Afghan woman slain for giving birth to daughter

KUNDUZ, Afghanistan?? An Afghan man killed his wife for giving birth to a third daughter rather than the son he'd hoped for, police said Monday.

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The 28-year-old victim, who was known by the one name of Storai, was strangled by her husband ? a local militia member ? and his mother on Saturday, authorities said.

Storai had given birth to the couple's third daughter three months ago in Mohasili village in Afghanistan's northern Kunduz province.

Police said they arrested the victim's mother-in-law in connection with her death, but Storai's husband was still at large, likely sheltered by heavily-armed militia colleagues.

"The existence of militiamen is a huge problem and therefore we face difficulty in arresting him," Kunduz police chief Sufi Habib said.

Nadera Geya, head of the Kunduz women's affairs department, called the killing one of the worst examples of violence against women she had encountered.

Acid attack
Violence against women is common in Afghanistan. In late November in the same province, an Afghan family that refused to give their daughter in marriage to a man they considered irresponsible was attacked at home by assailants who poured acid over both parents and three children.

Police later arrested the rejected suitor and his three brothers for the attack.

With foreign combat troops set to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014, and moves ongoing to kickstart a peace process involving the ultra-conservative Taliban, rights watchdogs inside and outside Afghanistan fear women's rights may be sacrificed.

NBC News reported that President Hamid Karzai announced over the weekend that he will hold a conference in February focused on eliminating violence against women.

"The rights of women cannot be relegated to the margins of international affairs, as this issue is at the core of our national security and the security of people everywhere," the U.S. Embassy in Kabul said in a statement released on Monday.

Reuters, NBC News' Atia Abawi and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46187660/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/

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Experts: US ill-prepared for oil spill off Cuba (AP)

MIAMI ? The U.S. is not ready to handle an oil spill if drilling off the Cuban coast goes awry but can be better prepared with monitoring systems and other basic steps, experts told government officials Monday.

The comments at a congressional subcommittee hearing in the Miami Beach suburb of Sunny Isles come more than a week after a huge oil rig arrived in Cuban waters to begin drilling a deepwater exploratory well.

Similar development is expected off the Bahamas next year, but decades of tense relations between the U.S. and Cuba makes cooperation in protecting the Florida Straits particularly tricky. With memories of the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico still fresh, state and federal officials fear even the perception of oil flowing toward Florida beaches could devastate an economy that claims about $57 billion from tourism.

Florida International University Professor John Proni told officials to be proactive. He is leading a consortium of researchers on U.S. readiness to handle a spill.

"For the last few years, my colleagues and I have been visiting Washington to say the best time to start preparing for an oil spell is before it happens," Proni told leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, in a hotel-turned-hearing room overlooking the turquoise waters the group convened to protect. Proni said he has seen little action from officials in Washington, though they responded positively.

U.S. officials have turned their attention to preventing future spills since the Deepwater Horizon rig leased by BP blew up in April 2010, causing the well to blow out and unleashing millions of gallons of oil in the Gulf of Mexico. Crude washed up on pristine shoreline, soiled wildlife and left a region dependent on tourist dollars scrambling to rebuild its image.

Coast Guard officials said Monday they did not know if Cuba had started drilling. Experts testified current estimates have surface oil from a spill moving as quickly as 3 miles an hour due to the Gulfstream, but that the fast-moving current would make it difficult for the oil to quickly cross the Florida Straits.

Rear Adm. William Baumgartner, commander of the Coast Guard region that covers the Florida Straits, said a likely scenario would have the oil spreading and reaching U.S. waters in six to 10 days.

Proni said that lack of specificity is the problem. He wants a system that can monitor changes in underwater sounds to immediately alert U.S. officials to a spill or other unusual activity. He also wants the U.S. to invest in developing better computer models to predict oil movement and to do an assessment of the existing ecosystem and the type of oil Cuba possesses. That way, experts can better pinpoint any damage and find out if it came from Cuban wells.

Proni said the fast-moving water would make it difficult to burn the oil or strain it, as was done to halt the spread of the Deepwater Horizon spill. He added that more research is needed on the risks of using chemicals that break down the oil into tiny droplets.

Baumgartner said his agency has been working to develop a response plan. The Coast Guard and private response teams have been granted the required visas under the U.S. embargo to work with the Cuban government and its partners should a problem arise. Since March 2011, the agency has been working with Repsol RDF, the Spanish company leasing the rig off Cuba, and inspected the rig earlier this month.

The rig was given a good bill of health. Asked Monday about the rig's readiness, though, Baumgartner said inspectors found some minor problems with the safety systems that would have kept the ship from being allowed to drill in U.S. waters. He said it was unclear whether the required repairs had been made.

U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, one of three South Florida Cuban-American lawmakers who attended the hearing, said he hopes the Obama administration will quickly respond to the consortium's concerns. He added that Proni's proposals could be applied to the Gulf of Mexico, where many more rigs are already drilling for oil in U.S. waters.

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, has authored a bill that would sanction those who help Cuba develop its oil reserves.

"We can't stop Repsol from drilling now, but we can act to deter future leaders to avoid the Castro brothers becoming the oil tycoons of the Caribbean," she told the committee.

Fellow South Floridian U.S. Rep. David Rivera is proposing to expand the 1990 Oil Pollution Act to fully cover companies operating outside U.S. waters, in the event oil reaches U.S. territory. The 1990 law requires oil companies to repay government agencies for any cleanup costs for spills; it also requires that companies have plans for preventing and cleaning up spills.

But Chairman John Micah, R-Fla., questioned whether the U.S. could enforce any law outside its own waters.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/latam/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_re_us/us_cuba_oil_drilling

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Gannett 4Q earnings, revenue decline

MCLEAN, Va. (AP) ? Gannett Co. reported a 33 percent drop in its fourth-quarter net income Monday. The media company, which publishes USA Today and owns a network of broadcast, digital and other publishing properties, said profits were weighed down by restructuring costs and other charges, as well as a revenue decline.

The company earned $116.9 million, or 49 cents per share, in the three months that ended Dec. 25. That's down from earnings of $174.1 million, or 72 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Gannett's stock fell 7 percent, or $1.07 to $14.15 in midday trading on Monday. It has traded in between $8.28 and $18.93 in the past 52 weeks.

Excluding special items such as restructuring charges, Gannett earned 72 cents per share in the latest quarter. Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of 68 cents per share, according to a poll by FactSet.

