Pre-caffeine: Twitter whining, Joker baby!

via BuzzFeed

By Helen A.S. Popkin

Our pre-caffeine roundup is a collection of the hottest, strangest, and most amusing stories of the morning. Here's everything that you need to know before taking that first sip of coffee today:?

While Christmas may be over, the fuzzy-wuzzy feelings we got as we watched our loved ones joyfully unwrap carefully selected presents will last well into the next year. Unless, of course, our loved ones happen to be ungrateful brats.

Never thought you'd see Kim Kardashian and Steve Jobs linked in any way??The two, along with the Occupy movement, the royal wedding and Japan's tsunami tragedy, are among the most "stumbled upon" searches and links of 2011.

Vietnam may block its citizens from using Facebook, but that didn't stop website founder Mark Zuckerberg from vacationing in the communist country.

Meanwhile, taking advantage of the resurgence of the Muppets, which another generation is blessed to know thanks to a new movie, Google has cast them into a new ad for Google+, and it's the best argument for Hangouts yet.

In the old, unconnected days, it could be hard to mobilize a massive movement against a company that provided bad customer service. In the Internet age, however, a single email can help lead an entire community of gamers to mobilize against a rude marketer in just a matter of hours. Check it out!

Speaking of games, a?new policy taking effect Jan. 1 will remove ?gun-like? items from Microsoft?sXbox Live Avatar Marketplace, the?online store?where gamers can buy items to dress up and accessorize their avatars.

YouTube's new "Slam" game forces videos to battle for votes. Fun!

The Go Daddy boycott and "dump day" were organized by users of social news site? Reddit, who also set up a boycott site.

In closing, I don't know why this Joker baby doll exists or why you haven't bought it for me, but it totes looks like that kid from "Pet Sementary."?

? compiled by Helen A.S. Popkin, who invites you to join her on Twitter and/or Facebook.?Also, Google+.??

Source: http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/28/9767901-pre-caffeine-tech

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Church, mosque burglarized

A man was arrested Christmas Day after allegedly going on a crime spree burlgarizing several Brownsville buildings, including a church and a mosque, police said.

Leonardo Oscar Vela, 25, was arrested Sunday afternoon on two counts of criminal mischief and two counts of burlgarizing a building.

Sgt. Felix Sauceda of the Brownsville Police Department said Vela is suspected of breaking into a realty office on the 2800 block of Central Boulevard around noon. The burglar reportedly fled when an alarm went off, but officers found a broken window and a rock. A witness described Vela to the officers.

Shortly after, police received a call for a burglary at a mosque on Gilson Road, near where Vela lives. Witnesses reported that a man matching Vela?s description broke in and stole a jacket and metal safe.

One of the burlgary victims at the mosque told police the man fled to a nearby church on Old Highway 77.

Officers followed the trail and found Vela sitting outside the church with blood on his hand, Sauceda said.

?They proceeded to inspect the premises and found the front glass door shattered with blood on the glass as well,? Sauceda said.

Officers arrested Vela and booked him in the city jail late Sunday afternoon.

Sauceda said police often see a spike in crime during the holidays.

?The holidays are just one of the times of year with more opportunities to offend, so we do see an increase,? he said.

Source: http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/articles/vela-135186-police-mosque.html

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Mexican army: Ally's arrest is blow to 'El Chapo'

MEXICO CITY?? The Mexican army says it has dealt a significant blow to the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel with the arrest of the cartel leader's security chief.

The army says special military forces seized computer files and other data when they detained Felipe Cabrera Sarabia. But Chief Army spokesman Gen. Ricardo Trevillo offered few details about the hunt for cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

Trevillo told a news conference Monday that Cabrera was captured without a shot being fired Friday in the capital of Sinaloa state, headquarters of the cartel allegedly run by Guzman. Cabrera's nickname is "The Engineer."

Guzman is considered to be Mexico's top drug lord and is one of the world's richest men. He has eluded authorities since his 2001 escape from prison in a laundry truck.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45788330/

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Stores, downturn create new kinds of shoppers

Four new types of American shoppers have emerged this holiday season.

There's the bargain hunter who times deals. The midnight buyer who stays up late for discounts. The returner who gets buyer's remorse. And the "me" shopper who self-gifts.

It's the latest shift by consumers in the fourth year of a weak U.S. economy. Shoppers are expected to spend $469.1 billion during the holiday shopping season that runs from November through December. While it won't be known just how much Americans spent until the season ends on Saturday, it's already clear they are shopping differently than they have in years past.

"We're seeing different types of buying behavior in a new economic reality," says C. Britt Beemer, chairman of America's Research Group.

The bargain timer
Cost-conscious shoppers haven't just been looking for bargains this season. They've also been more deliberate about when to find those deals. Many believe the biggest bargains come at the beginning and end of the season, which has created a kind of "dumbbell effect" in sales.

For the week ended on Nov. 26, which included the traditional start of the holiday shopping season on the day after Thanksgiving, stores had the biggest sales surge compared with the prior week since 1993, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Stores Sales Index. The cumulative two-week-sales drop-off that followed marked the biggest percentage decline since 2000. Then, stores had another surge in the final days, as retailers stepped up their promotions again.

"Shoppers are budgeting their money and time," says Paco Underhill, whose company, Envirosell, studies how consumers behave in stores. "They're focused on being opportunistic bargain shopping vultures."

Kalilah Middleton, 30, of Queens, is one of them. Starting late on Thanksgiving night, she spent five hours and $400 at Wal-Mart and Target. She bought a TV and clothing at 50 percent off. Then, she waited until Christmas Eve to shop again because she believed she'd get better deals later in the season.

"This is when you get the best deals," says Middleton, an office manager, about her holiday shopping.

Going forward, shoppers are expecting even bigger discounts. According to America's Research Group research firm, 34 percent of shoppers say they want to see post-Christmas discounts of about 70 to 80 percent, up from 20 percent last year.

The midnight buyer
Used to be, bargain shoppers would wake up at the crack of dawn to take advantage of big discounts on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. This year, some shoppers instead stayed up late on Thanksgiving night to get deals.

This behavior was in large part due to retailers' efforts to outdo each other during the traditional start to the holiday shopping season. Stores like Macy's, Best Buy and Target for the first time opened at midnight on Thanksgiving night, offering deals that once were reserved for the next day.

Twenty-four percent of Black Friday shoppers were at stores at midnight, according to a poll by the National Retail Federation, the industry's biggest trade group. That's up from 9.5 percent the year before when only a few stores were open during that time.

Of those shopping at midnight on Black Friday, 37 percent were ages 18 to 34. That percentage was higher than among 35- to 54-year-olds, of whom 23.5 percent were in stores by midnight.

Macy's, for one, drew 10,000 people to its midnight opening. Terry Lundgren, Macy's CEO, says many of them were young people who turned out for the Justin Bieber $65 gift sets and discounted fashions.

Anika Ruud, 15, of Boca Raton, Fla., went out with her four cousins to Macy's at midnight and then shopped at Target until 2:30 a.m. She picked up two bras at Macy's for $10. Then, she and her cousins went home to bed.

