Eli Williamson: The Antithesis of Charity: Investing in Our Future by ...

Veterans have a distinct place in our society as those who have carried the heavy load of sacrifice. They have a distinct place in the world of philanthropy as well; they are the only social cause that is not charitable in nature.
Yes, there are charities that help veterans, but these charities only exist because the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) is charged with the all-consuming mission to care for all aspects of a human life.
Whether it is education, employment, benefits, health care, and housing the VA has been tasked with a difficult mission and when they fall short, nonprofits help to cover the gaps. These nonprofits are not doing this because of charity: They are ensuring that our nation honors the promise we have made to our veterans for their selfless service.
Yet, there is another pillar of veteran support which understands that we must not only keep our promises, but we must invest in our veterans much like we invested in them after WWII as a catalyst for national success.

The Promise

As a veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan I am truly appreciative of our nations support of the war-fighter regardless of feelings about the war. Unlike the Vietnam generation, our nation has grown the capacity to understand the difference between the policy and those who are charged with implementing that policy.

Yet, I am also pessimistic because veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan represent less than 1 percent of the entire population -- this limits the political capital previous veteran generations were able to muster in order to force the political class to not only keep their promises, but keep them in the spirit in which they were made.

This erosion of what veterans deserve can already be seen in some of the proposed budget cuts that will impact both the VA and the Military Retirement System, as covered by Military.com

Whether it is the House Budget Committee, chaired by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), which is studying a plan to save money by canceling enrollment of any veteran who doesn't have a service-connected medical condition (even though the process for establishing service connection is a national disgrace) or the Obama Administration's desire to re-examine the military retirement system, which they have called "out of line with most other government or private retirement plans" (though by its nature military service has no government or private equivalent), the veteran promise is already under siege.

Again, since these changes only impact a sliver of our society there has been no major outrage from those who have recently made their voices the loudest like Occupy Wall Street or those aligned with the Tea Party movements. It is telling that when Wisconsin was shut down because of changes to retirement and collective bargaining issues, there was a heated national dialogue by both conservatives and liberals on the impact to our nation.

Sadly, our veterans get only a muted response when faced with unconscionable cuts to services and benefits that were promised to them and more importantly, that they earned through their sacrifices and the sacrifices of their families.

The Investment

It is under this backdrop that we must not only see our veterans through the political lens of what was promised, but through the paradigm that their success is a sound strategic investment. It will become critical for those who care about supporting our veterans to articulate a message that transcends the needs of just the veteran, and converges those needs into alignment with that of the larger society.

An example of this convergence can be seen through the costs that are sunk into current military training. According to MSNBC, the total cost of training a service member in today's military can range from $44,887 (Marine Infantryman) to $19 million (F-16 fighter pilot), these costs do not take into factor leadership and technical training that a service member receives as they progress in their military career.

As a citizen, it is critical for us to understand how this investment impacts our national security. As a taxpayer it is critical for us to leverage this investment not only benefit of our military, but for our larger society as well.

We should be clamoring to integrate these heroes into our communities and industries. During these difficult economic times, it is apparent that our nation needs plowshares and the men and women who can use them to make our society a fertile place for continued success. To not leverage our returning veterans' talents would be self-defeating and a crime against our future children who are in desperate need of leadership and heroes.

Organizations such as Mission Continues, Team Rubicon, Service Nation, Work Vessels for Vets, and Leave No Veteran Behind are just a few of the innovative veteran nonprofits that understand that supporting our veterans will not only make us feel good as a nation, but is an investment that will ultimately make us a better nation.

These nonprofits understand that our returning veterans are uniquely prepared through their training and experiences to take on complex problems and provide leadership to solve those problems. They understand that our veterans cannot continue to help our nation if they are seen only through the labels of PTSD, TBI, or as damaged goods. They understand that a veteran's potential must be utilized for societies benefit.

As a nation we must support these organizations and incorporate their ethos not only for the veterans' sake, but for ours as well. Finally, we must understand that keeping our promise to our returning veterans and investing in them so that they can positively impact our nation's future is not charitable... it is simply the smart thing to do.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eli-williamson/the-antithesis-of-charity_b_1237421.html

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Romney lead over Gingrich up in Florida: poll (reuters)

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Streep's Thatcher, Williams' Monroe star at SAG (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? What a cast the Screen Actors Guild Awards have lined up: Marilyn Monroe, Laurence Olivier, Margaret Thatcher and J. Edgar Hoover.

Actors playing illustrious real-life figures factor into the 18th annual honors given by Hollywood's main acting union Sunday.

The best-actress category features Meryl Streep as Thatcher in "The Iron Lady" and Michelle Williams as Monroe in "My Week with Marilyn." Leonardo DiCaprio is up for best actor as FBI boss in "J. Edgar," while "My Week with Marilyn" co-stars supporting-actor nominee Kenneth Branagh as Olivier.

Streep won a Golden Globe for "The Iron Lady" and is considered a favorite for the SAG prize and for her third win at the Academy Awards, which are set for Feb. 26.

The front-runners for the other SAG awards are actors in fictional roles, though, among them George Clooney as a dad in crisis in "The Descendants" and Jean Dujardin as a silent-film star fallen on hard times in "The Artist." Both are up for best actor, and both won Globes ? Clooney as dramatic actor, Dujardin as musical or comedy actor.

Octavia Spencer as a brassy Mississippi maid in "The Help" and Christopher Plummer as an elderly dad who comes out as gay in "Beginners" won Globes for supporting performances and have strong prospects for the same honors at the SAG Awards.

