Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Romney Lets Loose on 'Failed Leader' Gingrich (ABC News)

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[OOC] taste of chaos

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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

West displays Gulf military power to defiant Iran (AP)

TEHRAN, Iran ? Military power near the strategic Strait of Hormuz could be bolstered by additional British forces, the country's defense secretary said Tuesday, as a defiant Iran shrugged off Europe's oil embargo and moved ahead with plans to hold naval exercises alongside the oil tanker shipping lanes it has threatened to block.

Tehran's bravado was in sharp contrast to the widening international pressures seeking to curb its nuclear program.

Australia became the latest country to shun Iranian oil, and the European Union's foreign policy chief traveled to Israel for talks certain to convey the West's belief that increasing economic isolation, rather than a push toward military action, is the most effective tool against Iran's leadership.

Iran also has accused Israel of masterminding a series of covert attacks such as a malicious computer virus designed to infiltrate uranium enrichment labs and targeted slayings of members of Iran's scientific community. Israel has made no direct comments on the claims, but dangled hints that clandestine operations are possible by Iran's many foes.

The EU on Monday joined Washington in backing sanctions targeting Iran's vital oil industry, which accounts for about 80 percent of its foreign currency revenues. The vote in Brussels came a day after a Western flotilla ? two British and French warships and the American aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln's battle group ? entered the Gulf in a show of force against any Iranian attempts to disrupt the route for one-fifth of the world's oil.

Iran's commanders, meanwhile, are preparing their own message. Plans remain in place for the powerful Revolutionary Guard to send its maritime forces for maneuvers next month in the Strait, which is jointly controlled by Iran and Oman and has become the latest flashpoint for a potential military confrontation.

"Elements within the European Union, by pursuing the policies of the U.S. and adopting a hostile approach, are seeking to create tensions with the Islamic Republic of Iran," the official Islamic Republic News Agency quoted Ali Asghar Khaji, a senior foreign ministry official, as saying. He called the EU decision "irrational."

But other Iranian officials claimed the sanctions would not work ? and could even benefit OPEC giant Iran by driving up crude prices.

"The oil embargo will lead to higher prices. Europe will be the loser and Iran will earn more because of high prices," Iran's oil ministry spokesman, Alireza Nikzad Rahbar, told state TV.

Iran also summoned the Danish ambassador in Tehran over the EU's oil embargo. Denmark currently holds the EU presidency.

In London, Britain's Defense Secretary Philip Hammond said his country was ready to strengthen its military presence in the Gulf if needed.

The U.S.-led convoy of warships now in the Gulf ? which included Britain's HMS Argyll frigate and France's frigate La Motte Picquet ? sent "a clear signal about the resolve of the international community to defend the right of free passage through international waters," Hammond told reporters.

"We also maintain mine-counter measures vessels in the Gulf, which are an important part of the overall allied presence there, and of course the U.K. has a contingent capability to reinforce that presence should at any time it be considered necessary to do so," he added, accusing Iran of working "flat out" to produce a nuclear weapon.

Iran insists its atomic program is only aimed at producing energy and research, but has repeatedly refused to consider giving up its ability to enrich uranium. The U.S. and allies fear it could use its stockpile to one day produce weapons-grade material.

Hammond declined to offer specific details on what forces are currently in the Gulf, but said it had about 1,500 Navy personnel in the region east of Suez, which includes the Middle East and Indian Ocean, and a Royal Air Force base in Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean.

Four anti-mine vessels are based out of Bahrain, which is also the base for the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. Britain also has two frigates ? including HMS Argyll ? three support ships, a survey vessel and one hunter-killer nuclear submarine in the region, the ministry said.

Last year, the U.K. created a Response Force Task Group ? drawn from a pool of warships and marines ? that can be deployed at short notice.

In Paris, French military spokesman Col. Thierry Burkhard said the French warship, which specializes in countering submarine attacks, has since separated from the British and American vessels, but remains on a "presence mission" in the Gulf.

France doesn't have plans to deploy more forces to the zone, said Burkhard, noting that France has a small base in the United Arab Emirates, which currently houses six Rafale warplanes and about 650 troops, including an infantry battalion.

The United States and allies already have warned they would take swift action against any Iranian moves to choke off the 30-mile (50-kilometer) wide Strait of Hormuz. The foreign minister from the wealthy Gulf state of Qatar ? which has close ties with the West and Iran ? called the waterway an international corridor that "belongs to the world."

"We hope the tensions over Hormuz disappear," Hamad bin Jassim told the Qatari newspaper Al-Arab.

But the primary objective of Western leaders appears to be waging an economic battle to weaken Iran's resolve.

In Israel, the EU's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton began a three-day visit with a public agenda dominated by the stalled peace effort with Palestinians. The Western efforts to squeeze Iran, however, could overshadow the talks.

Washington and its European allies appear to strongly favor the path of tighter sanctions and diplomatic pressures on Iran. Evidence of its impact ? a plummeting Iranian currency and Iran's Asian oil customers considering looking elsewhere ? are used to counter calls by Israeli hard-liners and others for possible military strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities.

Ashton urged Iran to resume negotiations with world powers that broke off last year. Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak lauded the tighter European sanctions but appealed for even harsher measures.

"We think these are decisions in the right direction," he told reporters. "But it is very important to tighten them even more and add steps against the central bank and additional steps in order to force the Iranians to quickly reach a decision point of are they going to stop the military nuclear program or face the consequences of not stopping it."