"It's always been inconvenient," Ruud says of the traditional 4 a.m. Black Friday openings of years past. "No one likes to wake up early."

The returner
Shoppers who were lured into stores by bargains gleefully loaded up on everything from discounted tablet computers to clothing early in the holiday season. But soon after, many of them were rushing back to return the items they bought.

For instance, Elizabeth Yamada, 55, of Fort Lee, N.J., says she got caught up with the shopping frenzy over the Thanksgiving weekend and picked up a $350 coat that was marked down more than 50 percent off at Macy's. She ended up returning the item one week later.

"It was nice, but I didn't need it," says Yamada, who works part-time as a waitress and a hospital aide. "It was impulsive shopping. But I am doing more reflecting."

It's all about buyer's remorse.

For every dollar stores take in this holiday season, it's expected they will have to give back 9.9 cents in returns, up from 9.8 last year, according to the a survey of 110 retailers the NRF. It would be the highest return rate since the recession. In better economic times, it's about 7 cents.

Stores have themselves to blame for the higher returns. They lured shoppers in with deals of up to 60 percent off as early as October. Because of the deals, shoppers spent more than they normally would. And retailers' return policies have been more lax since 2008, with some sweetening their policies even more this year.

The 'me' shopper
One for you; one for me.

After scrimping on themselves during the recession, Americans turned to shopping for themselves. It's a trend that started last year but became more prevalent this season.

According to the NRF, spending for non-gift items will increase by 16 percent this holiday season to $130.43 per person. That's the highest number recorded since it started tracking it in 2004.

"This season, the consumer put herself ahead of the giving," says Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst with market research firm The NPD Group.

Betty Thomas, a health care coordinator at a hospital in Raleigh, N.C., says she spent $1,700 on a ring and bracelet for herself and a rug for her home during the holiday season. That's up dramatically from the $200 she spent last year.

"I have been putting other people first," Thomas says. "I definitely felt I earned it."

Stores have been encouraging such self-gifting.

AnnTaylor's campaign "Perfect Presents: One for you. One for her" highlighted merchandise like brightly colored sweaters. Brookstone's print ads urged shoppers to get accessories for their iPads and other electronics with the words: "gifts for your gadgets." And Shopittome.com, an online site that alerts consumers to clothing sales they're interested in, launched "Treat Yourself Tuesday" after Thanksgiving weekend.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45796877/ns/business-holiday_retail/

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[NFL: Chicago Bears] - Cutler, Forte placed on injured reserve

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.sportspyder.com/teams/chicago-bears/articles/5497480

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Egyptian political party rejects ?normalization? with Israel

December 25, 2011

JERUSALEM?(JTA) -- A radical Islamist party in Egypt that said it would respect the country's peace treaty with Israel has amended its statement to say it is against "normalization" between the two countries.

The Salafi Al-Nour party, which won up to 30 percent of the vote in the first two rounds of parliamentary elections in Egypt, reportedly said Sunday in a statement that the party will "stand firmly against normalization between the two countries in all forms, and are against ties with any entity that wants to harm the Egyptian identity."

Last week, a spokesman for the party announced in an interview with Israel's Army Radio that the party would respect all treaties signed by Egypt, including the 1979 peace treaty with Israel, though party leaders later clarified that the party is looking into the matter. The spokesman later told the Associated Press that he was not aware that he was talking to Army Radio.

He told the AP that the party supports changes to the peace agreement, including increasing the number of troops in the Sinai Peninsula, a number regulated by the treaty.

"We call for full Sinai rights for Egypt and for our brothers in Palestine and occupied lands, and we see this as directly related to the agreement," he told the AP.

The Salafi Al-Nour party finished second behind the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party; the Muslim Brotherhood refuses to negotiate with Israel.
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Source: http://www.jta.org/news/article/2011/12/25/3090895/egyptian-political-party-rejects-normalization-with-israel

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Daily Deal: iSkin Aura for iPhone 4S, iPhone 4 only $26.95

For today only, the TiPb Store has the iSkin Aura for iPhone 4S, iPhone 4 on sale for only $18.95!. Get them before they’re gone! Get the iSkin Aura for iPhone 4S, iPhone 4 now!

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/tw4qe1Dc_BQ/story01.htm

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Why 2012 could be the year we find a habitable planet

Other than the one we're currently living on, that is. As discoveries of alien planets accelerates, the discovery of an "alien Earth" could be just over the horizon.?

While 2011 was a huge year for alien-planet discoveries, 2012 could bring something even more exciting: the first true "alien Earth."

Skip to next paragraph

This year saw the tally of confirmed exoplanets top 700, with NASA's Kepler space telescope flagging thousands of additional candidates that still need to be verified. And just this month, Kepler scientists announced two landmark finds ? the?first two Earth-size alien planets, as well as a larger world in its star's habitable zone, that just-right range of distances where liquid water (and possibly life as we know it) could exist.

These and other recent discoveries suggest that the prized quarry of many exoplanet hunters ??an "alien Earth"?? could be just over the horizon. In fact, such a planet may well pop up in the next round of Kepler candidates, which should be released next year, researchers said.

"I'm guessing that this next planet catalog is going to see, finally, some numbers of points that are really, truly Earth-sized and in the habitable zone," said Natalie Batalha, deputy leader of the Kepler science team at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. "That's something that I really look forward to, is getting those candidates." [Vote Now! Most Intriguing Alien Planets of 2011]

The year has seen a huge increase in the?number of known exoplanets. At the start of 2011, astronomers had confirmed 528 alien worlds, according to the Extrasolar Planets Encyclopedia, a database compiled by astrobiologist Jean Schneider of the Paris-Meudon Observatory.

Less than one year later ? and just 16 years after the first alien planet was found orbiting a sun-like star ? the count now stands at 713. And thousands more are waiting in the wings.

On Dec. 5, Kepler scientists announced the discovery of?1,094 new exoplanet candidates, bringing the mission's total tally in its first 16 months of operation to 2,326. So far, just 33 of these potential planets have been confirmed by follow-up observations, but researchers have estimated that at least 80 percent of them will turn out to be the real deal.

These huge numbers are exciting by themselves, but the search for alien planets isn't really about increasing the tally. Rather, it's a quest to better understand the nature and?diversity of alien worlds, researchers say.

"You can only understand the diversity of systems if you have enough numbers that speak to the statistics," Batalha told SPACE.com. "You really want a large sample, and that's where Kepler's going to make a huge contribution."

The diversity of alien worlds and systems appears to be high. Astronomers have found one planet as light and airy as Styrofoam, for example, and another as dense as iron. And in September, the Kepler team announced the discovery of an?alien planet that circles two suns, like Luke Skywalker's home planet of Tatooine in the "Star Wars" films.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/3LQZOU_kZJo/Why-2012-could-be-the-year-we-find-a-habitable-planet

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NFL: Patriots beat Miami Dolphins 27-24

Published: 12:25PM Sunday December 25, 2011 Source: Reuters

Tom Brady led the New England Patriots back from a 17-point deficit to beat the Miami Dolphins 27-24 today (NZT) and clinch a first-round bye in the National Football League (NFL) playoffs.

Brady rushed for two touchdowns and threw for another as the Patriots clawed their way back after trailing 17-0 at halftime to improve to 12-3 with just one week of the regular season to go.