The company said its results reflected $63.6 million in charges related to workforce restructuring and facility consolidations at properties in the U.S. and the U.K. The largest charge was associated with the transfer of production of The Cincinnati Enquirer to a newspaper printer in Columbus, Ohio.

Revenue fell 5 percent to $1.39 billion from $1.46 billion in the same period a year earlier.

Analysts were expecting revenue of $1.39 billion, according to a poll by FactSet.

"We are positioning for growth in print and digital media through new subscription models delivered across platforms, capturing opportunities in adjacent businesses, and continuing to focus on operational efficiencies," said Gracia Martore, president and CEO, in a statement.

Revenue at Gannett's publishing division fell 5 percent to $1.01 billion, a decline the company attributed to lower advertising amid the economic softness in the U.S. and the U.K.

Broadcasting revenue fell 14 percent to $199.8 million, due mainly to sharply lower political advertising than a year earlier.

Revenue at the company's digital division, which includes the website CareerBuilder, rose 9 percent to $181.5 million.

Company-wide digital revenue, which consists of the digital division and revenue generated by newspaper websites, rose nearly 7 percent to $290.3 million.

For the full year, Gannett earned $458.7 million, or $1.89 per share, down 22 percent from $588.2 million, or $2.43 per share, in the previous year.

Adjusted earnings were $2.13 per share.

Revenue slid 4 percent to $5.24 billion from $5.44 billion.

Analysts were expecting full-year adjusted earnings of $2.10 per share on revenue of $5.25 billion.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-30-Earns-Gannett/id-c3fa572b688840b5a8aec6c351d210ed

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The working class rises up across Latin America

Maids, parking valets, and other domestic workers push back against ill treatment in 'the world's most unequal region.'

Mexico city; and Santiago, chile

When parking attendant Hugo Enrique Vera was beaten by a wealthy client in Mexico, allegedly for refusing to show the man where to find the jack in his car, the surveillance camera captured a stereotype dating to colonial times: The wealthy resident asserts authoritarian control over the worker, who takes the beating without question.

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But there was a twist: Mr. Vera filed a criminal complaint and condemned his perpetrator on national news, unleashing a charged debate about callousness toward the working class.

For two decades, social movements in Latin America have centered on indigenous rights. Today the indigenous have earned new political representation, and open mistreatment will draw complaints.

Yet daily life across Latin America is replete with symbols of stubborn class inequality that go unchallenged, such as condominium buildings that have separate elevators for domestic workers.

Such constant reinforcement of status differences helps to cement class privileges in what the United Nations has said is the world's most unequal region.

While maids in crisp uniforms and parking valets at every urban venue aren't about to disappear, they and other la-borers are increasingly better-educated and aspire to move into the middle class.

Less tolerant of abuse and discrimination, these maids and nannies, doormen and gardeners are demanding more pay and benefits and a baseline of respect.

"There's democratization in the political arena, participation, and citizenship rights ... [and] moderate economic development. So in this context, citizens start feeling they have the right to be seen as what they are ? citizens," says Florencia Torche, a sociology professor at New York University and Catholic University in Santiago, Chile.

An apology is offered

The parking attendant controversy, which went viral on YouTube and drew a public apology by perpetrator Miguel Sacal, wasn't an isolated event. Last summer, Mexicans were outraged after two upper-middle-class women in a rich district of Mexico City were caught on video calling a police officer a "crappy wage slave." The daughter of the leading presidential candidate caused an uproar in December after retweeting a message calling her father's opponents "a bunch of idiots who are part of the prole," a reference to the proletariat, or poor people.

"There is less tolerance for discrimination by society," says Ra?l Villamil Uriarte, an anthropologist at the Metropolitan Autonomous University in Mexico City. In the case of the parking attendant who brought attention to his own case, he adds, the classic "victim" devictimized himself.

Changes in the maid's quarters

Nowhere is more change taking place than in the domestic sphere. While in the United States only the wealthy can afford live-in nannies and daily housecleaning, in Latin America, maid's quarters are ubiquitous, even in the homes of the middle class.

But newer apartments increasingly are built without such spaces ? reflecting upheaval in the structure of the home.

In Chile, maids and nannies are demanding bigger salaries and more benefits and insisting on living with their own families, says Monica Escandon, who runs the nanny and maid service Nana.cl in Santiago. "[Domestic workers] know that their work has a high value and that they are necessary, especially for young couples who both work," she says.

Salaries have risen to at least $500 a month for a nanny who works five days a week and as much as $800 a month for a live-in maid, she says. Employers are also responsible for taxes, food, and transportation. As in the US, wealthier Latin Americans now hire immigrants from poorer countries like Peru, Bolivia, and Paraguay to get the same amount of work for lower prices.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/wuS-rXJ3gvI/The-working-class-rises-up-across-Latin-America

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Gingrich says space exploration in US tradition (AP)

STUART, Fla. ? Republican presidential contender Newt Gingrich says critics of his call to ramp up U.S. space exploration don't understand the power of science, technology and entrepreneurship to change the future.

Campaign rival Mitt Romney was referring to Gingrich earlier this week when he said that if any business executive recommended spending huge sums on colonizing the moon, he'd fire him.

But Gingrich said Abraham Lincoln recommended building a transcontinental railroad at a time necessary technology didn't exist, and a decade later the job was done. And that when President Kennedy started a program to put a man on the moon in the early 1960s the same thing happened.

Gingrich spoke on the 26th anniversary of the explosion that destroyed the space shuttle Challenger 73 seconds into flight, killing all seven aboard.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_sc/us_gingrich_space

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California passes new auto emission rules (AP)

SAN FRANCISCO ? Seeking to influence other states and Washington, California air regulators passed sweeping auto emission standards Friday that include a mandate to have 1.4 million electric and hybrid vehicles on state roads by 2025.

The California Air Resources Board unanimously approved the new rules that require that one in seven of the new cars sold in the state in 2025 be an electric or other zero-emission vehicle.

The plan also mandates a 75 percent reduction in smog-forming pollutants by 2025, and a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from today's standards.

Automakers worked with the board and federal regulators on the greenhouse gas mandates in an effort to create one national standard for those pollutants.

"Today's vote ... represents a new chapter for clean cars in California and in the nation as a whole," said Mary Nichols, the board's chairman. "Californians have always loved their cars. We buy a lot of them and drive them. Now we will have cleaner and more efficient cars to love."

California's auto emissions standards are influential and often more strict than federal rules. The state began passing regulations for cleaner cars in the 1960s to help ease some of the world's worst smog, and has since helped spur the auto industry's innovations in emissions-control technology.