In London, Australia's foreign minister, Kevin Rudd, said his country would join the EU's oil embargo though it was mostly a symbolic act since Australia imports very little Iranian oil. The 27-nation EU had been importing about 450,000 barrels of oil per day from Iran, making up 18 percent of Iran's oil exports.

Iran's Oil Ministry said the country can find new markets, though U.S. officials have been pressing Tehran's main Asian oil markets to turn away from Iran.

China ? which counts on Iran as its third-biggest oil supplier ? has rejected sanctions and called for negotiations over Iran's nuclear program. South Korea, which relies on Iran for up to 10 percent of its oil supplies, also has been noncommittal on sanctions.

Japan, which imports about 9 percent of its oil from Iran, has not made a decision on whether to reduce its imports. Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba told parliament Tuesday that Japan hoped to cooperate with the international community, but stressed the need to keep oil prices stable while making sanctions effective.

___

Murphy reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers David Stringer and Meera Selva in London, Jamey Keaten in Paris and Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/energy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_bi_ge/ml_iran

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Katherine Heigl 'Sometimes' Sorry She Left 'Grey's Anatomy' (omg!)

Katherine Heigl with daughter Naleigh on 'The View,' New York City, January 23, 2012 -- ABC

Katherine Heigl admitted on Monday that - at times -- she regrets having left "Grey's Anatomy."

"Oh yeah, sometimes," she said on Monday's "The View," when Barbara Walters asked the "One for the Money" actress if she was sorry she left the ABC drama.

PLAY IT NOW: Katherine Heigl Says Its ?Make It Or Break It? With ?One For The Money?

"You miss it -- I miss it," Katherine continued as she cuddled daughter Naleigh, who earlier ran up on stage and decided to join her mom's interview. "I miss my friends. It was a great work environment in that we all got along really well, and it becomes a family. I spent six years with these people every day... We grew up in a way."

Katherine said she has not been asked back yet to play Dr. Izzie Stevens, a role she left in 2010, but she would be willing to rejoin the fold.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: From Blonde To ?Grey? - Katherine Heigl

"I think that for me, it's sort of... I want them to know that I'm down with it if they want me to, but I completely understand if it doesn't necessarily work into [the story]," she said. "They've got a lot of storylines going on there."

The actress had a headline-raising run during her time on "Grey's," including in 2008, when she withdrew her name from Emmy contention, telling the Los Angeles Times' Gold Derby at the time, "I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination and in an effort to maintain the integrity of the academy organization, I withdrew my name from contention."

She also told USA Today in 2010, after she left "Grey's," that she had started to dislike her character before her departure.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: ?Grey?s Anatomy? Scenes & Stars

"I felt very protective of Izzie. I really loved her," Katherine told the paper in June 2010. "I felt she was an admirable woman who certainly made mistakes. But I was starting to not like her, and that bothered me."

Copyright 2012 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_katherine_heigl_sometimes_sorry_she_left_greys_anatomy190257295/44275440/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/katherine-heigl-sometimes-sorry-she-left-greys-anatomy-190257295.html

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Monday, January 23, 2012

Philbin named Dolphins new head coach (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? The Miami Dolphins named Joe Philbin as the team's new head coach on Friday.

A statement released by chairman of the board and managing general partner Stephen Ross and general manager Jeff Ireland confirmed Philbin as the franchise's 10th head coach.

"We are thrilled to have Joe Philbin join the Miami Dolphins as our head coach," Ross said. "Joe has all the attributes that we were looking for when we started this process.

"Joe was the right choice to bring the Dolphins back to the success we enjoyed in the past. I know I join our fans in welcoming him as the newest member of the Dolphin family."

Philbin has been the offensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers since 2007 and originally joined the team as the assistant offensive line coach in 2003.

"I want to thank Steve Ross and Jeff Ireland for giving me the opportunity to become the head coach of one of the premier franchises in professional sports," said Philbin.

"I also want to thank the Green Bay Packers for all the support the organization has given me during my time there."

Philbin replaces interim head coach Todd Bowles, who took over from Tony Sparano with three games remaining in the season. Sparano had coached Miami since 2008.

"The Dolphins have a strong nucleus to build around, and together we will return the team to its winning tradition," added Philbin.

"I have seen how much the fans in South Florida care about the Dolphins, and that passion is one reason why I'm really excited to be here. I can't wait to get started."

(Reporting by Mike Mouat in Windsor, Ontario. Editing by Alastair Himmer)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120121/sp_nm/us_nfl_dolphins

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House panel says federal prosecutor intends to invoke right to remain silent if summoned (Star Tribune)

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Sunday, January 22, 2012

Developer Spotlight: Marc Bolh of DataVault Password Manager

iMore’s developer spotlights are like DVD/iTunes Extras for the App Store — a weekly look behind the scenes at the programers and designers that bring you the iPhone, iPod touch,


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Video: Obama sings Al Green?s ?Let?s Stay Together?



>>> we are about to show you the video that's gone absolutely viral today. last night president obama was here in new york city for a series of fund raisers. he was at the world-famous apollo theater in harlem. soul legend al green finished performing. to the utter delight of the crowd, the president decided to try a line or two from an al green classic.

>> . i'm so in love with you

>> the president last night at the apollo.

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Saturday, January 21, 2012

Malawi women protest stripping attacks

By msnbc staff and news services

CHOGM via Getty Images file

Malawi President Bungu wa Mutharika on Thursday says he won't tolerate attacks on women for wearing non-traditional dress.

