Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/12/29/keep-your-wine-safe-with-a-wine-bottle-lock/
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Saturday, December 31, 2011
Keep your Wine Safe with a Wine Bottle Lock
The Combo Liquor/Wine Bottle Lock from Franmara will keep your important spirits safe from sneaky sippers. The lock is constructed of stainless steel and provides a customizable 4 digit combination lock. You can buy one from Amazon for $19.99.
Deep Gulf drilling thrives 18 mos. after BP spill (AP)
ALAMINOS CANYON BLOCK 857, GULF OF MEXICO ? Two hundred miles off the coast of Texas, ribbons of pipe are reaching for oil and natural gas deeper below the ocean's surface than ever before.
These pipes, which run nearly two miles deep, are connected to a floating platform that is so remote Shell named it Perdido, which means "lost" in Spanish. What attracted Shell to this location is a geologic formation found throughout the Gulf of Mexico that may contain enough oil to satisfy U.S. demand for two years.
While Perdido is isolated, it isn't alone. Across the Gulf, energy companies are probing dozens of new deepwater fields thanks to high oil prices and technological advances that finally make it possible to tap them.
The newfound oil will not do much to lower global oil prices. But together with increased production from onshore U.S. fields and slowing domestic demand for gasoline, it could help reduce U.S. oil imports by more than half over the next decade.
Eighteen months ago, such a flurry of activity in the Gulf seemed unlikely. The Obama administration halted drilling and stopped issuing new permits after the explosion of a BP well killed 11 workers and caused the largest oil spill in U.S. history.
But the drilling moratorium was eventually lifted and the Obama administration issued the first new drilling permit in March. Now the Gulf is humming again and oil executives describe it as the world's best place to drill.
"In the short term and the medium term, it's clearly the Gulf of Mexico," says Matthais Bichsel, a Royal Dutch Shell PLC board member who is in charge of all of the company's new projects and technology.
By early 2012 there will be more rigs in the Gulf designed to drill in its "deep water" ? defined as 2,000 feet or deeper ? than before the spill.
In November, Perdido began pumping oil from a field called Tobago; the well begins 9,627 feet below the surface of the Gulf. No other well on the globe produces oil in deeper water and that's about as deep as the Gulf gets. For drillers, that means the entire Gulf is now within reach.
"We are at the point where ... depth is not the primary issue anymore," says Marvin Odum, the head of Royal Dutch Shell's drilling unit in the Americas. "I do not worry that there is something in the Gulf that we cannot develop ... if we can find it."
From a distance, Perdido looks like an erector set perched on an aluminum can. This can, or "spar," is a 500-foot-tall steel cylinder that sits mostly underwater, serving as a base for the equipment and living quarters above. It is stuffed with iron ore to lower its center of gravity, keeping the whole operation from bobbing in the water like a cork. The spar is tethered to the sea floor 8,000 feet below with ropes and chains.
Oil and natural gas are pumped to Perdido from nearby wells drilled by an onboard rig and from faraway wells drilled by satellite rigs. Water and other impurities are then removed from the oil and gas, which gets sent hundreds of miles through an undersea pipeline to terminals and refineries along the Gulf coast.
Perdido, which pumps the equivalent of 60,000 barrels of oil and natural gas a day, will eventually yield 100,000 barrels per day from 35 wells in a 30-mile radius, according to Shell. It will likely produce oil for decades ? in all, as much as 360 million barrels of oil and 750 billion cubic feet of natural gas, according to Wood Mackenzie.
As global oil demand climbs past 89 million barrels a day and traditional onshore and shallow water fields are depleted, the deep waters of the Gulf and off the coasts of South America, West Africa and Australia are playing an increasingly important role.
In 2000, 1.5 million barrels of oil per day were produced from deepwater fields around the globe, or 2 percent of global production. In 2011, that number grew to 5.5 million barrels, or 6 percent of global production. By 2020, deepwater oil will account for 9 percent, according to IHS CERA.
The Gulf is attractive for many reasons. Its oil fields are enormous; it straddles the world's biggest consumer of oil; it's in a politically stable part of the world; and drillers can easily tap into a vast network of pipelines and refineries. Also, despite industry complaints, the cost of royalties, taxes and regulation in the U.S. are among the lowest in the world.
"Everybody wants to be there," says Mohammad Rahman, the lead Gulf analyst for Wood Mackenzie.
By early 2012, there will be 40 deepwater rigs in the Gulf, up from 37 before the BP spill, according to Cinnamon Odell of ODS-Petrodata. BP received its first permit to drill in late October.
The Gulf produces an average of 1.5 million barrels of oil per day, according to Wood Mackenzie. That's 27 percent of U.S. output and 8 percent of U.S. demand.
Thanks to more accurate imaging technologies, drillers are able to see under geologic formations that used to confound geologists. In June, ExxonMobil Corp. said it found 700 million barrels of oil ? one of the biggest discoveries in the Gulf in last decade. In September, Chevron and BP also announced major finds, thought to be in the hundreds of millions of barrels of oil.
Many of the Gulf's recent discoveries are in a geologic formation known as the Lower Tertiary, formed between 23 million and 65 million years ago. Perdido, which is operated by Shell and owned jointly by Shell, Chevron and BP, is the first to produce oil from this formation. Analysts say it could hold 15 billion barrels of oil.
As the BP disaster made clear, drilling in deep water presents difficulties and dangers. Last month a Chevron well in the deep waters off of Brazil ruptured and spilled 2,400 barrels of oil into the Atlantic after Chevron underestimated the pressure of the oil field it was tapping.
Perdido only recently reached its monthly production target after a year of operation because of difficulties getting oil and gas from the seabed to the platform. New devices designed to separate oil and gas on the sea floor have not performed as well as Shell hoped. It has taken months of adjustments made by underwater robots and other equipment on the platform to fix the problems.