The winners at the SAG ceremony typically go on to earn Oscars. All four acting recipients at SAG last year later took home Oscars ? Colin Firth for "The King's Speech," Natalie Portman for "Black Swan" and Christian Bale and Melissa Leo for "The Fighter."

The same generally holds true for the weekend's other big Hollywood honors, the Directors Guild of America Awards, where Michel Hazanavicius won the feature-film prize Saturday for "The Artist." The Directors Guild winner has gone on to earn the best-director Oscar 57 times in the 63-year history of the union's awards show.

SAG also presents an award for overall cast performance, a prize that's loosely considered the ceremony's equivalent of a best-picture honor. However, the cast award has a spotty record at predicting what will win best picture at the Oscars.

While "The King's Speech" won both honors a year ago, the SAG cast recipient has gone on to claim the top Oscar only eight times in the 16 years since the guild added the category.

The SAG ceremony also includes an award for stunt ensemble, whose nominees include such hits as "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" and "X-Men: First Class."

Airing live on TNT and TBS, the show features nine television categories, as well.

Receiving the guild's life-achievement award is Mary Tyler Moore. The prize will be presented by Dick Van Dyke, her co-star on the 1960s sit-com "The Dick Van Dyke Show."

___

Online:

http://www.sagawards.com

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tv/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_en_tv/us_sag_awards

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Thompson: Drudge Beholden to Mitt (TIME)

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Equal Polarization, My Ass (OliverWillisLikeKryptoniteToStupid)

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Russian great Plushenko wins 7th European title

Russia's Evgeni Plushenko celebrates after performing in the Men's Free Skating program competition at the European Figure Skating Championships in Sheffield, England, Saturday Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

Russia's Evgeni Plushenko celebrates after performing in the Men's Free Skating program competition at the European Figure Skating Championships in Sheffield, England, Saturday Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

Russia's Evgeni Plushenko kisses his gold medal after winning the Men's Free Skating event at the European Figure Skating Championships in Sheffield, England, Saturday Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

Russia's Evgeni Plushenko kisses his gold medal after winning the Men's Free Skating event at the European Figure Skating Championships in Sheffield, England, Saturday Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

France's Florent Amodio celebrates after winning bronze medal in the Men's Free Skating event at the European Figure Skating Championships in Sheffield, England, Saturday Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

SHEFFIELD, England (AP) ? Russian great Evgeni Plushenko produced a career-best performance Saturday to beat protege Artur Gachinski and win his seventh men's European figure skating title.

The 2006 Olympic champion put together a compelling routine to "Tango de Roxanne" from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack and scored a personal-best 176.52 points in the free skate for a total of 261.23 ? Plushenko's highest ever overall mark.

His breathtaking display included a perfectly judged quadruple jump ? an exploit he claimed he couldn't perform this week because of injuries to his left knee and back.

"I did a little bit of history in figure skating today," an overjoyed Plushenko said.

The 18-year-old Gachinski led his mentor, idol and training partner by 0.09 points after the short program but finished 14.96 points behind in second with 246.27. Gachinski, the bronze medalist from last year's worlds, scored 161.47 points in his free skate for a 246.27 total.

Defending champion Florent Amodio of France rallied from fifth place to take the bronze with an overall score of 234.18, ahead of Michal Brezina of the Czech Republic (153.17).

With the spectators at Motorpoint Arena already rising to their feet, Plushenko ? dressed in a glitter-lined black outfit ? put an exclamation point on his routine with repeated fist pumps at the end.

Even with Gachinski and three other rivals to come, the greatest male skater of his generation knew the gold was again his at age 29 ? 12 years after winning his first continental title.

"You all saw my emotions at the end," Plushenko said. "I felt like I did eight years ago."

Plushenko is a sporting icon in Russia, and the only living male skater with three Olympic medals to his name. Having started his senior career in 1997, he will attempt to stay on until the 2014 Olympics on home soil in Sochi.

"When I am going to be healthy, I will do a little bit more," said Plushenko, who will head to Germany to undergo surgery on his problematic left knee in two weeks ? a procedure that will keep him out of the world championships at the end of March.

His previous best overall score was 258.33 when he won gold at the 2006 Turin Games. He scored 167.67 in the free skate in that competition, his previous best mark for the longer of the two disciplines.

Plushenko's excuse for not doing a quad during his play-it-safe short program on Thursday was that it would take 3 or 4 minutes for his body to recover.

Lo and behold, Plushenko opened the free skate with a quad toe loop ? which earned the maestro 11.59 points ? and set the tone for the rest of a joyous and nearly flawless routine that had the crowd transfixed.

The veteran skater denied he had played mind games with his rivals, insisting instead that his medical team had performed miracles.

"Today, the problems with my meniscus were overcome," he said. "Today, I skated at full capacity."

He went on to nail both a triple axel-triple toe and then a triple lutz-double toe-double loop combination, and achieved a level four with his flying sit spin and camel spin.

The intimidating score left him way clear of the field. Gachinski, Javier Fernandez and Amodio had yet to skate, but following Plushenko was virtually impossible.

Needing to skate the best routine of his young career, Gachinski opened up stylishly with a quad toe combination and another quad toe but was marked down on his latter jumps.

"I am still happy," said Gachinski, who also broke his personal best of 241.86 points. "This is my second Europeans and I got a second."

Tomas Verner of the Czech Republic was third after the short program but flopped in the free, slumping to fifth and allowing Amodio to climb onto the podium despite the Frenchman not managing a quad.

