Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Flying People Spotted Over New York City?Film At Nine

flyingPeople1In a recent publicity venture for their new movie "Chronicle", 20th Century Fox enlisted the help of viral marketing agency Thinkmodo to design and execute a rather unique campaign element that surely caused several doubletakes over the New York City skyline. If you thought you saw some flying humans in the sky over parts of New York City and New Jersey in the last couple of weeks you are, in fact, not crazy. You were merely exposed to a new kind of avant garde marketing technique brought to you by the same folks that unleashed the iPad Head Girl a few months back.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/sRvDlapRSE0/

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Could the GOP impeach Obama for ending the Bush tax cuts? (The Week)

New York ? Though liberals are scoffing, that's the threat from Grover Norquist, the anti-tax activist who has essentially been setting the GOP's tax policy

Grover Norquist, the head of Americans for Tax Reform, raised plenty of eyebrows on Saturday with an interview he gave to National Journal, in which he said that if President Obama is foolish enough to let all the "Bush tax cuts" expire at the end of the year, "Republicans will have enough votes in the Senate in 2014 to impeach." The anti-tax activist holds a lot of sway over the GOP, with almost all House Republicans and every GOP presidential candidate signing his no-tax pledge, but impeachment is reserved for "treason, bribery, and other high crimes and misdemeanors," notes Tanya Somanader in Think Progress. So "suggesting Republicans impeach the president over tax cuts is wildly outlandish." Right?

There's no way the GOP's that crazy: Norquist is just plain "nuts," says Nicole Belle in Crooks and Liars. And even with "idiots and clowns" running the Grand Old Party these days, "there's no way that the Republicans will go down this route." Impeaching over tax policy stretches the Constitution to the breaking point, and won't win any favors with voters, either. "You may think you rule Washington," Grover, but this idea is "just delusional."
"Norquist threatens impeachment if Obama does not extend Bush tax cuts"

Norquist was only speaking figuratively: I imagine these impeachment musings are just one of those "brief bouts of hyperbole" Norquist indulges in when he strays from his laser focus on "tax sanity," says Jazz Shaw in Hot Air. If he was seriously suggesting impeachment for "allowing a legally passed set of tax cuts with a built in expiration date to lapse," somebody needs to press him on it. But either way, Norquist should probably stick to pushing lower taxes and spending.
"Norquist: Impeach Obama over taxes?"

Never underestimate conservative activists: I have to admit I'm "a little less sanguine than most people when I hear that Grover Norquist is going on about" impeachment, says Charles Pierce in Esquire. Conservatives Republicans have been "thinking, and then acting on, the unthinkable" for years. And remember, they impeached Bill Clinton on almost equally dubious grounds, because they had the votes. So "if you don't think they won't try this farce again, elect them majorities in both houses and see what happens."
"The Grover Norquist 'impeach Obama' fantasy"

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Monday, January 30, 2012

How conservatives lost their moral compass (Politico)

Republicans must love to cheer. At their presidential primary debates last year, the audiences boisterously cheered candidates who raised their hands in support of waterboarding; Texas Gov. Rick Perry?s boast about how many prisoners he had sent to the death chamber; Rep. Ron Paul?s declaration that an uninsured 30-year-old man who needs medical care should be left to die; and Herman Cain?s gripe, ?If you don?t have a job and you?re not rich, blame yourself.?

Liberals chalked it up to a new, strange, coldhearted ultraconservatism that makes ?Reservoir Dogs? look like ?Mary Poppins.? But there is something much deeper and scarier here than demagogic campaign appeals to conservative rage ? something even deeper than the new conservative machismo that treats compassion as a weakness.

Continue Reading

What is happening to America is not the rise of a new conservatism. It is the demise of shame.

Conservatives of the past, like conservatives of today, excoriated government efforts to assist the needy. But they were quick to add it was government they hated ? not the needy themselves.

They might have grumbled about taxes and government giveaways and even federal incursions into what they considered state matters, like civil rights. But they didn?t take pride in being merciless or hateful. Indeed, even if they harbored those feelings, the nation?s overwhelming sense of Judeo-Christian moral righteousness forced them to at least talk about concern for the underprivileged. No one wanted to seem mean.

Not any more.

Over the past 40 years, as conservatives have complained, this nation has undergone a moral revolution. It?s just not the one they think. They bemoan greater tolerance for homosexuality; loosened sexual strictures; and overall sexualization of the culture, the coarsened language, provocative dress and a general lack of discipline. But gay rights aside, that is largely aesthetics, not morality.

America?s real moral revolution has been the abandonment of those old Judeo-Christian precepts to which both liberals and conservatives subscribed ? tolerance, compassion and generosity on the one hand and hard work, honesty and fairness on the other.

Conservatives and liberals have different worldviews. But they were bound by these dual moralities ? one of justice, the other of responsibility.

They were also bound by a powerful force that made these operational: shame.

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/politico_rss/rss_politico_mostpop/http___www_politico_com_news_stories0112_72121_html/44350284/SIG=11mqoa5bl/*http%3A//www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/72121.html

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Good housing legislation could save the economy

Housing is the one area of policy with the greatest potential to actually move the needle on the economy

I don?t know if the President will say much about housing, but there are some important and potential helpful policy choices percolating in the background.

Skip to next paragraph Jared Bernstein

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Before joining the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities as a senior fellow, Jared was chief economist to Vice President Joseph Biden and executive director of the White House Task Force on the Middle Class. He is a contributor to MSNBC and CNBC and has written numerous books, including 'Crunch: Why Do I Feel So Squeezed?'

Recent posts

I?ve long held that of all the stuff on the White House?s ?we-can?t-wait? list?things they can do to help the economy and jobs without going through that legislative death trap formerly known as Congress?housing policy is the one with the greatest potential to actually move the needle.

And the most helpful policy in housing is the reduction of mortgage principal for underwater homeowners.?? Research has clearly revealed that owing more than the value on your home is the strongest predictor of foreclosure, and housing finance analysts widely agree that principal reduction is the best medicine to avoid this outcome.

But what does any of this have to do with stuff we could actually do right now?? Good question.? The answer is that the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, could quickly reduce the principal on millions of home loans they own or insure, without going through Congress.

So, why haven?t they done so?? Another fine question.?? First, you need to recall that Fan and Fred are 80% owned by the US gov?t right now, and FHFA, as conservator, wants to protect the taxpayer.? That?s fine?we thank you, FHFA.?

But?and news accounts have been getting this quite wrong?FHFA believes that loan forgiveness (principal reduction) would only save the taxpayers $20 billion while loan forbearance would save $24 billion (the latter modifies the loan, it does not reduce it).??