The win ensured New England would get a rest in the first week of next month's playoffs and a home game in the second week, though the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens could overtake them for the top seeding in the AFC if the Patriots lose their last game at home next week to the Buffalo Bills.

The Steelers and the Ravens, who are already assured of their spots in the playoffs, both won on Christmas Eve to improve to 11-4.

Pittsburgh, last season's Super Bowl runners-up, thrashed the struggling St. Louis Rams 27-0 despite resting their injured quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

Baltimore, who hold the tie-breaker on the Steelers in the AFC North division, raced away to a 20-0 lead then survived a late comeback from the Cleveland Browns to win 20-14.

Tim Tebow's Denver Broncos (8-7) missed their chance to secure a spot in the postseason when they were beaten 40-14 by the Bills and were then joined at the top of the AFC West standings by the Oakland Raiders after Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 36-yard field goal in overtime to seal a 16-13 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Giants (8-7) won their New York showdown against the Jets 29-14 to set up a sudden-death clash with the Dallas Cowboys next week for the top spot in the NFC East division after Eli Manning's 99-yard touchdown pass to Victor Cruz.

The loss all but ended the Jets' prospects of making the playoffs when they fell one game behind Cincinnati (9-6) in the race for the AFC wildcard after the Bengals beat the Arizona Cardinals 23-16.

Tennessee quarterback Matt Hasselbeck passed for 350 yards in the Titan's 23-17 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars that kept alive their playoff hopes, while Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton broke Peyton Manning's NFL record for the most passing yards in a rookie season.

The 22-year-old Newton surpassed Manning's mark of 3,379 yards, set in 1998, in his team's 48-16 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, adding yet another record to his impressive start in the NFL

Copyright ? 2011, Television New Zealand Limited. Breaking and Daily News, Sport & Weather | TV ONE, TV2 | Ondemand

Source: http://tvnz.co.nz/othersports-news/patriots-secure-first-round-bye-in-playoffs-4668690?ref=rss

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Racist newsletters put Ron Paul on the defensive for first time

Long-ago Ron Paul?newsletters are getting attention for their inclusion of slurs against black?Americans. The Texas congressman is also taking fire for his foreign policy views.

The pattern isn't surprising: As his chances of showing significant?strength in early primaries have grown, Republican candidate Ron Paul?is facing closer scrutiny.

Skip to next paragraph

The press and his rivals for the GOP nomination aren't going to give?him a free pass in his bid for voter support.

What's suddenly big news is the racial content of Ron Paul?newsletters from prior decades, which are getting attention for slurs against black?Americans. But the so-called "racist newsletter" scandal is not the?only front on which the Texas congressman is taking fire.

Other candidates have blasted his foreign policy positions, which are?also the subject of a critical opinion column in Thursday's Wall Street?Journal.
To some degree, Mr. Paul is getting what he's given. In the?build-up to primary votes in Ohio and New Hampshire, he has served up?some strong criticism of other Republican candidates.

Whatever has prompted the current negative headlines about Paul?(whether it's partly his own negative ads about rivals or not), the?onus is now on him. After dishing it out, he needs to show he can take it?? and provide an adequate response.

Recent examples of Paul going negative on other candidates:

• One ad focused on alleged "serial hypocrisy" by Newt Gingrich. The?ad showed examples of policy flip-flops by the former House?speaker while in office, the implication that Mr. Gingrich's values?were tainted by later financial ties to Freddie Mac and the health?care industry.
• Another ad titled "Consistent" called out aspirants Mitt Romney,?Rick Perry, and Herman Cain for supporting federal bailouts during the?2008 financial crisis, while portraying Paul as delivering a consistent?message of fiscal conservatism for more than two decades.
• His "Big Dog" spot opens with the words, "What's up with these?sorry politicians? Lots of bark. When it's showtime, whimpering like?little Shih Tzu's." OK, maybe the Shih Tzu is the only one directly?named in a negative light. But the ad implies that other candidates?won't deliver on promises to curb Washington spending in a hurry,?while Paul will.

Perhaps this is just Paul being persistent in pointing out his?policy differences with other candidates, and in emphasizing?constistency as his strong suit. That has won him lots of fans,?especially among libertarian-leaning Republicans.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/cLmMavoKk1s/Racist-newsletters-put-Ron-Paul-on-the-defensive-for-first-time

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VW gives workers a rest from Blackberry messages (Reuters)

FRANKFURT (Reuters) ? Volkswagen has agreed to grant workers in Germany a rest from e-mails relentlessly filling the inboxes of their Blackberry devices out of hours.

Europe's biggest carmaker and the body that represents its workers have agreed to have the e-mail function deactivated at night, a spokesman for the company said, confirming an earlier report in a German newspaper.

Workers will only receive e-mails from half an hour before the start of flex-time working hours until half an hour after they end, but will still be able to receive and make phone calls.

Daily Wolfsburger Allgemeine Zeitung this week cited works council member Heinz-Joachim Thust as saying that 1,154 pay-scale employees at Volkswagen's six plants in Germany have a smartphone device furnished by the company.

The works council sought to counter any expectation that employees should be reachable all the times, thanks to their indispensable "CrackBerry" gadgets, which could heighten the risk of burnout, a psychological syndrome that some studies have said causes almost 10 million sick days a year in Germany.

So far, the response to the decision to deactivate e-mails at night has been very positive, VW's Thust told Wolfsburger Allgemeine Zeitung.

The move comes two months after millions of customers of the Blackberry -- made by Research in Motion -- were frustrated by a three-day global service disruption, showing how much many rely on continuous, reliable e-mail and instant messenger service.

Volkswagen, which has about 400,000 employees worldwide, aims to overtake Japan's Toyota as the world's biggest carmaker by 2018 by selling 10 million vehicles per year.

The group logged 7.51 million deliveries for the first 11 months of this year, after a 15 percent gain in November.

(Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Mike Nesbit)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111223/wr_nm/us_volkswagen_blackberry

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Justice Department antitrust division probing Verizon cable spectrum deals

Looks like AT&T isn't the only major carrier having issues with the guv'ment lately. Remember that 20MHz AWS spectrum that Verizon got from Cox Communications for a cool $315 million this month? How's about that juicy spectrum Big Red scored from Comcast, Time Warner and Bright House for $3.6 billion? Well, it turns out those deals are raising an eyebrow or two over at the Justice Department, which just launched an investigation into the matter. A spokesperson for the department confirmed the probe with Bloomberg News but declined to provide further details. A source familiar with the investigation, however, says the antitrust division is involved. Apparently, there's concern that the deal puts too much control of the airwaves in the hands of Verizon. For its part, Verizon declined to comment, saying it has yet to receive information about the investigation.

Justice Department antitrust division probing Verizon cable spectrum deals originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Dec 2011 09:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/21/justice-department-antitrust-division-probing-verizon-cable-spec/

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The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Cholera Response Project Underway In Haiti

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti - The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is executing a project to improve sanitation infrastructure and to sensitize residents of a Cite Soleil community in Haiti in the practice of safe personal and community hygiene. The Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) project is being undertaken in support of Haiti?s national strategy to combat the cholera outbreak.

