Federal judge blocks California low-carbon fuels rule, saying it favors in-state producers

FRESNO, Calif. - A federal judge blocked California from enforcing its first-in-the-nation mandate for cleaner, low-carbon fuels on Thursday, saying the rules favor biofuels produced in the state.

The lawsuit challenging the state regulations, which were adopted as part of California's landmark 2006 global warming law, was filed in federal court last year by a coalition that includes the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association and the Consumer Energy Alliance.

Fresno-based U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence O'Neill's written ruling Thursday said the low-carbon fuel rules violated the U.S. Constitution's commerce clause by discriminating against crude oil and biofuels producers located outside California.

Out-of-state fuels producers hailed the decision as a win for California drivers.

"Today's decision ... struck down a misguided policy that would have resulted in even higher fuel costs for Californian consumers while increasing the cost of business throughout the state," Consumer Energy Alliance Executive Vice President Michael Whatley said.

The California Air Resources Board plans to ask the judge to stay the ruling, and appeal if necessary to the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, spokesman Dave Clegern said.

The rule is "an evenhanded standard that encourages the use of cleaner low carbon fuels by regulating fuel-providers in California," Clegern said, adding that it "does not discriminate against any fuels on the basis of geography."

Beginning this year, the standard has required petroleum refiners, companies that blend fuel and distributors to gradually increase the cleanliness of the fuel they sell in California.

The board previously had said the low-carbon mandate will reduce California's dependence on petroleum by 20 percent and account for one-tenth of the state's goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.

The regulation does not mandate specific alternative fuels. Rather, it assigns a so-called carbon-intensity score to various fuels. By 2020 all vehicles fuels, on average, must be 10 percent less carbon-intensive than gasoline is now.

The Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, the California Dairy Campaign, the Renewable Fuels Associations and other groups filed a similar lawsuit in the same court in 2009. Their complaint said the regulation conflicted with the federal Renewable Fuel Standard and would close California's borders to corn ethanol made in other states.

The fuel standard "discriminates against out-of-state and foreign crude oil while giving an economic advantage to in-state crude oil," O'Neil wrote Thursday.

The nonprofit legal organization Earthjustice, which was not party to the suit but works on climate-related issues, said the state's clean energy programs are consistent with federal law.

"California is leading the way on cleaner fuels and a cleaner power grid," Earthjustice President Trip Van Noppen said. "It is not surprising that the oil industry is attacking these programs, but like previous attacks in the courts and at the ballot box, we expect this one ultimately to fail."

_____

Associated Press writer Jason Dearen contributed to this report.

Associated Press writer Jason Dearen contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.startribune.com/nation/136403603.html

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Why Bachmann Didn't Go After Romney (Taegan Goddard's Political Wire)

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Star Alliance looks to woo Air India again

Officials in the Ministry of Civil Aviation have indicated that this prestigious airline grouping has initiated talks with India?s state carrier once again since it wants to get a toehold in the Indian market, as per a DNA report by Sindhu Bhattacharya. ?They (Star Alliance) do not have much of an option. If they want to take a share of the Indian market, they will have to come to AI. Do you think we will allow them to take another private airline from India on board without first accepting AI?? said the officials.

Apparently, representatives of the alliance met Rohit Nandan, Chairman and Managing Director, Air India (AI) some time back ? the first such meeting since August this year, when Star told AI that its three-and-a-half year wait for membership was futile. The alliance had alleged that the airline had failed to meet basic criteria needed to become a member.

Also, Alliance?s insistence on inducting Jet Airways rubbed the government the wrong way and talks were suspended. AI?s entry was also scuttled by some competing global airlines who want a larger slice of the Indian market as a quid pro quo. These airlines vetoed the proposal to let AI join the alliance.

For the record, Star Alliance is a consortium of 28 airlines including Lufthansa, Air Canada, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways and Swiss and each member airline has a veto in deciding on new members. The alliance has a fleet of over 4,000 aircraft across 181 countries and offers benefits such as seamless transfers to passengers of member airlines across the world, more frequent flyer mileage points, code sharing and access to lounge facilities worldwide.

According to the airline?s estimates, it lost out on about Rs 400 crore annual revenues because of its inability to enter the alliance. Investments made in preparation for joining ? for example, new boarding cards with Star Alliance logo had been printed by July ? were also wasted.

In the absence of Alliance?s network benefits, AI has been making efforts to forge individual commercial code share agreements in select markets with individual airlines.

Source: http://www.travelbizmonitor.com/star-alliance-looks-to-woo-air-india-again-15267

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5 die of food poisoning at Mexican rehab center (AP)

MEXICO CITY ? Medical officials say five recovering drug addicts died and dozens of others were sickened by soy sausage served for Christmas dinner at a rehabilitation center in western Mexico.

Authorities were investigating whether the poisoning at the center in the city of Guadalajara was accidental or intentional. Drug cartels have taken over rehabilitation centers in parts of Mexico, forcibly recruiting addicts as hit men and smugglers. The invasions have led to mass shootings at the centers that have left dozens dead.

Alhy Daniel Nunez is a spokesman for the Red Cross in the western state of Jalisco, where Guadalajara is located. He said Monday that 37 people remained hospitalized, three of them in serious condition.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111227/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_mexico_rehab_poisoning

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Bronze statue of Steve Jobs unveiled in Hungary

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China and Japan Strengthen Finance Ties

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Source: www.nytimes.com --- Monday, December 26, 2011
Chinese and Japanese leaders have unveiled initiatives to tighten financial links between East Asia?s economic giants ? measures that could expand use of China?s tightly controlled currency abroad. ...

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/12/25/business/AP-AS-China-Japan-Finance-Deals.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Jerome Simpson Touchdown: Bengals WR Flips Over Cardinals Defender For TD (VIDEO)

Cincinnati receiver Jerome Simpson may have scored arguably the best touchdown of the season in Sunday's Week 16 game against the Cardinals. Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton looked to his left and found Simpson, who only had to beat Cardinals linebacker Daryl Washington to get into the end zone.