Challenges like this have helped push the average cost of producing oil in the deepwater Gulf to $60 a barrel, according to IHS CERA, near the highest level ever. But with oil close to $100 a barrel, the expense is well worth it.
After all 35 wells are drilled for Perdido, its owners will likely have spent $6.2 billion on the project, according to Wood Mackenzie. But along with the risks, the Gulf offers great rewards: Perdido could ultimately generate $39 billion in revenue and $16 billion in profits.
Jonathan Fahey can be reached at http://www.facebook.com/Fahey.Jonathan.
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Friday, December 30, 2011
If Iran Moves, the USA Has No Plan for an Oil Interruption
It will come as a shock to most Americans, but no presidential candidate -- nor any candidate, nor any local, state or federal government -- has developed a contingency plan in the event of a protracted oil cut-off. It is not even being discussed. Government has prepared for hurricanes, anthrax, terrorism, and every other disaster, but not the one threatened daily -- a protracted oil stoppage, whether caused by terrorism or Iranian intervention in the Persian Gulf.
It is like seeing a hurricane developing without a disaster plan or evacuation route. Our allies have oil shortage interruption contingency plans, but America does not.
The crude realities: America uses approximately 19 to 20 million barrels of oil per day, almost 70 percent of which is imported. If we lose just 1 million barrels per day, or suffer the type of damage sustained from Hurricane Katrina, the government will open the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which offers a mere 6 to 8 week supply of unrefined crude oil. If we lose 1.5 million barrels per day, or approximately 7.5 percent, we will ask our allies in the 28-member International Energy Agency to open their SPRs and otherwise assist. If we lose 2 million barrels per day, or ten percent for a protracted period of time, government crisis monitors say the chaos will be so catastrophic they cannot even model it. One government oil crisis source told me hours ago, "We cannot put a price tag on it. If it happens, just cash in your 401k."
Exactly how could America be subjected to a protracted oil interruption, that is, a 10 percent shortfall lasting longer than several weeks? It will not come from hurricane action in the Gulf of Mexico, or even major refinery accidents or other oil infrastructure damage. Such damage would be repaired within days and the temporary losses absorbed by the small half million barrel per day global cushion available.
However, if one, two, or all of three of these vital chokepoints are hit by terrorists flying hijacked jumbo jets or shut down by Iranian military action -- the Abqaiq processing plant in eastern Saudi Arabia, the Ras Tanura terminal on Saudi Arabian coast, or the two-mile per sea lane Strait of Hormuz -- as much as 40 percent of all seaborne oil will be stopped, as much as 18 percent of all global supply will be interrupted, and as much as 20 percent of the U.S. supply will be cut off. Estimates on the U.S. shortfall could be even higher. Repeat attacks could prolong the crisis for many months, which is exactly what Al Qaeda and the Iranian regime have promised. Yet there is no government plan.
The best experts predict that if we suffer as much as a ten percent shortfall for any period of time, let alone twenty percent, it will be a neighbor-against-neighbor "Mad Max scenario" as food shortages swell and a storm of economic collapse surges across the country. Indeed, experts have been warning about this looming calamity for years. But the government and presidential candidates refuse to even consider the possibility or develop a contingency plan. Even if a secret plan exists, who would execute such a monumental undertaking?
Yet American allies have developed oil contingency legislation and other administrative plans that will permit their nations to survive a stoppage. These measures include severe vehicle traffic reductions, enabling fast alternative fuel production, mass vehicle fuel retrofitting, as well as rush public transit enhancement and mandated changes in driving habits. Unquestionably, for America to survive such a catastrophe will require a very painful, multi-layered program of immediate-term, short-term, mid-term and long-term fixes that will change our society and transform it off oil. The nation has no real alternative fuel delivery or retrofitting infrastructure. Lawmakers, mayors, governors and candidates have not developed such a plan during the half decade the interruption has been looming.
The notion that Saudi Arabia can make up the shortfall from an Iranian disruption is impossible. Saudi oil disembarks from Ras Tanura and it, too, must pass through the narrow two-mile wide sea lanes of the Strait. For America to have prepared intelligently for a Persian Gulf oil interruption would have required a decade of planning. To absorb the hit from a sudden oil stoppage as is now once again threatened, will be very painful indeed.
Edwin Black is the New York Times best selling investigative author of 'IBM and the Holocaust,' 'Internal Combustion,' 'British Petroleum and the Redline Agreement,' and 'The Plan: How to Save America When the Oil Stops -- or the Day Before' (Dialog Press), from which this article is adapted. More information about The Plan can be found at www.planforoilcrisis.com.
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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/edwin-black/usa-has-no-plan-oil-interruption_b_1173702.html
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Thursday, December 29, 2011
New Providence Wharf Apartments To Rent, East London, E14 Flats
(Prudent Press Agency.com) Finding a holiday apartments in London, it?s a simple and stress-free apart from of length of stay. Whatever your requirement, family holidays or leisure, whether for business, London hotel apartments offers a cost effective option for tourist with an excellent list of London apartments and flats.
With so many varieties of hotels, rented apartments and lettings available in the city one need not worry about a comfortable and peaceful accommodation in the London city. Well when we talk about Renting we can very easily find good apartments for rent in the centre of the London city these lettings are very much similar to the rented apartments. With competition between the letting owners in London the renting in New Providence Wharf E14 Apartments areas seem to be worth living. The landlords of these apartments want more and more tenants so that they can make good profit out of it.
Those planning a short trip to the London city or a short vacation can easily have a good stay at New Providence Wharf E14 Apartments. The services offered in these lettings are very similar to those offered in the rented apartments. One can easily put down all their belongings and have a wonderful sightseeing tour around the London city without worrying about belongings. The apartments have good security services so that tourists and other travelers can stay tension free. The letting agents look after of their customer well. A person can rent lettings in New Providence Wharf E14 Apartments for how much ever days he wishes to stay in London.
