estudio desmiente que

las mujeres que consumen gran cantidad de productos de soja o

fibra padezcan menos síntomas durante la menopausia.

Esto se suma a los resultados de investigaciones previas que

no habían hallado beneficios en el consumo extra de soja, un

alimento con altos niveles de estrógeno vegetal.

“Estaríamos en una calle sin salida”, dijo William Wong,

profesor del Baylor College of Medicine y especialista en los

efectos de la proteína de soja en los síntomas menopáusicos.

Los estrógenos de origen vegetal, o fitoestrógenos, se

encuentran en alimentos como las semillas, los frutos secos y

los porotos de soja. Su estructura química es similar a la del

estrógeno humano.

La terapia de reemplazo hormonal, que aporta estrógeno y

otras hormonas, reduce los sofocos y otros síntomas de la

menopausia, pero una investigación importante difundida hace una

década habían demostrado que puede causar enfermedad cardíaca y

cáncer.

“Muchas mujeres no pueden o no quieren tomar hormonas”, lo

que hace del estrógeno de origen alimentario una alternativa

atractiva, opinó Ellen Gold, autora principal de un nuevo

estudio y profesora de la Facultad de Medicina de la University

of California, en Davis.

Pero los resultados sobre los estrógenos vegetales son

contradictorios. Una revisión de 17 estudios sobre los

suplementos de soja había revelado que las píldoras reducen la

frecuencia y la gravedad de los sofocos, mientras que algunos

ensayos clínicos con proteína de soja no habían identificado

efectos beneficiosos.

El equipo de Gold monitoreó a 1.651 mujeres durante 10 años.

Al inicio del estudio, ninguna había entrado en la menopausia.

Cada año, los autores controlaban si las participantes

habían tenido sofocos o sudoración nocturna. Durante el estudio,

las mujeres respondieron un cuestionario sobre la alimentación.

Al final del estudio, el equipo no pudo detectar un patrón

sólido entre la cantidad de fitoestrógenos consumidos y la

frecuencia o la gravedad de los sofocos y la sudoración

nocturna. Lo mismo ocurrió con la cantidad de fibra que las

mujeres consumían.

FUENTE: Menopause, 29 de octubre del 2012

Seniors/Aging News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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US rabbi says jailed American in good health

HAVANA (AP) — A prominent New York rabbi and physician visited an American subcontractor serving a long jail term in Cuba and said the man is in good health, despite his family’s concerns about a growth on his right shoulder.

Rabbi Elie Abadie, who is also a gastroenterologist, told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview following Tuesday’s 2 1/2-hour visit at a military hospital in Havana that he personally examined Alan Gross and received a lengthy briefing from a team of Cuban physicians who have attended him.

He said the 1 1/2-inch growth on Gross’s shoulder appeared to be a non-cancerous hematoma that should clear up by itself.

“Alan Gross does not have any cancerous growth at this time, at least based on the studies I was shown and based on the examination, and I think he understands that also,” Abadie said.

Abadie said the hematoma, basically internal bleeding linked to the rupture of muscle fiber, was likely caused by exercise Gross does in jail. He said the growth ought to eventually disappear on its own.

Gross’s plight has put already chilly relations between Cuba and the United States in a deep freeze. The Maryland native was arrested in December 2009 while on a USAID-funded democracy building program and later sentenced to 15 years in jail for crimes against the state.

He claims he was only trying to help the island’s small Jewish community gain Internet access.

Gross’s health has been an ongoing issue during his incarceration. The 63-year-old, who was obese when arrested, has lost more than 100 pounds while in jail.

Abadie, a rabbi at New York’s Edmund J. Safra Synagogue, said Gross’s weight is appropriate for a man his age and height.

Photos that Abadie and a colleague provided to AP of Tuesday’s meeting with Gross showed him looking thin, but generally appearing to be in good spirits.

In one photo, Gross holds up a handwritten note that says “Hi Mom.”

“He definitely feels strong. He is in good spirits. He feels fit, to quote him, physically. But of course, like any other person who is incarcerated or in prison, he wants to be free. He wants to be able to go back home,” Abadie said.

Gross’s family has repeatedly appealed for his release on humanitarian grounds, noting his health problems and the fact that his adult daughter and elderly mother have both been battling cancer.

Jared Genser, counsel to Alan Gross, said late Tuesday that Rabbi Abadie is not Gross’s physician and he would like an oncologist of his choosing to evaluate him.

“While we are grateful Rabbi Abadie was able to see Alan, we have asked an oncologist to review the test results to determine if they are sufficient to rule out cancer. More importantly, if Alan is so healthy, we cannot understand why the Cuban government has repeatedly denied him an independent medical examination by a doctor of his choosing as is required by international law,” said Genser.

