Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/191690389?client_source=feed&format=rss
Friday, January 27, 2012
APNewsBreak: US to unveil new forest rules (AP)
WASHINGTON ? The Obama administration says new rules to manage nearly 200 million acres of national forests will protect watersheds and wildlife while promoting uses ranging from recreation to logging.
The new rules, to replace guidelines thrown out by a federal court in 2009, are set to be released Thursday by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. A summary was obtained by The Associated Press.
Vilsack said in an interview that the rules reflect more than 300,000 comments received since a draft plan was released last year. The new rules strengthen a requirement that decisions be based on the best available science and recognize that forests are used for a variety of purposes, Vilsack said.
"I think it's a solid rule and done in a collaborative, open and transparent way," he said.
The guidelines, known as a forest planning rule, will encourage forest restoration and watershed protection while creating opportunities for the timber industry and those who use the forest for recreation, he said.
Vilsack, who has pledged to break through the logjam of political conflict over forest management, said the new regulation's emphasis on science and multiple uses should allow it to stand up to likely court challenges from environmental groups or the timber industry.
"I am hopeful and confident that it will stand scrutiny," he said.
Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell said the guidelines would allow land management plans for individual forests to be completed more quickly and at a lower cost than under current rules, which date to the Reagan administration.
Several attempts to revise the 1982 planning rule have been thrown out by federal courts in the past decade. Most recently a Bush administration plan was struck down in 2009. Environmentalists had fought the rule, saying it rolled back key forest protections.
The Obama administration did not appeal the ruling, electing to develop a new forest planning rule to protect water, climate and wildlife.
Under the new rule, forest plans could be developed within three to four years instead of taking up to seven years, as under current guidelines, Tidwell said.
"We really can protect the forest at lower cost with less time," he said.
The new regulation also should give forest managers more flexibility to address conditions on the ground, such as projects to thin the forest to reduce the risk of wildfire, Tidwell said.
"We'll be able to get more work done ? get more out of the forest and create more jobs," while at the same allowing greater recreational use, Tidwell said. Recreational use of the forest has grown exponentially in recent years.
Like Vilsack, Tidwell said he is optimistic the new plan will stand up to scrutiny from environmental groups and the timber industry, both of which have challenged previous planning rules in court.
"I'm optimistic that folks will want to give it a shot," Tidwell said.
The 155 national forests and grasslands managed by the Forest Service cover 193 million acres in 42 states and Puerto Rico. Balance between industry and conservation in those areas has been tough to find since the existing rules went into effect three decades ago.
At least three revisions of the rules have been struck down since 2000.
The planning rule designates certain animal species that must be protected to ensure ecosystems are healthy. However, the rule became the basis of numerous lawsuits that sharply cut back logging to protect habitat for fish and wildlife.
Meanwhile, the timber industry has continued to clamor for more logs, and conservation groups keep challenging timber sales, drilling and mining projects.
___
Matthew Daly can be followed on Twitter: (at)MatthewDalyWDC
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Thursday, January 26, 2012
Key Greek bondholders meet to discuss debt deal (AP)
BRUSSELS ? Representatives of Greece's private sector bondholders will meet on Wednesday to discuss how and whether to continue talks on a bond swap after the EU toughened its demands, a person close to the investors said.
The so-called steering committee of the Institute of International Finance will gather in Paris for an "important meeting ... to really take stock" of the talks, the person said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
The committee represents banks and other investment funds that hold a large part of Greece's debt.
On Monday, eurozone finance ministers decided to cap the average interest rate Greece can pay to investors taking part in a debt swap designed to cut Greece's debt by euro100 billion ($130 billion) at well below 4 percent.
In their offer last week, the bondholders said the average interest rate should be above 4 percent.
The finance ministers also made clear that they would not increase the amount of rescue loans for Greece above the euro130 billion ($169 billion) tentatively agreed in October.
The interest rate is one of the most important variables in the bond swap that investors as well as the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund hope will bring Greece's debt back to a sustainable level. The plan is to have private investors exchange their old Greek bonds for ones with half the face value and to push repayments 20 to 30 years into the future.
A higher interest rate could help buffer losses for investors, but the eurozone and the IMF say it will prevent Greece's debt from falling to 120 percent of gross domestic product by 2020 ? the maximum level they see as sustainable. Without the debt swap, Greece's debt would approach 200 percent of GDP by the end of this year.
If the investors decide against moving ahead with talks for a voluntary deal, the eurozone would face a stark choice between a forced default or new, bigger aid payments to Greece.
In a forced default, bondholders would likely stand to lose an even bigger part of their investments issued and traded by banks and other investors.
The eurozone has so far worked hard to prevent a payout of CDS, since the CDS market is obscure ? without a clear picture of who owes what to whom ? and they worry that it could create uncertainty and panic on financial markets. The private investors also argue that a forced default would make investors reluctant to lend to Greece and other vulnerable euro countries.
The person close to the private bondholders said the meeting was called for Wednesday because some eurozone officials wanted the deal to be ready for a summit of EU leaders on Monday.
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Indians manager: Carmona important to rotation (AP)
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic ? Cleveland Indians manager Manny Acta says the pitcher known as Fausto Carmona is an important part of the rotation and the team is doing what it can to speed up his arrival.
Acta told The Associated Press late Monday that the team is making the necessary moves to get Carmona to the United States for the coming season but also will be prepared to go without him.
Says Acta: "It doesn't matter that he was a little inconsistent last year. Fausto is an important part of our rotation."
Carmona is accused of using a false identity to play baseball in the U.S. and faces a judicial process in the Dominican Republic. He was released from jail on Friday.
Carmona's real name is Roberto Hernandez Heredia. He's 31, three years older than he had claimed.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) ? The Cleveland Indians manager says the pitcher known as Fausto Carmona won't be making it to spring training.
Indians manager Manny Acta told The Associated Press late Monday that the team is trying to speed up Carmona's arrival.
Carmona is accused of using a false identity to play baseball in the U.S. and faces a judicial process in the Dominican Republic. He was released from jail on Friday.
Carmona's real name is Roberto Hernandez Heredia. He's 31, three years older than he had claimed.
Acta says it's likely Kevin Slowey may replace Carmona, who won 13 games in 2010 and went 7-15 last season.
(This version CORRECTS the first paragraph, headlines to delete reference to spring training because of translation error. Acta says team working to get Carmona to States for coming season.)
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ScholarPro Intelligently Matches Students With Educational Scholarships
Chicago-based ScholarPro is launching today as an intelligent matching system for students and educational scholarships. Designed to ease the search and application process, ScholarPro's adaptive matching engine promises to deliver smarter, targeted lists of scholarships. It aims to fix the current dated process that require students to navigate complex application processes and then fail to deliver relevant results. On the site, you answer a few simple adaptive questions, such as where you are from, etc. and the platform will match you to scholarships that fit your needs. You can actually apply for the scholarships directly from ScholarPro.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/LFNtHgZ-3y8/
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Senate GOP's next move awaited in nominations spat (AP)
WASHINGTON ? President Barack Obama's appointments to two key agencies during the Senate's year-end break ensures that GOP senators will return to work Monday in an angry and fighting mood.