The cost of these apartments is not too expensive and is quite affordable. These lettings are any day better than living in a posh five star hotel and spending all your money. Also the view of New Providence Wharf E14 Apartments is too awesome and one is surely not going to go back home after staying in these lettings. Travelling is not a problem as everything is very near and at a walk able distance. You can very well take a bus or train for sightseeing purpose as they are very much affordable.
People who wish to do shopping and try different cuisines of London can very well find many restaurants and stores in the streets of the London city. The different facilities which the Renting offer are good parking place, nice room service, good food or you can prepare your own food as the letting consist of an attached kitchen very similar to an apartment. Basically the letting owners own these apartments and give it to let in. this letting forms his second home which becomes an income for him.
New Providence Wharf E14 Apartments is very popular in the whole of London and one could easily rent it whenever he wants. There are online sites available which provides you information about the many Renting in and around London city. This is indeed a good way to do bookings. Online bookings are also offered for these renting which make it even more convenient for the tourists and visitors. Thus, make sure whenever you plan a trip to London with your family or friends you choose to stay in New Providence Wharf E14 Apartments.
Get more information on New Providence Wharf E14 Apartments, Flats to Rent
Source: http://prudentpressagency.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=24103
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Breast cancer screenings offered
ATHENS ? Breast cancer screenings and education will be provided by the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine?s (OU-HCOM) Community Heath Program on January 12 and 19.
The Clinic will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Free Community Clinic located at OU-HCOM.
Free clinical breast examinations, breast health education, and appointments and vouchers for mammograms will be provided for uninsured and under-insured women.
Appointments are required. For appointments or more information call 1-800-844-2654 or (740) 593-2432.
The clinic is a community service provided by the OU-HCOM?s Community Health Programs, Breast and Cervical Cancer Projects of Southeast Ohio and the Columbus affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
Source: http://mydailysentinel.com/bookmark/16913300
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Wednesday, December 28, 2011
How To Find The Best Elder Care Services Including Alzheimer's Care, Home Care, and Assisted Living In California (PRWeb - Daily News Feed)
Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.
Source: http://wik.io/info/US/306350144
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Riots in London
Mike Askin posted this link on Facebook - nice shots of a
couple of working boats Chiswick and Alton
couple of working boats Chiswick and Alton
http://youtu.be/lt006-Xzg4M
But the ending - today they would all be in chockey with
the keys thrown away!
--
Rob
The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing.
If you can fake that, you've got it made
Source: http://forums.travel.com/uk-canals-waterways-forum/1313218-riots-london.html
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Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Clashes in Israel segregation row
26 December 2011
Last updated at 19:17 ET
Ultra-orthodox Jews have clashed with police in the Israeli town of Beit Shemesh, near Jerusalem.
One police officer was slightly hurt and a number of Orthodox Jews detained, say reports.
The town has become a focus of friction between secular Jews and ultra-Orthodox men demanding strict gender segregation and "modest" dress for women.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Sunday to end attempts to enforce segregation of the sexes.
The latest clashes came as police attempted to remove one of several signs in the town ordering segregation between the sexes.
Some 300 ultra-Orthodox residents pelted the police with stones and eggs, slightly injuring one officer, and rubbish bins were set on fire.
A television crew attempting to film in the town were also surrounded and harassed - the second alleged attack in two days on journalists.
On Sunday, a crew from Channel 2 news were attacked as they were filming, say reports, with rocks allegedly thrown at their van.
The alleged assault came days after Channel 2 aired a story about an eight-year-old American girl, Naama Margolese, who said she was afraid to walk to school because ultra-orthodox men shouted at her.
The broadcast has inflamed secular opinion, with activists planning to hold a rally in Beit Shemesh on Tuesday to counter what they say is intimidation by sections of the ultra-orthodox community.
Some ultra-orthodox Jews will also reportedly be joining the rally in an effort to distance themselves from "extremists".
Unnamed ultra-orthodox activists from Beit Shemesh issued a statement condemning the violence, but also accusing the media of initiating "deliberate provocations in order to make the peaceful, quiet and tolerant residents, who live their lives according to their beliefs, look bad".
Such clashes have become more frequent in Israel in recent years as the authorities have challenged efforts by ultra-Orthodox Jews to segregate women in public places.
Other recent points of contention include demands for separate seating areas for women on buses and a recent case of some soldiers who refused to remain at a performance by female singers.
Mr Netanyahu has ordered a crackdown on segregation, saying harassment and discrimination have no place in a liberal democracy.
Ultra-orthodox Jews make up 10% of the population in Israel. The community has a high birth rate and is growing rapidly.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-middle-east-16335603
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saraivaonline: "O X da Quest?o" O ?cone no mundo dos neg?cios, Eike Batista, narra sua trajeto?ria de sucesso. http://t.co/SgfuAI10
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Source: http://twitter.com/saraivaonline/statuses/150697298417041408
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Monday, December 26, 2011
sackedbybmac: RT @asdombroff: "Rex Ryan is a disrespectful bastard. The Jets have a big mouth, big belly coach that talks too much." - Brandon Jacobs
"Rex Ryan is a disrespectful bastard. The Jets have a big mouth, big belly coach that talks too much." - Brandon Jacobs Source: http://twitter.com/sackedbybmac/statuses/150695034386264064
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Sunday, December 25, 2011
Making Time New Year?s Eve 2011/12 at Union Transfer on 12/31/2011 09:00 PM EST
Making Time & R5 Presents ::
Main Floor DJs : Dave P / Sammy Slice / Mike Z / Dave Pak, Room 2 : A Rock Tits Event, ROOM 3 : In the HYPERCAGE
Sat, December 31, 2011
Doors: 9:00 pm / Show: 9:00 pm (event ends at 2:00 am)
Union Transfer
Philadelphia, PA
This event is 21 and over
http://www.utphilly.com/event/80975/Making Time New Year?s Eve 2011/12
Three rooms / 12 DJs and open bar for New Years Eve!
