State Department made "grievous mistake" over Benghazi: Senate report

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The State Department made a "grievous mistake" in keeping the U.S. mission in Benghazi open despite inadequate security and increasingly alarming threat assessments in the weeks before a deadly attack by militants, a Senate committee said on Monday.

A report from the Senate Homeland Security Committee on the September 11 attacks on the U.S. mission and a nearby CIA annex, in which the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans died, faulted intelligence agencies for not focusing tightly enough on Libyan extremists.

It also faulted the State Department for waiting for specific warnings instead of improving security.

The committee's assessment, "Flashing Red: A Special Report On The Terrorist Attack At Benghazi," follows a scathing report by an independent State Department accountability review board that resulted in a top security official resigning and three others at the department being relieved of their duties.

Joseph Lieberman, an independent senator who chairs the committee, said that in thousands of documents it reviewed, there was no indication that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had personally denied a request for extra funding or security for the Benghazi mission. He said key decisions were made by "midlevel managers" who have since been held accountable.

Republican Senator Susan Collins said it was likely that others needed to be held accountable, but that decision was best made by the Secretary of State, who has the best understanding "of how far up the chain of command the request for additional security went."

The attacks and the death of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens put diplomatic security practices at posts in risky areas under scrutiny and raised questions about whether intelligence on militant activity in the region was adequate.

The Senate report said the lack of specific intelligence of an imminent threat in Benghazi "may reflect a failure" by intelligence agencies to focus closely enough on militant groups with weak or no operational ties to al Qaeda and its affiliates.

"With Osama bin Laden dead and core al Qaeda weakened, a new collection of violent Islamist extremist organizations and cells have emerged in the last two to three years," the report said. That trend has been seen in the "Arab Spring" countries undergoing political transition or military conflict, it said.

NEED FOR BETTER INTELLIGENCE

The report recommended that U.S. intelligence agencies "broaden and deepen their focus in Libya and beyond, on nascent violent Islamist extremist groups in the region that lack strong operational ties to core al Qaeda or its main affiliate groups."

Neither the Senate report nor the unclassified accountability review board report pinned blame for the Benghazi attack on a specific militant group. The FBI is investigating who was behind the assaults.

President Barack Obama, in an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, said the United States had "very good leads" about who carried out the attacks. He did not provide details.

The Senate committee said the State Department should not have waited for specific warnings before acting on improving security in Benghazi.

It also said it was widely known that the post-revolution Libyan government was "incapable of performing its duty to protect U.S. diplomatic facilities and personnel," but the State Department failed to fill the security gap.

"Despite the inability of the Libyan government to fulfill its duties to secure the facility, the increasingly dangerous threat assessments, and a particularly vulnerable facility, the Department of State officials did not conclude the facility in Benghazi should be closed or temporarily shut down," the report said. "That was a grievous mistake."

The Senate panel reviewed changing comments made by the Obama administration after the attack, which led to a political firestorm in the run-up to the November presidential election and resulted in U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice withdrawing her name from consideration to replace Clinton, who is stepping down early next year.

Rice had said her initial comments that the attack grew out of a spontaneous protest over an anti-Islam film were based on talking points provided by intelligence agencies.

Lieberman said it was not the job of intelligence agencies to formulate unclassified talking points and they should decline such requests in the future.

The report said the original talking points included a line saying "we know" that individuals associated with al Qaeda or its affiliates participated in the attacks. But the final version had been changed to say: "There are indications that extremists participated," and the reference to al Qaeda and its affiliates was deleted.

The report said that while James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, had offered to provide the committee with a detailed chronology of how the talking points were written and evolved, this had still not been delivered to Capitol Hill because the administration had spent weeks "debating internally" whether or not it should turn over information considered "deliberative" to Congress.

(Editing by Warren Strobel and David Brunnstrom)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/senate-report-faults-state-department-intelligence-benghazi-153036760.html

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Kim Kardashian Pregnancy: Konfirmed in Blog Post!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/12/kim-kardashian-pregnancy-konfirmed-in-blog-post/

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Casino tycoon Okada bet big on Philippine fixer | Economy | GMA ...

Tokyo/Manila ??Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada was facing a crisis: work on his dream casino by the bay in Manila was going nowhere.

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Instead of a world-class resort packed with Chinese high-rollers, Okada, 70, was sitting on a $300-million patchwork of reclaimed and undeveloped land next to the Manila airport that by the middle of 2009 was threatening to become a money pit, according to company records and people involved.

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Crucial regulatory approvals were tied up in red tape. The provisional gaming license was flawed. No one could tell the architect how high he could build the gold-toned towers without endangering incoming aircraft.

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To realize Okada's goal of making the Manila casino more profitable than rival operations in Macau or Las Vegas, the project needed to win an exemption from corporate taxes in the Philippines. It also needed a presidential order giving Okada's company, Universal Entertainment, the ability to own the resort outright as a foreign investor.

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Universal executives believed Philippine officials had promised those concessions by the end of 2008 for a project expected to create more than 6,000 jobs. The Philippine gaming authority had given Okada a side letter to Universal's provisional license in August 2008 saying it would make its "best effort" to get those approvals from then-Philippines President Gloria Arroyo.

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It would mean hundreds of millions of dollars in additional profit each year if the approvals came through, according to an analysis of Universal's presentations to regulators and investors.

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By June 2009, however, the project was more than six months behind schedule and Okada's patience was wearing thin. When Arroyo came to visit Tokyo, Okada saw her in a meeting arranged by the head of Philippine gaming regulator, Efraim Genuino.

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"Get clarity on how long it will take to solve these problems on the spot and extract a promise," a note prepared for Okada in Japanese by Universal executives said. It was not clear what was discussed in the private meeting.

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Bibery investigation

Reuters examined hundreds of pages of documents from Universal and Philippine regulators and interviewed nearly two dozen people involved in the project in Japan and the Philippines in reconstructing how Universal tried to push through its casino deal in the Philippines in the final months of the Arroyo administration. That deal is now the subject of investigations there and in the United States.

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The record shows Universal won concessions on three critical issues that had threatened the $2-billion project in late 2009 and early 2010.

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First, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), the gaming regulator under Genuino, brokered a land swap in November 2009 that Universal needed to move ahead with construction.

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Then in February 2010, Arroyo signed a presidential order making it possible for foreign investors such as Okada to have 100-percent ownership of casinos. Around the same time, Arroyo's office approved an application for corporate tax relief from Universal's land-holding company. Both measures were expected but the delays had frustrated Universal executives, records show.

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Universal pushed hard to get its final gaming license from Genuino ? right up until June 29, 2010, a day before he left his post ? but failed to get it.

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As it raced to win final approval for its casino, Universal also funneled a total of $40 million in payments to Rodolfo Soriano, an aide to Genuino and a former consultant to PAGCOR who had become central to Universal's operations in the Philippines by late 2009.

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Of the total $40 million in transfers to Soriano, $10 million was immediately returned to the Japanese company in May 2010 to avoid writing off a bad loan extended to another company not involved in the casino project, as Universal closed the books on its fiscal year, records show.

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The payments to Soriano, now under investigation as potential bribery, were first reported by Reuters.

