Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/178046522?client_source=feed&format=rss
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Monday, December 19, 2011
Cleveland casino gets 16,000 job applications in 4 days (Reuters)
CLEVELAND (Reuters) ? A soon-to-open Cleveland casino was bombarded with job applications from 16,000 people in just four days after announcing openings for 750 positions, a casino official said on Saturday.
Due to the high volume of responses, the Horseshoe Casino took down about half of the job openings on Friday and is now shifting through the resumes to find qualified candidates.
"We are utilizing employees all across the county to review applicants," Jennifer Kulczycki of Rock Gaming, parent company of the casino, told Reuters Saturday.
"We were blown out of the water by the numbers but we announced we would hire 90 percent of our staff from the Cleveland area and we are sure we will meet that goal."
This is the second round of job postings the casino, slated to open in March, has put on its website.
Ohio voters approved four casinos in the state in November 2009. Dan Gilbert, owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers professional basketball team, also owns Rock Gaming, and partnered with Caesars Entertainment Corp. to build the casino in Cleveland.
According to Kulczycki, the most sought-after positions during this round were security, cage cashier, food and beverage workers and administrative assistants.
In September, the casino posted more than 600 job openings and 12,000 people applied over the course of one month. Eventually that number was whittled down to 4,000 and more than 600 are currently receiving free training.
According to Kulczycki, employees will sort through the applications from this round and invite about 4,000 to in-person interviews. Those who do well will be receive a conditional job offer.
(Editing by Mary Wisniewski and Jerry Norton)
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Sunday, December 18, 2011
The deal averting a government shutdown: Who achieved what? (The Week)
New York ? Congress reached an 11th-hour deal to keep federal agencies running. But the horse-trading isn't over
Just 27 hours before a deadline that could have shut down the federal government at midnight Friday, Democrats and Republicans reached an agreement on a $1 trillion spending bill that will keep the lights on through the end of the fiscal year in September, 2012. They still have to work out the particulars of another sticking point ? a separate measure extending a temporary payroll tax cut and jobless benefits. So what did both parties gain, and give up, to break the impasse? Here, a brief guide:
So, the parties settled their differences?
Not exactly. They still have to work out how to pay for the $120 billion payroll tax cut extension for 160 million workers, to keep it from expiring on Dec. 31. But they got close enough that the White House and Senate Democrats figured it was safe to detach the payroll-tax issue from the spending bill, which they were delaying in an attempt to force the GOP to negotiate. Now Congress can approve the spending bill, and focus on settling lingering differences over the payroll tax.
SEE MORE: 6 people celebrating the super committee's collapse
?
Who caved?
Both sides gave up a little on the spending measure. "The final bill strips out a Republican amendment to the Treasury budget to reinstate Bush-era restrictions on travel to Cuba" ? something President Obama opposed, says David Rogers at Politico. But it also includes some GOP provisions that are hard for Democrats to swallow, such as one blocking new, greener standards for light bulbs.
Will extending the payroll tax be easy now?
Both sides say a deal is near, although anything can happen. Democrats have reportedly dropped their insistence on offsetting the cost with a surtax on people making more than $1 million a year, which was a dealbreaker for the GOP. But Republicans haven't budged on one provision Democrats have described as a poison pill ? a controversial proposal to expedite the review of the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
SEE MORE: The super committee's 'epic' failure: What now?
?
What happens if they can't agree?
Both sides want to extend the payroll tax holiday. If they let it expire, the portion of Americans' paychecks withheld for Social Security and Medicare will rise 2 percent ? from 4.2 percent to 6.2 percent. In such a scenario, someone making $50,000 would have to pay $1,000 more in payroll taxes. To avoid that, Congress is likely to pass a two-month extension if no long-term agreement is in sight. That way members will be able to head home for the holidays, and put off a final showdown until February.
Sources: CNN, NY Times, Politico, Washington Post
View this article on TheWeek.com
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Runaway whippet fouls up flights in Manchester
A runaway whippet gave security crews a good run?on Saturday after forcing the closure of one runway at?Manchester Airport, airport officials said.
One flight from Istanbul was diverted to Birmingham and dozens of other flights were delayed during the chase, which lasted about 40 minutes at the United Kingdom's fourth busiest airport,?the Manchester Evening News reported.
Gary Brown, the airport?s duty manager, told the?newspaper that?his crews hustled for quite a while to collar the?dog after it ran away from its owners during a walk nearby.
Security officials raised the alarm about 10:40 a.m. local time to halt take-offs and landings after the speedy pet raced onto the air field, bypassing an access point into a cargo area, the newspaper reported.?
?It took some time to catch it. The airfield is obviously quite a big area," Brown said, adding, "Because of the delay, there was a buildup of flights and we had to suspend a Turkish Airways flight from Istanbul. It was diverted to Birmingham, refueled and has now made its way up here.
?Basically, if there is any lost animal on the runway, we have to stop all flights straight away. Fortunately, we?ve cleared the backlog.??
More on Overhead Bin
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Saturday, December 17, 2011
Pilot error may have caused Iran drone crash (Reuters)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? The United States is investigating a combination of pilot error and mechanical failure as possible causes for the crash of a classified U.S. drone in Iran and does not believe Iran brought down the plane, according to two U.S. government officials.