Main Floor DJs : Dave P / Sammy Slice / Mike Z / Dave Pak
Illuminating the dance floor w/
indiedance.cocainesexjams.partytrainanthems.nitemusic.futuristicsounds.
Room 2 : A Rock Tits Event
With DJs Joel Flood, Russ Alexander and Steve Vena. With a combined squat weight of 600 pounds and backs like a barrel of
snakes, Philadelphia's premier macho rock DJs go deep inside the Bear Den to bring you a sweaty, shirtless, unprotected party experience. Journey with us and let our capable muscular hands guide the way to a night of : Basement Bangers, Midnight Ramblers, Barabajanglers, Heavy Sounds, Cherry Bombs and Good Vibrations
ROOM 3 : In the HYPERCAGE
With DJs : Adam Sparkles, Pink Skull (DJ set) and BroadzillaMaking Time's third circle of Hell, that mirrorball technodrome tardis reserved only for dark dungeon funkers, wax traxx punkers, slamdance cosmonauts from the D.M.S.R, Eno-huffers and pyramid pushers; a Connect-Four sub-dub disco welcoming leather boys and invisible girls, balearic chuggers and acid house mothers, handclap drumbucket congaloids, poison arrow people of all stripes, and the scum of the earth.
Venue Information:
Union Transfer
1024 Spring Garden St.
Philadelphia, PA 19123
There are currently no videos. Check back soon.
Source: http://www.utphilly.com/event/80975?utm_medium=api
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Saturday, December 24, 2011
TimSeibel: And a City of Commerce as well. Both are California ghost towns RT @TXTrendyChick: There's a place called City of Industry, CA??
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And a City of Commerce as well. Both are California ghost towns RT @TXTrendyChick: There's a place called City of Industry, CA?? 
TimSeibel Tim Seibel
Pied de page
Source: http://twitter.com/TimSeibel/statuses/149672407676887041
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Valentine fills out Red Sox coaching staff
updated 4:01 p.m. ET Dec. 23, 2011
BOSTON - The Boston Red Sox have hired Bob McClure as pitching coach and moved Tim Bogar to bench coach.
The Red Sox said Friday Alex Ochoa will be first base coach on manager Bobby Valentine's staff and Jerry Royster will be the third base coach. Bogar and Ochoa both played under Valentine with the New York Mets.
Bogar is in his fourth year with the Red Sox, spending the last two as the third base coach.
McClure recently joined the Red Sox organization as a special assignment scout and instructor. He spent the previous six seasons as the pitching coach for the Kansas City Royals.
Ochoa was the hitting coach for Boston's Class-A affiliate in Salem of the Carolina League.
Royster was most recently the manager of the Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization from 2008-10.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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More newsIsn't it time to forgive Bartman?
CSN: Hopefully Theo Epstein is true to his word and welcomes exiled fan Steve Bartman back to Wrigley. This season will be the ninth since Bartman's infamous moment. Fans will never forget. But it's time to forgive.
Getty ImagesSource: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45779383/ns/sports-baseball/
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Friday, December 23, 2011
IsraelNewsStory: Egypt Hemorrhaging Cash: As clashes between protesters and regime troops continue in central Cairo billions are ... http://t.co/pZvmgGmQ
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Egypt Hemorrhaging Cash: As clashes between protesters and regime troops continue in central Cairo billions are ... bit.ly/ta2OOk 
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NFL: Last-gasp touchdown seals win for Colts
Published: 6:15PM Friday December 23, 2011 Source: Reuters
The Indianapolis Colts scored a touchdown in the final minute to stun AFC South rivals Houston 19-16 at Lucas Oil Stadium today.
It was the second consecutive win for the Colts, who lost their first 13 games of a miserable season. The Texans (10-5), who have already clinched the division, suffered their second loss in a row.
Colts quarterback Dan Orlovsky connected with Reggie Wayne on a one-yard pass with 19 seconds left to cap an 78-yard, 12 play drive that was aided by two penalties against the Texans.
Houston struggled on offense after scoring their only touchdown on the third play of the game, a nine-yard run by Arian Foster following a fumble by Orlovsky on the opening play.
Copyright ? 2011, Television New Zealand Limited. Breaking and Daily News, Sport & Weather | TV ONE, TV2 | Ondemand
Source: http://tvnz.co.nz/othersports-news/last-gasp-touchdown-seals-win-colts-4667945?ref=rss
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Monday, December 19, 2011
Activists: 14 civilians, 6 troops killed in Syria
Shadows of Syrians are reflected on a giant poster showing President Bashar Assad, during a supporting rally in Damascus, Syria, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011. Syrian security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters after Friday prayers at several locations around the country, while the army sent reinforcements into a southern area where military defectors recently launched deadly attacks on regime troops. (AP Photo/Muzaffar Salman)
Shadows of Syrians are reflected on a giant poster showing President Bashar Assad, during a supporting rally in Damascus, Syria, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011. Syrian security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters after Friday prayers at several locations around the country, while the army sent reinforcements into a southern area where military defectors recently launched deadly attacks on regime troops. (AP Photo/Muzaffar Salman)
Arab League Secretary General, Nabil al-Arabi speaks during the meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Arab League to discuss the situation in Syria taking place in Doha, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Osama Faisal)
BEIRUT (AP) ? Armed clashes erupted in Syria Sunday, killing at least 14 civilians and six government troops in central and northern Syria, activists said, the latest sign that the nation's uprising may be deteriorating into civil war.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said an army officer was among the six soldiers killed in the town of Qusair in Homs province, near the border with Lebanon.
"Three armored vehicles were destroyed, and those inside were killed and wounded," according to the group, which relies on a network of activists inside the country. It said the clashes also resulted in the "partial destruction of some homes."
