China's Wen: government debt risk "controllable" (Reuters)

BEIJING (Reuters) ? China's Premier Wen Jiabao said the nation's government debt is at an "overall safe and controllable" level, that funding for key projects would be ensured and that applying the brakes to the economy would be done in a way to avoid systemic risks.

Wen's comments, reported in the official People's Daily on Monday, were made in a speech dating back to early January at the government's flagship financial work conference.

Wen pledged to contain and defuse local government debt risks and avoid the spread of financial risks.

"Currently, our government debt is overall safe and controllable," he said.

"We are taking the issue of managing local government debt very seriously. Through clean-ups and regulation, the trend of expanding investment vehicles has been effectively contained."

China's state audit office said earlier this month it had uncovered 530 billion yuan ($84 billion) worth of irregularities involving local government debt.

But the figure is a fraction of the 2 trillion-3 trillion yuan of sour loans economists believe are buried in the 10.7 trillion yuan of debt local governments had at the end of 2010.

The scale of debt worries investors because it could rock the banking system.

Wen said China "must both actively and appropriately ease financial and fiscal risks, and also ensure the funding needs of key construction projects approved by the government."

He warned, though, against a simplistic approach to local government investment.

"We cannot simplistically hit the breaks and use a one-size-fits-all approach, and must avoid turning localized risks into comprehensive, systemic risks," he said.

Wen also vowed to "break monopolies" against private capital participation in the financial sector, promising to "relax entry to encourage, guide and regulate the entry of private capital into the financial services sector, with participation in the ownership reform, capital enhancement and share expansion of banking, equities, insurance and other financial institutions."

(Reporting by Chris Buckley; Writing by Nick Edwards; Editing by Ed Davies and Ken Wills)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/china/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120130/bs_nm/us_china_finance

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Ex-Pakistani envoy to US wins court victory (AP)

ISLAMABAD ? Pakistan's top court Monday lifted a travel ban imposed on the country's former ambassador to the U.S. during an investigation into a memo sent to Washington that had enraged the army, in a sign that a scandal that once looked capable of bringing down the government may be losing steam.

Husain Haqqani resigned in November and returned to Islamabad to answer allegations that he masterminded the note, which asked for Washington's help in curbing the powers of the Pakistani army in exchange for security policies favorable to the U.S.

The unsigned memo, sent to Washington following the May 2011 American operation that killed Osama bin Laden in a Pakistan army town, appeared to confirm the army's worst fears that the country's elected politicians were conspiring with Washington ? a potent charge in a country where anti-Americanism runs deep.

The outrage, whipped up by right-wing, pro-army sections of the media, exposed the apparent fragility of the government in the face of generals who have ruled the country for much of its more than 60-year existence and still run defense and foreign policy.

Haqqani, who denies any link to the memo, said he now intends to travel to United States to join family there.

"Anywhere else, this matter would have been laid to rest long ago," Haqqani said. "The memo had no impact on U.S. policy and was consigned to the dustbin by its recipient."

The Supreme Court set up a commission to investigate the affair, dubbed "memogate" in the Pakistani media, after opposition politicians petitioned for an inquest. Despite the fact he had not been charged with a crime, the commission had banned Haqqani from traveling.

On Monday, it ruled that Haqqani ? who has been living in the prime minister's residence, reportedly worried about threats to his life ? could travel. The court said Haqqani had to return to Pakistan if the commission required it. Haqqani said he would comply with the orders.

Up until a few weeks ago, there was speculation that the "memogate" scandal could lead to the demise of President Asif Ali Zardari. But last week, the main accuser ? a Pakistani-American businessman who claimed to have delivered the note to Adm. Mike Mullen, the top U.S. military officer at the time ? said he couldn't come to Pakistan to testify, citing security fears.

That appears to have dealt a sharp blow to the case, even assuming the accuser, Mansoor Ijaz, had a "smoking gun" linking Haqqani and President Zardari to the memo. Many observers have since predicted that the probe is heading nowhere. Some media reports have speculated about a possible agreement between the army and the government to shelve the case.

Haqqani has won support from some U.S. lawmakers and pro-democracy activists in Pakistan, who painted him as a victim of army meddling in the democratic process. While he worked hard in Washington defending Pakistan ? a challenging task over the past few years ? prior to taking the job he was known as having an anti-army line.

The scandal has transfixed Pakistan's media and political class even as the country grapples with more existential threats like Islamist militancy and potential economic collapse.

On Monday, a suicide bomber killed a leader of a militant group that has been fighting a rival outfit in northwest Pakistan close to the Afghan border, said police officer Imtiaz Khan.

Haji Akhunzada was a senior figure in Ansarul Islam, which operates in the Khyber tribal region close to the Afghan border.

Akhunzada was killed along with his son-in-law while visiting his house close to the city of Peshawar, said Khan.

Ansarul Islam is fighting with another militant group, Lashkar Islam, for control of Kyhber, and dozens of people have been killed in the violence.

___

Associated Press writer Riaz Khan contributed to this report from Peshawar.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan

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Quest for the golden cross (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? January has turned out to be strong for stocks with just two trading days to go. If you're afraid to miss the ride, there's still time to jump in. You just might want to wear a neck brace.

The new year lured buyers into growth-related sectors, the ones that were more beaten down last year. The economy is getting better, but not dramatically. Earnings are beating expectations, but at a lower rate than in recent quarters. Nothing too bad is coming out of Europe's debt crisis -- and nothing good, either -- at least not yet.

"No one item is a major positive, but collectively, it's been enough to tilt it towards net buying," said John Schlitz, chief market technician at Instinet in New York.

Still, relatively weak volume and a six-month high hit last week make some doubt that the gains are sustainable.

But then there's the golden cross.

Many market skeptics take notice when this technical indicator, a holy grail of sorts for many technicians, shows up on the horizon.