The project will improve access to 25 toilet blocks and hand-washing stations for approximately 15,000 residents or 3000 families in the neighbourhood of Brooklyn, a section of Cite Soleil in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area. Additionally, an effective strategy for promoting proper hygiene practices is being developed as part of the cholera response activities. CARICOM is also providing medical supplies as part of its assistance to the Government of Haiti in combating the cholera epidemic.

The WASH Project is a response to the request by the Government of Haiti for CARICOM?s assistance in the area of sanitation and hygiene, as part of the National Strategy to combat the Cholera Epidemic in Haiti. The area of Cite Soleil was recommended by the designated National Water and Sanitation Agency (DINEPA) for assistance in this regard. The project is being carried out with funding support from the Australian Agency for International Development (AUSAID) and in collaboration with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) as the implementing agency.

Director of the CARICOM Representation Office in Haiti, Ambassador Earl Huntley, Senior Project Officer, CARICOM Haiti Support Unit, Ms. Lyndell Danzie-Black, CARICOM Public Relations Consultant, Mr. Carlton James, IOM WASH Project Manager, Ms. Nicole Klaesener, and IOM Community Workers, participated in a ceremony on the premises of Radio Boukman, a community-based radio station, 0n 8 December, where details of the project were presented to the community.

A highlight of the presentation was a short video feature of a Cite Soleil community renamed ?La Difference? due to its pristine environment, a transformation brought about and sustained by the youth of that community. It is hoped that the CARICOM WASH project, which will also assist in maintaining the cleanliness of the neighbourhood through a plastic bottle recycling project, will contribute to a similar transformation in the Brooklyn community.

The WASH Project is part of CARICOM?s continuing efforts to assist Haiti?s recovery efforts since the earthquake and the cholera outbreak. In addition to earlier and ongoing relief efforts, CARICOM, in collaboration with CARDI, has also provided approximately 40,000 kilos of seeds to the Government of Haiti. The seeds for corn, red and black beans were distributed to farmers in the region of Petit Goave. The Community?s continued assistance includes advocacy on behalf of Haiti, in particular through the good offices of the CARICOM Special Representative, the Most Right Honourable P. J. Patterson, with regard to the reconstruction of Haiti, but also by CARICOM Heads of Government and Foreign Ministers in their interface with external partners.

Source: http://sflcn.com/story.php?id=11135

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Washington Flails as Chaos Threatens Iraq: Will Iran Stoke or Douse the Fires? (Time.com)

Vice President Joe Biden has been on the phone to Baghdad and Erbil this week, frantically trying to coax Iraq's main political players back from the brink of a new sectarian confrontation less than a week after the last U.S. troops departed. But Iraq's political leaders paid little heed to Washington's advice and entreaties when the U.S. had 140,000 troops there; they're even less likely to comply now. Biden reportedly sought to persuade Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to back away from a warrant issued by his government for the arrest of Iraq's most senior Sunni politician, Vice President Tareq al-Hashimi, on allegations that he was involved in a bomb plot for which members of his security detail have been detained. But Iraq's Sunni leadership sees the warrant as part of Maliki's authoritarian crackdown against his opponents, with senior Sunni leaders systematically targeted for arrest by the Shi'ite-led government in recent months.

Al-Hashimi dodged arrest by fleeing to Erbil, capital of the autonomous Kurdish zone in northern Iraq, from where he denounced the arrest warrant as a political plot and accused Maliki of amassing power in his own hands and destroying prospects for inter-sectarian accord. He also offered to stand trial on the allegations, but only in Erbil -- the implication being that he didn't believe he'd get a fair trial in Baghdad. However, there was little sign of Maliki heeding Biden's call for restraint, or calls by Kurdish leaders for an urgent national conference to discuss the widening sectarian schism in Iraqi politics. The Iraqi Prime Minister declared on TV Wednesday: "I do not allow myself and others to bargain over Iraqi blood." He demanded that the Kurdish authorities hand over al-Hashimi. "If they will not hand him over or let him flee or escape, this will lead to problems," Maliki added ominously. (See the ten grim lessons from the Iraq war.)

The move against al-Hashimi coincides with the withdrawal from parliament of the predominantly Sunni Iraqiya bloc, prompting Maliki to urge the legislature to pass a vote of no confidence in deputy prime minister Saleh al-Mutlaq, the Sunni faction's most senior figure in the legislature. And, Maliki warned, the boycott of parliament would result in Iraqiya cabinet ministers losing their positions, ending the inter-party accord that formed the basis of the agreement to seat his government. Iraqiya, whose future participation in what had been envisaged as a consensus government but has in practice been run almost entirely by Maliki's faction, now appears in doubt, accused Maliki of being "the main cause of the crisis," and urging his Shi'ite-dominated bloc to put forward an alternative candidate for prime minister.

Many of the Sunni leaders, including al-Hashimi, now support a bid by three Sunni provinces -- Anbar, Diyala and Salahuddin -- to band together into an autonomous zone on the lines that the Kurds have done. That's an outcome Maliki is determined to avoid, seeing it as strengthening a beachhead in Iraq of regional forces antagonistic to his rule. Indeed, a union of three provinces that had been the cradle of the Sunni insurgency, and which abut Syria, would strengthen the strategic challenge to Maliki in Baghdad -- even more so if President Bashar al-Assad were overthrown by Syria's Sunni majority. Sunni leaders in those provinces have spoken of Sunni insurgencies on both sides of the Syria-Iraq border amplifying one another.

The power struggle between Sunni, Shi'ite and Kurdish political factions has been waged in different forms since Saddam's fall, but it appears to have entered a new phase in recent years, once the clock began ticking down towards the U.S. withdrawal. Maliki has been widely accused of steadily amassing power, particularly through his control over the security forces, and demonstrating his intent to suppress domestic challenges to his increasingly authoritarian rule. (Read "Iraq After the War: Maliki's Attack on Sunni Leaders Suggests a Dark, Divided Future.")

The Prime Minister's attack on the Sunni political class signals a new round of political brinkmanship, with the danger of a relapse into civil war exacerbated by regional tensions, particularly between Iran -- the main outside patron of Maliki's government -- and Saudi Arabia, which has always backed the Sunnis. Those two are at loggerheads in political standoffs throughout the region, from Syria and Lebanon to Bahrain, but Turkey's growing regional influence has also antagonized Tehran. Ankara has taken a leading role in putting pressure on Iran's ally in Damascus, President Assad, over his brutal crackdown on a popular rebellion. And last year, Turkey also played a major role in creating and backing the Iraqiya bloc.

There are, of course, a number of domestic factors that might restrain Maliki from pushing the Sunnis over the edge. The Kurdish leadership is again trying to assume a mediating role whose spinoff is to strengthen the autonomy and boundaries of their de facto statelet in northern Iraq. Another key player could be Grand Ayatullah Ali Sistani, the most influential Shi'ite leader in Iraq, who has played a quiet but sometimes decisive role in shaping Iraq's post-Saddam political transition. Although Sistani comes from the "quietist" tradition that opposes Iran's system of clerical rule, he has been known to intervene in politics. Sistani forced the U.S. occupation authority to allow Iraqis to elect their own government in January of 2005, and then made sure the various Shi'ite factions didn't dilute their power by using his influence to corral them into a single political bloc. More recently, Sistani has been strongly critical of corruption and abuse of power in Maliki's government -- so much so that Maliki is reportedly colluding in efforts to install a top Iranian cleric in the Iraqi seminary city of Najaf as a counterweight to Sistani. Sistani remains the single most important leader among Iraqi Shi'ites, and he's unlikely to countenance a sectarian confrontation with the Sunnis.

