Mike Tyson to be inducted into WWE Hall of Fame

Boxing legend and pop culture icon ?Iron? Mike Tyson will be inducted into the WWE's 2012 Hall of Fame class on March 31 in Miami, WWE announced to major media markets throughout the nation Monday. Among the most decorated pugilists in history, Tyson established his place in WWE lore in 1998 when he served as a special ?outside enforcer? for the WWE Championship main event of WrestleMania XIV between Shawn Michaels and ?Stone Cold? Steve Austin. (TYSON HALL OF FAME BIO)

Long before his appearance on The Grandest Stage of Them All, however, Tyson made his name in boxing, initially taking the sport by storm in the 1980s. Within the first two years of his professional career, Tyson amassed a 22-0 record, winning 21 of those contests by knockout.

In 1986, at age 20, ?The Baddest Man on the Planet? captured the World Boxing Council title to become the youngest heavyweight champion in history ? a distinction that stands today. The very next year he became the sport?s first Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion, winning the top prizes in both the World Boxing Association and the International Boxing Federation.

Tyson?s first foray into sports-entertainment ? a memorable appearance on Raw in January 1998 ? produced one of the most indelibly chaotic scenes in WWE's history, as an icy staredown with ?Stone Cold? Steve Austin dissolved into a wild pull-apart brawl (WATCH). Often credited with ushering in WWE?s Attitude Era, that incident led to Tyson?s involvement in the WrestleMania XIV main event between Austin and then-champion Shawn Michaels.

Although all signs heading into the championship bout suggested Tyson would align with Michaels (WATCH), the boxing great defied expectations, counting the pinfall that made Austin a WWE Champion for the first time. When Michaels disputed the decision, ?Iron Mike? floored The Showstopper with a knockout right. (PHOTOS | WATCH)

Upon his return to WWE in January 2010 as a special guest on Raw, Tyson officially competed for the first time in a WWE ring. Teaming with Chris Jericho against Michaels and his D-Generation X cohort, Triple H, Tyson surprised his teammate and revealed himself as an honorary member of DX. That night, it was Jericho who wound up on the wrong end of Tyson?s staggering punching power. (PHOTOS | WATCH)

In recent years, ?The Baddest Man on the Planet? has emerged as a looming figure away from the squared circle, performing scene-stealing cameos in The Hangover series in addition to running a clothing line and starring in a gaming app.

The WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on March 31, the eve of WrestleMania XXVIII, at the American Airlines Arena. Alongside Tyson, WWE legends Edge, The Four Horsemen and Mil Mascaras have already been announced as inductees. (INDUCTION CEREMONY TICKETS NOW ON SALE)

For more on ?Iron Mike,? visit his website and be sure to follow him on Twitter (@MikeTyson). Also, don?t forget to check out his clothing line, as well as his new app, Mike Tyson: Main Event, which is currently available on iTunes.

Source: http://www.wwe.com/inside/Mike-Tyson-Hall-of-Fame

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Archaeopteryx: Birdlike dinosaur wore black plumage of feathers

Archaeopteryx?lived about 150 million years ago in what is now Bavaria in Germany. First unearthed 150 years ago, the fossil of this carnivore, with its blend of avian and reptilian features, seemed an iconic evolutionary link between dinosaurs and birds.

The raven-size creature long thought of as the earliest bird,?Archaeopteryx, may have been adorned with black feathers, researchers have found.

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The structures that held the black pigment may have strengthened wing feathers, perhaps helping?Archaeopteryx?fly, scientists added.

Archaeopteryx?lived about 150 million years ago in what is now Bavaria in Germany. First unearthed 150 years ago, the fossil of this carnivore, with its blend of avian and reptilian features, seemed an iconic evolutionary link between dinosaurs and birds.

One recent study has called into question whether?Archaeopteryx?was a true bird?or just one of many birdlike dinosaurs. To learn more about whether birds and birdlike dinosaurs might have evolved flight, and if so, why, researchers often turn to the animals' feathers. Illustrations of the creature are often colorful, but such depictions of its plumage until now had little else but artistic license to draw on.

"Being able to?reconstruct the colors of feathers?can help us gain more knowledge about the organisms and more responsibly reconstruct what they looked like," researcher Ryan Carney, an evolutionary biologist at Brown University, told LiveScience.

Black feathers

An international team of scientists now finds that a well-preserved feather on?Archaeopteryx's wing was black. The color-generating structures within the creature's feather, known as?melanosomes, "would have given the feathers additional structural support," Carney said. "This would have been advantageous during this early evolutionary stage of dinosaur flight." [Images: Dinosaurs That Learned to Fly]

The?Archaeopteryx?feather was discovered in a limestone deposit in Germany in 1861. After two unsuccessful attempts to pinpoint any melanosomes within the feather, the investigators tried a more powerful type of scanning electron microscope.

"The third time was the charm, and we finally found the keys to unlocking the feather's original color, hidden in the rock for the past 150 million years," Carney said.

The group located patches of hundreds of melanosomes encased within the fossil. The sausage-shape melanosomes were about 1 millionth of a meter long and 250 billionths of a meter wide ? that is, about one-hundredth the diameter of a human hair in length and less than a wavelength of visible light in width. To determine the color of these melanosomes, researchers compared the fossilized structures with those found in 87 species of?living birds?that represented four classes of feathers ? black, gray, brown and ones found in?penguins, which have unusually large melanosomes compared with other birds.

"What we found was that the feather was predicted to be black with 95 percent certainty," Carney said.

Did?Archaeopteryx?fly?

To better pin down the structure of the feather, they analyzed its barbules ? tiny, riblike appendages that overlap and interlock like zippers to give a feather rigidity and strength. The barbules and the way melanosomes are lined up within them are identical to those found in modern birds, Carney said.

This analysis revealed the feather is a covert, one that covers the primary wing feathers that birds use in flight. Its feather structure is identical to that of living birds, suggesting "that completely modern bird feathers evolved as early as 150 million years ago," Carney said.

Color may serve many functions in modern birds, and it remains unclear what use or uses this pigment had in?Archaeopteryx. Black feathers may have helped the creature absorb sunlight for heat, acted as camouflage, served in?courtship displays?or assisted with flight.

"We can't say it's proof that?Archaeopteryx?was a flier, but what we can say is that in modern bird feathers, these melanosomes provide additional strength and resistance to abrasion from flight, which is why wing feathers and their tips are the most likely areas to be pigmented," Carney said. "With?Archaeopteryx, as with birds today, the melanosomes we found would have provided similar structural advantages, regardless of whether the pigmentation initially evolved for another purpose."

More feathers will need to be tested across?Archaeopteryx?to see how the animal was colored overall, researchers said. Unfortunately, this is the only?Archaeopteryx?feather discovered with the kind of residues one can test for color.

Still, this one feather is enough to leave an indelible mark on Carney. "I got a tattoo of the feather on the 150th anniversary that?Archaeopteryx's scientific name was published," he said.

The scientists detailed their findings online today (Jan. 24) in the journal Nature Communications. Their work was funded by the National Geographic Society and the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter?@livescience?and on?Facebook.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/n_VePcCiEd8/Archaeopteryx-Birdlike-dinosaur-wore-black-plumage-of-feathers

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EFF petitions to extend legal iPhone jailbreaking | TUAW - The ...

In 2010, the Copyright Office said jailbreaking a handset did not violate the DMCA and the jailbreak community breathed a sigh of relief. What many people didn't realize was that the exemption covering jailbreaking will expire later this year. When it expires, companies can go after jailbreak developers like the iPhone Dev Team using the DMCA. They could face jail time and monetary penalties for their involvement in creating jailbreaking tools. Needless to say, this would put a halt to most, if not all, jailbreaking.

