Afghan Warlord Ismail Khan’s Call to Arms Rattles Kabul

Bryan Denton for The New York Times

Supporters of Ismail Khan gathered outside Herat city on Nov. 1.

HERAT, Afghanistan — One of the most powerful mujahedeen commanders in Afghanistan, Ismail Khan, is calling on his followers to reorganize and defend the country against the Taliban as Western militaries withdraw, in a public demonstration of faltering confidence in the national government and the Western-built Afghan National Army.

Mr. Khan is one of the strongest of a group of warlords who defined the country’s recent history in battling the Soviets, the Taliban and one another, and who then were brought into President Hamid Karzai’s cabinet as a symbol of unity. Now, in announcing that he is remobilizing his forces, Mr. Khan has rankled Afghan officials and stoked fears that other regional and factional leaders will follow suit and rearm, weakening support for the government and increasing the likelihood of civil war.

This month, Mr. Khan rallied thousands of his supporters in the desert outside Herat, the cultured western provincial capital and the center of his power base, urging them to coordinate and reactivate their networks. And he has begun enlisting new recruits and organizing district command structures.

“We are responsible for maintaining security in our country and not letting Afghanistan be destroyed again,” Mr. Khan, the minister of energy and water, said at a news conference over the weekend at his office in Kabul. But after facing criticism, he took care not to frame his action as defying the government: “There are parts of the country where the government forces cannot operate, and in such areas the locals should step forward, take arms and defend the country.”

President Karzai and his aides, however, were not greeting it as an altruistic gesture. The governor of Herat Province called Mr. Khan’s reorganization an illegal challenge to the national security forces. And Mr. Karzai’s spokesman, Aimal Faizi, tersely criticized Mr. Khan.

“The remarks by Ismail Khan do not reflect the policies of the Afghan government,” Mr. Faizi said. “The government of Afghanistan and the Afghan people do not want any irresponsible armed grouping outside the legitimate security forces structures.”

In Kabul, Mr. Khan’s provocative actions have played out in the news media and brought a fierce reaction from some members of Parliament, who said the warlords were preparing to take advantage of the American troop withdrawal set for 2014.

“People like Ismail Khan smell blood,” Belqis Roshan, a senator from Farah Province, said in an interview. “They think that as soon as foreign forces leave Afghanistan, once again they will get the chance to start a civil war, and achieve their ominous goals of getting rich and terminating their local rivals.”

Indeed, Mr. Khan’s is not the only voice calling for a renewed alliance of the mujahedeen against the Taliban, and some of the others are just as familiar.

Marshal Muhammad Qasim Fahim, an ethnic Tajik commander who is President Karzai’s first vice president, said in a speech in September, “If the Afghan security forces are not able to wage this war, then call upon the mujahedeen.”

Another prominent mujahedeen fighter, Ahmad Zia Massoud, said in an interview at his home in Kabul that people were worried about what was going to happen after 2014, and he was telling his own followers to make preliminary preparations.

“They don’t want to be disgraced again,” Mr. Massoud said. “Everyone tries to have some sort of Plan B. Some people are on the verge of rearming.”

He pointed out that it was significant that the going market price of Kalashnikov assault rifles had risen to about $1,000, driven up by demand from a price of $300 a decade ago. “Every household wants to have an AK-47 at home,” he said.

“The mujahedeen come here to meet me,” Mr. Massoud added. “They tell me they are preparing. They are trying to find weapons. They come from villages, from the north of Afghanistan, even some people from the suburbs of Kabul, and say they are taking responsibility for providing private security in their neighborhood.”

Habib Zahori and Jawad Sukhanyar contributed reporting from Herat, Afghanistan, and an employee of The New York Times from Kabul.

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Ads are Invading Gadgets and Apps that You Already Paid For

Most of us are used to seeing ads on stuff that we get for free, like smartphone and tablet apps or online news websites. But you’re probably also used to being able to pay to remove ads, whether by getting the premium version of an app or even upgrading to a new computer that doesn’t have so much garbage on it.

As it turns out, this strategy doesn’t work so well anymore. That’s because companies are starting to put “special offers” all over things that you buy … and this time, it’s not just the usual preinstalled trashware. Here’s a look at some of the latest strikes in the war for your attention.