Currently 14 other states ? including New York, Washington and Massachusetts ? have adopted California's smog emissions rules as their own.

California has also previously set zero-emissions vehicle mandates, which 10 other states have also currently adopted.

Companies including Ford Motor Corp., Chrysler Group LLC, General Motors Co., Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. and others submitted testimony Thursday supportive of the new standards.

Some of the companies protested the inclusion of a system that will give some automakers credit toward their zero-emission vehicle mandate for exceeding federal greenhouse gas emissions standards in other cars. These credits, which can be used to reduce the number of clean vehicles made, can be used from 2018-2021.

Some called it a loophole that will take hundreds of thousands of clean cars off the road, hurting the emerging market for these vehicles.

"This is a temporary way station," Nichols said about the credits. "But by 2021 all companies will be producing the full complement of zero-emission vehicles."

Trade groups representing auto dealers worried that the new regulations would increase the costs of vehicles for consumers and stifle the industry's growth.

The California New Car Dealers Association and other industry groups representing those who sell cars said the board is overestimating consumer demand for electric vehicles and other so-called "zero-emission vehicles."

Dealers are concerned that the regulations will lead to higher costs in all cars, and say consumers have been slow to warm to electric and other zero-emission vehicles.

Board member Sandra Berg, who said she drives the all-electric Nissan Leaf, said before the vote that regulators need to take consumer behavior and choice seriously in this equation.

She said a lot of work must be done to educate dealers to sell the new generation of cars.

"Early adopters (of electric cars) are willing to go without heat to save the miles they need to get to their destination, but that is not going to help grow the consumer base," Berg said, referring to the range issues with some current electric vehicles.

The board's research staff disputes the argument from dealers that the mandates for new technology will increase costs for cars. They point to steady increases in hybrid and other sales and argue that fuel cost savings will make up for any vehicle price increase.

"Our research shows a $1,400 to $1,900 car price increase. But over the life of the vehicles, the owners save $6,000 in reduced fuel and maintenance costs," board spokesman David Clegern said.

One of the nation's foremost consumer groups, the Consumers' Union, the policy and advocacy division of Consumer Reports, supported the changes.

The rules will "protect consumers by encouraging the development of cleaner, more efficient cars that save families money, help reduce the American economy's vulnerability to oil price shocks and reduce harmful air pollution," according to a letter from the group.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_re_us/us_california_clean_car_standards

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Memorial exposes anger over Paterno's treatment (AP)

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. ? The near-capacity crowd of 12,000 seemed to be just waiting for somebody to bring up the subject. Finally, when someone rose in Joe Paterno's defense to argue that he had been made a scapegoat, the audience was instantly on its feet, applauding thunderously.

Anger and resentment came spilling out at a campus memorial service Thursday for the football coach, two months after he was summarily fired by the trustees.

It was Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight who broke the dam, defending Paterno's handling of child-sex allegations that were leveled against a former coaching assistant.

"If there is a villain in this tragedy, it lies in that investigation and not in Joe Paterno's response," Knight said. Paterno's widow, Sue, was among those rising to their feet.

Later, Paterno's son Jay received a standing ovation when he declared: "Joe Paterno left this world with a clear conscience."

Capping three days of mourning on campus, the 2 1/2-hour ceremony was filled with lavish praise that probably would have embarrassed Paterno, who died Sunday of lung cancer at 85 after racking up more wins ? 409 ? than any other major-college football coach and leading his team to two national championships in 46 seasons.

One by one, Penn State football stars and others credited Paterno with building not just better athletes but better men ? and women. He was saluted for his commitment to sportsmanship, loyalty, teamwork, character, academics and "winning with honor." He was called a good father, a good husband, a good neighbor, a good friend, a good teacher.

Players from each decade of Paterno's career spoke affectionately about him, saying he rode them hard but always had their best interests at heart and encouraged them to complete their educations and make something of themselves.

Though the Penn State campus has been torn with anger over the child-sex scandal and Paterno's dismissal, Jay Paterno said his father didn't hold a grudge.

"Perhaps his truest moment, his living testimony to all that he stood for, came in the last months of his life. Faced with obstacles and challenges that would have left a lesser man bitter, he showed his truest spirit and his truest self," Paterno said.

Only one member of the university administration ? the dean of the college of liberal arts ? and no one from the Board of Trustees spoke at the memorial, which was arranged primarily by the Paterno family.

Among the speakers were Michael Robinson, who played for Paterno from 2002 to 2005, quarterback Todd Blackledge from the 1980s and Jimmy Cefalo, a star in the 1970s. All three went on to play in the NFL.

Former NFL player Charles V. Pittman, speaking for players from the 1960s, called Paterno a lifelong influence and inspiration.

Pittman said Paterno pushed his young players hard, once bringing Pittman to tears in his sophomore year. He said he realized later that the coach was not trying to break his spirit but instead was "bit by bit building a habit of excellence."

"He was building a proud program for the school, the state and the hundreds of young men he watched over for a half-century," said Pittman, now a media executive on the board of The Associated Press.

Similarly, Chris Marrone, whose playing career at Penn State was cut short by injuries, said Paterno molded him into a young man with "the strength to overcome any challenge, any adversity."

Paterno was fired Nov. 9 after he was criticized for not going to police in 2002 when he was told that a former member of his coaching staff, Jerry Sandusky, had been seen sexually assaulting a boy in the showers. Sandusky was arrested in November and is awaiting trial on charges that he molested 10 boys over a 15-year span.

As the scandal erupted, Pennsylvania's state police commissioner said Paterno may have met his legal duty but not his moral one. Penn State president Graham Spanier was also fired in the fallout.

Among those at the memorial was former athletic director Tim Curley, who is awaiting trial on charges he lied to the grand jury that investigated Sandusky.

About midway through the ceremony, Knight became the first speaker to explicitly address the scandal. He said the coach "gave full disclosure to his superiors, information that went up the chains to the head of the campus police and the president of the school. The matter was in the hands of a world-class university, and by a president with an outstanding national reputation."

Lanny J. Davis, an attorney for the board, responded after the service by saying: "All the reasons for the board's difficult and anguished decision ? made unanimously, including former football players and everyone who still loves Coach Paterno and his memory ? reached a decision which was heartfelt. All 32."

"The facts speak for themselves" and include the grand jury testimony, he said.

After the memorial, Marrone said Knight was his "new hero" for expressing the "pent-up frustration" many people are feeling.

"I think the response that he got is indicative of how folks feel," Marrone said.

