3 American students arrested in Cairo back in US

Derrik Sweeney, center, gets hugs from his father Kevin Sweeney, left, and sister Ashley, right, as arms from his mother, Joy Sweeney, wrap around from behind after Derrik arrived at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011, in St. Louis. Sweeney and two other American students were arrested on the roof of a university building near Tahrir Square in Cairo last Sunday, accused of throwing firebombs at security forces fighting with protesters. On Thursday, a court ordered the three to be released. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Derrik Sweeney, center, gets hugs from his father Kevin Sweeney, left, and sister Ashley, right, as arms from his mother, Joy Sweeney, wrap around from behind after Derrik arrived at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011, in St. Louis. Sweeney and two other American students were arrested on the roof of a university building near Tahrir Square in Cairo last Sunday, accused of throwing firebombs at security forces fighting with protesters. On Thursday, a court ordered the three to be released. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Derrik Sweeney, center, gets hugs from his father Kevin Sweeney, left, and sister Ashley, right, after Derrik arrived at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011, in St. Louis. Sweeney and two other American students were arrested on the roof of a university building near Tahrir Square in Cairo last Sunday, accused of throwing firebombs at security forces fighting with protesters. On Thursday, a court ordered the three to be released. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Derrik Sweeney, center, gets hugs from his father Kevin Sweeney, left, and sister Ashley, right, as arms from his mother, Joy Sweeney, wrap around from behind after Derrik arrived at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011, in St. Louis. Sweeney and two other American students were arrested on the roof of a university building near Tahrir Square in Cairo last Sunday, accused of throwing firebombs at security forces fighting with protesters. On Thursday, a court ordered the three to be released. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Gregory Porter, center, one of three U.S. students arrested during a demonstration in Cairo, walks with his mother Nancy Hansen, left, upon arriving at Philadelphia International Airport, in Philadelphia, on Saturday Nov. 26, 2011, after an Egyptian court ordered the release of Porter and two other U.S. students who were arrested for throwing firebombs at security forces said Egyptian officials. (AP Photo/ Joseph Kaczmarek)

Gregory Porter, left, one of three U.S. students arrested during a demonstration in Cairo, and his attorney Theodore Simon, second from right, speak to members of the news media after arriving at Philadelphia International Airport, in Philadelphia, on Saturday Nov. 26, 2011, after an Egyptian court ordered the release of Porter and two other U.S. students who were arrested for throwing firebombs at security forces said Egyptian officials. (AP Photo/ Joseph Kaczmarek)

ST. LOUIS (AP) ? The last of the three American students to arrive home after being arrested amid Cairo's tumultuous protests described his first hours in custody as "probably the scariest night of my life ever," saying the youths were hit, forced to lay for hours in the dark nearly in a fetal position and threatened with guns.

Derrik Sweeney, 19, spoke with The Associated Press shortly after arriving at St. Louis' international airport late Saturday night, greeted with joyful shouts of anxious parents who tightly hugged him as dozens of others in a crowd of supporters and relatives held up signs reading, "We love you Derrik" and "Welcome home, Derrik."

"The first night was probably the scariest night of my life ever. I was not sure I was going to live. They said if we moved at all, even an inch, they would shoot us. They were behind us with guns," Sweeney told the AP in a brief phone interview, adding the three had spent about six hours curled up uncomfortably with their hands behind their backs.

Egyptian authorities said they had arrested Sweeney a week earlier along with 19-year-old Gregory Porter and 21-year-old Luke Gates on the rooftop of a university building near Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square amid violent protests engulfing the streets below.

Officials accused the young men of throwing firebombs at Egyptian security forces fighting with the protesters, but Sweeney said he and the other Americans "never did anything to hurt anyone" and never were on the rooftop nor handled or threw any explosives. He called those accusations "very clearly just lies, 100 percent."

But he said conditions in custody markedly improved after the opening night's ordeal when they three were taken to some "legitimate" prison or jail. He didn't elaborate on who he believed was holding him the opening night but he called the treatment humane in the ensuing days.

? "There was really marked treatment between the first night and the next three nights or however long it was. The first night, it was kind of rough. They were hitting us; they were saying they were going to shoot us and they were putting us in really uncomfortable positions. But after that first night, we were treated in a just manner ? as a prisoner ? we were given food when we needed and it was OK after that first night."

At his airport arrival, he also said things became much better in subsequent days when he was allowed to speak with U.S. consular official "and then my mom."

An Egyptian court ordered the students' release Thursday, and they were on flights out of Cairo two days later. Porter and Gates also arrived back in their home states late Saturday, all greeted by relieved family members.

"I'm not going to take this as a negative experience. It's still a great country," Gates, his parents wrapping their arms around him, said shortly after getting off a flight in Indianapolis.

The protests had flared starting Nov. 19, in anticipation of the landmark parliamentary elections in Egypt due to start Monday. On Friday, the crowd grew to more than 100,000 people and on Saturday fresh clashes erupted between security forces and the Egyptian protesters demanding the military step down. The protests Saturday left one man dead as the violence threatened to overshadow the looming elections.

Porter also was met by his parents and other relatives earlier Saturday evening when he landed at Philadelphia International Airport. Porter took no questions, but said he was thankful for the help he and the other American students received from the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, administrators at the university they were attending, and attorneys in Egypt and the U.S.

"I'm just so thankful to be back, to be in Philadelphia right now," said Porter, who is from nearby Glenside, Pa., and attends Drexel University in Philadelphia.

All three left the Egyptian capital Saturday morning on separate connecting flights to Frankfurt, Germany, an airport official in Cairo said. The three were studying at American University in Cairo.

Joy Sweeney said staff at the school packed her son's bags because he wasn't allowed to return to his dorm room. Waiting for her son had been grueling, she said shortly before he arrived, but she was grateful he would be home before the holiday weekend was over.

"He still hasn't processed what a big deal this is," she told the AP shortly before her son arrived at the airport.

She said she was trying not to dwell on the events of the last week and was ecstatic that her son, a student at Georgetown University in Washington, was coming home. The family is from Jefferson City, Mo., about 130 miles west of St. Louis.

Earlier in the week, she talked about how she put a Thanksgiving celebration on hold because the idea seemed "absolutely irrelevant" while her son still was being held.

"It's been an emotional rollercoaster. I mean, I don't know how to describe it other than that," she said Saturday night. "But I never looked at the worst-case scenario."

___

Matheson reported from Philadelphia. Associated Press photographer Michael Conroy contributed to this report from Indianapolis and AP writers Bill Cormier in Atlanta; Maggie Michael in Cairo; Andale Gross and Erin Gartner in Chicago; Sandy Kozel in Washington; Rick Callahan in Indianapolis; and Maryclaire Dale in Philadelphia also contributed.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-11-27-Egypt-American%20Students/id-2010efd1159c42bf8fbf1013307970fb

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Police ban Congo election rallies, at least 2 dead (Reuters)

KINSHASA (Reuters) ? Police in Congo blocked President Joseph Kabila's main rival at an airport in Kinshasa on Saturday to stop him staging an election rally after at least two died in violence across the central African state's capital city.