"It was a difficult experience but I'm proud," Amodio said. "I started to feel like the real Florent Amodio."

The women's title will be decided later Saturday, with Italy's Carolina Kostner in the lead after the short program as she goes in search of a fourth European gold.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-28-FIG-European-Championship/id-3fd9187623424927a2969557266e1a5a

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Tax Returns and Tithing: How Mitt Romney Gives Away 16% of His Income (Time.com)

Emmanuel Dunand / AFP / Getty Images

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney holds a campaign rally at All-Star Building Materials in Ormond Beach, Florida, Jan. 22, 2012.

When Mitt Romney released his 2010 tax returns on Tuesday, the one number that probably stood out to many Americans wasn?t his 14% effective tax rate or his $20 million-plus annual income. It was the $7 million he gave to charity over the past two years, including some $4.1 million to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS).

Where does that money go? In addition to donating to his family?s Tyler Foundation, Romney does his duty as an active LDS member. The Mormon church requires its members to tithe 10% of their income, and Romney?s contributions match that responsibility.

(PHOTOS: The Rich History of Mitt Romney)

Designed to follow the biblical mandate to feed the hungry and clothe the naked, the Mormon tithing system supports a giant welfare infrastructure. In addition to financing temple construction and missionary programs, tithing supports more than 300 employment-resource centers and 80 family-services offices around the world. The church employs some 8,500 missionaries who teach English, give agricultural aid, provide medical practices and distribute clothing. It even stores a three-to-six-month food supply so its members won?t go hungry in the event of a disaster, and most families forgo two consecutive meals a month to give money as a ?fast offering? for the poor. Local bishops ? a position Romney once held ? work with members of their local church wards to overcome economic hardships, and are?even empowered to pay a family?s mortgage in the hardest of times.

Structured or not, these donations set Romney apart from his political colleagues. In 2010, Romney gave away 16% of his income while Newt Gingrich?s returns show he gave only 2.6%. The portion Gingrich donated to his Washington, D.C., home church, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, was even smaller ? 0.3%, or $9,540. Because the Gingrichs? also reported an earned income of $5,918 from the National Shrine ? Callista sings as an alto in the church?s professional choir, which pays $80 per mass and rehearsal ? so the net balance of their contributions sinks below $4,000.?The rest of Gingrich?s charitable donations went to unspecified cash contributions through the Gingrichs? businesses, some $68,500, and to miscellaneous donations, near $3,100. The Obamas, meanwhile, gave 14% of their income to a total of 36 different charities in 2010. Much of that went to the Fisher House Foundation, a charity that works with veterans, and smaller amounts went to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund and the Boys & Girls Club of America. A religious body was not listed on their returns, but the Obamas have not become members of a church while living in Washington.

(VIDEO: Romney?s Tax Returns: Explainer)

In Monday?s debate, Romney said he is ?proud of the fact that I pay a lot of taxes.? Though he?s at times reluctant to speak publicly about his Mormon faith, his charitable giving, half of which goes to the socially active LDS church, is something to be proud of as well.

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Pakistan accuses Iran of killing 6 on border (AP)

QUETTA, Pakistan ? Iranian security forces on Thursday killed six Pakistani traders taking goats into Iran, a Pakistani official said.

Iranian authorities were not immediately available for comment.

The incident happened Thursday on the Iranian side of the border near the Pakistani town of Gwadar, said its deputy commissioner Abdur Rehman.

Rehman said Iranian authorities were not releasing the bodies. He gave no more details.

Earlier this month, Iranian security personnel allegedly crossed into southwest Pakistan and killed one man.

There is occasional violence along the poorly marked border, where smuggling, banditry and terrorism are rife.

The incidents do not appear to have affected Islamabad's relations with Tehran, which are based on larger regional interests.

Pakistan's ties with Iran have ebbed and flowed over the last 20 years, dependent largely on developments elsewhere in a turbulent region, where Iran's archrivals Saudi Arabia and the United States have also sought influence. Sunni-Shia tensions within Pakistan have also been a factor.

Relations have been stable since the downfall of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in 2002.

Pakistan is battling an Islamist militant insurgency along its border with Afghanistan in the northwest of the country.

Earlier Thursday, security forces killed at least 20 militants in the northwestern Kurram tribal region after coming under attack, said local government official Wajid Khan. He said 22 troops were also wounded in the attack.

The death toll could not be independently confirmed as the fighting was in a remote area off-limits to journalists.

Kurram is considered a main base for the Pakistani Taliban. Scores of insurgents are believed to hiding there after escaping military operations in the nearby tribal regions in recent years.

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Gunman who shot at federal buildings pleads guilty

A Virginia man pleads guilty to shooting at several military-related buildings in 2010. NBC's Pete Williams has the video Yonathon Melaku created one of the nights he was out shooting.

By Pete Williams, NBC News chief justice correspondent

The man who shot at the Pentagon in late 2010 and other military related targets in the Washington, D.C. area pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Virginia.

After the plea was entered, prosecutors released a video he made, which shows him in his car, firing shots from a handgun.

Yonathan Melaku, 23, admitted he committed five separate shootings in October and November 2010 -- twice at the National Museum of the Marine Corps, and once each at the Pentagon and at Coast Guard and Marine Corps recruiting offices in Virginia.?He fired the shots late at night or early in the morning, using a 9 mm handgun.?No one was hurt, but the government says that repairs will cost over $100,000.