Women in Malawi plan to protest in the streets Friday over recent beatings by street-vendor mobs who beat and stripped naked several women for wearing trousers or miniskirts?instead of the south Africa country's traditional dress.

Malawi's president on Thursday ordered the arrest of anyone who attacks women for their apparel.

"I will not allow anyone to wake up and go on the streets and start undressing women and girls wearing trousers, because that is illegal," President Bingu wa Mutharika told state radio on Thursday. "Every woman and girl has the right to dress the way they wish."

"No one should lie that I have asked vendors to assault women dressed in trousers. It's a lie and I will not allow that," the president said.

Malawi?had laws until 1994 under the autocratic rule of Hastings Banda that banned women from wearing short skirts and men having long hair or flared trousers, the BBC reported.?It dropped the restrictions when multi-party democracy was introduced.

However, this week street vendors attacked several women in Lilongwe and commercial capital Blantyre over their dress, saying they were enforcing a government decree.

Seodi White, a lawyer and leading women's rights activist, told the BBC that?protesters would gather Friday?"in solidarity with the victims and to express our indignation at such barbaric treatment of mothers, wives and daughters of our country".

Malawi's Vice-President Joyce Banda earlier blamed the attacks on Malawi's economic woes, the BBC said.

"There is so much suffering that people have decided to vent their frustrations on each other," she said.

The country faces?severe shortages of fuel and foreign currency, the BBC said.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/19/10191640-malawi-women-protest-stripping-attacks-on-streets-over-wearing-trousers

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Rick vs. Newt: The debate factor

Rick Perry's candidacy failed almost entirely on the weakness of his debate performances, while Newt Gingrich's? is thriving on the strength of his. One problem: a good debater doesn't necessarily make a good president.

I try to be careful not to get into the horse race aspects of things around here, but I thought Gov Perry?s rise and fall was notable in the following sense.

Skip to next paragraph Jared Bernstein

?

Before joining the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities as a senior fellow, Jared was chief economist to Vice President Joseph Biden and executive director of the White House Task Force on the Middle Class. He is a contributor to MSNBC and CNBC and has written numerous books, including 'Crunch: Why Do I Feel So Squeezed?'

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It takes a lot to run an effective primary campaign these days, with money and organization and name recognition often at the top of the list.? But you also need to be a good debater.? Gov Perry wasn?t, and his high scores on those other assets failed to offset that by a Texas mile.

Newt, on the other hand, is a sharp debater.? And his lack of those other attributes, e.g., organization, has, at least for now, been largely offset by his debating prowess.

But here?s the thing: does being a good debater make you a good president?? I can?t see that it does.

The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of the best economy-related bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger, click here. To add or view a comment on a guest blog, please go to the blogger's own site by clicking on jaredbernsteinblog.com.

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Friday, January 20, 2012

Ex-Miss USA appears in Mich. court on DUI charge

Former Miss USA Rima Fakih appears with her attorney William Culpepper before Judge Brigette Officer during a hearing on a drunken driving charge at 30th District Court in Highland Park, Mich. Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. The judge set a March 14 trial date, but lawyers on both sides said they planned to talk in an attempt to resolve the case sooner. (AP Photo/Gary Malerba)

Former Miss USA Rima Fakih appears with her attorney William Culpepper before Judge Brigette Officer during a hearing on a drunken driving charge at 30th District Court in Highland Park, Mich. Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. The judge set a March 14 trial date, but lawyers on both sides said they planned to talk in an attempt to resolve the case sooner. (AP Photo/Gary Malerba)

Former Miss USA Rima Fakih leaves 30th District Court after being ordered to stand trial on a misdemeanor drunken driving charge in Highland Park, Mich. Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. The judge set a March 14 trial date, but lawyers on both sides said they planned to talk in an attempt to resolve the case sooner. (AP Photo/Gary Malerba)

Former Miss USA Rima Fakih appears before Judge Brigette Officer during a hearing and ordered to stand trial on a misdemeanor drunken driving charge at 30th District Court in Highland Park, Mich. Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. The judge set a March 14 trial date, but lawyers on both sides said they planned to talk in an attempt to resolve the case sooner. (AP Photo/Gary Malerba)

Former Miss USA Rima Fakih appears before Judge Brigette Officer during a hearing and ordered to stand trial on a misdemeanor drunken driving charge at 30th District Court in Highland Park, Mich. Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. The judge set a March 14 trial date, but lawyers on both sides said they planned to talk in an attempt to resolve the case sooner. (AP Photo/Gary Malerba)

Former Miss USA Rima Fakih appears with her attorney William Culpepper before Judge Brigette Officer during a hearing on a drunken driving charge at 30th District Court in Highland Park, Mich. Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. The judge set a March 14 trial date, but lawyers on both sides said they planned to talk in an attempt to resolve the case sooner. (AP Photo/Gary Malerba)

(AP) ? A Michigan beauty queen who made headlines two years ago by becoming the first Arab-American crowned Miss USA will stand trial in March on a drunken-driving charge unless a plea deal is reached, a judge said Wednesday.

Judge Brigette Officer set a March 14 trial date for Rima Fakih, who made her first court appearance since the Dec. 3 traffic stop in the Detroit enclave of Highland Park. Fakih, 26, has said she wasn't drinking that night, but two police breath tests put her blood alcohol content at over twice the legal limit.

"I apologize. My lawyer doesn't want me to talk," Fakih told reporters outside court.