In other words, the FHFA agrees that both types of loan adjustments would reduce defaults and thus reduce losses to taxpayers, with a slight advantage to forbearance, which, as I?ll argue in a moment, is very likely incorrect.? I think if you did the analysis right, forgiveness would trump forbearance by a long shot.? But given the fact that reduction would clean this mess up a whole lot faster and more reliably than just changing the terms of the loans, and that taxpayers save either way, the path ahead?toward forgiveness, not forbearance?should be clear.

Unfortunately, the FHFA is placing landmines in that path.? Based on a letter reviewing all this by FHFA acting director Ed DeMarco, news accounts like this or this are reporting that if Fan and Fred were to reduce the principal on a subset of the mortgages they own or insure, it would cost?taxpayers $100 billion.

This $100 billion (it?s actually $102bn), however, is a gross number?it is the losses to the agencies, and the taxpayers, from all the mortgage defaults that FHFA expects to occur if they neither forbear nor reduce principal.? The relevant numbers, however, are the difference between the losses under a forbearance program ($78 billion), or a reduction program ($82 billion) and the cost of doing nothing.

The punch line, then, is that by their estimates, forgiveness saves the taxpayer $20 billion; forbearance, $24 billion.

But for a number of reasons, FHFA?s methods make forbearance look better than it really is.? This is some weedy stuff, but it matters:

?they use a state level price index rather than a localized price level.? This approach averages across cities with huge price drops and those with normal price declines, and thus reduces the number of the deeply underwater borrowers.*?? That in turn understates the impact of the policy most helpful to those borrowers: principal reduction.

?they use FICO credit scores and debt-to-income ratios at the time of loan origination rather than where those measures are today.? Obviously, they?re worse today, so this makes the agencies? book look better than it really is, and again, understates the benefits to principal reduction.? In other words, the way they do it artificially lowers their expected default rate, and so the policy that?s most effective against defaults for those with lower FICOs and higher DTIs gets less credit than it should.

?they assume that all of their debt forgiven in their forbearance programs is repaid?100% of it.?? That?s not realistic and it significantly reduces the cost of this option. ? Simply building in a realistic default rate for debt that?s been pushed back to the end of the loan would raise the cost of forbearance relative to principal reduction.

Any one of these changes will sop up the $4 billion difference in an NY minute, showing forgiveness to dominate forbearance.? But even if the FHFA wants to stick with their numbers, reductions will go to work much more quickly and effectively to prevent defaults.?

If they keep coming up with reasons not to do the right thing, the White House should do the right thing and replace DeMarco?a perfect good guy who believes he?s doing the right thing here but isn?t?with someone who gets the urgency of the situation.

*Imagine a) that anyone with a home price decline of 30% is underwater and needs a loan mod, and b) a state has two homeowners in two different cities.? Homeowner A?s price went up 30%, homeowner B?s price went down 30%. Average them together across the state and no one needs a mod; use the local price index, and B should get one.

The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of the best economy-related bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger, click here. To add or view a comment on a guest blog, please go to the blogger's own site by clicking on jaredbernsteinblog.com.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/REkhgMN9CWg/Good-housing-legislation-could-save-the-economy

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Sunday, January 29, 2012

Acupuncture May Boost Pregnancy Success Rates (HealthDay)

FRIDAY, Jan. 27 (HealthDay News) -- When a couple is trying to have a baby and can't, it can be emotionally and financially draining. But help may be available in an unexpected form: acupuncture.

Medical experts believe that this ancient therapy from China, which involves placing numerous thin needles at certain points in the body, can help improve fertility in both men and women.

"Acupuncture has been around for almost 3,000 years. It's safe and there are no bad side effects from it," explained Dr. Lisa Lilienfield, a family practice and pain management specialist at the Kaplan Center for Integrative Medicine in McLean, Va. "It may not be the only thing that is done in isolation to treat infertility, but it helps get the body primed and maximizes the potential effects of fertility treatments."

Dr. Jamie Grifo, director of the New York University Fertility Center and director of the division of reproductive endocrinology at the NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City, said that "it's not a panacea, but acupuncture does help some patients have better success."

"It's one non-traditional modality to help manage the stress of infertility, and it does improve pregnancy rates and quality of life in some people," he said.

In addition to relieving stress, Lilienfield said that acupuncture can help increase a woman's fertility by improving blood flow to the ovaries and uterus. This improved blood flow can help thicken the lining of the uterus, increasing the chances of conception.

It may also help correct problems with the body's neuroendocrine system. Acupuncture can help activate the brain to release hormones that will stimulate the ovaries, adrenal glands and other organs that are involved in reproduction, according to Lilienfield. Acupuncture's effect on the neuroendocrine system may also help infertile men by stimulating sperm production, she said.

Studies that have been done on acupuncture and fertility have had mixed results, with some showing benefits and others showing none. Grifo said the differing results may have something to do with the design of the studies. Two areas that appear to be more consistently helped by acupuncture treatments are in vitro fertilization and women who are infertile due to polycystic ovary syndrome.

Two studies -- one in Acupuncture in Medicine and the other in the Journal of Endocrinological Investigation -- found a benefit when acupuncture was used on the day an embryo was transferred into a woman's uterus.

The study from the Journal of Endocrinological Investigation also found that women with polycystic ovary syndrome and men who had infertility issues with no known cause also benefitted from acupuncture.

The actual treatment session involves placing very thin needles at specific points in the body. In Chinese medicine, these points are believed to be areas where a person's "qi" (pronounced chee), or life force, is blocked, according to the U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. In Western medicine, it's believed that the needle placement may release the body's natural painkillers.

Acupuncture is commonly used to treat pain, such as back pain, headache and menstrual cramps, according to the center.

Lilienfield said that acupuncture treatment costs vary, depending on where someone lives and the training of the practitioner. In her center, a treatment costs about $135, and most people receive six to eight treatments for infertility, she said. Insurance reimbursement also varies, she noted, though many insurance companies will pay for acupuncture.

In general, someone younger than 35 is often advised to try to get pregnant for about a year before seeking treatment for infertility. "But, if you're anxious to get going, six months is a reasonable time to wait," Lilienfield said. And women older than 35 probably shouldn't wait more than six months, she added.

Grifo said he doesn't favor waiting that long to seek treatment. "If you are trying to get pregnant and struggling with it, you don't need to wait a year," he said. "And, if you're over 35, don't wait six months to get worked up if it's causing you distress."

More information

The U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine has more on acupuncture.

Publication Date: Oct. 31, 2011

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20120128/hl_hsn/acupuncturemayboostpregnancysuccessrates

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In Facebook IPO, bankers seek prestige over fees (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Facebook's initial public offering is likely to set a new standard for how low investment banks are willing to go on advisory fees to win big business.

The world's largest online social network is expected to tap public markets for $10 billion in the coming months in an offering that will value the company at up to $100 billion, according to sources familiar with the planned IPO. It will be one of the biggest U.S. market debuts ever, and a prized trophy for the investment bankers seeking to win lead advisory roles.