To prevent this from happening, the EFF created a webpage that tells you how to contact the Copyright Office and ask them to extend this exemption. The advocacy group also wants to extend this protection to tablets and video game consoles. They have instructions on where to send your comments and a guideline about what to say in your communication with the government agency. Comments are due by February 10 at 5 PM Eastern Time. If this is a cause you believe in, head over the EFF and take some time to help keep jailbreaking alive.

[Electronista]

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Source: http://www.tuaw.com/2012/01/27/eff-petitions-to-extend-legal-iphone-jailbreaking/

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The Zetas now Mexico's largest drug gang. Who are they? (The Christian Science Monitor)

Skip to navigation ? Skip to content ? By Sara Miller Llana Sara Miller Llana ? Thu?Jan?26, 3:17?pm?ET Follow Yahoo! News on , become a fan on Facebook

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Romney's mountain of wealth could cause loud echo (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Mitt Romney's tax returns tell the tale: Yes, he's rich ? really rich.

His returns, spanning more than 500 pages and released under political pressure Tuesday, represent an extraordinary financial accounting of one of the wealthiest U.S. presidential candidates in generations, with his annual income topping $20 million.

It remains unclear how the details of Romney's fortune will play among American workers, who on average earn less in a lifetime than Romney paid in taxes in 2010 alone. Meanwhile, the typical taxpayer pays a similar share of his income to Uncle Sam as he does, roughly 15 percent.

Romney's returns ? which include a 2011 tax estimate ? spilled out new details of his scattered holdings, tax strategies and charitable donations. Romney paid about $3 million in federal income taxes in 2010, having earned more than seven times that from his investments.

The documents quickly became fodder for his opponents, with Democrats chiding the former Massachusetts governor for not disclosing more about his financial history. The White House also weighed in about tax fairness as President Barack Obama prepared for his State of the Union Address.

Romney is hardly the only wealthy American seeking the presidency, though he's on a level all his own.

Republican rival Newt Gingrich, who had publicly pressed him to release his tax information, released his own return for 2010 last week. It revealed that Gingrich earned more than $3.1 million, mostly from $2.5 million paid by his companies, partnerships and investments, and paid just under $1 million in federal tax, a rate of about 31 percent.

Obama and his wife, Michelle, reported income of $1.73 million last year, mostly from the books he's written, and paid $453,770 in federal taxes.

Romney's tax returns showed he continues to profit from Bain Capital, the private equity firm he founded but no longer runs; from a Swiss bank account closed just as he launched his campaign and from new listings of investment funds set up overseas.

Romney had long refused to disclose any federal tax returns, then hinted he would offer a single year's return in April. Yet mounting criticism from his rivals and a hard loss in last week's South Carolina primary forced his hand.

"Governor Romney has paid 100 percent of what he owes," said Benjamin Ginsberg, the campaign's legal counsel. Ginsberg and other advisers said Romney did not use any aggressive tax strategies to help reduce or defer his tax income.

For 2011, Romney will pay about $3.2 million with an effective tax rate of about 15.4 percent, the campaign said. Those returns haven't yet been filed yet with the Internal Revenue Service. In total, he would pay more than $6.2 million in taxes on $45 million in income over the past two years, his campaign said.

Romney had been cast by his GOP opponents as a wealthy businessman who earned lucrative payouts from his investments while Bain slashed jobs in the private sector. Romney concedes that some companies Bain invested in were unsuccessful but says others created large numbers of jobs.

As for his own tax payments, he said in Monday night's debate in Tampa, "I pay all the taxes that are legally required and not a dollar more. ... I don't think you want someone as the candidate for president who pays more taxes than he owes."

He added, "You'll see my income, how much taxes I've paid, how much I've paid to charity."

Romney's 2010 return showed about $4.5 million in itemized deductions, including $1.5 million contributed to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Romney's charitable giving is above average, even for someone at his income level, according to IRS data.

Romney's GOP rivals did not immediately comment on his tax disclosures. But House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, defended him, telling reporters that Romney's tax rate is close to the 15 percent rate most Americans pay on long-term capital gains from the sale of investments.

Romney's advisers stressed that he met all his federal tax obligations, provided maximum transparency and did not take advantage of what they described as "aggressive" strategies often used by the ultra-rich. Still, for millions of taxpayers grappling with their own returns as tax season looms, Romney's multimillion dollar wealth provides a window into an unfamiliar world.

His 2010 return shows a number of foreign investments, including funds in Ireland, Switzerland, Germany and Luxembourg. Most of Romney's vast fortune is held in a blind trust that he doesn't control. A portion is held in a retirement account.

Romney's advisers acknowledged Tuesday that Romney and his wife, Ann, had a bank account in Switzerland as part of her trust. The account was worth $3 million and was held in the United Bank of Switzerland, said R. Bradford Malt, a Boston lawyer who makes investments for the Romneys and oversees their blind trust, which was set up to avoid any conflicts of interest in investments during his run for the presidency.

In 2009, UBS admitted assisting U.S. citizens in evading taxes and agreed to pay a $780 million penalty as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department.

The political discussion over releasing Romney's tax information highlighted an argument that Democrats are already starting to use against him ? that he is out of touch with normal Americans. And it may well have hurt him in the South Carolina primary, where he lost by 12 percentage points to Gingrich after spending several days resisting calls to release the returns.

Asked during a round of television interviews about Romney's relatively modest tax rate, Obama adviser David Plouffe said: "We need to change our tax system. We need to change our tax code so that everybody is doing their fair share." Obama planned to talk about economic fairness in his State of the Union speech to Congress Tuesday night.

Other Democratic Party voices were less restrained. "He used every loophole in the book available to the wealthy and corporations to avoid paying his fair share," said Democratic National Committee Executive Director Patrick Gaspard.

On the other hand, Romney's wife, Ann, had told supporters at a Florida rally on Sunday: "I want to remind you where we know our riches are. Our riches are with our families."

___

Associated Press writers Stephen Ohlemacher and Alan Fram in Washington and Kasie Hunt in Tampa, contributed.

___

Follow Jack Gillum at http://twitter.com/jackgillum

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_el_pr/us_romney_taxes

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BearExtender PC Long Range 802.11n USB WiFi Booster

BearExtender PC is a device that addresses the number one bane of wireless networking?weak or dropped signals. This device is a wireless signal booster (or extender), but unlike many wireless extenders on the market it works on the client side rather than with a Wi-Fi router.

It's a clever, little device though it has limitations: it only works on the 2.4 GHz band and it drops the connection when it's 100 feet away from the router. It works ideally at 50-100 feet away from the wireless router and at a price of $44.97, fits into most budgets.

What It Is
BearExtender is an 802.11n long-range wireless adapter that works with Windows. The device is based on the company's earlier BearExtender n3 adapter for Macs. BearExtender's genesis arises from ?University of Berkeley students' inability to connect to the campus' wireless network named "AirBears"?hence, the BearExtender name.

The adapter is a small, flattened device with a clip?it ?resembles a miniature access point. That clip is for attaching it to a netbook to laptop. I clipped it to an iPad and the grip was quite loose. The thinner the laptop, notebook, or any other wireless client, the looser BearExtender's grip. It's also not an ideal design to attach to smartphones, though I supposed someone with enough intent could manage.