Heavy gunbattles were also reported Sunday in several villages in the restive Jabal al-Zawiya region in the northern Idlib province near the Turkish border, where many defectors are believed to be operating.
The Observatory and the Local Coordination Committees activist network said at least 14 civilians were killed in clashes and shootings by security forces toward civilian areas in the Homs region, as well as the Jabal al-Zawiya area and the town of Maaret al-Numan in the north.
The reports could not be confirmed independently, because Syria has banned most foreign correspondents and limited movement around the country.
Syria has seen a sharp escalation in armed clashes recently, raising concerns the country of 22 million is slipping toward civil war nine months into the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The Syrian revolt began in mid-March as protesters emboldened by uprisings across the Arab world took to the streets to demand an end to the Assad family's more than 40-year rule. The regime responded with a bloody crackdown that the U.N. says has killed at least 5,000 people.
The Arab League has given Syria until Wednesday to allow observers into the country, or else it will likely turn to the U.N. Security Council for action to try to end the deadly violence against regime opponents, Qatar's prime minister said Saturday.
Speaking after an Arab ministerial committee meeting in Doha, Sheik Hamad Bin Jassem Bin Jabr Al Thani said Arab foreign ministers will hold a "decisive and important" meeting in Cairo on Wednesday to decide on the next step.
He said there is near unanimity on taking the Arab League's plan to the Security Council in hopes the world body can bring more pressure to bear on Damascus to accept it. Syria has demanded changes to the proposal, which calls for an end to the government crackdown.
The United Nations has been waiting for word from the Arab League before moving ahead with a resolution on Syria. A clear nod from Damascus' Arab neighbors could ease Russian and Chinese opposition to sanctions. Both nations have veto power at the Security Council.
The Arab League plan calls for Syria to halt its crackdown, hold talks with the opposition and allow in Arab observers to ensure compliance with the deal. It does not call for foreign military intervention, as in Libya.
The 22-member League has also suspended Syria's membership and imposed sanctions, but it has been divided over whether to seek the help of the wider international community beyond the Arab world.
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Sunday, December 18, 2011
Israel set to complete swap for captured soldier
Palestinian relatives of prisoner Younis Jahjouh decorate the street ahead of his release from Israeli prisons in the Qalandia refugee camp near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Saturday, Dec 17, 2011. Israel is set to release 550 Palestinian prisoners Sunday, the final stage of a prisoner exchange deal between Israel and the militant Hamas group. In October, Israel released 477 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit, who was held by Hamas in Gaza for five and a half years.(AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
Palestinian relatives of prisoner Younis Jahjouh decorate the street ahead of his release from Israeli prisons in the Qalandia refugee camp near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Saturday, Dec 17, 2011. Israel is set to release 550 Palestinian prisoners Sunday, the final stage of a prisoner exchange deal between Israel and the militant Hamas group. In October, Israel released 477 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit, who was held by Hamas in Gaza for five and a half years.(AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
Palestinian relatives of prisoner Younis Jahjouh decorate the street ahead of his release from Israeli prisons in the Qalandia refugee camp near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Saturday, Dec 17, 2011. Israel is set to release 550 Palestinian prisoners Sunday, the final stage of a prisoner exchange deal between Israel and the militant Hamas group. In October, Israel released 477 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit, who was held by Hamas in Gaza for five and a half years.(AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
Palestinian relatives of prisoner Younis Jahjouh decorate the street ahead of his release from Israeli prisons in the Qalandia refugee camp near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Saturday, Dec 17, 2011. Israel is set to release 550 Palestinian prisoners Sunday, the final stage of a prisoner exchange deal between Israel and the militant Hamas group. In October, Israel released 477 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit, who was held by Hamas in Gaza for five and a half years.(AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
JERUSALEM (AP) ? Israel was wrapping up preparations to release 550 Palestinian prisoners late Sunday, in the second and final phase of a swap with Hamas militants that brought home an Israeli soldier after five years in captivity.
Under the Egyptian-brokered deal, Israel has agreed to exchange a total of 1,027 prisoners for Sgt. Gilad Schalit, who was captured by Gaza militants in June 2006. Schalit returned home in October when Israel freed the first batch of 477 prisoners. Sunday's release will complete the swap.
Sunday's release, expected to take place late Sunday, was not infused with the same drama as the first phase since the most significant players in the trade have already been released.
The Oct. 18 return of Schalit, who appeared pale and thin but otherwise healthy, was the first public sighting of him since his capture, and the plight of the young man had captured Israel's attention for years.
The prisoners freed in the first round included dozens of militants serving life sentences for involvement in deadly attacks. Their releases set off ecstatic celebration in the Palestinian territories, particularly Hamas' Gaza stronghold.
Under the terms of the deal, Israel chose the prisoners to be freed Sunday. Prison officials said most were serving light sentences or near the end of their terms, and only 41 were returning to Gaza.
More than 500 were being sent to the West Bank, which is ruled by Hamas' rival, President Mahmoud Abbas, and most of them were believed to be linked to Abbas' Fatah movement. Israel is interested in bolstering Abbas at a time when Islamic groups like Hamas are gaining in power throughout the Middle East. Hamas enjoyed a huge boost of popularity following the October release.
The Palestinians have been divided between two rival governments since Hamas expelled Abbas' forces and seized control of Gaza in 2007. Abbas, who favors a negotiated peace settlement with Israel, has governed only in the West Bank since then.
"This phase of the swap is shallow, because most of those coming out had served short sentences," said Issa Karake, the prisoners affairs minister in the West Bank government. "It did not live up to the expectations of the Palestinians."
In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said the movement welcomed the release of all prisoners, regardless of their political affiliation. "We are proud of this great achievement," he said.
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have been frozen for three years, in part because of continued Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. The Palestinians claim both territories, captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, as parts of a future state.