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It is unclear what happened with the $30 million paid to Soriano that remained with him. Soriano, who came to be known to Universal executives by his nickname "Boysie", has not commented on the payments and could not be reached. There is no evidence the money was transferred to officials in the Arroyo administration or to others.

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Universal booked $7 million of the payments to Soriano as a "consulting fee," citing his help in winning the order signed by Arroyo allowing foreign casino ownership as partial justification for the payment, according to company documents seen by Reuters.

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Okada broke ground on construction of the casino in January 2012, but PAGCOR under its new chairman has threatened to strip Universal of its license if evidence of bribery is found.

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Universal said it conducted its business in the Philippines lawfully. Its lawyer, Yuki Arai, declined to comment further.

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Genuino has been charged with misuse of public funds during his time at PAGCOR for allegations unrelated to the Universal payments to Soriano. He could not be reached for comment.

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Arroyo has been under hospital arrest for charges related to alleged electoral fraud and misuse of public funds during her presidency. Her spokeswoman, Elena Bautista-Horn, did not return calls seeking comment.

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Universal has sued three former employees claiming that $15 million transferred to Soriano ? including the $10 million that was immediately returned ? was unauthorized.

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In early December, Okada and Universal announced they had filed a libel action against Reuters in Tokyo for reporting on the payments to Soriano in November.

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Up from hardship

Okada, one of Japan's most successful entrepreneurs, had risen through hardship and trusted his gut when it came to the biggest decisions.

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His father died when he was in elementary school, a loss he said helped make him self-reliant. He made his first fortune fixing and selling American jukeboxes in the 1960s. He became a billionaire selling pachinko machines, a Japanese form of legal gambling.

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By the late 1990s, the pachinko market had peaked and Universal began to look for ways to diversify.

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Okada met casino impresario Steve Wynn in 2000. The two had to rely on a translator ? Okada speaks little English ? but both said they began a strong friendship. On a handshake, Okada became Wynn's major investor.

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"I got lucky," Wynn, 70, told Nevada gaming regulators in 2004. "At first I could hardly believe it, but then $250 million came ?zwinging' in." Wynn also said then he believed Okada to be a man of deep integrity. "Take the high road. Do the right thing," he recalled Okada telling him.

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Okada staked Wynn for a total of $380 million. That jump-started construction of the Wynn Las Vegas resort that opened on the site of the old Desert Inn in 2005, and the even more profitable Wynn Macau in 2006. By 2010, Okada's investment had increased in value almost eight times and returned just over $600 million in dividends.

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Macau in particular has produced stunning results. By 2011, the Macau market was bringing in almost $34 billion a year, making it more than five times larger than Las Vegas.

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When Genuino visited Tokyo in 2007 to drum up interest in a $15-billion resort and casino complex PAGCOR wanted to develop, Okada jumped at the chance to invest, people involved said.

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A year later, on the cusp of global recession, Universal paid just over $300 million for 30 hectares (74 acres) on Manila Bay. In August 2008, PAGCOR granted a provisional license to its casino operating company, Tiger Resorts, Leisure and Entertainment.

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But Okada later realized the initial license fell short of what the company had sought, records show. Universal did not want to have to hire employees, including dealers, through PAGCOR and pay fees to the regulator as a placement service, according to letters sent from Universal to PAGCOR.

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Universal also pressed PAGCOR to allow high-rollers coming on trips organized by junket operators to come into the casino without reporting their names to the regulator. Junket operators combine concierge and credit services for rich Chinese and have been central to the growth of gambling in Macau.

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To promote Manila as an alternative to Macau, Universal wanted to make it a market where the winnings of Chinese gamblers would be "free of supervision," according to a company presentation.

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There was also some uncertainty about whether Wynn would join the Okada project. Okada said he wanted to bring Wynn in as a partner through late 2010. "At that time I trusted him. I showed him everything," Okada told Reuters in October.

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Wynn, however, was always skeptical about doing business in the Philippines, a person familiar with his thinking said. When Okada asked him to visit Manila in June 2010, he agreed to a briefing from Genuino. But he turned up in a polo shirt when everyone else wore business attire, a sign he saw himself as a spectator, the person said.

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By early 2012, Wynn and Okada had split and begun a legal fight over Okada's continued investment in Wynn's company that is playing out in courthouses in the United States, Japan and the Philippines.

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A Wynn investigation found Universal had paid $110,000 to entertain gaming regulators from Korea and the Philippines. The Wynn camp alleges that Okada was an unfit partner. Okada has said Universal entertains officials in line with its internal policy and denies any wrongdoing. The guest list that drew the attention of Wynn included Soriano, Genuino and Mike Arroyo, the husband of then-President Gloria Arroyo.

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Wynn told Okada and other directors in 2011 that he did not think it would be possible to operate in the Philippines, consistently ranked as one of the most corrupt economies in Asia, according to a legal claim filed by Universal in Nevada.

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"All of us are of one mind," Wynn told Reuters. "We cannot be related to activities in the Philippines."

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Las Vegas in Manila

When Okada and the Universal board approved the Manila project in August 2008, they projected it would be a cornerstone of a string of resorts around the rapidly growing Asian market. They expected Universal would become a $9 billion company by 2014 with a listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange, according to notes from the board meeting.

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Casino gambling revenues in the Asia-Pacific region have more than tripled since 2007, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. The region is set to overtake the US market as largest in the world next year when gambling revenues reach $67 billion from $58 billion in 2012.

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Universal's first designs were based on the Wynn casinos, featuring two wings in reflective gold glass. Plans included $150 million to build one of Asia's largest aquariums and a "Kidzania" playland, with another $70 million for the "Manila Eye," a massive Ferris Wheel.

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But Okada's plans for a "six-star" resort were immediately tested by a litany of problems on the ground in Manila. Engineers discovered 10 hectares (24 acres) of its site was reserved for road use and held by another developer, making building impossible.

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It had been overlooked in the original purchase. "We didn't realize at the time that we had the road problem," a memo from June 2009 said. "Our land was crisscrossed by these roads like wormholes."

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Universal's Manila staff worried there was no easy fix. After months of delays, Universal called in Genuino to negotiate a land swap between Universal, the local city of Para?aque and developer Asiaworld Properties Philippine Corporation.

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"The right answer is to ask PAGCOR Chairman (Genuino) to be our public face in this matter," the memo said.

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Over the summer, Universal pushed for more frequent contact with Genuino. It set up a video conferencing facility so the two sides could talk more regularly. Universal also sought to make Genuino the conduit for passing on key documents to Arroyo's presidential office, company documents show.

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Around that time, Universal was also looking to break with Philippine law firm SyCip Salazar Hernandez and Gatmaitan, which it felt was charging too much and moving too slowly, according to company memos. As it prepared to ditch SyCip, Universal rebuilt its strategy around Soriano in what was described in an internal memo as a "shift to Boysie."

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In a statement, SyCip partner Imelda Manguiat, who handled the Universal account, said all transactions the law firm worked on were legitimate and lawful. She declined to comment further.

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Shifting to Soriano meant reworking a structure that allowed it to circumvent the requirement that the landholding company behind the casino be at least 60 percent owned by Filipinos.