That has set up a fierce competition on Wall Street, particularly between the presumed front-runners Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc, which may offer their underwriting services for as little as 1 percent of gross proceeds, bankers and industry observers said.

That would be far less than the 7 percent fee that smaller deals typically fetch, or the 2 or 3 percent that large deals tend to command.

"The Facebook IPO will be iconic," said James Montgomery, chief executive of San Francisco-based investment bank Montgomery & Co, which advises tech companies on mergers, acquisitions and private placements.

Facebook can easily negotiate a 1 percent fee for the entire group of investment banks that will peddle its shares, Montgomery said, "much to the chagrin of the underwriters."

Such a low fee is practically unheard of for investment banking deals, apart from the offerings of bailed-out companies General Motors Co, American International Group Inc and Ally Financial Inc, which sold shares held by the U.S. government in the aftermath of the financial crisis.

But Facebook has several advantages that will allow the company to haggle for a lower fee: it will be an easy sell as hoards of investors are keen to jump on the social media trend, and even a 1 percent fee would reap $100 million in revenue for investment banks, sending a lead advisor to the coveted No. 1 spot on IPO league tables.

"There's no other IPO like this," said Lee Simmons, a tech specialist at Dun & Bradstreet. "It's kind of the 800-pound gorilla for the tech sector."

The Wall Street Journal reported that Facebook plans to file IPO documents with U.S. securities regulators as early as Wednesday, and is close to picking Morgan Stanley as the lead underwriter.

The typical IPO that raises less than $500 million incurs a 7 percent fee -- what's known as "the 7 percent solution." But as IPOs grow in size, the fee percentage shrinks.

Investment banks usually earn fees of 4 percent to 5 percent on IPOs of more than $1 billion, but deals from Silicon Valley tend to carry a premium. U.S. tech IPOs of at least $1 billion carried an average fee of 5.8 percent from 2000 to 2012, on average, according to Thomson Reuters data.

In the case of Facebook -- whose T-shirt-wearing, 27-year-old chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, is said to appreciate status updates more than stock brokers -- it's unlikely advisors will be able to command the standard rate.

"These Valley types think this whole process could be automated and they don't have to pay 7 percent to these flashy, French-cufflink-wearing Wall Street types," said Eric Jackson, founder and managing member of Ironfire Capital, a technology-focused hedge fund, who has interacted professionally with executives at Facebook and other social-media companies.

PRICING DILEMMA

Facebook's offering will be the largest ever IPO from Silicon Valley, as well as the largest global high-tech IPO since the dot-com bubble burst. The most recent U.S. social-media IPO, Zynga Inc, raised just one-tenth of the proceeds Facebook is hoping for.

Winning a lead advisory role on Facebook has become a make-or-break contest for tech bankers such as Goldman's George Lee, Morgan Stanley's Michael Grimes and Credit Suisse's Bill Brady.

Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have been in communication with Facebook for months and already offered pitches to its executives in hopes of becoming lead adviser, according to sources briefed on the meetings.

Wall Street is now waiting to hear who will win the coveted "lead left" title, referring to where the top underwriter's name will appear on the IPO prospectus.

"Facebook is one of the most well-known brands around the globe," said George Papaioannou, a business professor at Hofstra University who has studied underwriting competition among investment banks. "The underwriters will have to do very little convincing to investors, and that gives Facebook a huge negotiating advantage."

Investment banking fees are not usually the primary concern for IPO candidates, who must nail down the right offering price and sell shares to the right mix of investors, Papaioannou said.

If the offering price is too high, the company and its underwriters risk burning IPO investors. If the bar is set too low, the stock issuer risks leaving money on the table. And if the mix is not right -- with more short-term traders than long-term investors -- a stock can become highly volatile in the days and weeks following its debut on an exchange.

Zynga, which makes some of the most popular online games that are played on Facebook, is a prime example. Co-managed by Goldman and Morgan Stanley, the IPO was priced at $10 a share in mid-December. IPO investors watched the stock fall 5 percent on the first day of trading. Zynga was quoted at $9.72 on Friday.

Similarly, online coupon-deals site Groupon Inc priced its IPO at $20 a share on November 4, but its shares fell as much as 26 percent in the first two weeks of trading. The stock was trading at $19.78 on Friday. Goldman, Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse were co-managers of the IPO.

HANDLE WITH CARE

The other edge of the IPO sword can cut just as sharply for hot tech stocks.

LinkedIn Corp, which raised $353 million last May in an IPO priced at $45 a share, watched the stock soar as high as $122.70 on the first day of trading. LinkedIn shares have drifted down to the low $70 range, but the price range to date indicates that the company could have raised another $440 million to $1 billion in extra money if the IPO were priced more aggressively. Morgan Stanley was in the lead left position.

A sharp fluctuation in price soon after Facebook's IPO "would really embarrass Facebook and the underwriters," given the recent history of social-media IPOs, said Papaioannou

The Zynga, Groupon and LinkedIn deals garnered fees of 3 to 5 percent.

To be sure, the banks that are vying for a lead position on Facebook's IPO will have to do more than lowball on price. They will also have to convince the Palo Alto, California-based company that the deal will go off without a hitch.

As Facebook's size and influence have grown in recent years, its actions -- whether changes to privacy policies on its popular networking site, or its interactions with Wall Street bankers -- have come under intense public scrutiny.

Goldman's handling of a private sale of $1.5 billion worth of Facebook shares to wealthy clients last year stirred enough controversy that the bank was forced to limit the offering to non-U.S. investors.

That misstep may have cost Goldman some goodwill with Facebook, industry observers said. And, as a company that makes money from a broad base of users, it also forces Facebook to consider whether its IPO will give unfair advantages to well-heeled investors.

"Two reasons I think Morgan Stanley will get the lead: one, they have a great retail distribution platform with the Smith Barney franchise and, two, I don't think Facebook is overly happy with Goldman Sachs," said Jeff Sica, president and CEO of SICA Wealth Management, who has bought shares of Facebook in private, pre-IPO markets for clients.

Morgan Stanley was the top bookrunner for global high-tech IPOs last year, with $2.2 billion in global proceeds and 10.9 percent market share. It also led the pack in U.S. high-tech IPOs, according to Thomson Reuters data. Goldman Sachs was the runner up with $1.9 billion in global fees and 9.2 percent market share, and ranked No. 3 in U.S. high-tech IPOs behind JPMorgan Chase & Co.

A less measurable but equally important factor in obtaining the lead IPO position is whether bankers can connect with decision-makers at Facebook on a personal level.

"It's really going to be the banker that understands and is sensitive to Zuckerberg and the executive team's needs," said Dun & Bradstreet's Simmons. "Whoever does that successfully will get the bragging rights, the proverbial brass ring of tech IPOs."