On Sunday, Israel's Housing Ministry published advertisements seeking contractors to build some 1,000 apartments in both areas.
The apartments were approved long ago. Last month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered construction to be sped up after the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO granted the Palestinians membership. Israel opposes Palestinian efforts to join the U.N. in the absence of a negotiated peace deal.
___
Ian Deitch contributed to this report.
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Report slams Dutch Catholic Church over sex abuse (AP)
THE HAGUE, Netherlands ? As many as 20,000 children endured sexual abuse at Dutch Catholic institutions over the past 65 years, and church officials failed to adequately address it or help the victims, according to a long-awaited investigative report released Friday.
The findings detailed some of the most widespread abuse yet linked to the Roman Catholic Church, which has been under fire for years over abuse allegations in Europe, the United States and elsewhere.
Based on a survey of 34,000 people, the report estimated that 1 in 10 Dutch children suffered some form of sexual abuse ? a figure that rose to 1 in 5 among children who spent part of their youth in an institution such as a boarding school or children's home, whether Catholic or not.
"Sexual abuse of minors," it said bluntly, "occurs widely in Dutch society."
The findings prompted the archbishop of Utrecht, Wim Eijk, to apologize to victims on behalf of the Dutch church, saying the report "fills us with shame and sorrow."
The abuse ranged from "unwanted sexual advances" to rape, and abusers numbered in the hundreds and included priests, brothers and lay people who worked in religious orders and congregations. The number of victims who suffered abuse in church institutions likely lies somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000, according to the probe, which went back as far as 1945.
The commission behind the investigation was set up last year by the Catholic Church under the leadership of a former government minister, Wim Deetman, a Protestant, who said there could be no doubt church leaders knew of the problem. "The idea that people did not know there was a risk ... is untenable," he told a news conference.
Deetman said abuse continued in part because bishops and religious orders sometimes worked autonomously to deal with the abuse and "did not hang out their dirty laundry." However, he said the commission concluded that "it is wrong to talk of a culture of silence" by the church as a whole.
Colm O'Gorman, executive director of Amnesty International in Ireland and a victim of clergy abuse, criticized the Dutch inquiry because it was established by the church itself.
"It is the Dutch government that should be putting in place a meaningful investigation," O'Gorman said.
Even so, he said the report "highlights widespread abuse on a scale I think would be shocking to most Dutch people."
But O'Gorman added that "the scale of the abuse is in and of itself not the significant issue. It is whether it was covered up and, significantly, this report suggests it was."
Nearly a third of the Netherlands' 16 million people identify themselves as Catholic, making it the largest religion in the country, according to the Dutch Central Bureau for Statistics for 2008.
The Dutch probe followed allegations of repeated incidents of abuse at one cloister that spread to claims from Catholic institutions across the country.
The investigating commission received some 1,800 complaints of abuse at Catholic schools, seminaries and orphanages. It then conducted the broader survey of 34,000 people for a more comprehensive analysis of the scale and nature of sexual abuse of minors in the church and elsewhere.
In one order, the Salesians of Don Bosco, the commission found evidence that "sexually inappropriate behavior" among members "may perhaps have been part of the internal monastic culture."
Bert Smeets, an abuse victim, said the report did not go far enough in investigating and outlining in precise detail exactly what happened.
"What was happening was sexual abuse, violence, spiritual terror, and that should have been investigated," Smeets told The Associated Press. "It remains vague. All sorts of things happened, but nobody knows exactly what or by whom. This way they avoid responsibility."
The commission said about 800 priests, brothers, pastors or lay people working for the church were identified in the complaints. About 105 of them are still alive, although it is not known if they remain in church positions. Their names were not released.
Prosecutors said in a statement that Deetman's inquiry had referred 11 cases to them ? without naming the alleged perpetrators. Prosecutors opened only one investigation, saying the other 10 did not have sufficient details and happened too long ago to prosecute.
The latest findings add to the growing evidence of widespread clergy abuse of children documented in the United States, Canada, Ireland, Belgium and other countries, forcing Pope Benedict XVI to apologize to victims whose trauma was often hidden by church cover-ups.
In September, abuse victims and human rights lawyers, upset that no high-ranking church officials have yet to be prosecuted, filed a complaint in the United States urging the International Criminal Court to investigate the pope and top Vatican officials for possible crimes against humanity. The Vatican called the move a "ludicrous publicity stunt."
An American advocacy group involved in that case, the Center for Constitutional Rights, called the Dutch findings "yet another example of the widespread and systematic nature of the problem of child sex crimes in the Catholic Church."
"If similar commissions were held in every country, we would undoubtedly be equally appalled by the rates of abuse," it said.
Archbishop Eijk said the victims in the Netherlands would be compensated by a commission the Dutch church set up last month and which has a scale starting at $6,500 (euro5,000), rising to a maximum of $130,000 (euro100,000) depending on the nature of the abuse.
O'Gorman criticized the church-established compensation scheme.
"It is simply not appropriate for the church to be the decider" of compensation, he said. "It is important the Dutch government recognizes its responsibility to ensure access to justice ... to all victims."
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Saturday, December 17, 2011
Dudley: Fed's dollar lines shield U.S. from Europe (Reuters)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? A top U.S. Federal Reserve official on Thursday defended the central bank's decision to provide dollars for overseas banks stressed by Europe's debt crisis, saying the action was needed to protect the U.S. economy.
New York Fed President William Dudley, in testimony to Congress released on Thursday, said the Fed had put in place dollar swap lines with other central banks to help protect the U.S. economy from the potential risk of a big selloff in dollar assets.
"If the access to dollar funding were severely impaired, this would necessitate the abrupt forced sales of dollar assets by these banks, which could seriously disrupt U.S. markets and adversely affect U.S. businesses, consumers and jobs," Dudley said in remarks prepared for a hearing scheduled for Friday.