---

On the tape, which Melaku made during the night he shot at the Marine Corps museum for the second time, he can be heard saying: "That's a military building, and that's the building I'm going to be targeting. ... Last time I hit them, they turned off the lights for, like, four or five days."

He can be seen waving his gun at the camera. At another point in the tape, he begins firing.?The shots can be heard and the muzzle flash from the gun seen.

Melaku also records himself wearing a mask and then later removes the mask, showing his face.

He was arrested last June near Arlington National Cemetery at 1:30 am.?A search of his home turned up what investigators said were potential components of a homemade bomb.

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AP Interview: Chris Isaak makes Memphis album (AP)

LONDON ? Chris Isaak is returning to the roots of rock 'n' roll and doing it old-school: All in one take.

The U.S. soul singer headed back to the original Sun Studios in Memphis to record a collection that includes cover versions of hits by Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. The album, "Beyond the Sun," was released this week and Isaak will soon embark on a string of U.S. concert dates.

The 56-year-old, well known for his mesmerizing vocals on the now-classic 1989 hit "Wicked Game," says the decision to make the new album was easy.

"I just went 'I'll sing a bunch of those songs I like singing. I got a band, I'll just call them up and tell them to come over,'" he told the Associated Press in an interview in London.

To make it truly authentic, Isaak and his band recorded with no headphones, no separate takes, just everyone listening to each other and going with the flow.

"It scared the hell out of the band because they go, you know, 'If I screw up the guitar solo then everybody is going to look at me,'" Isaak said.

Sun Studios, the record label owned by Sam Phillips, launched the careers of some of the greatest U.S. singer/songwriters ? including Elvis, Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Roy Orbison.

Influenced by those big names while growing up as a child in California, Isaak delivers his interpretations of "Ring of Fire," "Great Balls of Fire," "Can't Help Falling In Love," "Oh, Pretty Woman," while also penning his own original songs.

The first single to be released is one of Isaak's own, "Live It Up."

Fortunately for the band, the old-school approach to recording meant they ended up producing more songs than they had bargained for. Even Isaak's manager was surprised at the speed of production.

"She goes '38 songs? You finished 38 songs?' I said 'Yeah.' She said 'Well, you have to mix all those, that's going to cost a fortune.' I said 'No, they're all done. We just did it all at one time in a room.'"

The singer says he's never missed a show and neither has his drummer Kenney Dale Johnson or his bass player Rowland Salley in the 27 years they've been playing together.

"I'm very proud of them," he said.

Before forging a career in music, Isaak tried his hand at many different occupations: roofing, truck-driving, being a bouncer and even a boxer. He claims he was "lousy" at all of them, it was only with music that he finally found a job he can do well.

"Singing is something that I'm always happy to do it and going in the studio I never felt any pressure. I just feel like I get to sing, you know. It's fun," he said.

While many musicians decry the strain of touring, Isaak says he's lucky to be able to travel the world doing what he loves.

"I come from a small town and I come from a background where we didn't have money to travel," he said. "I thought I'd have to join the military to get to Europe. So I'm thrilled to travel."

U.S. fans will get a chance to see Isaak in action starting in Austin, Texas, on Feb. 13 and ending in Napa, California, on April 27.

But, despite the stereotypes about rockers, don't expect him to be raising hell on tour.

"I liked the rock n' roll, I never wanted the drugs and I never saw the sex because ...nobody ever suggested anything wild to me!" he said. "I think I look too much like a cop."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_en_mu/eu_people_chris_isaak

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Libyan defense minister in restive town for talks (Reuters)

TRIPOLI (Reuters) ? Libya's defense minister held talks on Wednesday with townsmen at Bani Walid, a former stronghold of Muammar Gaddafi where local fighters drove out a pro-government militia this week.

"The minister came here today and we are speaking to him to find a solution to this problem," said Abdul Azziz al-Jmaili, a member of a local council in Bani Walid, 150 km (90 miles) south of Tripoli, adding that government forces were around the town.

The minister, Osama al-Juwali, is part of the provisional government installed in November by the National Transitional Council (NTC), the self-appointed body which won Western backing in an uprising that ousted Gaddafi in August.

Jmaili, speaking to Reuters by telephone, said a "peacekeeping force" comprised of units of former rebel fighters loyal to the NTC and drawn from other towns in the region had set up checkpoints in the outskirts of Bani Walid.

On Monday, armed residents attacked the barracks of the NTC force in the town, killing four fighters by the account of the government militia, and forced the unit to retreat to beyond the desert city's limits.

Echoing complaints by residents that the pro-NTC fighters had been harassing people, making arrests and abusing prisoners, the town's elders said on Tuesday that they were appointing their own local government and did not want any interference from the authorities in Tripoli.

"NOT PRO-GADDAFI"

Bani Walid, stronghold of the Warfalla tribe which nominally counts about one Libyan in six among its members, was one of the last towns to surrender to the anti-Gaddafi rebellion last year.

This week's upheaval will heighten doubts about the NTC's ability to bring order and establish control over armed groups - goals crucial to rebuilding oil exports and securing Libya's vast desert borders in a region where al Qaeda is active.

People in Bani Walid reject accusations from NTC fighters that they remain loyal to Gaddafi, who was captured and killed in October after weeks on the run, or to his surviving sons, among them the now captive Saif al-Islam who staged his last stand in Bani Walid before fleeing into the Sahara in October.

Reuters reporters who toured Bani Walid on Tuesday saw no signs of the Gaddafi-era green flags which NTC supporters had earlier said had been hoisted over the town following the retreat of the pro-government militia.