Jay Paterno, who served under his father as quarterback coach, began his remarks by imitating his father's raspy, high-pitched voice, telling the audience, "Sit down! Sit down!"

Growing serious, Paterno described his last moments with his father. As Paterno lay dying, his son kissed him and whispered in his ear.

"Dad, you won," Jay Paterno said he told him. "You did all you could do. You've done enough. We all love you. We won. You can go home now."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_sp_co_ne/fbc_penn_state_paterno

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A.J. Foyt hospitalized for infection

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) ? A.J. Foyt has been hospitalized in Houston for complications from knee surgery and will skip the 50th anniversary of the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

The 77-year-old Foyt had knee surgery two weeks ago, and an infection sent him to the hospital Wednesday.

A spokeswoman for the four-time Indianapolis 500 winner said Friday that Foyt may stay in the hospital through the weekend. She said he had been up and walking since the surgery but developed an infection this week.

Foyt is the only driver to win the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500, the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Foyt was scheduled to be the grand marshal Saturday at Daytona International Speedway.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-27-CAR-NASCAR-Foyt-Hospitalized/id-16f6ffd31138403b82200b1761692ae4

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LG Nitro HD Surpasses 1 Million Units Sold

comScore recently ranked LG second in the world in terms of mobile OEM market share, and it would seem the good news keeps on coming for the smiley-face company. The Nitro HD, or Optimus LTE if you're from outside of the States, has reportedly hit 1 million units sold. It was first available in South Korea last year in October, and LG sold 600,000 units on its home turf. After venturing into new lands, including Japan, Canada, and the US of A, another 400,000 units were sold. According to my calculator, 600,000 plus 400,000 does indeed total 1 million units.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/KGGJi10zSqg/

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Reuters Magazine: McLean: Faith-based economic theory (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? The Republican candidates for president have some major differences in their policies and their personal lives. But they have one striking thing in common - they all say the federal government is responsible for the financial crisis. Even Newt Gingrich (pilloried for having been a Freddie Mac lobbyist)says: "The fix was put in by the federal government."

The notion that the federal government, via the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and by pushing housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to meet affordable housing goals, was responsible for the financial crisis has become Republican orthodoxy. This contention got a boost from a recent lawsuit the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed against six former executives at Fannie and Freddie, including two former CEOs. "Today's announcement by the SEC proves what I have been saying all along - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac played a leading role in the 2008 financial collapse that wreaked havoc on the U.S. economy," said Congressman Scott Garrett, the New Jersey Republican who is chairman of the financial services subcommittee on capital markets and government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs).

But the SEC's case doesn't prove anything of the sort, and in fact, the theory that the GSEs are to blame for the crisis has been thoroughly discredited, again and again. The roots of this canard lie in an opposition - one that festered over decades - to the growing power of Fannie Mae, in particular, and its smaller sibling, Freddie Mac. This stance was both right and brave, and was mostly taken by a few Republicans and free-market economists - although even President Clinton's Treasury Department took on Fannie and Freddie in the late 1990s. The funny thing, though, is that the complaint back then wasn't that Fannie and Freddie were making housing too affordable. It was that their government-subsidized profits were accruing to private shareholders (correct), that they had far too much leverage (correct), that they posed a risk to taxpayers (correct), and what they did to make housing affordable didn't justify the massive benefits they got from the government (also correct!). Indeed, in a 2004 book that recommended privatizing Fannie and Freddie, one of its authors, Peter Wallison, wrote, "Study after study has shown that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, despite full-throated claims about trillion-dollar commitments and the like, have failed to lead the private market in assisting the development and financing of affordable housing."

When the bubble burst in the fall of 2008, Republicans immediately pinned the blame on Fannie and Freddie. John McCain, then running for president, called the companies "the match that started this forest fire." This narrative picked up momentum when Wallison joined forces with Ed Pinto, Fannie's chief credit officer until the late 1980s. According to Pinto's research, at the time the market cratered, 27 million loans - half of all U.S. mortgages - were subprime. Of these, Pinto calculated that over 70 percent were touched by Fannie and Freddie - which took on that risk in order to satisfy their government-imposed affordable housing goals - or by some other government agency, or had been made by a large bank that was subject to the CRA. "Thus it is clear where the demand for these deficient mortgages came from," Wallison wrote in a recent op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, which has enthusiastically pushed this point of view in its editorial section since the crisis erupted.

But Pinto's numbers don't hold up. The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission(FCIC) - Wallison was one of its 10 commissioners - met with Pinto and analyzed his numbers, and concluded that while Fannie and Freddie played a role in the crisis and were deeply problematic institutions, they "were not a primary cause." (Wallison issued a dissent.) The FCIC argued that Pinto overstated the number of risky loans, and as David Min, the associate director for financial markets policy at the Center for American Progress, has noted, Pinto's number is far bigger than that of others - the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office estimated that from 2000 to 2007, there were only 14.5 million total nonprime loans originated; by the end of 2009, there were just 4.59 million such loans outstanding.

The disparity stems from the fact that Pinto defines risky loans far more broadly than most experts do. Min points out that the delinquency rates on what Pinto calls subprime are actually closer to prime loans than to real subprime loans. For instance, Pinto assumes that all loans made to people with credit scores below 660 were risky. But Fannie- and Freddie-backed loans in this category performed far better than the loans securitized by Wall Street. Data compiled by the FCIC for a subset of borrowers with scores below 660 shows that by the end of 2008, 6.2 percent of those GSE mortgages were seriously delinquent, versus 28.3 percent of non-GSE securitized mortgages.

To recap: If private-sector loans performed far worse than loans touched by the government, how could the GSEs have led the race to the bottom?

Another problematic aspect to Pinto's research is that he assumes the GSEs guaranteed risky loans solely to satisfy affordable housing goals. But many of the guaranteed loans didn't qualify for affordable housing credits. The GSEs did all this business because they were losing market share to Wall Street - their share went from 57 percent in 2003 to 37 percent by 2006. As the housing bubble grew larger, they wanted to recapture their share and boost their profits.

Indeed, the SEC lawsuit specifically says Fannie and Freddie began to do more risky business not to meet their goals, but rather to recapture market share - and they began to do so aggressively in 2006, when the market was already peaking. So while the GSEs played a huge role in blowing the bubble bigger than it otherwise would have been - and the numbers in the SEC complaint are huge - they followed, rather than led, the private market.

It's also very hard to look at what happened in the crisis and conclude that nothing went wrong in the private sector. Note that the other Republican members of the FCIC refused to sign on to Wallison's dissent. Instead, they issued their own dissent. "Single-source explanations," they said, were "too simplistic."