As early as Monday, the rising 50-day moving average of the S&P 500 could tick above its rising 200-day moving average. This occurrence -- known as a golden cross -- means the medium-term momentum is increasingly bullish. You have a good chance of making money in the next six months if you put it to work in large-cap stocks.

In the last 50 years, according to data compiled by Birinyi Associates, a golden cross on the S&P 500 has augured further gains six months ahead in eight out of 10 times. The average gain has been 6.6 percent.

That means the benchmark is on solid footing to not only hold onto the 14 percent advance over the last nine weeks, but to flirt with 1,400, a level it has not hit since mid-2008.

The gains, as expected, would not be in a straight line. But any weakness could be used by long-term investors as buying opportunities.

"The cross is an intermediate bullish event," Schlitz said. "You have to interpret it as constructive, but I caution people to take a bullish stance, if they have a short-term horizon."

GREECE, U.S. PAYROLLS AND MOMENTUM

Less than halfway into the earnings season and with Greek debt talks over the weekend, payrolls data this week and the S&P 500 near its highest since July, there is plenty of room for something to go wrong. If that happens, the market could easily give back some of its recent advance.

But the benchmark's recent rally and momentum shift allow for a pullback before the technical picture deteriorates.

"We bounced off 1,325, which is resistance. We're testing 1,310, which should be support. We are stuck in that range," said Ken Polcari, managing director at ICAP Equities in New York.

"If over the weekend, Greece comes out with another big nothing, then you will see further weakness (this) week," he said. "A 1 (percent) or 2 percent pullback isn't out of the question or out of line."

On Friday, the S&P 500 (.INX) and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) closed their fourth consecutive week of gains, while the Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) dipped and capped three weeks of gains. For the day, the Dow dropped 74.17 points, or 0.58 percent, to close at 12,660.46. The S&P 500 fell 2.10 points, or 0.16 percent, to 1,316.33. But the Nasdaq gained 11.27 points, or 0.40 percent, to end at 2,816.55.

For the week, the Dow slipped 0.47 percent, while the S&P 500 inched up 0.07 percent and the Nasdaq jumped 1.07 percent.

A DATA-PACKED EARNINGS WEEK

This week is filled with heavy-hitting data on the housing, manufacturing and employment sectors.

Personal income and consumption on Monday will be followed by the S&P/Case-Shiller home prices index, consumer confidence and the Chicago PMI -- all on Tuesday.

Wednesday will bring the Institute for Supply Management index on U.S. manufacturing and the first of three key readings on the labor market -- namely, the ADP private-sector employment report. Jobless claims on Thursday will give way on Friday to the U.S. government's non-farm payrolls report. The forecast calls for a net gain of 150,000 jobs in January, according to economists polled by Reuters.

On the earnings front, it will be another hectic week with almost a fifth of the S&P 500 components posting quarterly results. Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), Amazon (AMZN.O), UPS (UPS.N), Pfizer (PFE.N), Kellogg (K.N) and MasterCard (MA.N) are among the names most likely to grab the headlines.

With almost 200 companies' reports in so far, about 59 percent have beaten earnings expectations -- down from about 70 percent in recent quarters.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Additional reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak and Caroline Valetkevitch; Editing by Jan Paschal)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120129/bs_nm/us_usa_stocks_weekahead

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Check out photos from UFC on Fox 2

Tracy Lee caught all the action from UFC on Fox 2, including Rashad Evans' title-shot earning win, Lavar Johnson's knockout, and Chael Sonnen's controversial win over Michael Bisping. Click through and enjoy.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/check-photos-ufc-fox-2-173343584.html

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Planet Earth poses for new high-res NASA 'Blue Marble' portrait

Suomi NPP is equipped to do far more than provide Earthlings with some stunning views of their home planet. Five instruments are traveling aboard the first-of-its-kind satellite, designed to improve both short-term weather forecasts and the overall understanding of long-term climate change.

NASA's newest Earth-watching satellite has sent back a breathtaking image of our "Blue Marble" that offers a taste of the orbiting observatory's vast capabilities.

Skip to next paragraph

The image release comes just a day after the satellite was given a new name: Suomi NPP, named for the late meteorologist Verner E. Suomi, a scientist hailed as the father of satellite meteorology.

Previously, the?satellite was known simply as NPP, an acronym for a mouthful: the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project.

The new name was announced Tuesday (Jan. 24), at the annual meeting of the American Meteorological Society in New Orleans.

Suomi NPP is equipped to do far more than provide Earthlings with some stunning views of their home planet. Five instruments are traveling aboard the first-of-its-kind satellite, designed to improve both short-term weather forecasts and the overall understanding of long-term climate change.

In addition, the technology aboard is designed to monitor natural disasters, from volcanic eruptionsto wildfires to floods.

The portrait above was compiled from images taken on multiple passes of the planet Jan. 4. It joins other spectacular images of our home planet, including the iconic one taken by the crew of Apollo 17 in 1972 ? one of the most widely distributed images in history ? and?views taken by retreating space probes?such as Voyagers 1 and 2.

NASA launched the satellite Oct. 28, 2011, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

The mini-van-sized satellite is designed to operate through the end of 2016.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/piGDi2WaopQ/Planet-Earth-poses-for-new-high-res-NASA-Blue-Marble-portrait

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Video: Buried Secrets, Part 2

Dateline NBC

'Dateline NBC,' the signature broadcast for NBC News in primetime, premiered in 1992. Since then, it has been pioneering a new approach to primetime news programming. The multi-night franchise, supplemented by frequent specials, allows NBC to consistently and comprehensively present the highest-quality reporting, investigative features, breaking news coverage and newsmaker profiles.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032600/vp/46166877#46166877

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Gingrich cuts event short (Washington Bureau)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

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Somerset Union Museum Installs New Fence

SOMERSET NY ? The Somerset Union Methodist Episcopal Church is slowly being renovated and converted in to a museum.? The museum has just completed the installation of a six foot black metal fence around the church property.? The fence will be used to define a parking area on the south side of the building and control traffic.? However, the fence is not complete.? An eighteenth century, three foot high fence is to be removed from a donor?s property and installed with two gates across the front to the building. ?Watch for it.?? People driving by 8501 Lake Road have remarked that they think ?all the new changes add to the overall appeal of the neighborhood.? ?