Not only does BearExtender clip onto a laptop, but it connects via USB from the mini USB port on the device to a USB port on a laptop. If clipping a device which resembles a mini access point doesn't look odd enough, there's an approximately 8-inch long external 2 dBi gain antenna that screws onto the adapter. The antenna is designed in such a way as to bypass interference from a laptop's casing. The entire contraption is sure to elicit a few curious glances in public.

Users can upgrade to a 5 dBi antenna?which is the antenna I used for testing. BearExtender PC combines two proprietary receivers with a 700mW transmitter capable of theoretical throughput speeds of up to 150 Mbps.

Setup
A setup CD is included with the device. The CD contains installation options for Windows 7, Vista, and XP as well as user manuals. I clicked the install option for Windows 7.

A message appeared on-screen before the installation process began that instructed me to only install the Ralink WAN Utility for Windows driver and not the entire software package. Apparently, BearExtender uses Ralink's chipset. Installation was simple, and you are asked to install either the Ralink utility or only the driver during the setup process. Installing Ralink's entire utility could cause some potential conflict with Windows' native wireless management, so users are wisely advised to install only the driver.

The setup instructions advise installing the driver before connecting the extender to the laptop visa USB. Once I connected the USB cable, Windows detected the device right away. Users are further instructed to disable the laptop's built-in wireless adapter.

Next, you connect to your wireless network the way you normally would. I had my connection to the router set to connect automatically which remembers the passphrase. I had to re-enter my WLAN's password once I disabled the native wireless adapter on my laptop and connected to the signal using BearExtender.

BearExtender offers many resources for user assistance if help is needed during setup. The user manual is very well written and there's telephone as well as 24/7 email support.

Performance
I measured performance using two methods at various distances. The first was a rather informal test that noted the number of signal strength bars Windows 7 displayed as I moved away from the room? both before and when I had BearExtender connected. Second, I used Ixia's IxChariot benchmark testing suite to measure throughput with and without BearExtender.

The testing equipment included a HP Elitebook 8440w which uses a 3x3 Intel Centrino 6300 AGN wireless adapter, Netgear's N600 (WNDR3700) Dual-Band Gigabit router, and an HP Proliant ML300 G6 server running Windows 2008 R2 as a second testing endpoint for throughput.

Windows 7 reported a strong, 5 bar wireless signal up until I got to 50 feet away from the router room. Signal strength then dropped to four bars. ?I was down to 4 bars of wireless strength and crawling internet at 100 feet. Beyond 100 feet, I could no longer connect to the SSID.

With BearExtender, Windows 7 reported 5 solid signal bars up until 100 feet. At 100 feet, the signal wavered between 3 and 4 bars, but the signal persisted, albeit with a slow connection. I could still see and connect to my SSID at 150 feet, but Windows was down to 3 bars with and every time I attempted to connect, my connection dropped.

Here are the throughput results from testing with and without BearExtender:

Throughout did not significantly change until I was 75 feet away from the router. As the table shows, at 75 feet, the laptop's built-in wi-fi adapter barely has a connection to the router. That gets a nice boost with BearExtender PC. Although throughput speed is not overwhelming at 75 and particularly at 100 feet, BearExender does manage to lengthen the router's signal and keep the laptop connected to the wireless network. The network became unreachable at 150 feet.

Should You Buy BearExtender?
BearExtender PC can definitely help boost a wireless signal under a few specific conditions: you are only connecting at 2.4 GHz and your signal distance does not exceed 100 feet from a router. Any greater distance than that, are you may still be facing flaky connectivity?although admittedly, I test in a very high RF interference environment.

If it's critical that you boost a wireless signal in a much larger space, best bet is to go with a traditional booster that acts more as a repeater or consider a powerline product like the Editor's Choice winning Netgear Powerline AV 500 Adapter Kit (XAVB5001) which also extends a home network or Internet connection to dead zones (although not wirelessly).

The best use for BearExtender are smaller spaces with wireless clients that may just need a little extra boost to get wireless to that last bedroom down the hall or into the kitchen. The device's added bonuses are simple setup and affordability. BearExtender PC is a worthy 3 stars as a wireless extender.

?

For more ways to boost wireless, check out "10 Ways to Boost Your Wireless Signal

?

More Networking Reviews:
??? BearExtender PC Long Range 802.11n USB WiFi Booster
??? Netgear Powerline AV 500 Adapter Kit (XAVB5001)
??? D-Link Powerline AV 500 4-Port gigabit Switch (DHP-540)
??? D-Link DHP501-AV Powerline AV 500 Adapter Starter Kit
??? Netgear Universal Internet Adapter for Home Entertainment-3D (XAVB5004)
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/udrzsYRoP5E/0,2817,2399152,00.asp

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Palestinian tax hike riles business, unions

In this Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012 photo, Palestinians protest against rising prices and taxes in the West Bank city of Nablus. Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has sparked a furor with a push to get Palestinians to pay more taxes and reduce reliance on the massive foreign aid that has kept their self-rule government afloat for a generation. (AP Photo/Nasser Ishtayeh)

In this Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012 photo, Palestinians protest against rising prices and taxes in the West Bank city of Nablus. Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has sparked a furor with a push to get Palestinians to pay more taxes and reduce reliance on the massive foreign aid that has kept their self-rule government afloat for a generation. (AP Photo/Nasser Ishtayeh)

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) ? Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has sparked a furor with a push to get Palestinians to pay more taxes and reduce reliance on the massive foreign aid that has kept their self-rule government afloat for a generation.

Long accustomed to minimal taxes, the most powerful groups in the West Bank ? private business, the civil servants' union and the main political party, Fatah ? are fighting back, including with threats of labor strikes.

It's unlikely weary donor countries will rush to the rescue. They've cut back aid, paying less than promised in the past two years and triggering a series of financial crises. The survival of the Palestinian Authority is key to any deal with Israel on setting up a Palestinian state, but donors have become more frugal because of the global financial crisis and paralysis in Mideast diplomacy over the past three years.

Fayyad says the showdown over taxes is as much about the obligations of citizenship as about balancing the books. "This transcends money and finance," Fayyad told The Associated Press.

The tax hike mainly targets the top earners, doubling the maximum rate from 15 percent to 30 percent. Business leaders complain that they're being burdened unfairly and are threatening to refuse to pay.

"We'll fight back," said Samir Hleileh, CEO of the $700 million holding company Padico, one of the largest firms in the West Bank. He argued that Fayyad's move will undermine his own policy of encouraging private investment as the main motor of growth in a fragile economy shackled by continued Israeli restrictions on trade and movement.

Fatah, the movement headed by Fayyad's boss, President Mahmoud Abbas, also opposes the tax increase, though Abbas himself has not yet taken a position. A leader of the civil servants' union, dominated by Fatah, argued that the tax hike will lead to higher prices for goods and services and eventually hurt the poor, still a majority of Palestinians, and a small but growing middle class.

"Everyone I know is against it , everyone I know is talking about it," said Omar Matar, a 28-year-old waiter in a Ramallah restaurant whose monthly salary of 3,000 shekels ($793) means that even under the new rules he'll only pay 5 percent income tax. Matar complained that living expenses are high, services substandard and that he is unable to save for a down payment for a home.

Jamal Muheisen, a senior Fatah official, said Palestinians cannot be expected to carry an additional tax burden as long as they live under Israeli rule, without a state of their own.

"The occupation is the main reason for our crisis. Once we get rid of the occupation, we will have no financial problems. In the meantime, the international community should handle this problem," he said.

Oussama Kanaan, a senior official in the International Monetary Fund, said donors should pay more and on time "so as not to force the Palestinian Authority to take fiscal measures that are too severe, especially given its already solid track record in reforms."

