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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/rpDg1PfFGew/story01.htm
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Friday, December 16, 2011
Weekly Mod: how to replace a shattered or unresponsive iPhone 3G/3GS digitizer assembly
If you shattered the glass on your iPhone 3G or 3GS, a screen replacement is a relatively easy repair to perform. You'll just need a few tools and a new digitizer assembly to turn your broken iPhone 3G or 3GS from broken to good as new.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Mexico's ex-ruling party leader quits amid scandal (AP)
MEXICO CITY ? The president of Mexico's former ruling party resigned Friday amid a financial scandal that had begun to weigh on the party's hopes to regain the presidency in 2012.
Humberto Moreira, who headed the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, said he is leaving the post because he doesn't want to hurt the party.
"I've resigned because I'm not going to allow a media war that is trying to harm our party to continue," Moreira said told party members. "I also do it because I believe in a man who is the hope for Mexico, Enrique Pena Nieto."
Pena Nieto, the PRI's presidential candidate, has recently begun publicly distancing himself from the party leader.
Moreira fought to remain in office despite a growing scandal over the revelation he left a 34 billion peso ($2.8 billion) debt in the state of Coahuila when he resigned as governor to take over the PRI.
A close former aide to Moreira also is under investigation for amassing unexplained wealth, buying property in the U.S. and becoming CEO of two firms and a shareholder in Mexican radio stations on a modest state salary.
Moreira, 45, has called the claims a smear campaign against the PRI as it is poised to regain the presidency it lost in 2000 after 71 years of rule.
But Pena Nieto and other party leaders have tried to show the party is now more democratic and transparent, most notably in its open process of choosing candidates, who in the past were simply appointed before by their predecessors.
Cristina Sanchez, who was the PRI's general secretary, replaced Moreira.
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5-pound hunk of metal crashes into Mass. warehouse
This Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011 still image from video provided by NECN, New England Cable News, shows a chunk of metal that plunged through the roof of Michael's Furniture Warehouse in Plymouth, Mass. Federal Aviation Administration inspectors said the piece of metal was not an airplane part, but likely came from a piece of heavy machinery. (AP Photo/Courtesy of NECN) MANDATORY CREDIT
This Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011 still image from video provided by NECN, New England Cable News, shows a chunk of metal that plunged through the roof of Michael's Furniture Warehouse in Plymouth, Mass. Federal Aviation Administration inspectors said the piece of metal was not an airplane part, but likely came from a piece of heavy machinery. (AP Photo/Courtesy of NECN) MANDATORY CREDIT
PLYMOUTH, Mass. (AP) ? The owners of a furniture warehouse in Plymouth, Mass., want to know the origin of a chunk of metal that plunged through the roof.
No one was hurt when the 6-inch, cylindrical piece of metal weighing about 5 pounds came through the roof Wednesday or Thursday. The chunk punched a small hole in the roof over a closet and scattered ceiling-tile debris.
Federal Aviation Administration inspectors say the piece of metal was broken at both ends and was not an airplane part.
An FAA spokeswoman says the chunk likely came from a piece of heavy machinery, possibly a wood chipper. That still doesn't explain how it came crashing through the roof.
Police are also stumped.
The owner of Michael's Furniture Warehouse says someone could have been killed.
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Friday, December 2, 2011
Pfizer maneuvers to protect Lipitor from generics (AP)
TRENTON, N.J. ? Lipitor is so valuable that its maker, Pfizer Inc., is practically paying people to keep taking the blockbuster cholesterol medicine after generic competition hits the U.S. market this week.
Pfizer has devised discounts and incentives for patients, insurers and companies that process prescriptions that will, at least for the next six months, make the brand name drug about as cheap as or cheaper than the generics. Pfizer also has spent tens of millions of dollars this year on marketing to keep patients on Lipitor, which loses patent protection Wednesday.
Normally when a drug's patent ends, generic rivals grab nearly all its market share in a year or less, and the original maker quietly shifts focus to its newer products.
Pfizer, the world's biggest drugmaker, is not giving up that easy on the best-selling drug in history. Lipitor had peak sales of about $13 billion and still brings in nearly $11 billion a year, about a sixth of Pfizer's revenue. With no new blockbusters to fill that hole, the company is making an unprecedented push to hang onto Lipitor revenue as long as possible.
Patients seem to buy into the logic.
"If I can get the name brand at the same price or for pennies more than the generic, I have no motivation to switch," said Richard Shiekman, 59, who has been taking Lipitor for six years and credits the drug with sharply cutting his bad cholesterol. Shiekman, a wine and spirits importer from Redding, Conn., got a $4 copay card two weeks ago after his pharmacy sent an offer guaranteeing that price through December 2012.