Well, Simpson decided to get by Washington in style, somehow pulling off a full front flip over the 6'2 defender and landing on his feet in the end zone. Touchdown Bengals!

WATCH VIDEO ABOVE

Is this the best touchdown of the season? Some thought so.

Adam Schefter

Bengals WR Jerome Simpson with the touchdown of the season. Wow!

ESPN Blogs NFC East

Nothing to do with the game I'm watching, but the Jerome Simpson touchdown is one of the greatest plays I've ever seen.

Eye on Football

Simpson's gymnastics work was utterly amazing.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/24/jerome-simpson-touchdown-flip-bengals-cardinals_n_1168904.html

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Drinks and joy as defectors embrace Kim's death (AP)

SEOUL, South Korea ? More than 21,000 North Koreans now live in South Korea. For many, the news of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's death stirred mixed emotions.

Several interviewed in Seoul by The Associated Press described a burst of joy upon hearing that Kim had died, but also a surge of unease over the fate of relatives and friends and even a shadow of homesickness.

There was celebration ? one man had drinks with a friend_ and hope for a better future for their homeland. For one woman, there was sadness as she envisioned little girls cramming to memorize the Kims' feats.

South Korea is no paradise for the defectors either; facing prejudice and lacking job skills, they rarely feel welcomed by their capitalist brethren.

Here, in their own words, are what three of them had to say:

___

THE PAINTER

"I felt rather calm after hearing of Kim Jong Il's death," said Song Byeok, 42, a painter who learned his art drawing propaganda posters in North Korea. "I thought to myself about him: 'You, too, are human in the end.'

"It was his destiny. He couldn't avoid it. ... He was praised like a god, but in the end, he was only a human who fell like an autumn leaf."

Desperate for food in 2000, Song and his father tried to cross the river into China ? not to defect but just to get something to eat from relatives on the Chinese side.

He still believed Kim Jong Il was a good leader.

However, when his father was swept away by the current and drowned, border guards ignored Song's pleas to help rescue him; instead they beat Song up and detained him. The experience convinced him to leave for good in 2002.

"I thought to myself after hearing Kim died that a wind of democratization may finally blow in North Korea," he said. "Reforms may come because Kim Jong Il has died.

"Kim Jong Un is young and he may lean toward reforms. But I still think he may not last long because he's too inexperienced. He only had a year or so to be groomed as successor.

"It may have been better for him if Kim Jong Il had lasted longer."

Song Byeok is the name he paints under and is widely known by in South Korea; he refused to divulge his real name for fear of retaliation against relatives and friends still in North Korea.

___

THE STUDENT

"I believed North Korea was the best country in the world," said Lee Hyeon-seo, who was 13 when late President Kim Il Sung, father of Kim Jong Il, died in 1994.

"I really believed in the theory of self-reliance," she said.

"When Kim Il Sung died, I saw many foreign guests crying on TV, which made me feel like Kim Il Sung was a god," she said. "But as days passed, I felt I wasn't as sad as I was supposed to when I stood in front of his statue.

"Everybody was crying but I couldn't cry, so I dabbed my face with my spit. It was a hot day, and some girl fainted and was sent to a hospital."

Lee, now 30, fled the North in the mid-1990s and lived for a decade in China before moving to South Korea in 2008. Now she studies Chinese at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul.

"I remember the propaganda education vividly even though I was a girl," she said. "In North Korea, excelling at math or English is less important than being good at the history of Kim Il Sung's revolutionary steps. Now I know it's fake, but we had to cram as much of the history in our heads as possible. We struggled to get high marks on the subject in school.

"I used to believe unification was a pipe dream. But now it may be possible. I'm hearing from friends that they'd like to be invited to my house in North Korea if the Koreas are reunified."

___

THE ACTIVIST

"I know a person's death is usually something that shouldn't be celebrated, but this time it was completely different," said Kim Seung-cheol, 50.

"Kim's death meant that North Korea would start changing," he said. "It was a hopeful sign for a change."

Kim went out with a friend to celebrate over sausages and "soju," a popular Korean liquor. They laughed with joy.

When he defected 20 years ago, he left behind his wife and son.

"If unification happens, I would like to find out if my son is still alive," he said. "If I find him, I will ask him to hit me for leaving him.

"And if I'm reunited with my wife, I will sing a song out of joy. But I have to ask forgiveness of her, because I've married another woman here in South Korea.

"I've pretty much given up on trying to find my son. It's important he be alive though," he said. "I only hope he is not living a miserable life as a vagabond.

"I hope South Korea can start engaging North Korea. A conciliatory gesture may be needed to open up North Korea. Seoul should send a message to Pyongyang that South Korea wants to go together with the new leadership in North Korea."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111225/ap_on_re_as/as_kim_jong_il_defector_voices

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Melanie Amaro wins 'The X Factor' (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? Melanie Amaro has "The X Factor."

The powerful 19-year-old vocalist from Sunrise, Fla., won the Fox talent competition Thursday over soulful 30-year-old singer Josh Krajcik of Wooster, Ohio.

Amaro, who was mentored by judge Simon Cowell and was at one point eliminated then reinstated to the contest, was awarded the grand prize: a $5 million recording contract and a starring role in a Pepsi commercial.

"Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God," Amaro repeated after host Steve Jones announced her as the champion.

Despite continued prodding from Jones, an overly emotional Amaro couldn't quite formulate words when she was revealed to have captured the most viewer votes, and she struggled through tears to reprise Beyonce's "Listen," the soaring ballad that Amaro crooned at her audition and on Wednesday's final performance round.

"I want to say, `America, thank you for giving this girl an opportunity,'" said Cowell.

Krajcik, the struggling single father who delivered a stripped down rendition of "At Last" for his final routine, seemed content with his status as "X Factor" runner-up to Amaro, who was born in the British Virgin Islands.

"Melanie deserves it," Krajcik said. "She has a wonderful voice. I had such an incredible experience here. I got to be myself, sing what I want to sing, and I couldn't be happier."

Chris Rene, the recovering 28-year-old singer-rapper from Santa Cruz, Calif., came in third place.