Aid started flowing when the Palestinian Authority was established in 1994, as part of interim Israeli-Palestinian peace deals that envisioned final agreement on the terms of Palestinian statehood by 1999. This and subsequent deadlines were missed as Israelis and Palestinians went through two turbulent decades, including repeated breakdowns in negotiations, two Palestinian uprisings and the violent takeover of Gaza by Fatah's rival, the Islamic militant Hamas.

Western and Arab donors initially hoped to underwrite peace efforts for just a few years but kept paying, in part because of fear that withdrawing funding would escalate the conflict. During the darkest periods, foreign aid was essential to helping the Palestinians survive, including in Gaza, which, though ruled by Hamas, receives almost half of Fayyad's budget in social services and salaries.

Still, donors paid less than promised in 2010 and 2011 for the day-to-day operations of Fayyad's government. Donors prefer to invest directly in development projects, such as roads and sewage treatment plants, and view such running costs ? the "pouring money down a hole" version of foreign aid ? to be less attractive.

In 2011 alone, donors contributed about 25 percent less than the nearly $1 billion promised for recurring costs in the $3.7 million budget, said Fayyad. The expected deficit in 2012 is $1.1 billion, and Fayyad said he needs to reduce that by at least $350 million, both by increasing revenues and slashing spending.

Fayyad said he's hit the limit in borrowing from banks and his government already owes the private sector hundreds of millions of dollars for unpaid goods and services.

"We just cannot continue like this," he said. Last year, major cash crises erupted repeatedly, including when Israel temporarily withheld the transfer of taxes and customs it collects on behalf of the Palestinians.

Fayyad has doubled the income tax rate for the wealthiest Palestinians ? those who earn more than 200,000 shekels ($53,000) a year ? to 30 percent, while those making more than 150,000 shekels ($40,000) are asked to pay 22.5 percent. The old tax regime was among the lowest in the region, and the changes don't hurt the poor and the middle class, he argues.

Hleileh, the Padico CEO, said Fayyad's policies are short-sighted and will lead to an economic downturn, after several years of growth, fueled in part by the easing of some Israeli restrictions.

Taking from the rich "means that less investment will be put in the market, less job creation," Hleileh said in an interview in Padico's new glass-fronted office tower, decorated with expressionist-style paintings by artists from Gaza.

"Less job creation means less taxes in two to three years, anyway. It basically means recession," he warned.

He said the tax increase will hurt Padico's 11,000 small shareholders and that a major foreign investor in the company is pulling out, in part over Fayyad's new measures.

Both sides are fighting for public opinion. The business community has taken out newspaper ads against the tax hike, while Fayyad has made his case on Palestinian TV and radio and in brochures distributed with daily newspapers.

Faced with the uproar, Fayyad has agreed to talk with the business leaders who say he should do more to cut spending, trim a bloated bureaucracy and find other ways to raise revenues, such as enforcing the collection of sales tax. Fayyad said he's open to ideas, but only if they don't burden the poor.

He insisted he's still on track for his ambitious goal of weaning his government off foreign aid for operating costs by 2013.

Nasser Abdel Karim, a Palestinian economist, said that under the current Israeli restrictions, the Palestinians will never be able to fund themselves.

"The donors won't abandon the Palestinian Authority ... and will provide money in critical moments. But the Palestinian Authority will always be in crisis," he said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-24-ML-Palestinians-Tax-Battle/id-f1abb0e89aff4bdd95831985eb5da02e

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Long lines to bid farewell to Paterno (AP)

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. ? Decked out in Penn State hats and jackets, students and townspeople stood in a line more than a quarter-mile long Tuesday to pay their respects to Joe Paterno, the coach who for nearly a half century was the face of their university.

Mourners waited for hours along a main campus artery for the chance to file past Paterno's closed brown casket at the campus spiritual center during a public viewing session. Some departed crying. All were moved.

"He was my hero. He was my hero. I had to come," said a sobbing Gloria Spicer, who was freshman in 1966 when Paterno started his first season as head coach at Penn State. The 85-year-old Paterno, the winningest coach in major college football history, died Sunday of lung cancer. He had been fired just days before learning of his diagnosis in November.

"He was a teacher to me," Spicer said. "He taught me to be a better person and a better teacher."

Spicer and others walked slowly past the undraped casket which had an "honor guard" of two Penn State players ? one past and one present. Six feet away, a stylized, black-and-white photo of a smiling Paterno, arms crossed in front of his chest, sat on an easel.

Large windows bathed the white-walled hall in light on an overcast afternoon. Some of Paterno's family attends church services there.

Members of the public were preceded by the Paterno family ? the coach's son, Scott, was seen at the gathering ? along with current and former players. The current Nittany Lions wore dark suits and arrived in three blue Penn State buses, the same ones that once carried Paterno and the team to games at Beaver Stadium on fall Saturdays.

Among the former players was Mike McQueary. As a graduate assistant to Paterno in 2002, he went to the coach saying he had witnessed former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky assaulting a boy in the shower at the Penn State football building. Paterno relayed that to his bosses ? including the head of campus police ? but university trustees felt he should have done more, and it played into their decision to oust the longtime coach on Nov. 9. That came four days after Sandusky was arrested on multiple child sex-abuse counts.

Dressed in a blue coat and tie with a white shirt, the school colors, McQueary was among thousands of expected mourners at an event that was to stretch late into Tuesday night.

One current and one former team member will stand guard over the casket for the duration of the public viewing, athletic department spokesman Jeff Nelson said.

"Going in there, waiting two hours in line, it was worth every second of it," Penn State junior Rob Gressinger said. "It helps in the grieving process for everybody and I hope the rest of the people that are waiting in line longer than I did, get to experience the same thing."

Earlier Tuesday, a line of ex-players stretched around the corner and down the block. Among the mourners were former Penn State and Pittsburgh Steelers great Franco Harris. Others there included NFL receivers Deon Butler and Jordan Norwood, Norwood's father and Baylor assistant coach Brian Norwood and former quarterback Daryll Clark.

The event marked the first of three days of public mourning as the Penn State community in State College and beyond said goodbye to the man who led the Nittany Lions to 409 wins over 46 years and raised the national profile of the school.

There is another public viewing Wednesday at Pasquerilla Spiritual Center, and after that Paterno's family will hold a private funeral and procession through State College.

On Thursday, the school's basketball arena will be the site of a public service called "A Memorial for Joe." Tickets were quickly snapped up for the event, even though there was a two-per-person limit for those ordering.

Former players began arriving shortly after members of Paterno's last team filed in. Some players hugged, and new Penn State coach Bill O'Brien shook hands with others at the curb outside the center.

Penn State linebacker Khairi Fortt recalled his coach's lessons.

"He said the most important thing for us was to keep the Penn State tradition going," the sophomore from Stamford, Conn., said after leaving the viewing.

Scott Paterno has said that despite the turmoil surrounding his termination from the school, Joe Paterno remained peaceful and upbeat in his final days and still loved Penn State.

Bitterness over Paterno's dismissal has turned up in many forms, from online postings to a rewritten newspaper headline placed next to Paterno's statue at the football stadium blaming the trustees for his death. A headline that read "FIRED" was crossed out and made to read, "Killed by Trustees." Lanny Davis, lawyer for the school's board, said threats have been made against the trustees.

Scott Paterno, however, stressed his father did not die with a broken heart and did not harbor resentment toward Penn State.