(Reporting By Lauren Tara LaCapra, editing by Tiffany Wu)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120127/bs_nm/us_facebook_ipoview

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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Union County Dems plan petition signing

January 27, 2012

Union County Dems plan petition signing

Saturday event is in Lewisburg

By Evamarie Socha

The Daily Item

LEWISBURG -- With Pennsylvania's spring primary election coming earlier than usual, the Union County Democratic Committee is gearing up with a nominating petition-signing event set for 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday at Parkview Catering, South Sixth and Market streets.

Petitions will include those for president; Sen. Robert Casey's seat; and Pennsylvania treasurer, auditor general and attorney general, said committee Chairman Rick Thomas.

The event gives registered Democrats in Union County a chance to review and sign nominating petitions, which all federal and state candidates need to have their names placed on the ballots for the spring primary.

This year, the primary will be held April 24 instead of in May.

Thomas said the committee also will circulate petitions for anyone from Union County interested in campaigning for the 10th Congressional District seat held by Republican Rep. Tom Marino and the 85th Legislative District seat held by Republican state Rep. Fred Keller.

"We haven't heard if Carney is going to run again," Thomas said of former Democratic Rep. Chris Carney, who lost his seat in Congress to Marino in 2010. It's been widely reported that Carney planned to challenge Marino in the next election, but Thomas said there's been no news of late.

"If no one decides to declare at this point, it's possible we won't have a challenger on the ballot for either seat," Thomas said, though some could campaign as write-in candidates.

Thomas also noted a possible Democratic candidate out of Lycoming County for the 10th district.

Registered Democrats living in Union County can sign the petitions. Committee members will be available to answer questions. For information, visit www.unioncountydemocrats.org.

People who want to run in the primary need to file petitions no later than Feb. 14. Nominating petitions come from the Department of State.

The Union County Republican Committee has been collecting petition signatures and will do so until Feb. 4, county Chairwoman Yvonne Morgan said. Members will then meet and go over them.

Source: http://dailyitem.com/0100_news/x950976991/Union-County-Dems-plan-petition-signing

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Thursday, January 26, 2012

Has Petroleum Production Peaked, Ending the Era of Easy Oil?

News | Energy & Sustainability

A new analysis concludes that easily extracted oil peaked in 2005, suggesting that dirtier fossil fuels will be burned and energy prices will rise


oil-pumpjacksPEAK OIL?: A new analysis published in Nature suggests that the era of easy oil may be over. Image: ? iStockphoto.com / Stephen Strathdee

Despite major oil finds off Brazil's coast, new fields in North Dakota and ongoing increases in the conversion of tar sands to oil in Canada, fresh supplies of petroleum are only just enough to offset the production decline from older fields. At best, the world is now living off an oil plateau?roughly 75 million barrels of oil produced each and every day?since at least 2005, according to a new comment published in Nature on January 26. (Scientific American is part of Nature Publishing Group.) That is a year earlier than estimated by the International Energy Agency?an energy cartel for oil consuming nations.

To support our modern lifestyles?from cars to plastics?the world has used more than one trillion barrels of oil to date. Another trillion lie underground, waiting to be tapped. But given the locations of the remaining oil, getting the next trillion is likely to cost a lot more than the previous trillion. The "supply of cheap oil has plateaued," argues chemist David King, director of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford and former chief scientific adviser to the U.K. government. "The global economy is severely knocked by oil prices of $100 per barrel or more, creating economic downturn and preventing economic recovery."

Nor do King and his co-author, oceanographer James Murray of the University of Washington in Seattle, hold out much hope for future discoveries. "The geologists know where the source rocks are and where the trap structures are," Murray notes. "If there was a prospect for a new giant oil field, I think it would have been found."

King and Murray based their conclusion on an analysis of oil data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Looking at use and production trends, the two note that since 2005 production has remained essentially unchanged whereas prices (a surrogate for demand) have fluctuated wildly. This suggests to the authors that there is no longer any spare capacity to respond to increases in demand, whether it results from political unrest that cuts supply, as in the case of Libya's political upheaval last year, or economic boom times in growing countries like China. "We are not running out of oil, but we are running out of oil that can be produced easily and cheaply," King and Murray wrote.

Other statistics, however, argue against a plateau. Oil company BP found in its most recent analysis that oil production was actually more than 82 million barrels per day in 2010, higher than the proposed plateau of 75 million. That difference may be the result of the increasing use of "unconventionals"?Canadian tar sands or the natural gas liquids co-produced with oil extraction. Rising production in the China, Nigeria, Russia and the U.S. also hints that technological improvements may allow greater production from existing fields than the new research suggests.

Plus, the price of oil may argue against any such plateau. Adjusted for inflation, today's $100 per barrel is roughly equivalent to prices in 1981, according to environmental scientist Vaclav Smil of the University of Manitoba. Smil also notes that in the last 20 years enough oil has been found to satisfy the demands of two new consumers?China and India?nations that now import more oil than is consumed by Germany and Japan.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=4f3eedb1a86d09b9845e154d7f83e476

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Gates injects $750M in troubled Global Fund

Bill Gates poses next to a cut out of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to promote the Global Fund's 10th anniversary at the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. Gates announced a US dollar 750 million contribution to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

Bill Gates poses next to a cut out of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to promote the Global Fund's 10th anniversary at the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. Gates announced a US dollar 750 million contribution to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

Bill Gates, co-chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, right, and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, coordinating minister for economy and minister of finance of Nigeria, left, attend a plenary session at the 42nd annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. The overarching theme of the meeting, which will take place from Jan. 25 to 29, is "The Great Transformation: Shaping New Models". (AP Photo/Keystone, Jean-Christophe Bott)

Bill Gates, co-chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, speaks during a plenary session at the 42nd annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. The overarching theme of the meeting, which will take place from Jan. 25 to 29, is "The Great Transformation: Shaping New Models". (AP Photo/Keystone, Jean-Christophe Bott)

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) ? Bill Gates pledged $750 million on Thursday to fight three killer diseases and rescue a beleaguered health fund whose financial losses have cost it donor support.

The Microsoft founder said he is lending his "credibility" to the Geneva-based Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria by making the donation through a promissory note so the fund "can immediately use the money and save lives."

Gates' announcement at the World Economic Forum ? a magnet for the world's business and political elites who pushed for the fund's creation ? was part of an orchestrated attempt by the fund to galvanize donors on its 10th anniversary.

"These are tough economic times, but that is no excuse for cutting aid to the world's poorest," Gates told reporters.

He downplayed the $23 billion fund's reported losses of tens of millions of dollars to corruption, misuse and undocumented spending that were highlighted in Associated Press stories, and said it is "disappointing" to see how people have focused on a "small misuse of funds."

A donor backlash over AP reports about poor financial monitoring and the fund's losses uncovered by its own internal watchdog, the inspector general's office, prompted the organization last year to cancel more than $1 billion in planned new spending mainly to expand existing programs. The fund's executive director, Dr. Michel Kazatchkine, this week also announced his resignation.