​Microsoft: Xbox Music and Xbox Live

Last year’s redesign of the Xbox 360 dashboard featured prominent ads, including videos that played automatically, even if you were paying for a $ 60/year Xbox Live Gold membership. This year, Microsoft introduced its new Xbox Music Pass, which allows you to stream millions of songs to your Xbox 360 or Windows 8 PC. It has an ad-supported free trial mode, which lets you listen to songs (and ads) for free for the first six months before imposing a monthly listening limit.

But according to Neowin.net editor Owen Williams, the ads stay even if you pay $ 99 per year for the subscription service. On top of that, you can’t use Xbox Music on the actual Xbox at all (beyond a 30-day trial) unless you ​also​ pay for an Xbox Live Gold Subscription. That’s almost $ 160 per year for two separate subscriptions, and in return you apparently get twice the ads.

​Microsoft: Windows 8

If the ads in the Xbox Music service aren’t enough, Microsoft has also put ads all over its Windows 8 operating system. Whether you buy a new Surface tablet or you pay for the upgrade from Windows 7 such as through buying a separate boxed copy, you still have to contend with ads in “many of the bundled [Modern] UI applications,” according to Williams.

​Amazon: The entire Kindle lineup

Amazon began selling Kindle e-readers with “special offers” a while back. These appeared on the lock screen, and replaced the normal screen saver, which was more literary.

When Amazon announced its new lineup of Kindle Fire HD tablets not too long ago, it turned out that every single one of them had advertisements. Not just on the lock screen, but now even in a corner on the home screen while you’re browsing through your books and apps.

At the time, Amazon wasn’t offering any way to get rid of these ads on the new Kindle Fire HD, but the company now gives people the option to buy Kindles sans ads for an extra $ 15. That won’t help you with in-app ads, though, if you use free apps.

Jared Spurbeck is an open-source software enthusiast, who uses an Android phone and an Ubuntu laptop PC. He has been writing about technology and electronics since 2008.

Linux/Open Source News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Robert Pattinson & Kristen Stewart Attend Breaking Dawn - Part 2 Premiere Together

11/12/2012 at 10:45 PM EST

Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson

Matt Sayles/Invision/AP

Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart are back together – as a couple and now on the red carpet.

On Monday night, they attended their first public Hollywood event together since the cheating scandal that rocked their relationship in July.

The occasion, of course, was the Los Angeles premiere of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2.

Stewart, 22, and Pattinson, 26 – who split after she had a tryst with her Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders, but later reconciled – walked the carpet amid cheers from throngs of fans at the Nokia Theater L.A. LIVE.

The couple, who posed side-by-side, even complimented each other in their glamorous duds: She wore a light brown gown and he donned a slim-fitting forest green suit.

Twihards have been anxiously awaiting the couple's public debut – and of course, the final installment of the Twilight series, which opens Friday.

Until the film's premiere, the couple had only united away from the fans for media interviews or to quietly duck into parties.

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British medical journal slams Roche on Tamiflu

LONDON (AP) — A leading British medical journal is asking the drug maker Roche to release all its data on Tamiflu, claiming there is no evidence the drug can actually stop the flu.

The drug has been stockpiled by dozens of governments worldwide in case of a global flu outbreak and was widely used during the 2009 swine flu pandemic.

On Monday, one of the researchers linked to the BMJ journal called for European governments to sue Roche.

"I suggest we boycott Roche's products until they publish missing Tamiflu data," wrote Peter Gotzsche, leader of the Nordic Cochrane Centre in Copenhagen. He said governments should take legal action against Roche to get the money back that was "needlessly" spent on stockpiling Tamiflu.

Last year, Tamiflu was included in a list of "essential medicines" by the World Health Organization, a list that often prompts governments or donor agencies to buy the drug.

Tamiflu is used to treat both seasonal flu and new flu viruses like bird flu or swine flu. WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said the agency had enough proof to warrant its use for unusual influenza viruses, like bird flu.

"We do have substantive evidence it can stop or hinder progression to severe disease like pneumonia," he said.

In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends Tamiflu as one of two medications for treating regular flu. The other is GlaxoSmithKline's Relenza. The CDC says such antivirals can shorten the duration of symptoms and reduce the risk of complications and hospitalization.