The unmanned RQ-170 Sentinel drone, which had been on a sensitive CIA surveillance mission over Iran, crashed and was apparently reassembled by Iran before being put on display in Tehran, said one of the officials, who was speaking on condition of anonymity given the sensitive nature of the investigation.
While exactly what went wrong with the aircraft is not publicly known, it is now becoming clear that its operators could have crashed the plane and destroyed it if they had taken action while it was still at a higher altitude, according to a source familiar with the aircraft and its operation.
Instead, the stealthy drone built by Lockheed Martin Corp broke up into several large pieces, allowing Iran to reassemble the plane and possibly share some of its technological secrets with China, Russia or other U.S. competitors.
Once the plane, built by Lockheed Martin Corp, dropped to a low enough altitude, its aerodynamic design made a catastrophic crash impossible, said one person familiar with the plane's design and operating procedures.
Pilot error has not been confirmed, but it is one of the causes under examination, according to the two officials.
The new information explains why the drone was not destroyed and instead fell into Iran's hands in an incident that has significantly heightened tensions with the United States.
Iran announced on December 4 it had downed the spy plane in the eastern part of the country, near Afghanistan. It has since shown an image of the apparently intact plane on television and said it is close to cracking its technological secrets.
Iranian officials have variously claimed they shot the plane down, or duped it into landing by resetting its navigational information.
The incident was the latest in a series that have escalated a confrontation between Iran and the West, which accuses the Islamic Republic of trying to develop nuclear weapons. Iran denies that charge.
U.S. President Barack Obama has asked Iran to return the drone, but Iranian officials say they do not plan to give it back.
U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, have confirmed the plane was on a CIA surveillance mission over Iran, but adamantly deny Iran shot it down, or brought it down through computer hacking.
Early on, officials said it likely suffered a technical malfunction, but this is the first time officials have raised the possibility of pilot error.
Lockheed has confirmed it makes the RQ-170 drone, which came out of its secretive Skunk Works facility in southern California, but is referring all questions about the current incident to the Air Force, which first acknowledged the existence of the drone in December 2009.
The plane measures over 40 feet from wing tip to wing tip, and carries a full-motion video sensor that was used this year by U.S. intelligence to monitor al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan ahead of the raid that killed him.
The main concern about technology Iran could pilfer from the drone centers on special coatings on the craft's surface that make it largely invisible to radar.
The computers onboard the drone are believed to have been heavily encrypted and its sensors were not the most sophisticated tools in the U.S. arsenal.
The United States and other Western nations tightened sanctions on Iran last week and Britain withdrew its diplomatic staff from Tehran after hard-line youths stormed two diplomatic compounds.
The United States has not ruled out military action against Iran's nuclear facilities if diplomacy fails to resolve a dispute over the program, which Washington believes is aimed at developing atomic weapons.
(Reporting By Andrea Shalal-Esa)
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4 UC Riverside researchers receive national recognition
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Public release date: 16-Dec-2011[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Iqbal Pittalwala
iqbal@ucr.edu
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University of California - Riverside
5 alumni also honored as fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
RIVERSIDE, Calif. Four researchers at the University of California, Riverside have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Including this year's fellows, the total number of UC Riverside faculty members who have been recognized with AAAS Fellow distinction is 194.
Election as a fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers. This year AAAS gave this honor to 539 of its members "because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications."
The 2011 AAAS Fellows at UCR are:
Xuemei Chen, a professor of plant cell and molecular biology: "For pioneering discoveries in the field of plant biology in small RNA metabolism and plant development."
Rajiv Gupta, a professor of computer science and engineering: "For contributions to computer architecture and optimizing compilers."
Yingbo Hua, a professor of electrical engineering: "For distinguished contributions to research, teaching and services in signal processing and its applications."
Yinsheng Wang, a professor of chemistry: "For distinguished contributions to the field of bioanalytical chemistry, particularly in the development of novel analytical methods enabling understanding of the biological consequences of DNA damage."
Five UCR alumni were named AAAS Fellows this year: Brian M. Barnes ('77 B.S., Biology) of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks; Bradford Hawkins ('84 Ph.D., Entomology) of UC Irvine; Kevin Plaxco ('86 B.S., Biochemistry and Chemistry) of UC Santa Barbara; David C. Geary ('84 M.A., '86 Ph.D., Psychology) of the University of Missouri-Columbia; and Gerald E. Edwards ('69 Ph.D., Plant Science) of Washington State University.
New fellows will be presented with an official certificate and a gold and blue (representing science and engineering, respectively) rosette pin on Feb. 18 during the annual meeting of the AAAS in Vancouver, Canada.
###
All the 2011 AAAS Fellows will be announced in the Dec. 23 issue of Science, a weekly magazine published by the AAAS.
The tradition of AAAS Fellows began in 1874. Currently, members can be considered for the rank of fellow if nominated by the steering groups of the AAAS's sections; by three fellows; or by the association's chief executive officer.
The AAAS is the world's largest general scientific society. Founded in 1848, the association includes 262 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals.
The University of California, Riverside (www.ucr.edu) is a doctoral research university, a living laboratory for groundbreaking exploration of issues critical to Inland Southern California, the state and communities around the world. Reflecting California's diverse culture, UCR's enrollment has exceeded 20,500 students. The campus will open a medical school in 2013 and has reached the heart of the Coachella Valley by way of the UCR Palm Desert Center. The campus has an annual statewide economic impact of more than $1 billion.