Fakih, whose family moved to New York from Lebanon in 1993 and then to Detroit suburb of Dearborn 10 years later, won the Miss USA Pageant in 2010, becoming the first Arab-American to do so. Supporters described her win as a victory for diversity, saying it countered negative stereotypes about people of Middle Eastern descent that have flourished in post-9/11 America.

Fakih's lawyer, W. Otis Culpepper, said he'll prepare for a trial but knows a plea bargain is also possible. He said he anticipates that a "proper conclusion" will be reached.

"Of course she's remorseful," Culpepper said. "She's a model for young women. ... She's a woman of substantial character."

Police said Fakih was driving 60 mph in a 30 mph zone and weaving in and out of traffic before they pulled her over, and that officers found an open bottle of champagne behind the driver's seat of the 2011 Jaguar.

Fakih denied that she had been drinking, but one breath test put her blood alcohol content at 0.20 percent and another put it at 0.19 percent ? both above the legal limit of 0.08. She's charged with drunken driving, careless driving and having an open container of alcohol, all misdemeanors.

Before the hearing, assistant city attorney Mohammed A. Nasser told The Associated Press that he was new to the case and hadn't spoken yet to Culpepper about a settlement.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-01-18-US-Miss-USA-Drunken-Driving/id-0134b87e32cb4bc6a8688ce07db437d2

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U.S. airlines seen profitable despite economic woes (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Most U.S. airlines are poised to report profitable fourth quarters, a trend set to continue in 2012 as cost-cutting and fare hikes help the industry weather rising fuel costs and global economic uncertainty that could hamper travel demand.

Some experts are calling for 2012 margins to improve over last year as airlines focus on lowering non-fuel expenses, continue to retire less-efficient planes and keep a lid on the number of seats they sell.

"We think 2011 finished really well, and 2012 is starting really strongly," said Helane Becker, an analyst with Dahlman Rose & Co.

"We're cautiously optimistic," she said. "But I don't think we're pounding the table on the group."

Southwest Airlines Co (LUV.N) will kick off the fourth-quarter earnings season for U.S. carriers on Thursday. Other major carriers, United Continental Holdings Inc (UAL.N) and Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL.N), are scheduled to report earnings in the next week.

For two years now, airlines have been recovering from a decade-long downturn that saw several airline bankruptcies and mergers. A series of capacity cuts starting in 2008 paved the way for higher fares to help offset spikes in the price of jet fuel.

U.S. airlines posted quarterly profits last year as corporate travel demand held up and fare increases aided yields.

Ray Neidl, aerospace analyst with Maxim Group, said the 10 major U.S. airlines were likely in the black for 2011, with the exception of AMR Corp's (AAMRQ.PK) American Airlines, which filed for Chapter 11 protection in November. AMR will not file a quarterly earnings report alongside its rivals.

Overall, Neidl expects those airlines earned more than $2 billion last year, down from $4.2 billion for 2010.

"I think the airlines can, as an industry excluding American, almost double their profitability up to about over $6 billion" this year, Neidl said. He said price increases that are sticking will help, as will demand for Latin American travel and ancillary revenues such as baggage fees.

Based on data from Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, Delta is expected to report a rise in fourth-quarter profit while Southwest Airlines and United Continental Holdings are likely to post lower earnings. US Airways Group Inc (LCC.N) is projected at breakeven, compared with a 17 cent-a-share profit a year before.

Even so, soaring fuel costs and economic troubles could still disrupt the industry recovery, given their potential ripple effects on business and consumer willingness to travel. Airlines have said European growth, in particular, will be a bit slow as pressures from the euro zone crisis weigh.

"I don't think (air travel demand) will be materially worse this year than last," said Henry Harteveldt, co-founder of Atmosphere Research Group and travel industry analyst. "But a big unknown is the price of jet fuel."

He said higher oil prices could stymie demand from leisure travelers, especially.

Harteveldt said a study by his firm late last year indicated that about 55 percent of travelers intend to take the same number of trips as last year and roughly the same number will spend the same as they did last year.

Still, he added: "I am concerned, though, because there are slightly more people who say they would consider either traveling less or spending less than say they'd consider traveling more or spending more."

Michael McCormick, executive director of the Global Business Travel Association, said international travel should be stronger than domestic travel this year. But he added that a softer spot would be group and meeting travel, where growth in 2012 is expected to slow from 2011.

"Companies are still keeping a close eye on costs and are showing some hesitancy to increase their budgets in areas like group meetings," McCormick said. "There's still a bit of that wait-and-see mentality."'

Basili Alukos, an analyst with Morningstar, said he'll be looking to gauge international travel demand in light of the European crisis. Some big carriers such as Delta Air Lines noted weakness in transatlantic routes in 2011, and have outlined plans to cut capacity in Europe this year.

"That part of the business has been struggling for most of the carriers for the past year and they've been cutting back," Alukos said. "So maybe you'll see some strength."

(Reporting By Karen Jacobs and Kyle Peterson; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120117/bs_nm/us_airlines_outlook

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Thursday, January 19, 2012

Show no fear : daring actions in Canadian military history / edited by Bernd Horn.