Gross and his wife recently filed a $ 60 million lawsuit against his former Maryland employer and the U.S. government, saying they didn’t adequately train him or disclose risks he was undertaking by doing development work on the Communist-run island.

They filed another lawsuit against an insurance company they say has reneged on commitments to pay compensation in case of his wrongful detention.

Separately, a lawyer for Gross has written the United Nations’ anti-torture expert, saying Cuban officials’ treatment of his client “will surely amount to torture” if he continues to be denied medical care.

Rumors have been swirling in U.S. media that Cuba might soon release Gross as a gesture of good will or in the hopes of winning concessions from the administration of President Barack Obama, but Abadie said that those reports appeared to be false.

“As far as I know there is no truth to it,” he said.

Abadie said he met with senior Cuban officials who expressed their desire to resolve the case “as quickly as possible,” but would not say specifically who he spoke with or what they offered.

“They claim that they are more than willing to sit at the table,” he said.

Cuban officials have strongly implied they hope to trade Gross for five Cuban agents sentenced to long jail terms in the United States, one of whom is already free on bail.

Abadie said Gross made clear that he does not want his case linked to that of the agents, known in Cuba as “The Five Heroes,” because he does not believe he is guilty of espionage.

But Abadie said Gross is hoping for a “constructive and productive” dialogue between U.S. and Cuban officials to resolve his case.

___

Follow Paul Haven on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/paulhaven.

Latin America News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Thousands celebrate Hobbit premiere in New Zealand

WELLINGTON (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of people packed New Zealand’s capital city, clambering on roofs and hanging onto lamp posts on Wednesday to get a glimpse of the stars at the red carpet world premiere of the film “The Hobbit: an Unexpected Journey”.

Wellington, where director Peter Jackson and much of the post production is based, renamed itself “the Middle of Middle Earth“, and fans with prominent Hobbit ears, medieval style costumes, and wizard hats had camped out the night before to claim prized spaces along the 500 meter (550 yards) red carpet.

Jackson, a one time newspaper printer and the maker of the Oscar winning “Lord of the Rings” trilogy more than a decade ago, was cheered along the walk, stopping to talk to fans, sign autographs and pose for photos.

The Hobbit trilogy is set 60 years before the Rings movies, but Jackson said it has benefited from being made after the conclusion of the J.R.R. Tolkien fantasy saga.

“I’m glad that we established the style and the look of Middle Earth by adapting Lord of the Rings before we did the Hobbit,” Jackson told Reuters from the red carpet.

Jackson, a hometown hero in Wellington, said the production had been on a “difficult journey”, alluding to Warner Brothers’ financial problems, and a later labor dispute with unions.

“Fate meant for us to be here,” he told an ecstatic crowd, which hailed him as a film genius, but also a down to earth local boy.

“I came here to see the stars but also Peter (Jackson)…I loved the Lord of the Rings and that made me want to be here, without him none of it would be here,” said teenage student Samantha Cooper.

OLD FRIENDS

The cast was no less enthusiastic about the Hobbit, especially those who had starred in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

British actor Andy Serkis, who plays the creature Gollum with a distinctive throaty whisper, said picking up the character after a near-ten year break was like putting on a familiar skin.

“I was reminded on a daily basis with Gollum (that) he’s truly never left me,” he said.

Most of the film’s stars attended the premiere, including British actor Martin Freeman, who plays the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins, Andy Serkis, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett, and Elijah Wood. Ian McKellen, who plays the wizard Gandalf, was absent.

Freeman, known for his roles in the comedy The Office and Sherlock Holmes, said he looked for a different, lighter, slightly pompous Baggins from the older, wiser character played by Ian Holm in the Rings movies.

“Between us – Peter (Jackson) and me — we hashed out another version of Bilbo. There’ll be others, but our version is this one and I hope people like it,” he said.

The production was at the center of several controversies, including a dispute with unions in 2010 over labor contracts that nearly sent the filming overseas and resulted in the government stepping in to change employment laws.

The only sour note at the premiere came when animal rights activists held up posters saying “Middle Earth unexpected cruelty” and “3 horses died for this film”, after claims last week that more than 20 animals died during the making of the film.

Event organizers tried to block out the protesters’ posters with large Hobbit film billboards. Jackson has said some animals died on a farm where they were housed, but none had been hurt during filming.

The movies have been filmed in 3D and at 48 frames per second (fps), compared with the standard 24 fps, which Jackson has likened to the quality leap to compact discs from vinyl records.

The second film “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” will be released in December next year, with the third “The Hobbit: There and Back Again” due in mid-July 2014.

(Editing by Elaine Lies)

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