A broadcast studio with fiber cable to the AT&T Hollywood hub is available for live or taped interviews. UCR also has ISDN for radio interviews. To learn more, call (951) UCR-NEWS.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 16-Dec-2011[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Iqbal Pittalwala
iqbal@ucr.edu
951-827-6050
University of California - Riverside
5 alumni also honored as fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
RIVERSIDE, Calif. Four researchers at the University of California, Riverside have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Including this year's fellows, the total number of UC Riverside faculty members who have been recognized with AAAS Fellow distinction is 194.
Election as a fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers. This year AAAS gave this honor to 539 of its members "because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications."
The 2011 AAAS Fellows at UCR are:
Xuemei Chen, a professor of plant cell and molecular biology: "For pioneering discoveries in the field of plant biology in small RNA metabolism and plant development."
Rajiv Gupta, a professor of computer science and engineering: "For contributions to computer architecture and optimizing compilers."
Yingbo Hua, a professor of electrical engineering: "For distinguished contributions to research, teaching and services in signal processing and its applications."
Yinsheng Wang, a professor of chemistry: "For distinguished contributions to the field of bioanalytical chemistry, particularly in the development of novel analytical methods enabling understanding of the biological consequences of DNA damage."
Five UCR alumni were named AAAS Fellows this year: Brian M. Barnes ('77 B.S., Biology) of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks; Bradford Hawkins ('84 Ph.D., Entomology) of UC Irvine; Kevin Plaxco ('86 B.S., Biochemistry and Chemistry) of UC Santa Barbara; David C. Geary ('84 M.A., '86 Ph.D., Psychology) of the University of Missouri-Columbia; and Gerald E. Edwards ('69 Ph.D., Plant Science) of Washington State University.
New fellows will be presented with an official certificate and a gold and blue (representing science and engineering, respectively) rosette pin on Feb. 18 during the annual meeting of the AAAS in Vancouver, Canada.
###
All the 2011 AAAS Fellows will be announced in the Dec. 23 issue of Science, a weekly magazine published by the AAAS.
The tradition of AAAS Fellows began in 1874. Currently, members can be considered for the rank of fellow if nominated by the steering groups of the AAAS's sections; by three fellows; or by the association's chief executive officer.
The AAAS is the world's largest general scientific society. Founded in 1848, the association includes 262 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals.
The University of California, Riverside (www.ucr.edu) is a doctoral research university, a living laboratory for groundbreaking exploration of issues critical to Inland Southern California, the state and communities around the world. Reflecting California's diverse culture, UCR's enrollment has exceeded 20,500 students. The campus will open a medical school in 2013 and has reached the heart of the Coachella Valley by way of the UCR Palm Desert Center. The campus has an annual statewide economic impact of more than $1 billion.
A broadcast studio with fiber cable to the AT&T Hollywood hub is available for live or taped interviews. UCR also has ISDN for radio interviews. To learn more, call (951) UCR-NEWS.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-12/uoc--fur121611.php
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Justin Bieber holiday special lands at TLC (Reuters)
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) ? Christmas just came early for Justin Bieber fans -- or at least, the Justin Bieber fans who watch TLC.
The network will air the one-hour holiday special "This Is Justin Bieber" on Wednesday, December 21 at 9 p.m. The special will take viewers "beyond the music and past the hype with an intimate look into the inner workings of Justin Bieber's world," according to TLC.
Filmed in England, the special finds the "Baby" singer embarking on a private tour of London with British television personality Reggie Yates, performing on the British "X Factor," and collaborating with British "Pass Out" rapper Tinie Tempah.
Intrigued and enthralled to the point of distraction? Of course -- how couldn't you be? Give yourself a little taste of things to come with this preview clip from "This Is Justin Bieber."
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Friday, December 16, 2011
Factbox: Key quotes from Republican presidential debate (Reuters)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? Republican presidential hopefuls competing to challenge U.S. President Barack Obama in 2012 faced off in a debate in Iowa on Thursday, where the state-by-state Republican nominating contest kicks off in less than three weeks.
Here are some of their main quotes.
NEWT GINGRICH, FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES
Defending his merit as front-runner:
"I believe I can debate Barack Obama and I think in seven three-hour debates Barack Obama will not have a leg to stand on."
Before answering a question on the Keystone pipeline:
"You know I sometimes get accused of using language that's too strong. So I've been standing here editing. I'm very concerned about not appearing to be zany."
On Michele Bachmann saying he supported partial-birth abortion:
"I have consistently opposed partial birth abortion. I in fact would like to see us go much further than that and eliminate abortions as a choice ... as president I would defund planned parenthood and shift the money to pay for adoption services."
MITT ROMNEY, FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR
On how he compares with Gingrich:
"I spent my life in the private sector. I can debate President Obama based upon that understanding. I'll have credibility on the economy when he doesn't. I know what it takes to get this economy going. The president doesn't."
Complaining that Obama asked Iran to give back a downed U.S. drone:
"A foreign policy based on pretty please? You got to be kidding."
Defending past statements about illegal immigrants:
"Get in line behind everyone else. My view is: people who've come here illegally, we welcome you to apply, but you must get in the back of the line."
On changing his stance on gay rights and abortion:
"I am firmly in support of people not being discriminated against based upon their sexual orientation. At the same time, I oppose same-sex marriage. With regards to abortion, I changed my mind ... My experience in life ... has told me that sometimes I was wrong. Where I was wrong I tried to correct myself."