Less clear is what those furious Republicans will do to retaliate against Obama's "bring it on" end run around the Senate's role in confirming nominees to major jobs.
While Republicans contemplate their next step, recess appointee Richard Cordray is running a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the National Labor Relations Board, with three temporary members, is now at full strength with a Democratic majority.
Obama left more than70 other nominees in limbo, well aware that Republicans could use Senate rules to block some or all of them.
The White House justified the appointments on grounds that Republicans were holding up the nominations to paralyze the two agencies. The consumer protection agency was established under the 2010 Wall Street reform law, which requires the bureau to have a director in order to begin policing financial products such as mortgages, checking accounts, credit cards and payday loans.
The Supreme Court has ruled that the five-member NLRB must have a three-member quorum to issue regulations or decide major cases in union-employer disputes.
Several agencies contacted by The Associated Press, including banking regulators, said they were conducting their normal business despite vacancies at the top. In some cases, nominees are serving in acting capacities.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., at full strength, has five board members. The regulation of failed banks "is unaffected," said spokesman Andrew Gray. "The three-member board has been able to make decisions without a problem." Cordray's appointment gives it a fourth member.
The Comptroller of the Currency, run by an acting chief, has kept up its regular examinations of banks. The Federal Trade Commission, operating with four board members instead of five, has had no difficulties. "This agency is not a partisan combat agency," said spokesman Peter Kaplan. "Almost all the votes are unanimous and consensus driven."
Republicans have pledged retaliation for Obama's recess appointments, but haven't indicated what it might be.
"The Senate will need to take action to check and balance President Obama's blatant attempt to circumvent the Senate and the Constitution, a claim of presidential power that the Bush Administration refused to make," said Sen. Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican who is his party's top member on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Grassley wouldn't go further, and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky hasn't tipped his hand after charging that Obama had "arrogantly circumvented the American people." Before the Senate left for its break in December, McConnell blocked Senate approval of more than 60 pending nominees because Obama wouldn't commit to making no recess appointments.
Republicans have to consider whether their actions, especially any decision to block all nominees, might play into Obama's hands.
Obama has adopted an election-year theme of "we can't wait" for Republicans to act on nominations and major proposals like his latest jobs plan. Republicans have to consider how their argument that the president is violating Constitutional checks and balances plays against Obama's stump speeches characterizing them as obstructionists.
Senate historian Donald Ritchie said the minority party has retaliated in the past for recess appointments by holding up specific nominees. "I'm not aware of any situations where no nominations were accepted," he said. The normal practice is for the two party leaders to negotiate which nominations get votes.
During the break, Republicans forced the Senate to convene for usually less than a minute once every few days to argue that there was no recess and that Obama therefore couldn't bypass the Senate's authority to confirm top officials. The administration said this was a sham, and has released a Justice Department opinion backing up the legality of the appointments.
Obama considers the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau a signature achievement of his first term. Republicans have been vehemently opposed to the bureau's setup. They argued the agency needed a bipartisan board instead of a director and should have to justify its budget to Congress instead of drawing its funding from the independent Federal Reserve.
Cordray is expected to get several sharp questions from Republicans when he testifies Tuesday before a House Oversight and Government Reform panel.
The NLRB has been a target of Republicans and business groups. Last year, the agency accused Boeing of illegally retaliating against union workers who had struck its plants in Washington state by opening a new production line at its non-union plant in South Carolina. Boeing denied the charge and the case has since been settled, but Republican anger over it and a string of union-friendly decisions from the board last year hasn't abated.
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Monday, January 23, 2012
Manning, Giants heading to Indy to face Pats again (AP)
Hey, Indianapolis. A Manning will be playing in your Super Bowl, after all.
No, not that one.
It'll be Eli Manning leading the New York Giants to a Super Bowl rematch against the New England Patriots ? and this time on older brother Peyton's home field.
"It doesn't matter to me where you're playing it or the fact that it's in Indianapolis," Eli Manning said. "I'm just excited about being in one."
And if the Giants can pull this one off, Eli will have sibling bragging rights with one more Super Bowl ring than Peyton, who missed this season for the Colts after having neck surgery.
It sure won't be easy for the Giants, though. Four years after New York stunned previously undefeated New England in the Arizona desert, they'll play a Super sequel.
Eli vs. Brady. Coughlin vs. Belichick. The Giants vs. the Patriots.
Sound familiar? Here we go again.
"It's awesome and we look forward to the challenge," Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora said. "They are a great football team. They have always been a great football team. We are looking forward to it, and it's going to be a great game."
Well, judging from the last time these teams met in the Super Bowl ? David Tyree's jaw-dropping, helmet-pinning catch and all ? it just might be.
"Being in this situation is a great moment," Patriots nose tackle Vince Wilfork said. "You have to cherish this moment."
New England (15-3) opened as a 3-point favorite for the Feb. 5 game against New York (12-7), but the Patriots know all about being in this position. They were favored by 12 points and pursuing perfection in 2008, but New York's defense battered Brady, and Manning connected with Plaxico Burress on a late touchdown to win the Giants' third Super Bowl.
That TD came, of course, a few moments after one of the biggest plays in playoff history: Manning escaping the grasp of Patriots defenders and finding Tyree, who put New York in scoring position by trapping the football against his helmet.
"Hopefully, we will have the same result," Umenyiora said. "We still have one more game to go, but this is truly unbelievable."
Especially since the Giants appeared on the verge of collapsing with Tom Coughlin's job status in jeopardy just a month ago, when they fell to 7-7 with an embarrassing loss to the Washington Redskins on Dec. 18.
"We've been here before," linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka said at the time, "and we'll get back."
Boy, was he right.
The Giants were facing elimination against the rival Jets and Rex Ryan, who boldly declared that his team ruled New York. Well, Coughlin's crew silenced Ryan with a 29-14 victory. The Giants followed that with a 31-14 win over Dallas in the regular-season finale to clinch the NFC East and get to the playoffs for the first time since the 2008 season.
New York dominated Atlanta at home in the opening round. Then came a stunner: a 37-20 victory at Green Bay ? knocking out the defending Super Bowl champions.
On Sunday, Manning extended the best season of his career with one more solid performance, and Lawrence Tynes kicked the Giants past the San Francisco 49ers 20-17 in overtime for the NFC title.
"I'm just proud of the guys, what we've overcome this year, what we've been through," Manning said, "just never having any doubts, keep believing in our team that we could get hot and start playing our best football."
The Patriots are rolling into the Super Bowl having won 10 straight, with their last loss being to ? you guessed it ? the Giants, 24-20 back in early November.
"We know they're a great team," Manning said. "We played them already this year. They've been playing great football recently."
They sure have. And now Brady and the Patriots are in familiar territory, playing in the Super Bowl for the fifth time in 11 years ? and first since the stunning upset in Arizona.