The church was originally surrounded by a series of nineteen sheds used to protect the parishioner?s horse and carriages while they were attending services.? The sheds were built during the summer of 1884 and each shed was paid for by the parishioner who used it.?? They were situated on a third of an acre to the north of the church building.? The sheds are visible in a 1917 photograph of the church even though, by this time, most parishioners were driving automobiles.

Source: http://niagarafalls.wgrz.com/news/arts-culture/62736-somerset-union-museum-installs-new-fence

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[OOC] order of the hawk: the edge of time

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OBAMA HULK SMASH GOP [Desired]

If Shepard Fairey's iconic HOPE poster featuring a somewhat cartoony interpretation of Barack Obama could sell like hotcakes during the last presidential election, then this Incredible Hulk/Obama action figure created by Ron English should be even more popular this year. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/CLB3G9JaA6k/obama-hulk-smash-gop

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Wounded Giffords resigns from Congress (Reuters)

TUCSON, Ariz (Reuters) ? Representative Gabrielle Giffords, gravely wounded a year ago in a deadly Tucson shooting spree, submitted her resignation from Congress on Wednesday to focus on her recovery.

"The only way I ever served my district in Congress was by giving 100 percent. This past year that's what I have given to my recovery," Giffords said in letters to House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner and Arizona Governor Jan Brewer.

"This past year my colleagues and staff have worked to make sure my constituents were represented in Congress. But if I can't return, my district deserves to elect a U.S. Representative who can give 100 percent to the job," she added.

Her resignation will be effective at the end of the day on Wednesday.

The three-term Arizona Democrat was holding a meet-and-greet event at a Tucson supermarket on January 8 last year when a gunman opened fire.

Six people were killed, including a 9-year-old girl and a federal judge, and 12 others were wounded including Giffords, who was shot through the head.

She has since received intensive therapy at a Texas hospital to recover from the injury that left her with broken speech and a marked limp.

Giffords announced she would step down on Sunday, and has since carried out final visits and duties in the swing district where she won reelection by only 4,000 votes in 2010, a year that saw many Democrats lose seats.

On Tuesday night, she received a standing ovation from colleagues and a hug and kiss from President Barack Obama in an emotional appearance at the State of the Union address in Washington.

Giffords cast a last vote in the House on Wednesday for legislation she crafted with Republican colleague Rep. Jeff Flake to levy new penalties on traffickers using small, low-flying aircraft to smuggle drugs across the U. S. border from Mexico.

In a rare display of bipartisanship, the vote on the Giffords legislation was 408 to 0.

A centrist seen is a rising Democratic star in Congress, Giffords pledged on Wednesday to return to public service in the future.

"Every day, I am working hard. I will recover and will return, and we will work together again, for Arizona and for all Americans," she wrote.

Jared Loughner, a college dropout, was charged with first-degree murder, the attempted assassination of Giffords and other crimes stemming from the shooting. He pleaded not guilty and was found mentally unfit to stand trial.

(Editing by Paul Thomasch and Greg McCune)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120125/pl_nm/us_giffords_resignation

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APNewsBreak: Bachmann says she'll seek 4th term (AP)

MINNEAPOLIS ? Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann announced Wednesday she will seek a fourth term in the U.S. House following her failed presidential bid.

Bachmann declared her plans in an interview with The Associated Press. The Republican congresswoman had been mum on her plans since folding her presidential campaign after a poor showing in the Iowa caucuses earlier this month.

"I'm looking forward to coming back and bringing a strong, powerful voice to Washington, D.C.," Bachmann said.

Bachmann will be a formidable candidate in Minnesota's 6th District, where other Republican hopefuls had stood aside until she made a decision on running for re-election. Some experts had speculated that Bachmann might instead turn to a career in talk media.

Bachmann is a potent fundraiser who raised $13.5 million in her last House race, but would likely start from scratch after the presidential campaign. A campaign finance report that would show how much money she can bring to the race isn't due until the end of the month.

Bachmann also faces uncertainty over how her district will be reshaped. One redistricting plan put forth by Democrats would throw her into a race with Rep. Betty McCollum, a six-term Democrat who represents the St. Paul area. A special redistricting panel is due to issue maps late next month.

Bachmann was an early media favorite in the chase for the GOP presidential nomination after winning the Iowa straw poll in midsummer, but she eventually faded.

Her announcement came in an interview to react to President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech. Just as she did on the campaign trail, Bachmann criticized Obama for "doubling down on failures that didn't work."

"We have to radically scale back on government spending, we have to radically cut back on debt accumulation," Bachmann said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_el_ho/us_bachmann_house

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Supreme Court says police need warrant for GPS tracking (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that police cannot put a GPS device on a suspect's car to track his movements without a warrant, a test case that upholds basic privacy rights in the face of new surveillance technology.

The high court ruling was a defeat for the Obama administration, which had argued that a warrant was not required to use global positioning system devices to monitor a vehicle on public streets.

The justices unanimously upheld a precedent-setting ruling by a U.S. appeals court that the police must first obtain a warrant to use a GPS device for an extended period of time to covertly follow a suspect.

The high court ruled that placement of a device on a vehicle and using it to monitor the vehicle's movements was covered by U.S. constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures of evidence.

There are no precise statistics on how often police in the United States use GPS tracking in criminal investigations. But the Obama administration told the court last year it was used sparingly by federal law enforcement officials.