Before the winner was unveiled, the three finalists crooned classic Christmas tunes, and Justin Bieber, Stevie Wonder, Leona Lewis, Pitbull, Ne-Yo and 50 Cent performed various songs with former contestants. Amaro and Krajcik also dueted on David Bowie's "Heroes."

Unlike "American Idol," the contest was open to both solo singers and groups, and had a lower minimum age of 12 and no upper age limit.

The judges also served as mentors. Cowell represented female vocalists, including Amaro; L.A. Reid headed male singers, including Rene; Nicole Scherzinger was in charge of over-30 singers, including Krajcik; and Paula Abdul helmed the groups.

Despite consistent viewership, "The X Factor" has failed to achieve popularity similar to "Idol," which Cowell left last year to import "The X Factor" from the U.K. to the U.S. Fox announced last month that "X Factor" would return for a second season next fall.

___

Fox is owned by News Corp.

___

AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/derrikjlang.

___

Online:

http://www.thexfactorusa.com

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111223/ap_en_ot/us_tv_x_factor

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Military family gets $20,000 Christmas surprise

A deserving military family walked into a Home Depot last week and left with a $20,000 gift certificate for home repairs.

The store employees, in their signature orange aprons, crowded around the entrance of their Salt Lake City location ? waiting to give the Dilley family, the best Christmas they've had in a long time.

Read more at FoxNews.com.

---

Source: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/?pageId=380885

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Iraq PM tells Kurds to hand over Sunni VP (AP)

BAGHDAD ? Iraq's Shiite prime minister told Kurdish authorities Wednesday to hand over the Sunni vice president, who fled to the semiautonomous region to escape an arrest warrant on charges he ran hit squads targeting government officials.

Then a Kurdish presidential spokesman ruled out handing Tariq al-Hashemi over to Baghdad, turning up the heat under what has become the worst Iraqi political crisis in years.

The charges, leveled a day after the last American troops left Iraq, have opened up a new round of the Shiite-Sunni sectarian tensions of the type that pushed the country to the brink of civil war just a few years ago.

Al-Hashemi, the country's highest ranking Sunni political figure, said Tuesday the allegations by his longtime rival, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, are fabricated and politically motivated. He accused al-Maliki of concentrating power in his hands and torpedoing national reconciliation between Sunnis and Shiites.

"I do not allow myself and others to bargain over Iraqi blood," al-Maliki said in his first public comments on the warrant. He said Iraq is a unified county, and the Kurdish authorities should hand over al-Hashemi to the Iraqi justice system. "If they will not hand him over or let him flee or escape, this will lead to problems," the premier said.

There has been speculation that al-Hashemi may try to flee the country to Turkey, which shares a border with the northern Kurdish region.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu offered his country's help in resolving the Iraqi political crisis, but he was cool to the idea of hosting al-Hashemi. "As an Iraqi statesman it would be more correct for him to remain in Iraq," he said.

The Sunni minority dominated Iraq under Saddam Hussein until he was ousted by the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. The Shiites have held power ever since, and many Sunnis feel the Shiite-led government is determined to keep the them from ever regaining positions of power.

The charges raised suspicions that al-Maliki ordered the arrest of al-Hashemi as part of a campaign to consolidate his hold on power out of fear that Sunnis inside and outside of Iraq are plotting against him. The conflict has sharpened the divisions in what is shaping up to be one of the most serious political confrontations in Iraq in years.

Al-Hashemi denied charges he paid his bodyguards to kill government officials during the heyday of Iraq's Sunni insurgency. Most of the accusations date back to the height of the internal war in 2006 and 2007, when neighbors turned on neighbors and whole sections of Baghdad were expunged of one Muslim sect or the other.

Al-Hashemi fled to the Kurdish region on Sunday, before the arrest warrant was announced and before purported confessions from his bodyguards aired on Iraqi television Monday evening. On Sunday he was barred from leaving the country.

Al-Maliki effectively runs the Interior Ministry, where the charges originated. Al-Hashemi's Sunni-backed party, Iraqiya, which shares power in al-Maliki's government, has repeatedly accused the prime minister of hoarding power and last weekend boycotted parliament because al-Maliki refused to give up control over key posts such as the defense and interior ministries. The prime minister has not appointed permanent ministers of defense or interior since he came to office a year ago.

Al-Hashemi has taken refuge in the Kurdish region, which is part of Iraq but has its own security forces. The Iraqi army and national police do not operate there.

As long as the Kurdish officials allow him to stay there, he is effectively immune from prosecution in Baghdad. The Kurds, who have been trying to work out a solution to the crisis, are also wary of al-Maliki's perceived authoritarian streak. But they have also clashed with Sunni politicians from Iraqiya over the future of disputed areas in northern Iraq claimed by both Baghdad and the Kurds.

For now at least, the Kurds appear to be siding with al-Hashemi in the increasing cycle of accusations and counter-accusations that has become a daily spectacle in Iraq.

Fuad Hussain, a spokesman for Massoud Barzani, the president of the three provinces that make up the Kurdish region, said al-Hashemi is a guest of the president, and handing him over to Baghdad is "not possible."

The charges have thrown Iraq into crisis just days after the last U.S. troops left the country and ended a nearly nine-year war.

Vice President Joe Biden called both al-Maliki and Osama al-Nujaifi, the speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives, late Tuesday. He stressed to al-Maliki the "urgent need" for him to meet with leaders of other political blocs to help resolve the crisis.

Al-Maliki is also pushing for a vote of no confidence against the Sunni Deputy Prime Minister, Saleh al-Mutlaq, also a member of Iraqiya.

Al-Hashemi addressed the charges against him at a news conference in the northern city of Irbil on Tuesday. He said the case was "fabricated" to embarrass him and Iraqiya.

When asked whether al-Hashemi could get a fair trial in Iraq considering that the confessions have already aired on television, al-Maliki defended the treatment of the vice president.

"We gave the dictator Saddam a fair trial, and we will guarantee a fair trial for al-Hashemi," he said.

Al-Maliki also threatened to appoint new Cabinet ministers if the ministers from Iraqiya do not attend Cabinet sessions. He said that Iraqiya would be able to keep those positions and nominate new people from within their ranks.