Two days before presidential and parliamentary elections, rival factions hurled rocks at each other and gunfire was heard across town.

A Reuters reporter saw one lifeless body on the road to the airport while a U.N. source reported another death elsewhere in town.

The violence was the latest sign of tension in the run-up to Congo's second election since a 1998-2003 war, a poll which has been marked by opposition allegations of irregularities and concerns about inadequate preparations.

Police stopped opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi and his entourage from leaving Kinshasa's N'djili airport after his party said it would defy a ban on political rallies imposed earlier on Saturday.

"I'll call the population of Kinshasa to come here," Tshisekedi, 78, sitting in a red Hummer surrounded by police at the exit gate of the airport, told reporters.

"We are already dying in our thousands, we are not going to let a few injuries stop us fighting now," he said, a reference to his accusations that Kabila's government has saddled Congo's population with insecurity and poverty.

After hours of failed negotiations by the United Nations peacekeeping mission, police moved in on Tshisekedi's entourage, dragging several people from their cars, according to a Reuters witness. Tshisekedi was later escorted to his home by the police, according to a U.N. source.

Earlier, tens of thousands of Congolese turned out on the airport road, most of them identifiable as Tshisekedi supporters. Some chanted his name while many billboards for Kabila and his allies had been torn down.

Kabila, Tshisekedi and the other main challenger, Vital Kamerhe, had been due to hold rallies within several hundred metres of each other in central Kinshasa on Saturday.

Kamerhe told Reuters that four people had been killed, including one of his supporters, but it was not immediately possible to confirm that toll.

POLL DELAY?

Under constitutional amendments signed off by Kabila this year, the presidential vote will be decided in a single round, meaning the winner can claim victory with a simple majority. Analysts say that favours Kabila against the split opposition.

Despite a logistics operation supported by helicopters from South Africa and Angola, some observers doubt whether all the ballot slips will reach the 60,000 voting stations by Monday in a country two-thirds the size of the European Union.

However national election commission president Daniel Ngoy Mulunda said he did not expect any delay to the polls, saying that materials were 90 percent deployed in the provinces.

"No, I am not expecting any change. We have today, the whole night, tomorrow day and night to finalize (preparations)," Mulunda told a news conference in Kinshasa.

"We had some delays with weather but we know it will work - on Monday it won't rain."

Earlier, Tshisekedi said he could accept a delay but only if Mulunda, whom he accused of having political ties to Kabila and turning a blind eye to alleged irregularities, was sacked.

"I would agree (to a delay) if that meant a more credible, democratic and transparent process," he told French RFI radio.

"But one thing is clear: if we say there will be a delay, it is clear that the election commission cannot be led by Daniel Ngoy Mulunda," he said, accusing him of having been a founding member of Kabila's PPRD political party.

Mulunda, who will have the deciding vote if his commission is split on any election dispute, said this week he did not deny having been a member of the delegation that accompanies Kabila on foreign trips, but said he was not a founding PPRD member.

Kabila's rivals say fake polling stations have been set up to allow vote-rigging, an allegation denied by the authorities. They also accuse Kabila of using state media and transport assets for his campaign.

Kamerhe said the Congolese would not accept a rigged poll.

"They want free and fair elections that allow them to take their destiny in their own hands. People will refuse cheating wherever it takes place," he told Reuters, surrounded by chanting and dancing supporters at his party headquarters.

For many Congolese, there was a last-minute scramble to find out where they should be voting. Gervis Ilunga, a 44-year-old security guard, said he registered in one Kinshasa district but ultimately found his name elsewhere.

"In 2006, things were at least organised," he said of the first post-war poll largely organised under the auspices of the United Nations. "It is not like that this time ... There will be too many challenges this time."

(Additional reporting by Finbarr O'Reilly; Writing by Mark John; Editing by Sophie Hares and David Cowell)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111127/wl_nm/us_congo_democratic_election

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Palko's 4 turnovers doom Chiefs in 13-9 loss (AP)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. ? Tyler Palko wasn't even sure how many interceptions he threw Sunday night. At first he guessed it was four, and it might well have felt like it. In reality it was only three.

Perhaps he was counting his fumbled snap, too.

Whatever the case, the journeyman quarterback was responsible for four turnovers that the Steelers managed to capitalize on just enough to eke out a 13-9 victory, which doomed Kansas City to its fourth consecutive loss and kept Pittsburgh in a tie for the AFC North lead.

"When you turn the ball over four times and you're responsible for it, it stings a lot," said Palko, who tossed three picks in his first NFL start last week at New England.

Pressed into duty in place of Matt Cassel, who is out for the year after hurting his throwing hand, Palko may have tossed away his chance to be the starter the rest of the season ? tossed it right to the guys wearing white jerseys on a frigid, blustery night at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Chiefs marched across midfield to the Pittsburgh 37 in the closing minutes when Palko dropped back to pass. He was looking for Dwayne Bowe but threw it high and behind him, and Keenan Lewis hauled in the interception with 29 seconds left to seal the outcome.

"I just read the quarterback. I knew I had help underneath, so I could stay back and protect deep," Lewis said. "When the ball came out of the quarterback's hand, I saw that Bowe had already made his move. That's when I knew I could make a play."

The Chiefs claimed former Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton off waivers Wednesday with the intention of having him compete with Palko for the starting job. Orton didn't arrive in town until Friday, though, and he was inactive Sunday night after participating in only one practice.

"He'll have a much better chance this week to compete," Chiefs coach Todd Haley said, "and like I said, Tyler is the starter, but whatever position we say, if someone gives us a better chance to win, that's the guideline we generally follow."

Ben Roethlisberger was 21 of 31 for 193 yards with a touchdown and an interception for the Steelers (8-3), whose defense lost All-Pro safety Troy Polamalu to a head injury in the first quarter yet still kept the bumbling Chiefs (4-7) from scoring a touchdown.

Kansas City hasn't reached the end zone since the third quarter against Denver on Nov. 13.

Kansas City led 3-0 in the second quarter when Palko's first interception, which Taylor returned to the Chiefs 8, resulted in a 21-yard field goal by the Steelers' Shaun Suisham.

The second pick was returned by Mundy, who had taken over at safety for Polamalu, to the Kansas City 24. The defense appeared to hold Pittsburgh when Tamba Hali sacked Roethlisberger on third-and-7, but safety Jon McGraw was called for defensive holding to give the Steelers a first down.

Three plays later, Roethlisberger found Saunders in the back of the end zone.

"When you turn the ball over four times, you generally don't have a chance to win," Haley said.

Ryan Succop added a 49-yard field goal later in the second quarter for Kansas City, his second of the game, but Suisham answered with his own 49-yarder on the final play of the first half.

