Candidate uses porn clips to sex up Bosnia race

(genius! )

ZENICA, Bosnia-Herzegovina — A mayoral candidate in Bosnia's fourth-largest city is using one of the Internet's greatest lures — pornography — to draw attention to his campaign.

Mirad Hadziahmetovic is an independent candidate with a relatively slim chance of winning the October election in Zenica.

He said Thursday that he decided to upload pornographic video clips to his official campaign site after realizing that large numbers of people use the Web to peruse sexual content.

To view the material on his site, visitors must answer questions, such as "What is more important for Zenica, job creation or increasing the municipal budget" through taxes?

At the end of each clip there is a separately recorded video of Hadziahmetovic talking directly to camera and saying: "If you liked this clip, vote for me."

FDA says muscle, joint pain creams can cause burns

(feel the burn,the chemical burn)

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers about rare chemical burns reported by people using popular pain relief products like Bengay, Icy Hot and Flexall.

The over-the-counter products are designed to provide short-term relief from minor muscle and joint aches and pains. But regulators say they have received reports of skin injuries ranging from first- to third-degree chemical burns caused by the products. Some of burns have required hospitalization, according to a notice posted to FDA's website.

The agency says consumers should stop using the pain relievers if they experience signs of skin injury, such as pain, swelling or blistering of the skin. Doctors should instruct patients on how to use the products, which come in lotions and patches, correctly.

NYC bans big sugary drinks at eateries, theaters

( sure sounds legit, drink all the booze you want any size you please, but sugar heaven forefend sugar! The devils beverage! Leading our innocent youth to obesity and laziness! And of course “diet” soda of any size is ok. Have all the saccharin and other crazy chemicals you can cram in there but not natural sugar, that’s to blame…..this will fix everything wrong with our health. I suppose ok long as they don’t ban my coffee, booze or smokes. I can always just eat more candy)

By JENNIFER PELTZ and DAVID B. CARUSO, APNEW YORK — New York City's Board of Health opened up a new, experimental front in the war on obesity Thursday, passing a rule banning sales of big sodas and other sugary drinks at restaurants, concession stands and other eateries.

The regulation, which was proposed in the spring by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and approved by panel of health experts after several months of review, puts a 16-ounce size limit on cups and bottles of non-diet soda, sweetened teas, and other calorie-packed beverages.

The ban will apply in fast-food joints, movie houses and Broadway theaters, workplace cafeterias, and most other places selling prepared food.

It doesn't cover beverages sold in supermarkets or most convenience stores.

The restaurant and beverage industries have assailed the plan as misguided. They say the city's health experts are exaggerating the role sugary beverages have played in making Americans fat.

One board member, Dr. Sixto R. Caro, abstained from voting. The other eight board members voted yes.

"I am still skeptical. . This is not comprehensive enough," said Caro, a doctor of internal medicine who practices in Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Some New Yorkers have also ridiculed the rule as a gross government intrusion and tens of thousands signed a petition, circulated by the industry, voicing their opposition.

The unprecedented regulation would follow other ambitious health moves on Bloomberg's watch.

Some have proven to be national pacesetters, such as making chain restaurants post calorie counts prominently on their menus; McDonald's announced Wednesday that it would start displaying the information nationwide next week, before a federal requirement that could force all major chains to do so next year.

New York City also has barred artificial trans fats from restaurant food and taken aggressive steps to discourage smoking. Starting this month, dozens of city hospitals are asking mothers of newborns to listen to talks about why they should breast-feed instead of using formula.

Bloomberg and other advocates for the soda plan — who include a roster of doctors and such food figures as chef Jamie Oliver — see it as another pioneering step for public health.

After Thursday's vote, Bloomberg's official Twitter feed tweeted: "NYC's new sugary drink policy is the single biggest step any gov't has taken to curb (hash)obesity. It will help save lives."

They say the proposal strikes at a leading cause of obesity simply by giving people a built-in reason to stop at 16 ounces: 200 calories, if it's a regular Coke, compared to 240 in a 20-ounce size. For someone who drinks a soda a day, the difference amounts to 14,600 calories a year, or the equivalent of 70 Hershey bars, enough to add about four pounds of fat to a person's body.

Beyond the numbers, some doctors and nutrition experts say the proposal starts a conversation that could change attitudes toward overeating. While there are many factors in obesity, "ultimately it does come down to culture, and it comes down to taking some first steps," said Dr. Jeffrey Mechanick, a Mount Sinai School of Medicine professor who has studied the effect of government regulation on the obesity epidemic.

Soda makers and sellers say the plan unfairly singles out soft drinks as culprits for the nation's fat problem, represents an overweening government effort to regulate behavior and is so patchy as to be pointless. Because of the web of who regulates what, it would affect a belly-buster regular soda sold at a sports arena but not a 7-Eleven Big Gulp, for instance.

An average New Yorker goes to the movies about four times per year and buys concessions only twice, said Sun Dee Larson, a spokeswoman for the AMC Theatres chain.

"We firmly believe the choices made during the other 363 days have a much greater impact on public health," she said in a statement.

Thursday's vote is unlikely to be the final word on the proposal.

A soft-drink industry sponsored group called New Yorkers for Beverage Choices — which says it has gathered more than 250,000 signatures on petitions opposing the soda plan — is considering a lawsuit and exploring legislative options for challenging the plan.

"This is not the end," Eliot Hoff, a spokesman for the group, said in a written statement. "We will continue to voice our opposition to this ban and fight for the right of New Yorkers to make their own choices. And we will stand with the business owners who will be hurt by these arbitrary limitations."