Iraqiya has not indicated whether it will pull out of the government, but al-Maliki seemed prepared for that eventuality. He did not address Iraqiya directly, but during his opening remarks raised the possibility of having a simple majority government.

Now Iraq has a unity government that includes all the major factions, including Iraqiya and al-Maliki's State of Law alliance. The unwieldy government makes it difficult to make decisions, but supporters say it lessens the risk of violence that could result if large segments of the population are cut out of power.

___

Associated Press writers Sinan Salaheddin and Rebecca Santana in Baghdad and Yahya Barzanji in Sulaimaniyah contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111221/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq

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Bulls lock up Derrick Rose with 5-year extension (AP)

DEERFIELD, Ill. ? Derrick Rose was going down the list, thanking just about everyone who helped him become one of the NBA's best players, when he looked to his right.

Seated off to the side was his mother, Brenda.

"I think I can finally say this now. Mom, I finally made it," he said.

Rose, the Chicago Bulls' superstar point guard and the league's reigning MVP, agreed Wednesday to a five-year contract extension worth more than $94 million that kicks in next season.

It's fair to say Rose made it long before this latest news conference. The extension is just another stop in a rapid and steady rise from a tough neighborhood on Chicago's South Side to a starring role with his hometown team after being taken with the No. 1 pick in the draft.

He's gone from Rookie of the Year to All-Star to MVP in just three seasons, becoming the youngest player to win the award. That's why the extension was more a formality than a surprise.

The only thing missing from his resume is a championship and that's something he hopes to change in Year 4.

"He embodies all the characteristics that you look for," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "It's a lot more than the talent. The talent is the obvious part. Then, when you look at his will to win, basketball IQ, unselfishness, his humility ? I think those are the things that you can build a championship-caliber team around."

The Bulls came close to winning it all last year, leading the league with 62 victories during the regular season and advancing to the Eastern Conference finals before losing to Miami.

That capped a spectacular season in which Rose showed up for camp wondering why he couldn't be MVP after LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh turned down Chicago to unite in Miami. Then, he backed it up with one of the best seasons by a point guard.

He averaged 25 points, 7.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds over 81 games, the only NBA player last year to rank in the top 10 in both scoring and assists. He also became just the fifth player in history (along with Oscar Robertson, John Havlicek, Michael Jordan and James) to post 2,000 points, 600 assists and 300 rebounds in a single season

More important to Rose, he led Chicago to its best season since the Michael Jordan-Scottie Pippen championship era, and he joined Jordan as the only Bulls players to win the MVP award.

He keeps adding new wrinkles to his game, too. In the past, he extended his shooting range. This past offseason, he worked on his post moves.

"I don't think you can put a ceiling on what Derrick can become," general manager Gar Forman said. "It's scary to think that I think he'll continue to get better and better throughout his career."

The extension could bring some more pressure.

Rose shrugged it off. He said money is "the last thing I think about."

Even so, he has some ideas about how he might use it.

He mentioned pouring some of it back into his old neighborhood in Englewood, one of the roughest sections of Chicago. He pointed out a lack of indoor courts and after-school programs for youngsters in that area.

He also thought about how far he's come, going from there to here, and he acknowledged he's sometimes amazed. Along the way, he helped Simeon Career Academy win back-to-back state championships, then led Memphis to the NCAA championship game before the Bulls drafted him with the top pick in 2008 after defying long odds to win the lottery.

Rose is now all of 23 years old.

"Coming from where I'm coming from, I can't explain it," he said. "I really can't explain it. I never would have thought in a million years that I would have signed a contract like this, especially coming from an area where I'm from. No one from Englewood has ever been in my position so sometimes I think, `Why me?'"

Forman thought about that day when the franchise's fortunes changed. The Bulls' director of player personnel at the time, he was at home and wasn't really paying close attention to the draft lottery. After all, the Bulls' had just a 1.7-percent shot at winning it.

"What I remember most about it is the ice cream truck was coming down the street right then," Forman said. "I went out with my two boys and we got ice cream to celebrate."

Rose will be approaching his 29th birthday when his deal expires, and he wants to spend his entire career with the Bulls "unless they trade me or something."

That seems unlikely. He was also asked if he thought about taking less money in order to give the team some extra salary-cap space.

"I don't even know how much I make right now, to tell you the truth," Rose said.

Forman pointed out that Rose made it clear he wanted to stay with the Bulls and didn't seek a player option.

"Derrick absolutely didn't want that," he said. "He wanted a full commitment to the Chicago Bulls and to stay in Chicago. To us, that's really special. He stepped up. The maximum length he could sign is what he wanted to sign."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111221/ap_on_sp_bk_ne/bkn_bulls_rose

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PSA: Verizon users reporting data outages across the US (update: back up)

If you're having trouble getting a data connection on your Verizon-branded handset this morning, you're not alone. We've been receiving a bevy of tips from disgruntled Verizon customers, due to an apparently widespread outage across the carrier's mobile data network. Based on what we're seeing on Verizon's @vzwsupport Twitter feed and forums (linked below), it looks as if both 3G and 4G networks have been affected. We tested some handsets in the San Francisco area, and can confirm that data connections there are indeed down at the moment. We've reached out to Verizon for comment, and will let you know as soon as we hear more.

Update: Verizon's 3G CDMA network appears to be up, but 4G LTE services are still unavailable. Meanwhile, Verizon reps confirmed to us that the company is looking into the outage.

Update: LTE users in New Jersey are reporting that the service is back up, and we're online in New York City as well.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

PSA: Verizon users reporting data outages across the US (update: back up) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Dec 2011 05:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bomb kills 5 Polish troops in Afghanistan (Reuters)

GHAZNI CITY, Afghanistan (Reuters) ? A roadside bomb killed five Polish soldiers in Afghanistan on Wednesday, the country's prime minister said, Poland's largest loss of life in a single incident since it joined the NATO-led coalition of foreign troops almost a decade ago.