The American Civil Liberties Union rights group hailed the ruling as an important victory for privacy. "While this case turned on the fact that the government physically placed a GPS device on the defendant's car, the implications are much broader," Steven Shapiro of the ACLU said.

"A majority of the court acknowledged that advancing technology, like cell phone tracking, gives the government unprecedented ability to collect, store, and analyze an enormous amount of information about our private lives," he said.

SUSPECTED DRUG TRAFFICKER

The case began in 2005 when police officers went to a public parking lot in Maryland and secretly installed a GPS device on a Jeep Grand Cherokee used by a Washington, D.C. nightclub owner, Antoine Jones.

Jones was suspected of drug trafficking and the police tracked his movements for a month. The resulting evidence played a key role in his conviction for conspiring to distribute cocaine.

The appeals court had thrown out Jones's conviction and his

life-in-prison sentence, and ruled prolonged electronic monitoring of the vehicle amounted to a search.

All nine justices agreed in upholding the appeals court decision, but at least four justices would have gone even further in finding fault not only with the attachment of the device, but also with the lengthy monitoring.

In summarizing the court's majority opinion from the bench, Justice Antonin Scalia said attachment of the device by the police was a trespass and an improper intrusion of the kind that would have been considered a search when the Constitution was adopted some 220 years ago.

The administration argued that even if it were a search, it was lawful and reasonable under the Constitution. Scalia said his opinion did not decide that issue and some more difficult problems that may emerge in a future case, such as a six-month monitoring of a suspected terrorist.

Joining Scalia's opinion were Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Sonia Sotomayor.

Sotomayor wrote separately to say the case raised difficult questions about individual privacy expectations in a digital age, but said the case could be decided on narrower grounds over the physical intrusion in attaching the device.

LONG-TERM MONITORING

Justice Samuel Alito wrote a separate opinion that Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan joined. He wrote that he would have decided the case by holding that Jones's reasonable privacy expectations were violated by long-term monitoring of his vehicle's movements.

Alito said in recent years many new devices have emerged that track a person's movements, including video surveillance in some cities, automatic toll collection systems on roads, devices on cars that disclose their location, cell phones and other wireless devices.

"The availability and use of these and other new devices will continue to shape the average person's expectations about the privacy of his or her daily movements," he wrote.

One law professor said those four justices were clearly concerned about the potential impact of new technologies and believed extended monitoring likely required a warrant so law enforcement should "be on the safe side and get a warrant."

"This is an indication that there are justices who are recognizing that privacy norms are shifting but the fact that people's lives take place increasingly online does not mean that society has decided that there's no such thing as privacy anymore," said Joel Reidenberg, a law professor at Fordham University in New York.

The Supreme Court case is United States v. Antoine Jones, No. 10-1259.

(Reporting By James Vicini; Editing by Will Dunham)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/us_nm/us_usa_police_gps

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Syria rejects new Arab League plan to end crisis

An anti-Syrian regime protester colors his fingers with the revolutionary flag colors during a protest outside the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012. Arab League foreign ministers, meeting in Cairo, extended the much-criticized observers mission for another month, officials from the 22-member organization said. The League decided to add more observers and provide them with additional resources, the officials said. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

An anti-Syrian regime protester colors his fingers with the revolutionary flag colors during a protest outside the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012. Arab League foreign ministers, meeting in Cairo, extended the much-criticized observers mission for another month, officials from the 22-member organization said. The League decided to add more observers and provide them with additional resources, the officials said. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Syrian army defectors gather at the mountain resort town of Zabadani, Syria, near the Lebanese border, on Friday Jan. 20, 2012. President Bashar Assad's forces attacked Zabadani, some 17 miles (27 kilometers) west of the capital, for six days, sparking fierce fighting that involved heavy bombardments and clashes with army defectors. On Wednesday, government tanks and armored vehicles pulled back, leaving the opposition in control of the town. Buoyed by the opposition's control of a town near the Syrian capital, thousands of people held anti-government protests Friday, chanting for the downfall of the regime. At least eight people were killed by security forces across the country, activists said. (AP Photo)

Syrian army defectors gather at the mountain resort town of Zabadani, Syria, near the Lebanese border, on Friday Jan. 20, 2012. President Bashar Assad's forces attacked Zabadani, some 17 miles (27 kilometers) west of the capital, for six days, sparking fierce fighting that involved heavy bombardments and clashes with army defectors. On Wednesday, government tanks and armored vehicles pulled back, leaving the opposition in control of the town. Buoyed by the opposition's control of a town near the Syrian capital, thousands of people held anti-government protests Friday, chanting for the downfall of the regime. At least eight people were killed by security forces across the country, activists said. (AP Photo)

An anti-Syrian regime protester flashes victory sign as he marches during a demonstration at the mountain resort town of Zabadani, Syria, near the Lebanese border, on Friday Jan. 20, 2012. President Bashar Assad's forces attacked Zabadani, some 17 miles (27 kilometers) west of the capital, for six days, sparking fierce fighting that involved heavy bombardments and clashes with army defectors. On Wednesday, government tanks and armored vehicles pulled back, leaving the opposition in control of the town. Buoyed by the opposition's control of a town near the Syrian capital, thousands of people held anti-government protests Friday, chanting for the downfall of the regime. At least eight people were killed by security forces across the country, activists said. (AP Photo)

Anti-Syrian regime protesters carry revolutionary flags while performing a traditional dance during a protest outside the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012. Arab League foreign ministers, meeting in Cairo, extended the much-criticized observers mission for another month, officials from the 22-member organization said. The League decided to add more observers and provide them with additional resources, the officials said. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

BEIRUT (AP) ? Syria on Monday rejected the Arab League's wide-ranging new plan to end the country's 10-month crisis, saying the League's call for a national unity government in two months is a clear violation of Syrian sovereignty.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people poured into the streets in a suburb outside the capital, Damascus, to mourn 11 residents who were either shot dead by security forces or killed in clashes between army defectors and troops a day earlier, activists said.