The key variable, however, remains Iran. Tehran has been the biggest strategic beneficiary of the U.S. invasion, and it has been the most influential foreign power in Baghdad since the moment the U.S. allowed the Iraqis to choose their own government. (They've returned Iran-friendly Shi'ite governments at each election.) While he may be a Shi'ite partisan with an authoritarian streak, but -- contra the Saudi view -- Maliki is no puppet of Tehran. Still, he's unable to rule without Tehran's support; it was Iran's intervention that persuaded Sadr to throw his considerable parliamentary vote behind Maliki to give him the numbers necessary to keep Iraqiya out of power, after the Sunni-dominated bloc finished with more votes than any other list in the last election. (Read "U.S. Iraq Withdrawal a Gift to Iran? No, the U.S. Iraq Invasion Was the Gift to Iran.")

The question that may determine whether or not Iraq descends into sectarian confrontation, then, may be this: What does Iran want right now?

There may be an argument that stoking instability in Iraq suits Iran at a moment when Tehran is facing growing economic pressure and implied military threats over its nuclear program -- a tactic of starting fires in order to demonstrate its ability to cause problems for its adversaries. Yet, there may also be reason to believe that Iran could, in fact, decide to restrain Maliki should his actions appear to be raising the danger of renewed civil warfare. The reason is simple: The status quo put in place in Iraq by the U.S. invasion is a huge strategic gain for Tehran, which saw its most dangerous enemy -- Saddam Hussein -- replaced by an elected government dominated by its allies. The collapse of that political order in a new round of sectarian bloodshed puts Iran's post-Saddam gains at risk, also inviting its key regional opponent, Saudi Arabia, to intervene more aggressively to turn Iraq into a proxy battlefield.

Either way, Iran is unlikely to accept matters of such great strategic consequence to the Islamic Republic as a confrontation that could potentially draw in Iraq's major neighbors can be decided simply by the whims and narrow agenda of Prime Minister Maliki. At a moment when the fate of Iraq's key Arab partner, Syria's Assad, hangs in the balance, it would take a stupendous recklessness to roll the dice on its influence in Iraq, also, by encouraging Maliki to overplay his hand.

Indeed, in recent weeks, it has appeared as if Iran has been trying to ease tensions with the Saudis, sending its intelligence minister to Riyadh for talks over the alleged Washington embassy bombing plot, and backing down from opposing the Saudis' position on OPEC oil output quotas. Saudi foreign minister Prince Saud al-Faisal on Wednesday indicated a willingness to negotiate with Iran to improve recently frayed relations but also warned Iran, via a statement from the Gulf Cooperation Council, against "instigating sectarian strife" in the region.

Unless Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatullah Ali Khamenei is a more reckless gambler than most analysts know, Prime Minister Maliki may yet find the message he received from Biden discreetly but firmly reiterated by Tehran.

(See photos of the legacy of Ayatullah Khomeini.

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Fitch again warns U.S. debt burden threatens AAA rating (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? Fitch Ratings on Wednesday warned again that the United States' rising debt burden was not consistent with maintaining the country's top AAA credit rating, but said there would likely be no decision on whether to cut the rating before 2013.

Last month, Fitch changed its U.S. credit rating outlook to negative from stable, citing the failure of a special congressional committee to agree on at least $1.2 trillion in deficit-reduction measures.

"Federal debt will rise in the absence of expenditure and tax reforms that would address the challenges of rising health and social security spending as the population ages," Fitch said in a statement.

"The high and rising federal and general government debt burden is not consistent with the U.S. retaining its 'AAA' status despite its other fundamental sovereign credit strengths," the ratings agency said.

In a new fiscal projection, Fitch said at least $3.5 trillion of additional deficit reduction measures will be required to stabilize the federal debt held by the public at around 90 percent of gross domestic product in the latter half of the current decade.

Fitch, when it lowered its outlook to negative, had said it was giving the U.S. government until 2013 to come up with a "credible plan" to tackle its ballooning budget deficit or risk a downgrade from the AAA status.

"A key task of an incoming Congress and administration in 2013 is to formulate a credible plan to reduce the budget deficit and stabilize the federal debt burden. Without such a strategy, the sovereign rating will likely be lowered by the end of 2013," Fitch reiterated.

Rival ratings agency Standard & Poor's cut its credit rating on the United States to AA-plus from AAA on August 5, citing concerns over the government's budget deficit and rising debt burden as well as the political gridlock that nearly led to a default.

On November 23, Moody's Investors Service, warned that its top level Aaa credit rating for the United States could be in jeopardy if lawmakers were to backtrack on $1.2 trillion in automatic deficit cuts that are set to be made over 10 years.

The plan for automatic cuts was triggered after the special congressional committee failed to reach an agreement on deficit reduction. Moody's said any pullback from the agreed automatic cuts to take effect starting in 2013 could prompt it to take action.

(Reporting By Daniel Bases; Editing by Leslie Adler)

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Last US Iraq War death was 23-year-old NC soldier (Providence Journal)

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The high cost of child care

CLASP

By Allison Linn

If you?re a working parent, chances are at some point you?ve bemoaned the high cost of child care.

The lower your income, the more likely you are to have reason to complain.

A recent graphic from CLASP, an advocacy group for low-income people, shows that families with working moms who live below the poverty line and have kids under 15 are spending 40 percent of their monthly income on child care expenses.

That?s a more than 10 percentage point increase from 2002, according to CLASP.

Both sets of data are based on information from the U.S. Census Bureau, and they exclude people who are getting child care for free or from a family member, government or charity program. The most recent data was released in the spring of 2010.

Hannah Matthews, the director of child care and early education for CLASP, said it?s not clear why child care costs have increased so substantially for very low-income families. One hypothesis is that child care costs are going up while incomes are dropping or staying steady.

The 40 percent figure is also very high in comparison to families who earn 200 percent above the poverty line, or more. Those families are paying just 7 percent of their monthly income in child care expenses.

Matthews noted that many families in the 7 percent range also likely feel pained by that child care bill.

?It?s 7 percent of their income and feels like such a large amount. It?s striking to think about what it feels like for a family that?s in the 40 percent chart there - what they?re dealing with just to make ends meet,? she said.

?Related:

The high cost of single parenthood

Who's going hungry

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House passes bill to keep welfare program going (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The nation's main welfare program would be funded for the next nine months under a bill passed Thursday by the House, which also banned recipients from accessing their benefits in strip clubs, liquor stores and casinos.

A voice vote by the House approved the measure. The welfare provision is included in legislation to extend a payroll tax cut, but the separate bill was passed in case it's eliminated from the tax bill. Without the legislation, the welfare program would halt at midnight Dec. 31.