It's not clear what legislative routes there may be: City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said Wednesday she's not interested in trying to block the expected health board vote, though she has said she isn't a fan of the soda idea.

The rule wouldn't apply to lower-calorie drinks, such as water or diet soda, or to alcoholic beverages or drinks that are more than half milk or 70 percent, unsweetened juice.

Enforcement would be conducted by an existing corps of city restaurant inspectors. A violation would lead to a $200 fine.

Pittsburgh ice cream 'bank' draws regulator's ire

PITTSBURGH — State regulators are cool on a Pittsburgh businessman's idea for a bank that pays interest in ice cream shop gift cards.

The Pennsylvania Department of Banking says they want Ethan Clay to shut down the community bank he's set up at Oh Yeah! ice cream and coffee shop.

Clay says he was motivated by unpleasant bank experiences to provide a simplified community bank offering savings accounts, check-cashing and loans. He calls the venture Whalebone Cafe Bank.

Clay tells the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ( http://bit.ly/PljOGx) he's not subject to the usual banking rules because his "bank" is actually a gift card program that pays out its 5.5 percent monthly interest in a made-up currency that can be used at his store.

Regulators are unmoved. Banking department spokesman Ed Novak says if Clay doesn't close down "he will be hearing from the district attorney."

US identifies anti-Muslim filmmaker

(cause nothin says conservative Christian love like a rousing game of mock the prophet. I ask you where are the antichristian filmakers? The antiBuddhist ? or the exotic antiatheist? Soo  many hateful films waiting to be made with no one to lift their banner high and shout their undying hatred to the cold and unyielding heavens. But seriously how much more pissed off can the Muslim world be? What’s next? Somebody gonna publish a giant mural of Mohammed chugging a beer wearing a rebel flag tee shirt and pink spangle capri pants, riding a Pig ? maybe if we all work really, really hard we can get ourselves a right proper holy war going here culminating in an all out knock down dragged out Armageddon. Of course everyone involved with this is being so level headed and reasonable here, there will no doubt be many imitators to follow.)

By STEPHEN BRAUN and EILEEN SULLIVAN, APWASHINGTON — Federal authorities identified a Southern California man who is on federal probation for financial crimes as the key figure behind an anti-Muslim film that has spawned mob violence against American embassies across the Mideast, a U.S. law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Thursday.

There was no sign of Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, 55, at his family's home Thursday in Cerritos outside Los Angeles, as details slowly began to emerge about his checkered past, his connections among southern California's right-wing Christian organizations and his central role in the production of the film.

Excerpts from the movie, which the filmmaker said was called "Innocence of Muslims," enraged Islamic protesters in Egypt, Libya and Yemen over its portrayal of the prophet Muhammad.

Attorney General Eric Holder confirmed Thursday that the Justice Department had opened a criminal investigation into the deaths of the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other diplomats killed during an attack on the American mission in Benghazi. It was not immediately clear whether authorities were focusing on Nakoula as part of that probe.

Much about the film remains a mystery, including who financed it. Several actors have come forward and claimed they were duped about their roles, and that incendiary language was dubbed over their lines.

The permit to shoot the film, normally a public document, is being withheld at the "request of federal authorities, who have cited public safety concerns," according to Ryan Alsop, assistant chief executive office for Los Angeles County. He did not elaborate. Such permits normally contain little more than logistical information.

Questions remained about whether Nakoula's filmmaking and Internet distribution activities might have violated his federal probation and send him back to prison.

Nakoula pleaded no contest in 2010 to federal bank fraud charges in California and was ordered to pay more than $790,000 in restitution. He was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison and ordered not to use computers, the Internet or online user or screen names for five years without approval from his probation officer. He is still on probation, according to court records.

The YouTube account under the username "Sam Bacile," which was used to publish excerpts of the provocative movie in July, was used again as recently as this week.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Administrative Office of the Courts, which oversees federal probation offices, and a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Los Angeles, which prosecuted Nakoula, declined Thursday to discuss his case. Under court rules, the government can ask a judge to send a convict back to prison if there is probable cause to show that probation conditions were violated.

"You don't have the same First Amendment or Fourth Amendment rights than when you're not on probation," said Jennifer Granick, a criminal defense lawyer who specializes in online crimes. "Until you're done with supervision, you don't have full rights. They can search you without a warrant."

The law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because this official was not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation, confirmed the AP's earlier reporting that Nakoula was connected to the persona of Sam Bacile, a figure who initially claimed to be the writer and director of the film. Bacile turned out to be a false identity, and the AP tracked a cellphone number used by Bacile to a home in Cerritos where it found Nakoula.

Sheriff's deputies were called to Nakoula's property overnight, though Los Angeles County sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said Nakoula was not in protective custody. He said county authorities were present because roughly two dozen reporters and film crews were waiting to interview Nakoula.

Nakoula told the AP that he is Coptic Christian.

An official of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Los Angeles said in a statement Thursday that the church's adherents had no involvement in the "inflammatory movie about the prophet of Islam." The official, identified as Bishop Serapion of the Coptic Orthodox of Los Angeles, said that "the producers of this movie should be responsible for their actions. The name of our blessed parishioners should not be associated with the efforts of individuals who have ulterior motives."

Egypt's Christian Coptic populace has long decried what they describe as a history of discrimination and occasional violence from the country's Muslim majority.

Coptic Christians belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the largest Christian church in Egypt.

Once a majority in Egypt, Coptic Christians now make up about 10 percent of the country's 85 million people. They are the largest Christian community in the Middle East. Many Egyptian Christians fled to the U.S. to escape what they say is religious discrimination in the majority Muslim nation.