Yet despite all that, the one-note Republican refrain hasn't changed. The explanation is obvious: The "government sucks" rant polls well with conservatives. Mix in an urge to counter the equally simplistic story from the left - that the crisis was entirely the fault of greedy, unscrupulous bankers - and you get a strong resistance to the facts. Maybe there's a deeper reason, too. For many, belief in the all-knowing market was (and is) almost a religion. This financial crisis challenged that faith by showing the market would indeed allow loans to be made that could never be paid back, and by showing that highly paid financial services executives aren't gods, and that many of them are stupid and venal and all too human.

So maybe the Republican orthodoxy is understandable, but that doesn't mean it isn't scary. Of course, there's the great line from Edmund Burke: "Those who do not know history are destined to repeat it." Our housing market is a mess that threatens to drag down the entire economy, and whoever is president in 2013 needs to have a plan. Denying the facts is not a good start.

(Bethany McLean is a Reuters columnist, contributing editor at Vanity Fair, and co-author with Joe Nocera of "All the Devils are Here: The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis." Any opinions are her own.)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120125/bs_nm/us_reuters_magazine_mclean_faith_based

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U.S. raid frees two pirate hostages in Somalia (Reuters)

MOGADISHU (Reuters) ? U.S. helicopters swooped into central Somalia on Wednesday and rescued two hostages, an American and a Dane, from pirates in a rare raid into the Horn of Africa nation to free foreign captives.

American Jessica Buchanan and Dane Poul Hagen Thisted were working for the Danish Demining Group (DDG) when they were kidnapped from the town of Galkayo in the semi-autonomous Galmudug region in October.

"The Danish Refugee Council hereby confirms that Jessica Buchanan and Poul Hagen Thisted have been rescued earlier today during an operation in Somalia," the aid group said in a statement.

"The two aid workers from the Danish Refugee Council's demining unit, DDG, are both unharmed and at a safe location," it said.

Galmudug's president, Mohamed Ahmed Alim, told Reuters nine pirates were killed and five captured during the rescue operation near the pirate haven of Haradheere.

Alim was speaking from Hobyo, another major pirate base north of Haradheere, where he said he was negotiating to secure the release of an American journalist kidnapped on Saturday.

"About 12 U.S. helicopters are now at Galkayo. We thank the U.S. Pirates have spoilt the whole region's peace and ethics. They are mafia," Alim said.

While U.S. and French forces have intervened to rescue pirate hostages at sea before now, attacks on pirate bases are very rare. The only U.S. base in sub-Saharan Africa is in neighboring Djibouti.

NBC News, citing U.S. officials, reported that two teams of U.S. Navy SEALs landed by helicopter and rescued the hostages after a gun battle with the kidnappers. The freed hostages were taken by helicopter to an undisclosed location, NBC reported.

President Barack Obama was overheard congratulating Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, apparently for the success of the rescue operation, as Obama entered the House of Representatives chamber on Tuesday night to give his annual State of the Union speech.

"Leon. Good job tonight. Good job tonight," Obama said. He did not mention the rescue during his speech.

(Reporting by Abdi Sheikh in Mogadishu, John Acher in Copenhagen, David Clarke in Nairobi and Eric Beech in Washington; Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by David Clarke)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120125/wl_nm/us_somalia_hostages

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Video: What to expect from the Florida debate?

Broken heart may become a diagnosis

NYT: In a bitter skirmish over the definition of depression, a new report contends that a proposed change to the diagnosis would characterize grieving as a disorder and greatly increase the number of people treated for it.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/46106881#46106881

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Review: Close almost too stoic in `Albert Nobbs' (AP)

The role of Albert Nobbs is one that's been near to Glenn Close's heart for a while. She first played it 30 years ago off-Broadway and reprises it now in a project she's been working for some time to bring to the screen.

Her dedication is obvious in watching "Albert Nobbs," based on a short story about a woman living as a man and working as a posh hotel waiter in order to survive in 19th century Ireland. Close's Albert is all quiet repression: the low monotone of her voice, the horizontal line of her mouth, the dark, conservative suit topped frequently by a prim bowler hat. The slightest gesture or facial expression is so subtle as to be practically imperceptible.

Every moment of the performance is a marvel of precision ? and yet, because she immerses herself so completely in the emotional restraint of this odd little man she's created, it's difficult to feel a connection with the character, despite the difficult life she's lived. There's no sense of the woman within ? to the extent that Albert can't even remember her real name anymore ? which would have provided crucial context for us to appreciate fully the sacrifice and sadness she's suffered for decades.

Rather, director Rodrigo Garcia ("Mother and Child"), working from a script Close herself co-wrote with John Banville and Gabriella Prekop, follows in melancholy tones as Albert goes about the duties of her day. She remembers the particular tastes of the hotel's regular guests and waits on new visitors with an impenetrable courtliness. She stashes her tips away each night in her modest bedroom with dreams of opening a little tobacco shop someday, and maybe even taking a bride. The saucy young maid Helen, played with much-needed liveliness by the ever-versatile Mia Wasikowska, catches her eye.

But Albert keeps these ideas to herself until the arrival of a brash painter named Hubert shakes up her world. You see, Hubert is also a woman disguising herself as a man, and Janet McTeer plays her with an irresistible, bawdy confidence. McTeer is electrifying in every scene she's in, to the point that "Albert Nobbs" drags noticeably in her absence.

Hubert also must hide her true identity in order to make a living ? and, like Albert, she's the victim of a physical abuse that drove her to reinvent herself. But she's found a way to reconcile the complexities of her identity and achieve real happiness. Albert inexplicably has pinned her hopes on a young woman who could never truly love her back ? as a man or a woman ? as evidenced by the volatile relationship Helen is in with the handsome but illiterate boiler repair man played by Aaron Johnson (a long way from the nerdy superhero he played in "Kick-Ass").

Other supporting players bring the film to life from time to time, including Brendan Gleeson as the hotel's resident doctor and perpetual drunk; Pauline Collins as its gossipy, social-climbing owner; and Bronagh Gallagher as Hubert's delightful, understanding wife.

But "Albert Nobbs" is clearly Close's show ? for better and for worse.

"Albert Nobbs," a Roadside Attractions release, is rated R for some sexuality, brief nudity and language. Running time: 113 minutes. Two stars out of four.

___

Motion Picture Association of America rating definitions:

G ? General audiences. All ages admitted.