Succop made a 40-yard field goal with 6:11 left in the fourth quarter.

"We're moving the ball and when we get in the red zone we've got to score touchdowns and not just field goals," wide receiver Steve Breaston said, "especially against a team like this."

Polamalu left the game in the first quarter when he tackled 290-pound Chiefs offensive tackle Steve Maneri, who had caught a pass in the flat after lining up in the backfield.

The reigning Defensive Player of the Year's head hit Maneri's knee and he crumpled to the turf, where he lay while trainers came out to check on him. Polamalu was a bit wobbly when he stood up and the team said he was questionable to return with a "blow to the head."

Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey also left in the first half with an illness.

Roethlisberger showed little evidence of the broken thumb that caused him to be somewhat limited in practice, hitting 10 different receivers. He got some help from Rashard Mendenhall, who ran for 57 yards, and a defense that kept giving the Pittsburgh offense prime field position.

"It was a hard-fought game," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "We're excited about winning ? and winning on the road ? and making the necessary plays, particularly defensively down the stretch."

The Steelers squandered a promising opportunity in the first quarter, driving inside the Chiefs 10-yard line. But backup running back Mewelde Moore had the ball poked out by Hali and it was recovered by Javier Arenas in the end zone for a touchback.

Kansas City gave the ball right back when Palko fumbled the snap moments later.

Pittsburgh also had a decent drive end midway through the scoreless third when Roethlisberger underthrew Antonio Brown down the sideline. Kansas City safety Travis Daniels swooped in to make the interception, but the Chiefs' bumbling offense couldn't capitalize.

That wound up being the story of the game.

"No time to sit here and feel sorry for ourselves," Palko said. "All the interceptions are on me, the fumbled snap was on me as well. Any time you have the ball in your hand, you're responsible for it, and I take full responsibility for all four turnovers."

Notes: Kansas native Martina McBride sang the national anthem. Modern Family's Eric Stonestreet, who attended Kansas State, threw the ceremonial first pass. ... Polamalu was experiencing "concussion-like symptoms" and will continue to be evaluated, Tomlin said. ... The Chiefs finished with 252 yards of total offense. ... Thomas Jones had 13 carries for 37 yards for Kansas City.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111128/ap_on_sp_fo_ga_su/fbn_chiefs

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Blasts kill 15 in Iraq as US troops pull out

Army soldiers gather at the scene of a bomb attack in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011. A series of blasts in central Iraq killed and wounded scores of people, police said. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Army soldiers gather at the scene of a bomb attack in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011. A series of blasts in central Iraq killed and wounded scores of people, police said. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Army soldiers gather at the scene of a bomb attack in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011. A series of blasts in central Iraq killed and wounded scores of people, police said. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

BAGHDAD, (AP) ? A string of explosions hit a Baghdad market and the capital's western outskirts on Saturday, killing at least 15 people and exposing the challenges still facing Iraqi security forces just over a month before all American troops leave the country.

The bombings mark the second major attack against Iraqi civilians this week and come as American forces are packing up to leave and handing over their remaining security responsibilities to Iraqi forces. Many Iraqis are concerned that insurgents may use the transition period to launch more attacks in a bid to regain their former prominence and destabilize the country.

Iraqi security officials maintain that they are fully prepared for the American withdrawal, which is required under a 2008 security pact between the U.S. and Iraq. About 15,000 U.S. troops remain in the country, down from a one-time high of about 170,000.

Earlier this week, the top U.S. general in Iraq, Lloyd Austin, said that there would likely be some "turbulence" after American troops leave. But he did not think there would be a wholesale descent into violence.

The first blasts Saturday struck an area where people looking for work were gathered in the mostly Sunni village of al-Zaidan, west of Baghdad. Seven people were killed and 11 others were wounded, police officials said.

Hours later, three bombs exploded near kiosks in a market in downtown Baghdad where vendors were selling CDs and military uniforms, killing eight people and wounding 19 others.

"I went outside my shop and saw people running in all directions trying to leave the market area. I saw several bodies and wounded people on the ground," said Mohammed Youssef, who owns a clothing shop in the area.

Iraqi military commanders later ordered all the vendors selling products in the area to close up their kiosks and move, in an attempt to clear out the area and make it harder for insurgents to hide bombs.

Health officials at Abu Ghraib's general hospital and at three hospitals in Baghdad confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

The market had until recently been protected by blast walls, but the military spokesman for Baghdad, Qassim al-Moussawi, said they were removed because the security situation in the city has been improving.

The bombers "try to prove their presence and hinder our efforts to remove all the concrete walls, but we will continue removing them and keeping control," he said.

Baghdad is crisscrossed with concrete blast walls that both reassure and frustrate residents. The walls helped reduce violence and protect areas such as markets or major buildings. But they also create huge traffic jams and hurt the economy.

The Iraqi security forces have been slowly removing the blast walls, but some people in the market area Saturday said they wanted them back.

"We have been expecting something bad in the market after the security forces removed the blast barriers a few days ago," said Youssef.

Violence has ebbed across Iraq since the height of the fighting, but deadly bombings and shootings still occur almost daily as U.S. troops prepare to leave. On Thursday evening, 19 people died in the southern city of Basra after three bombs went off in quick succession.

As the U.S. has drawn down the number of American troops in Iraq over the last year, the U.S. military has played more of an advising role to Iraqi security forces, leaving the more high-profile jobs such as patrolling and manning checkpoints to Iraqi security forces.

But U.S. troops have played a key role in helping Iraqi forces gather intelligence on suspected insurgents, something that will be lost when the American military departs.

In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Gen. Austin said that Iraqis are very good at human intelligence ? gathering information from a local population that they know well. But they lack the American technology and ability to analyze intelligence gathered from multiple sources and then use that information to combat terror networks such as al-Qaida.

"What we've learned about al-Qaida is they have a very sophisticated network and the ability to kind of see themselves across the country, and synchronize activities," he said. "In order to counter that I think you need the ability to put pressure on the network."

___

Associated Press staff in Baghdad, Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Hadi Mizban, contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-11-26-ML-Iraq/id-c448452d18cb40db9543a54948a4bce7

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Russians to cut Putin's party majority in vote: poll (Reuters)

MOSCOW (Reuters) ? Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's ruling party is likely to get a far smaller majority in parliament at the December 4 election, the country's biggest independent pollster predicted on Friday.

Based on its last major opinion poll before the election, Levada-Center said Putin's United Russia party would win about 252-253 places in the 450-seat lower house of parliament, down from 315 it has now.

Levada-Center director Lev Gudkov said Russian voters perceived United Russia, which is being led into the election by President Dmitry Medvedev, as dominant but devoid of policy.

"United Russia is conducting quite a weak electoral campaign," Gudkov told reporters in Moscow. "It doesn't really have much of a program."