New England hopes to avoid all that sort of drama this time around. Unless it goes in the Patriots' favor, as it did in the AFC title game.
Brady was unusually subpar in the Patriots' 23-20 victory over Baltimore, throwing for 239 yards with two interceptions and, for the first time in 36 games, no TD passes. But he got some help from the Patriots' much-maligned defense, which made some crucial stops down the stretch.
A few mistakes by the Ravens helped greatly, too, as Billy Cundiff shanked a 32-yard field goal attempt with 11 seconds left ? soon after Lee Evans had a potential winning touchdown catch ripped out of his hands in the end zone.
"Childlike joy. It's all about childlike joy," linebacker Jerod Mayo said. "Last night felt like the day before Christmas for me and I haven't had that feeling in a long time."
New England last won the Super Bowl in 2005, a long drought considering that the Patriots took home Lombardi trophies three times in four years. There are only a handful of players left from that team, with guys like Corey Dillon, Tedy Bruschi and Rodney Harrison replaced by young up-and-comers such as Mayo, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.
"It doesn't even feel right, especially playing with the veterans here," Gronkowski said. "I watched them go to the Super Bowl as I was growing up, and now I'm part of it? It is an unreal moment."
The constants, though, are Brady and Bill Belichick. And that's been a winning combination for New England, combining to become the first QB-coach combination to win five conference championships in the Super Bowl era.
Belichick did perhaps his finest coaching job this season, piecing together a defense that ranked second-to-last in the league during the regular season. That led to plenty of shootouts, and Brady was more than up to the task, throwing for a career-high 5,235 yards while tossing 39 touchdown passes.
"They're an amazing team," Patriots owner Robert Kraft said. "They're a great brotherhood; they're a family."
And they're all looking to lift another Super Bowl trophy together. Patriots-Giants. One more time.
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Santorum already eyeing next stop: Florida (AP)
COLUMBIA, S.C. ? With the race here seemingly between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, Republican rival Rick Santorum is bracing for a setback and looking ahead to the next contest: Florida.
Santorum planned to visit polling locations in South Carolina and attend an evening rally in Charleston on Saturday before his campaign moved South. Santorum's advisers said he would have no reason to exit the four-man race for the GOP nomination after voting ends and those allies note he went into primary day the top vote-getter in Iowa's leadoff caucuses and besting Gingrich in New Hampshire.
Romney and Gingrich were battling for the top spot in South Carolina and Santorum was looking to post an acceptable showing. During campaign stops on Friday, he cast himself as a Goldilocks candidate: just right when compared to Gingrich's "too hot" rhetoric and Romney's "too cold" personality.
Santorum also looked to disqualify the fourth candidate in the race, Rep. Ron Paul of Texas. Santorum said there were three candidates who could capture the GOP nomination and cast libertarian favorite Paul as a gadfly annoyance.
As voting opened, Santorum planned to stop by polling locations in Chapin and Greenville. He also planned an election night party at The Citadel in Charleston.
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Sunday, January 22, 2012
97% The Artist
All Critics (171) | Top Critics (39) | Fresh (166) | Rotten (5)
'The Artist': Michel Hazanavicius's novelty film owes much to Jean Dujardin's irresistible smile
For a movie that is so much about technique, it's surprising how affecting the story is.
The Artist is the most surprising and delightful film of 2011.
A silent movie shot in sumptuous black-and-white, no less. A silent flick made with not a jot of distancing winking, but instead born of a heady affection for a bygone, very bygone, era of filmmaking.
It's a rocket to the moon fueled by unadulterated joy and pure imagination.
Strangely, wonderfully, The Artist feels as bold and innovative a moviegoing experience as James Cameron's bells-and-whistles Avatar did a couple of years ago.
The Artist delights in an ingeniously straightforward way that exceeds many a modern, technologically advanced, effects-loaded, big-budget blockbuster.
A silent movie that speaks louder and with more power than a dozen films packed with pages and pages of dialogue. Definitely the year's best movie.
Imaginative, gorgeous, witty and even kind of sexy.
A gift that keeps on giving, The Artist is a film that demands your attention at every moment. All senses are glued to the screen and director Michel Hazanavicius delivers with drama, laughter, romance and stellar performances from his cast.
Has the allure of a freshness it may not entirely deserve, but one that makes it go down very smoothly.
Initially, the lack of spoken dialogue is discomfiting. Once you've adjusted to its storytelling conventions, though, you almost forget that this is a silent film.
I'm not sure Hazanavicius' love letter to the cinema is, in fact, the most outstanding movie of last year. But who would deny that it stands out from the motion-picture pack?
In a strange way, it's not unlike The Matrix -- only this time the red pill transports you into the futuristic world of sound, rather than a cynical world of two increasingly abysmal sequels.
Completely fun. Dujardin defies time periods. Bejo is all sparkly effervescence.
Was there ever a guy who could play an old school movie studio mogul like John Goodman? No.
A movie that is so old-fashioned from beginning to end that it's literally a breath of fresh air.
Visually stunning, imaginative, and cleverly scored and choreographed, The Artist is quite simply and quietly, the year's finest film.
Deeper than mere mimicry...
The Artist plays less like an original take on the early sound era than as fan fiction set in the world of Singin' in the Rain.
[C]ould have been all about the gimmick. Marvelously, it isn't. And yet its marvelousness is wrapped up in the gimmick... [A] sweet, deep passion for The Movies... throbs through The Artist and makes it sing.
A story that's so sweet and innocent, it's practically forgivable for being the awards bait it's being offered up as.
The Academy Awards are the biggest annual party that Hollywood throws for itself, and The Artist is a movie that worships Hollywood. Looks like a done deal.
See it, but remember: no talking.
A silent love song that anyone who adores film can nonetheless hear, loud and clear!
...breezy and effortlessly entertaining...
More Critic ReviewsSource: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_artist/
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Is South Carolina Primary A Must-Win For Mitt Romney?
A clear victory could all but secure the nomination for Romney, but a close call or loss would be detrimental, experts say.
By Gil Kaufman
Mitt Romney
Photo: Joe Raedle/ Getty Images
No Republican has ever won his party's presidential nomination without notching a win in South Carolina. That's just one reason former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is hoping that when the dust clears Saturday night (January 21), he will be celebrating his second primary win in a row and, in theory, the key to his party's nomination.
South Carolina was expected to present Romney with his biggest challenge to date, due to its heavy Evangelical population. The man vying to be the Republican Party's first Mormon presidential nominee was up by anywhere from 11 to 15 points in polls taken in the week before Saturday's vote, with some predicting he'd get more than 40 percent of the vote. By Friday morning, however, a number of polls had him in either a dead heat with or trailing former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Both men were well ahead of former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and Congressman Ron Paul.
In addition to his eroding poll numbers, Romney suffered a series of unfortunate events Thursday when a further analysis of the vote in Iowa revealed that Santorum had actually won the too-close-to-call Iowa caucus by 34 votes, erasing Romney's razor-thin eight-vote win and his bragging rights for going 2-and-0. A short time later, Texas Governor Rick Perry abruptly dropped out of the race, throwing his support behind Gingrich.