MICHELE BACHMANN, U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM MINNESOTA
On Gingrich's work for mortgage giant Freddie Mac:
"Evidence is that Speaker Gingrich took 1.6 million dollars. You don't need to be within the technical definition of being a lobbyist to still be influence-peddling with senior Republicans."
"Speaker Gingrich said that he would actively support and campaign for Republicans who got behind the barbaric practice of partial birth abortions ... What virtue is there in tolerating infanticide?"
RON PAUL, U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM TEXAS
"I would be a different kind of president. I wouldn't be looking for more power. I as the president wouldn't want to run the world."
On Bachmann calling for stronger U.S. action on Iran:
"You're trying to dramatize this that we have to go and treat Iran like we've treated Iraq ... You cannot solve these problems with war."
On whether he would support the eventual nominee:
"Anybody up here can probably beat Obama."
JON HUNTSMAN, FORMER UTAH GOVERNOR
On the state of the country:
"We have been kicked around as people. We are getting screwed as Americans."
RICK PERRY, TEXAS GOVERNOR
On his poor debate performances
"I hope I am the Tim Tebow of the Iowa caucuses. There were a lot of folks who said Tim Tebow would not be very good professional quarterback," he said.
On Washington deadlock:
"That's the reason I've called for a part-time Congress. Cut their pay in half. Send them home. Let them get a job like everybody else back home has."
(Compiled by Lily Kuo in Washington; editing by Mohammad Zargham)
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Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Storms spark debate over Conn. trees
By The Associated Press
?HARTFORD, Conn. -- Once again, Connecticut's trees are at the center of a storm.
Countless trees and limbs were brought down by the remnants of Hurricane Irene in late August. Two months later, trees with their leaves still fully on branches were overwhelmed by a rare October snowstorm and were felled by heavy snow.
Both times, overhead electric lines were tangled in downed branches, which blocked roads and slowed repair trucks.
Politicians, utilities and tree-lovers are now battling over the future of trees in one of the most heavily forested states.
Investigations are focusing on how to avoid future widespread outages such as those that affected more than 800,000 utility customers for a week or longer in October and early November. One solution that's emerging is to trim or remove trees to provide greater clearance for overhead wires.
Opponents of broader tree clearance have skewed priorities, said state Sen. Steve Cassano, D-Manchester.
"Those same people were not pleased to not have power for eight days or 10, let alone two blackouts in six, eight weeks," he said.
The cause of the outages was obvious, Cassano said.
"The reason the power was down was because of trees," he said. "We have been complaining about being over-treed, and a lot of people would probably disagree."
The Greenwich Tree Conservancy would disagree. It's urging state officials to require Connecticut Light & Power to bury power lines to avoid tree removal.
"The cutting down of hundreds of thousands of trees is not going to solve the problem," said Peter Malkin, president of the group. "It would be an environmental disaster."
He said trimming also is unacceptable because it "takes the heart out of the trees and they die."
But United Illuminating, which serves 325,000 customers, says burying power lines is prohibitively expensive.
"It isn't prudent and customers don't appear to be in the mood to pay those costs," said spokesman Michael West.
In addition, trimming alone does not solve the problem, he said. United Illuminating trimmed trees in its easements and outages still occurred, he said.
Malkin said not burying power lines leads to costly cleanup and restoration operations after destructive storms. Connecticut Light & Power and its parent company, Northeast Utilities, have said it expects the tab to be $200 million or more for cleanup and restoration related to the two storms.
Utilities are required to provide uninterrupted service, but fail to do so when the weather turns nasty, Malkin said.
"The system we have in Connecticut is 19th-century. It must be updated," Malkin said.
Mitch Gross, a spokesman for Connecticut Light & Power, said the utility has 17,000 miles of electric lines and interest by towns in burying lines evaporates when CL&P officials mention the cost. In addition, lines belonging to cable and telephone companies also would have to be buried in construction projects that are extremely disruptive, Gross said.
In the conflict between aesthetics and trimming or removing trees to ensure reliable electricity, the balance has shifted to cutting trees because of the outages, said Dave Goodson, manager of vegetation management at CL&P.
The state's largest utility is asking Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and legislators to change state law that limits tree cutting and trimming, he said. For example, making it easier to cut trees on private property and streamlining an array of state laws and local ordinances governing tree maintenance in scores of towns are among changes that are needed, Goodson said.
"There is no short-term fix here," he said.
The battle over trees covers a lot of ground. As much as 58 percent of Connecticut is forested, making it 12th among the states in forest cover, said Jeffrey Ward, chief scientist at the Department of Forestry and Horticulture at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station.
"That's one of our connections to nature," he said. "When you think of New England, you think of stone walls and trees."
? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/04/9205727-storms-spark-debate-over-conn-trees
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Monday, December 5, 2011
Ratings: "Prime Suspect" up 18 percent but Fox wins the night (Reuters)
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) ? NBC's troubled crime drama "Prime Suspect" received an encouraging bump in the ratings Thursday night, while Fox dominated overall with "X Factor" and "Bones," according to preliminary numbers.
"The X Factor," on Fox at 8 p.m., grew 19 percent over its most recent performance show on November 23, with a 3.1/9 in the adults 18-49 demographic -- making it the highest-rated program of the night -- and 10.2 million total viewers.