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Records reviewed by Reuters show Universal had bankrolled the original investment meant to satisfy that foreign ownership requirement. This was done by depositing $4.4 million in a Banco De Oro account in 2008. That money secured a loan to a firm called Lex Development Corp., a shell company established by SyCip. Lex used the money to make its investment in the project. Universal covered interest on the loan, records show.

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The holding was transferred in 2009 to Platinum Gaming and Entertainment, a Soriano-affiliated firm, records show.

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Okada in charge

Okada remained in charge of key decisions involving Universal and the Manila project, current and former employees said. On some mornings, employees would wait more than an hour to speak to him. Any expense over $36,000 had to be approved by the strategy board for the Manila project, records show.

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Sometimes Okada's hands-on style grated on his people. In one December 2009 meeting, Okada and Toshihiko Nishigaki, a hotel industry veteran brought in to oversee the Manila project, got into a heated discussion about responsibility for the project, according to three people in the room. Nishigaki asked Okada to step into the corridor and a shouting match ensued.

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Within weeks, Nishigaki was gone. His departure was the start of a transition that put greater focus on a quicker return from a downsized project. Plans for the Ferris Wheel and other attractions that had promised to turn the casino into a tourist magnet were dropped or scaled back, people involved said.

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Nishigaki did not respond to a letter seeking comment.

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In November 2009, Okada hosted a PAGCOR delegation, including Soriano, in Las Vegas to watch Philippine national hero Manny Pacquiao retain his title in a welterweight championship fight. Universal picked up the tab for Soriano and the PAGCOR delegation at Wynn Las Vegas at a cost of $14,412, records show.

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Then in January 2010, Okada led a delegation of Universal executives from Tokyo to the wedding of Genuino's son, Anthony, at the Sofitel hotel in Manila. Okada sat at the same table as former Philippines First Lady Imelda Marcos. Executives who accompanied Okada said the intent was to show his support for Genuino and his politically ambitious family.

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PAGCOR filed corruption complaints against Efraim Genuino and other former PAGCOR officials in 2011 alleging they diverted funds to help favored candidates for public office, including Genuino's children.

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In part, Genuino is accused of diverting rice Okada had donated to help typhoon victims in 2008 to support the candidacy of his sons, two years later. The rice was delivered to potential voters in bags with pictures of Anthony and Erwin, according to the charges.

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Anthony was elected mayor of the city of Los Ba?os, while Erwin ran unsuccessfully in the May 2010 elections.

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The Department of Justice recently said it would not pursue charges against Anthony and Erwin due to a lack of evidence. Neither of the sons could be reached for comment.

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The $40 million in payments from Universal began moving to Soriano on January 14, 2010 with an initial installment of $10 million transferred to the bank account of Subic Leisure and Management, a Soriano-controlled company registered in the British Virgin Islands. Another $15 million was transferred to Subic Leisure on March 3, 2010, internal records show.

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Then in late April and early May 2010 Universal recycled another $10 million payment through the same Subic Leisure route. Records show Universal brought the money back to its own accounts in a move aimed at covering a loan to a company called AZ Games International Corp. that had gone sour, according to company records and people involved in the transaction. AZ Games was registered in the British Virgin Islands and operated with little oversight as a result. It had been dissolved months before, records show.

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The final $5 million was paid to a Hong Kong shell company named People's Technology Holding Ltd., of which Soriano was the sole shareholder. It was paid four days after Soriano met Okada and other Universal executives at a Chinese restaurant in central Tokyo to press for the transfer, people with knowledge of the meeting said.

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Universal has filed two lawsuits against three former employees claiming the final $5 million and the $10 million that came back to Universal were not authorized. In rebuttals to the Universal lawsuits, two former executives ? Mitsuo Hida and Takafumi Nakano ? said they had been following orders in making the payments. Nakano said he was considering becoming a whistleblower under Japan's anti-bribery law.

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In comes Aquino
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At the end of June 2010, Genuino stepped down after a controversy erupted over his "midnight" reappointment by Arroyo. The election of President Benigno Aquino III the month before posed potential complications for Universal.

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Okada went to Manila to meet the new PAGCOR chief, Christino Naguiat, in August 2010. A month later, he hosted Naguiat at the Wynn Macau casino and covered $50,523 of expenses during a four-day stay. Universal does not contest it covered hotel rooms and other costs for government officials but maintains no laws were broken. Naguiat has said there was nothing inappropriate about his stay.

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A memo from Okada's August 2010 visit to Manila notes he was "trying to keep a good relationship with and feel comfortable with the new government." But it also contained harsh words for his Manila-based staff.

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"I think you should have made a prediction what would happen due to change of government and should have made necessary preparations," Okada was quoted as saying.

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Okada's ambition to build casinos around Asia hinges in part on how the investigation of the Manila payments is resolved. The payments to Soriano are the subject of a Philippine Department of Justice investigation and two separate congressional hearings in the Philippines.

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The Nevada Gaming Control Board said last month its investigation was progressing. Possible sanctions include a suspension of Universal's gaming license.

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Earlier this month, Universal signed a deal giving Philippine property firm Robinsons Land Corp. a minority stake in its casino operating company and a majority stake in its Manila landholding company.

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The Manila project - now known as Manila Bay Resorts after initially being dubbed "Okada Resort Manila Bay" ? is scheduled to open in 2014, four years behind initial projections. ? Reuters

Source: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/288291/economy/business/casino-tycoon-okada-bet-big-on-philippine-fixer

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Two Held Over Church Organist Murder

Two men were being questioned on Saturday night about the murder of church organist Alan Greaves, who was attacked on his way to midnight mass on Christmas Eve.

Mr Greaves, 68, was just yards from his church in High Green, Sheffield, when he was badly beaten.

He was discovered by a member of the public and taken to hospital but died from his injuries on Thursday night.

A South Yorkshire Police spokesman said: "A man in his 20s and a man in his 40s, both from Sheffield, have been arrested on suspicion of murder and are currently in custody helping police.

"Officers are searching a number of properties in the area and there has been a high-visibility police presence in High Green today."

Detectives are still appealing for witnesses to come forward with any information about the murder.

Mr Greaves, a grandfather and father-of-four, died after sustaining serious head injuries at about 11.15pm on Christmas Eve after leaving his home to go to St Saviour's Church.

Police are treating his death as murder and have said the motive for the attack is unclear.

His widow, church community worker Maureen Greaves, 63, told The Sun last night: "There was no motive.

"We are devastated. It is just not what you expect, somebody to walk down the street and get murdered - and at this time of year as well, it's just dreadful."

Canon Simon Bessant, from St Saviour's, described Mr Greaves as a "good man" who fell victim to an evil act.

He said: "He was a gentle soul. He wasn't foolish - he would have handled the situation as best as anyone would, but we don't know what he encountered."

The Bishop of Sheffield, Dr Steven Croft, has sent a message to every parish in his diocese asking for prayers for Mr Greaves, his widow and their family.

In it, Dr Croft said: "Alan Greaves died on Thursday night following injuries received in an attack on Christmas Eve as he was on his way to church.

"He was a Reader and organist at St Saviour's Mortomley and High Green in Sheffield.

"He was married to Maureen, a Church Army Evangelist, and both Alan and Maureen were widely involved in serving their local community for many years. They have four grown up children.

"Please would you hold Alan's family and the church family at High Green, with Simon Bessant the Vicar and the wider family of Church Army, in your prayers in the coming days and especially this Sunday morning.