Similar legislation has been introduced in the Senate.

The chief House sponsor, Republican Rep. Erik Paulsen of Minnesota, said that welfare caseloads have fallen by 56 percent since welfare reform was enacted in 1996. The figures go through June.

Paulsen said the restrictions applying to casinos, strip clubs and liquor stores were prompted by several news stories on misuse of welfare money. He said some states already have closed what is called the "strip club loophole," but the bill insists that all states take steps to end this access.

Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis., said she opposed the provision. "Authors of this bill have brought it up so that they could just have another kick at poor people," Moore said. "The bill sort of suggests that people who are poor are of very low moral character and they can't be trusted."

Many states issue welfare recipients an Electronic Benefits Transfer card, or EBT, with cash benefits. The systems have simplified the distribution of financial assistance, but they also provide a way of tracking where the benefits are withdrawn.

Paulsen said the welfare program that now exists "is designed to promote and support work. Unfortunately, it is one of the only anti-poverty programs that actually does so, focusing on helping people move from government checks to paychecks."

The latest census data shows a record number of Americans ? nearly 1 in 2 ? have fallen into poverty or are scraping by on earnings that classify them as low income.

Many formerly middle-class Americans are dropping below the low-income threshold ? roughly $45,000 for a family of four ? because of pay cuts, a forced reduction of work hours or a spouse losing a job.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111215/ap_on_go_co/us_welfare_bill

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Ousted shah's son wants Iran leader tried in court (AP)

PARIS ? The exiled son of the toppled shah of Iran said Thursday he plans to ask the United Nations to bring Iran's supreme leader before the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity.

Reza Pahlavi is among exiles working for regime change in Iran. He said at a Paris news conference that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei must be held responsible for the executions, jailing and torture of political dissidents.

Pahlavi said he will submit a complaint about Khamenei to the five permanent U.N. Security Council members along with a report of the cleric's alleged crimes that will be constantly updated.

Pahlavi's father, the late Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, was ousted in the 1979 Islamic Revolution that installed a clerical hierarchy. The ultimate leader of the government running the country now is Khamenei.

Iran has not ratified the Rome statute that established the International Criminal Court, the world's permanent war crimes tribunal, known as the ICC. It is therefore not subject to the court's jurisdiction ? unless the Security Council decides to step in and refer Iran to the court as it did in the case of Libya.

ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo, asked about Pahlavi's announcement, said "citizens around the world are learning to request the court's intervention."

"In this sense, I think it's great to show people who are looking for justice. Now they know how to do it. We are providing a new institution to the world, to make the world better," Ocampo told a news conference in New York.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111215/ap_on_re_eu/eu_france_iran_shah_s_son

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Japan PM says tsunami-hit nuclear plant is stable (AP)

TOKYO ? Declaring Japan has turned a corner in the battle to stabilize its tsunami-damaged nuclear plant, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda announced Friday the facility has achieved a stable state of "cold shutdown," a crucial step toward lifting evacuation orders and closing the plant.

Noda's announcement was intended to reassure the nation that significant progress has been made in the nine months since the March 11 tsunami sent three reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant into meltdowns in the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl in 1986.

But the plant 140 miles (230 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo remains vulnerable to problems, its surroundings are contaminated by radiation and closing the plant safely will take 30 or more years.

"The reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant have reached a state of cold shutdown," Noda said. "Now that we have achieved stability in the reactors, a major concern for the nation has been resolved."

Noda said he hopes conditions will improve quickly so that the people who have been displaced by the crisis can return home "even a day sooner."

"There are many issues that remain," Noda said. "Our battle is not over."

The government's official endorsement of the claim by Tokyo Electric Power Co. that the reactors have reached cold shutdown status is a necessary step toward revising evacuation zones around the plant and focusing efforts from simply stabilizing the facility to actually starting the arduous process of shutting it down.

But Noda acknowledged the assessment has some important caveats.

The government says Fukushima Dai-ichi has reached cold shutdown "conditions"_ a cautious phrasing reflecting the fact that TEPCO cannot measure temperatures of melted fuel in the damaged reactors in the same way as with normally functioning ones.

Even so, the announcement marks the end of the second phase of the government's lengthy roadmap to completely decommission the plant.

Officials can now start discussing whether to allow some evacuees to return to less-contaminated areas ? although a 12-mile (20-kilometer) zone around the plant is expected to remain off limits for years to come. The crisis displaced some 100,000 people.

Noda said the government will step up decontamination efforts and will ready 1 trillion yen ($12.8 billion) for urgently needed projects next year. He also said 30,000 workers will be trained.

A cold shutdown normally means a nuclear reactor's coolant system is at atmospheric pressure and its reactor core is at a temperature below 212 degrees Fahrenheit (100 degrees Celsius), making it impossible for a chain reaction to take place.

According to TEPCO, temperature gauges inside the Fukushima reactors show the pressure vessel is at around 70 C (158 F). The government also says the amount of radiation now being released around the plant is at or below 1 millisievert per year ? equivalent to the annual legal exposure limit for ordinary citizens before the crisis began.

Akira Yamaguchi, a nuclear physicist at Osaka University, said that the government's definition of cold shutdown is disputable.

"But what's most important right now is that there aren't any massive radiation leaks any more," he said.

Putting longer-term issues aside, he warned that much of the backup equipment installed at the plant since the crisis began is makeshift and may break down. He said winter cold could test their strength.

___

Associated Press writer Eric Talmadge contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111216/ap_on_bi_ge/as_japan_nuclear_crisis

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Romney defends time in business world

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, speaks during a Republican presidential debate in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, Pool)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, speaks during a Republican presidential debate in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, Pool)

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) ? Mitt Romney is defending his time as a business executive, saying that he ultimately added tens of thousands of jobs despite cuts at some companies.

Romney on Thursday night acknowledged that he cut jobs at some of the businesses his venture capital firm took over. He says that some of his investments didn't pay off and that not all businesses succeed.

His chief rival, Newt Gingrich, has accused Romney of shredding companies and costing Americans jobs. Romney says that he worked to help businesses strengthen themselves and survive.

Romney also says that he welcomes the criticism and predicts that President Barack Obama will use it against him if Romney wins the Republican nomination.

Romney made the remarks during the latest GOP debate.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2011-12-15-Republicans-Debate-Romney-Business/id-e64d3cf272424bd79379e6c175444d29

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Leaders block quick Senate vote on payroll tax (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Congressional negotiations over a bill extending a payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits can begin as soon the Senate rejects a version the House approved despite a White House veto threat, the Senate's top Democrat said Wednesday.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid wants his chamber to vote quickly on the House payroll tax bill, which includes Democratic-opposed spending cuts and language speeding work on an oil pipeline, to demonstrate how little support it has in the Senate. That could strengthen his hand in talks with House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, over a compromise.

"The sooner we put this useless partisan charade behind us, the sooner we can negotiate a true bipartisan solution that protects middle-class workers" from a payroll tax increase, said Reid, D-Nev.

But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, his opposite number, refused Wednesday to let the chamber vote quickly on the House measure. The Kentucky Republican said the Senate should first vote on legislation financing the federal government, because a temporary bill keeping agencies open expires on Saturday, threatening a government shutdown.