"If [Romney] wins South Carolina, it depends by how much. If he wins by 15, I would say, yes, he's [the presumptive nominee]; if it's in the close single digits, he's not running at a pace to get the majority of the delegates," said Columbia University professor of political science Robert Y. Shapiro, an expert in voting and political behavior. "All Gingrich has to do is stay in and if can run close enough and continue to raise money he could keep running."
Romney, who still has his solid New Hampshire win in pocket, has been taking heavy fire from Gingrich over the past few weeks. The former congressman has taken Romney to task for what he has deemed his opponent's "vulture capitalist" ways while running the investment firm Bain Capital, where Romney oversaw the shuttering of a number of businesses, resulting in numerous layoffs. Romney has hit back at Gingrich for what he labeled an attack on "free enterprise," accusing him of sounding like a Democrat in his criticisms.
Larry Parnell, an associate professor and program director of the graduate school of political management at George Washington University, said the net effect of a potential Romney win and a possible shift in Perry voters to Gingrich could turn what he described as a "circular firing squad" of GOP nominees into a duel between the two men. "If [Romney] wins South Carolina, he will still have to deal with Gingrich, and it could slow him down," said Parnell, a former press aide for the presidential campaign of Democrat Jimmy Carter.
In terms of appearances, Parnell said even with a win in South Carolina, Romney is not likely to declare himself the presumptive candidate, because it could draw even more fire from his remaining opponents. "It's in his best interest to keep conducting himself the way he has," he said. "To say that now he's ready to take on President Obama is just waving a red flag in front of Gingrich." As long as he continues on the slow-and-steady path of wins, Parnell said, Romney should be able to weather the storms and likely come out on top.
After the now-narrow loss in Iowa and a more convincing win in independent-leaning New Hampshire, observers have been looking to the solidly red state of South Carolina as the first test of whether Romney can convince traditional Evangelical voters that he is the right choice for the party. Parnell said that given South Carolina's record in picking the eventual establishment candidate, any deviation from that norm (i.e., a too-close-to-call Gingrich finish or win) could cause some serious problems for Romney. A win, however, would prove Romney is a viable national candidate and ease the pressure on him to win over the party's still-reluctant-to-commit base.
Over the past week, Gingrich urged Santorum and Perry to drop out of the race so conservative voters can rally behind just one "anti-Romney" candidate, arguing that he is the only remaining candidate who knows how to build a national campaign. Even as his poll numbers jumped, though, Gingrich faced another obstacle Thursday when his second ex-wife appeared in an ABC News interview in which she claimed the former speaker had urged her to have an "open" marriage so he could continue an affair with his then-mistress, now-wife Callista.
Both men agreed a solid Romney win in South Carolina could all but ensure his eventual path to the nomination, though a close Gingrich finish could propel the ex-congressman to Florida's primary January 31.
Check back for up-to-the-minute coverage on the primary races and stick with PowerOf12.org throughout the 2012 presidential election season.
Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1677670/mitt-romney-south-carolina-primary-preview.jhtml
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Saturday, January 21, 2012
Fire at prof's NJ home yields cache of child porn (AP)
EAGLESWOOD TOWNSHIP, N.J. ? Authorities say firefighters in southern New Jersey uncovered a cache of child pornography while battling flames in the home of an architecture professor.
State Police arrested and charged 76-year-old Gamal El-Zoghby with child endangerment. He's listed as a professor at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, N.Y.
State Police spokesman Brian Polite tells The Press of Atlantic City (http://bit.ly/x3kqjj ) firefighters were pulling sheet rock from the walls of El-Zoghby's Eagleswood Township home when child pornography images began falling from the ceiling.
The cause of Tuesday's fire is unknown.
___
Information from: The Press of Atlantic City, http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com
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Daily Crunch: Sense Effects
Here are some recent posts on TechCrunch Gadgets: ZOOM?s B3 Bass Effects Pedal Launches At NAMM iPads And Digital Textbooks Do Not Belong In Classrooms Yet Apple Announces iBooks 2, A New Textbook Experience For The iPad Sea Change: Apple Guts Textbook Publishing Wireless Sensor Posts Temperature, Humidity, And Radiation Levels To Twitter (Video)Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/uTvTpL1mYz4/
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Friday, January 20, 2012
Jamie Schler: Eating And The Law In France: In The News
France is the most popular tourist destination in the world -- attracting a whopping 78.95 million foreign visitors in 2010 alone even in the middle of a world economic crisis. Her gorgeous countryside, her museums and ch?teaux, a rich cultural heritage and history; from Aix-en-Provence to the wild, rugged coast of Brittany, from the ski mecca of the Alps to the Basque Coast to the Loire River, not to forget Paris, the City of Lights and Romance, visitors and locals alike stream from one end of the country to the other to discover this magnificent landscape and enjoy her treasures.
Yet, maybe even more than all of these attractions, the art and the architecture, the sports and the countryside, people flock to France for the food. One of the gastronomic capitals of the world, a country whose cuisine UNESCO, The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, recently declared as part of the "intangible cultural heritage of humanity", French food has a reputation that keeps people coming back for more. From the country's famed three-star restaurants to her humble corner bistro serving up comforting plates of boeuf bourguignon or classic steak au poivre with fr?tes, the world has come to look on French food as one of the best in the world. And whether local or visitor, we expect only the best on our plates and honesty on our menus when we sit down at any restaurant table in France, don't we?
Anyone who has paid attention to the news here in France during the past year has seen the articles and the investigative features on television exposing the shocking practice of restaurants all over the country of buying -- and serving -- industrial ready-made, vacuum-packed or canned dishes or products bought from the large wholesale restaurant supply warehouses. As one chef friend described it to me after having spotted another restaurant owner wheeling a huge trolley piled with cans of sauces and boxes of prepackaged and prepared meals through the parking lot of M?tro supply store: "His kitchen staff consists of a chef and a pair of scissors (and, needless to say, a microwave oven)." No, this may not be the normal practice of all restaurants in France, but it is apparently becoming more and more common. The news media shocked an entire country by sending journalists to dig through restaurant trash bins and display on national television the boxes and bags in which had nestled the dishes that the menu declared to be homemade. So how does France handle this potential national embarrassment, this "dirty little secret"? By legislation, of course!
2011 saw the French government pounce on what they consider unhealthy or dishonest practices in restaurants or collectivities. Yes, there are many European directives dealing with food safety (food additives, supplements, flavorings, production, labeling), yet when it comes to what is being served individually in both restaurants and collectivities it may all be safe to eat but are we, the client getting what we expect? Are you always aware when you are eating something industrial if you have been convinced that it has been prepared fresh to order? Some food-related laws, amendments or decrees have been passed this year aimed at transparency and health in the best interest of the consumer. As a simple consumer myself as well as an occasional restaurant client, many of these touch me directly and so I listen to the discourse, dig around and simply try and stay informed as well as any citizen with an internet connection, a television and the newspapers can be. Decree n? 2011-1227 was the one you may have heard of as it received quite a bit of flack in the American press. And I have a hard time understanding why.