"I plan to be with the congregation at High Green on Sunday morning."

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/12/29/two-arrested-over-christm_n_2381326.html?ncid=GEP

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Vilanova will be back in 15 to 20 days, say Barca

(Reuters) - Barcelona president Sandro Rosell says coach Tito Vilanova, who suffered a recurrence of cancer in his saliva glands earlier this month, will be back at work midway through January.

Vilanova underwent surgery on December 20, a day after the club announced that the 44-year-old's condition had returned. He first had treatment in 2011.

"He'll be back within 15 or 20 days, but he must spend some days at the hospital and rest," Rosell told reporters in Dubai on Friday.

"He will mix work with his treatment. The most important thing is his health. Right now football comes second," added Rosell.

Barcelona have made a record-breaking start to their first season under Vilanova, who replaced friend Pep Guardiola at the helm at the end of the last term, by dropping only two points in 17 matches to lead La Liga by nine points.

Assistant Jordi Roura is taking charge in his absence. Barca's next league match is at home to city rivals Espanyol on January 6.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/vilanova-back-15-20-days-barca-122611754--sow.html

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Oh God, Here Come the Private Security Drones

It was inevitable. Drones are in ever-wider use by the military, and some day they might deliver you food, but it looks like they'll also be the private, flying-camera spies for private companies too. That's what Japanese security company Secom is banking on with its new private security quadrotor. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/jZvm4DLLYak/oh-god-here-come-the-private-security-drones

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Great home improvement projects

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A recent study has shown that more and more women are beginning to take on home improvement projects that typically belonged to the man in the home. The Washington Post recently revealed that women are beginning to outshine men in this typically male-dominated area as women become more economically independent and start fixing things around the hose for themselves. Economically independent women are making more money now than they ever have, and because of that there are twice as many single female homeowners than men. Additionally, the number of women who DIY has increased due to the recession.

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There are tons of power tools that are now being manufactured and marketed directly to women, so this may not be surprising to some. The single women that own homes don?t have a man to rely on to get the job done, so they are taking to addressing home repairs themselves rather than spending money on someone to come fix their issue for them. Additionally, many women believe some of the smaller repairs should be easy for women to do on their own so they don?t have to wait for their husband to get home and fix it. However, it?s not just small repairs ? some women are even taking on bigger projects like repairing roof issues. It is believed that this trend will continue, putting women in the forefront of another typically male-dominated activity.

Source: http://returngood.com/great-home-improvement-projects/

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Dot Earth: Peabody Coal Sales Ticker Next to 'Clean Energy' Claim

Dec. 29, 12:38 a.m. | Updated below |Electricity, including that generated by coal combustion, has been a boon for humanity. In fact, there?s much truth in the headline on Indur M. Goklany?s new analysis for the anti-regulatory Cato Institute: ?Humanity Unbound: How Fossil Fuels Saved Humanity from Nature and Nature from Humanity.? (I?ll post more on that paper soon, including an interview with Goklany.)

But that does not come close to justifying what you see on the home page of Peabody Energy, the largest coal company in the free world:

Coal Sales and a Clean Energy Claim

Just to the right of a ticker-style, real-time tally of tons of coal sold (about eight tons per second or so) is the message that the company is the* ?global leader in clean energy solutions??

Pollution from coal burning, in the United States and particularly in developing countries, has big impacts on public health, and the climate impact from coal-generated carbon dioxide could be enormous if the world?s still-vast reserves are heavily exploited. We?ve been stuck on the coal rung of what Loren Eiseley called ?the heat ladder? of energy history for too long.

I sent a site link and the video clip above to Nicholas Muller of Middlebury College and William D. Nordhaus and Robert O. Mendelsohn of Yale, authors of this influential 2011 paper in American Economics Review: ?Environmental Accounting for Pollution in the United States Economy.? One of its many conclusions was that ?coal-fired power plants have air pollution damages larger than their value added.?

As I put it in my note to them, ?I find it hard to reconcile your calculation of coal?s big externalized costs with such a juxtaposition (coal sales and ?clean energy? leadership):

You can read the reply from Mendelsohn below, followed by more from Bob Keefe of the Natural Resources Defense Council and Vic Svec, a spokesman for Peabody Energy:

Here?s Mendelsohn:

We did not make any company specific estimates of damage. If Peabody is responsible for 23 percent of U.S. coal and if each ton of Peabody coal causes the average damage from coal in the U.S., the burning of Peabody coal is causing $12 billion of damage from traditional health related air pollutants and almost $16 billion of damage including greenhouse gases every year. Few companies can boast more.

I also asked him if they?d gotten any significant pushback on their findings so far. Here?s his reply:

Academically, there has been nothing but positive feedback so far. Politically, so far, there is no push back. However, if there was ever a hint of legislation based on our work, I am sure that it would heat up considerably.

I sent the same query to Bob Keefe, a spokesman for the Natural Resources Defense Council. He put his reaction bluntly:

Juxtaposing its coal sales against its shamefully blatantly false claims of being ?a global leader in clean energy solutions? is baffling ? but also indicative of Peabody Energy?s inexplicable approach to the environment and the communities in which it operates.

The only way you could possibly believe Peabody?s claim that it ?advances environmental excellence? is if you believe breathing pollution and toxins is part of a good health routine.

Peabody consistently ranks as one of the worst polluters on the planet. If it put only a fraction of the time and money it spends on fighting environmental safeguards into actually pursing clean energy solutions, we?d all be better off.

See these links for more:

?The 15 Worst Companies For The Planet? (Business Insider Green Sheet)

Green Rankings, the 2009 List (Newsweek)

?Climate-denying Indiana Regulator helps ALEC Coal Companies Delay EPA Climate Rules? (Polluter Watch)

Finally, here?s the response from Vic Svec from Peabody:

We note on the front page of our website that Peabody Energy is the world?s largest private-sector coal company and a global leader in sustainable mining and clean coal solutions. One of the great untold environmental stories is the enormous progress in clean energy that has occurred in recent decades.

We forget to celebrate the enormous progress that has been made in clean coal in recent decades. The core U.S. coal statistic is this: criteria emissions from coal use in the U.S. have declined a stunning 87% since 1970, during a time when coal use has nearly tripled. ?Smokestacks? for coal plants have now become steam stacks, thanks to wet and dry ESPs, baghouses, low-NOx burners, SCRs, activated carbon injection and a host of other technologies.

In addition, using coal in large centralized plants dramatically reduces the burning of fuel wood and waste that causes enormous indoor air pollution in developing nations. And we know that low-cost coal-fueled electricity has helped to bring about an explosion of electrotechnologies: your coal-fueled mail delivery ? e-mail ? has dramatically lower emissions than traditional mail.

New supercritical coal plants represent another leap forward. Consider the Prairie State Energy Campus, with more than $1 billion in clean coal technologies and criteria emissions some 80% below the existing coal fleet? along with a carbon dioxide emission rate some 40% below existing plants. Prairie State is also a great example of green jobs, with thousands of workers involved in construction of the large coal plant. And Prairie State has a cost of fuel that less than one-third that of even currently suppressed U.S. natural gas prices.