The crowd in Douma ? which one activist said was 60,000-strong ? was under the protection of dozens of army defectors who are in control of the area after regime forces pulled out late Sunday, said Samer al-Omar, a Douma resident.

The reports could not be independently confirmed.

President Bashar Assad blames the uprising that erupted in March on terrorists and armed gangs acting out a foreign conspiracy to destabilize the country. His regime has retaliated with a brutal crackdown that the U.N. says has killed more than 5,400 people.

There is growing urgency, however, to find a resolution to a crisis that is growing increasingly violent as regime opponents and army defectors who have switched sides have started to fight back against government forces.

The Arab League has tried to stem the bloodshed by condemning the crackdown, imposing sanctions and sending a team of observers to the country. On Sunday, the League called for a unity government within two months, which would then prepare for parliamentary and presidential elections to be held under Arab and international supervision.

The proposal also provides for Assad to give his vice president full powers to cooperate with the proposed government to enable it to carry out its duties during a transitional period.

The state-run news agency, SANA, said Damascus considers the plan "flagrant interference in its internal affairs" and the latest turn in an international plot against Syria.

It was not immediately clear what steps, if any, Syria could take to counter the Arab League's stance.

The European Union backed the Arab plan Monday, and it extended existing sanctions against Assad's government by adding 22 more officials and eight companies to the blacklist.

Omar Idlibi, a spokesman for the Syrian National Council opposition group, said the Arab efforts do not go far enough. He and many other opposition figures demand Assad leave power and say anything less will just give the regime time to bury the revolt.

But there are significant splits in the opposition about the way forward.

Hassan Abdul-Azim, who heads the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change in Syria, or NCB, said the Arab plan is an "advanced step as the Arab League has started dealing with matters more seriously."

Abdul-Azim told The Associated Press that the plan would put more pressure on Assad's regime and "tells it that it's impossible to keep matters as they are."

Syria appeared to get a serious boost Monday from its powerful allies in Russia. Russia's business daily Kommersant reported that Moscow has signed a contract to sell 36 Yak-130 combat jets to Syria ? a deal that, if confirmed, would openly defy international efforts to pressure Assad's regime.

The Arab League's observer mission has come under heavy criticism for failing to stop the violence in Syria.

On Monday, the head of the mission defended the observers' work, saying their presence had cut down on the bloodshed. Speaking at League headquarters in Cairo, Sudanese Gen. Mohammed Ahmed al-Dabi told reporters the observers have witnessed violence from both the Syrian security forces and armed opposition groups.

"When the delegation arrived, there was clear and obvious violence," he said. "But after the delegation arrived, the violence started to go lessen gradually."

On Sunday, Arab League foreign ministers extended the mission for another month. The mission's one-month mandate technically expired on Thursday.

Violence continued inside Syria on Monday.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said troops and army defectors clashed Monday near the western town of Qusair, close to the Lebanese border. It said five soldiers were killed and 13 were wounded.

The Observatory added that 11 civilians were killed by security forces in different parts of Syria, five of them in the northwestern province of Idlib, that borders Turkey.

The LCC put Monday's death toll at 10.

It was impossible to reconcile the discrepancy.

Syria has prevented most independent media coverage and until recently has refused to issue visas for most foreign journalists. In recent weeks, the regime has begun to permit entry for journalists on trips escorted by government minders.

___

Hubbard reported from Cairo.

___

Bassem Mroue can be reached on http://twitter.com/bmroue

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-23-ML-Syria/id-0a6b8717625d40df890f1a1082f8ddd6

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Virginia Tech Beats Virginia 47-45: Hokies Upset No. 15 Cavaliers

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. ? Erick Green scored 15 points, including the free throws with 1:52 remaining to give Virginia Tech the lead, and Dorenzo Hudson had six points over the final 2:12 as the Hokies beat No. 15 Virginia 47-45 on Sunday night, ending the Cavaliers' nine-game home winning streak.

Hudson, who finished with 12 points, hit a baby hook with 1:11 to go to give Virginia Tech a 44-41 lead. After a jumper by Jontel Evans pulled Virginia within a point, Hudson hit a 3-pointer from the left corner with 16.5 seconds left for the Hokies (12-7, 1-4 Atlantic Coast Conference).

Virginia (15-3, 2-2) needed several shots to score at the other end, and when Joe Harris finally banked in a putback, only 1 second remained. Virginia shot 32.6 percent overall and missed 13 of 14 3-point attempts.

Evans, Harris and Mike Scott all scored 10 points for the Cavaliers.

Virginia came in second in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 50.4 points, and the Hokies seemed determined to show they could be just as stout. They were more than that, hold the Cavaliers to a season-low in points.

A tip-in by Harris pulled Virginia even at 37 with 8:25 left, and neither team scored again for more than 3 minutes.

Sammy Zeglinski finally ended the drought for Virginia, hitting one free throw, and Scott made it 40-37 with a fast break dunk. On the play, Malcolm Brogdon came away with a long rebound and started the break, and then fed Scott flying down the land for the one-handed stuff.

Hokies freshman guard Marquis Rankin, in the game to give Green a rest, got the Hokies within 40-39 with a foul-line jumper.

Harris then made just 1 of 2 free throws, capping a second half in which Virginia missed 7 of 13 from the line.

Hudson made 1 of 2 for the Hokies, and Green made two free throws with 1:52 to go, giving the Hokies a 42-21 lead.

After a turnover, Hudson's baby hook stretched the lead to three, and the Cavaliers never caught up.

Virginia trailed 32-25 when Zeglinski tried his fifth 3-pointer and, like the others, missed. The crowd groaned, but Harris came up with the rebound underneath and muscled it in, causing the sellout crowd to erupt and giving the spark the Cavaliers desperately needed.