"This is very sad information for the Polish soldiers, for the whole of Poland, and especially for the families who are being informed of the fact right now," Prime Minister Donald Tusk told a news conference in Katowice, southern Poland.

"The bomb had to be of a very significant power as the vehicles the Polish soldiers use are generally well-protected against this type of attack," he said.

Poland has about 2,475 troops in Afghanistan, most of them stationed in Ghazni province, southwest of the capital, Kabul. A total of 36 Polish soldiers have now been killed in Afghanistan, according to Poland's defense ministry.

Ghazni province has a heavy and growing Taliban presence but the blast hit in a village considered relatively secure, and just two kilometers from the provincial capital, Ghazni city.

Rawza village contains several historical sites and police security is seen as tight. Polish soldiers have been involved in reconstruction work on historical sites.

No civilians were wounded but the loud explosion was heard throughout the city and shattered the windows of nearby houses.

Colonel Miroslaw Ochyra from the Polish army's operational headquarters in Poland said it was unclear how the bomb had been activated because it did not explode when the first of the soldiers' armored vehicles drove over it.

It contained an estimated 100 kg (220 lb) of explosives.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast, but Ochyra said Poland would investigate that claim.

"We must remember that the Taliban often claim some attacks to showcase their strength," he told Polish media.

(Additional reporting by Agnieszka Flak and Mirwais Harooni in KABUL, Gabriela Baczynska in WARSAW and Wojciech Zurawski in KATOWICE; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Paul Tait)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111221/wl_nm/us_afghanistan_nato

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Russian customs seize Iran-bound radioactive metal (AP)

MOSCOW ? Russia's customs agency said Friday that it seized radioactive metal from the luggage of an Iranian passenger bound for Tehran.

Spokeswoman Kseniya Grebenkina told The Associated Press that the luggage had been seized some time ago, but could not specify when. The Iranian hasn't been detained, she said.

The Federal Customs Service said in a statement that its agents found 18 pieces of metal at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport after a radiation alert went on. It says the gauges showed that radiation levels were 20 times higher than normal.

It was not immediately clear if the substance could have any use in Iran's controversial nuclear program.

The pieces contained Sodium-22, she said, a radioactive isotope of sodium that could be produced in a particle accelerator. Sodium-22 is a positron-emitting isotope that has medical uses, including in nuclear medicine imaging.

Grebenkina said prosecutors have launched a probe into the incident.

Sergei Novikov, spokesman for the Rosatom nuclear agency, told the AP that the pieces are highly unlikely to have come from Rosatom and said the isotope is produced by particle accelerators, not by nuclear reactors.

In Russia, universities, research institutes and big medical centers have the technology to produce it, he said.

"There is an extremely slim chance that it could have come from Rosatom," he said.

Novikov said that Rosatom has never sold Sodium-22 to Iran, but it has supplied it with other types of medical isotopes.

Grebenkina of the Customs Service insisted that the material seized is not highly radioactive.

The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday endorsed harsher sanctions against Iran aimed at derailing its suspected pursuit of nuclear weapons. Iran denies Western allegations that it is seeking to build nuclear weapons.

Earlier this year, Atomstroiexport, a Rosatom subsidiary, launched Iran's first nuclear reactor in Bushehr.

Russian officials have insisted that the deal with Iran is in line with international agreements and will oblige Tehran to ship all the spent fuel from the plant back to Russia for reprocessing to avoid a possibility of it being used in a covert weapons program.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111216/ap_on_sc/eu_russia_iran

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Shared flavor compounds show up on US menus, rare in Asian cuisines

ScienceDaily (Dec. 15, 2011) ? North Americans and Western Europeans love a good mix of alpha-terpineol, 4-methylpentanoic acid and ethyl propionate for dinner, flavor compounds shared in popular ingredients like tomatoes, parmesan cheese and white wine. Authentic East Asian recipes, on the other hand, tend to avoid mixing ingredients with many shared flavor compounds, according to new complex networks research from Indiana, Harvard, Cambridge and Northeastern universities.

In a search to uncover the patterns and principles people use in choosing ingredient combinations beyond individual taste and recipes, a team that included Indiana University Bloomington School of Informatics and Computing Assistant Professor Yong-Yeol Ahn looked at the key ingredients of 56,498 online recipes and then analyzed those ingredients for shared flavor compounds. The recipes came from three online recipe repositories: epicurious.com and allrecipes.com from the U.S. and the Korean menupan.com.

Over the past decades, some food scientists and chefs have developed a food pairing hypothesis which states that ingredients sharing flavor compounds are more likely to taste good together than ingredients that do not. Some application of this can be found at contemporary restaurants that successfully pair white chocolate and caviar, ingredients that both contain trimethylamine and other flavor compounds, or chocolate and blue cheese, which share at least 73 flavor compounds.

Ahn, who is also affiliated with the Center for Complex Networks and Systems Research operated by SOIC and IU's Pervasive Technology Institute, said that by creating a flavor network that captures the flavor compounds shared by culinary ingredients, the team could reformulate the food pairing hypothesis into a hypothesis on the graph-topological properties of recipes in the flavor network. Statistical tests can then be used to unveil the connectedness, or the lack thereof, of ingredients and flavor compounds.

In this case, they took 381 ingredients from the group of recipes, along with an associated 1,021 flavor compounds that contributed flavor to those ingredients, and created a flavor network where ingredients are connected if they share at least one flavor compound.

"What we showed was that the recipes in North American cuisine tend to share more flavor compounds than expected. The most authentic ingredient pairs and triplets in North American cuisine also tend to share multiple flavor compounds, while compound-sharing links are rare among the most authentic combinations in East Asian cuisine," Ahn said.

Their analysis also referenced that the number of actual recipes in use, on the order of about 106, was tiny when compared to the large number of potential recipes (over 1,015).

"We identified frequently used ingredients that contributed positively to the food pairing effect in North American cuisine, like milk, butter, cocoa, vanilla, cream and eggs," Ahn said. "These played a disproportionate role, as 13 key ingredients that contributed to a shared compound effect were found in 74.4 percent of North American recipes."