Pfizer's strategy is cunning and could become the new norm, as most other drugmakers also face generic competition to top-selling medicines and haven't been coming up with replacements.
"People getting a month of lifesaving medicine for the price of a cup of Starbucks is ... pretty impressive," said Michael Kleinrock, a research director at data firm IMS Health.
Pfizer's effort includes:
_Offering insured patients a discount card to get Lipitor for $4 a month, far below the $25 average copayment for a preferred brand-name drug and below the $10 average copay for a generic drug. Pfizer is promoting this heavily through ads, information distributed at doctors' offices and its http://www.LipitorForYou.com site. Pfizer, based in New York, said Tuesday that sign-ups have exceeded its goals.
_Paying pharmacies to mail Lipitor patients offers for the $4 copay card and to counsel patients that Lipitor lowers bad cholesterol more than rival drugs and helps prevent heart attacks and strokes.
_Keeping U.S. marketing spending nearly level until the last minute, versus the typical two-thirds drop in a drug's final year under patent. From July through September, Pfizer spent almost $90 million on doctor sales calls and free samples, about the same as a year earlier, according to Cegedim Strategic Data. Ads targeting patients fell about 60 percent to $19 million. All that will soon taper off.
? Negotiating unusual deals with some insurance plans and prescription benefit managers, the companies that process prescription claims for insurers or employers, to block pharmacists from dispensing generic Lipitor. Pfizer is giving them rebates that bring their cost for Lipitor down to the price of a generic or slightly less ? if they agree to dispense only Lipitor for the six months before additional generic competition slashes prices. The move has generated some controversy and means many of the 3 million Americans taking Lipitor won't be able switch to the generic.
Under those contracts, patients will pay either their plan's standard generic copayment or just $4 ? the lowest copayment pharmacies at supermarkets and discounters such as Wal-Mart offer for the most widely used generic drugs.
While generic medicines work the same as brand drugs for nearly everyone, some patients prefer the brand.
"We want to make sure that patients who are currently taking Lipitor and want to continue ... have the opportunity to do so," said David Simmons, who heads Pfizer's Established Products business. He said research shows more than a third of patients want to stay on Lipitor.
Pfizer also is continuing assistance programs that subsidize uninsured patients wanting Lipitor, which costs about $115 to $160 a month, depending on dosage. Generic Lipitor, called atorvastatin, should cost 30 percent to 50 percent less.
People without insurance also can order the generic, with a prescription, through websites such as HealthWarehouse.com.
Patients could save even more by taking other generic drugs in the same class that have been on sale for several years: pravastatin (Pravachol) and simvastatin (Zocor). But they're not as potent as Lipitor, the key reason its sales have held up.
Typically, brand-name drugs get one or two generic competitors initially, priced about 25 percent lower. Six months later, other generic companies are allowed to jump in and the price drops up to 80 percent.
About 90 percent of the branded drug's sales ultimately vanish, as insured patients seeking a lower copayment switch over and most pharmacies automatically substitute a generic for a brand name.
Sanford Bernstein analyst Dr. Tim Anderson estimates that for a 90-day supply of Lipitor, even after paying rebates to insurers and patients, Pfizer can make a profit of roughly $100, compared with about $225 before generic competition. That's partly because administrative and advertising costs will decline, and it barely costs a dime to make a pill.
Anderson expects Pfizer's strategy to boost its earnings per share about 2 percent next year.
Meanwhile, Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. looks to be the biggest loser in this. It has a deal to distribute an "authorized generic" version manufactured by Pfizer but sold under Watson's brand, with Pfizer keeping an estimated 70 percent of the price.
Watson CEO Paul Bisaro said he had thought Pfizer would retain about 25 percent of Lipitor users for the next six months, but now "it looks like it will be 40 to 45 percent."
Bisaro said that could reduce his company's anticipated profit next year.
"This is sort of the new generation of brand protection," he added.
India's Ranbaxy Laboratories is the only company besides Watson with the right to sell generic Lipitor in the U.S. for the next six months. But Ranbaxy has had repeated manufacturing quality problems, and it's unclear whether it will have the Food and Drug Administration's approval to ship its version come Nov. 30.
Ranbaxy said it would not reveal what will happen until then. The FDA, as is its custom, declined to comment. But Pfizer executives say they expect Ranbaxy to have a generic on the market.
An independent pharmacists group called Pharmacists United for Truth and Transparency has raised alarms that the rebate deals will stick plan sponsors ? employers, unions and taxpayers ? with higher costs than for generics.