Almost immediately, Evans stole the ball near midcourt and drove in for a layup. After a miss by the Hokies, Brogdon made two free throws for Virginia, and Harris made one to tie it at 32.

Virginia Tech led 23-19 at halftime after closing on a 10-4 run fueled by Jarell Eddie, who ended consecutive possessions by barely beating the shot clock with long 3-pointers. Eddie came into the game shooting better than 50 percent from behind the arc.

Virginia shot just 25 percent in the opening half.

---

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/22/virginia-tech-beats-virginia-47-45_n_1222567.html

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Islamist insurgents kill over 178 in Nigeria's Kano (Reuters)

KANO (Reuters) ? Gun and bomb attacks by Islamist insurgents in the northern Nigerian city of Kano last week killed at least 178 people, a hospital doctor said on Sunday, underscoring the challenge President Goodluck Jonathan faces to prevent his country sliding further into chaos.

A coordinated series of bomb blasts and shooting sprees mostly targeting police stations Friday sent panicked residents of Nigeria's second biggest city of more than 10 million people running for cover.

The scale of the carnage makes this by far the deadliest strike claimed by Boko Haram, a shadowy Islamist sect that started out as a clerical movement opposed to western education but has become the biggest security menace facing Africa's top oil producer.

"We have 178 people killed in the two main hospitals," the senior doctor in Kano's Murtala Mohammed hospital said following Friday's attacks, citing records from his own and the other main hospital of Nasarawa.

"There could be more, because some bodies have not yet come in and others were collected early."

The streets were quiet Sunday in Kano, a vast metropolis of wide paved highways, normally buzzing with motorbikes, and sandy alleyways where hawkers sell grilled meat and donkeys pull carts heaped with fruit and vegetables.

Churches, which would usually be filled with worshippers in the religiously mixed city, were largely empty.

Jonathan, a Christian from the south, travelled to Kano on Sunday, visiting hospitals to speak to victims.

"Our coming today is to express our condolence to the good people of Kano over the dastardly acts," Jonathan said at the palace of the Emir, the city's Muslim figurehead.

"Those causing havoc will never succeed ... The federal government will not rest until the perpetrators are brought to book. We will not rest until these terrorist are wiped out," said Jonathan, wearing a traditional northern Nigerian kaftan and hat.

Boko Haram has been blamed for killing hundreds of people in increasingly sophisticated bombings and shootings, mostly targeting security forces, establishment figures and more recently Christians, in the country of 160 million people split roughly evenly between them and Muslims.

MORE ATTACKS ON SUNDAY

Apart from a handful of forays into the capital Abuja, the sect's energies have been concentrated in the majority Muslim north, far from the oil producing facilities along the southern coast that keep Africa's second biggest economy afloat.

A further 10 people were killed Sunday in Bauchi state, which neighbors Kano, when police fought gunmen attempting to rob a bank, the police said. Boko Haram robbed several banks last year to fund its insurgency.

"In the early hours of today gunmen killed 10 people at a military checkpoint and a nearby hotel at Tafawa Balewa local government area," police commissioner Ikechukwu Aduba told Reuters.

"One police officer, an army corporal and eight civilians (were killed) after gunmen were earlier repelled from robbing a bank."

Explosions also struck two churches in Bauchi Sunday, witnesses said, destroying one of them completely, although there were no immediate reports of casualties.

The government has announced a dusk-to-dawn curfew in Kano, an ancient city that was once part of an Islamic caliphate trading riches on caravan routes connecting sub-Saharan Africa with the Mediterranean.

Jonathan, who helped broker a deal that largely ended an insurgency by militants in the oil-rich southeast in 2009, has been criticized for failing to grasp the gravity of the crisis unfolding in the north, and of treating it as a pure security issue that will fizzle out by itself.

Worsening insecurity has led some to question whether Nigeria isn't sliding into civil war, 40 years after the secessionist Biafra conflict killed over a million people, though few think an all-out war splitting the country into two or more pieces is a likely outcome.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attacks and called for "swift and transparent investigations" into the killings. European powers and the African Union have also condemned the attacks.

SECT CHANGING

Boko Haram became active around 2003 in the remote, northeastern state of Borno, on the threshold of the Sahara, but its attacks have spread into other northern states, including Yobe, Kano, Bauchi and Gombe.

Boko Haram, a Hausa term meaning "Western education is sinful," is loosely modeled on Afghanistan's Taliban, but analysts say the anger it channels reflects a perception that the north has been marginalized from oil riches concentrated in the south.

The sect originally said it wanted sharia, Islamic law, to be applied more widely across Nigeria but its aims appear to have changed. Recent messages from its leaders have said it is attacking anyone who opposes it, at present mainly police, the government and Christian groups.

"Since 2009 it is an insurgency that has gathered pace almost in slow motion, incrementally - apparently absorbed and accommodated with no clear evidence that government has the capacity, competence or will to turn the tide," said Antony Goldman, head of Nigeria-focused PM Consulting.

"Boko Haram was a work in progress when (former President) Obasanjo, who had a deserved 'no nonsense' reputation, was in power; and it was Yar'Adua, a Muslim President, who ordered a bloody crackdown in 2009. It was a difficult inheritance for Jonathan but the problems have only grown more complex."

Boko Haram's attacks have become increasingly deadly in the last few months.

At least 65 people were killed in the northeast Nigerian city of Damaturu, Yobe state, in a spate of gun and bomb attacks in November.

A bomb attack on a Catholic church just outside the capital Abuja on Christmas Day, claimed by Boko Haram, killed 37 people and wounded 57.

In a Reuters interview in late December, National Security Adviser General Owoye Andrew Azazi said officials are considering making contact with moderate members of shadowy sect via "back channels," even though explicit talks are officially ruled out.