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Missing raised to 29 in Italian cruise disaster

An oil removal ship near the cruise ship Costa Concordia, leaning on its side, Monday, Jan. 16, 2012, after running aground near the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, last Friday night. The rescue operation was called off mid-afternoon Monday after the Costa Concordia shifted a few inches (centimeters) in rough seas. The fear is that if the ship shifts significantly, some 500,000 gallons of fuel may begin to leak. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

An oil removal ship near the cruise ship Costa Concordia, leaning on its side, Monday, Jan. 16, 2012, after running aground near the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, last Friday night. The rescue operation was called off mid-afternoon Monday after the Costa Concordia shifted a few inches (centimeters) in rough seas. The fear is that if the ship shifts significantly, some 500,000 gallons of fuel may begin to leak. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

The cruise ship Costa Concordia leans on its side Monday, Jan.16, 2012, after running aground near the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, last Friday. The rescue operation was called off mid-afternoon Monday after the Costa Concordia shifted a few inches (centimeters) in rough seas. The fear is that if the ship shifts significantly, some 500,000 gallons of fuel may begin to leak. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

An Italian firefighters climbs on the cruise ship Costa Concordia Monday, Jan. 16, 2012, after it run aground the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, last Friday night. Italian rescue officials say a passenger's body has been found in the wreckage of the Costa Concordia cruise ship, raising to six the number of confirmed dead in the disaster. Sixteen people remain unaccounted-for. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Ships to avoid the leakage of fuel approach Monday, Jan. 16, 2012, the cruise ship Costa Concordia leaning on its side after running aground the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, last Friday night. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

A seagul flies Monday, Jan. 16, 2012, over the cruise ship Costa Concordia leaning on its side after running aground the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, last Friday night. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

(AP) ? Italy's cruise liner tragedy turned into an environmental crisis Monday, as rough seas battering the stricken mega-ship raised fears that fuel might leak into pristine waters off Tuscany that are part of a protected sanctuary for dolphins, porpoises and whales.

The ship's Italian operator accused the jailed captain of causing the wreck that left at least six dead and 29 missing, saying he made an "unapproved, unauthorized maneuver" to divert the vessel from its programmed course.

Earlier, authorities had said 16 people were missing. But an Italian Coast Guard official, Marco Brusco, said late Monday that 25 passengers and four crew members were unaccounted for three days after the Costa Concordia struck a reef and capsized off the coast of the tiny island of Giglio.

He didn't explain the jump, but indicated 10 of the missing are Germans. Two Americans are also among the missing.

Brusco said there was still "a glimmer of hope" there could be survivors on parts of the vast cruise liner that have yet to be searched. The last survivor, a crewman who had broken his leg, was rescued on Sunday.

Waters that had remained calm for the first days of the rescue turned choppy Monday, shifting the wreckage and raising fears that any further movement could cause some of the 500,000 gallons (1.9 million liters) of fuel on board to leak into the waters off Giglio, which are popular with scuba divers and form part of the protected Tuscan archipelago. Rescue operations were suspended for several hours because of the rough seas.

Italy's environmental minister raised the alarm about a potential environmental catastrophe. "At the moment there haven't been any fuel leaks, but we have to intervene quickly," the minister, Corrado Clini, told RAI state radio.

Even before the accident there had been mounting calls from environmentalists to restrict passage of large ships in the area.

The ship's operator, Costa Crociere SpA, has enlisted one of the world's leading salvagers, Smit of Rotterdam, Netherlands, to handle the removal of the 1,000-foot (290-meter) cruise liner and extract the fuel safely. Smit has a long track record of dealing with wrecks and leaks, including refloating grounded bulk carriers and securing drilling platforms in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Meanwhile, the Italian cruise operator said Capt. Francesco Schettino intentionally strayed from the ship's authorized course into waters too close to the perilous reef, causing it to crash late Friday and capsize.

The navigational version of a "fly by" was apparently made as a favor to the chief waiter who is from Giglio and whose parents live on the island, local media reported.

A judge on Tuesday is to decide whether Schettino should remain jailed.

"We are struck by the unscrupulousness of the reckless maneuver that the commander of the Costa Concordia made near the island of Giglio," prosecutor Francesco Verusio told reporters. "It was inexcusable."

The head of the U.N. agency on maritime safety said lessons must be learned from the Concordia disaster 100 years after the Titanic rammed into an iceberg, leading to the first international convention on sea safety.

"We should seriously consider the lessons to be learned and, if necessary, re-examine the regulations on the safety of large passenger ships in the light of the findings of the casualty investigation," said Koji Sekimizu, secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization.

Miami-based Carnival Corp., which owns the Italian operator, estimated that preliminary losses from having the Concordia out of operation at least through 2012 would be between $85 million and $95 million, though it said there would be other costs as well. The company's share price slumped more than 16 percent Monday.

Two of the missing are Americans, identified by their family as Jerry Heil, 69, and his wife Barbara, 70, from White Bear Lake, Minnesota.

Costa Crociere chairman and CEO Pier Luigi Foschi said the company would provide Schettino with legal assistance, but he disassociated Costa from his behavior, saying it broke all rules and regulations.

"Capt. Schettino took an initiative of his own will which is contrary to our written rules of conduct," Foschi said in his first public comments since the grounding.

At a news conference in Genoa, the company's home base, Foschi said that Costa ships' routes are programmed into their navigational systems, and alarms go off when they deviate. Those alarms are disabled if the ship's course is manually altered, he said.

"This route was put in correctly upon departure from Civitavecchia," Foschi said, referring to the port outside Rome. "The fact that it left from this course is due solely to a maneuver by the commander that was unapproved, unauthorized and unknown to Costa."

Foschi said only once before had the company approved a "fly by" of this sort off Giglio ? last year on the night of Aug. 9-10. In that case, the port and company had approved it.

Residents, however, said such displays have occurred several times in the past, though always in the summer when the island is full of tourists.