In 2009, the BMJ and researchers at the Nordic Cochrane Centre asked Roche to make all its Tamiflu data available. At the time, Cochrane Centre scientists were commissioned by Britain to evaluate flu drugs. They found no proof that Tamiflu reduced the number of complications in people with influenza.

"Despite a public promise to release (internal company reports) for each (Tamiflu) trial...Roche has stonewalled," BMJ editor Fiona Godlee wrote in an editorial last month.

In a statement, Roche said it had complied with all legal requirements on publishing data and provided Gotzsche and his colleagues with 3,200 pages of information to answer their questions.

"Roche has made full clinical study data ... available to national health authorities according to their various requirements, so they can conduct their own analyses," the company said.

Roche says it doesn't usually release patient-level data available due to legal or confidentiality constraints. It said it did not provide the requested data to the scientists because they refused to sign a confidentiality agreement.

Roche is also being investigated by the European Medicines Agency for not properly reporting side effects, including possible deaths, for 19 drugs including Tamiflu that were used in about 80,000 patients in the U.S.

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Online:

www.bmj.com.tamiflu/

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Lobbying effort derails plan for L.A. real estate tax

If Los Angeles City Council members vote Tuesday to place a sales tax hike on next year's ballot, they will have delivered a major victory to the real estate industry.

The city's top budget official spent six months laying the groundwork for a March ballot measure that would have increased the tax on real estate sales, saying it would provide much needed revenue to a city in crisis.

But two weeks ago, City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana abruptly changed course, working with council President Herb Wesson to abandon the real estate measure and push instead for a tax on retail sales, one that would generate twice as much money but also hit working-class Angelenos harder.

That shift followed furious efforts by the region's real estate lobby to kill the proposed tax on property transactions. Those groups sent mailers to voters attacking the idea. And behind the scenes, they presented city leaders with polling numbers saying voters would reject the real estate measure but handily approve a sales tax hike.

The machinations provide the latest example of special interest clout at City Hall. Last month, Councilman Ed Reyes confirmed that his strategy for developing new regulations for digital billboards was first drafted by an outdoor advertising company that is at risk of losing 79 electronic signs.

Harvey Englander, whose lobbying company represents a coalition of 10 real estate groups, said his clients were in "virtually every meeting and conversation" that his firm had with Santana on the tax plan. Those groups wanted to come up with a solution, he said, and not just be "the party of 'no.'" So they made the case that a general sales tax would do more to address the city's financial crisis while spreading the pain more evenly.

"We don't think Realtors should be the only ones to carry the burden. We think everyone should," Englander added.

Wesson unveiled his sales tax plan Oct. 30, a day before the vote to draft measures for the March 5 ballot. Advocates for working-class residents complained they were not consulted on the proposal, which would add a half-cent tax to every dollar in taxable sales.

"We have the real estate industry funding what is clearly not an unbiased third-party poll to provide cover for elected officials to do their bidding," said Larry Gross, executive director of the Coalition for Economic Survival. He assailed the proposal as harmful to low-income residents.

Wesson said the sales tax hike, if approved, would provide more than twice as much money as a real estate tax measure — effectively erasing next year's $216-million budget shortfall. He offered few details about the origins of the proposal, saying he backed it after talking to people in "various political campaigns."

Asked to specifically identify them, Wesson spokesman Ed Johnson responded: "He talks to a lot of people."

Santana said it was "no secret" that he had been talking with Englander and the city's real estate groups over the last two months. But he downplayed their influence, saying the biggest factor in getting the sales tax hike on the ballot will probably be the fact that so many similar measures were approved in other cities in last week's election.

"We welcome a dialogue with anybody that wants to talk about it," he added.

Santana first recommended a real estate sales tax hike to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the council in April, as part of his three-year financial rescue plan. In that 52-page report, he called for two March ballot measures: a doubling of the tax on real estate sales and a hike in the parking tax from 10% to 15%. Together, he said, the measures would generate up to $150 million annually.

Real estate groups opposed the increase, saying it would wreak havoc in a city reeling from foreclosures and declining home values. They formed the nonprofit advocacy group Los Angeles Citizens Against Discriminatory Taxes, with Englander's firm as their representative.