PG ? Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

PG-13 ? Special parental guidance strongly suggested for children under 13. Some material may be inappropriate for young children.

R ? Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

NC-17 ? No one under 17 admitted.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120123/ap_en_ot/us_film_review_albert_nobbs

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Newt's Tampa Trip (TIME)

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An embarrasing New York Times correction (Washington Bureau)

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Plane crashes in New Zealand, killing 2 aboard (AP)

WELLINGTON, New Zealand ? A small plane has crashed in a New Zealand park, killing both people aboard.

Authorities say the two-seater Yak aircraft fell into a playing field Monday in the town of Feilding on the country's North Island.

Police spokeswoman Kim Perks says the plane left from an airfield a few miles (kilometers) from the crash site and was flying for about 25 minutes before it went down. Perks says witnesses saw the private plane performing acrobatics before the crash.

Perks says the two men believed to have been aboard are widely known in the region. Authorities are not releasing their names pending notification of their next of kin.

Investigators were traveling to the scene of the crash.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120123/ap_on_re_as/as_new_zealand_plane_crash

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AUTOMOTIVE - AUTOS: Charities, Celebrities Shine At B-J

The charitable sale of Brad Keselowski?s NASCAR Nationwide Series Dodge Charger cranked up the generous bidders at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale on Thursday, not only selling for $250,000 but with another $350,000 also donated to benefit Paralyzed Veterans of America.

That resounding sale capped the bidding so far at the 41st annual Scottsdale auction, with a Thursday sale that was rich with celebrities and charity cars. Charity offerings have become a signature feature for Barrett-Jackson, which has raised well over $40 million for worthy causes during the past five years.

Rock star Bret Michaels threw in his comboy hat to sweeten the bidding for his Bentley Continental GT. (Photo: Lisa Horne) With a cadre of wheelchair-bound veterans lining the stage, the sale of Keselowski?s Penske Racing car ? in which the young driver dominated the Nationwide Series in 2010 ? was an emotion-charged event with Keselowski and the famed Roger Penske up on the podium with the auctioneers.

?I thought it was going to go for $100,000, so I?m blown away,? Keselowski said after the money was counted.

The bidding raced up through $200,000 before settling and declared sold at $250,000 to bidder Sean Jordan of La Habra, Calif. After that came the announcement that another donor, Bruce Halle, CEO of Scottsdale-based Discount Tire, would add another $250,000 for the charity. Halle was standing up on stage during the sale and passed the word back to the auctioneers.

Then, Barrett-Jackson regular George Deigh added yet another $100,000 to the total. Keselowski and Penske looked thrilled from the result of the race-car sale.

"I just didn't know what to expect,? Keselowski said. ?It's like the fair meets the Daytona 500. A great time with some great people. And I love cars, so this is really cool."

That exciting charity sale highlighted Barrett-Jackson?s strong auction results as the evening progressed. With the day starting with more than $11.6 million total sales for Tuesday and Wednesday, the Thursday auction was a crowd-pleaser with an electric atmosphere as the bidding climbed for the charity cars and the celebrities shined on stage.

Just after the sale of the Keselowski race car, one of the most acclaimed race drivers of all time, Mario Andretti, stood at the podium to announce the sale of the MagnaFlow Mario Andretti Edition 2011 Camaro SS, with all proceeds benefitting the Wounded Warrior Project Inc.

A celebrity of another sort was the official Yellow Submarine of Beatles fame that sold with a guitar signed by Paul McCartney for $58,300, including bidder fee. (Photo: Lisa Horne) The Andretti Camaro raised $75,000 for the cause, with winner bidder David Clark of Onaiaska, Wis., re-donating the car to be sold again for the veteran?s charity at a future Barrett-Jackson auction.

Veteran race driver and performance-driving-school owner Bob Bondurant and performance-car pro Steve Saleen of SMS Supercars introduced another top charity-car sale benefitting Cox Charities and the Make A Wish Foundation. The 620-horsepower 2011 Camaro SMS Bondurant created by Saleen raised $100,000 for the charitable causes.

Rock star and TV personality Bret Michaels was on stage to rile up the bidding for four of his personal cars ? a 2004 Bentley Continental GT, two SUVs and a custom motorcycle.

Michaels called the gorgeous silver Bentley a ?baby-making machine,? bringing on a chorus of laughs and bidding that hit $117,000, the highest seller of his collection. To juice the bidding, Michaels threw in a custom-made guitar and the cowboy hat that he was wearing, as well as free admission to an upcoming concert of his band, Poison.

The Scottsdale auction attracted about 120,000 attendance over the first four days, with a record 39,000 people coming through the gates during Sunday?s Family Fun Day before the bidding started Tuesday. More than 50 percent of the bidders are first-timers at Barrett-Jackson, and about 30 percent of the collector cars sold on Tuesday went to first-time bidders.

The auction continues through Sunday, with the top offerings coming up during ?prime time? Friday and Saturday, with SPEED broadcasting live coverage from 2 p.m. to midnight ET both days and 2 to 6 p.m. ET on Sunday.

Bob Golfen, Automotive Editor for SPEED.com, is a veteran auto writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, with a passion for collector cars, car culture and the automotive lifestyle. SPEED.com fans can email Bob Golfen at

Source: http://automotive.speedtv.com/article/autos-charities-celebrities-shine-at-b-j/

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Santorum: 2 rivals not electable over health care (AP)

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. ? Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum says Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich aren't electable because they've both supported policies too similar President Barack Obama's health care plan.

In Thursday night's GOP debate, Santorum says the health care plan Romney helped implement when he was governor of Massachusetts was an "abject disaster." Santorum says it is the basis for Obamacare and will make it impossible for Romney to debate Obama on the issue.

Santorum says Gingrich repeatedly supported "the core" of Obama's health care plan before disavowing it later.

Santorum says he's the only candidate who can stand up to Obama on the issue.

Gingrich and Romney are both defending themselves and say they can stand up to the president and vow to repeal Obama's health care plan.

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

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Abortion doctor facing murder charge free on bail

By The Associated Press and msnbc.com staff

Lawyers for a Utah abortion doctor charged with murder for the death of a fetus in Maryland asked a judge Friday to throw out the charges, arguing she is immune from prosecution and that the state is trying to infringe upon a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy.

Dr. Nicola Riley and her former colleague, Dr. Steven Brigham of New Jersey, were indicted last month under a law that allows murder charges to be brought in the death of a viable fetus. The 2005 law had only been used previously for cases in which defendants were accused of assaulting or killing pregnant women, and prosecutors have acknowledged they are in uncharted territory by using it to charge doctors who perform abortionds. Thirty-seven other states have similar statutes.