"We ought to finish our most immediate concern first," McConnell said, adding that Reid should start negotiating with Boehner on the payroll tax bill immediately.

Reid would not allow a vote on the spending bill. Democrats worry that if Congress passes that measure first, it would ease pressure on Republicans to reach compromise on the payroll tax legislation.

The House payroll tax measure would keep 160 million workers from seeing their payroll tax jump on Jan. 1 from this year's 4.2 percent back to its normal level of 6.2 percent ? a $1,000 difference for a family making $50,000.

It would also renew expiring extra benefits for long-term jobless people and head off a cut in doctors' Medicare reimbursements, a reduction that could prompt some to stop seeing elderly patients who use that program.

But it has drawn nearly universal Democratic opposition because it would also force work to begin on the 1,700-mile-long Keystone XL oil pipeline, which President Barack Obama would rather postpone. It would also trim federal spending without forcing the wealthy to contribute as much as Democrats want.

Boehner taunted Senate Democrats Tuesday after the House passed its legislation.

"The Senate can take up our bill, they can pass it, they can amend it, they can move their own bill," he told reporters, standing beside a video clock counting down the seconds until the payroll tax boost that would otherwise occur Jan. 1. "But it is time for the Senate to act. Democrats who run the United States Senate can't continue to hide and sit on the sidelines."

Boehner also said that when the Senate acts, "we'll begin to then take a look at where we can find common ground."

The payroll measure isn't the only one lawmakers plan to tackle before beginning their year-end vacation, presumably before Christmas.

Bipartisan lawmakers have reached agreement on a $1 trillion measure financing scores of government agencies through next September, a bill that would avert a federal shutdown this weekend when temporary funding expires.

Democrats, though, are refusing to let the legislation move through Congress until the two parties broker a deal on the payroll tax measure. Democrats hope that will build pressure on Republicans to quickly reach agreement on the payroll tax bill, a tactic Boehner called "outrageous."

The House planned to debate a $662 billion defense bill on Wednesday that charts policy for military personnel, weapons systems and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, plus national security programs in the Energy Department. House and Senate negotiators wrapped up the bill Monday night after including revisions that address administration concerns over handling of terrorism suspects.

The bill would require that the military take custody of a suspect deemed to be a member of al-Qaida or its affiliates who is involved in plotting or committing attacks on the United States, with an exemption for U.S. citizens. The legislation also would deny some suspected terrorists, even U.S. citizens seized within the nation's borders, the right to trial and subject them to indefinite detention.

Also Wednesday, the Senate debated two doomed proposals to amend the Constitution to require a balanced federal budget.

The Senate seems sure to fall short of the two-thirds majority required to amend the Constitution, a margin the House failed to muster several weeks ago as Republicans there failed to push a similar amendment to passage. The Senate will vote on dueling Republican and Democratic proposals.

Republicans say work on the Keystone oil pipeline, proposed to run from the tar sands of Alberta, Canada, to Texas oil refineries, would create 20,000 or more jobs. Opponents say the real figure is more like 3,500.

Obama cited a need for studies of how the pipeline could avoid harming fragile lands in Nebraska when he announced last month that work would be delayed until after next year's elections. The GOP bill would give the president 60 days to act or the needed work permit would be automatically granted.

Another provision that Republicans say would create jobs would derail a proposed federal environmental rule aimed at curbing some industrial pollution.

To cover the payroll tax bill's overall cost, which exceeds $180 billion, the measure ignores Democratic proposals to slap a surtax on people earning more than $1 million annually.

Instead, Republicans would raise the money by continuing a pay freeze on civilian federal workers and requiring them to contribute more to their pensions; making higher-earning seniors pay steeper premiums for Medicare; cutting funds from Obama's 2010 health care overhaul; raising some federal fees; and selling portions of the broadcast spectrum.

The Senate version of the payroll tax legislation may also renew some tax provisions that would otherwise expire Jan. 1, including one providing tax breaks to mass transit commuters.

___

Associated Press writers Andrew Taylor, David Espo, Donna Cassata and Jim Abrams contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111214/ap_on_go_co/us_congress_rdp

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Gorgeous concept car predicted future in 1969

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Rise of atmospheric oxygen more complicated than previously thought

Friday, December 2, 2011

The appearance of oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere probably did not occur as a single event, but as a long series of starts and stops, according to an international team of researchers who investigated rock cores from the FAR DEEP project.

The Fennoscandia Arctic Russia - Drilling Early Earth Project -- FAR DEEP -- took place during the summer of 2007 near Murmansk in the northwest region of Russia. The project, part of the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program, drilled a series of shallow, two-inch diameter cores and, by overlapping them, created a record representing stone deposited during the Proterozoic Eon -- 2,500 million to 542 million years ago.

"We've always thought that oxygen came into the atmosphere really quickly during an event," said Lee R. Kump, professor and head of geosciences, Penn State. "We are no longer looking for an event. Now we are looking for when and why oxygen became a stable part of the Earth's atmosphere."

The researchers report in today's (Dec. 1) issue of ScienceExpress that evaluation of these cores and comparison with cores from Gabon previously analyzed by others, supports the conclusion that the Great Oxidation Event played out over hundreds of millions of years. Oxygen levels gradually crossed the low atmospheric oxygen threshold for pyrite -- an iron sulfur mineral -- oxidation by 2,500 million years ago and the loss of any mass-independently fractionated sulfur by 2,400 million years ago. Then oxygen levels rose at an ever-increasing rate through the Paleoproterozoic, achieving about 1 percent of the present atmospheric level.

"The definition of when an oxygen atmosphere occurred depends on which threshold you are looking for," said Kump. "It could be when pyrite becomes oxidized, when sulfur MIF disappears or when deep crustal oxidation occurs."

When the mass-independent fractionated sulfur disappeared, the air on Earth was still not breathable by animal standards. When red rocks containing iron oxides appeared 2,300 million years ago, the air was still unbreathable.

"At about 1 percent oxygen, the groundwater became strongly oxidized, making it possible for groundwater seeping through rocks to oxidize organic materials," said Kump.

Initially, any oxygen in the atmosphere, produced by the photosynthesis of single-celled organisms, was used up when sulfur, iron and other elements oxidized. When sufficient oxygen accumulated in the atmosphere, it permeated the groundwater and began oxidizing buried organic material, oxidizing carbon to create carbon dioxide.

The cores from the FAR-DEEP project were compared with the Francevillian samples from Gabon using the ratio of carbon isotopes 13 and 12 to see if the evidence for high rates of oxygen accumulation existed worldwide. Both the FAR-DEEP project's cores and the Francevillian cores show large deposits of carbon in the form of fossilized petroleum. Both sets of cores also show similar changes in carbon 13 through time, indicating that the changes in carbon isotopes occurred worldwide and oxygen levels throughout the atmosphere were high.

"Although others have documented huge carbon isotope variations at later times in Earth history associated with stepwise increases in atmospheric oxygen, our results are less equivocal because we have many lines of data all pointing to the same thing," said Kump. "These indications include not only carbon13 isotope profiles in organic mater from two widely separated locations, but also supporting profiles in limestones and no indication that processes occurring since that time have altered the signal."