There were also ingredients in East Asian cuisine -- beef, ginger, pork, cayenne, chicken and onion -- that were the top contributors to an overall negative shared compound effect on food pairing.

One future goal of the research would be to build an accessible infrastructure using more detailed datasets that incorporate the quantity information of flavor compounds, again advancing the use of data-driven network analysis methods that have transformed biology and the social sciences to yield new insights into food science.

Another interesting venue of research is studying the evolution of recipes. A recently published recipe-evolution model suggested that the staple ingredients consist of old ingredients (founders) and highly "fit" ingredients.

"Among highly prevalent ingredients, we can see old ingredients that have been used in the same geographic region for thousands of years," Ahn said. "Yet there are also relatively new ingredients like tomatoes, potatoes and peppers that were introduced to Europe and Asia just a few hundred years ago. Though new, they are now staple ingredients."

Co-authors on the paper with Ahn were Sebastian E. Ahnert of Northeastern and Cambridge, and James P. Bagrow and Albert-L?szl? Barab?si, both of Northeastern and Harvard. Like the other authors, Ahn is also affiliated with the Northeastern Department of Physics' Center for Complex Network Research, and like Ahnert and Barab?si, with Harvard's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Center for Cancer Systems Biology.

Published Dec. 15, in Scientific Reports as "Flavor network and the principles of food pairing," the research was supported by the James S. McDonnell Foundation 21st Century Initiative in Studying Complex Systems.

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Journal Reference:

1. Yong-Yeol Ahn, Sebastian E. Ahnert, James P. Bagrow, Albert-L?szl? Barab?si. Flavor network and the principles of food pairing. Scientific Reports, 2011; 1 DOI: 10.1038/srep00196

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/iYEASQHkxlg/111215141625.htm

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Adele Is Evanescence's Artist Of The Year, 'Big Time'

'It's been cool to watch her succeed, because it's just someone who's truly talented, no gimmicks involved,' Amy Lee tells MTV News.
By James Montgomery

Adele
Photo: Dave Hogan/ Getty Images

In 2011, Evanescence rose again, ending a four-year hiatus with a chart-topping new album, a pair of booming singles and a triumphant tour.

So as the year draws to a close and MTV reveals our picks for the Best of 2011, we're reaching out to a host of acts who dominated and defined the past 12 months to get their take on the year in music. And, really, there are few that both dominated and defined quite like Evanescence did.

That's why we had to ask frontwoman Amy Lee who she'd name as the year's best artist. And her answer is sort of shocking, given that she fronts one of the loudest bands in rock. Then again, her pick did have, without question, one of the biggest years of any artist, in any genre.

"My artist of the year? Adele. I think this was, big time, her year, [and] I'm just so happy to see her succeed the way she has," Lee said. "I know she got a bunch of Grammy nominations ... and it's awesome. It's been cool to watch her succeed, because it's just someone who's truly talented, no gimmicks involved."

Lee didn't stop her praise for the British singer there. She also chose Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" as her song of the year (hey, so did we!), proving that, though she's spent most of 2011 resurrecting her band and reclaiming the rock throne, she also found time to listen to the radio.

All this week, watch "AMTV" on MTV every day at 8 a.m. ET for our Best of 2011 lists. Then, come to MTVNews.com at 5 p.m. as we reveal our top picks of the year!

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• Adele
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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1676085/adele-evanescence-amy-lee-artist-of-the-year.jhtml

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Apple's A5 Processors Are Made on a $3.6 Billion Samsung Production Line—in Texas [Apple]

Everybody knows all of our electronics are made overseas, by teethings masses anonymous Asian factory workers laboring night and day. Which is why it's quite amusing to find out that Apple's A5 processor is built on a $3.6 billion Samsung production line in the middle of Texas. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/oqfp3-cKKWc/apples-a5-processors-are-made-on-a-36bn-samsung-production-line

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Army, govt poles apart on memo