"His legacy is still going to be filled with the great things that he did. Look at this place," 1969 Penn State graduate Tom Sherman said before tearing up. "It's like he's part of your life. I admire that guy so much."

___

Associated Press writer Mark Scolforo contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_sp_co_ne/fbc_penn_state_paterno

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Iran to continue nuke program despite new sanctions

The EU is imposing an immediate ban on imports of oil from Iran as a way to pressure the government to halt its nuclear activities. ITV's Ali Smith reports.

By msnbc.com staff and news services

Updated at 12:30 p.m. ET: Hours after the European Union imposes an oil embargo and sanctions on Iran's central bank, France, Britain and Germany say they are willing to negotiate with Iran if it is ready to talk seriously about its nuclear program.

"We call on Iran's leadership immediately to suspend its sensitive nuclear activities and abide fully by its international obligations," the European countries say in a joint statement. "Until Iran comes to the table, we will be united behind strong measures to undermine the regime's ability to fund its nuclear program."

---

In response, the offices of Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issues the following statement, according to NBC News:

?

"We welcome today's decision by the European Union to ban imports of Iranian crude oil and petroleum products, freeze the assets of the Iranian central bank, and take additional action against Iran's energy, financial, and transport sectors."

Updated at 12 p.m. ET: Iran says a European Union decision Monday to impose new sanctions over its nuclear program is "psychological warfare," Reuters reports.

"... Imposing economic sanctions is illogical and unfair but will not stop our nation from obtaining its rights," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast is quoted as saying by state television, referring to Iran's nuclear energy ambitions.

Updated at 11 a.m. ET: Russia's Foreign Ministry says the?European Union was wrong to impose an oil embargo on Iran over its controversial nuclear program, The Associated Press reports.

"It's apparent that in this case there is open pressure and diktat, aimed at 'punishing' Iran for uncooperative behavior. This is a deeply mistaken policy, as we have told our European partners more than once. Under pressure of this sort, Iran will not make any concessions or any corrections to its policies," the ministry says.

Updated at 9:45 a.m. ET: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised a European Union decision to place sanctions on Iranian oil exports, Reuters reports. "I think this is a step in the right direction," Netanyahu said at a meeting of his Likud faction in parliament. "For now, it is impossible to know what the result of these sanctions will be. Heavy and swift pressure is needed on Iran and the sanctions must be evaluated according to their results."

Netanyahu also said that despite world pressure so far "Iran is continuing undeterred to develop nuclear weapons," Reuters adds.

Updated at 8:30 a.m. ET: A member of Iran's influential Assembly of Experts, former intelligence minister Ali Fallahian, says Tehran should respond to?an EU decision to impose sanctions on Iran -- some of which come into force in July --?by stopping oil sales to the bloc immediately. This would?deny the Europeans time to arrange alternative supplies and damaging their economies with higher oil prices.

"The best way is to stop exporting oil ourselves before the end of this six months and before the implementation of the plan," the semi-official Fars news agency quoted him as saying, Reuters reports. He also reiterated that Iran could close the Strait of Hormuz, through which a third of all oil tanker traffic passes to importers around the world.

Published at 7:45 a.m. ET: The European Union on Monday adopted an oil embargo against Iran over its nuclear program, a day after U.S., British and French warships sailed into the Persian Gulf.

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British Foreign Secretary William Hague on Monday called the measure part of "an unprecedented set of sanctions."?

"I think this shows the resolve of the European Union on this issue," he said.

Diplomats say the measures, adopted by the EU's 27 foreign ministers, include an immediate embargo on new contracts for crude oil and petroleum products while existing ones are allowed to run until July.

Tehran denies claims that its nuclear program is aimed at developing weapons, saying it is for peaceful purposes.

In a report that examined how Iran might respond to an EU oil embargo, Professor Paul Stevens, a visiting professor at University College London (Australia) and research fellow at U.K. think tank Chatham House, said it was "extremely unlikely" that Iran would not retaliate.

'Lockerbie-type response' feared
Stevens said that if Iran seriously threatened the transit of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for world supplies,?this would "rapidly degenerate into a shooting war" between Iran and the U.S., supported by its allies.

He expressed doubts Iran would try to do this, saying it was a "very powerful card that Iran is unlikely to play early in the game."

However, Stevens said Iran had other retaliation options, warning that there "could even be a Lockerbie-type response prompted by elements from within Iran," referring to the bombing ofPan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which led to 270 deaths. That attack was blamed on Moammar Gadhafi's Libyan regime.

He also said Iran could try to push oil prices upward by creating further instability in Iraq, hitting that country's oil exports; make "serious trouble" for NATO in Afghanistan; and also put "huge pressure" on other Gulf oil exporters and "at worst" threaten oil facilities."

Stevens said the Abqaiq processing facility in Saudi Arabia was "well within Iranian missile range."

On Sunday, the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and its battle group sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, despite previous threats from Iran to attack the aircraft carrier Stennis if it returned to the Gulf.

Fmr. National Security Adviser to President Carter, Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, and the Washington Post's David Ignatius join Morning Joe to discuss Iran. What will tough sanctions from the West on Iran mean? Is Iran sending the world signals they are willing to negotiate when it comes to nuclear proliferation? The Washington Post's Bob Woodward also joins the conversation.

U.S. military officials said the Lincoln saw no sign of Iranian speed boats that sometimes harass U.S. warships.

The U.K.'s Telegraph newspaper reported?that the nuclear-powered Lincoln was accompanied by a British navy ship and a French warship.

A U.K. defense ministry spokesman told the paper that HMS Argyll had joined the U.S. carrier group "to underline the unwavering international commitment to maintaining rights of passage (to the Strait of Hormuz)?under international law."

The Associated Press, Reuters?and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.

Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/23/10214818-iran-to-continue-nuke-program-despite-new-sanctions

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Op-Ed: Canada Must Change XL Pipeline Debate

President Obama rejected Wednesday a proposal to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast ? generating intense debate in both countries. Murray Mandryk, political columnist for the Leader-Post of Sasketchewan, offers a Canadian perspective on the controversy.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2012/01/23/145650779/-op-ed-canada-must-change-xl-pipeline-debate?ft=1&f=1007

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Report: 17 die when boat capsizes in Iran

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? Seventeen people have died after a storm capsized a passenger boat off of Iran's southern coast, the official IRNA news agency reported on Sunday.

The boat sank Saturday evening while sailing between Hormuz Island and the port city of Bandar Abbas on the mainland, the report said. Rescue teams saved five passengers.

The report says the boat began its 11-mile (18-kilometer) journey despite a travel ban on light boats by shipping authorities, due to a storm with winds of 50 mph (80 kph).

An eyewitness told The Associated Press that most of the dead were senior citizens, members of a visiting tour to the island.

Every day dozens of passenger boats travel between Bandar Abbas and nearby islands near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, some 670 miles (1070 kilometers) south of the capital Tehran.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-22-ML-Iran-Boat-Capsizes/id-7a4c488dafd74188b9335974064a73a2

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AUTOMOTIVE - AUTOS: Barrett-Jackson Hits Its Stride

AUTOS: Barrett-Jackson Hits Its Stride

A custom 1968 Mustang fastback is top non-charity seller so far with about $22 million worth of collector cars sold in the first three days of the Scottsdale auction.

A custom 1968 Mustang fastback with a glove box signed by Carroll Shelby leads the bidding so far for non-charity collector cars at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction, reaching a surprising $242,000 including bidder fee as the six-day auction cranked up Thursday evening.