(Additional reporting by Joe Brock in Abuja; Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Giles Elgood)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120122/wl_nm/us_nigeria_violence

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The advantage of ambiguity in language

Friday, January 20, 2012

Why did language evolve? While the answer might seem obvious ? as a way for individuals to exchange information ? linguists and other students of communication have debated this question for years. Many prominent linguists, including MIT's Noam Chomsky, have argued that language is, in fact, poorly designed for communication. Such a use, they say, is merely a byproduct of a system that probably evolved for other reasons ? perhaps for structuring our own private thoughts.

As evidence, these linguists point to the existence of ambiguity: In a system optimized for conveying information between a speaker and a listener, they argue, each word would have just one meaning, eliminating any chance of confusion or misunderstanding. Now, a group of MIT cognitive scientists has turned this idea on its head. In a new theory, they claim that ambiguity actually makes language more efficient, by allowing for the reuse of short, efficient sounds that listeners can easily disambiguate with the help of context.

"Various people have said that ambiguity is a problem for communication," says Ted Gibson, an MIT professor of cognitive science and senior author of a paper describing the research to appear in the journal Cognition. "But once we understand that context disambiguates, then ambiguity is not a problem ? it's something you can take advantage of, because you can reuse easy [words] in different contexts over and over again."

Lead author of the paper is Steven Piantadosi PhD '11; Harry Tily, a postdoc in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, is another co-author.

What do you 'mean'?

For a somewhat ironic example of ambiguity, consider the word "mean." It can mean, of course, to indicate or signify, but it can also refer to an intention or purpose ("I meant to go to the store"); something offensive or nasty; or the mathematical average of a set of numbers. Adding an 's' introduces even more potential definitions: an instrument or method ("a means to an end"), or financial resources ("to live within one's means").

But virtually no speaker of English gets confused when he or she hears the word "mean." That's because the different senses of the word occur in such different contexts as to allow listeners to infer its meaning nearly automatically.

Given the disambiguating power of context, the researchers hypothesized that languages might harness ambiguity to reuse words ? most likely, the easiest words for language processing systems. Building on observation and previous studies, they posited that words with fewer syllables, high frequency and the simplest pronunciations should have the most meanings.

To test this prediction, Piantadosi, Tily and Gibson carried out corpus studies of English, Dutch and German. (In linguistics, a corpus is a large body of samples of language as it is used naturally, which can be used to search for word frequencies or patterns.) By comparing certain properties of words to their numbers of meanings, the researchers confirmed their suspicion that shorter, more frequent words, as well as those that conform to the language's typical sound patterns, are most likely to be ambiguous ? trends that were statistically significant in all three languages.

To understand why ambiguity makes a language more efficient rather than less so, think about the competing desires of the speaker and the listener. The speaker is interested in conveying as much as possible with the fewest possible words, while the listener is aiming to get a complete and specific understanding of what the speaker is trying to say. But as the researchers write, it is "cognitively cheaper" to have the listener infer certain things from the context than to have the speaker spend time on longer and more complicated utterances. The result is a system that skews toward ambiguity, reusing the "easiest" words. Once context is considered, it's clear that "ambiguity is actually something you would want in the communication system," Piantadosi says.

Implications for computer science

The researchers say the statistical nature of their paper reflects a trend in the field of linguistics, which is coming to rely more heavily on information theory and quantitative methods.

"The influence of computer science in linguistics right now is very high," Gibson says, adding that natural language processing (NLP) is a major goal of those operating at the intersection of the two fields.

Piantadosi points out that ambiguity in natural language poses immense challenges for NLP developers. "Ambiguity is only good for us [as humans] because we have these really sophisticated cognitive mechanisms for disambiguating," he says. "It's really difficult to work out the details of what those are, or even some sort of approximation that you could get a computer to use."

But, as Gibson says, computer scientists have long been aware of this problem. The new study provides a better theoretical and evolutionary explanation of why ambiguity exists, but the same message holds: "Basically, if you have any human language in your input or output, you are stuck with needing context to disambiguate," he says.

###

Massachusetts Institute of Technology: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice

Thanks to Massachusetts Institute of Technology for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116859/The_advantage_of_ambiguity_in_language

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Microsoft, Alcatel-Lucent settle decade-old patent spat

It's no secret that Alcatel-Lucent and Microsoft have a long and somewhat litigious relationship, but today the two companies are letting bygones be bygones. CNET is reporting that A-L and MS have reached a "confidential settlement" in a patent dispute dating all the way back to 2002. Originally targeting Dell and Gateway, then-Alcatel alleged that information entry techniques used by Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Money and Windows Mobile violated a portion of its patent portfolio. Microsoft stepped in on the OEMs' behalf, and in a 2008 ruling, a court granted the newly formed Alcatel-Lucent over $350 million in damages -- subsequently reduced to $70 million in July of 2011 and further reduced to just over $23 million upon appeal. The final settlement is, as we said, unknown, but a Microsoft spokesperson was quoted as saying the deal is "to the satisfaction of both parties." No word on when the two will file their next multimillion dollar blockbuster lawsuit, but apparently both counsels will be sleeping easy tonight.

Microsoft, Alcatel-Lucent settle decade-old patent spat originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Obama re-election ad targets Koch brothers, touts ???green tech??? jobs (Daily Caller)

There are 10 months to go before election day, and the Obama re-election campaign has already begun running a self-congratulatory TV ad.

The 30-second ad, titled ?Unprecedented,? frames President Barack Obama as a leader who kept his 2008 campaign promises to subsidize the green-tech energy industry.

?President Obama has taken steps to make us energy independent and create an economy that?s built to last,? the Obama campaign said on the Web page where the ad is hosted. It is already running in several swing-states, including Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The campaign website began promoting the new ad on the same day Obama announced he would continue to freeze plans to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to the United States.