But spokespeople for a few prescription benefit managers that have received Pfizer's offer say it would cost insurance plans and patients the same as, or slightly less than, for generic Lipitor.
"Next year we're going to save clients and members over $1 billion just on this drug," said Tim Wentworth, head of employer and key client accounts for Medco Health Solutions Inc., one of the biggest pharmacy benefits managers.
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Monday, November 28, 2011
PFT: Suh's ex-teammate says Lion's 'out of control'
APWe handle the biggest injury news all day in the rumor mill.?
The rest goes right here, in America?s most popular injury segment that always listens to the National Anthem.
1. Kevin Kolb is officially questionable after being limited in practice all week with his toe injury. ?We won?t know his status until gametime, but signs are pointing towards Kolb playing.
2. The Rams? two best defenders are questionable.?Linebacker James Laurinaitis (foot) and defensive end Chris Long (ankle) practiced in a limited fashion during the week, so they should play.
3. The Bills have a sadly big list of starters that are out this week. Some of the players are already on injured reserve, but we?ll reprint here: Running back?Fred Jackson (fibula), wideout Donald Jones (ankle), kicker Rian Lindell (shoulder), cornerback Terrence McGee (knee), and safety George Wilson (neck) are out. ?Backup wide receiver Naaman Roosevelt (shoulder) is also out.
4. The Jets are healthy, with the exception of kick returner?Jeremy Kerley (knee) and running back LaDainian Tomlinson (knee). Both are questionable, but they didn?t practice all week.
5. Tight end Dallas Clark (fibula) is out once again. Running back Joseph Addai (hamstring) should be back after practicing fully all week.
6. The Raiders will be without?wide receiver Jacoby Ford (foot), running back Darren McFadden (foot), and defensive end Jarvis Moss (hamstring). ?Half the team is questionable, including two players that didn?t practice all week: running back?Taiwan Jones (hamstring) and wide receiver Denarius Moore (foot).
7. A few extra days off did the Broncos some good. The entire active roster should be available to face San Diego.
8. The Chargers got some good news on Friday. Running back Ryan Mathews (knee) is probable despite missing practice Thursday, and their best pass rusher Shaun Phillips (foot) was upgraded to questionable this week.
The bad news:?Defensive end Luis Castillo (tibia), wideout Malcom Floyd (hip), and tackle Marcus McNeill (neck) are all still out. Two other guards are doubtful. The offensive line is in bad shape.
9. Andre Johnson (hamstring) is officially probable as he returns from his lengthy injury. ?He should be happy about his matchup with Jacksonville because . . .
10. The Jaguars defense is banged up. Cornerback Derek Cox went on injured reserve Friday. Fellow starter Rashean Mathis is already there. Defensive line starters?Terrance Knighton (ankle) and Matt Roth (concussion) are both out.
11. The Falcons will be short in the secondary. Luckily, they are playing the Vikings. ?Cornerback Kelvin Hayden (toe) is out and cornerback Brent Grimes (knee)?is questionable despite not practicing all week.
12. Patriots wideout?Chad Ochocinco (hamstring) is officially questionable after missing practice Friday. There are nine other Patriots that are questionable, but they all practiced in a limited fashion during the week. Linebacker Brandon Spikes (knee) remains out.
13. Redskins receiver Santana Moss (hand) is back in the mix. He?s probable.
14. The Steelers list linebacker?LaMarr Woodley (hamstring) as questionable, but there is doubt locally that he?ll suit up.
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Thomas, Kagan asked to sit out health care case (AP)
WASHINGTON ? Conservative interest groups and Republican lawmakers want Justice Elena Kagan off the health care case. Liberals and Democrats in Congress say it's Justice Clarence Thomas who should sit it out.
Neither justice is budging ? the right decision, according to many ethicists and legal experts.
None of the parties in the case has asked the justices to excuse themselves. But underlying the calls on both sides is their belief that the conservative Thomas is a sure vote to strike down President Barack Obama's health care law and that the liberal Kagan is certain to uphold the main domestic achievement of the man who appointed her.
The stakes are high in the court's election-year review of a law aimed at extending coverage to more than 30 million people. Both sides have engaged in broad legal and political maneuvering for the most favorable conditions surrounding the court's consideration of the case.
Taking away just one vote potentially could tip the outcome on the nine-justice court.
Republican lawmakers recently have stepped up their effort against Kagan, complaining that the Justice Department has not fully revealed Kagan's involvement in planning the response to challenges to the law. Kagan was Obama's solicitor general, the administration's top Supreme Court lawyer, until he nominated her to the high court last year.