"The internal checks and balances have worked in every case," Gates said. But, he added, "If you're going to do business in Africa, you're going to have some losses."

The public-private fund has helped change the fortunes of many of the world's poor through its prevention and treatment programs among 150 countries, Gates said.

The fund says it has provided antiretroviral treatment to 3.3 million people, detected and treated 8.2 million people with tuberculosis, and given 230 million bed nets to families to prevent malaria over its 10-year existence. It says it also has helped prevent 1.3 million pregnant women from passing on HIV to their babies, cared for 5.6 million orphans and kept 7.7 million others alive.

"It's a breathtaking achievement," U2 rock star Bono said in a compilation of fund supporters' statements from the fund Thursday.

A former Japanese prime minister, Naoto Kan, told the news conference that his nation has contributed $1.3 billion to the fund. Kan also said the fund's "transparency" must be maintained ? which includes auditors and investigators in the inspector general's office uncovering and publicizing its own losses ? as the fund goes through a series of reforms launched last year after the AP stories.

"The European debt crisis is shaking the world economy, which in turn seriously affects the fortunes of the Global Fund. But it doesn't mean the significance of the Global Fund is less," Kan said. "The corruption exists. It's regrettable, but that's reality."

Global Fund board Chairman Simon Bland said the fund is "transforming the way we do business" by streamlining the organization and will continue to "hold ourselves accountable" for what it spends.

"There will be no shying away from that transparency," Bland said.

Bland told AP he has hired the London accounting firm RSM Tenon Group to look into internal fund allegations that Kazatchkine, a French immunologist, improperly allocated several million dollars of fund money to benefit charity activities of France's first lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, and firms run by her close friend.

Bland said the firm has produced a confidential report that he intends to make public which lends little support to the allegations. France is the second-largest contributor to the fund behind the United States, and Bruni-Sarkozy serves as one of its ambassadors.

Kazatchkine, who has been at odds with the inspector general's office that has been uncovering the losses, resigned after the board decided to create a position of general manager to chart a new direction. The position was among a series of recommendations by a high-level panel created to address the problems raised in AP articles.

"I believe it is untenable that there are two heads in an organization and that's why I decided to leave," he told AP.

Kazatchkine said the Global Fund "can't be more transparent than we have been."

"We're by far the most transparent organization in development," he said at Davos. "Fighting corruption, yes, of course, and I have repeatedly said zero tolerance for corruption. Yet we also have to recognize that this business is not without risk. And risk, or the sense of risk, can also paralyze action."

___

Frank Jordans contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-01-26-EU-Davos-Forum-AIDS-Fund/id-161de23bd4c5497b9245050544e77397

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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Tim Cook: Apple TV IS Still A Hobby, But I Couldn?t Live Without It

apple-openApple TV is still a hobby. The word comes from Apple's Chief, Tim Cook who nether-the-less championed the company's current offering. He stated that Apple sold more than 2.8 million Apple TV units last fiscal year with 1.4 million moved within Q1 2012 (a new record for the device). ?Our Apple TV product is doing quite well? but in the scheme of things, we still classify Apple TV as a hobby. We continue to add things to it. If you?re using the latest one ? I don?t know about you, but I can?t live without it. Other than that, no comment.? said Cook.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/A-j5CpDOi2c/

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Bloomberg blasts use of movie during NYPD training (AP)

NEW YORK ? Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Tuesday that New York police used "terrible judgment" in showing counterterrorism trainees a documentary-style film that says Muslim extremists are masquerading as moderates to destroy America from within.

Bloomberg said police have stopped showing officers "The Third Jihad," a 72-minute movie that has been branded inflammatory by some Muslim organizations and was produced by a conservative group called the Clarion Fund.

"Somebody exercised some terrible judgment," he said in Albany. "As soon as they found out about it, they stopped it."

The criticism was unusual for Bloomberg, who in recent months has vigorously defended the police department's counterterrorism efforts after an Associated Press investigation exposed a secret program to gather intelligence on Muslim neighborhoods.

Bloomberg said neither he nor Police Commissioner Ray Kelly knew about the film being shown.

"The Third Jihad" contains TV images of Hezbollah rocket attacks, children being held hostage by Muslim militants and a woman it says was arrested in Iran for wearing immodest clothing. It shows pictures it says were taken from Islamic videos and websites, including a doctored image of an Islamic flag flying over the White House.

It accuses Muslim extremists of posing as moderates and charges several Muslim organizations with being soft on terrorism. Speakers interviewed in the film say "Islamism is like cancer" and urge a "battle for our civilization."

The film is narrated by M. Zuhdi Jasser, president of the American Islamic Foundation for Democracy, based in Phoenix. Jasser rejected Bloomberg's criticism.

"I could not disagree more," Jasser said. "For him to say that without contradicting any of the facts that are presented in the movie is, I think, careless."

The New York-based Clarion Fund did not return calls for comment. Its website, Radicalislam.org, says Clarion was founded in 2006 by Raphael Shore. Shore is a former leader of Aish HaTorah, a chain of Jewish educational centers.

The movie was shown on a continuous loop while officers were signing in for counterterrorism training sessions from October to December 2010, according to police documents obtained by the Brennan Center for Justice, a think tank at New York University. As many as 1,489 officers who underwent training, including 68 lieutenants, may have seen it, the documents say.

Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne said that the police brass did not approve the use of the movie and that the decision to play it was made by a sergeant, who has since been reprimanded.

"This was never used in training, period. It was never authorized for use in training, period," Browne said.

The screening of the film inside the 36,000-member police department has been known for months, but police previously said only a few officers had seen it. They stopped showing it after a trainee complained.

The film was used as "intermission filler" and to "provide information for students during breaks to keep their attention focused on counterterrorism issues," Assistant Chief George W. Anderson wrote in one of the documents obtained by the Brennan Center.

Anderson wrote that he believed the video was given to police by someone in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Homeland Security said it didn't authorize the distribution of the movie.

This is not the first time a law enforcement agency has come under fire over its counterterrorism training materials. The FBI was criticized last year for presentations used in a training session that painted a negative picture of Islam. The FBI and other federal agencies pledged to review all their training materials.

Muslim activists said films like "The Third Jihad" are one-sided and teach police cadets that all Muslims are suspect.

"It's clearly a propaganda, anti-Muslim film," said Linda Sarsour, a member of the Muslim-American Civil Liberties Coalition. "It's overly dramatic, piecing together things out of context and threading it together to make this very false narrative about Muslim Americans."

A recent AP series detailed efforts by the New York Police Department to infiltrate Muslim neighborhoods and mosques with aggressive programs designed by a CIA officer. Documents reviewed by the AP revealed that undercover officers known as "rakers" visited businesses such as Islamic bookstores and cafes, chatting up store owners to gauge their views. They also played cricket and eavesdropped in ethnic clubs.