The Fed collaborated with other central banks in late November to prevent a global credit crunch stemming from European turmoil, lowering the cost of existing dollar swap lines. The arrangements permit the Fed to provide dollars to the European Central Bank and four other central banks in exchange for local currencies.
The swap facilities have drawn criticism from U.S. lawmakers who say they could hand U.S. taxpayers the bill for a European financial bailout.
The swap arrangements are safe for the Fed and U.S. taxpayers, Fed Division of International Finance Director Steven Kamin said in testimony prepared for delivery to the same panel.
The announcement of the swap arrangement changes has already had a beneficial effect on dollar funding markets, Kamin said.
Dudley said while U.S. financial institutions are not directly exposed to the sovereign debt of European countries in the most trouble, they are deeply entwined with other "core" European countries and the European banking system as a whole.
"This means that if the crisis were to broaden further and intensify, this could put greater pressure on U.S. banks' capital and liquidity buffers," he said.
The U.S. economy is on a moderate growth path and but faces a significant risk from the euro area crisis, Dudley said.
If conditions were to worsen, the U.S. central bank is prepared to put any number of tools to use to provide a liquidity backstop for any U.S. banks facing a credit freeze, he said.
"Although at this time, I do not anticipate further efforts by the Federal Reserve to address the potential spillover effects of Europe on the United States, we will continue to monitor the situation closely," he said.
(Reporting by Timothy Ahmann and Mark Felsenthal; Editing by Andrew Hay and Jan Paschal)
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Crunch time for Qatar, UAE stocks | Global Investing
Index compiler MSCI will announce tonight at 2300 GMT whether or not Qatar and United Arab Emirates get an upgrade to the firm?s flagship global emerging market stock index from their current slots in the frontier market index.
If any Qatari or UAE stocks get into the index, they are likely to make up only a small percentage of the benchmark, which has heavy weightings for countries like the BRIC nations and South Korea. But the move would attract investment from the many funds who measure their performance against the index, and might prefer not to deviate too far from it.
Qatar and UAE were due for a possible upgrade earlier this year, but MSCI gave them another six months to allow market players to assess new delivery-versus-payment (DvP) settlement systems.
MSCI has also said Qatar might not make it because of its 25 percent foreign ownership limit ? foreign ownership needs to be ?significant? to ?meet emerging market index criteria.
Most players don?t expect Qatar to get upgraded tonight because of the foreign ownership issue and there are also doubts about UAE.
If MSCI surprises, the stock markets are likely to get a boost ? Dubai stocks are trading close to 2004 lows, and Abu Dhabi near 2009 lows, though Qatar has had a relatively good year.
According to Emad Mostaque, MENA strategist at Religare Capital Markets in London:
The UAE is more likely to be upgraded than Qatar as the latter has not raised its foreign ownership limits, a key concern raised by MSCI. Both have introduced delivery versus payment ?models requested by MSCI, although the efficacy of these models is still a concern. If the UAE is not upgraded this time, it is likely to receive an upgrade next summer when the next review takes place.
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Source: http://blogs.reuters.com/globalinvesting/2011/12/14/crunch-time-for-qatar-uae-stocks/
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Friday, December 16, 2011
Agreement near on $1 trillion spending bill (AP)
WASHINGTON ? Bipartisan agreement is near on a massive $1 trillion-plus year-end spending package and should be reached in time avert a possible government shutdown this weekend, Senate leaders said Thursday.
The optimism came hours after Republicans said they planned to push the legislation through the House with only GOP votes. Overnight, they unveiled details of the bill, which curbs agency budgets but drops many policy provisions sought by GOP conservatives.
Democrats had been holding up the huge bill, seeking leverage in talks on extending payroll tax cuts and unemployment insurance, two pillars of Obama's jobs agenda.
But Thursday morning, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he had talked to top Senate Democrats who helped write the spending bill and that remaining issues "should be resolvable." He and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., expressed optimism that disputes over that bill and a separate measure extending a payroll tax cut were near an end.
The spending bill contains language to roll back President Barack Obama's loosening of restrictions on the rights of Cuban immigrants to send money to relatives in Cuba or travel to the island to visit them. Earlier this year, the White House promised a veto over the restrictions on travel and gifts, which are supported by many in the GOP-leaning Cuban-American community, a powerful political force in the swing state of Florida.
Release of the legislation came just a couple of hours after the White House issued a statement saying that Obama "continues to have significant concerns about a number of provisions" in the legislation.
White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer called for another stopgap funding bill to buy time for talks on both the spending bill and the payroll tax measure. Funding runs out Friday at midnight.
The underlying bill has bipartisan backing but could encounter turbulence with conservative tea party lawmakers seeking far more significant cuts to government agencies. The measure pays for day-to-day operating budgets of 10 Cabinet departments and programs ranging from border security to flood control to combating AIDS and famine in Africa.
Changes are still possible in the bill before a vote.
On spending, the measure implements this summer's hard-fought budget pact between President Barack Obama and Republican leaders. That deal essentially freezes agency budgets, on average, at levels that were approved back in April for the recently completed budget year.
The bill chips away at the Pentagon budget, foreign aid and environmental spending but boosts funding for veterans programs. The Securities and Exchange Commission, responsible for enforcing new regulations under last year's financial overhaul, won a 10 percent budget increase, even as the tax-collecting IRS absorbs a more than 3 percent cut to its budget.
Popular education initiatives for special-needs children and disadvantaged schools were basically frozen and Obama's cherished "Race to the Top" initiative, which provides grants to better-performing schools, would absorb a more than 20 percent cut.
Environmentalists scored clear wins in stopping virtually every significant GOP initiative to roll back Environmental Protection Agency rules. Most importantly, industry forces seeking to block new greenhouse gas and clean air rules, as well as a new clean water regulation opposed by mountaintop removal mining interests, were denied. But Republicans succeeded in blocking new energy efficiency standards for light bulbs and won delays to a new Labor Department rule requiring a reduction of coal dust responsible for black lung disease.