"Bones" followed at 10 with a slight improvement over its last original airing two weeks ago, taking a 2.8/7 and 8.8 million total viewers. Combined, the two shows gave Fox an overall ratings win with an average 3.0/8; the network was also the most-watched of the evening, with an average 9.5 million total viewers.
NBC saw some slight glimmers of hope with its Thursday night lineup. "Community" -- which sent off alarm signals last month when it was yanked from the network's midseason schedule -- saw a minor uptick at 8, inching up 6 percent from its last original airing two weeks ago for a 1.7/5 and 3.9 million total viewers. But no such luck for "Parks & Recreation" at 8:30, which slipped 10 percent and tied its series low with a 1.8.5 and 3.7 million total viewers.
"The Office" at 9 remained static compared to its last new episode two weeks ago, taking a 2.9/8 and 5.7 million total viewers, while "Whitney" at 9:30 also remained flat, receiving a 1.9/5 and 4 million total viewers. (While holding steady with its last new show two weeks ago, "Whitney" still tied a series low in the demographic.)
"Prime Suspect" -- whose fate is very much in doubt, after the network shut down production in mid-November -- enjoyed a minor reprieve from the bad news, bouncing back for an 18 percent improvement from two weeks ago with a 1.3/4 (which is still down considerably from its weak September premiere) and 4.6 million total viewers.
ABC ran the holiday specials "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" at 8 (2.2/6; 7.2 million total viewers) and "CMA Country Christmas" at 9 (2.1/5; 9 million total viewers).
CBS ran repeats throughout the evening.
Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tv/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111202/tv_nm/us_tvratings
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Sunday, December 4, 2011
Egypt to announce next government Wednesday
CAIRO?? Egypt's new government will be announced Wednesday, state owned al-Ahram newspaper quoted Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri as saying Saturday.
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The announcement of the government was postponed from Sunday to Wednesday, Ganzouri said, because of difficulties in appointing a new interior minister hours before the parliamentary election's first stage run-offs.
The run-offs take place over two days, starting Monday.
Earlier, Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood called on its rivals to accept the will of the people on Saturday after a first-round vote set its party on course to take the most seats in the country's first freely elected parliament in six decades.
Preliminary results showed the Brotherhood's liberal rivals could be pushed into third place behind ultra-conservative Salafi Islamists, mirroring the trend in other Arab countries where political systems have opened up after popular uprisings.
According to media reports, preliminary results leaked to the press showed the Muslim Brotherhood as getting 40 percent of the vote; the conservative Salafi al-Nour party getting 20 percent of the vote; the liberal and secular al-Kutla and al-Masriya parties getting 15 percent. Other moderate, secular and progressive parties followed with smaller percentages of the vote, the reportedly leaked results showed, NBC News said.
The results could not be independently confirmed.
The Brotherhood is Egypt's best-organized political group and popular among the poor for its long record of charity work. Banned but semi-tolerated under President Hosni Mubarak, who was toppled on February 11 by a street revolt, the Brotherhood now wants a role in shaping the country's future.
Rivals accused the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party of using handouts of cheap food and medicine to influence voters and of breaking election rules by lobbying outside voting stations.
The Brotherhood told critics to back off and respect the result.
Slideshow: Elections in Egypt (on this page)
"We call upon everyone, and all those who associate themselves with democracy, to respect the will of the people and accept their choice," it said in a statement after the first-round vote, which drew an official turnout of 62 percent.
"Those who weren't successful ... should work hard to serve people to win their support next time," the Brotherhood added.
The world is watching the election for pointers to the future in Egypt, the most populous Arab nation and one hitherto seen as a firm U.S. ally committed to preserving its peace treaty with Israel and fighting Islamist militancy.
The Brotherhood's political opponents say it seeks to impose sharia (Islamic law) on a country that also has a large Christian minority.
The movement insists it will pursue a moderate agenda if it wins power and do nothing to damage an economy reliant on millions of Western tourists.
Highest turnout 'since the Pharaohs'
Abdul Moez Ibrahim, the head of the election committee, joked that the turnout was the highest in any Egyptian election "since the pharaohs." It was even greater than in the "forgeries of the past elections," he added, referring to the Mubarak era.
He said 8.3 million of 13.6 million registered voters in areas that voted in the first round had cast their ballots. Other parts of the country will vote in two more rounds, and run-offs must also be held in a six-week election process.
"The blood of martyrs has watered the tree of freedom, social justice and the rule of law. We are now reaping its first fruits," Ibrahim said in tribute to more than 850 people killed in a popular revolt that toppled Mubarak in February.
Ibrahim earlier announced the results of only a handful of clear-cut victories for individual candidates, with most going to run-offs next week, and gave no figures for party lists in the polls.
He said four candidates, two from the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) and two liberals, won over 50 percent of votes for outright victory out of 56 individual seats at stake.
The FJP said 39 of its candidates would fight run-off races. The party dominates a coalition with other smaller parties. Their coalition will be contesting 45 seats.
Yousry Hamad, a senior official of the Salafi Nour Party, said 26 of its contenders were involved in run-offs, 24 of them going head-to-head with FJP candidates.
Muslim Brotherhood bends rules to win big in Egypt"We will go into the run-offs with all our might and there will be no deals with anyone. We will aim to do better than we have already," Nour leader Emad Abdel Ghafour told Reuters.