Ironically, U.S. environmentalists have been a major reason more supercritical coal plants haven?t been used in the United States, even taking credit for killing state-of-the-art new coal construction in the past decade. China is building far more such plants because they recognize that coal is essential to power a healthy economy and the new generation of coal plants offer great environmental advantage. Also, Peabody is proud to be the only non-Chinese partner in GreenGen, which just started up in Tianjin, China, as a major coal gasification plant that will ultimately reuse carbon dioxide for enhanced oil recovery.

Coal has been the fastest growing fuel in the world for the past decade, and has been projected to pass oil as the world?s largest energy source next year. Its abundance and low-cost profile make coal essential for powering the world?s best economies and helping to move hundreds of millions of people to cities? and to the middle class. Those are enormous societal benefits, and technology can ensure that his be done in an environmentally friendly way.

Dec. 29, 12:09 a.m. | Updated |
* There?ve been several interesting developments related to the section marked with an asterisk:

1) In a comment, Peter Gleick noted that, while I wrote that the company said it is a global leader in clean energy solutions, it actually stated on its home page that it is ?the global leader in clean energy solutions.? I?ve changed the text from ?a? to ?the.?

2) Another commenter, Bob Armstrong, protested, quoting from the Web site as follows:

No , it says: ?Peabody Energy is the global leader in CLEAN COAL solutions and advances environmental excellence in coal mining and use.?

It turns out they?re both right, in that it said what Gleick asserted when I recorded my video loop of the page on Dec. 19 and now says what Armstrong quoted.

I?ll ask Vic Svec why the wording changed. Perhaps the first version was not supported by the facts?

Source: http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/28/a-coal-sales-ticker-next-to-a-clean-energy-claim/?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Client Computing Sales Specialist - Employment News

Job Description:

Our clients expect the best and that is what we are looking for, so if you are that high quality individual who is professional in all aspects of your work, then Acrodex is interested in talking to you about joining our team of information technology professionals. You will be supported by an outstanding group of like-minded technology and business professionals who are known for their reputation, commitment to quality, delivery and uncompromised customer service. This is the reason why our clients rely on us as trusted advisors and it is through our client's recommendations that new business opportunities arise.

About the Company
Acrodex is a full spectrum, enterprise-wide technology solutions provider that has been in the IT business since 1984. We deliver end-to-end solutions: application innovations, systems integration services, hardware and software, and managed services including computer facilities management, application management and life cycle management services. With over 500 employees we deliver quality service from our office locations in Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Vancouver, Regina, Winnipeg and Fort McMurray. We offer a full benefits program which includes Life Insurance, Accidental Death and Dismemberment, Short and Long Term Disability, Extended HealthCare (including a Vision Care program), and Dental care.

General Accountability:
The Client Manager I reports directly to the Director, Sales and Marketing. The Client manger is responsible for generating new sales opportunities within the Commercial and Industrial sectors. The Client Manager will develop solid business relationships through proficient call handling, effective communication, probing, negotiating and closing. The primary focus is on account growth and development within the assigned sector. The Client Manager is expected to develop a specified customer base and prospect incremental business utilizing outbound calls to attain growth objectives and increase customer breadth.

The Client Manager is measured on the ability to meet monthly productivity goals and must achieve balanced performance of product and service sales as stipulated within goal sheets.

Specific Accountabilities:
1. Compile lists of prospective customers for use as sales leads, based on information from business partners, newspapers, business directories, industry ads, trade shows, web sites, and other sources.
2. Formulates a commercially viable business case, guides the proposal, and drives the deal to closing.
3. Aggressively cold call perspective customers over the phone identifying and qualifying leads and offering the complete line of Acrodex products, services and solutions.
4. Be responsible for target account plan, opportunity management process, and pipeline utilization
5. Work closely with Sales Director and other acrodex resources to determine customers technical requirements and assist them with identification of effective solutions to meet customers' business needs
6. Manages all aspects of the sales process including quoting and negotiating process, advising credit terms, preparing sales contracts, advising estimated delivery to customer.
7. Cross sell and up sell to build revenue and margin on an ongoing basis.
8. Works collaboratively with Acrodex internal support organization to ensure highest level of customer satisfaction.
9. Meets or exceeds required sales targets as specified in goal sheets.
10. Responsible for outstanding accounts receivable for items over 60 days.
11. Participate in other call based promotion campaigns as required.
12. Keeps current on relevant strategic technologies and trends; continually develops industry knowledge by participating in key industry events/conferences, reading trade journals, participating in vendor training programs and taking advantage of external education as appropriate.
13. Understands and demonstrates the willingness to promote Acrodex's vision and values

Qualifications (Education/Experience/Skills & Abilities)
1. Post secondary education or equivalent with 5 years selling experience with solution-based products and services
2. Details knowledge across all multi-vendor product lines, as well as technical and professional services offerings.
3. Proven ability to deliver on aggressive individual sales quota and increase market share by acquiring net new customers.
4. Extensive Knowledge of IT industry, market place trends and key indicators.
5. Highly developed selling, communication, customer relations, negotiating and decision-making skills.
6. Ability to work in a fast paced environment.
7. Strong working knowledge of MS Office products.

Should you have interest and are qualified for this exciting position, please submit your covering letter and Resume.

We thank you for your interest in this opportunity; however, only applicants short-listed for interview will be contacted.

Source: http://www.employmentnews.com/display_job/81326/Client_Manager_I_(Client_Computing_Sales_Specialist).html

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Video: More top movies of 2012: Zero Dark Thirty, Les Mis

Why do some men get grouchier as they age?

Some call it ?grumpy old man complex.? Other experts label it: ?irritable male syndrome,? a spike in the outward crankiness of guys of a certain age. As more baby boomers hit 60? be ready for more grouchy outbursts, like a Donald Trump rant set to explode.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/hardball/50313469/

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Dogs of Culture: Poem About Violin Loving Dogs | Steve Dale's Pet ...

guest poetic blog by Classey Nehrke

Two violin players,

three enraptured dogs.

They all meshed together,

like peat n a bog.

?

The dogs were busy taking

their daily run in the park.

But this was very different from

their usual outdoor lark.

?

The violin music they heard

was, to them, like mean on a bone.

They stopped their running abruptly

and flatly refused to go home.

?

-- Let?s Listen as they tell it--

?

?We?ve paid all winter for this concert,? they said,

?Being out in the freezing cold.

Chilling our ears and numbing our paws,

as we battled the wind and the snow.?

?

Now, we get our comeback.

This music sounds so nice!

Who says that dogs do not enjoy

The finer things of life?

?

And our mistress needed some cheering up.

Her spirits were beginning to droop.

This violin music is so much nicer

than picking up poop with a scoop.

?

So we gave our mistress quite a start,

guess she didn?t really know her pets.

Perhaps, go to the Opera yet!

?

No, this was no our usual run.

This ?Friday in the park.?

Now, we?re dogs that have ?culture,?

and we?re having quite a lark.

?

They were two talented sisters;

we were three enraptured dogs.

You might say we meshed together

like peat that grows in the bog.

?

I thank Mrs. Nehrke for classing up my blog, 1,726 posts and my first poem.