Some pro-Gaddafi graffiti remains in the town, but the most common banners flying were the red, green and black tricolor of the NTC.

While Bani Walid was and remains a particular headache for the NTC, it is not alone. Towns and cities across the country are being run with little reference to central authority and in a number of areas old scores and local frictions are being fought over by groups which were nominally allies in the revolt.

(Reporting by Taha Zargoun; Writing by Oliver Holmes; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)

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Anger, chaos but no revolt after Libya violence (Reuters)

BANI WALID, Libya (Reuters) ? A bullet-scarred barracks, scorched and abandoned like the ageing tanks guarding its shattered gateway, was all that remained on Tuesday of what passed for the Libyan government's grip on Bani Walid.

But a day after townsmen put to flight a force loyal to the Western-backed interim administration in Tripoli, elders in the desert city, once a bastion of support for Muammar Gaddafi, dismissed accusations they wanted to restore the late dictator's family to power or had any ambitions beyond their local area.

"Allegations of pro-Gaddafi elements in Bani Walid, this is not true," said Miftah Jubarra, who was among dozens of leading citizens gathered at a local mosque to form a municipal council now that nominal representatives from the capital have fled.

"In the Libyan revolution, we have all become brothers," Jubarra told Reuters. "We will not be an obstacle to progress."

That might reassure the National Transitional Council, the body which won NATO backing to oust Gaddafi last year but which is now struggling to restore services and impose order on myriad armed groups. An official of the NTC's government in Tripoli insisted it saw no threat from the "limited local incident."

Yet the violence, 150 km (90 miles) south of the capital, was also symptomatic of major obstacles to Libyan hopes of a rapid transition to peace, democracy and oil-fueled prosperity.

Residents heard warplanes overhead late on Monday as NTC forces hastily drove south from Tripoli to take up positions 50 km from Bani Walid. But those troops had, as yet, no orders to move on the town, where Gaddafi loyalists fought rebel forces to a standstill before negotiating a surrender in October.

Interior Minister Fawzi Abd al-All told a news conference in Tripoli would "strike with an iron fist" anyone who posed a threat to Libyan security - but he also said there would be no NTC move against Bani Walid until it was clear what happened.

People in Bani Walid urged the NTC to keep back and the government official in Tripoli, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that the interim administration was in no hurry to get mired in a dispute he characterized as a spat between local factions, rather than a counter-revolution.

"GREEN FLAGS" ABSENT

Though pro-government militiamen who fled on Monday spoke of their barracks being overrun by fighters flying the green flag of the old regime, Reuters journalists who toured the town of 75,000 on Tuesday saw little overt sign of such allegiances to Gaddafi, whose now captive son Saif al-Islam staged a last stand in Bani Walid before fleeing into the Sahara three months ago.

Rather than green flags, the most common banners flying were the red, green and black tricolor of the NTC.

Some graffiti spoke of lingering nostalgia for the Gaddafis in a town whose dominant Warfalla tribe fared well under him. But those willing to talk to reporters insisted the violence was no revanchist putsch but was provoked by local abuses allegedly committed by The May 28th Brigade, a militia loyal to the NTC.

"When men from Tripoli come into your house and harass women, what are we to do?" said Fati Hassan, a 28-year-old Bani Walid resident who described the men of May 28th as a mixture of local men and outsiders, former anti-Gaddafi rebels who had turned into oppressors when given control over the town.

"They were arresting people from the first day after liberation. People are still missing. I am a revolutionary and I have friends in The May 28th Brigade," said Hassan, who said he urged them to ease off. "The war is over now."

A sleep-deprived doctor at the poorly supplied local hospital in Bani Walid, as well as other residents of the town, said at least seven people were killed on Monday when tempers boiled over, and an eighth died of wounds on Tuesday.

It was unclear if this figure included four militiamen whose comrades in the NTC brigade said were killed.

Jubarra, who sat at the meeting of elders, gave details of the incident which, he said, caused patience to snap among the people of the town.

"On Friday, the May 28th Brigade arrested a man from Bani Walid. After Bani Walid residents lodged a protest, he was finally released. But he had been tortured.

"This caused an argument that escalated to arms.

"Bani Walid fighters took over the 28th May camp, confiscated weapons and pushed them out of the city," Jubarra explained to the elders, who sat in silence around him, many of them wrapped in traditional white woolen blankets.

SIGNS OF BATTLE

At the barracks once used by Gaddafi's army, which had been their headquarters, spent cartridge cases crunched under foot, testifying to an intense gunfight. A meter-wide hole in the perimeter wall showed where a rocket had blasted through. Local people said the two sides exchanged fire with anti-tank weapons.

Clearly conscious of the risk that the NTC, keen to assert an authority that has been ebbing in recent weeks as memories fade of the victory over dictatorship, local people were anxious to send a message to Tripoli not to hit back:

"We are asking the NTC not to escalate this issue by sending troops," Jubarra said, turning his from the assembled town elders gaze to address Reuters journalists directly.

Another of those gathered at the mosque to form a local government, Ali Zargoun, said they would reject any attempt by NTC chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil, Libya's de facto head of state, to impose an authority on them: "If Abdel Jalil is going to force anyone on us, we won't accept that by any means."

Abdel Jalil was already having a bad week and has warned Libyans of a "bottomless pit" if trouble goes on in a country awash with guns. His deputy quit, bemoaning an "atmosphere of hatred" after being roughed up by disgruntled citizens.

And Abdel Jalil found himself besieged in his office by protesters in Benghazi, the seat of the revolt. They were complaining about delays in providing services for people in a country impatient to see its oil riches shared out more widely.