At Santana's urging, the council voted in August to analyze the real estate and parking tax measures. He and Chief Legislative Analyst Gerry Miller discarded the idea of a general sales tax increase, saying such a move could send consumers outside the city.

"People vote with their dollars," Santana told the council at the time. "And ultimately, there would be an argument made that people would simply go to Glendale or to Beverly Hills or to ... another part of the county to purchase their items."

Real estate agents kept up the pressure, sending voters more than 100,000 pieces of mail denouncing the proposal. Laura Olhasso, speaking for three real estate groups, told the council the industry had a poll showing that 70% of voters opposed the real estate tax hike after learning the money would go toward public safety, street repairs, keeping city workers employed and avoiding municipal bankruptcy.

"We'd be happy to meet with you and show it to you so you can see it yourself," she told the council.

Santana again backed the real estate tax on Oct. 17. This time, he reworked it in an attempt to win over the real estate industry, promising that the tax increases would only apply to home sales worth more than $365,000.

Real estate boards oppose that plan too, Englander said. And they responded by offering more polling data.

A second poll commissioned by the industry concluded that a sales tax hike would garner support "in the high 50s" from likely voters — a much better response than the real estate measure, Englander said. A third found 64% of likely voters favored or were leaning toward a half-cent sales tax hike, one pitched as a way to preserve public safety.

Englander said he informed Wesson and Santana of the results. With the sales tax hike now on the verge of reaching the ballot, backers will need to find someone to help run the campaign.

Asked if he would be interested in the job, Englander responded: "Absolutely."

david.zahniser@latimes.com

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The New Islamists: Tunisia Battles Over Pulpits and a Revolution’s Legacy

Moises Saman for The New York Times

Female students at the Grand Mosque in Kairouan, Tunisia, a site of anti-Western sermons.

KAIROUAN, Tunisia — On the Friday after Tunisia’s president fell, Mohamed al-Khelif mounted the pulpit of this city’s historic Grand Mosque to deliver a full-throttle attack on the country’s corrupt culture, to condemn its close ties with the West and to demand that a new constitution implement Shariah, or Islamic law.

“They’ve slaughtered Islam!” thundered Dr. Khelif, whom the ousted government had barred from preaching for 20 years. “Whoever fights Islam and implements Western plans becomes in the eyes of Western politicians a blessed leader and a reformer, even if he was the most criminal leader with the dirtiest hands.”

Mosques across Tunisia blazed with similar sermons that day and, indeed, every Friday since, in what has become the battle of the pulpit, a heated competition to define Tunisia’s religious and political identity.

Revolution freed the country’s estimated 5,000 officially sanctioned mosques from the rigid controls of the previous government, which appointed every prayer leader and issued lists of acceptable topics for their Friday sermons.

That system pushed a moderate, apolitical model of Islam that avoided confronting a dictator. When the system collapsed last year, ultraconservative Salafis seized control of up to 500 mosques by government estimates. The government, a proponent of a more temperate political Islam, says it has since wrested back control of all but 70 of the mosques, but acknowledges it has not yet routed the extremists nor thwarted their agenda.

“Before, the state suffocated religion — they controlled the imams, the sermons, the mosques,” said Sheik Tai’eb al-Ghozzi, the Friday Prayer leader at the Grand Mosque here. “Now everything is out of control — the situation is better but needs control.”

To this day, Salafi clerics like Dr. Khelif, who espouse the most puritanical, most orthodox interpretation of Islam, hammer on favorite themes that include putting Islamic law into effect immediately, veiling women, outlawing alcohol, shunning the West and joining the jihad in Syria. Democracy, they insist, is not compatible with Islam.

“If the majority is ignorant of religious instruction, then they are against God,” said Sheik Khatib al-Idrissi, 60, considered the spiritual guide of all Tunisian Salafis. “If the majority is corrupt, how can we accept them? Truth is in the governance of God.”

The battle for Tunisia’s mosques is one front in a broader struggle, as pockets of extremism take hold across the region. Freshly minted Islamic governments largely triumphed over their often fractious, secular rivals in postrevolutionary elections. But those new governments are locked in fierce, sometimes violent, competition with the more hard-line wing of the Islamic political movements over how much of the faith can mix with democracy, over the very building blocks of religious identity. That competition is especially significant in Tunisia, once the most secular of the Arab nations, with a large educated middle class and close ties to Europe.