"The public has a right to know both the full extent of Justice Kagan's involvement with this legislation while she was solicitor general, as well as her previously stated views and opinions about the legislation while she was serving as solicitor general," the House Judiciary Committee chairman, Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, said Tuesday in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder.
Democrats have said Thomas has a conflict of interest stemming from the work of his wife, Virginia, with several groups that opposed the health care overhaul.
"From what we have already seen, the line between your impartiality and you and your wife's financial stake in the overturn of health care reform is blurred," 74 Democrats wrote Thomas in February. The lead writer was Anthony Weiner, the New York Democrat who resigned from Congress in June over his use of Twitter to send explicit photos of himself to women.
One lawmaker who signed the letter, Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., said she feels even more strongly now that Thomas has a conflict. She wants the Justice Department to investigate Thomas for omitting his wife's employers, including the Heritage Foundation and the tea-party linked Liberty Central, from his annual financial disclosure reports.
The campaigns against the justices are partisan, suggesting to some legal experts that the complaints are less about perceived conflicts than the outcome of the health care case.
"They are not doing it in the dark about how they think the justices will rule," said University of Notre Dame law professor Richard Garnett.
Looking at the claims made against Thomas and Kagan, Garnett said, "I don't think there's really a plausible case that either of these two justices should feel the need to recuse themselves."
Still, interest groups and lawmakers on both sides have sought to paint a picture of a justice who is hopelessly compromised and has no choice but to recuse, the term for a judge stepping out of a case. They also say there is no basis for the justice with whom they agree to step aside ? Thomas for the conservatives, Kagan for the liberals.
"She has been exceedingly careful, unlike Justice Thomas," Nan Aron of the liberal Alliance for Justice said of Kagan.
Carrie Severino, a former law clerk for Thomas and chief counsel to the conservative Judicial Crisis Network, said the attacks on Thomas are groundless. "It's possible it's a pre-emptive strike because they knew there would be questions raised about Kagan's participation," Severino said.
Federal law requires any judge to sit out a case in which one of several conditions is met, including if "his impartiality might reasonably be questioned."
Another provision of the law that has triggered Kagan's decision to stay out of 28 cases since she joined the court concerns a judge who formerly served as a government lawyer. A judge should not participate if he or she served as counsel or adviser "concerning the proceeding or expressed an opinion concerning the merits of the particular case in controversy."
Kagan was as Obama's solicitor general before he nominated her last year to take the seat of Justice John Paul Stevens. She testified during her confirmation hearing in 2010 that she "attended at least one meeting where the existence of the litigation was briefly mentioned, but none where any substantive discussion of the litigation occurred." Kagan left the administration in August, about five months after the health care overhaul became law.
She said she would not take part in cases in which she "participated in formulating the government's litigating position."
Some opponents of the law said that Kagan did enough as solicitor general to meet her standard for stepping aside. They said emails released by the Justice Department under the Freedom of Information Act show Kagan had greater involvement in the administration's legal strategy than she acknowledged.
Most of the emails were written by Kagan's then-deputy, Neal Katyal. In one message, he said Kagan wanted her office "to be involved in this set of issues." In another, Katyal said he was copying Kagan on an email in which he offered recommendations on steps the Justice Department could take to counter a challenge to the law. "I haven't discussed this with Elena, but am cc'ing her here," Katyal said.
They also point to Kagan's email exchange with Larry Tribe, then an adviser at the Justice Department, about an upcoming vote on the legislation in the House of Representatives. "I hear they have the votes, Larry!! Simply amazing," she said.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and three other GOP senators asked Holder last week to provide more information about Kagan's involvement.
"When a former member of the administration is in a position to rule on litigation in which she apparently had some involvement and which concerns legislation she herself supports, public confidence in the administration of justice is undermined," they said.
Even before the court decided to hear the case, conservative advocate Severino wrote that "the legitimacy of any decision where she is in the majority or plurality would be instantly suspect if she chooses not to recuse herself."
Liberal advocate Aron said Thomas should issue a written explanation to "reassure the public that his decision-making won't be compromised by his past activities."
Each side has said public confidence in the court will be hurt by the targeted justice's participation in the health care case.
But University of Pittsburgh law professor and ethics expert Arthur Hellman said the attacks, if sustained, can themselves undermine faith in an independent judiciary. "These personalized attacks can have an effect over time on the stature of the judiciary as something outside politics," Hellman said.
___
Online:
Supreme Court and health care case: http://tinyurl.com/3zukoc4
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