GOP leaders slammed Obama for that decision, saying he wiped out 20,000 construction jobs.

Watch the new Obama re-election ad:

Researchers at the Republican National Committee quickly countered Obama?s new ad, declaring in an email blast that ?Obama?s first campaign ad [is] a lot like his term so far ? a whole lot of talk to thwart attention from Obama?s failed record.?

The first Obama re-election ad came out in late November, and simply showed the president appealing for more campaign volunteers.

The new ad is partly intended to shield Obama from criticism about his energy policies, which have curbed opportunities for oil companies, nudged up gas prices and heavily subsidized risky green-tech companies, including the failed Solyndra solar-tech company.

That purpose is highlighted in the ad?s first few words, which claims ?secretive oil billionaires are attacking President Obama with ads fact-checkers say are not tethered to the facts.?

Those ?secretive oil billionaires,? according to the campaign?s website, are David and Charles Koch ? a pair of libertarian?brothers who run an huge oil-services company and openly declare their opposition to Obama?s energy policies.

On Jan. 18, as Obama?s ad was released, the brothers? main political arm, Americans For Prosperity, rolled out its own seven-day campaign.

The campaign is intended to highlight Obama?s ?worst offenses to the principles of limited government and free market enterprise? during the week prior to Obama?s 2012 State of the Union speech, according to a statement from the group.

?President Obama seems to have ?conveniently forgotten? that he has been president for the past three years, and refuses to take responsibility for the economic woes, regulatory burdens, and skyrocketing national debt we face as a nation,? said Americans For Prosperity president Tom Phillips.

Obama?s new TV ad suggests the president should get credit for 2.7 million ?green tech jobs? that the center-left Brookings Institute has?claimed exist in the United States.

Most of these jobs, however, existed prior to 2008, and many are only tangentially linked to low-pollution technology. Using the same study cited by Obama?s TV new ad, the Republicans??response showed that the total number of all green-tech jobs only grew 3.4 percent between 2007 and 2010.

The Obama ad also touts a reduction in the nation?s energy imports. ?For the first time in thirteen years,? it claims, ?our dependence on foreign oil is below fifty percent.?

But that decline was a natural outgrowth of the nation?s economic recession, which has curbed energy consumption.

The increased production was spurred by President George W. Bush, and by the private sector ? where natural gas companies have delivered increased volumes of gas from U.S. gas fields ? rather than by Obama?s policies, according to the GOP response.

Obama re-election ad targets Koch brothers, touts 'green tech' jobs

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/dailycaller/20120118/pl_dailycaller/obamareelectionadtargetskochbrotherstoutsgreentechjobs

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Feds: Religious employers must cover the pill (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Many church-affiliated institutions will have to cover free birth control for their employees, the Obama administration announced Friday in an election-year decision certain to upset conservatives and add to the national debate about the reach of government.

Granting a concession, however, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said nonprofit institutions such as church-affiliated hospitals, colleges and social service agencies will have one year more to comply with the requirement than most other employers.

"I believe this proposal strikes the appropriate balance between respecting religious freedom and increasing access to important preventive services," Sebelius said in a statement.

That's unlikely to stop a determined effort by social conservatives to block or overturn the requirement.

The decision is "a radical incursion into freedom of conscience," said Deirdre McQuade, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. "Never before in U.S. history has the federal government forced citizens to purchase directly what violates their beliefs."

Officials said the administration's ruling was carefully considered, after reviewing more than 200,000 comments from interested parties and the public. The one-year extension, they said, responds to concerns raised by religious employers about the adjustments they would have to make. Administration officials stressed that individual decisions about whether or not to use birth control, and what kind, remain in the hands of women and their doctors.

Liberals praised the decision, saying that women who work for religious employers should not have to accept a lower standard of health insurance coverage.

"The administration stood firm," said Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. "As a result millions will get access to contraception, and they will not have to ask their bosses for permission."

Birth control use is virtually universal in the United States, and most health insurance plans cover the pill, usually with copays. Still, about half of all pregnancies are unplanned.

At issue is a provision of President Barack Obama's health overhaul law that requires insurance plans to cover preventive care for women free of charge to the employee. Last year, an advisory panel from the respected Institute of Medicine recommended including birth control on the list, partly because it promotes maternal and child health by allowing women to space their pregnancies.

Sebelius agreed, issuing a new federal regulation last summer.

That rule, however, exempted houses of worship and their employees, as well as other institutions whose primary purpose is to promote religious belief. Churches, synagogues, mosques and other places would not be required to cover contraceptives, it specified.

It was a different story for religious-affiliated hospitals, colleges and social service agencies.

Although many of those employers had not traditionally covered birth control, the new regulation required them to. Catholic hospitals, which defied the church's bishops to back Obama's law in Congress, immediately sought a broader exemption, only to be denied on Friday.

Representing some 600 hospitals, the Catholic Health Association expressed disappointment.

"The challenge that these regulations posed for many groups remains unresolved," said Sister Carol Keehan, president of the group. "This indicates the need for an effective national conversation on the appropriate conscience protections in our pluralistic society."

For religious-affiliated employers, the requirement will take effect August 1, 2013, and their workers in most cases will have access to coverage starting January 1, 2014.

The administration says between 1 million and 2 million people work for religious-affiliated institutions, though it's not clear how many would be affected. Some states already require religious employers to cover the pill.

Women working for secular enterprises from profit-making companies to government will have access to the new coverage starting January 1, 2013, in most cases.

Workplace health plans will have to cover all forms of contraception approved by the Food and Drug Administration, ranging from the pill to implantable devices to sterilization. Also covered is the morning-after pill, which can prevent pregnancy after unprotected sex and is considered as tantamount to an abortion drug by some religious conservatives.

However, the new regulation does not require coverage of abortions.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120120/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_free_birth_control_religious_employers

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