The 41st annual Scottsdale auction has been ringing up some strong numbers since bidding started Tuesday, reaching about $22 million in total sales with the richest auction days today and Saturday still ahead.

Thursday?s sale saw $10.32 million bid on 254 lots, dominated by the spirited charity sale of Brad Keselowski?s NASCAR Nationwide Dodge Charger that hit $250,000 ? with another two donors adding a total of $350,000 more on top of that ? to benefit Paralyzed Veterans of America.

Other top non-charity sales so far at the auction, all sold Thursday and including bidder fees, are:

? Rock star Bret Michael?s personal 2004 Bentley Continental GT, $128,700.
? A black-beauty 1967 Corvette roadster, $113,300.
? A hot-looking custom 1969 Camaro, $110,000.
? A 1965 Shelby Cobra CSX6000 continuation from Shelby America, $106,700.

The auction continues through Sunday, with the top offerings coming up during ?prime time? today and Saturday, with SPEED broadcasting live coverage from 2 p.m. to midnight ET both days and 2 to 6 p.m. ET on Sunday.

Bob Golfen, Automotive Editor for SPEED.com, is a veteran auto writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, with a passion for collector cars, car culture and the automotive lifestyle. SPEED.com fans can email Bob Golfen at

Source: http://automotive.speedtv.com/article/autos-barrett-jackson-hits-its-stride/

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Grounded ship shifts overnight, rescue ops halted (AP)

ROME ? The cruise ship grounded off Tuscany shifted again on its rocky perch, forcing the supension Friday of search and rescue operations for the 21 people still missing.

It was not clear if the movements registered overnight by onboard sensors were just vibrations as the Costa Concordia settles on the rocks off the Tuscan island of Giglio or if the massive ocean liner is slipping off the reef.

The ship's movements are being carefully monitored since any significant shift could be dangerous for divers trying to locate those missing after the Concordia ran aground Jan. 13. An additional fear is that any significant movement could damage tanks holding a half-million gallons of fuel oil.

"The ship is not in safe enough conditions for rescue operations to continue," said Coast Guard spokesman Cmdr. Cosimo Nicastro.

The $450 million Costa Concordia was carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew when it slammed into well-marked rocks off the island of Giglio after the captain made an unauthorized diversion Friday from his programmed route. The ship then keeled over on its side.

Capt. Francesco Schettino, who was jailed after he left the ship before everyone was safely evacuated, is under house arrest, facing possible charges of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning his ship.

Eleven people have been confirmed dead and 21 others are still missing.

Late Thursday, Costa-owner Carnival Corp. announced it was conducting a comprehensive audit of all 10 of its cruise lines to review safety and emergency response procedures in the wake of the Costa disaster.

In addition, the Miami-based company, the world's largest cruise operator, said it was conducting an outside review of the Concordia grounding itself.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120120/ap_on_re_eu/eu_italy_cruise_aground

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Would Brown be jailed if he's seeing Rihanna?

If Chris Brown really is sneaking around with Rihanna, can't he go to jail? I thought there was a restraining order against him. ? N.T., via the inbox

The astounding news at this hour is that, yes, Rihanna has reportedly been spending quite a bit of time with her ex, at least, according to Us Weekly. Brown's rep has denied any rekindled romance, but if this story is even one-eighth true, here's what might be in store for Brown ...

RELATED: Ri-Ri Strips Down for Armani!

First the dish.

According to the anonymously sourced Us cover story, the two have been "secretly hooking up" for more than a year because Rihanna, the mag says, "loves to live dangerously."

If that's the case ... well, no comment on Rihanna's eclectic tastes. After all, this is the same Chris Brown who, in 2009, pleaded guilty to one count of assault with the intent of doing great bodily injury in connection with that infamous altercation in a rented Lamborghini.

But could Brown be headed back to court?

No.

Sure, shortly after the incident, Brown had a restraining order put on his head, one that kept him from drawing within 100 feet of his ex. But last year, that order was softened, allowing Brown to meet with Rihanna should the two choose.

RELATED: Are Chris and Rihanna Tweeting Sweet Nothings?

At the time of the change, Rihanna's attorney, Donald Etra, told E! News exclusively, "Rihanna does not object to the restraining order being dropped to a Level One, of do not annoy, molest or harass."

In other words, there's nothing on the criminal law books currently prohibiting these two from hooking up, as long as Rihanna doesn't get nettled in the process. If Rihanna and Brown are indeed seeing each other, the law would not care.

Her fans, however, may be another matter.

FASHION SPOTLIGHT: At Least Rihanna Knows How to Pick Clothes

? 2012 E! Entertainment Television, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/46049838/ns/today-entertainment/

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Sex Is Safe for Many with Heart Disease, Report Says

Image courtesy of iStockphoto/Yuri_Arcurs

Sex might seem like a risky occupation for the more than 27 million Americans who have been diagnosed with heart disease. But that?s not necessarily so, says a new report. The risk varies greatly depending on the severity of a person?s condition?as well as how stressful (or, perhaps, exciting) the sex is.

Cardiac patients whose condition is considered stable have a low risk of inducing further heart problems by having sex, according to the report, published online Thursday in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. Of all people who die suddenly, only about 0.6 percent did so while engaging in sexual activity, according to previous research. If that still sounds a little risky, consider that three quarters of those people were sleeping with someone other than their spouse?most with a younger partner, at a location other than home, or were trying to perform ?after excessive food and alcohol consumption,? says report authors, led by Glen Levine, of the Baylor College of Medicine.

The researchers suggest that relatively healthy heart disease sufferers might do well to stress less about sex?and checking with their doctor is a good first step toward ensuring that it?s a safe endeavor. ?Changes in sexual activity after a cardiac event may impair the patient?s quality of life, negatively affect psychological health, and strain marital or other important intimate relationships, which in turn may lead to depression and anxiety,? according to the report. Research published last year found that sexual satisfaction might actually help protect against heart disease.

The report also concludes that cardiovascular drugs have minimal effect on sexual function, and the authors recommend patients continue to take their meds. They also advise talking these things over with a doctor of counselor. Most patients and their partners feel that ?they have been inadequately educated on this topic by healthcare providers and desire more information on how to resume their normal sexual activity,? the authors noted.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=75a1beb2ccfb691f5277a234240a8e80

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Man convicted of slaying girl kills himself, paper says (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? A Georgia man convicted of murdering a 7-year-old girl committed suicide on Thursday in prison, after he pleaded guilty in her slaying and was given a life sentence earlier this week, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Ryan Brunn, 20, was found unresponsive in his cell at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, Georgia, state Department of Corrections spokeswoman Kristen Stancil told the newspaper.

Stancil did not say how Brunn might have taken his own life.

Brunn has admitted to killing 7-year-old Jorelys Rivera in Canton, Georgia, in December.

He pleaded guilty on Tuesday to charges of murder, child molestation, enticing a child for indecent purposes, false imprisonment, abandonment of a dead body, making a false statement, sexual exploitation of children and two counts each of aggravated battery, aggravated assault and cruelty to children, the Journal-Constitution reported.

Reuters could not independently confirm the report. A representative from the Georgia Department of Corrections could not be reached for comment late on Thursday.

(Reporting By Alex Dobuzinskis; editing by Dan Burns)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120120/us_nm/us_man_convicted_of_slaying_girl_kills_himself

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Newt Gingrich Makes a Comeback in South Carolina (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | According to the most recent polling data, the South Carolina presidential primary race is tightening. It seems that the man on the move at this moment is the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich. There has been an even larger surge in nationwide polling as Rasmussen has Gingrich trailing Mitt Romney by only three percentage points, 30 to 27. Some are crediting Gingrich's rise to a strong debate performance on January 16 in Myrtle Beach, SC.