In Egypt's complex election process, two-thirds of the 498 seats will go proportionately to party lists, with the rest to individual candidates.
Gains for Salafi party?
The Muslim Brotherhood, banned but semi-tolerated under Mubarak, has said its FJP expects to win 43 percent of party list votes in the first stage, building on the Islamist group's decades of grassroots social and religious work.
But the Brotherhood's website also forecast that the Salafi al-Nour party would gain 30 percent of the vote, a shock for some Egyptians, especially minority Christian Copts, who fear it will try to impose strict Islamic codes on society.
Nour said Thursday it expected 20 percent of the vote.
PhotoBlog: 'Massive' turnout in Egyptian electionsAs in Saudi Arabia, Salafis want to bar women and Christians from executive posts. They would also ban alcohol, mixed beach bathing and "un-Islamic" art and literature.
Such curbs would wreck Egypt's vital tourism industry, which employs about one in eight of the workforce.
More secular-minded Egyptian parties, some of which were only formed after Mubarak's fall, had always feared that they would not have enough time to put up a credible challenge to their experienced and better-funded Islamist rivals.
The liberal multi-party Egyptian Bloc has said it is on track to secure about a fifth of votes for party lists.
Ibrahim, the election chief, acknowledged several violations in Monday and Tuesday's voting, notably campaigning outside polling stations, long queues, failure to stamp some ballots, and late arrival of ballot papers and of a few of the supervising judges. He said these did not affect the results.
Promise of civilian rule
Egypt's ruling generals, who have promised civilian rule by July, have said they will keep powers to appoint or fire a cabinet even after an elected parliament is installed.
The United States, which still gives Egypt about $1.3 billion a year in mostly military aid, has urged the ruling generals to step aside swiftly and make way for civilian rule.
The leader of the Brotherhood's FJP appeared to set the stage for a political tussle with the military this week by saying the majority in parliament should form the government, but the party later said it was premature to discuss the issue.
The FJP says its priorities are ending corruption, reviving the economy and establishing a true democracy in Egypt.
Ever pragmatic, the Brotherhood may avoid allying with Salafis in parliament and seek more moderate coalition partners to reassure Egyptians and foreigners of its intentions.
Senior FJP official Essam el-Erian said before the vote that
Salafis, who had kept a low profile and shunned politics during Mubarak's 30-year rule, would be "a burden for any coalition."
Kamal al-Ganzouri, asked by the army to form a "national salvation government," aims to complete it soon. State television said the cabinet was still being formed, but included at least half of the outgoing team.
Protesters in Tahrir have rejected Ganzouri, 78.
"It is unacceptable that after the revolution, an old man comes and governs. We don't want the army council anymore. they should go back to barracks," said Menatallah Abdel Meguid, 24.
NBC News and Reuters contributed to this report.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45533234/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/
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Saturday, December 3, 2011
Prosecutor seeks Sudan defense minister arrest (AP)
THE HAGUE, Netherlands ? The International Criminal Court prosecutor sought an arrest warrant Friday for Sudan's defense minister on crimes against humanity and war crimes charges for allegedly helping orchestrate atrocities in Darfur.
The request brings to three the number of senior Sudanese leaders ? including President Omar al-Bashir ? accused of crimes in Darfur.
Luis Moreno-Ocampo said in a filing to judges that Defense Minister Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein is among those who "bear greatest criminal responsibility" for atrocities in the Sudanese region from August 2003 to March 2004.
At the time, Hussein was interior minister and the Sudan government's special representative in Darfur.
He is accused of overseeing a state-sponsored plan to attack villages in western Darfur. Prosecutors say government troops would surround the villages, air force planes would bomb them and then soldiers, including janjaweed militia fighters, would descend on the ruins, raping and killing those who survived the initial aerial onslaught.
A panel of judges will study evidence filed by Moreno-Ocampo before deciding whether to issue a warrant.
The court already has indicted al-Bashir on genocide charges along with another of his government ministers and a commander of the janjaweed militia for their alleged roles in widespread attacks on civilians in Darfur.
None of those suspects has been arrested by the court, which has no police force, and al-Bashir has refused to surrender himself or anybody else to the court.
Since his indictment, al-Bashir has repeatedly traveled to friendly nations without being arrested.
Moreno-Ocampo said he made public the arrest warrant request for Hussein to put the case back in the spotlight.
In a statement, his office said the request aims to focus attention on abuses in Sudan and promote the arrest of Hussein and the 3 other individuals subject to ICC warrants.
The Sudanese government denounced the warrant as politically motivated, saying it sought to undermine the Sudanese army's progress against rebel movements fighting the government in provinces along the country's southern border.
"Clearly the prosecutor has carefully chosen his timing to coincide with the victories scored by the Sudanese Armed Forces against the rebels on all operation scenes," Sudan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on the official Sudan News Agency. "We have no doubt that the timing was meant to spoil the victories scored and to raise the failing morale of the rebels."
The rights group the Enough Project, which aims to end genocide and crimes against humanity, welcomed the prosecutor's move. "An arrest warrant would be helpful in that it would focus responsibility for major war crimes more closely on the senior figures in the armed forces who have consistently targeted civilians in the context of their military operations," said John Prendergast, the group's co-founder.
Prosecutors also have indicted two rebels for allegedly leading an attack on an African Union peacekeeper compound in Darfur. Judges dismissed similar charges against another rebel for lack of evidence. All three of the rebels surrendered voluntarily to the Hague-based court last year.