Putin, who is almost certain to win a March presidential election, has hinted a poor showing by United Russia could affect his plan to appoint Medvedev as prime minister in a job swap.

"Putin will easily win in the first round because the political field is managed and opponents have been sidelined," Gudkov said of the presidential election, which the upper house of parliament said on Friday would take place on March 4.

The Levada pollster predicted the Communist Party would come second in the parliamentary election with about 94 seats, followed by the nationalist LDPR party winning 59 seats and the Just Russia party with 44 seats.

(Reporting by Maria Tsvetkova, Alexei Kalmykov and Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Steve Gutterman)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/russia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111125/wl_nm/us_russia_election_poll

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Experts Admit Fukushima is Causing Hidden Cancer Deaths :

You are here: Home / Featured / Experts Admit Fukushima is Causing Hidden Cancer Deaths

By Anthony Gucciardi
Activist Post
November 24, 2011

Health and radiation experts are now admitting that the Fukushima disaster is contributing to an unknown number of deaths as a result of increasing cancer rates around the globe.

They are also stating that these deaths will be ?hidden? from the public eye due to a lack of accurate identification when it comes to targeting Fukushima-related cancer deaths.

Of course the scientific experts are focusing primarily on the evacuation zone radiation and surrounding areas, despite the fact that Fukushima radiation is now so far reaching that it is?adversely affecting the health of United States citizens.

Another piece of vital information challenges the claims of many scientists that the radiation levels unleashed from the meltdown are too low to cause any public health concern.

The report, unleashed in late October, found that the amount of radiation released from the Fukushima meltdown actually?exceeded twice the amount that experts originally claimed.

Additionally, the study researchers stated that the amount of radioactive isotope caesium-137 released at the height of the crisis was equivalent to 42% of that from Chernobyl.

Officials cover up the severity of Fukushima and the true threat to public health

It seems that Japanese government officials and plant higher-ups are continuing to downplay the full effects of the Fukushima disaster.

From concealing integral information from the public to ignoring the real threat to public health, there is sincere lack of honesty and communication between many worldwide health officials and the citizens of the world.

Of course Fukushima impacts the health of citizens worldwide, not just inhabitants of the evacuation zone. In fact, researchers have found a large amount of radioactive material?exceeding that of the evacuation zone arrive in Tokyo.

Meanwhile, officials urge Tokyo residents not to worry.?What?s more, radioactive isotopes have even?been located in California, highlighting the ubiquitous nature of the radioactive material.

Maxim Shingarkin, an expert in nuclear and?radiation?security,?commented on the secretive and deceptive situation in Fukushima:

In fact, this statement came with a big delay. The operating company deliberately concealed this information. The explanation is simple ? the company is afraid that any checking by competent experts would reveal its inability to save the situation. Only recently, foreign experts founded a consultative body for the clean-up of the accident?s consequences. Moreover, the company is concealing the information about the amount of pollution of the environment.

Other experts have also begun speaking out. Marco Kaltofen, PE, of the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Massachusetts, recently discussed current issues revolving around?radiation?exposure in Japan.

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A?Registered Professional Engineer investigating Fukushima nuclear material release, Kaltofen stated his findings?in a presentation entitled ?Radiation Exposure to the Population in Japan After the Earthquake?. Presented in Washington D.C. on Monday morning, Kaltofen stated:

• The Fukushima nuclear accident dispersed airborne dusts that are contaminated with radioactive particles. When inhaled or ingested, these particles can?have negative effects on human health that are different from those caused by exposure to external or uniform radiation fields.

• A field sampling effort was undertaken to characterize the form and concentration of radionuclides in the air and in environmental media which can accumulate fallout. Samples included settled dusts, surface wipes, used filter masks, used air filters, dusty footwear, and?surface soils.

• Isolated US soil samples contained?up to 8 nanoCuries per Kg of radiocesium, while control samples showed no detectable radiocesium.

While experts have started admitting that radiation from the Fukushima disaster is breeding diseases like cancer after extensive denial, it?s about time that they also warned the public about the true severity of the issue.

Source: http://theintelhub.com/2011/11/24/experts-admit-fukushima-is-causing-hidden-cancer-deaths/

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China launches probe of US renewable energy policy (AP)

BEIJING ? China's government announced a trade probe Friday of whether U.S. support for renewable energy companies improperly hurts foreign suppliers, adding to tensions over an industry seen as an important source of jobs and economic growth.

The announcement comes after Washington said Nov. 9 it would investigate whether Beijing is inappropriately subsidizing its own makers of solar panels, allowing them to flood the U.S. market with low-priced products and hurt American competitors.

"The Commerce Ministry has begun an investigation into whether U.S. support policies and subsidy measures for renewable energy industries promote trade barriers," the ministry said on its website.

The ministry said it was acting on a complaint by Chinese manufacturers.

Trade tensions over renewable energy are especially sensitive at a time when the United States and other Western economies want to boost technology exports to revive economic growth and cut high unemployment.

The United States and China are the two biggest markets for solar, wind and other renewable energy technology. Both governments are promoting their own suppliers in hopes of generating higher-paid technology jobs.

China's trade probe will cover wind, solar, hydro and other renewable energy policies and include six projects in Washington, Massachusetts, Ohio, New Jersey and California, the Commerce Ministry said.

Business groups complain that Beijing appears to be trying to limit foreign access to its fast-growing renewable energy market with proposals to limit ownership or require companies to transfer technology to Chinese partners.

The U.S. commerce secretary, John Bryson, said Chinese officials told him the country is expected to invest $1.7 trillion over the next five years in renewable energy and other emerging industries.

___

Chinese Ministry of Commerce (in Chinese): http://www.mofcom.gov.cn

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111125/ap_on_bi_ge/as_china_us_energy_investigation

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Portugal lowered to junk status as big strike hits (AP)

LISBON, Portugal ? Portugal's efforts to climb out of its economic crisis suffered a double setback Thursday as its credit rating was downgraded to junk status and a major strike gave voice to broad public outrage over austerity measures that have squeezed living standards.

Portugal's deepening plight underlined Europe's difficulties in finding a way out of the continent's government debt crisis which has recently shown alarming signs of spreading to bigger nations, most notably Italy.

Like others in the 17-country eurozone, Portugal has embarked on a big austerity program to make its debts sustainable. Earlier this year, Portugal followed Greece and Ireland in taking a bailout to avert bankruptcy.

As in Greece, though, the government's tough medicine, which is required by international creditors in return for the euro78 billion ($104 billion) in bailout money, is unpopular. The strike had a huge turnout, making it possibly the biggest walkout in more than 20 years.

"They are trying to destroy the national health service, and salaries haven't gone up since 2004," striking doctor Pilar Vicente told Associated Press Television News.

Fitch blamed Portugal's "large fiscal imbalances, high indebtedness across all sectors, and adverse macroeconomic outlook" for its decision to cut the country's rating by one notch to BB+. Rival Moody's already rates Portuguese bonds as junk but Standard & Poor's rates them one notch above.