Newt Gingrich is an original, outside the box thinker. Sometimes this can get him into trouble and make him sound, to use Mitt Romney's word, zany. However at other times Gingrich is capable of brilliance. In the debate on January 16 he made some valid points about teaching work. He did not single out any race of people. Gingrich simply stated that it would be an excellent way to provide jobs for young people that need money.

Of course Newt's debate performance is very dependent upon your political perspective. Conservatives in the debate audience were quick to applaud Gingrich. Afterwards, those on the left, including former President Jimmy Carter, criticized his comments as being just short of racist. That is a bridge too far even for Jimmy Carter.

My own view is that Mr. Gingrich was on track, for the most part, with his comments in the debate. Americans need jobs. Ignoring the unemployment data for a moment, a recent government report indicated that over 48 percent of American households received some type of government assistance in the first quarter of 2010. This would seem to indicate that at least some Americans have lost the work ethic or the ability to hold a job. Any politician should realize that we need to restore this basic building block of society. America needs productive citizens contributing to the economy, not more dependency on government.

Newt Gingrich's statement about Barack Obama being the food stamp president is also correct. The latest data show that there are 44.7 million Americans receiving food stamps. That is an amazing number when you consider that the total population of the United States in 2010 was just under 309 million people. I thought that Newt Gingrich did a good job of contrasting the conservative approach of personal responsibility and limited government with the current state of affairs in this country. The primary voters in South Carolina will be able to voice their opinion on his approach on January 21.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120119/us_ac/10853733_newt_gingrich_makes_a_comeback_in_south_carolina

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FastCompany: An HR Lesson From Steve Jobs: If You Want Change Agents, Hire Pirates http://t.co/JSejrCIZ by @FastCoDesign

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Source: http://twitter.com/FastCompany/statuses/159636576891191297

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The Fink reflects on 35 years of ring announcing

?

?Many dreams come true and some have silver linings/
I live for my dream and a pocketful of gold.?
- Led Zeppelin, "Over the Hills and Far Away"

When that song came out in 1973, little did I realize those words would have an impact on me some four years later. On Jan. 17, 1977, a dream of mine did come true when I made my ring announcing debut at New York?s Madison Square Garden. Today is Jan. 17, 2012, and I proudly celebrate 35 years of servitude to my profession.

As I reflect upon that first night when the New York fandom looked at an unknown entity in me, I wanted to make an impression in performance and style. Other than the expected butterflies that I had, my confidence in my performance was strong; I knew I was going to give it my best effort. As far as style, well, a tuxedo was in order for my debut ? and a yellow one at that! I felt on that evening the first impression I made might not be a lasting one, so I wanted to jazz things up. Honestly, it very easily could have been a ?one and done? for me ? but it wasn?t.

When I got the word that I was to become the permanent Garden ring announcer for the then WWWF events, the feeling I had was beyond euphoric. Here I was, nearly two years removed from my first handshake in New Haven, Conn., with Vince McMahon, and I was put into a most important position in the No. 1 market for the company. I vowed that I would not only work hard for the company, but for myself as well. Since then, I have lived my dream to the fullest, and the ?pocketful of gold? is the wonderful memories of the great cities around the world I have visited, as well as you, the WWE Universe. It still remains my pleasure to have met so many of you, and to have entertained you in my own unique way.

You know, I am constantly asked what stands out as my most memorable ring announcing moment through the years. There are so many of them that it?s always been hard to isolate on just one. However, thanks to CM Punk, he was instrumental in creating a very special moment for me. I had the pleasure of introducing him last November at Survivor Series, in the place where it all started - Madison Square Garden. And when I was introduced, the reception I received was very nice. But then all of a sudden the Garden faithful started chanting my name, and that moved me to tears. It was like I had come full circle; they were not only welcoming me back, but saying thank you as well.

But I also say thanks to all of you, who with your support have allowed me to continue to live a dream that today hits the 35-year mark. And thinking of that slogan ?life begins at forty,? rest assured I hope to accomplish that milestone from a ring announcing standpoint as well!

Source: http://www.wwe.com/inside/overtheropes/fink-35-years

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Female feticide in Canada requires action

Public release date: 16-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Kim Barnhardt
kim.barnhardt@cmaj.ca
613-520-7116 x2224
Canadian Medical Association Journal

Canada should prohibit disclosure of the sex of a fetus until after 30 weeks of pregnancy to combat female feticide which is practised by some ethnic groups in Canada and the United States, states an editorial in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

Female feticide that is, choosing to abort female fetuses because of a preference for sons is an issue in several Asian countries including India, China, Korea and Vietnam. However, it is also practised by some immigrants in Canada, contributing to a small but repugnant problem.

"Small numbers cannot be ignored when the issue is about discrimination against women in its most extreme form," writes Dr. Rajendra Kale, interim Editor-in-Chief, CMAJ. "This evil devalues women. How can it be curbed? The solution is to postpone the disclosure of medically irrelevant information to women until after about 30 weeks of pregnancy."

"A pregnant woman being told the sex of the fetus at ultrasonography at a time when an unquestioned abortion is possible is the starting point of female feticide from a health care perspective," writes Dr. Kale. Although a woman has a right to information about herself that relates to her health and medical care, "the sex of the fetus is medically irrelevant information (except when managing rare sex-linked illnesses) and does not affect care."

Research in Canada indicates that in certain ethnic groups, couples who have two daughters and no son choose to abort female fetuses until they can have a male child. A small US study of 65 immigrant Indian women indicated that 40% ended earlier pregnancies with female fetuses and 89% of women with female fetuses terminated their current pregnancies.

Dr. Kale argues that the provincial colleges governing physicians should adopt policies that limit disclosure of fetal sex by health professionals to after 30 weeks.

"Compared with the situation in India and China, the problem of female feticide in Canada is small, circumscribed and manageable," concludes Dr. Kale. "If Canada cannot control this repugnant practice, what hope do India and China have of saving millions of women?"

###

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 16-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Kim Barnhardt
kim.barnhardt@cmaj.ca
613-520-7116 x2224
Canadian Medical Association Journal

Canada should prohibit disclosure of the sex of a fetus until after 30 weeks of pregnancy to combat female feticide which is practised by some ethnic groups in Canada and the United States, states an editorial in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

Female feticide that is, choosing to abort female fetuses because of a preference for sons is an issue in several Asian countries including India, China, Korea and Vietnam. However, it is also practised by some immigrants in Canada, contributing to a small but repugnant problem.

"Small numbers cannot be ignored when the issue is about discrimination against women in its most extreme form," writes Dr. Rajendra Kale, interim Editor-in-Chief, CMAJ. "This evil devalues women. How can it be curbed? The solution is to postpone the disclosure of medically irrelevant information to women until after about 30 weeks of pregnancy."

"A pregnant woman being told the sex of the fetus at ultrasonography at a time when an unquestioned abortion is possible is the starting point of female feticide from a health care perspective," writes Dr. Kale. Although a woman has a right to information about herself that relates to her health and medical care, "the sex of the fetus is medically irrelevant information (except when managing rare sex-linked illnesses) and does not affect care."

Research in Canada indicates that in certain ethnic groups, couples who have two daughters and no son choose to abort female fetuses until they can have a male child. A small US study of 65 immigrant Indian women indicated that 40% ended earlier pregnancies with female fetuses and 89% of women with female fetuses terminated their current pregnancies.