ISLAMABAD ? The federation in its reply filed in the Supreme Court on Thursday challenged court?s authority to hear the memogate case, while the chiefs of the Army and the ISI said there was enough evidence suggesting that a plot had been hatched against the army and the country, and called for a through probe into the matter.
The reply filed in the Supreme Court on behalf of Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervaz Kayani on Thursday stated that ?memo was a reality and the issue should be probed?. General Pasha in his reply gave out the details of his meeting with Ijaz Mansoor, the author of the memo at the centre of the controversy, along with his assessment that the material handed over to him by the US national regarding his contacts with Husain Haqqani was credible. The cabinet, law, defence, interior and foreign secretaries also filed their replies in the memogate case through Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) on Thursday, the deadline for the submissions. The replies of the COAS and DG ISI were also submitted through the AGP, who said no changes were made to the replies of Gen Kayani and Lt-Gen Pasha.
The reply from Mansoor Ijaz was also received in the court the same day through foreign ministry secretary. In his 81-page reply, which contains his Witness Statement, BlackBerry Messages (BBM) screen shots and handwritten notes, Ijaz gave detail of his meeting with ISI chief Lt-Gen Shuja Pasha. The former Pakistan Ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani has already submitted his reply to the court, maintaining that the allegations levelled against him were false and it was a conspiracy against the country. AGP Maulvi Anwarul Haq talking to the media on Thursday morning said that President Zardari?s reply would not be submitted today (Thursday) and he would file it today (Friday).
The Supreme Court on December 1 after hearing the constitutional petitions on memo scandal had directed the respondents to file their replies to all the petitions within 15 days. The matter has been fixed before a 9-member bench, headed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan, on December 19, 2011. The SC office on directives of the chief justice forwarded the copies of the received replies to all the petitioners and respondents in the petitions, with the direction that if they desire to file replies of these replies they may do so before the date of hearing.
Federation?s reply:
The federation in its 3-page reply challenged the Supreme Court jurisdiction to hear the memo case and its constitution of an investigative panel, saying it (federation) is custodian of national sovereignty. It said that parliament, which is an elected institution, was the right platform to investigate the issue. The Parliamentary Committee on National Security, which has representation of all political parties in the parliament, is independent to hold probe into the matter. It also stated that the president and the prime minister have no link with the memo issue. The PPP government has rendered numerous sacrifices for the restoration of democracy in the country, it added.
The federation also gave the reference of another article published in The Independent blog on December 3, 2011. According to the blog General Pasha had been travelling throughout the Arab world and other countries as well right after bin Laden raid (and he ) sought and ?received permission from senior Arab leaders to sack Z (President Zardari)?. ?I was just informed by senior US intel,? Ijaz writes in a message on May 10, ?that GD-SII Mr P asked for, and received permission, from senior Arab leaders a few days ago to sack Z.?
Kayani?s reply:
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Ashfaq Kayani in his reply to the court stated that the memo was a reality and a conspiracy was being hatched against the army and the national security. He says in the reply that the Fiancial Times published Mansoor Ijaz?s story about the memo on October 10. He (Gen Kayani) was informed about DG ISI General Pasha?s meeting with Mansoor Ijaz on October 24 and Pasha was of the opinion that there was enough evidence to validate the authenticity of the memo. The DG ISI reported there was evidence which illustrated that Ijaz was in touch with Husain Haqqani between May 9-11 and that they exchanged text messages and phone calls.
Kayani writes that on October 28 the spokesperson for the foreign ministry and the presidency denied the memo in their separate statements. Admiral Mike Mullen through his spokesperson first denied receiving the memo on November 8 but a few days later changed this stance.
The reply goes on to state that on November 13, during a meeting with Prime Minister Gilani, he (Kayani) advised that those points of the memo which were leaked were very sensitive and that a decision had to be made on it being real or not. He insisted that the prime minister summon Haqqani so he can brief the country?s leadership about this matter. Kayani told the prime minister that time was limited and ?the sooner we found out the facts the better it would be?.
On November 15, Kayani said he was called by the president for a meeting and met him at 2pm in the afternoon. According to Kayani, the prime minister had already informed the president about his recommendations. President Zardari informed Kayani that the decision to summon Haqqani had already been made. On November 21, US General James Jones confirmed that he had taken the memo to Mullen.
Kayani said that he was part of a meeting which also included the prime minister, president and DG ISI on November 22. It was during this meeting that Haqqani briefed all of them and Prime Minister Gilani asked for Haqqani?s resignation and ordered an investigation.
Towards the end Kayani writes that there was enough evidence validating the memo and there should be full review to evaluate the circumstance and facts behind it. General Kayani said that the memo tried to decrease the morale of the Pakistan Army but was unsuccessful in doing so.
Pasha?s reply:
In his 4-page reply over the memo controversy, ISI Director General Ahmad Shuja Pasha stated that he was satisfied with the evidence provided by Mansoor Ijaz. He said Ijaz would not have been able to write the article in Financial Times without having evidence about the memo. He said the article was part of a never-ending propaganda against ISI.
He requested the court to summon Mansoor Ijaz and direct him to produce proofs of the matter. He said without proofs, no one could write such a big thing in his article. He requested the court to summon Blackberry data and computer of Husain Haqqani and order its forensic examination. He said he would fully cooperate with the commission to be constituted by the court on memo issue.
Pasha said he had met Mansoor Ijaz on Oct 22 in London to know the facts. He said he came to know about Ijaz?s article through media wing of the ISI, adding that ISI was in forefront in the security of the state. He stated that he had asked the president in his meeting with him that memo issue should be taken as serious.
Mansoor Ijaz reply:
The reply of Mansoor Ijaz, who claimed of authoring the memo at the asking of Husain Haqqani and delivering it to former US Joint Chief of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, came through Ministry of Foreign Affairs secretary, according to a SC press release.
According to the reply, ISI DG met Ijaz in London with the consent of Gen Kayani. Ahmed Shuja Pasha told him: ?It was his and General Kiyani?s deep desire to see government complete its term.? On the data debriefing, DG looked a bit astonished at what he was seeing but at no time did offer any assessment of the data other than to indicate that the records were ?clear and convincing? evidence.
Mr Ijaz mentioned that Lt-Gen Pasha read the memorandum himself and expressed his surprise and dismay at times disgust and disappointment over the content of the document. But did not ask a single question about the content of the document other than if he would be willing to divulge the names of the others besides Haqqani that would be the part of new national security team. ?I (Mansoor) did so with the caveat that I did not believe either Karamat or Durrani knew anything about the plan to deliver the memo, the contents of the memo or the mindset of Haqqani and those behind him dreaming up the scheme,? says the reply.
During the debrief, Pasha opened Ijaz?s computer, BlackBerry device and questioned how the data was stored, transmitted and displayed. The ISI DG carefully analysed dates, times, ?properties? of Microsoft documents to see when the documents were created and how they fit into the timeline Mansoor stated, Lt-Gen Pasha looked at the original telephone bill logs, checked the time at which each BBM messages were sent or received and also reviewed the handwritten notes.
Ijaz stated that contrary to media report, at no time Lt-Gen Pasha tried to send BBM to Haqqani from his handset. The ISI chief recorded the PIN numbers that Mansoor had for Haqqani, both old and new one. Haqqani did not have the third PIN at that time. Lt-Gen did ask how he stored email addresses and to see the ones he had for Haqqani one from his private university mailbox (Boston University) and one for official use at the embassy in Washington.
About the exchanges of BBM and calls to Husain Haqqani, Ijaz stated that Haqqani explained to him that bin Laden episode created severe stresses between the Pakistan Army/intelligence agencies and the civilian government. In Haqqani?s words army and the ISI pin the blame of Abottabad event on President Zardari?s administration. Mansoor writes that Haqqani said in clear words ?the army wants to bring the government down?.
Haqqani sought his help and said it was urgent to get a message verbally to the Americans. The ex-Pak envoy to US said this was a ?1971 moment.? The right person, as yet undefined, to give this verbal message to was Admiral Mullen. Ijaz mentions in reply that he asked from Haqqani whose authority he was acting on behalf of. Haqqani said there was a like-minded group of people in Islamabad that would be brought on board by ?the boss? a reference to President Zardari as the new national security team, once tension had dissipated. He mentioned two names and I (Mr Ijaz) recognised (Jehangir Karamat and Mahmud Durrani) but added that they would be approached once this was all over.
Mansoor writes, on the insistence of Haqqani, he contacted Gen Jones for delivering the message to Mike Mullen. Gen Jones? first reaction was that Pakistani officials often made verbal promises that they didn?t keep. Gen Jones said: ?He would not consider taking any message to Admiral Mullen if it wasn?t in writing.? Mansoor said he told Haqqani about Gen Jones concerns. Haqqani on May 9, 2011 dictated a series of points that ultimately became the basis of first draft of memo.
Ijaz Mansoor said he sent draft to Haqqani for review and on phone asked about the authority. Haqqani said: ?Don?t worry about that, I?ve got it sorted out with the boss.? Mansoor writes that before giving memo to Gen Jones for Mike Mullen he again confirmed from Haqqani that he had the authority from the highest political level to proceed with the operation. He said: ?I have got the boss?s approval, go ahead.?
In the reply, Ijaz reiterated he was prepared, without hindrance of any type whatsoever, without concern for personal safety, ignoring the threats that were made and continue to be made to him, and with the consent and support of his family, to appear in front of the apex court to present the physical evidence in his possession and to allow such evidence as he has to be forensically tested in any manner chosen by competent, independent and unbiased experts retained by this court that the authenticity of these data can be ascertained with certainty.
However, Mansoor Ijaz, in his Witness Statement described that his loyalties were first and foremost to the national interest of the country where he was born ? the US. He clarified that he acts at the behest of no person in government, outside of government, in any foreign country or the US.
According to the reply, Mansoor Ijaz maintained high-level political and military/intelligence contacts in nearly two dozens countries around the world, during the past decade, but had no contact with any Pakistan government official civilian, judicial, military or intelligence except General Ehsanul Haq, President Asif Ali Zardari, Hussain Haqqani and Lt-Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha. In the end of his Witness Statement, he thanked the Chief Justice of Pakistan and the judges of the apex court for permitting him to be heard in completeness and said he was ready to answer any court questions.
Earlier, the same day a two-member delegation of Pakistan Armed Forces? Judge Advocate General Branch (JAG) Branch met Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq in his office at the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Media quoted sources saying that PPP leader Babar Awan also attending the meeting. They said that the army team with the help of the attorney general gave final touches to the reply which was to be submitted to the apex court on behalf of the Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and ISI Director General Lt-Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha.
The JAG Branch of the Armed Forces is composed of Pakistan?s military senior officers, lawyers and judges who provide legal services to the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines at all levels of command.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/today-headlines/~3/mpYJKL8Hpn8/Army-govt-poles-apart-on-memo