Fitch's decision to cut Portugal to a non-investment grade will likely mean it's even more difficult for the country, which is already mired in a deep recession and is witnessing rising levels of unemployment, to return to bond markets by its 2013 goal. That raises the unappetizing prospect that Portugal, like Greece, may need a second bailout.

"Portugal's downgrade goes to show how hard it will be for troubled economies to pull themselves out of the crisis and how long this will take," said Sony Kapoor, managing director of Re-Define, an economic think tank. "The Portuguese downgrade highlights the limits of austerity policies both domestically in Portugal and in the wider euro area."

The 24-hour walkout came as Portugal, one of western Europe's smallest and frailest economies, endures increasing hardship as it tries to get its borrowing levels down.

The strike was called by Portugal's two largest trade union confederations, representing more than 1 million mostly blue-collar workers. Much of the private sector remained open for business though a huge Volkswagen car plant south of Lisbon, which accounts for 10 percent of Portuguese exports, decided to shut down production for the day because of problems facing its suppliers.

Much of the disruption was centered on the transport sector. Airlines canceled hundreds of international flights, and the airports of Lisbon, Porto and Faro were mostly empty as tens of thousands of workers walked off the job. Commuters had to get to work without regular bus or train services. The Lisbon subway was shut, and police said roads into the capital were more congested than normal.

Few staff were working at government offices, local media reported. Many medical appointments, school classes and court hearings were canceled, while mail deliveries and trash collection were said to be severely disrupted.

An unsustainable debt load and feeble economic growth over the past 10 years pushed Portugal towards bankruptcy earlier this year, forcing it to ask for a financial rescue.

In return for the aid, Portugal agreed to cut its debt burden to a manageable level by 2013. That goal requires it to enact deep spending cuts and hike taxes. Income tax, sales tax, corporate tax and property tax are all being increased. At the same time, welfare entitlements are being curtailed. Falling living standards have stoked outrage at the austerity measures.

"All the sacrifices the Portuguese are making today will prove worthwhile in the future," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Miguel Relvas told reporters.

A key difference from Greece is that the markets have not given up completely on Portugal. Though Portugal's key ten-year borrowing rate in the market stands at a still-exorbitant 12 percent, it's way below the 30 percent or so Greek equivalent. The aim is to eventually get that rate down below the 7 percent threshold that eventually proved to be the trigger for this year's bailout.

The Portuguese government, which came to power in June, has already conceded that its deficit reduction efforts have gone "off track" this year but says one-off measures, such as a 50 percent tax on Christmas bonuses and transferring banks' pension funds to the Treasury, will ensure Portugal achieves its 2011 budget deficit goal of 5.9 percent. That is down from 9.8 percent in 2010.

Debt is also expected to surpass 100 percent of GDP this year and peak at 106 percent in 2013 before retreating.

The austerity drive is hitting the real economy hard. Unemployment is up to 12.4 percent and is forecast to hit 13.4 percent next year. The European Commission predicts the Portuguese economy will contract by 3 percent in 2012 ? the worst performance in the eurozone.

Fitch said that the recession is making it more "challenging" for the government to achieve its deficit-reduction plan and will negatively impact bank asset quality. However, Fitch said the center-right government's commitment to the debt-reduction program was "strong."

Portugal has so far witnessed none of the violent demonstrations seen in Greece, though police said three Lisbon tax offices were vandalized Wednesday night.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111124/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_portugal_financial_crisis

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Pairing fine wines with fine barbecue

Quentin Bacon

Ready for consumption: sausage-and-peppers hero sandwiches.

By Ray Isle, Food & Wine

Some time ago, I had the odd honor of being a judge at the Jack Daniels World Championship Invitational Barbecue, one of the bigger meat-fests in the barbecue circuit. I can?t recall who won what, but I vividly recall walking up the stairs to my second-floor motel room, listening to two portly fellows loudly discuss the merits (and drawbacks) of possum and raccoon barbecue. In that context, pairing wine instead of beer with barbecue seems a bit twee, sort of like playing Chopin nocturnes at a NASCAR race, but what the heck. What are cliffs for but to fling oneself off of?

Slideshow: Tailgating recipes

Brisket

Being a Texan, my heart believes that real barbecue is made from cow, not pig, despite a lot of Southern evidence to the contrary. Anyway, that?s a battle to be fought by diehards. Ignore them. Drive to Louie Mueller?s in Taylor, Texas, order yourself some of their sublimely excellent brisket, and then figure out some way to drink a good Cabernet blend with it. The 2008 Cameron Hughes Lot 249 Alexander Valley Meritage ($12) is a fine choice.

Sausage

On the day that New York?s Hill Country BBQ decided it was a good thing to import sausages up from Kreuz Market in Lockhart, Texas, the clouds parted, the sun shone and all was good upon the land. Seriously. And if one were going to pour a glass of wine to go with these juicy, sublimely spiced links, I think a Zinfandel ? itself a spicy number ? would be the answer. The 2009 Bogle Old Vine Zinfandel ($12) is an in-your-face example, in a good way.

Pulled Pork

An excellent counter-argument from the South to this whole Texan beef-business. Good pulled pork (Sweatman?s, in Holly Hill, S.C., about 50 minutes outside Charleston, is hard to beat) has a sublime balance of porkiness, juiciness and smoke that ought to make Pierre Gagnaire wonder if perhaps he picked the wrong cuisine to specialize in. In South Carolina, the sauce is mustardy and a bit sweet; in NorthCarolina, it?s more vinegary. I?d eat both with a dry ros?, though honestly if I did that I?d probably get my butt kicked. Try (if you?re willing to risk it) the fruity 2010 Frog?s Leap La Grenouille Rougante ($14).

Ribs

Frank Zappa, in his little-known but much-loved (well, by a few freaks) anthem ?Muffin Man,? intones this immortal line: ?There is not, nor ought there be, anything so exalted on the face of God?s gray earth as that prince of foods ? the muffin.? Hm. Let?s change that to ribs, OK? I can think of almost no instance when I wouldn?t trade whatever is on my plate for some truly great barbecue ribs, like the ones from Mike Mills? 17^thStreet Bar & Grill in Murphysboro, Ill. Lots of flavor, lots of juice, and, admit it, lots of fat ? if wine is on the table, make it a big, brawny Syrah, like the robust 2008 Cambria Tepusquet Syrah ($19).

More from Food & Wine

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Source: http://itineraries.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/17/8861081-pairing-wines-with-fine-barbecue

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FACT CHECK: Hyperbole on terror interrogations (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Michele Bachmann did not intend to be taken literally when she told the Republican presidential debate Tuesday that civil-liberties activists have taken over the interrogation of terrorists from the CIA. But even as a rhetorical point, it didn't hold water.