Source: http://www.chicagonow.com/steve-dales-pet-world/2012/12/dogs-of-culture-poem-about-violin-loving-dogs/

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They?re Just People Looking From the East (Unqualified Offerings)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/273440306?client_source=feed&format=rss

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family christmas 2012 {part two} - Lisa Leonard Designs Blog

December 28th | family

On Christmas day we had dinner at Grandma and Grandpa?s house {my parents}. In these pics you?ll see my mom?s enduring love for antiques, the electric typewriter that kept the kids busy for hours and the happiness of cousins.

It was such a sweet Christmas. I?m sad it?s over, but I?m so ready for a new year. Are you?

xoxo, lisa

Source: http://www.lisaleonardonline.com/blog/family/family-christmas-2012-part-two

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U.S. poised to go off "fiscal cliff": Senator Reid

WASHINGTON, Dec 27 - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Thursday warned that the United States looks to be headed over the "fiscal cliff" of tax hikes and spending cuts that will start next week if squabbling politicians do not reach a deal.

Reid, the top Democrat in Congress, criticized Republicans for refusing to go along with any tax increases as part of a budget remedy as he sketched out a pessimistic outlook.

"It looks like that is where we're headed," Reid said of the likelihood of the U.S. economy going over the "fiscal cliff" - with tax increases on most working Americans and automatic spending cuts kicking in next month.

Reid made his comments in a Senate floor speech at the opening of a post-Christmas session, adding that time was running out ahead of a December 31 deadline to act to avert the "fiscal cliff."

Reid urged House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, the top Republican in Congress, to bring his chamber back into session and to avoid the biggest impact of the "fiscal cliff" by passing a Democratic-backed bill extending low income tax rates for all Americans except those with net household incomes above $250,000 a year.

House Republicans are expected to hold a telephone conference call on the fiscal cliff on Thursday afternoon, a House Republican aide said, adding that a schedule for returning to Washington would be discussed.

Should Congress fail to act by December 31, tax rates for all Americans would snap sharply higher, back to pre-2001 levels, and two days later, $109 billion in automatic spending cuts would start to take effect. Together, the higher taxes and lower spending would suck about $600 billion out of the U.S. economy, potentially causing a new recession in 2013.

On Wednesday, it was Boehner who urged the Democratic-controlled Senate to act first to avoid the fiscal cliff, offering to at least consider anything that the Senate produced.

Reid returned the volley on Thursday, saying that the Senate had already acted, and the Democrats' solution needs the consent of both Boehner and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.

Reid said Boehner "has just a few days left to change his mind" on the Senate bill. "I don't know time-wise how it can happen now."

(Reporting by David Lawder and Richard Cowan; Editing by Alistair Bell and Will Dunham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-poised-off-fiscal-cliff-senator-reid-153226800--business.html

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4 charged in synthetic drug overdoses in ND, Minn.

FARGO, N.D. (AP) ? Federal prosecutors in North Dakota have charged four men with conspiring to import and sell controlled substances used to make synthetic hallucinogenic drugs, including drugs made by a self-described "hobby chemist" from Grand Forks that killed two teens and led to several overdoses in the area.

In an indictment unsealed Wednesday, prosecutors describe Charles Carlton, a 28-year-old man from Katy, Texas, as the "leader, organizer, manager and supervisor" of a conspiracy to import controlled substances from Asia and Europe and resell them over the Internet to domestic buyers.

Prosecutors say Carlton imported hallucinogenic chemicals from China, the U.K., Austria, Poland, Greece, Spain, and Canada through a business he used, Motion Resources LLC, which were then distributed throughout the U.S. They say Carlton and the other defendants had the imports sent to various addresses throughout the country in an attempt to evade law enforcement.

Among those who bought chemicals from the company was Andrew Spofford, who was one of a dozen people from the Grand Forks area charged in the investigation into the June drug deaths of Christian Bjerk, 18, of Grand Forks, and Elijah Stai, 17, of Park Rapids, Minn.

Spofford, who described himself to police as a "hobby chemist," pleaded guilty in October to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances resulting in serious bodily injury and death ? a charge brought against all four of those named in the new indictment. Spofford also admitted to dealing cocaine, marijuana and ecstasy, and delivering a drug meant to counteract effects of the hallucinogens that did not have instructions for use.

Carlton and Byron Landry, 27, of Kiln, Miss., each face two conspiracy to distribute counts, and 25-year-old John Polinski, of Houston, and 27-year-old Ryan Lane, of East Grand Forks, Minn., face one count each. In addition, Carlton, Landry and Polinksi, are each charged with a count of conspiracy to introduce a misbranded drug into interstate commerce.

Authorities are also demanding that Carlton turn over $385,000 in alleged drug sale proceeds.

The four defendants have yet to appear in federal court in North Dakota.

Bjerk and Stai died within a week of each other in June after ingesting the hallucinogens. Stai is believed to have ingested powder that was mixed with melted chocolate, cooled and eaten like candy, police said.

Other people reportedly required medical treatment from the batch of synthetic drugs. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Myers said earlier that one juvenile who took the drugs was hospitalized in intensive care "for quite some time."

Timothy Purdon, the U.S. attorney for North Dakota, said he couldn't comment specifically on the indictment because it's an open case.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/4-charged-synthetic-drug-overdoses-nd-minn-185946754.html

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No ethics breaches found in Countrywide VIP loans

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The House Ethics Committee said Thursday it found no violations among House members whose mortgage loans went through the VIP section of the former Countrywide Financial Corp., the company whose subprime loans helped cause the foreclosure crisis.

The committee said nearly all the allegations of favored treatment involved loans that were granted so long ago that they fell outside the panel's jurisdiction. The committee added, however, that participation in the VIP program did not necessarily mean borrowers received the best loan deal available ? and most lawmakers were not even aware they were placed in a VIP unit.

The actions of unnamed House staff members were harshly criticized. Emails indicated they reached out to Countrywide lobbyists for assistance with their personal loans, but those actions also were too old to remain in the committee's jurisdiction. The panel said that if the incidents had been more recent, the staff members could have faced discipline.

Countrywide was taken over by Bank of America in 2008. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee reported in July that Countrywide made hundreds of discount loans to buy influence with members of Congress, congressional staff, top government officials and executives of troubled mortgage giant Fannie Mae.

The Oversight report named six current and former members of Congress who received what Countrywide referred to as discounts. All of their names had surfaced previously.

The committee has no jurisdiction over actions that occurred more than six years prior to the current Congress ? which began in January 2011.

But even if the statute of limitations had not run out, the committee said, inclusion in the VIP program was not by itself a violation of House rules or laws. The panel said it found that Countrywide's "discounts" applied to standard loan rates that were commercially available elsewhere.

"They are not the kind of 'gift' which would be, in and of itself, outside the realm of reasonable market rates for commercially available loans," said the statement issued by Ethics Committee Chairman Jo Bonner, R-Ala., and ranking Democrat Linda Sanchez of California.

Even so, the committee said, members must take steps to ensure they are being treated no differently than a member of the public who is similarly situated.