The Arab Spring began in Tunisia, and its ability to reconcile faith and governance may well serve as a barometer for the region.

Some analysts link the assertive Tunisian Salafi movement to what they consider a worrying spread of violent extremism across North Africa — including an affiliate of Al Qaeda seizing control of northern Mali; a murderous attack on the American diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya; a growing jihadi force facing Israel in the Sinai; and a mob looting an American school and parts of the United States Embassy in Tunis.

Senior government officials said the various groups share an ideology and are in contact with one another, suggesting that while they are scattered and do not coordinate their operations, they reinforce one another’s agendas. There have been several episodes of jihadists caught smuggling small arms from Libya to Mali or Algeria across Tunisia, for example, including two small trucks packed with Kalashnikovs and some manner of shoulder-fired missiles or grenades in June, said Ali Laarayedh, the interior minister.

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HTC shares jump after settles patent issues with Apple

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Shares of HTC Corp jumped by their permitted daily limit on Monday after the Taiwanese smartphone maker announced a global patent settlement and 10-year licensing agreement with Apple Inc, allowing the struggling company to focus on product development.

The settlement would give HTC a short-term boost, analysts suggested, but long-term performance would still depend on the company’s ability to deliver competitive products to grab back some of the market share it has lost to Apple and South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co.

HTC’s shares opened up by the maximum allowed 6.86 percent at T$ 241.50, and remained at that level in morning trade in a broader market that slipped 0.15 percent.

The shares have bounced 24.5 percent from a closing low of T$ 194 two weeks ago, which was the lowest since 2005 before the company transformed into a top brand from an obscure contract maker. But the shares remain some 80 percent below their record high last April.

HTC and Apple’s settlement and licensing agreement on Saturday ended one of the first major conflagrations of the smartphone patent wars. The California giant sued HTC in 2010, its first major legal salvo against a manufacturer that used Google’s Android operating system.

“The licensing agreement is beneficial to HTC’s future product development, especially in the U.S. market,” said Gartner analyst C.K. Lu.

“The settlement is positive to the consumer image of both camps (Apple and Google) as they are now unlocked from a constant patent war.”

The two companies did not disclose details of the settlement or the licensing agreement, but HTC said the agreement will not impact its financials and it will not change its fourth-quarter guidance.

HTC said last month it expected its fourth-quarter revenue to be about T$ 60 billion ($ 2.05 billion), down from T$ 70.2 billion in the third quarter and below expectations of T$ 74.0 billion in a poll of 23 analysts by Reuters.

It expected a gross margin and an operating margin of around 23 percent and 1 percent, respectively, falling from 25 percent and 7 percent in the previous quarter.

The company said the operating margin would be hit by higher spending on marketing.

Analysts’ forecasts on how much HTC needs to pay Apple range from “not a very high price” to as much as over $ 10 per phone, though they remain best guesses, based partly on the assumed $ 10 royalty that phone makers pay Microsoft per Windows 7 phone, and on the $ 5-6 dollar that Android phone makers are believed to pay Microsoft after a separate lawsuit last year.

However, some analysts warn that HTC’s other challenges outweigh the settlement.

Its phones have lost a lot of their appeal among consumers as Apple’s iPhones and Samsung’s Galaxy series dominate shopping lists, drawing parallels with the decline of Finland’s Nokia, once one of the dominant mobile phone players.

“Nokia settled with Apple in 2011 by winning royalties from Apple, but it did not change the landscape at all for smartphone competition. Samsung continued to win market share despite the losses to Apple,” wrote Barclays analyst Dale Gai in a research note.

“We believe the lawsuits remain non-events in terms of HTC’s fundamentals. HTC’s challenges remain and could get worse into 2013 from more competition.”

(Editing by Jonathan Standing)

Wireless News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Tori Spelling Introduces Son Finn Davey

Mom & Babies
Celebrity Baby Blog

11/11/2012 at 08:00 PM ET

Michael Simon/Startraks

Meet Finn Davey McDermott!

Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott introduce their fourth child, posing inside the 10-week-old’s nursery in a set of recently released photos.