Darfur was plunged into turmoil in 2003, when ethnic African rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated Sudanese government, whom they accused of discrimination.
The Khartoum government is accused of retaliating by unleashing Arab militias on civilians ? a charge the government denies. The U.N. estimates 300,000 people have died and 2.7 million have been displaced in the conflict.
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Intel Working on AR Chip, as Makers of Terminator Apps Rejoice [Guts]
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Friday, December 2, 2011
Richard (RJ) Eskow: Britain's Massive Anti-Austerity Strike: Could It Happen Here?
Millions of employees in Great Britain mounted the first General Strike in many years today, after the country's coalition government threatened to impose more cuts in retirement benefits and pay for public workers.
It was a smash success. As many as two million strikers proved that the public's patience with the unjust fiscal regime known as 'austerity economics' has its limits. It highlighted the important role unions can and must play in the fight for a more just and stable economy.
And it raised an important question for the United States: Could it happen here?
We Have Ignition
The Cameron government struggled to find the right messaging. It claimed that the strike was an inconsequential event involving a mere 960,000 strikers (as if that were a small number), instead of the two million reported in the press.
The Prime Minister even described the strike as a "damp squib." If you're like me you don't know what that means. But a quick Google search revealed that the phrase refers to a firecracker that has failed to ignite, perhaps because it was left out in the rain.
So the strike fizzled, says Mr. Cameron. But his government also accused unions of sabotaging something it described without any apparent irony as an "economic recovery." So which was it: A dud, or sabotage? Apparently consistency is not this government's strong suit.
What was the strike's real impact? As the Globe and Mail reported today:
"58 per cent of public primary and secondary schools are closed completely and only 13 per cent are fully staffed. Hospitals are only taking emergency cases, as most nurses are on strike. In fact, the school where Mr. Cameron and one of his top cabinet ministers send their children ... was largely shut down, with only two classes open ... At Manchester Airport, only 26 of 176 scheduled international flights arrived today ... Garbage collectors, social workers, street cleaners, and some workers at museums and children's centres also closed ."Fizzled? As some New York workers of my youthful acquaintance might have said: I got yer "damp squib" right here, pal.
Nailed
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary defines "austerity" as "enforced or extreme economy," or as an "ascetic practice" - you know, like those wandering monks who starved themselves or slept on a bed of nails. "Austerity economics" is the practice of forcing others to sleep on a proverbial bed of nails, to pay for the financial disasters caused by those who sleep on silk and satin.
Soundlike class-warfare hyperbole ? Consider this: Even as the Cameron government was cutting benefits for teachers, nurses, airport workers, and other public employees, new efforts were underway to rescue British and European banks yet again for their unwise lending practices, this time to European governments.
Hypocrisy? Well, yeah.
As Brendan Barber, the general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, observed: "This is a government that scrapped the tax on bankers' bonuses." While bankers revel in their government-subsidized riches, the poorest 10% of Great Britain's population saw their real income fall over the last decade, according to a recent report, while the "richest tenth of the population have seen much bigger proportional rises in their incomes than any other group."
Gold-Plated
You can't ask people to sacrifice their financial security without giving them an enemy to hate, so conservatives in the United States fingered public-sector union employees as the source of our economic misery. Millions of people actually believe that the country's financial problems were caused by bus drivers making $45,000 a year.
They're using the same playbook in the UK. While bailed-out bankers enjoying their usual round of bonuses and raises,public employees face a two-year pay freeze and a 3% increase in pension contributions. The end result could be net pay cuts of as much as 15% by 2014.
How does a government justify that? By using the well-oiled phrases of the parsimonious elite, honed by consultants and then echoed endlessly by politicians and journalists. In this case the phrase they've chosen is "gold-plated pensions." A Google search on that phrase comes up with nearly half a million results.
The Daily Mail, house organ of Britain's morally degraded wealthy, routinely runs stories like the one it ran today, which begins "Taxpayers cannot afford to fund the latest gold-plated pensions, business leaders say." Three days ago a Daily Mail headline screamed,"Union barons behind the strike that will cripple Britain enjoy gold-plated pensions."
The phrase "gold-plated pension" appears 9,500 times on the Daily Mail website.
The Daily Mail is owned by a gentleman named "Harold Jonathan Esmond Vere Harmsworth, 4th Viscount Rothermere," whose net worth exceeds one billion US dollars. By contrast, the average public employee's retirement income in the United Kingdom is $4,650 per year.
The only thing 'gold-plated' about British pensions is the gold-plated BS that's being spread about them by self-serving (but hardly self-made) billionaire heirs like ... well, like "Harold Jonathan Esmond Vere Harmsworth, 4th Viscount Rothermere."
This Economy Will Self-Destruct in 10 Seconds
These austerity measures are brutal and unfair, and they punish innocent people for the mistakes of others. But at least they're working, right?
Wrong. Austerity is devastating the British economy. There are 3.8 million 'workless households' in Great Britain, and 1.8 million children live in them. As of last August, retail sales had fallen 2.5% and household income was projected to fall another 2% under Cameron's austerity plan. As Paul Krugman explains, the British government is even defying the advice of the typically austerity-minded International Monetary Fund, which really, really thinks they ought to fix the economy before doing more of the budget-cutting that's making things so much worse.