Foschi didn't respond directly to prosecutors' and passengers' accusations that Schettino abandoned ship before all passengers had been evacuated, but he suggested his conduct wasn't as bad in the hours of the evacuation as has been portrayed. He didn't elaborate.

The Italian coast guard says Schettino defied their entreaties for him to return to his ship as the chaotic evacuation of the more than 4,200 people aboard was in full progress. After the ship's tilt put many life rafts out of service, helicopters had to pluck to safety dozens of people remaining aboard, hours after Schettino was seen leaving the vessel.

The captain has insisted in an interview before his jailing that he stayed with the vessel to the end.

Foschi defended the conduct of the crew, while acknowledging that passengers had described a chaotic evacuation where crew members consistently downplayed the seriousness of the situation as the ship lurched to the side.

"All our crew members behaved like heroes. All of them," he said.

He noted that 4,200 people managed to evacuate a listing ship at night within two hours. In addition, the ship's evacuation procedures had been reviewed last November by an outside firm and port authorities and no faults were found, he said.

Once on land, the survivors complained that Costa was stingy with assistance.

Blake Miller, who was on the ship to celebrate his partner's 50th birthday, said Costa representatives rebuffed his efforts to get reimbursement so he could buy a change of clothing.

"The Costa representative at our hotel told me, 'You might want to get a lawyer when you get back to the States,'" Miller told The Associated Press from his hotel in Rome, where he was staying at his own expense.

Only passengers who had paid for special insurance to cover lost belongings would receive compensation to buy replacements, he said they were told.

Costa Crociere didn't immediately respond to a phone message or an emailed request for a response.

Miller, of Austin, Texas, said survivors were taken to a hotel near Rome's airport and told Costa would pay for a single night's stay and their plane fare home only "if we pack up and leave the country" Sunday morning.

Miller, who is director of business travel for Intercontinental Hotels, said Costa representatives spoke to passengers about potential refunds or free cruise vouchers. But in addition to the cost of the cruise, he said he had paid hundreds of dollars for excursions during port calls and other expenses.

Foschi, the Costa CEO, said he was certain "we'll be able to find a material solution that will make them happy."

Class action suits are rare in Italy, but Italian consumer advocacy organization Codacons said more than 70 passengers had indicated that they wanted to join a class-action approach to winning compensation from Costa.

"Our aim is to make every passenger obtain an indemnity of at least euro10,000 (more than $12,500) for the material damage suffered and for moral damage, such as the terror suffered, ruined vacations and the grave risks that they ran," said Codacons president Carlo Rienzi.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-16-EU-Italy-Cruise-Aground/id-efd8622f42024db29cfe6b3178b38ce3

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Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Did Sarah Palin endorse Newt Gingrich or not?

A lot of media folks are leaping to the conclusion that Sarah Palin did endorse Newt Gingrich on a Fox News show Tuesday night, but we?re not so sure.

Did Sarah Palin really endorse Newt Gingrich Tuesday night on Sean Hannity?s Fox News show? A lot of folks in the "lame-stream media" are leaping to the conclusion that she did, but we?re not so sure.

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Yes, Todd Palin has already said he?s backing the former speaker of the House. And when Mr. Hannity asked Ms. Palin if she would follow suit, the former Alaska governor said this: ?If I had to vote in South Carolina, in order to keep this thing going, I?d vote for Newt.?

But the context is interesting here. First of all, Palin made it clear that what she really wants is for Mitt Romney to continue to have an array of conservative competition. The debates should keep going, she said, because ?iron sharpens iron and steel sharpens steel.? More to the point, continuing competition would mean that maybe voters would get to examine the potential problems of potential nominees prior to the actual nomination.

?With the front-runner and with all the candidates, there are still too many questions,? said Palin, adding that these questions have to do with ?their business dealings ... and their experience while serving in office.?

Does that sound like she thinks conservatives should keep looking into Mr. Romney?s experience at Bain Capital and his actions as Massachusetts governor? That?s what it sounds like to us, too.

?Front-runners and whoever it is have to have everything out there,? Palin said.

Palin did not mention Romney by name. But all the other non-Ron Paul candidates remaining in the race got a shout-out from John McCain?s 2008 veep choice. She had something good to say about all their performances in Monday night?s South Carolina debate.

Rick Perry must have had Texas chili and Dr Pepper from his home state prior to the debate, said Palin.

?Somebody must have been able to import it to him because he was on fire with some of those segments he participated in,? Palin told Hannity.

Rick Santorum? ?Santorum, too, he had an opponent up on the ropes,? she said, without mentioning that that opponent might have been ? you guessed it ? Romney.

Palin was on for 10 minutes or so, and near the end, Hannity asked her directly whether she?d just endorsed Gingrich. She skittered around the question like, well, a politician.

?You know, I want that process to continue,? she repeated.

Our bottom line: Palin is pushing the guy she likes most, but wants to leave open her options to maybe swerve and go with somebody else if that somebody else looks like a better option.

She?s even leaving the door open a crack to a Romney endorsement. Asked if she?d back him if he were the nominee, she did not say no. She said, ?I have said ... from the beginning, anybody but Obama.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/OTKyvT_81z0/Did-Sarah-Palin-endorse-Newt-Gingrich-or-not

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Does the La Ni?a weather pattern lead to flu pandemics?