The surveillance efforts have been credited with enabling police to thwart a 2004 plot to bomb the Herald Square subway station.

Critics said the efforts amount to ethnic profiling and violate court guidelines on intelligence-gathering.

___

Read AP's previous stories and documents about the NYPD at: http://www.ap.org/nypd

___

Associated Press Writers Michael Gormley, Eileen Sullivan, Tom Hays and Deepti Hajela contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/terrorism/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_re_us/us_nypd_intelligence

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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Altitude sickness causes Tracy Morgan Sundance collapse (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? "30 Rock" actor Tracy Morgan collapsed at the Sundance film festival over the weekend and is being treated for exhaustion and altitude sickness, his publicist said on Monday.

Spokesman Lewis Kay said initial reports that Morgan was drunk were untrue.

"From a combination of exhaustion and altitude, Tracy is seeking medical attention. He is with his fiance and grateful to the Park City Medical Center for their care. Any reports of Tracy consuming alcohol are 100% false," Kay said in a statement.

Morgan, 43, was taken to the hospital in Park City, Utah, on Sunday while attending a charity event during the annual Sundance film festival in the ski resort.

The actor's new comedy "Predisposed" is one of the dozens of films at the festival, which champions independent movies.

(Reporting By Jill Serjant)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/people_nm/us_tracymorgan

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Germany, France press for Greek debt deal (Reuters)

PARIS/BERLIN (Reuters) ? Germany and France pressed on Monday for a rapid deal between Greece and its private creditors that returns its soaring debt to sustainable levels and said they remained committed to a new bailout that is needed by March to avert a disastrous default.

Euro zone finance ministers are due to decide later on Monday what terms of a Greek debt restructuring they are ready to accept as part of a second rescue for Athens.

Ahead of that meeting, French Finance Minister Francois Baroin said an elusive deal to convince the banks and investment funds that own Greek debt to accept deep losses on their holdings appeared to be "taking shape."

But his German counterpart Wolfgang Schaeuble warned that any deal must help Greece cut its debt mountain to "not much more than 120 percent of GDP" by the end of the decade, from roughly 160 percent today, something many economists believe will not be achieved by the existing plan.

"The negotiations will be difficult, but we want the second program for Greece to be implemented in March so that the second tranche can be released," Schaeuble told a news conference in Paris with Baroin and the heads of the German and French central banks.

"Greece must fulfill its commitments, it is difficult and there is already a lot of delay," Schaeuble said.

After several rounds of talks, Greece and its private creditors are converging on a deal in which private bondholders would take a real loss of 65 to 70 percent on their Greek bonds, officials close to the negotiations say.

But some details of the debt restructuring, which will involve swapping existing Greek bonds for new, longer-term bonds are unresolved.

Charles Dallara, the Institute of International Finance chief who is negotiating on behalf of the private debt holders, left Athens over the weekend saying banks had no room to improve their offer.

Sources close to the talks told Reuters on Monday that the impasse centered on questions of whether the deal would return Greece's debt mountain, currently over 350 billion euros, to levels that European governments believe are sustainable.

"There will likely be an updated debt sustainability analysis that will be discussed at the Eurogroup," a banking source in Athens said, requesting anonymity. "Talks will continue this week. The aim is to have an agreement by late next Monday."

In Brussels, European Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said talks had been "moving well" and expressed confidence a deal could be sealed this week.

But German Chancellor Angela Merkel said there was no question of extending Greece a bridging loan if talks with the private sector dragged on further.

The euro pushed up to its highest level against the dollar in nearly three weeks on hopes for a successful debt swap.

LAGARDE DEMANDS

Speaking in Berlin not far from Merkel's Chancellery, IMF chief Christine Lagarde urged European governments to increase their financial firewall to prevent Greece's troubles from ensnaring bigger countries like Italy and Spain.

She also called on European leaders to complement the "fiscal compact" they agreed last month with some form of financial risk-sharing, mentioning euro zone bonds or bills, or a debt redemption fund as possible options.

Berlin opposes those steps and Merkel told a news conference with the Belgian prime minister that it was not the time to debate an increase in the euro zone's bailout funds -- the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and its successor, the 500 billion euro European Stability Mechanism (ESM).

"I don't think it is right to do one new thing then do another, let's get the ESM working," Merkel said, reiterating that Germany was prepared to accelerate the flow of capital into the ESM ahead of its planned introduction in mid-2012.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, who has complained openly that his reform efforts have not been recognized by the markets, is reportedly pushing for the rescue fund to be doubled to 1 trillion euros. Lagarde stopped short of advocating that, saying: "I am not saying double it."

The more immediate worry is Greece. Without the second bailout from the euro zone and the International Monetary Fund, Athens will not be able to pay back 14.5 billion euros in maturing bonds in March, triggering a messy default that would hurt the entire euro zone and send tremors beyond the 13-year old single currency bloc.

DETERIORATION

Euro zone leaders agreed in October that the second bailout would total 130 billion euros, if private bondholders forgave half of what Greece owes them in nominal terms.

But Greek economic prospects have deteriorated since then, which means either euro zone governments or investors will have to contribute more than thought.

A key sticking point is the coupon, or interest rate, the new Greek bonds would carry. Officials said the new bonds are likely to be 30 years in maturity and carry a progressively higher coupon, which would average out at around 4 percent.

"The euro zone ministers will examine the proposal and say whether we have a deal. If they say we don't, we're back to the negotiating table," a banking source close to the talks said.

Progress will be presented to euro zone ministers by Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos.

After dealing with Greece, euro zone ministers will choose a replacement for European Central Bank Board member Jose Manuel Gonzales Paramo, whose term ends in May.

The 17 ministers of the euro zone will then be joined by 10 ministers from the other European Union countries to finalize a treaty setting up the euro zone's permanent bailout fund, the ESM.

The 27 EU finance ministers will also prepare the final draft of another treaty to sharply tighten fiscal discipline in the euro zone, called the "fiscal compact," that is designed to ensure another sovereign debt crisis cannot happen in future.

EU leaders are to sign off on both treaties at a summit on January 30, allowing the ESM to become operational in July.

(Additional reporting by Stephen Brown and Alexandra Hudson in Berlin, Leigh Thomas in Paris, Lefteris Papadimas and Ingrid Melander in Athens; Writing by Noah Barkin and Jan Strupczewski, editing by Mike Peacock)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/bs_nm/us_eurozone_ministers

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Monday, January 23, 2012

Temporary Appointment: Communications Specialist, Ohr ... - Devex

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Mysterious 'Winged' Structure from Ancient Rome Discovered (LiveScience.com)

A recently discovered mysterious "winged" structure in England, which in the Roman period may have been used as a temple, presents a puzzle for archaeologists, who say the building has no known parallels.

Built around 1,800 years ago, the structure was discovered in Norfolk, in eastern England, just to the south of the ancient town of Venta Icenorum. The structure has two wings radiating out from a rectangular room that in turn leads to a central room.