D?cret 2011-1227 was aimed at the nutritional quality of the meals served in school cafeterias and was passed in September. Many in the American press made a big deal of the newly strict rules over what was henceforth to be served to our children for lunch, focusing more on what was to be banned than the facts of the dietary rules and guidelines as a whole. As a mother whose two sons went through the French public school system and whose response to my often-posed question of "What did you have for lunch?" was met with "Pizza-fr?tes (French fries)" I was thrilled to see the government stepping in and imposing stricter dietary guidelines, forcing cafeterias to serve healthier food. Ketchup banned? Not likely; rather served in appropriate portions and only alongside certain foods once a week rather than being left on a table free for self-service all week (the same goes for all condiments as well as salt). More choices of a main course; more dairy products; fried foods not to be served more than once a week; fat and sugary products also to be limited; fresh vegetable or fresh fruits and cooked vegetables will be included in half of the meals; and age-appropriate portions will be served to each class. This coming on the heels of the removal of all vending machines selling soda and junk food in schools. Health, education... and preserving French culinary culture? Some argue for the third, but I'm not so sure. With childhood obesity on the rise in France, the government sees that it is to the benefit of not only our children but the population as a whole to make sure kids are eating well-balanced, healthy meals for lunch. And this mother, for one, is very pleased.
But another law passed with less attention and exposure than the "Ketchup Ban" decree yet one that affects more of us, and one that you as a visitor to France should be aware of: in early October, the government voted in the Sir? Amendment aimed at menu transparency for all restaurants. Following on the footsteps of the law requiring restaurants to indicate when a dish is prepared with frozen fish and seafood instead of fresh by placing an asterisk next to the dish name on the menu, this latest decree goes one step further and is an attempt to inform the client and consumer as to the source of the dish they are ordering, whether frozen, canned or fresh as well as where it was frozen if it was, whether industrially or in the restaurant's own kitchen. Now, whether something served you in a diningroom is industrial or made fresh in the kitchen while you wait is certainly no guarantee of either the quality of the dish or how it tastes, it does give the consumer knowledge and choice.
I've read that up to 80 percent of restaurants in France use some kind of industrially produced, frozen or freeze-dried products either alone (the entire dish itself) or to elaborate fresh products (such as a vacuum-packed, pre-made sauce over fresh fish). Even Roland H?guy, the President of the Union of Hotel and Restaurant Workers, declared that of 120,000 restaurants in the country, a mere 20,000 cook strictly with fresh products. In 2007, the government created the label "ma?tre restaurateur" awarded only to those professionals who never serve prepackaged, industrially prepared food and the food they serve in their establishment is made from a minimum 60 percent fresh ingredients; among 80,000 establishments less than 2,000 have demanded and less than 1,000 have been awarded the title. Although there has been a driving movement among chefs to push more to turn back to using only fresh products in their kitchens, many restaurant owners claim that it is simply not economically feasible and could hurt their business. Others seem to think that all the labeling risks turning their menus into dictionaries, scaring away the clients.
My son recently invited me out to dinner at a new bistro he had recently discovered and fallen in love with. As my Duck Parmentier was placed before me, I did realize that the selection of dishes on the menu were typically products easily found in the frozen foods section of any supermarket in the same form and appearance, the same list on menus in so many bistros across the country and I was sure that the Parmentier on my plate was industrially prepared. I suspected that a tiny spot like this was more likely to have a pair of scissors and a microwave than a kitchen staff, but who was I to complain. It was a lovely evening with my son. But, yes, as a client and consumer and someone who loves to eat out, I do want to know that my food is being prepared with fresh ingredients. And I do feel that we have the right to know rather than being bamboozled. Now, I am only interested to know if and when we will actually start seeing the labeling on restaurant menus.
And next up? On December 28, the National Assembly passed the "soda tax", an increased tax (up to 25 percent on "fruit" drinks and 35 percent on sodas, leading to an increase of about 2 cents per can) on sugary as well as "light" drinks and sodas, which may generate upwards of 280 million euros which should go towards the country's escalating healthcare costs as well as financing healthcare for agricultural workers. Oh, and don't forget the government's continuing battle against obesity.
What do you think?
Jamie Schler lives, eats and writes in France. To read more of her work visit Life's a Feast.
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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jamie-schler/food-laws-in-france_b_1208444.html
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Thursday, January 19, 2012
Iraq's Sunni-backed Cabinet ministers suspended (AP)
BAGHDAD ? Iraq's Shiite-dominated Cabinet suspended boycotting Sunni-backed ministers Tuesday, an official said, deepening a sectarian conflict of politics and violence that has raised fears of civil war in Iraq now that U.S. troops are gone.
The Sunni-based Iraqiya bloc started its boycott last month to protest an arrest warrant against the Sunni vice president on terrorism charges. The official, Tareq al-Hashemi, denied the allegations and fled to the autonomous Kurdish area of Iraq, out of reach of authorities in Baghdad ? a move that itself underlines the sectarian divisions in Iraq and the challenge of keeping the country together after the exit of U.S. forces a month ago.
Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the Cabinet decided that the ministers who have failed to attend sessions are no longer "allowed to manage ministries, and all decisions that will be signed by them are invalid." The Iraqiya ministers would be allowed back into the Cabinet if they end their boycott, al-Dabbagh said.
Iraqiya spokeswoman Maysoun Damluji charged that the suspension is part of the Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's efforts to sideline the Sunni-backed alliance and cement his own grip on power. Only one of nine Iraqiya ministers broke with the bloc's boycott and attended Tuesday's Cabinet session, Damluji said.
"It's an escalation by al-Maliki to push Iraqiya away," Damluji said.
The government crisis could intensify sectarian resentments that have remained raw in Iraq, despite years of efforts to overcome them. Minority Sunnis fear the Shiite majority is squeezing them out of any political input, and Shiites suspect Sunnis of links to insurgency and terrorism.
Alongside the government crisis, violence has surged across Iraq since American troops left Dec. 18, raising fears of re-igniting the fighting between Sunni and Shiite militias that raged a few years ago and brought the country to the brink of civil war.
Since the beginning of the year, a string of bombings has left at least 155 people dead. Most of the attacks appeared aimed at Iraq's Shiite majority, suggesting Sunni insurgents are seeking to undermine the Shiite-dominated government and its efforts to protect people from violence without American backup.
On Tuesday, insurgents killed five police officers at a checkpoint in the town of Rutba in the western Anbar province, police and hospital officials said. The police were guarding the highway that links Iraq with neighboring Jordan.
On Saturday, more than 50 Shiite pilgrims were killed in a bombing in southern Iraq, the deadliest attack against the country's Shiite majority in a year.
The government disarray appears to be affecting foreign contractors still in Iraq after the American military withdrawal, including thousands who work for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and its development projects around the country.