At Riley's bail review hearing Friday in Cecil County Circuit Court in Elkton, Md., attorney Stuart O. Simms argued that prosecutors were attempting to criminalize constitutionally protected medical treatment.

"Based on their interpretation of the statute, they are now threatening to charge any medical professional in Cecil County with a state crime," Simms told The Associated Press after the hearing.

Court: No forced abortion for Mass. woman

In Maryland, licensed physicians can perform abortions before the fetus is deemed capable of surviving outside the womb, and abortions of viable fetuses are permitted to protect the life or health of the mother or if the fetus has serious genetic abnormalities.

The state's fetal homicide law was approved in 2005 in the wake of the highly publicized slaying of Laci Peterson in Modesto, Calif. Peterson was seven months pregnant, and her husband, Scott Peterson, was convicted of killing both her and their unborn son.

The law specifically exempts licensed physicians performing abortions. Before the bill was passed, its sponsor, Delegate Charles Boutin, wrote in a letter to a committee chairman that it is "clearly and solely a victim's rights bill. It takes care of the 'Laci Peterson' issue in Maryland, while protecting a woman's right to choose."

Judge Keith Baynes set bail for Riley at $300,000, the amount requested by Deputy State's Attorney Kerwin Miller, who argued that the evidence against the 46-year-old Salt Lake City resident is strong and characterized her as a flight risk. She was arrested Dec. 28 on a fugitive warrant and was extradited to Maryland on Thursday.

She is charged with one count each of first- and second-degree murder stemming from an abortion in Elkton, Md., ?16 months ago involving a teenager who was 21 weeks pregnant, according to the Baltimore Sun.

"It gets no bigger than this," Miller said in reference to Riley's first-degree murder charge, the Cecil Whig of Elkton reported.

Miller also told the Cecil Whig that?the "evidence is overwhelming" in the case, because Riley admitted to performing the procedure to Union Hospital officials, according to a Maryland Board of Physicians report.

Riley posted bail shortly after the hearing and was released from custody. As a condition of her release, she was ordered not to perform abortions.

The charges against Riley stem from a botched abortion in August 2010 at Brigham's Elkton clinic. The 18-year-old patient suffered serious injuries, and Riley drove her to a nearby hospital rather than call 911, according to medical regulators. The fetus was 21 weeks old. Doctors generally consider fetuses to be viable outside the womb starting around 23 weeks.

Brigham, of Voorhees, N.J., has been charged with murder in the death of that fetus and four others. He was released from custody Jan. 6 after posting a $500,000 bond. His attorney has also argued that Brigham has not violated the fetal homicide law.

Anti-abortion activists have hailed the arrests of Brigham and Riley, saying the charges shed light on the troubling practices of certain abortion doctors. A search of Brigham's Elkton clinic revealed a freezer containing 35 late-term fetuses, including one believed to have been aborted at 36 weeks, according to documents released by medical regulators.

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News

? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/20/10200832-abortion-doctor-free-on-bail-after-being-charged-with-murder

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Obama sings soul, briefly (AP)

NEW YORK ? President Barack Obama took a brief and unexpected turn as a soul singer at a New York fundraiser, crooning a bar from an Al Green classic and then joking that he hadn't been ushered offstage.

It happened at Manhattan's Apollo Theater late Thursday, when Obama stepped to the podium and veered from prepared remarks to thank Green for warming up the crowd.

Apparently not content with simply praising him, Obama suddenly launched into Green's "Let's Stay Together," starting with the vibrato "I" and pausing for enthusiastic applause before finishing up with the line "so in love with you."

Obama said his staff didn't believe he'd really do it.

Then he joked that the Sandman hadn't come out ? a reference to Sandman Sims, the tap dancer who chased unpopular acts offstage at the Apollo for decades.

___

Online: http://apne.ws/x7ak4B

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120120/ap_en_mu/us_obama_al_green

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Could China be behind US commission hack?

WASHINGTON?? Suspicion is growing that operatives in China, rather than India, were behind the hacking of emails of an official U.S. commission that monitors relations between the United States and China, U.S. officials said.

News of the hacking of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission surfaced earlier this month when an amateur "hacktivist" group purporting to operate in India published what it said was a memo from an Indian Military Intelligence unit to which extracts from commission emails were attached.

But U.S. officials who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity said the roundabout way the commission's emails were obtained strongly suggests the intrusion originated in China, possibly by amateurs, and not from India's spy service.

A large cache of raw email data from the security breach, reviewed by Reuters, indicates that the principal target of the intruders was not the commission, but instead a Washington-based non-governmental pro-trade group called the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC).

The trade council is headed by William Reinsch, a former top U.S. Commerce Department official who until recently served as the U.S.-China Commission's chairman.

A large proportion of the raw email traffic downloaded by the hackers consists of messages to and from Reinsch at his NFTC email address. Many of the emails were spam, but some related to the work of the commission, which was set up by Congress to take a critical look at a wide range of U.S. dealings with China.

Reinsch told Reuters that the NFTC first became aware in November that large quantities of its message traffic had been hacked. He said that law enforcement authorities, including the FBI, had been quickly notified. The FBI has declined comment.

Reinsch said he could think of "no particular reason" why the Indian government or Indian hackers would be interested in him. By contrast, he and several other U.S. officials said that Chinese hackers, whether amateur or directly affiliated with Chinese government, would have great interest in the U.S.-China Commission's activities, both public and private.

SOFT TARGET

Sources familiar with the hacking and the related investigation said they draw two inferences from the fact that the principal target of the hack appears to have been Reinsch's email account at NFTC.

First of all, the sources said they found it difficult to believe anyone connected with India would have taken the time or effort to track down Reinsch or his NFTC account, whereas his chairmanship of the U.S.-China Commission made him a potential major target for Chinese hackers.

Secondly, said the sources, the fact that Reinsch's NFTC emails were the principal target suggests that whoever hacked them was hunting for a soft target with poor cyber-security. This suggests the hackers were amateurs rather than a foreign spy service.

Pinning down the origin and perpetrator of a particular cyber-intrusion can be fiendishly difficult, if not impossible, as hackers frequently take steps to mask their identity or appear that they are from a third country.

One official familiar with the matter said that it was possible that all the hacked email traffic, including messages related to the U.S.-China Commission, originated with the NFTC.