Her hyperbole on the American Civil Liberties Union was one of the more notable stretches in the national security and foreign policy debate. A look at some of the claims and how they compare with the facts:

___

BACHMANN: "This is one thing we know about Barack Obama: He has essentially handed over our interrogation of terrorists to the ACLU. He's outsourced it to them. Our CIA has no ability to have any form of interrogation for terrorists."

THE FACTS: The CIA still has the ability to interrogate terrorists. President Obama formed the High Value Interrogation Group, which includes the FBI, the CIA and the Pentagon. It centralizes expertise so that when a terrorism suspect is caught, everyone with a stake in the issue is involved in the questioning. The CIA also can sit in on interrogations in other countries, asking questions directly or through officials of the host government.

Whether the policy on interrogating suspects should be tougher is a matter of authentic debate. But the CIA is hardly emasculated. The agency has dramatically expanded its on-the-ground operations worldwide since 2001, and the U.S. killing of a succession of al-Qaida figures in Pakistan ? Osama bin Laden chief among them ? demonstrates the potency of the hunt for terrorists. Moreover, the U.S. killing of an American citizen abroad ? the radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki ? is well outside the range of action that would be condoned by civil liberties advocates.

___

MITT ROMNEY: "What they're doing is cutting a trillion dollars out of the defense budget."

RON PAUL: "They're nibbling away at baseline budgeting. ... There's nothing cut against the military. And the people on the Hill are nearly hysterical because they're not going ? the budget isn't going up as rapidly as they want it to."

THE FACTS: Paul was more accurate than Romney in describing what is happening with defense spending. Constraints in the military budget are much more modest than Romney suggested.

Both Romney and rival Rick Perry have been criticizing Obama for looming defense cuts that are triggered by the failure of the deficit supercommittee to act. But the cuts would only slow the rate of growth of Pentagon spending, which has been vastly increased because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, now winding down. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the planned Pentagon budget for 2021 would be some $700 billion, an increase over the current level of about $520 billion. The cuts agreed to last summer plus the automatic reductions would trim the projected 2021 budget by about $110 billion.

Moreover, the spending cuts set in motion by the supercommittee's failure to reach an agreement are not to begin until January 2013, which gives lawmakers time to try again to produce a debt plan. That's what Obama has in mind ? using the threat of defense cuts to push lawmakers to make a deal.

Romney's figure encompasses two sets of Pentagon spending cuts, only one of which was proposed by Obama. The president's budget called for $450 billion in savings from the defense budget; the rest is fallout from the supercommittee, a creature of Congress.

___

RICK PERRY: "When you sanction the Iranian central bank, that will shut down that economy. ... This president refuses to do that, and it's another show of lack of leadership from the president of the United States."

THE FACTS: Obama, like George W. Bush before him, hasn't issued a blanket ban on dealings with Iran's central bank. Perry could try as president, but he'd find himself with some angry allies and perhaps some economic damage for the United States.

U.S. sanctions already severely restrict what contact American and foreign companies can have with Iranian banks. That has made the central bank the primary conduit for purchasing Iranian oil exports.

Blacklisting the central bank entirely would put energy companies and banks from places such as Japan in a dilemma: either find new oil sources, or risk punishment in the United States. The same applies for China, Russia, Turkey and other countries with investments in Iran ? and the rush for new fuel providers could lead to a spike in gasoline prices that hampers the American economic recovery.

In reality, however, it's unlikely the U.S. would be prepared to blacklist Japan's banks for financial transactions with Iran's central bank. So the power of the sanction would be unclear.

___

BACHMANN: "Almost every decision that the president has made since he came in has been one to put the United States in a position of unilateral disarmament, including the most recent decision he made to cancel the Keystone pipeline. That would have not only created jobs, but it would have helped us in energy independence."

THE FACTS: Obama didn't cancel the Canadian oil pipeline. Instead, his administration delayed the decision in order to explore an alternative route to avoid areas of Nebraska that include wetlands and an aquifer providing water crucial to huge swaths of U.S. cropland. Bachmann also overlooked that the delay came under pressure from Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman, a Republican. When the pipeline was delayed, Heineman hailed the decision and called it "an exceptional moment for Nebraskans."

___

PERRY: "When you put the no-fly zone above Syria, it obviously gives those dissidents and gives the military the opportunity to maybe disband."

ROMNEY: "They have 5,000 tanks in Syria. A no-fly zone wouldn't be the right military action ? maybe a no-drive zone. ... I mean, this is a nation which is not bombing its people at this point, and the right course is not military."

PERRY: "I think you need to leave it on the table to make sure, because this is not just about Syria. This is about Iran and those two as a partnership, and exporting terrorism around the world. And if we're going to be serious about saving Israel, we better get serious about Syria and Iran, and we better get serious right now."

THE FACTS: As Romney suggested, a no-fly zone by itself wouldn't do much to stop Syrian tanks and bullets from killing civilians. Unlike in Libya, where Moammar Gadhafi used his air force to fire on cities, President Bashar Assad's government has by and large stuck to ground forces. There have been a few cases of helicopters allegedly used, but they are exceptions.

Perry's follow-up argument that a no-fly zone in Syria could help deter Iranian terrorism and save Israel wasn't clear. He seemed to be referring to Iranian and Syrian support for anti-Israel groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas, neither of which has air power. Weapons smuggling also can occur by ground or sea.

___

Associated Press writers Bradley Klapper, Matt Apuzzo, Donna Cassata and Kimberly Dozier contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111123/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_debate_fact_check

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PHOTOS: Gobble Up These Thanksgiving Movies!

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Spreading Europe stress sends stock market lower

In this Nov. 9, 2011, traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Global stocks fell Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011, after more evidence emerged that the global economy is faltering fast and that the eurozone is heading for a recession as the debt crisis spreads to the bigger economies like Italy and Spain.(AP Photo/Richard Drew)

In this Nov. 9, 2011, traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Global stocks fell Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011, after more evidence emerged that the global economy is faltering fast and that the eurozone is heading for a recession as the debt crisis spreads to the bigger economies like Italy and Spain.(AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Fear that Europe's debt crisis is infecting Germany, the strongest economy in the region, sent stocks reeling Wednesday.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 236 points, leaving it down 4.6 percent over the past three days. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell for the sixth day in a row, its worst losing streak since August.

Traders were spooked by the poor results at an auction of German debt, which drew too few bids to sell all of the 10-year notes being offered. Germany has Europe's strongest economy, and traders have bought its debt as a safe place to store value during turbulent times.

The weak buying suggests that Europe's crisis might be infecting strong nations that are crucial to keeping the euro currency afloat. Germany bears much of the burden of bailing out weaker neighbors such as Greece and Portugal.

Borrowing costs for Italy and Spain rose from levels that already were considered dangerously high. Europe lacks the resources to bail out those countries, which have its third- and fourth-biggest economies.