After a difficult pregnancy that included hospitalization and bedrest due to placenta previa, the actress delivered her son via c-section at 37 weeks.

“I would rub my belly and talk to Finn. I kept telling him, ‘We’re going to be fine’ and ‘I can’t wait to hold you,’” Spelling, 39, tells PEOPLE.

Now happy and healthy at home, Finn joins siblings Hattie, 13 months, Stella, 4, and Liam, 5½, as well as Jack, 14, McDermott’s son from a prior marriage.

Check back Monday, when PEOPLE.com will have an exclusive look at all of Finn’s nursery details.

Michael Simon/Startraks

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Food labels multiply, some confuse consumers

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Want to avoid pesticides and antibiotics in your produce, meat, and dairy foods? Prefer to pay more to make sure farm animals were treated humanely, farmworkers got their lunch breaks, bees or birds were protected by the farmer and that ranchers didn't kill predators?

Food labels claim to certify a wide array of sustainable practices. Hundreds of so-called eco-labels have cropped up in recent years, with more introduced every month — and consumers are willing to pay extra for products that feature them.

While eco-labels can play a vital role, experts say their rapid proliferation and lack of oversight or clear standards have confused both consumers and producers.

"Hundreds of eco labels exist on all kinds of products, and there is the potential for companies and producers to make false claims," said Shana Starobin, a food label expert at Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment.

Eco-labels have multiplied in recent years in response to rising consumer demand for more information about products and increased attention to animal and farmworker welfare, personal health, and the effects of conventional farming on the environment.

"Credible labels can be very helpful in helping people get to what they want to get to and pay more for something they really care about," said Urvashi Rangan, director of consumer safety at Consumer Reports. "The labels are a way to bring the bottom up and force whole industries to improve their practices."

The problem, Rangan and other said, is that few standards, little oversight and a lot of misinformation exist for the growing array of labels.

Some labels, such as the USDA organic certification, have standards set by the federal government to which third party certifiers must adhere. Some involve non-government standards and third-party certification, and may include site visits from independent auditors who evaluate whether a given farm or company has earned the label.

But other labels have little or no standards, or are certified by unknown organizations or by self-interested industry groups. Many labels lack any oversight.

And the problem is global, because California's products get sold overseas and fruits and vegetables from Europe or Mexico with their own eco-labels make it onto U.S. plates.

The sheer number of labels and the lack of oversight create a credibility problem and risk rendering all labels meaningless and diluting demand for sustainably produced goods, Rangan said.

Daniel Mourad of Fresno, a young professional who likes to cook and often shops for groceries at Whole Foods, said he tends to be wary of judging products just by the labels — though sustainable practices are important to him.

"Labels have really confused the public. Some have good intentions, but I don't know if they're really helpful," Mourad said. "Organic may come from Chile, but what does it mean if it's coming from 6,000 miles away? Some local farmers may not be able to afford a label."

In California, voters this week rejected a ballot measure that would have required labels on foods containing genetically modified ingredients.

Farmers like Gena Nonini in Fresno County say labels distinguish them from the competition. Nonini's 100-acre Marian Farms, which grows grapes, almonds, citrus and vegetables, is certified biodynamic and organic, and her raisins are certified kosher.

"For me, the certification is one way of educating people," Nonini said. "It opens a venue to tell a story and to set yourself apart from other farmers out there."

But other farmers say they are reluctant to spend money on yet another certification process or to clutter their product with too much packaging and information.

"I think if we keep adding all these new labels, it tends to be a pile of confusion," said Tom Willey of TD Willey Farms in Madera, Calif. His 75-acre farm, which grows more than 40 different vegetable crops, carries USDA organic certification, but no other labels.

The proliferation of labels, Willey said, is a poor substitute for "people being intimate with the farmers who grow their food." Instead of seeking out more labels, he said, consumers should visit a farmers' market or a farm, and talk directly to the grower.

Since that's still impossible for many urbanites, Consumer Reports has developed a rating system, a database and a web site for evaluating environmental and food labels — one of several such guides that have popped up recently to help consumers.

The guides show that labels such as "natural" and "free range" carry little meaning, because they lack clear standards or a verification system.

Despite this, consumers are willing to pay more for "free range" eggs and poultry, and studies show they value "natural" over "organic," which is governed by lengthy federal regulations.