There is also growing dismay at progress toward an election due in June, with details still unclear on how the vote will be conducted and complaints of a lack of transparency from a body that includes many who held important positions under Gaddafi.

TENSIONS NATIONWIDE

While Bani Walid was and remains a particular headache for the NTC, it is not alone. Towns and cities across the country are being run with little reference to central authority and in a number of areas old scores and local frictions are being fought over by groups that were nominally allies in the revolt.

"The civil war has produced new conflicts that are far from settled and that have yet to play out, namely power struggles at the local level, and conflicts between local centers of power for influence at the national level," said Wolfram Lacher of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs who has been in the country researching post-Gaddafi Libya.

"Most of these are unlikely to develop into violent conflicts as in Bani Walid," Lacher said from Berlin. "But they will be playing out across the country in the coming months."

The government official acknowledged the difficulties. Speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, he said: "As we all know, some regions are fragile in view of the vastness of the country and the presence of huge quantities of arms."

Among the issues being disputed is determining who will replace those who held power under Gaddafi, and who might be punished or otherwise held accountable for past abuses.

Many Libya watchers urge caution, however, in branding any of those competing groups as "Gaddafi loyalists," and few see any real threat of the late leader's exiled sons, or Saif al-Islam who is being held captive by pro-NTC fighters in the town of Zintan, becoming a focus for a fight back by the old guard.

Rather, the label "pro-Gaddafi" has tended to be applied to adversaries by groups keen to undermine their rivals' cause:

"We should be cautious regarding reports of Gaddafi loyalists," Libya expert Lacher said. "This may be one local party to the conflict trying to get other forces to intervene by painting its adversaries as pro-Gaddafi."

During clashes between rival militias since "liberation" was declared in October, Reuters journalists have often been told by both sides in various disputes that they are aligned with the NTC and are fighting the remnants of Gaddafi's troops.

Though there are those among the six million Libyans who yearn for the old days, and there is pro-Gaddafi graffiti in Bani Walid, as well as boisterous children ready to yell "Only Gaddafi!" at foreign journalists, many regard that as largely evidence of irritation with the NTC than of a serious threat to turn the clock back on Libya's "Arab Spring" revolution.

LOCAL PRIDE

Mustafa Fetouri, an academic and writer who comes originally from Bani Walid, saw this week's violence there as a matter of local pride, notably among elders of the Warfalla tribe, who felt ill used by the incoming powers in Tripoli - even though many Warfalla clansmen fought for the NTC during the war.

"It's tribal dignity not necessarily in support of the old regime," Fetouri told Reuters. "The (NTC's) goal is to teach the Warfalla a lesson ... It will be bloody and fruitless."

Many townspeople were keeping indoors on Tuesday, although markets were being held and life seemed relatively normal. Handfuls of armed local men manned checkpoints out the edges of the town, which sits in a desert ravine that proved hard for NTC forces to take during the fighting last September and October.

The fighters themselves were distinguishable from the motley forces loyal to the interim government only in that they did not wear the laminated identity badges distributed to NTC militiamen. They carried the same automatic rifles and drove the same pick-up trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns that became the emblem of the chaotic war against Gaddafi's army.

Potential adversaries from men who describe themselves as part of the NTC's "national army" sat by the road closer to Tripoli. "We have received no orders to enter Bani Walid," said Mohammed al-Ajali, who said his unit had been sent there from eastern Libya on Monday to deal with the trouble in the town.

He had little patience for the protestations of the townsfolk that they were not counter-revolutionaries: "The solution for Bani Walid is to disarm them," Ajali said.

"I think 75 percent are Gaddafi supporters."

A Libyan air official said warplanes were being mobilized to fly to Bani Walid. But it was not immediately clear what the government in Tripoli could do. It has yet to demonstrate that it has an effective fighting force under its command.

(Additional reporting by Taha Zargoun in Bani Walid, Ali Shuaib and Hisham El-Dani in Tripoli, Alastair Macdonald in London and Christian Lowe in Algiers; Writing by Alastair Macdonald)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120124/wl_nm/us_libya

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Once a Cheater, Always a Cheater?

A: This would be a good question to put to the candidates in the Republican debate tonight! If this guy were just a co-worker, this would be none of your business. But as you?re about to put your financial future into each other's hands, any concerns you have about his character are legitimate. Do keep in mind that whatever happens, your co-worker won't cheat on you in quite the same way as he cheated on his wife. I've never been aware of any evidence that Richard Nixon cheated on Pat, yet if you considered marital fidelity as the primary indicator of integrity, you'd have been badly misled about him. The number of sexually profligate politicians is too numerous to mention, yet some have been honest and effective leaders. Marriages end for many reasons, and his intimate life is not your business. But you should have a broad sense of this guy's character. Since your future will be so intimately tied up in his, I think it's fair to sit down and tell him that you're not prying into the reasons for his divorce, but infidelity does raise concerns about personal honesty for you. Then see what he says. If he's hostile and defensive, if he bad-mouths his wife, then weigh what you hear. If he responds that he doesn't want to discuss his personal life, but he understands your concerns and wants to assure you this private matter is separate from his professional life, you'll have a different sense. And if he tells you what you've said is the most despicable question imaginable, don't give him a standing ovation.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=5d3a977277950963a56b199bd032d2bf

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Mark Kirk suffers a stroke (Politico)

Illinois Republican Sen. Mark Kirk has suffered a stroke and has been hospitalized, according to his office.