A U.S.-based trade group that represents foreign contractors in Iraq said more than 100 of its members have faced visa problems or had difficulty moving around the country in the past weeks. Contractors have been held up for hours at Baghdad's airport, and some have been briefly detained, the International Stability Operations Association said in a letter they sent to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
"They don't appear to be malicious acts of the Iraqi government against the contracting community in Iraq," the group's president, Doug Brooks, told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "It seems to be part of the political infighting and a holdup in the bureaucracy, and we wanted the U.S. to help us push things along," Brooks said.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner played down the difficulties. "This appears to be nothing more than Iraqi officials who are certainly operating out of an abundance of caution, given the recent spate of violence in Baghdad and surroundings," he said.
___
Associated Press writer Mazin Yahya contributed to this report.
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Ethiopia: Journalists, politician found guilty (AP)
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia ? An Ethiopian court on Thursday found three journalists, a politician and a politician's assistant guilty of conspiring to commit acts of terrorism, in a case that drew rebukes from rights groups who fear the country's anti-terrorism law is being used to suppress dissent.
The five were charged under Ethiopia's controversial anti-terrorism laws. Government spokesman Shimeles Kemal has said they were involved in planning attacks on infrastructure, telecommunications and power lines.
Alemu Gobebo, a private lawyer and a father of one of the defendants, called the case politically motivated. The five will be sentenced Jan. 26. They could face the death penalty.
Among the three journalist convicted were Reeyot Alemu, a columnist for the independent weekly Fetah and a former opposition member; Elias Kifle, editor-in-chief of a U.S.-based opposition website, who was tried in absentia; and Wubshet Taye, deputy editor-in-chief of the recently closed-down weekly newspaper Awramba Times.
International rights groups have been calling for the release of the journalists. Ethiopia recently found two Swedish reporters guilty of supporting terrorism and sentenced them to 11 years in prison.
Ethiopia has arrested close to 200 people, among them journalists and opposition politicians and members, under last year's anti-terrorism proclamation.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, more journalists have fled Ethiopia than any other country in the world.
Amnesty International said it does not believe there is any evidence that the five were guilty of any criminal wrongdoing. Claire Beston, the group's Ethiopia researcher, called the five "prisoners of conscience." She said a significant amount of the prosecution's evidence relied on the defendants' reporting of and alleged involvement in calls for peaceful protest against the government.
Human Rights Watch said the anti-terrorism law violates free expression and due process rights.
"The verdict against these five people confirms that Ethiopia's anti-terrorism law is being used to crush independent reporting and peaceful political dissent," said Leslie Lefkow, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The Ethiopian courts are complicit in this political witch-hunt."
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Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Samsung says to merge bada mobile OS with Intel-backed Tizen (Reuters)
SEOUL (Reuters) ? Samsung Electronics Co said on Tuesday it planned to merge its 'bada' mobile software with a platform backed by chipmaker Intel Corp in its latest push to diversify away from Google's Android.
Samsung, which emerged as the world's biggest smartphone manufacturer on the back of booming Android models in the third quarter, joined forces with Intel last year to strengthen its mobile software push.
In September two Linux software groups, one backed by Samsung, and another by Intel, agreed to jointly develop Tizen, a new operating system for cellphones and other devices, by merging their LiMo and Meego platforms in a bid to gain wider industry and consumer support.
"We have an effort that will merge bada and Tizen," a Samsung spokesman confirmed senior vice president Kang Tae-jin as telling Forbes magazine in an interview last week.
The open-source Tizen platform supports multiple devices including smartphones, tablets, Internet-enabled TVs, netbooks and in-vehicle infotainment systems.
It would have to attract wide support from developers and manufacturers to compete with the dozen or so other mobile operating systems available in a smartphone market dominated by Google's Linux-based Android and Apple's in-house software.
Google's Android accounted for 53 percent of the global smartphone market in the third quarter and Samsung's bada platform just 2.2 percent.
(Reporting by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)
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Murder charge awaits man who took Rockefeller name (AP)
LOS ANGELES ? In 1985, Clark Rockefeller did not exist. The pseudonym, which was one of many fake identities assumed by a German immigrant, would surface years later when he began cutting a swath across high society claiming to be an heir to the Rockefeller fortune.
As a world class impostor, he conned people into believing he was a physicist, an art collector, a ship captain and a financial adviser who renegotiated debt for small countries. Even his wealthy wife was unaware of his true identity.
But when Christian Gerhartsreiter enters a courtroom for a preliminary hearing Wednesday, he will finally be himself: a convicted kidnapper facing a charge of murdering the son of his former landlady a quarter century ago, when he lived in California under one of his many pseudonyms. He is famous now; his story has been told in a TV movie.
Like most cold cases, the murder charge stemming from the death 26 years ago may be tough to prove. Evidence deteriorates, and witness memories fade over years. But prosecutors have had time to develop theories, and the science of forensic analysis has advanced.
Much of the prosecution's case will hinge on three plastic bags of human bones found during the excavation for a swimming pool at a San Marino home in 1994. At first, it was not certain that the bones were even human. But through extensive testing, they were linked to John Sohus, 27, a computer engineer who disappeared in 1985. It was a difficult match because Sohus was adopted and DNA from relatives was not readily available.
"Modern technology has helped us to identify those bones as the Sohus bones," said Los Angeles County Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore, declining to disclose details.
Sohus' wife, Linda, also disappeared in 1985. No trace of her was found, though postcards purportedly written by her were sent to friends and relatives after she disappeared. The postcards were supposedly mailed from France, but the handwriting was never authenticated. Authorities presume she is dead, but they have not charged Gerhartsreiter with her death.
The other person who disappeared from San Marino at about the same time was a tenant then known as Chris Chichester, another of Gerhartsreiter's identities.
Police explored various possibilities, including that Chichester had been in love with Linda Sohus and murdered her husband in a fit of jealousy. Authorities came close to finding him in the late 1980s when he was pulled over in Greenwich, Conn., driving Sohus' truck. But by the time the Department of Motor Vehicles had confirmed it was Sohus' truck, Chichester and the vehicle had vanished.
The man at the center of the mystery eluded authorities for years, moving to New York and then Boston where he hobnobbed in high society. He claimed to be an heir to the fabled Rockefeller oil fortune, marrying a woman with whom he had a daughter. She divorced him when she found out he had duped her.
Last year he was convicted of kidnapping his daughter in Boston during a bitter custody dispute. Gerhartsreiter is serving a four- to five-year prison sentence. He would be eligible for parole this year if he was not awaiting trial in California on a charge that could bring him 26 years to life in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors have 30 to 40 witnesses ready for the two-week preliminary hearing, many of whom are forensic experts. They are seeking to convince a judge there is probable cause to believe that Gerhartsreiter is a killer and should be held for trial.
One of Gerhartsreiter's Boston attorneys, Jeffrey Denner, said it was unlikely that the defense will put on a case at this stage of the proceedings. He said that Gerhartsreiter is "appropriately somber" as he faces the court hearing.