The committee statement added, "Of greatest concern...was email evidence regarding the specific conduct of some employees...who may have reached out to lobbyists or other government affairs officials at Countrywide for assistance with their personal loans."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-12-27-US-Ethics-Countrywide/id-c93a3fc564cd4ba8a92801314bcc420c

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Private picture of Mark Zuckerberg's family leaked

FILE - In this Oct. 4, 2011 file photo, Randi Zuckerberg, former marketing director of Facebook and founder of RtoZ Media, speaks at the Executive Marketing Summit in New York. A picture Zuckerberg posted on her personal Facebook profile was seen by a marketing director, who then posted the picture to Twitter and her more than 40,000 followers on Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012. Zuckerberg is the sister of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 4, 2011 file photo, Randi Zuckerberg, former marketing director of Facebook and founder of RtoZ Media, speaks at the Executive Marketing Summit in New York. A picture Zuckerberg posted on her personal Facebook profile was seen by a marketing director, who then posted the picture to Twitter and her more than 40,000 followers on Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012. Zuckerberg is the sister of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

SEATTLE (AP) ? Even Mark Zuckerberg's family can get tripped up by Facebook's privacy settings.

A picture that Zuckerberg's sister posted on her personal Facebook profile was seen by a marketing director, who then posted the picture to Twitter and her more than 40,000 followers Wednesday.

That didn't sit well with Zuckerberg's sister, Randi, who tweeted at Callie Schweitzer that the picture was meant for friends only and that posting the private picture on Twitter was "way uncool." Schweitzer replied by saying the picture popped up on her Facebook news feed.

The picture shows four people standing around a kitchen staring at their phones with their mouths open while Mark Zuckerberg is in the background.

Randi Zuckerberg, who used to run Facebook's marketing department and now produces a reality television show, eventually said Schweitzer was able to see the picture because they had a mutual friend. Those tweets have since been taken down.

Schweitzer declined to comment when reached by The Associated Press. Randi Zuckerberg didn't reply to a message via Twitter seeking comment.

Randi Zuckerberg used the dustup to write about online sharing etiquette.

"Digital etiquette: always ask permission before posting a friend's photo publicly. It's not about privacy settings, it's about human decency," she posted on Twitter.

But Randi Zuckerberg's comments sparked sharp reactions from people who thought the issue wasn't about etiquette, but rather Facebook's often changing and often confusing privacy settings.

"The thing that bugged me about Randi Zuckerberg's response is that she used her name as a bludgeoning device. Not everyone has that. She used her position to get it taken it down," said Eva Galperin of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a privacy advocacy group in San Francisco.

While Facebook has made improvements in explaining the social network's privacy settings, Galperin said they remain confusing to most people. She added that with people using Facebook as part of their everyday lives, the consequences of fumbling privacy settings can become serious.

"Even Randi Zuckerberg can get it wrong. That's an illustration of how confusing they can be," she said.

The Menlo Park, Calif., company recently announced it is changing its privacy settings with the aim of making it easier for users to navigate them.

The fine-tuning will include several revisions that will start rolling out to Facebook's more than 1 billion users during the next few weeks and continue into early next year.

The most visible change ? and perhaps the most appreciated ? will be a new "privacy shortcuts" section that appears as a tiny lock at the top right of people's news feeds. This feature offers a drop-down box where users can get answers to common questions such as "Who can see my stuff?"

But Galperin said Wednesday's incident also illustrates a general concern about Internet privacy. Essentially, she said, if you share information or a photo with your social network, people in your network have the ability to share that with whomever else they choose.

The mobile photo-sharing service Instagram, which is owned by Facebook Inc., had to answer to backlash to privacy concerns recently when new terms of service suggested user photos could be used in advertisements. The company later said it would remove the questionable language.

___

Manuel Valdes can be reached at http://twitter.com/ByManuelValdes .

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2012-12-27-Zuckerberg-Sister's%20Photo/id-ab1a182018354a2c84aa1be10c36985d

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Lockheed, SpaceX Trade Barbs

Lockheed Martin and Boeing have been getting all government launch contracts for the past six years. That is, until SpaceX demonstrated they could reach the International Space Station successfully this year. Asked about the new competition brought by SpaceX, Lockheed CEO Robert Stevens made light of the younger company's success. "I?m hugely pleased with 66 in a row from [the Boeing-Lockheed alliance], and I don?t know the record of SpaceX yet," he said. "Two in a row?" When he was asked about the skyrocketing price of launching his sky rockets, he said, "You can thrift on cost. You can take cost out of a rocket. But I will guarantee you, in my experience, when you start pulling a lot of costs out of a rocket, your quality and your probability of success in delivering a payload to orbit diminishes." SpaceX CEO Elon Musk was blunt about the source of the price difference between the companies: "The fundamental reason SpaceX?s rockets are lower cost and more powerful is that our technology is significantly more advanced than that of the Lockheed-Boeing rockets, which were designed last century." The Delta IV and Atlas V rockets of Lockheed-Boeing average about $464 million per launch, while SpaceX's Falcon 9 launches for $54 million. Its upcoming Falcon Heavy will go up for $80-125 million.

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/AscHlvQ9Sic/story01.htm

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Video: Anti-Piers Morgan Petition Racks Up Support

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/50300686/

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5 Love Lessons From Holiday Movies | YourTango

What's your favorite holiday movie?

From Rudolph to The Nightmare Before Christmas, these movies are filled with love.

Cuddled up on the couch today watching holiday movies? Here's what you can learn about love from some of our favorite Christmas flicks.

More from YourTango: 7 Things We Learned About Dating In 2012

1. The most unexpected people might be the ones who pull through for you
Sure, Rudolph may have been about a reindeer and a sticky situation for Santa, but that doesn?t mean you can?t take a love lesson from it. Everyone thought Rudolph was a lost cause and no one wanted to give him a chance. However, the moment he was truly needed, he became a knight in shining (or glowing) armor and saved the day. Basically, don?t write someone off simply because they?re a little strange or different than anyone else you?ve dated ??he may wind up being the most steadfast rock in your life.

2. People can be redeemed with support
A Christmas Carol holds one of the most important lessons in both life and the holiday season: people do change, sometimes. While Scrooge seemed to be a truly miserable human being, when his negative actions and demeanor were shown to him? rather than simply being yelled ? he was able to evolve into a better human being. When it comes to serious relationship problems, you should attempt to explain to your partner the problems you have with him. Let him know that you want things to work out for the two of you. If he takes the necessary steps to grow and change for the better with your support, your relationship can be rescued.

3. Don?t take your current situation for granted (but do explore your options)
In The Nightmare Before Christmas, Jack Skellington is bored with his very prestigious role in Halloween Town, even with his devoted love interest Sally. When he falls down a rabbit hole of sorts and winds up exploring an entirely new land, he finds himself enthralled in a 'grass is greener' situation (though in this case, the snow is whiter). Eventually, after nearly destroying his relationships with everyone around him, he recognizes the importance of being happy with what you have. Don?t simply covet change because it?s 'new'. If you have somebody you love who loves you, try to work with what you have and create excitement that way. Keep reading ...

More from YourTango: Why Should Disney Drop A Former Olympian Turned Escort?

More stories from YourTango:

Source: http://www.yourtango.com/2012168835/5-love-lessons-holiday-movies

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Air Bagan survivors tell of terrifying landing

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) ? Survivors of a Christmas Day crash-landing of an airliner in Myanmar told terrifying tales of escape Wednesday as carrier Air Bagan apologized for what it called the worst accident since it started flying in 2004.