Kirk?s office said he had checked into the hospital on Saturday and underwent surgery early Monday morning.

Continue Reading

?On Saturday, Senator Kirk checked himself into Lake Forest Hospital, where doctors discovered a carotid artery dissection in the right side of his neck,? said the statement. ?He was transferred to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, where further tests revealed that he had suffered an ischemic stroke. Early this morning the Senator underwent surgery to relieve swelling around his brain stemming from the stroke. The surgery was successful. Due to his young age, good health and the nature of the stroke, doctors are very confident in the Senator?s recovery over the weeks ahead

Kirk, 52, was elected to the Senate in 2010 after five terms in the House. He first came to Capitol Hill in 1984 as a staffer for former Rep. John Porter (R-Ill.). He then worked for World Bank and State Department. He practiced law at Baker & McKenzie and served as a counsel to the House International Relations Committee prior to winning his House seat in 2000.

He currently holds seats on Appropriations, Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committees.

Kirk is also an intelligence officer in the U.S. Naval Reserves, holding the rank of commander.

Kirk is one of the few moderate Republicans left in the 47-member Senate Republican Conference. He won President Barack Obama?s old Senate seat in 2010 amid the Rod Blagojevich scandal in Illinois and after his Democratic opponent, Alexi Giannoulias, had problems with his family bank.

Since joining the Senate last year, Kirk has maintained a hawkish position on foreign policy ? most notably on Iran, where he has demanded tougher sanctions against the regime ? while seeking to project a more bipartisan appeal on some domestic issues. He and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) have been holding weekly bipartisan lunches, and he?s been quietly working with New York Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on a deal to repatriate offshore profits and create a national infrastructure bank.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/politico_rss/rss_politico_mostpop/http___www_politico_com_news_stories0112_71823_html/44274348/SIG=11mcqo3u4/*http%3A//www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/71823.html

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Romney defends investments, readies tax returns

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks to reporters after a discussion on housing and foreclosure, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks to reporters after a discussion on housing and foreclosure, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has criticized rival Newt Gingrich for earning more than $1.6 million in consulting fees from Freddie Mac even though he has as much as $500,000 invested in the U.S.-backed lender and its sister entity, Fannie Mae.

A day before Romney planned to release his income tax returns, his old investments in two controversial government-backed housing lenders stirred up new questions at the same time his campaign targeted Gingrich for his work for Freddie Mac.

The dimensions and the sources of Romney's wealth, which he has estimated to be as much as $250 million, have become pivotal issues in the roiling GOP primary campaign. For months, Romney dismissed calls to release his personal income tax records. But after mounting criticism from his rivals and others, coupled with his stinging weekend loss to Gingrich in the South Carolina primary, Romney agreed to release his 2010 return and 2011 estimate.

Romney's most recent financial disclosure report listed several investments in U.S.-backed lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Romney, Gingrich and other GOP critics repeatedly have all singled out the two quasi-government entities as prime villains in the housing crisis that played a central role in the nation's long and deep recession.

While continuing to hammer Gingrich for his consulting work for Freddie Mac, the Romney campaign sought to deflect questions about the former Massachusetts governor's investments. They include a mutual fund worth up to $500,000 that includes assets from both lenders among other government income, and separate investments in each of the lenders in Romney's individual retirement account, each worth between $100,000 and $250,000.

Romney campaign officials said Monday that a trustee handles the investments and that Romney had no role in choosing or managing them.

The tax returns Romney planned to release Tuesday could provide new details about his investments and his annual take as founder of the Bain Capital private equity firm. Gingrich released his own 2010 federal tax return last weekend, during a South Carolina GOP debate, and his campaign said he would disclose his full contracts with Freddie Mac on Monday night just before the debate in Tampa, Fla.

Romney's tax returns are likely to sketch out critical information about the tax strategies he employs. Tax experts said these likely include his use of a low 15 percent capital gains rate to reduce the taxes he pays on dozens of large investments that flow into his blind trust, charitable donation strategies that benefit philanthropies but also further reduce his tax burden and investments routed through offshore affiliates that could help him defer some tax payments.

Romney already has acknowledged that his current tax rate is about 15 percent, a level far lower than standard rates for high-income earners and similar to the capital gains rate. But some tax law and tax policy experts suggest that Romney likely has paid similarly low rates throughout his Bain years, continuing through the 13 years since he left the firm.

Joseph Bankman, a Stanford University business and law professor who has testified before Congress on the taxes paid by private equity firms like Bain, said Romney's background as a financier, coupled with his growing wealth and ability to use sophisticated tax tactics, makes it highly likely that he has paid taxes at the capital gains rate for most of his career.

"There is no reason to believe that Romney ever paid more that the going rate for capital gains," Bankman said.

The current lowest rate for long-term capital gains is 15 percent, but a higher rate of 20 percent had been in effect since 1981 until President George W. Bush signed into law a massive tax cut program in 2001.

Romney's 2010 return and 2011 estimate, Bankman said, could detail whether he continues to make any "carried interest," a lucrative investment arrangement typical among private equity managers that earns at least 20 percent of an investment fund's profits. The bulk of Romney's profits from his "carry," as the maneuver is often called in the private equity world, came during his tenure as Bain's founder and managing director in the 1980s and 1990s, but reportedly continued in the years after he left the firm.