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Worldwide pandemics of influenza caused widespread death and illness in 1918, 1957, 1968 and 2009. A new study examining weather patterns around the time of these pandemics finds that each of them was preceded by La Ni?a conditions in the equatorial Pacific. The study's authors--Jeffrey Shaman of Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and Marc Lipsitch of the Harvard School of Public Health?note that the La Ni?a pattern is known to alter the migratory patterns of birds, which are thought to be a primary reservoir of human influenza. The scientists theorize that altered migration patterns promote the development of dangerous new strains of influenza.

The study findings are currently published online in PNAS.

To examine the relationship between weather patterns and influenza pandemics, the researchers studied records of ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific in the fall and winter before the four most recent flu pandemics emerged. They found that all four pandemics were preceded by below-normal sea surface temperatures?consistent with the La Ni?a phase of the El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation. This La Ni?a pattern develops in the tropical Pacific Ocean every two and seven years approximately.

The authors cite other research showing that the La Ni?a pattern alters the migration, stopover time, fitness and interspecies mixing of migratory birds. These conditions could favor the kind of gene swapping?or genetic reassortment?that creates novel and therefore potentially more variations of the influenza virus.

"We know that pandemics arise from dramatic changes in the influenza genome. Our hypothesis is that La Ni?a sets the stage for these changes by reshuffling the mixing patterns of migratory birds, which are a major reservoir for influenza," says Jeffrey Shaman, PhD, Mailman School assistant professor of Environmental Health Sciences and co-author of the study.

Changes in migration not only alter the pattern of contact among bird species, they could also change the ways that birds come into contact with domestic animals like pigs. Gene-swapping between avian and pig influenza viruses was a factor in the 2009 swine flu pandemic.

###

Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health: http://www.mailman.hs.columbia.edu

Thanks to Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116744/Does_the_La_Ni__a_weather_pattern_lead_to_flu_pandemics_

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Monday, January 16, 2012

"A Validater" (TIME)

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Russian space probe to crash to Earth within hours

FILE - In this Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011 file photo, the Zenit-2SB rocket with the Phobos-Ground probe blasts off from its launch pad at the Cosmodrome Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Some of the recent failures of Russian spacecraft may have been caused by hostile interference, Roscosmos chief Vladimir Popovkin said. Popovkin made the comment when asked about the failure of the unmanned Phobos-Ground probe, which was to explore one of the Mars twin moons, Phobos, but became stranded while orbiting Earth after its Nov. 9 launch. The spacecraft is expected to fall to Earth around Jan. 15. ( (AP Photo, File)

FILE - In this Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011 file photo, the Zenit-2SB rocket with the Phobos-Ground probe blasts off from its launch pad at the Cosmodrome Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Some of the recent failures of Russian spacecraft may have been caused by hostile interference, Roscosmos chief Vladimir Popovkin said. Popovkin made the comment when asked about the failure of the unmanned Phobos-Ground probe, which was to explore one of the Mars twin moons, Phobos, but became stranded while orbiting Earth after its Nov. 9 launch. The spacecraft is expected to fall to Earth around Jan. 15. ( (AP Photo, File)

(AP) ? A failed Russian probe designed to travel to a moon of Mars but stuck in Earth orbit will come crashing down within hours, likely in a shower of fragments that survive the fiery re-entry.

The unmanned Phobos Ground is one of the heaviest and most toxic space derelicts ever to crash to Earth, but space officials and experts say the risks are minimal as its orbit is mostly over water and most of the probe's structure will burn up in the atmosphere anyway.

Russia's space agency Roscosmos said the Phobos-Ground will crash between 1750 and 1834 GMT (1:50 p.m. and 2:34 p.m. EST). It said the probe could come down anywhere along its orbit that would place it over southern Europe, the Atlantic Ocean, South America and Pacific. The rest of the world, including the U.S. and Canada, is outside the risk zone.

"The resulting risk isn't significant," said Prof. Heiner Klinkrad, Head of The European Space Agency's Space Debris Office that is monitoring the probe's descent.

He wouldn't say where exactly the probe may enter the atmosphere, but said that "most of Europe is excluded from an impact risk."

Roscosmos predicts that only between 20 and 30 fragments of the Phobos probe with a total weight of up to 200 kilograms (440 pounds) will survive the re-entry and plummet to Earth.

Klinkrad agreed with that assessment, adding that about 100 metric tons of space junk fall on Earth every year. "This is 200 kilograms out of these 100 tons," he said.

Thousands of pieces of derelict space vehicles orbit Earth, occasionally posing danger to astronauts and satellites in orbit, but as far as is known, no one has ever been hurt by falling space debris.

The Phobos-Ground weighs 13.5 metric tons (14.9 tons), and that includes a load of 11 metric tons (12 tons) of highly toxic rocket fuel intended for the long journey to the Martian moon of Phobos. It has been left unused as the probe got stuck in orbit around Earth shortly after its Nov. 9 launch.

Roscosmos says all of the fuel will burn up on re-entry, a forecast Klinkrad said was supported by calculations done by NASA and the ESA. He said the craft's tanks are made of aluminum alloy that has a very low melting temperature, and they will burst at an altitude of more than 100 kilometers.

"These tanks are expected to release the fuel above 100 kilometers, and then the fuel is going to burn in the atmosphere and later the tanks are going to burn up themselves as well," Klinkrad said in a telephone interview from his office in Berlin.

The space era has seen far larger spacecraft to crash. NASA's Skylab space station that went down in 1979 weighed 77 metric tons (85 tons) and Russia's Mir space station that de-orbited in 2001 weighed about 130 metric tons (143 tons). Their descent fueled fears around the world, but the wreckage of both fell far away from populated areas.