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As Syria death toll soars, so does US frustration with Russia

The death toll from the crackdown in Syria has topped 5,000, the top UN human rights official told the Security Council. With Russia blocking action, the US and others are voicing increasing frustration.

Citing a death toll in Syria?s government-backed violence that has now topped 5,000, the top UN human rights official is imploring the Security Council to get tough with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

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But with Russia dismissing any attempt at international action against the Assad regime as hypocritical and ?immoral,? the likelihood of anything being done soon appears slight.

This has prompted the United States and other parties frustrated by the dim prospects of meaningful international action against Mr. Assad to draw stark contrasts between the Security Council?s muted response to the crisis and recent steps taken by other countries and institutions.

?Through condemnations issued by the UN General Assembly and Human Rights Council and bold steps taken by the Arab League and the government of Turkey, international bodies are starting to match their severe disapproval of Syria?s bloody crackdown with concrete steps to bring it to an end,? Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the United Nations, said following a Security Council session on Syria Monday. ?It is past time for the UN Security Council to do the same.?

The US statement followed an urgent plea by Navi Pillay, the UN high commissioner for human rights, for the Security Council to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court in The Hague for investigation of alleged crimes against humanity.

The death toll from nine months of violence in Syria has surpassed 5,000, while thousands more Syrians have been detained or are unaccounted for, Ms. Pillay told the Security Council. As she did at a briefing for the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva earlier this month, Pillay underscored in particular the high price that Syrian children are paying in the violence.

The Arab League and Turkey have imposed sanctions on Syria, but the Security Council has been unable to overcome a Russian ?nyet? to any action against Syria, with which Russia maintains strong ties.

Even Monday?s merely informational Security Council session only took place because France threatened to call for a vote on Syria, potentially embarrassing Russia by forcing its veto, if the Syria briefing did not proceed, UN analysts said.

The wrangling at the UN took place as thousands of Syrians closed businesses and boycotted schools in protest against the government crackdown.

But neither internal events in Syria nor actions by regional actors like the Arab League appear to be swaying Russia. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday that international condemnation of Assad would be ?immoral? when the regime is facing the violence of ?armed extremist? groups.?

Mr. Lavrov said last month that Syria was in a civil war, and that it was not the international community?s place to side against the government. But that has not stopped Russia from showing support for Assad, for example by recently sending warships to fly the Russian flag in Syrian ports.

The US, on the other hand, has declared that Assad is no longer legitimate and must step down. Ambassador Rice repeated that position Monday, saying, ?Let there be no doubt: Assad?s days in power are numbered.? The days that pass before that occurs, she added, will determine how many more Syrian children die in the country?s violence.

?The question is how many more Syrians ? such as 13-year-old Hamza Khatib, who was tortured and murdered in April ? must be beaten, killed or raped,? Rice said, ?before Assad leaves office??

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/c_KmO8cI7HE/As-Syria-death-toll-soars-so-does-US-frustration-with-Russia

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Drive This, Not That: 10 Pricey Autos and Their Cheaper Counterparts

400-hp 3.8-liter flat six
Price: $97,350

The inexpensive imitator: Chevy Corvette

Chevrolet's Corvette has been competing with the Porsche 911 since it first landed on our shores in 1964. Back in the 1960s, the Vette would smoke the Porsche on any road?as long as that road didn't twist. Today the sports car icons are much more evenly matched.

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/news/pictures/drive-this-not-that-10-inexpensive-imitators-cars?src=rss

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