###

Penn State: http://live.psu.edu

Thanks to Penn State for this article.

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End of the line for Cain? Announcement Saturday (AP)

ATLANTA ? Rapidly becoming a mere footnote in the presidential race, Herman Cain sent mixed signals Friday on whether he would abandon his beleaguered White House bid on Saturday after a woman's allegation of an extramarital affair.

He said he would make a "major announcement" on whether he would press on ? at an event still being billed as the grand opening of a new headquarters.

It is the latest ? and perhaps final ? twist in a campaign saga that has taken the Georgia businessman from unknown longshot to surprise frontrunner to embattled tabloid subject.

He arrived at his suburban Atlanta home on Friday afternoon to talk with his wife of 42 years, Gloria, about whether to press on after his campaign was rocked by multiple sexual harassment allegations and this week's claim that he had a 13-year affair. He denies wrongdoing. It was their first face-to-face meeting since the allegation was made public.

As night fell, campaign aides who were optimistic earlier Friday that Cain would press on said privately they expected that he would exit the race.

Earlier, in a speech in Rock Hill, S.C., Cain wouldn't disclose whether he would drop out but told supporters to stay tuned. He said he would clarify the next steps of the campaign and assured backers the affair claim was "garbage." But he also said he needed to consider what he would do with campaign donations already banked if he dropped out of the race.

"Nobody's going to make me make that prematurely," Cain told a crowd of about 100 people. "That's all there is to it."

"My wife and family comes first. I've got to take that into consideration," Cain added. "I don't doubt the support that I have. Just look at the people who are here."

Cain had not seen his wife since Ginger White, 46, came forward and said she had a sexual affair with Cain that lasted more than a decade. He has said they were only friends but acknowledged that he helped pay her monthly bills and expenses. His wife, Cain said, did not know of the friendship with White.

The former Godfather's pizza executive said he is reassessing whether his presidential bid is still viable.

But it was difficult to imagine a path forward with just a month until the lead-off Iowa caucuses.

Polls suggest his popularity has taken a deep hit.

A Des Moines Register poll released Friday showed Cain's support plummeting, with backing from 8 percent of Republican caucusgoers in Iowa, down from 23 percent a month ago.

Fundraising has also fallen off. He issued an email appeal to supporters on Friday asking for donations, in an attempt to gauge whether his financial support has dried up.

"I need to know that you are behind me 100 percent," Cain told backers. "In today's political environment, the only way we can gauge true support is by the willingness of our supporters to invest in this effort.

A political novice, Cain leveraged strong tea party support to hurtle to the front of the Republican pack in October casting himself as an anti-establishment outsider. His catchy 9-9-9 tax overhaul proposal helped his rise. But his effort soon lost altitude.

He fumbled policy questions, and his campaign has been reeling since it was revealed a little more than a month ago that the National Restaurant Association paid settlements to two women who claimed Cain sexually harassed them while he was president of the organization. A third woman told The Associated Press that Cain made inappropriate sexual advances but that she didn't file a complaint. A fourth woman also stepped forward to accuse Cain of groping her in a car in 1997.

Cain has denied wrongdoing in all cases. And his campaign was taking some steps to blunt the drumbeat of allegations.

It unveiled a "Women for Herman Cain" webpage with testimonials from female backers, some urging him to stay in the race. It was led by Gloria Cain.

The candidate's wife ? who's not been on the campaign trail ? has drawn her own support as the allegations against her husband have piled up.

A Facebook page "I Stand With Gloria Cain" had attracted more than 400 supporters by Friday afternoon.

On Friday, Cain urged backers in South Carolina to look past the allegations.

"There's a lot of garbage on the Internet. There's a lot of garbage out there on the TV. There's a lot of garbage out there about me, don't you know? There's a lot of misinformation out there. You have to stay informed and check out the facts for yourself," Cain said.

He added: "I'm on this journey for a reason. I don't look back."

Word of a pending announcement took some aides by surprise.

"I am learning this as you're learning it," said Cain's Iowa campaign chairman, Steve Grubbs, who met Thursday with campaign manager Mark Block.

The two outlined a December travel schedule for Cain, who began advertising on television again in Iowa on Friday.

As of Friday afternoon, Cain was scheduled to participate in the two Iowa debates this month, hold a media announcement in Iowa on Dec. 12 and tour the state at the end of the month.

"That's sort of the plan, very tentatively," Grubbs said. "All that could change."

Georgia supporters set to attend the Saturday event in Atlanta ? billed as a headquarters celebration ? were taken aback by the news that an announcement was coming.

"I have heard nothing," said state Sen. Josh McKoon, a prominent Cain backer who will stand with him Saturday.

___

Philip Elliott reported from Rock Hill, S.C. Associated Press writers Ray Henry in Atlanta, Thomas Beaumont in Iowa and Steve Peoples in New Hampshire contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111203/ap_on_el_pr/us_cain

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Pets, kids and Santa this weekend at Northgate Mall ? Maple Leaf Life

Posted by Mai Ling on November 30th, 2011

It?s all about Santa this weekend at Northgate Mall.

On Saturday, Dec. 3, he?s even bringing the Mrs. for a story time from 10:30-11:30 a.m.,?which will?coincide with an effort by Macy?s staff to help?kids write and decorate letters to Santa.

Kids began writing and decorating letters for?Santa after his arrival?at Northgate Mall?on Nov. 19. Photo courtesy Northgate Mall.

For every letter created at the event, Macy?s will donate $1 (up to $1 million)?to the Make-A-Wish Foundation as?part of its ?Believe? campaign.?This year, Simon Mall?s Kidgits Club is partnering with Macy?s at Northgate Mall to help generate even more letters for Santa.

But kids don?t get all of the fun with Santa this weekend.

On Sunday, Dec. 4, your pooch or other friendly pet is invited to sit with Santa to have their picture taken. From 6:30-8 p.m., Santa is ?Calling all cats, dogs, other pets (and their owners)!?

Other holiday events this weekend include:

• Dec. 2, 5-9 p.m: Drop ?n Shop: Here?s your chance to get some holiday shopping done without the kids! Drop your kids off for a safe and fun play time at the Northgate Community Center, 10510 Fifth Ave N.E. We?ll have jump toys, gym toys, a holiday craft project and holiday movie for them to enjoy. We?ll provide pizza and juice for dinner as well! Cost is $30 per child; sibling discount is $25.
• Dec 4, 2-6 p.m. Home for the Holidays Gingerbread House Decorating Party: At this benefit?at North Helpline Food Bank, 12736 33rd Ave. N.E., every family will have a station complete with their own gingerbread house, white royal icing and a selection of candy. Complimentary coffee, cookies and cocoa included in cost of event. Live holiday music and a chance to have your photo taken with Santa or you finished gingerbread house! Advanced tickets available for $35/household at Brown Paper Tickets or RSVP via email at events@northhelpline.org. Questions? Call 206-367-3477.

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More News from North Seattle

Source: http://www.mapleleaflife.com/2011/11/30/pets-kids-and-santa-this-weekend-at-northgate-mall/

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