The $170-million Phobos-Ground was Russia's most expensive and the most ambitious space mission since Soviet times. The spacecraft was intended to land on the crater-dented, potato-shaped Martian moon, collect soil samples and fly them back to Earth, giving scientists precious materials that could shed more light on the genesis of the solar system.

Russia's space chief has acknowledged the Phobos-Ground mission was ill-prepared, but said that Roscosmos had to give it the go-ahead so as not to miss the limited Earth-to-Mars launch window.

Its predecessor, Mars-96, which was built by the same Moscow-based NPO Lavochkin company, also suffered an engine failure and crashed shortly after its launch in 1996. Its crash drew strong international fears because of some 200 grams of plutonium onboard. The craft eventually showered its fragments over the Chile-Bolivia border in the Andes Mountains, and the pieces were never recovered.

The worst ever radiation spill from a derelict space vehicle came in January 1978 when the nuclear-powered Cosmos 954 satellite crashed over northwestern Canada. The Soviets claimed the craft completely burned up on re-entry, but a massive recovery effort by Canadian authorities recovered a dozen fragments, most of which were radioactive.

The Phobos-Ground also contains a tiny quantity of the radioactive metal Cobalt-57 in one of its instruments, but Roscosmos said it poses no threat of radioactive contamination.

The spacecraft also carries a small cylinder with a collection of microbes as part of an experiment by the Pasadena, California-based Planetary Society that designed to explore whether they can survive interplanetary travel. The cylinder is attached to a capsule that was supposed to deliver Phobos ground samples back to Earth.

Igor Marinin, the editor of Russia's Novosti Kosmonavtiki magazine, said on Russia's NTV television that it will likely be destroyed in the fiery re-entry.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2012-01-15-EU-Russia-Falling-Spacecraft/id-7e82811ef444487f90b0ee7dd1ce33ac

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Sunday, January 15, 2012

Missing teenager Natalee Holloway declared dead (AP)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ? The parents of Natalee Holloway looked on somberly as a judge on Thursday declared their child dead, more than six years after the American teenager vanished during a high school graduation trip to the Caribbean island of Aruba.

"We've been dealing with her death for the last six and a half years," Dave Holloway said after a brief hearing. He said the judge's order closes one chapter in a long ordeal, but added: "We've still got a long way to go to get justice."

Natalee Holloway disappeared in Aruba on May 30, 2005. The 18-year-old was last seen leaving a bar early that morning with a young Dutchman, Joran van der Sloot. Her body was never found and the ensuing searches for the young woman would reap intense media scrutiny and worldwide attention.

Thursday's hearing was scheduled long before van der Sloot ? a suspect questioned in Holloway's disappearance ? pleaded guilty Wednesday in Peru to the 2010 murder of a woman he met at a casino in Lima. Stephany Flores, 21, was killed five years to the day after Holloway, an 18-year-old from the wealthy Birmingham suburb of Mountain Brook, disappeared.

Shortly after Flores' death on May 30, 2010, van der Sloot told police he killed the woman in Peru in a fit of rage after she discovered on his laptop his connection to the disappearance of Holloway. Police forensic experts disputed the claim.

Dave Holloway told the judge in September he believed his daughter had died and he wanted to stop payments on her medical insurance and use her $2,000 college fund to help her younger brother.

The teen's mother originally objected, but her lawyer, Charlie DeBardeleben, said she subsequently changed her mind once she understood her husband's intentions.

Natalee Holloway's parents were divorced in 1993 and Beth Holloway sat in the back row of the courtroom, mostly staring at her hands in her lap through the hearing Thursday afternoon in a probate court in Birmingham.

Although Beth Holloway declined to speak to journalists, her attorney signaled it was a difficult moment for her to witness a judge signing the order declaring her daughter dead.

"She's ready to move on from this," DeBardeleben added.

Mark White, an attorney for Dave Holloway, told the judge just before he announced his decision, that there was no evidence that Holloway was alive.

"Despite all that no evidence has been found Natalee Holloway is alive," he told the judge, noting that exhaustive searches, blanket international media coverage and even the offer of rewards had turned up nothing new.

King had ruled in September that Dave Holloway had met the legal presumption of death for his daughter and it was up to someone to prove she didn't die on a high school graduation trip. He had set the hearing after a period of several months in the event anyone might come forward with new information.

However, investigators have long worked from the assumption that the young woman was dead in Aruba, where the case was officially classified as a homicide investigation.

That investigation remains open, though there has been no recent activity, said Solicitor General Taco Stein, an official with the prosecutor's office on the Dutch Caribbean island.

"The team that was acting in that investigation still is functioning as a team and they get together whenever there is information or things are needed in the case or a new tip arrives," Stein said in a phone interview Thursday.

Dave Holloway said he hopes the 24-year-old van der Sloot, who is awaiting sentencing in Lima, gets a 30-year prison term sought by Peruvian prosecutors.

"Everybody knows his personality. I believe he is beyond rehabilitation," Holloway said.

Attorneys said both parents also expressed hope that van der Sloot's next stop is Birmingham, where he faces federal charges accusing him of extorting $25,000 from Beth Holloway to reveal the location of her daughter's body.

Prosecutors said the money was paid, but nothing was disclosed about the missing woman's whereabouts.

"I expect to see him in Birmingham," Dave Holloway said Thursday.

____

Online: AP interactive - http://hosted.ap.org/interactives/2012/natalee-holloway

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120113/ap_on_re_us/us_missing_teen_aruba

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