The Dow fell 236.17 points, or 2.1 percent, to close at 11,257.55. It has slumped this week as Congress neared a deadlock on cutting the budget deficit and as Europe's debt woes appeared to worsen. The Dow has now given back more than half of its big October rally. It jumped 9.5 percent last month, the biggest gain since 2002.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 26.25, or 2.2 percent, to 1,161.79. All 10 industry groups fell sharply, led by energy companies, materials makers and banks. The index is headed for its sixth straight decline, the longest losing streak since August.

The Nasdaq fell 61.20, or 2.4 percent, to 2,460.08.

The dollar rose sharply against the euro as investors moved money into assets considered to be relatively safe. The euro fell near $1.33, from $1.35 late Tuesday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.89 percent from 1.94 percent late Tuesday, signaling higher demand for Treasurys.

Fears about Europe also dragged U.S. bank stocks lower. Investors were unnerved by the Federal Reserve's announcement late Tuesday of a fresh round of stress tests of the biggest banks, said Peter Tchir, who runs the hedge fund TF Market Advisors.

The Fed said 31 banks will be tested to see how they would withstand a recession that would push unemployment above 13 percent by early 2013. The jobless rate now stands at about 9 percent.

The announcement undermined weeks of market-boosting talk by Fed officials, Tchir said. The stress tests, apparently related to fears about European exposure, exposed a darker view of the market held by some central bank officials, he said.

"They went ahead and put weakness into the market for the first time" in months, Tchir said. "No one was that afraid, and now all of a sudden, they're saying 'Our own Fed is worried.' That really spooked people."

Bank stocks fell broadly. Bank of America Corp. lost 4.3 percent to close at $5.14; Citigroup Inc. fell 3.9 percent to $23.51 and Morgan Stanley fell 3.6 percent to $13.03.

Asian markets fell earlier after a survey showed that manufacturing appears to be slowing in China. A day earlier, the U.S. government had lowered its estimate of third-quarter economic growth.

Trading was light ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. U.S. markets will be closed on Thursday and will have shortened hours on Friday. Volume on the New York Stock Exchange was 3.8 billion shares, below the average of 4.7 billion over the past 100 days.

In corporate news, Deere & Co. rose 3.9 percent to $74.72 after the company reported net income growth of 46 percent. Deere credited strong sales of farm equipment.

Groupon Inc. plunged 15.5 percent to $17.96, falling below its initial price of $20 for the first time. The online deals company went public less than three weeks ago.

Companies that make raw materials were hurt by signs of slower growth in China and worries that Europe might fall into recession. United States Steel Corp. plunged 7.6 percent to $22.41. Aluminum maker Alcoa Inc. declined 4.1 percent to $8.88.

The U.S. government released a mixed batch of economic reports before the market opened. Concerns about developments overseas appeared to overshadow a handful of hopeful signals.

Slightly more people applied for unemployment benefits last week, a sign that layoffs continue. Consumer spending grew by the least in four months, but incomes rose a bit more than expected. Orders for long-lasting manufactured products fell for a second month and business investment dropped off.

___

Daniel Wagner can be reached at www.twitter.com/wagnerreports.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-11-23-Wall%20Street/id-ee49881caf3149dc920fe7c7668441fc

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'G.I. Joe 2' crew member killed during filming (AP)

NEW ORLEANS ? A crew member working on the film "G.I. Joe 2: Retalition" has been killed on the set in New Orleans in what the studio is calling an unusual accident.

Paramount Pictures spokeswoman Virginia Lam said Wednesday that Mike Huber was killed Tuesday. She would not comment to The Associated Press on the circumstances surrounding his death.

New Orleans Police Department spokeswoman Remi Braden says the accident occurred on property owned by NASA, so the federal government is heading the investigation. A spokesman for NASA did not immediately return a telephone call for comment.

Lam says the studio is fully cooperating with the investigation.

The sequel stars Bruce Willis, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Channing Tatum. The action movie is scheduled for release in the summer.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111123/ap_on_en_mo/us_film_gi_joe_death

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Rush Limbaugh Defends NASCAR Fans' Booing of Michelle Obama, Calls First Lady "Uppity"

Rush Limbaugh does not like Barack and Michelle Obama, particularly their desire to lower carbon emissions and the First Lady's crusade against obesity (that hits too close to home, clearly, for the radio pundit). Which is fine, he's entitled to an opinion.

Sometimes his points are clouded by obvious hatred and racism, however.

After Sunday's NASCAR race at which Michelle Obama and Jill Biden were booed, Limbaugh defended the fans who did so, while calling the First Lady "uppity" ...

Rush Limbaugh Bashes Michelle Obama

Rush's argument was, by and large, legitimate and directed at media figures outraged and confused by the booing: It's not a crowd predisposed to like Obama anyway, he's at 44% approval, and people go to sporting events to escape politics.

Fair enough. But then he went overboard bashing the First Lady, who he terms "Moo-Chelle" and tears a new one for (gasp) using a private jet:

"I'll tell you something else," he said. "We don't like paying millions for Obama's vacations. A NASCAR crowd doesn't quite understand why, when the husband and the wife are going the same place, the first lady has to take her own Boeing 757 with family and kids and hangers-on four hours earlier than her husband, who will be on his 747."

"NASCAR people understand that's a little bit of a waste. They understand it is a little bit of uppity-ism. First ladies have not been known to hop their own 757s four hours ahead of their husband when they're going the same place."

The L.A. Times defines "uppity" as self-important or arrogant, historically to describe "blacks whom white people perceived as trying to rise above their station in life."

Just saying. Not the greatest word choice.

Is Rush Limbaugh racist?

Booing Michelle Obama:

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/11/rush-limbaugh-defends-nascar-fans-booing-of-michelle-obama-calls/

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Vienna opera singer Jurinac dies at 90 (AP)

BERLIN ? Opera singer Sena Jurinac, an honorary member of the Vienna State Opera, has died in southern Germany at age 90.

The Vienna State Opera confirmed the death Wednesday, saying it is mourning the loss of a "legendary artist who shaped not only the Vienna State Opera but also the entire opera world." Austrian news agency APA reported that Jurinac died Tuesday at her home near Augsburg.

Born in Travnik in Bosnia in October 1921, Jurinac made her debut at the Vienna opera as Cherubino in "The Marriage of Figaro" in 1945 ? the first production after World War II.

She went on to become one of the most celebrated singers there in the 1940s and 50s, performing in operas including "Don Giovanni," "Der Rosenkavalier" and "La Boheme."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obits/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111123/ap_en_mu/eu_germany_obit_jurinac

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Life-saving AIDS drugs push HIV numbers to new high (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? More people than ever are living with the AIDS virus but this is largely due to better access to drugs that keep HIV patients alive and well for many years, the United Nations AIDS programme (UNAIDS) said on Monday.