"Generally speaking, [during] the Roman Empire people built within a fixed repertoire of architectural forms," said William Bowden, a professor at the University of Nottingham, who reported the find in the most recent edition of the Journal of Roman Archaeology. The investigation was carried out in conjunction with the Norfolk Archaeological and Historical Research Group.

The winged shape of the building appears to be unique in the Roman Empire, with no other example known. "It's very unusual to find a building like this where you have no known parallels for it," Bowden told LiveScience. "What they were trying to achieve by using this design is really very difficult to say."

The building appears to have been part of a complex that includes a villa to the north and at least two other structures to the northeast and northwest. An aerial photograph suggests the existence of an oval or polygonal building with an apse located to the east.?

The winged building

The foundation of the two wings and the rectangular room was made of a thin layer of rammed clay and chalk. "This suggests that the superstructure of much of the building was quite light, probably timber and clay-lump walls with a thatched roof," writes Bowden. This raises the possibility that the building was not intended to be used long term. [Photos of Mysterious Stone Structures]

The central room, on the other hand, was made of stronger stuff, with its foundations crafted from lime mortar mixed with clay and small pieces of flint and brick. That section likely had a tiled roof. "Roman tiles are very large things, they?re very heavy," Bowden said.

Sometime after the demise of this wing-shaped structure, another building, this one decorated, was built over it. Archaeologists found post holes from it with painted wall plaster inside.

Bowden said few artifacts were found at the site and none that could be linked to the winged structure with certainty. A plough had ripped through the site at some point, scattering debris. Also, metal detecting is a major problem in the Norfolk area, with people using metal detectors to locate and confiscate materials, something that may have happened at this site.

Still, even when the team found undisturbed layers, there was little in the way of artifacts. "This could suggest that it [the winged building] wasn't used for a very particularly long time," Bowden said.

The land of the Iceni

Researchers are not certain what the building was used for. While its elevated position made it visible from the town of Venta Icenorum, the foundations of the radiating wings are weak. "It's possible that this was a temporary building constructed for a single event or ceremony, which might account for its insubstantial construction,' writes Bowden in the journal article.

"Alternatively the building may represent a shrine or temple on a hilltop close to a Roman road, visible from the road as well as from the town."

Adding another layer to this mystery is the ancient history of Norfolk, where the structure was found.

The local people in the area, who lived here before the Roman conquest, were known as the Iceni. It may have been their descendents who lived at the site and constructed the winged building.

Iceni architecture was quite simple and, as Bowden explained, not as elaborate as this. On the other hand, their religion was intertwined with nature, something which may help explain the wind-blown location of the site. "Iceni gods, pre-Roman gods, tend to be associated with the natural sites: the springs, trees, sacred groves, this kind of thing," said Bowden.

The history between the Iceni and the Romans is a violent one. In A.D. 43, when the Romans, under Emperor Claudius, invaded Britain, they encountered fierce resistance from them.? After a failed revolt in A.D. 47 they became a client kingdom of the empire, with Prasutagus as their leader. When he died, around A.D. 60, the Romans tried to finish the subjugation, in brutal fashion.

"First, his [Prasutagus'] wife Boudicea was scourged, and his daughters outraged. All the chief men of the Iceni, as if Rome had received the whole country as a gift, were stripped of their ancestral possessions, and the king's relatives were made slaves," wrote Tacitus, a Roman writer in The Annals. ?(From the book, "Complete Works of Tacitus," 1942, edited for the Perseus Digital Library.)

This led Boudicea (more commonly spelled Boudicca) to form an army and lead a revolt against the Romans. At first she was successful, defeating Roman military units and even sacking Londinium. In the end the Romans rallied and defeated her at the Battle of Watling Street. With the Roman victory the rebellion came to an end, and a town named Venta Icenorumwas eventually set up on their land.? [Top 12 Warrior Moms in History]

"The Iceni vanish from history effectively after the Boudicca revolt in [A.D.] 60-61," said Bowden.

But while they vanished from written history, archaeological clues hint that their spirit remained very much alive. Bowden and David Mattingly, an archaeologist at the University of Leicester, both point out that the area has a low number of villas compared with elsewhere in Britain, suggesting the people continued to resist Roman culture long after Boudicca's failed revolt.

This lack of villas, along with problems attracting people to Roman settlements in the area, "can be read as a transcript of resistant adaption and rejection of Roman norms," writes Mattingly in his book "An Imperial Possession: Britain in the Roman Empire" (Penguin Books, 2007).?

There is "still a fairly strong local identity," said Bowden, who cautioned that while local people may have lived at the complex, the winged building is out of character for both Roman and Iceni architectural styles, a fact that leaves his team with a mystery.

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

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/fossils/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20120123/sc_livescience/mysteriouswingedstructurefromancientromediscovered

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Saturday, January 21, 2012

Pakistani government bows to top court's demand (AP)

ISLAMABAD ? Pakistan's government on Thursday bowed to a long-standing Supreme Court demand to debate whether the president enjoys immunity from a past corruption case, a concession that could help defuse a crisis threatening the U.S.-backed administration.

The government agreed to the demand after the court threatened Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani with contempt charges for failing to reopen a decade-old case against his boss, President Asif Ali Zardari, and forced the premier to make a rare appearance before the judges.

The court gave Gilani's attorney two weeks to prepare his argument. The period could further reduce heightened tension between the Supreme Court and the beleaguered government, which is also battling the judges and the powerful army over a secret memo sent to Washington last year seeking help in stopping a supposed military coup.

Speculation has been rampant that the combined assault could cause the government's downfall by forcing it to accept calls for early elections. But the government may be heartened by the Supreme Court's decision not to make any immediate moves to hold Gilani in contempt, a charge that could land him in prison for up to six months and disqualify him from holding office.

The government has long defied a 2009 Supreme Court order to write a letter to Swiss authorities asking them to reopen a corruption case against Zardari that dates back to the 1990s, claiming he enjoys immunity from prosecution while in office.

It has also ignored a demand to go before the court to argue the immunity claim, probably because members of the ruling party viewed the court's actions as a partisan campaign to take down Zardari, who has clashed with Supreme Court Chief Justice Mohammad Iftikhar Chaudhry.

Gilani delivered a nearly 10-minute speech Thursday to the seven-judge bench, which did not include Chaudhry. The prime minister expressed respect for the court and said he never intended to "ridicule" the judges. He said it was his belief that Zardari "has complete immunity inside and outside the country."

Gilani's lawyer, Aitzaz Ahsan, did most of the talking for the prime minister during the session and agreed to formally argue for the president's immunity before the judges when the hearing resumes on Feb. 1.

"I will bow to the court order and will also speak on immunity to satisfy the court that the president has complete immunity," Ahsan told reporters.