At the kidnapping trial, Denner claimed his client was suffering from a delusional disorder and was legally insane when he snatched his daughter during a supervised visit. Prosecutors portrayed him as a master manipulator who used multiple aliases and told elaborate lies about his past since moving to the United States in the 1970s.
The complaint against him lists five different aliases: Christopher Chichester, Clark Rockefeller, Christopher Crowe, C. Crowe Mountbatten and Charles "Chip" Smith.
Denner has said Gerhartsreiter is not a violent man, and prosecutors have not yet offered a motive that might have led him to murder. The motive and other details of the case could be disclosed at the preliminary hearing.
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Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Get Into a Dog Fight, Blow Your Nose On Your Enemies, and Filter Up Those Photos [App Deals Of The Day]
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ITC gives Motorola preliminary win in Apple patent dispute (Appolicious)
The ruling came from an administrative law judge, as Ars Technica reports, and was based on three smartphone patents that Apple accused Motorola of having violated. Apple has lawsuits all over the world against multiple smartphone and tablet manufacturers. It has been in the middle of a protracted patent fight with Samsung over similar allegations, stating that Samsung has copied the look and feel of Apple?s device designs. But the early ruling could be a sign of the end for Apple?s suit against Motorola.
Apple and Motorola have been fighting this particular patent battle since back in 2010, in both federal court and the ITC. Motorola started the war by alleging that Apple had violated several of its smartphone patents covering things like antenna design, 3G technology and device synchronization, and Apple responded with a countersuit of its own.
Bringing patent lawsuits to the ITC is an effective workaround to taking them to federal court for many electronics makers. The ITC oversees imports of devices by foreign companies and from foreign distributors. It?s supposed to protect American companies from having their patents infringed by foreign businesses and then sold in the U.S. That means the ITC can ban the imports of devices into the U.S., effectively halting their sale here.
The ruling isn?t a final nail in the coffin of Apple?s suit against Motorola. There?s still a ruling by the six-judge ITC panel, which has the final say on import matters, and there?s a chance it could be different than that of the administrative law judge. But Motorola was pretty quick to send out a press release declaring victory, and it has a fair reason to be pleased. From Ars? story:
?We are pleased with [Friday's] favorable outcome for Motorola Mobility,? Motorola Mobility general counsel Scott Offer said in a statement. ?Motorola Mobility has worked hard over the years to develop technology and build an industry-leading intellectual property portfolio. We are proud to leverage this broad and deep portfolio to create differentiated innovations that enhance the user experience.?
Apple is basically in an all-out patent war with Google?s Android platform right now, and a loss against Motorola would be a setback. But it?s not the only side of the story: Apple did recently win an ITC victory against another Android device maker, HTC. And there?s still all that Samsung drama that needs sorting through, taking place all over the world. This battle?s far from over.
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Monday, January 16, 2012
Al-Qaida raises flag over Yemen town, seizes control
Khaled Abdullah / Reuters
The historical Radda castle, above, was overtaken by al-Qaida militants on Sunday.
By msnbc.com news services
SANAA, Yemen -- Islamist militants have seized full control of a town southeast of Yemen's capital, raising their flag over the citadel, overrunning army positions, storming the local prison and pledging allegiance to al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri, residents said Monday.
The capture of Radda in Bayda province, some 100 miles south of capital Sanaa, underscores the growing strength of al-Qaida in Yemen as it continues to take advantage of the weakness of a central government struggling to contain nearly a year of massive political unrest.
"Al-Qaida has raised its flag over the citadel," one resident told Reuters by telephone. "Its members have spread out across the town's neighborhoods after pledging allegiance to Ayman al-Zawahri during evening prayers (on Sunday)."
After months of street protests demanding he step down, Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh has signed an agreement transferring power to his vice president. NBC's Savannah Guthrie reports.
Bayda province is a key transit route between the capital and Yemen's southern provinces where the al-Qaida militants are most active. Islamist militants have already seized control of a swath of territory and towns in Abyan province in southern Yemen.
An Associated Press photographer who visited Radda on Sunday said the militants were armed with rocket-propelled grenades, automatic rifles and other weapons. He quoted residents as saying the black al-Qaida banner has been raised atop the mosque they captured over the weekend.
The move is likely to raise concern in neighboring Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, and the United States about al-Qaida's spreading presence in Yemen, which lies next to important oil and cargo shipping lanes in the Red Sea.
Washington and Riyadh are pushing for implementation of a deal signed in November under which Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh formally handed power to his deputy to calm unrest and restore order in the impoverished country.
Radda residents said the militants, who stormed the town of 60,000 people overnight Saturday, had killed two policemen, seized the local prison and five police vehicles and were besieging government buildings.
More from msnbc.com and NBC News:
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Qatari leader favors sending Arab troops to Syria (AP)
BEIRUT ? The leader of Qatar has said that Arab troops should be sent to Syria to stop a deadly crackdown that has claimed the lives of thousands of people over the past 10 months.
Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani's comments to CBS "60 Minutes," which will be aired Sunday, are the first statements by an Arab leader calling for the deployment of troops inside Syria. They come amid growing claims that a team of Arab observers dispatched to the country to curb the bloodshed has failed in its mission.
Asked whether he is in favor of Arab nations intervening in Syria, Sheik Hamad said that "for such a situation to stop the killing some troops should go to stop the killing."
Excerpts of the interview were sent to The Associated Press by CBS a day before it was to be aired.
Qatar, which once had close relations with Damascus, has been a harsh critic of the 10-month crackdown by President Bashar Assad's regime. The wealthy and influential Gulf state withdrew its ambassador to Syria in the summer to protest the killings.
Since the Arab Spring began more than a year ago, Qatar has taken an aggressive role, raising its influence in the region. It contributed war planes to the NATO air campaign in Libya, tried to negotiate an exit for Yemen's protest-battered president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, and has taken the lead in Arab countries pressuring Assad.
The leading Qatar-based Al-Jazeera television has also been a strong supporter of the Arab uprisings, although some say the station remained largely silent during anti-government protests in the Gulf state of Bahrain. Qatar and Bahrain are part of the Saudi-led six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council.
Arab League observers began work in Syria on Dec. 27, to verify whether the government is abiding by its agreement to end the military crackdown on dissent.
But far from bringing a halt to the violence, the mission has coincided with an apparent increase in killings. A U.N. official said Tuesday that about 400 people have been killed in the last three weeks alone, on top of an earlier estimate of more than 5,000 killed since March.
Opposition and army defectors meanwhile have increasingly been taking up arms to fight back against government forces.
On Saturday, Syria's state-run news agency SANA reported that "terrorists" detonated an explosive device that derailed a fuel train, setting it ablaze in the northwestern province of Idlib. SANA said three people who were in the train were wounded.
In July, Syria said saboteurs attacked a passenger train in central Syria, killing the driver and wounding scores others. At least five pipelines have been targeted since the anti-Assad uprising began in mid-March.
The government has blamed "saboteurs" for the attacks, and frequently blames the unrest in the country on terrorists and armed gangs.