Details of the crash remain unclear but airline officials told a news conference Wednesday that they found the plane's two black boxes and were investigating what went wrong. So far, officials have blamed heavy fog for the aircraft's crash into a rice paddy field where it burst into flames. Two died and 11 were injured, including four foreigners.

The Fokker 100 jet was 21 years old but passed inspections at annual renewals of its air worthiness certificate, the officials said. On Tuesday, it was carrying 71 people, including 48 foreigners, from the city of Yangon via Mandalay to Heho airport, which is the gateway to the popular tourist destination Inle Lake.

"We felt the first bump, then a few big bumps and then (started) sliding very fast," said 31-year-old Australian advertising executive Anna Bartsch. Her boyfriend, Stuart Benson, described the landing like "a roller coaster" ride.

The plane came to a stop and they felt relief ? then panic.

"In my window I saw the flames, and it was hot and we knew straight away we didn't have much time to get out," Bartsch said during an interview at a Yangon hotel where the airline lodged passengers after evacuating them from the scene.

Passengers rushed up the aisle to the front door, which was initially stuck shut, she said.

"We didn't know then that the wings had come off," Bartsch said.

The door was quickly forced open and passengers raced from the plane, some in shock and some suffering smoke inhalation, she said. Once on safe ground, Bartsch said she saw the pilot and co-pilot with bloodied faces and other people with serious burns.

"It's amazing that the injuries were not more serious," she said. "It could have been much worse."

A flight attendant told reporters Wednesday that the crew realized something was wrong only when the plane hit the ground.

"We shouted, 'This is an emergency'," said flight attendant Khaing Su Naing, adding that despite one of the two doors initially getting stuck the crew evacuated the plane 90 seconds after it stopped moving.

The accident has raised concerns about the safety standards of Myanmar's overburdened airlines as foreign visitors have flocked to the Southeast Asian country which is emerging from a half-century of military rule.

Air Bagan is one of a half dozen private airlines that fly domestic routes in Myanmar. After one plane was destroyed in Tuesday's crash its fleet now consists of five planes, including four ATR turboprops and another Fokker 100, which is no longer made.

"We deeply apologize to all our passengers and to their family members," the airline's managing director Htoo Thet Htwe told the news conference. All passengers were paid $2,300, he said.

"This is the most serious accident Air Bagan has ever had," he said. In 2008, one of its planes overshot a provincial airport's runway, spun out of control and crashed, causing the wings and tail to snap off. Many passengers were injured but none died.

Air Bagan has said "the plane hit electrical cables about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from Heho airport as it descended and landed in rice fields."

The Information Ministry said the pilot mistook a road near the airport for the runway before stopping in a nearby rice paddy. It was unclear if the plane made its crash landing on the road or the rice field.

All fatalities were Myanmar citizens, including a man riding a motorcycle where the plane came down and a tour guide aboard the plane. There were earlier reports of an 11-year-old child also among the dead.

___

Associated Press writer Jocelyn Gecker contributed to this report from Bangkok.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/air-bagan-survivors-tell-terrifying-landing-141618661.html

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Getting into Shapes: From Hyperbolic Geometry to Cube Complexes

A proof announced in March resolved the last of 23 questions about 3D shapes posed in 1982 by mathematician William Thurston, marking the end of an era in the study of "three-manifolds"

By Erica Klarreich

Figure 3. When viewed through the lens of hyperbolic geometry, all the fish are the same size. The curves that run along the fishes? spines are hyperbolic straight lines, or "geodesics." Image: Illustration: Douglas Dunham, University of Minnesota Duluth

From Simons Science News (find original story here).

Thirty years ago, the mathematician William Thurston articulated a grand vision: a taxonomy of all possible finite three-dimensional shapes.

Thurston, a Fields medalist who spent much of his career at Princeton and Cornell, had an uncanny ability to imagine the unimaginable: not just the shapes that live inside our ordinary three-dimensional space, but also the far vaster menagerie of shapes that involve such complicated twists and turns that they can only fit into higher-dimensional spaces. Where other mathematicians saw inchoate masses, Thurston saw structure: symmetries, surfaces, relationships between different shapes.

?Many people have an impression, based on years of schooling, that mathematics is an austere and formal subject concerned with complicated and ultimately confusing rules,? he wrote in 2009. ?Good mathematics is quite opposite to this. Mathematics is an art of human understanding. ? Mathematics sings when we feel it in our whole brain.?

At the core of Thurston?s vision was a marriage between two seemingly disparate ways of studying three-dimensional shapes: geometry, the familiar realm of angles, lengths, areas and volumes, and topology, which studies all the properties of a shape that don?t depend on precise geometric measurements ? the properties that remain unchanged if the shape gets stretched and distorted like Silly Putty.

To a topologist, the surface of a frying pan is equivalent to that of a table, a pencil or a soccer ball; the surface of a coffee mug is equivalent to a doughnut surface, or torus. From a topologist?s point of view, the multiplicity of two-dimensional shapes ? that is, surfaces ? essentially boils down to a simple list of categories: sphere-like surfaces, toroidal surfaces, and surfaces like the torus but with more than one hole. (Most of us think of spheres and tori as three-dimensional, but because mathematicians think of them as hollow surfaces, they consider them two-dimensional objects, measured in terms of surface area, not volume.)

Thurston?s key insight was that it is in the union of geometry and topology that three-dimensional shapes, or ?three-manifolds,? can be understood. Just as the topological category of ?two-manifolds? containing the surfaces of a frying pan and a pencil also contains a perfect sphere, Thurston conjectured that many categories of three-manifolds contain one exemplar, a three-manifold whose geometry is so perfect, so uniform, so beautiful that, as Walter Neumann of Columbia University is fond of saying, it ?rings like a bell.? What?s more, Thurston conjectured, shapes that don?t have such an exemplar can be carved up into chunks that do.

In a 1982 paper, Thurston set forth this ?geometrization conjecture? as part of a group of 23 questions about three-manifolds that offered mathematicians a road map toward a thorough understanding of three-dimensional shapes. (His list had 24 questions, but one of them, still unresolved, is more of an intriguing side alley than a main thoroughfare.)

?Thurston had this enormous talent for asking the right questions,? said Vladimir Markovic, a mathematician at the California Institute of Technology. ?Anyone can ask questions, but it?s rare for a question to lead to insight and beauty, the way Thurston?s questions always seemed to do.?

These questions inspired a new generation of mathematicians, dozens of whom chose to pursue their graduate studies under Thurston?s guidance. Thurston?s mathematical ?children? manifest his style, wrote Richard Brown of Johns Hopkins University. ?They seem to see mathematics the way a child views a carnival: full of wonder and joy, fascinated with each new discovery, and simply happy to be a part of the whole scene.?

In the decades after Thurston?s seminal paper appeared, mathematicians followed his road map, motivated less by possible applications than by a realization that three-manifolds occupy a sweet spot in the study of shapes. Two-dimensional shapes are a bit humdrum, easy to visualize and categorize. Four-, five- and higher-dimensional shapes are essentially untamable: the range of possibilities is so enormous that mathematicians have limited their ambitions to understanding specialized subclasses of them. For three-dimensional shapes, by contrast, the structures are mysterious and mind-boggling, but ultimately knowable.

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