Security was especially tight during the court session, which was also attended by several of Gilani's ministers and coalition partners. Police lined the roads in front of the Supreme Court and two helicopters hovered over the building during the hearing.

Supporters and opponents of the government competed for attention outside the court. A group of roughly a dozen women chanted, "Long live Zardari!" while several dozen lawyers shouted slogans in favor of the court chief justice and against the president.

Zardari and his late wife, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, were found guilty in absentia in a Swiss court in 2003 of laundering millions of dollars in kickbacks from Swiss companies when they were in government.

They appealed, and Swiss authorities abandoned the case in 2008 at the request of the Pakistani government. The case was among thousands dropped as a result of an amnesty that allowed Bhutto to return from exile and run for election in 2008. She was assassinated in 2007 during the campaign.

The Supreme Court declared the amnesty unconstitutional in 2009, leaving those covered by it vulnerable to prosecution.

Zardari said recently that the government would never send the letter to the Swiss reopening the case because it would dishonor Bhutto.

Many legal experts agree that Zardari does enjoy immunity from the Swiss corruption case while in office, but the judges gave no indication Thursday of where they stood.

The government is also at locked in bitter conflict with the army over the secret memo scandal. The army was outraged by the memo, which was allegedly sent by the government, and pushed the Supreme Court to set up a commission to investigate. The government has denied any connection to the memo and opposed the commission, saying the matter was already being probed by the parliament.

Some observers have speculated the army is working behind the scenes with the Supreme Court to oust the government. But others believe the judges are acting independently because of the enmity between Zardari and the chief justice and the frustration with the government's refusal to obey court orders.

Since Pakistan was founded in 1947, no civilian government has ever completed a full five-year term before being toppled by a military coup, or forced to call early elections. There have been three coups over that period. A fourth coup is considered unlikely, but the government may call early elections to counter the building political pressure.

___

Associated Press writer Sebastian Abbot contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120119/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan

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Suddenly 'neck and neck' ? Romney, Gingrich in SC (AP)

CHARLESTON, S.C. ? On the eve of a Southern showdown, Mitt Romney conceded Friday he's in a tight race with Newt Gingrich for Saturday's South Carolina primary in a Republican campaign suddenly turned turbulent.

It's "neck and neck," Romney declared, while a third presidential contender, former Sen. Rick Santorum, swiped at both men in hopes of springing yet another campaign surprise.

Several days after forecasting a Romney victory in his state, Sen. Jim DeMint said the campaign's first Southern primary was now a two-man race between the former Massachusetts governor, who has struggled in recent days with questions about his personal wealth and taxes, and Gingrich, the former House speaker who has been surging in polls after a pair of well-received debate performances.

The stakes were high as Republicans sought a challenger to Democratic President Barack Obama. Television advertising by the candidates and their supporters exceeded $10 million here, much of it spent in the past two weeks, and mailboxes were stuffed with campaign flyers.

In a bit of home-state boosterism, DeMint said the primary winner was "likely to be the next president of the United States."

Indeed, the winner of the state's primary has gone on to capture the Republican nomination each year since 1980.

A victory by Romney would place him in a commanding position heading into the Florida primary on Jan. 31. He and an organization supporting him are already airing television ads in that state, which is one of the country's costliest in which to campaign.

If the former Massachusetts governor stumbles in South Carolina, it could portend a long, drawn-out battle for the nomination stretching well into spring and further expose rifts inside the party between those who want a candidate who can defeat Obama more than anything else, and those whose strong preference is for a solid conservative.

Romney sounded anything but confident as he told reporters that in South Carolina, "I realize that I had a lot of ground to make up and Speaker Gingrich is from a neighboring state, well known, popular ... and frankly to be in a neck-and-neck race at this last moment is kind of exciting."

Left unspoken was that he swept into South Carolina 10 days ago on the strength of a strong victory in the New Hampshire primary and maintained a double-digit lead in the South Carolina polls for much of the week.

Campaigning in Gilbert, S.C., on Friday, Romney demanded that Gingrich release hundreds of supporting documents relating to an ethics committee investigation into his activities while he was speaker of the House in the mid-1990s.

""Of course he should," he told reporters. Referring to the House Democratic leader, he said, "Nancy Pelosi has the full record of that ethics investigation. You know it's going to get out ahead of the general election."

That was an attempt to turn the tables on Gingrich, who has demanded Romney release his income tax returns before the weekend primary so Republicans can know in advance if they contain anything that could compromise the party's chances against Obama this fall.

Gingrich's campaign brushed off Romney's demand, calling it a "panic attack" brought on by sinking poll numbers.

In January 1997, Gingrich became the first speaker ever reprimanded and fined for ethics violations, slapped with a $300,000 penalty. He said he'd failed to follow legal advice concerning the use of tax-exempt contributions to advance potentially partisan goals, but he was also cleared of numerous other allegations.

At the same time he fended off a demand on one front Friday, Gingrich was less than eager to face further questions made by his second wife, Marianne, who said in an ABC interview broadcast Thursday night that he had once sought an open marriage so he could keep the mistress who later became his current wife.

He denies the ex-wife's account.

On his final lap through the state, Santorum campaigned as the Goldilocks candidate ? just right for the state's conservative voters.

"One candidate is too radioactive, a little too hot," he said, referring to Gingrich. "And we have another candidate who is just too darn cold, who doesn't have bold plans," he added, speaking of Romney.

Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, dismissed Texas Rep. Ron Paul, the fourth contender in the race. "There are four, three of whom have a chance to win the nomination," he said, including himself.

Paul, who finished second in the Iowa caucuses and third in the New Hampshire primary, has had a limited presence in South Carolina.

Interviewed on C-SPAN, Santorum said the race "has just transformed itself in the last 24 hours." It was hard for any of the campaigns to argue with that.

In a bewildering series of events on Thursday, Romney was stripped of his victory in the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses by state party officials, who said a recount showed Santorum ahead by 34 votes.

Then came an unexpected withdrawal by Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who endorsed Gingrich. But Gingrich was suddenly caught in a controversy caused by his ex-wife's accusations.

At a two-hour debate that capped the day, Gingrich drew applause when he strongly attacked ABC and the "liberal news media" in general for injecting the issue into the final days of the South Carolina campaign.

By contrast, Romney faced a round of boos from the audience when he stuck by earlier statements that he would wait until April to release his tax returns.

Romney has stumbled several times in recent days, including once when he said he paid an effective tax rate of about 15 percent. That's half what many middle-income Americans pay, but it's what the law stipulates because his income derives from investments, which are taxed at a lower rate than wages.

Gingrich posted his own tax returns online during the Thursday debate, reporting he paid 31.5 percent of his income to the IRS.

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Associated Press writers Charles Babington, Kasie Hunt, Thomas Beaumont, Philip Elliott, Beth Fouhy and Shannon McCaffrey contributed to this story.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120120/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_campaign

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