Drafted behind closed doors, the proposed bill would provide $115 billion for overseas security operations in Afghanistan and Iraq but give the Pentagon just a 1 percent boost in annual spending not directly related to the wars. The Environmental Protection Agency's budget would be cut by 3.5 percent. Foreign aid spending would drop and House lawmakers would absorb a 6 percent cut to their office budgets.
The measure generally consists of relatively small adjustments to thousands of individual programs. Agencies like the Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement will get a boost within the Homeland Security Department, while GOP defense hawks won additional funding to modernize the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal. The troubled, over-budget, next-generation F-35 fighter plane program would be largely protected.
Social conservatives won a ban on government-funded abortions in Washington, D.C., and restored a longstanding ban on funding for needle exchange programs used to prevent the spread of HIV. But efforts to take away federal funding for Planned Parenthood failed, as expected.
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Plan would lift wages of home care workers
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Obama administration is seeking to extend minimum wage and overtime protections to cover home health care workers, a move that would boost living standards for nearly 2 million domestic employees but could mean higher costs for the elderly and disabled.
President Barack Obama and his labor secretary, Hilda Solis, planned to announce the proposal Thursday at a White House ceremony.
"The nearly 2 million in-home care workers across the country should not have to wait a moment longer for a fair wage," Obama said in a prepared statement. "They work hard and play by the rules and they should see that work and responsibility rewarded."
Home care aides have been exempt from federal wage laws since 1974, when they were considered companions to the elderly and compared to neighborhood baby sitters. But the number of full-time home care workers has surged along with the growing number of retirees who need help with a range of daily tasks, from taking the right medication to getting cleaned and dressed.
"These are real jobs as part of a huge and growing industry," said Steve Edelstein, National Policy Director for the Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute in New York. "They deserve same basic labor protections that other workers enjoy."
Unions and advocacy groups say nearly half of all home care workers live at or below the poverty level and receive public benefits such as food stamps and Medicaid. Poor working conditions, low wages and high turnover make it challenging to meet the growing demand to provide care for the elderly in their homes instead of in institutions.
More than 90 percent of home care workers are women. About 30 percent are black, and 12 percent are Hispanic.
With the size of the U.S. population over 65 expected to nearly double in the next 20 years, millions more will rely on long-term health care from domestic workers.
Health services companies that employ home care workers have opposed efforts to expand hour and wage laws, arguing that it would drive up costs for elderly clients who can ill afford it.
"We are in full support of adequate and fair wages of those doing such admirable work," said Jordan Lindsey, a spokesman for the California Association for Health Services at Home. "However, it needs to be carefully balanced with the unique needs of seniors and people with disabilities who need home care and keeping that type of care affordable."
For a patient with dementia who needs 24-hour care, for example, a family is currently allowed to pay home aides at a flat hourly rate. If overtime rules apply, Lindsey said, it could triple the cost of care.
Once the Labor Department formally proposes the new rules, there will be a 60-day period for public comments. The rules could take effect early next year.
The Clinton administration initially tried to extend federal wage rules to home aides, but President George W. Bush stopped the effort.
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Thursday, December 15, 2011
Congo polls "seriously flawed": U.S. envoy (Reuters)
KINSHASA (Reuters) ? Democratic Republic of Congo's elections, won by incumbent President Joseph Kabila according to provisional results, were seriously flawed and lacked transparency, the U.S. ambassador to the central African country said on Wednesday.
The November 28 polls, whose outcome has already been rejected by the opposition, were seen as crucial to reinforcing stability but have been marred by poor organization, delays, violence and accusations of widespread fraud.
The United States has closely followed observer missions including the U.S.-based Carter Center which last week said the results lacked credibility, Ambassador James Entwistle said.
"The United States believes that the management and technical execution of these elections were seriously flawed," Entwistle said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
"(They) lacked transparency and did not measure up to the positive democratic gains we have seen in recent African elections."
The elections are the first Congolese-organized polls since the end of a devastating war in 2003 which left millions dead. An earlier poll in 2006 was organized under the auspices of the United Nations.
The United States and other Western donors are offering technical assistance to the Congolese to review irregularities identified by observer missions, and Congo's prime minister has already welcomed the offer, according to Entwistle.
"It's important that friends of the Congolese people do not only find fault ... Therefore (we) are encouraging the Congolese authorities to closely review the identified irregularities."
The country's Supreme Court must decide by December 17 whether or not to validate provisional results giving Kabila victory with 48.97 percent of the vote against 32.33 percent for nearest rival, Etienne Tshisekedi.
The election process has faced growing criticism from both in and outside the country. The European Union observer mission has said witnesses were prevented from following crucial steps of the process.
At a news conference on Tuesday Kabila accused critics of failing to understand the country, adding that the results of the polls were not in doubt despite some "mistakes."
"People should appreciate that, over a period of ten years we have, as promised, managed to organize elections," he stated.
Official figures showed turnout and support for Kabila running at 100 percent in some areas, while results from nearly 5,000 polling stations, most in the opposition stronghold of Kinshasa, have gone missing.
On Tuesday the electoral commission (CENI) rejected comments by the influential archbishop of Kinshasa Laurent Mosengwo, who said that the results reflected neither truth nor justice. It said the figures referred to by Mosengwo were false.
"CENI invites the population to be wary and to refrain from all manipulation of the election results," said CENI spokesman Mathieu Mpita.
In eastern Congo four opposition leaders, including the local head of Tshisekedi's UDPS party, faced trial on Wednesday accused of inciting civil disobedience after being arrested trying to demonstrate earlier in the week, according to the deputy chief prosecutor of North Kivu province.
(Editing by Mark John and Bate Felix)
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