Under this scenario, the reason commission traffic was included in the hacked material was that it consisted of copies of commission messages which were sent to Reinsch at his NFTC email address. But other officials said it was also still possible some emails were stolen directly from the commission or private email accounts of other commissioners.

A person familiar with details of the incident and related investigation said the hacked emails spanned a six-month period from late March to late October last year. The source said that about 85 percent of the traffic consisted of emails incoming to the NFTC, with the other 15 percent being outgoing messages from NFTC's server.

The source said that there were significant gaps in the hacked traffic, covering both day-long and week-long periods, bolstering the notion the hacking was done by amateurs.

Investigators are still trying to determine if the hacker successfully targeted NFTC's local network or a network which fed messages to a mobile device used by Reinsch.

INDIAN MEMO

The purported Indian intelligence memo implied that the commission emails had somehow been hacked using know-how supplied to the Indian government by mobile phone companies who, as payback, were afforded greater access to the Indian market.

One of the mobile phone manufactures named in the purported memo, Apple, denied giving the Indian government backdoor access to its products. A second, Research in Motion, said the company does not typically comment on rumor or speculation, and a third manufacturer, Nokia, declined to comment.

Indian government officials and agencies declined repeated requests for comment on the alleged government document, although some former Indian officials labeled the memo a fabrication.

Two U.S. officials familiar with the hacking incident said they were puzzled why India would go to the trouble of hacking emails related to the U.S.-China Commission, since its work had little if anything to do with India, and Indian officials and diplomats had never showed much interest in its activities.

By contrast, the commission has been a regular target for what officials describe as persistent attempted hacking intrusions, many through the technique of "phishing," which involves sending bogus but convincing emails which purport to come from insiders but contain malicious code. Investigators strongly suspect these intrusions were launched by people from, or operating on behalf of, China.

A large proportion of the hacked traffic examined by Reuters appeared to be what could be categorized as spam, including summaries of news articles and political fundraising pitches.

Some hacked traffic from the U.S.-China Commission had potentially sensitive implications, however, including messages in which commission personnel discuss matters under deliberation by the organization. These issues included the commission's attitude toward alleged Chinese theft of intellectual property and congressional deliberations about alleged Chinese currency manipulation.

U.S. officials said there was no indication hackers managed to gain access to electronic files related to the commission's most sensitive project ? a classified version of its annual public report. Electronic materials related to this project are kept on classified servers, isolated from the Internet, which are operated by agencies other than the commission itself, one official said.

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46044640/ns/technology_and_science-security/

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How to Predict the Future of Technology

Image: Illustration by Chris Whetzel

As a tech columnist, I?m often asked to speak about the future of technology. Well, sure. Who doesn?t want to know what the future holds? Yet I?d be in much better shape if I were asked to predict the future of politics or bass fishing. Because nothing changes faster, and more unpredictably, than consumer technology.

Everybody who takes a stab at these kinds of predictions inevitably winds up looking like an idiot. Surely you?ve seen these things go around by e-mail: ?I think there is a world market for maybe five computers,? said the chairman of IBM in 1943. ?This ?telephone? has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication,? went an 1876 Western Union internal memo. ?Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?? asked Harry M. Warner (one of the Warner Brothers) in 1927.

It?s not predictions in general that will get you into trouble, though. The danger lies in predicting that things can?t be done or will never work. Those are the forecasts that will make you look shortsighted.

In general, it?s much safer to predict things that will happen. If you?re right, you?ll look like a genius. Take Jules Verne, whose articles and stories described electric submarines, TV news, solar sails, ?phonotelephote? (video calling), ?atmospheric advertisements? (skywriting) and ?electronic control devices? (tasers).

Or Arthur C. Clarke?s ?newspad? (iPad), Ray Bradbury?s ?thimble radios? (earbuds), Isaac Asimov?s pocket calculators and George Orwell?s security cameras.

And if you?re wrong, well, who can blame you? After all, if you predict something that hasn?t come true, you can always cover yourself by adding ?yet.?

So the first rule of making tech predictions is this: make predictions about things that will come to pass, not about things that won?t.

Here?s the second rule: history is going to repeat itself. Experience has shown, over and over again, that certain trends are virtually inviolable.

For example, black-and-white formats always go to color: photographs, TV, movies. So back in 1970 you could have confidently predicted the proliferation of color newspapers.

In addition, analog formats always go digital. Audio, video, photos. So in 1990 you could have safely predicted the dawn of digital TV and e-book readers.

We know that Internet access is becoming more ubiquitous, and more gadgets are getting online. Thus, you?re safe describing a future where things that currently aren?t generally online will be, like cars, kitchen appliances and clothing.

If you insist on predicting the demise of things, stick to extrapolating from obvious trends. Look at the way recent college graduates live and assume that they are the future. They don?t subscribe to printed newspapers. They don?t sign up for home phone service. They film with phones or still cameras instead of camcorders. They download their movies.

They expect to get everything on demand?songs, books, magazines, newspapers, TV shows, movies?and you?d be foolish to bet against that trend.

But what about specific products? Is there any way to predict what we?ll be carrying in our pockets in 2020? Can anyone see the next iPhone, iPad or Wii?

Probably not. If they could, electronics companies wouldn?t release flopperoos like Microsoft Zune, the BlackBerry PlayBook and the Iridium satellite phone.

In the end, it?s a blessing we can?t predict the future of tech?because it means we?ll keep trying. If we don?t know if something will succeed or fail, we?ll keep innovating. We?ll heed the words of Alan Kay: ?The best way to predict the future is to invent it.?

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=be8330e081601a10f2354f8a16b278c1

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Baylor still No. 1 in AP women's basketball poll

Baylor remains the unanimous No. 1 choice in The Associated Press women's college basketball poll.

The Lady Bears received all the first-place votes Monday for the seventh straight week after routing Oklahoma State and Texas. Baylor has a challenging week ahead, visiting No. 17 Texas Tech and hosting No. 23 Kansas State. The Wildcats entered the Top 25 for the first time since the final poll of 2009 after beating then-No. 10 Texas Tech by one point.

Notre Dame, Connecticut, Stanford and Duke followed Baylor. Kentucky jumped to sixth after beating Tennessee and South Carolina. Rutgers was seventh and Maryland fell to eighth after losing at Miami for its first loss. The Lady Vols and Ohio State round out the first 10.

Penn State rejoined the poll at No. 22 after defeating Nebraska, which fell from 15th to 20th. Gonzaga and South Carolina dropped out a week after entering the Top 25.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-16-BKW-T25-Women's-Bkb-Poll/id-5579aa8b62154653b1c551fba32c3fde

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