But some consumers and watchdog groups are becoming more vigilant.

In October, the Animal Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit against Petaluma, Calif., organic egg producer of Judy's Eggs over "free range" claims. The company's packaging depicts a hen ranging on green grass, and the inside reads "these hens are raised in wide open spaces in Sonoma Valley..."

Aerial photos of the farm suggest the chickens actually live in factory-style sheds, according to the lawsuit. Judy and Steve Mahrt, owners of Petaluma Farms, said in a statement that the suit is "frivolous, unfair and untrue," but they did not comment on the specific allegations.

Meanwhile, new labels are popping up rapidly. The Food Justice label, certified via third party audits, guarantees a farm's commitment to fair living wages and adequate living and working conditions for farmworkers. And Wildlife Friendly, another third-party audited program, certifies farmers and ranchers who peacefully co-exist with wolves, coyotes, foxes and other predators.

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Follow Gosia Wozniacka at http://twitter.com/GosiaWozniacka

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Los Angeles' new porn condom law a hot topic in the industry

For the most part, the group assembled in the Sofitel meeting room appeared classically corporate: heavy on suits and button-down shirts, wearing laminated name tags.

Hotel memo pads and pencils were placed on tables for use during panel discussions. Attendees nibbled on pain au chocolat.

Along a wall were slick trade-show banners — including one for the Sex & Mischief line of "fantasy-play accessories." It featured a black-and-white photo of a stylish woman, smiling, clad in a collar and leash.

Such was the extent of raciness on display at the industry summit hosted last week by the Free Speech Coalition, a trade association for adult entertainment companies.

That this was big business, not back alley, was a point alluded to often during a session on what to do about Measure B, the newly passed Los Angeles County ballot initiative requiring health permits and condom use in porn productions.

There was plenty of talk about lawsuits and of leaving for Las Vegas — of showing L.A. voters what losing 10,000 jobs would look like. One lawyer suggested moving production to another country or even out to sea on "a love boat for real."

Still, participants conceded that part of what had landed them with voter-imposed regulations they did not want and insist they do not need was their own discomfort with stepping out of the shadows and exposing the way they do business.

"All those years of being under the radar means people could walk all over us," said Diane Duke, head of the Free Speech Coalition.

Jessica Drake, a porn actress and director, floated into the summit in a black pantsuit with a deep V-necked blouse, perfect waves of blond hair cascading down her back. She came not just to talk Measure B but also to attend an evening banquet where she was to receive the coalition's Positive Image Award for a female performer. (Drake is about to visit Haiti, not for the first time. She said she works with a charity but declined to name it for fear of giving it negative publicity.)

She has worked for Wicked Pictures for 10 years. Drake directs as many as eight movies a year and stars in seven more. She described her most recent vehicle, "$ex," as a "futuristic story about the collapse of the financial system" in which she plays Annika, a high-priced call girl with a laser-scannable bar code on her wrist. Most of what Wicked produces is plot-driven, she said, featuring sex that "means something."

Wicked has a 100% condom-only policy. But other companies — whether they use condoms or not, Drake said — follow the industry standard of requiring performers to be tested every 14 to 28 days for HIV, chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis.

"I'm so clean, I squeak," said porn star Kylie Ireland of her 17 years of tests for about 480 films. (She now also does production design, and said the "big thing" is "superhero porn" such as "Avengers XXX" and "Iron Man XXX.")

Measure B's enforcement details still have to be worked out, although some producers said the cost of the permit fees, which will pay for the inspections, will break them.

Also worrisome, they said, were requirements that any producer of adult films take a blood-borne pathogen training course and submit an "exposure control plan."

Measure B repeatedly references the state's regulations for occupational exposure to blood and other potentially infectious materials, which include requirements that employers provide "protective equipment."

Ireland and others painted a picture of porn stars decked out in goggles and gloves. That might work for a "Blade Runner"-style plot but not for most of what they produce, they said.

Ireland, a curvaceous redhead, put it this way: "It's going to make it so it's impossible for us to make the kind of porn that you want to watch."

nita.lelyveld@latimes.com

Follow Lelyveld's City Beat on Twitter @latimescitybeat or on Facebook at Los Angeles Times City Beat.

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