Also Saturday, an opposition group said a Syrian brigadier-general had fled to Turkey, becoming the highest-ranking officer to defect. Mahmud Osman, a member of the Syrian National Council, said Mostafa Ahmad al-Sheik, the deputy commander in charge of Syria's northern army, fled to Turkey two weeks ago.
Osman said al-Sheik was staying at a camp near Turkey's border with Syria along with other members of the Free Syrian Army, a group of army defectors who switched sides to try to topple the Assad regime.
The group's leader, Col. Riad al-Asaad, claims there are thousands of former soldiers in his ranks. It is impossible to verify independently how many defectors are fighting the regime.
The rising level of violence prompted Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby to warn Friday that Syria may be sliding toward civil war. Elaraby said Assad's regime was either not complying or only partially complying with the Arab League plan, which calls for removing Syrian heavy weapons from city streets, starting talks with opposition leaders and allowing human rights workers and journalists into the country.
The mission has been plagued by problems, including accusations that the Syrian government is interfering with the team's work. This week, one of the observers resigned and told the pan-Arab TV channel Al-Jazeera that the monitor mission was a "farce" because of Syrian government control.
On Saturday, the leader of Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group, a strong ally of Assad's regime, urged Iran, Turkey and Arab states to work on ending the crisis in Syria which many fear could ignite a sectarian war in the region between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.
Sheik Hassan Nasrallah also urged Syria's opposition groups inside and outside the country to "cooperate with President Assad to carry out reforms" and end the crisis.
On Saturday, Lebanese officials said a man was killed by a bullet coming from the Syrian side of the border. The officials said Lebanese citizen Hassan Obeid, 17, died in a clinic where he was rushed after being hit in the stomach in his northern hometown of Bkarha near the border with Syria.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to talk to the press.
Several Lebanese and Syrian citizens have been killed in border areas in Lebanon since the uprising against Assad began.
More than 5,000 Syrians have fled to Lebanon during the uprising.
In the restive central city of Homs, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, troops at a checkpoint opened fire randomly on Saturday, killing two people.
___
Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey contributed to this report.
___
Bassem Mroue can be reached on http://twitter.com/bmroue
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Sunday, January 15, 2012
Greek bond swap talks appear close to collapse
Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos, answers question from journalists after the end of his meeting with Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and Charles Dallara, the head of the Institute of International Finance, which represents Greece's private bondholders, in Athens, on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012. The Greek government was holding crucial talks with its private investors on Thursday to finally reach a deal on a bond swap that would reduce the country's debt load and is an integral part of its second bailout package. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos, answers question from journalists after the end of his meeting with Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and Charles Dallara, the head of the Institute of International Finance, which represents Greece's private bondholders, in Athens, on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012. The Greek government was holding crucial talks with its private investors on Thursday to finally reach a deal on a bond swap that would reduce the country's debt load and is an integral part of its second bailout package. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
Charles Dallara, the head of the Institute of International Finance, which represents Greece's private bondholders, leaves after his meeting with Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and finance chief Evangelos Venizelos, in Athens, on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012.The Greek government was holding crucial talks with its private investors on Thursday to finally reach a deal on a bond swap that would reduce the country's debt load and is an integral part of its second bailout package. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
Tourists walk next to the ruins of the 5th century B.C. Temple of Poseidon as the Saronic Gulf is seen in the background at Cape Sounion, south of Athens, on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012. Greece's development minister admitted Wednesday that the debt-crippled country's budget deficit would hit 9.6 percent of GDP in 2011, more than the 9 percent initially projected. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
ATHENS, Greece (AP) ? Crucial negotiations between the Greek government and its private creditors on a bond swap deal needed to avoid default appeared close to collapse Friday, with representatives of the bondholders saying they had been "paused for reflection."
The deal aims to reduce Greece's debt by euro100 billion ($127.8 billion) by swapping private creditors' bonds with new ones with a lower value, and is a key part of a euro130 billion ($166 billion) international bailout.
Without it, the country could suffer a catastrophic bankruptcy that would send shockwaves through the global economy. The bailout tops a first, euro110 billion program agreed in May 2010, when the country's borrowing costs soared to untenable heights.
Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos met on Thursday and Friday with Charles Dallara and Jean Lemierre of the Institute of International Finance, a global body representing the private bondholders. Finance ministry officials from the eurozone also met in Brussels Thursday night on the issue.
"Unfortunately, despite the efforts of Greece's leadership, the proposal put forward ... which involves an unprecedented 50 percent nominal reduction of Greece's sovereign bonds in private investors' hands and up to euro100 billion of debt forgiveness ? has not produced a constructive consolidated response by all parties, consistent with a voluntary exchange of Greek sovereign debt," the IIF said in a statement.
"Under the circumstances, discussions with Greece and the official sector are paused for reflection on the benefits of a voluntary approach," it said. "We very much hope, however, that Greece, with the support of the Euro Area, will be in a position to re-engage constructively with the private sector with a view to finalizing a mutually acceptable agreement."
Discussions in Athens on Friday and during the finance ministry officials' meeting in Brussels on Thursday had been "very, very tense," one person close to the talks said.
The finance ministry officials clashed over the interest rates that the new bonds should carry, other people familiar with the talks said. Some governments had demanded an interest rate of as low as 3 percent, a very low rate for bonds that are paid off in 20 to 30 years' time, according to another source. All spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the talks.
The interest rate is key to determining the cost of the second bailout for Greece's official creditors ? the eurozone and the IMF.
Just after Friday's meetings ended, a senior Greek government official ? who likewise spoke on condition of anonymity because of the confidential nature of the negotiations ? said the talks would likely resume next week, possibly on Wednesday. IIF spokesman Frank Vogl said that would depend on developments over the coming days.
Greece is rushing to reach a deal on the bond swap that would reduce its privately-held debt by roughly half, ahead of a major euro14.5 billion bond redemption in late March. Without the deal, and funding from the country's second bailout, the country faces a messy default.
The talks are being complicated by the large number of actors involved in the broader bailout deal. Not only the Greeks and the IIF, but the 17 euro countries and the International Monetary Fund also have to sign off.
One key aspect of the bond deal is what percentage of private bondholders are willing to sign up to it. Without voluntary participation by the creditors, the agreement could be considered a "credit event", which would trigger the payout of credit default swaps ? essentially insurance against a default.
The eurozone fears that a CDS payout could causer further turbulence on financial markets and hurt banks that have sold them.
One option would be for Greece to include so-called "collective action clauses," which could force reluctant private creditors to sign up to the deal if a majority of bondholders are willing to participate.
Government spokesman Pantelis Kapsis said the country has not yet decided whether to submit such a bill to Parliament, a move that would pave the way for the collective action clauses to be included.
"There is no decision as to if and when" such a bill could be submitted, Kapsis told the Associated Press.
Another issue is whether the deal will fall under English or Greek jurisdiction ? something that Kapsis said was still being negotiated.
"It is not a given that we will go under English law," he said in an interview on Athens 9.84 radio.
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Steinhauser reported from Brussels. Nicholas Paphitis in Athens contributed.
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