Dr. Kale argues that the provincial colleges governing physicians should adopt policies that limit disclosure of fetal sex by health professionals to after 30 weeks.

"Compared with the situation in India and China, the problem of female feticide in Canada is small, circumscribed and manageable," concludes Dr. Kale. "If Canada cannot control this repugnant practice, what hope do India and China have of saving millions of women?"

###

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/cmaj-ffi011012.php

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Stricken Italian liner shifts, 29 people missing (Reuters)

GIGLIO, Italy (Reuters) ? A stricken Italian cruise liner shifted on its rocky resting place on Monday as worsening weather disrupted an increasingly despairing hunt for survivors and authorities raised their estimate of the number missing to 29 people.

As the Costa Concordia's owners blamed their captain for veering shorewards on Friday in a bravura "salute" to residents of a Tuscan island, the giant ship slid a little, threatening to plunge its whole gigantic carcass and 2,300 tonnes of fuel below the Mediterranean waters of the surrounding nature reserve.

The slippage forced rescuers to suspend for a few hours their efforts to find anyone still alive after three days in the capsized hull, resting on a jagged slope outside the picturesque harbor on the island of Giglio. Six bodies have been found. Most of the 4,200 passengers and crew survived, despite hours of chaos.

An Italian coastguard official told Reuters late on Monday that the number of people missing had been revised up to 29 - 25 passengers and four members of staff - from 16, showing how much uncertainty still surrounded the disaster.

Another maritime official said later that 10 Germans were thought to be among the missing passengers.

The 114,500-tonne ship, one of the biggest passenger vessels ever to be wrecked, foundered after striking a rock just as dinner was being served on Friday night. It quickly rolled on its side, revealing a long gouge below the waterline.

Firefighters' spokesman Luca Cari said there were still small movements of the vessel but they were not considered dangerous. However, searches were suspended overnight and would resume at daybreak.

Another senior firefighter, Luciano Roncalli, told Reuters that all the unsubmerged areas of the liner had been searched, indicating faint hopes of finding more survivors in the flooded and upturned maze of luxurious state rooms and tennis courts, bars and spas that are now submerged beneath the sea.

Environment Minister Corrado Clini said he would declare a state of emergency because of the risk that the ship's fuel would leak into the pristine Tuscan Archipelago National Park. No fuel spillage has been detected so far, he said on an Italian television show due to air on Monday evening.

Should rougher seas dislodge the wreck and cause it to sink or break up, that could scupper any hopes for the owners, a unit of Florida's Carnival Corp., of salvaging a liner which cost hundreds of millions of dollars to build just six years ago.

"SALUTE" TO SHORE

Investigators say the ship was far too close to the shore and its owners, Costa Cruises, said the captain, who has been arrested, had carried out the rash maneuver to "make a bow" to people on the island, who included a retired Italian admiral.

The skipper denies charges of manslaughter and his lawyer has said his actions saved many lives.

The father of the ship's head waiter told Reuters his son had telephoned him before the accident to say the crew would salute him by blowing the ship's whistle as they passed close by Giglio, where both the waiter, Antonello Tievoli, and his 82-year-old father Giuseppe live.

"The ship obviously came too close," the elder Tievoli said. "I don't know if Antonello asked the captain to come near, but the responsibility is always the captain's."

The captain, Francesco Schettino, was arrested on Saturday. He is accused of manslaughter and abandoning his ship before all those on board were evacuated. Prosecutors say he also refused to go back on board when requested by the coastguard.

Costa Cruises chief executive Pier Luigi Foschi on Monday blamed errors by Schettino for the disaster. He told a news conference the company would provide its captain with any assistance he required. "But we need to acknowledge the facts and we cannot deny human error," he added.

"These ships are ultra-safe. It is an exceptional event, which was unforeseeable," he said, fighting back tears.

He said the ship deviated from its correct route and Schettino had contravened safety procedures. "The company disavows such behavior, which caused the accident," he said.

Foschi said company vessels were forbidden to come closer than 500 meters to the Giglio coast. Investigators say the liner, designed as a floating pleasure palace for over 3,000 paying customers, was about 150 meters (yards) offshore when it hit the rocks that tore a long gash in its thousand-foot hull.

Schettino denies being too close to the coast and says the rock he hit was not marked on charts.

His lawyer, Bruno Leporatti, issued a statement saying Schettino was "broken-up, troubled and saddened by the loss of life." But he believed he had saved many lives by carrying out a difficult emergency maneuver with anchors after the accident, which turned the ship closer to the shore.

CHAOS AND PANIC

Foschi denied allegations passengers had not been trained how to evacuate the ship, where there were scenes of chaos and panic after the collision. There were around 1,020 crew from 38 nations on board but many were entertainers or catering staff rather than seasoned mariners.

Foschi called the crew "heroes" and said they had responded properly.

"We had to evacuate over 4,200 people in difficult circumstances so the entire operation took more than two hours. The reason for this is the listing of the ship which did not enable us to use both sides to evacuate people."

The calm weather which since Friday has aided the search of the wreck, by some estimates the biggest passenger vessel ever to founder, took a turn for the worse with rougher seas and a light drizzle falling. Forecasters said it would get worse.

A salvage expert on Giglio, who asked not to be named, told Reuters the ship was clearly moving after being held in place by sharp points of rock that had pierced the hull. Rougher seas could break it free, which would be a "big problem," he said.

The ship is resting in about 20 meters (60 feet) of water but could sink up to a further 130 meters if it became detached from the rocks.

Cari of the fire brigade said the rescuers could hear no noises from possible survivors inside the half-submerged ship.

"Obviously the more time passes, the less possibility there is of finding anyone alive," he said.

MEMORIES OF TITANIC

The United Nations' shipping agency, the International Maritime Organization, said it was important not to pre-judge the outcome of an inquiry but said it would examine changes to regulations if these were shown to be necessary.

Recalling the sinking of the 46,000-tonne Titanic in April 1912, IMO Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu said: "In the centenary year of the Titanic, we have once again been reminded of the risks involved in maritime activities."

The disaster occurred as passengers were sitting down to dinner on Friday night, triggering panic with thousands jostling to get on lifeboats and some leaping into the icy sea.

Passengers say there were long delays in sending an SOS and organizing the evacuation of those on board and this had resulted in chaos. More than 60 people were hurt.

Italian passengers told newspapers they used their mobile phones to call the Carabinieri police in the city of Grosseto on the mainland to raise the alarm, while the crew were still insisting to them that there was only an electrical fault.

Three people, a South Korean honeymoon couple and a crewman, were rescued on Sunday and police divers also found the bodies of two elderly men, still wearing life vests. The bodies of two French tourists and a Peruvian crewman were found on Saturday.

Carnival Corp, the ship's Miami-based parent company, said it estimated the impact on its 2012 earnings for loss of use alone to be around $90 million. Its share price was down around 16 percent on the London market.

Industry experts said the disaster could seriously hit cruise bookings at a key time of the year but the sector would eventually recover.

There was deep anger in Italy about the accident.

In a frontpage editorial for the respected daily Corriere della Sera, Pierluigi Battista wrote: "Italy owes the world, international public opinion, the families of those who lost their lives, those who were injured and those who fortunately remained unhurt, a convincing explanation and the toughest possible sanctions against those responsible for this tragedy."

(Additional reporting by Silvia Ognibene, Silvia Aloisi and Kate Hudson and Catherine Hornby; Writing by Barry Moody, Philip Pullella and James Mackenzie; Editing by Tim Pearce)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120116/wl_nm/us_italy_ship

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