In its annual report on the pandemic, UNAIDS said the number of people dying of the disease fell to 1.8 million in 2010, down from a peak of 2.2 million in the mid-2000s.

UNAIDS director Michel Sidibe said the past 12 months had been a "game-changing year" in the global AIDS fight.

Some 2.5 million deaths have been averted in poor and middle-income countries since 1995 due to AIDS drugs being introduced and access to them improving, according to UNAIDS.

Much of that success has come in the past two years as the numbers of people getting treatment has increased rapidly.

"We've never had a year when there has been so much science, so much leadership and such results in one year," Sidibe said in a telephone interview from UNAIDS headquarters in Geneva.

"Even in this time of public finance crises and uncertainty about funding, we're seeing results. We are seeing more countries than ever before (achieving) significant reductions in new infections and stabilizing their epidemics."

Since the beginning of the AIDS pandemic in the 1980s, more than 60 million people have been infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS. HIV can be controlled for many years with cocktails of drugs, but there is as yet no cure.

TREATMENT FOR PREVENTION

The UNAIDS report said 34 million people around the world had HIV in 2010, up from 33.3 million in 2009.

Among the most dramatic changes was the leap in the number of people getting treatment with AIDS drugs when they need it.

Of the 14.2 million people eligible for treatment in low- and middle-income countries, around 6.6 million, or 47 percent, are now receiving it, UNAIDS said, and 11 poor- and mid-income countries now have universal access to HIV treatment, with coverage of 80 percent or more.

This compares with 36 percent of the 15 million people needing treatment in 2009 who got AIDS drugs.

Major producers of HIV drugs include Gilead, Bristol Myers Squibb, Merck, Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline. Improved access to drugs from these and other manufacturers means not only that fewer people are dying of AIDS each year, UNAIDS said, but also that the risk of new HIV infections is reduced.

A series of scientific studies have shown that getting timely treatment to those with HIV can substantially cut the number of people who become newly infected with the virus.

Sidibe said this was starting to show in new case numbers.

There were 2.7 million new HIV infections worldwide in 2010, 15 percent fewer than in 2001, and 21 percent below the number of new infections at the peak of the epidemic in 1997.

"The big point for us is the number of new infections --that's where you win against the epidemic," Sidibe said.

Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said the growing number of averted AIDS deaths was important progress, but said the number of people on treatment needed to increase dramatically to reap the benefits of science showing treatment saves lives and prevents new infections.

"Never, in more than a decade of treating people living with HIV/AIDS, have we been at such a promising moment to really turn this epidemic around," said MSF's Tido von Schoen-Angerer.

"Governments in some of the hardest hit countries want to act on the science, seize this moment and reverse the AIDS epidemic. But this means nothing if there is no money to make it happen."

Despite progress on HIV treatment and prevention, sub-Saharan Africa is still by far the worst hit, accounting for 68 percent of all those living with HIV in 2010 despite its population accounting for only 12 percent of the global total.

Around 70 percent of new HIV infections in 2010, and almost half of all AIDS-related deaths, were in sub-Saharan Africa.

Sidibe said with many international donor countries struggling with slow economic growth and high debt, the global AIDS fight had to become even more focused on high impact interventions to deliver progress in the places worst hit.

"We need to maintain our investment, but ... in a smarter way. "Then we'll see a serious decline in the epidemic," he said.

(Reporting by Kate Kelland; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/diseases/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111121/hl_nm/us_aids_global_unaids

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Penn State taps ex-FBI director to probe sex abuse (Reuters)

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) ? Penn State University trustees named former FBI director and federal judge Louis Freeh on Monday to head an independent investigation into the child sex abuse scandal that has rocked the university.

Freeh told a news conference that the investigative team run by his law firm would examine gaps in Penn State's "control environment," oversight and culture that allowed years of alleged abuse to go undetected and unreported.

"The scope of our work will be broad, covering a lengthy period of time," Freeh said.

Word of the investigation came as a psychologist working with one of Jerry Sandusky's alleged abuse victims, now a senior in high school, said his client had been forced to leave school because of bullying.

Sandusky, 67, a former assistant football coach at Penn State, was charged this month with multiple counts of sexually abusing eight young boys over a 15-year period. In a nationally-televised interview, Sandusky denied he abused the boys and said he is not a pedophile.

Two former university officials were charged in an alleged cover-up. They have also said they were innocent.

The board of trustees fired legendary football coach Joe Paterno and Penn State's president for failing to tell police about the allegation of abuse once they learned of it.

Paterno's dismissal was said to have triggered the bullying that a youth, known in court papers as "Victim One," has suffered, a local newspaper reported.

Students at Central Mountain High School in Mill Hall, about 30 miles northwest of the Penn State campus in State College, blamed the 17-year-old for Paterno's firing, psychologist Michael Gillum told the Patriot News.

PATERNO CONDEMNS BULLYING

Paterno's lawyer, J. Sedgwick "Wick" Sollers, said in a statement that his client condemned the bullying:

"Coach Paterno strongly condemns harassment or bullying of any kind, and he asks anyone who truly cares about Penn State to conduct themselves honorably and with respect for others."

Victim One, like Sandusky's other alleged victims, met the former linebacker coach through the charity "The Second Mile" that Sandusky started in 1977 to help at-risk children. The survival of the charity is now in question.

Multiple investigations have been launched into what led to Sandusky's alleged crimes and the university's response, including the one by the board of trustees that has now engaged Freeh and his law firm.

"We have to do an investigation that is perceived by everyone as fully impartial and comprehensive," said Ken Frazier, chairman of the trustees' special committee. Freeh, FBI director from 1993 to 2001, has no ties to Penn State.

"The scope of his work will be expansive, and he is free to take his work to whatever conclusions he deems appropriate," Frazier said, adding that no one, including the trustees, would be exempt from the review.

Some have criticized the trustees for being blind-sided by the grand jury report into Sandusky's alleged crimes and the role that university officials might have played in covering them up, even though the existence of an investigation was reported earlier this year.

There is no specific time-frame for Freeh to complete his investigation and the findings and recommendations will be made public.

Freeh said investigators he has assembled include former FBI agents and prosecutors with decades of experience, including some with experience in pedophile cases.

The team has established its own toll-free hotline and e-mail address for tips relevant to the case.

(Additional reporting by Ian Simpson in State College;

Writing by Ros Krasny; Editing by Greg McCune, Vicki Allen and Cynthia Johnston)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111121/ts_nm/us_usa_crime_coach_freeh

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Romney Names Names for VP Slot (ABC News)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/165005350?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Steve Wozniak Grabbed His Shiny New Galaxy Nexus From Google HQ [Android]

You gotta hand it to Woz, he's his own man. When there's a new toy he wants, it doesn't matter if there's an Apple on it or not, he's going to get it. He'll go straight to Google if necessary. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/feBTS0QLuKE/steve-wozniak-grabbed-his-shiny-new-galaxy-nexus-from-google-hq

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