There's more: An OECD analysis released this week concluded that Britain is slipping back into a full-blown recession. the British public's confidence in the economy is the lowest it's been since the height of the financial crisis. And just yesterday the Cameron government was forced to downgrade its own economic forecast. They're not even convincing lenders they're fiscally responsible, which is supposed to be conservatism's strength. Great Britain's credit rating has been downgraded at least five times under their austerity regime.
The austerity types have turned the British economy into a disaster of epic proportions, and now they're proposing more of the same. But then, if they did anything else they would risk incurring the displeasure of Harold Jonathan Esmond Vere Harmsworth, 4th Viscount Rothermere.
So?
Somebody in this country is probably muttering, so what does this have to do with us? Here's what: Austerity economics is dominating our politics, too. We're being subjected to the same warped economic strategies that decimated Britain's economy, and our austerity crowd isn't any more deterred by reality than theirs is.
Why has the Occupy movement touched such a chord? Because misguided, premature debates about austerity - like the ones we've seen in the "Super Committee" and the Deficit Commission - are the ultimate expression of a broken political system that has stopped addressed the concerns of the 99% and is operating in a bubble of unreality.
Just today, as Washington looks for other ways to impose austerity after the Super Committee's collapse, the Federal Reserve announced new actions to save the world's banks one more time - this time from their bad investments in Europe.
People are fed up. They're searching for ways to change things, and they're willing to support a movement for real change. That's why so many governments trying so hard to shut Occupy down.
Different Drums
The New York City's Transport Workers Union was among the first, if not the first, to ally itself with Occupy Wall Street. If you've met many New York City Transport Workers, you know they're not usually the drum circle type. But the US labor movement sees a kindred spirit in Occupy, and vice versa. The two groups need each other. And they can work together brilliantly, as the Port of Oakland strike showed.
The 99% need independent thinkers like Occupy to reignite its imagination and frame new messages. And when unions stand to shoulder to shoulder with students and the other groups that make up Occupy, there's more of everything: more energy, more ideas, more human beings on the front lines.
Can a general strike happen here? Sure it can. The Oakland action must have been particularly disturbing in some quarters, because it nearly became a general strike - one that would have had broad public support.
Any movement should begin its efforts with persuasion and negotiation. But it's hard to negotiate without leverage. Strikes are the best tool working people have for restoring economic balance and fairness. And who organizes strikes? Unions.
The Occupy movement found a message that resonates. Unions can help them make sure the message gets delivered.
The People's Strike
Conservative rhetoric about "union barons" fell flat in Great Britain today. This general strike was the People's Strike. Despite all the 'gold-plated' propaganda, the public overwhelmingly backed the unions. Pollsters asked British citizens if they "support" the strikes and they said yes in striking numbers. 90 percent said "yes" to the Daily Mail's pollsters - which much have galled His Lordship, the Viscount - and 79 percent said "yes" to the Guardian's.
It was the biggest strike in Great Britain since 1926, possibly the biggest in a century. And union leaders warned that there would be more after the New Year if the government doesn't listen.
A "damp squib"? The Cameron government doesn't even know when it's raining. And those clouds could pass this way too, if things don't change. And they need to really change. Rhetorical flourishes from professional politicians won't be enough.
In Britain today, even those TV personalities they call "weathermen" went on strike. But as Bob Dylan once observed, "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows."
?
?
?
Follow Richard (RJ) Eskow on Twitter: www.twitter.com/rjeskow
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/britains-massive-strike-a_b_1122346.html
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Monday, November 28, 2011
FFA chief not convinced '22 will go ahead in Qatar
updated 5:04 a.m. ET Nov. 28, 2011
SYDNEY - Australia's soccer chief isn't convinced the 2022 World Cup will go ahead as planned in Qatar.
Football Federation Australia chairman Frank Lowy said on Monday that the "last word hasn't been heard yet" on the FIFA vote that awarded the event to Qatar over bids from countries including the United States and Australia.
Lowy did not elaborate on how or why Qatar would lose the rights, but said it related to "the state of the FIFA executive committee."
"I don't know whether you recall when I came back from that fateful day (after losing the bid) and I said 'this is not the last word about awarding the World Cup,' " Lowy said after he was formally re-elected as FFA chairman on Monday. "Well, it wasn't the last word.
"Don't ask me to elaborate because I don't have a crystal ball ... but the media all over the world is talking about that, the awarding particularly of '22, the state of the FIFA executive committee ? all that stuff.
"It's not over," Lowy was quoted to say by Australian Associated Press. "I don't exactly know where it will bounce. The only thing I know is it's not over yet."
Qatar's successful bid became implicated in a broad-ranging corruption scandal that plagued FIFA this year, with FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke saying in a leaked email that they "bought the World Cup."
There were accusations of corruption in the bidding process and Mohamed Bin Hammam, the president of the Asian Football Confederation and a campaigner for his native Qatar to host the World Cup, has since been banned for life from all soccer activities on charges of trying to bribe Caribbean voters in his quest to unseat Sepp Blatter as president of FIFA.
Bin Hammam has denied the allegation and is appealing his ban in the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Meanwhile, questions have been raised about the feasibility of Qatar's promise to air-condition stadiums to combat the searing heat in the Middle East during the World Cup window in June and July.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45459925/ns/sports-soccer/
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State Ed commissioner should respond to SAT scandal (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)
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