At least six of Romney's investments, worth between $5 million and $25 million, were made in funds that have offshore affiliates based in the Cayman Islands, a well-known haven for companies seeking to attract foreign and non-profit investors. One of those funds, which is invested in Romney's retirement IRA, could be used to defer some of his tax payments, Columbia University law professor Michael Graetz said. It is uncertain if any offshore accounts would be identified in Romney's new tax disclosures.

Romney's vast investments contain other funds than the ones he profited from as a Bain Capital executive. But it was unclear Monday whether he had any direct role in handling the investments in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that appear on his 2012 presidential disclosure.

One investment, listed as a "Federated Government Obligation Fund" and worth between $250,000 and $500,000, was a mutual fund that included both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac assets among a larger pool that included other government securities.

The holding was not listed in Romney's blind trust, which led some Democratic Party activists to suggest that the investment was under his direct control.

"He is relentlessly attacking Newt Gingrich over his ties to Freddie Mac despite the fact that he personally invested up to a half a million dollars in both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac," said Ty Matsdorf, a senior adviser with American Bridge 21st Century, a PAC associated with Democratic Party and liberal causes.

Former GOP Rep. J.C. Watts, a Gingrich supporter, said Monday that Romney was on a slippery slope calling his opponent a lobbyist and raising doubts about Gingrich's work for Freddie Mac. But he did not directly address Romney's investments with the lender or with Fannie Mae.

"Some might see it as splitting hairs. But Newt Gingrich was not walking the halls of House and Senate," Watts said on a conference call arranged by the campaign. "He was never doing the hand-to-hand combat doing the lobbying, consulting, whatever you want to call it."

A Romney campaign official who insisted on anonymity to discuss that investment in greater detail said that Romney's trustee had bought the government investment fund in 2007, before the housing crisis broke.

The Romney official said that the government fund was purchased through a charity trust that does not appear in Romney's presidential disclosure but will show up on his income tax return for 2010. That trust, called a Charitable Remainder Unitrust, is a standard tax strategy among the wealthy that provides investors with a fixed payout each year. What remains in the account at a later date, or when the investor dies, is turned over to charity, the official said.

Romney does not directly control the investment account, Romney campaign senior adviser Eric Fehrnstrom said earlier on Monday. "His investments are controlled by a trustee," Fehrnstrom said.

Separately, Romney's IRA retirement account lists both a Fannie Mae and a Freddie Mac security, each worth between $100,000 and $250,000. But because those are in Romney's IRA, they also appear to be under control of the trustee.

Tax experts said Romney's income tax returns may contain other charity structures and tax strategies designed to both boost his income and charity donations, while minimizing his involvement because of his presidential ambitions.

Roberton Williams, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center, a branch of the nonpartisan Urban Institute in Washington, said much can be gleaned by looking at Romney's sources of income and his itemized deductions. The latter would include Romney's 10 percent annual tithing to the Mormon Church, which would lower his tax liability and counteract higher taxes he would otherwise pay on non-investment income, like speaking fees.

An annual study of charity giving by the ultra-rich has shown that tax strategies are only one of several motivations, said Una Osili, a professor of economics and philanthropic studies at Indiana University. The most recent 2010 study of "high net-worth philanthropy" found that religious ties and volunteer and donor relationships are also important, said Osili, director of research for the studies.

Osili noted that more than 90 percent high net-worth donors tend to make donations in either cash or checks. But Romney's own family charitable foundation, the Tyler Charitable Fund, has showed signs that Romney has also donated stock investments to charity ? and his 2010 returns could provide more evidence of that trend.

___

Associated Press writers Kasie Hunt and Brian Bakst in Tampa contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-23-Romney's%20Wealth/id-6907fd64473f49a4851a1be1089183ed

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94% Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey

Elmo is one of the most famous characters in the world. Everyone knows Elmo, but most people don't know the man behind Elmo. The first thing about this fascinating and highly entertaining documentary that struck me, was Elmo is played by a big black man. I would have never, in a million years thought that. I figured Elmo was some small white woman. This is a movie about Kevin Clash, the man behind Elmo, and his journey to get there. Raised in Baltimore, he fell in love with Sesame Street and puppets, and made it his mission to become a puppeteer. The story follows him as a child making his own puppets, to how he came to work for Jim Henson, to his worldwide success as Elmo. Clash is entertaining, enlightening, and seems just as genuine as the characters he creates. You find yourself rooting for him and are happy when he makes it, then feel sad when he talks about the time away from his daughter. You get a peak behind the curtain of the Muppets, and get to see first hand how they perfect their craft and how hard their job is. If you were ever a fan of the muppets or sesame street, then this is mandatory viewing. This is not only one of the best documentaries I've seen, but it's one of the better movies you will see too.

January 1, 2012

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/being_elmo_a_puppeteers_journey/

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Joe Paterno Dies of Lung Cancer

Former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno - the all-time Division I leader in wins who resigned amid the university's child molestation scandal just a few months ago - has passed away due to complications from lung cancer. He was 85.

On Saturday, as friends and family were being summoned to State College, Pa., hospital, a family spokesman said the coach had taken a turn for the worse.

Then, on Sunday morning around 10 a.m. EST, the family confirmed the legendary coach's passing via the following statement:

It is with great sadness that we announce that Joe Paterno passed away earlier today. His loss leaves a void in our lives that will never be filled. He died as he lived. He fought hard until the end, stayed positive, thought only of others and constantly reminded everyone of how blessed his life had been.

His ambitions were far reaching, but he never believed he had to leave this Happy Valley to achieve them. He was a man devoted to his family, his university, his players and his community.

Known for his "success with honor" motto, thick glasses, rolled-up pants and black cleats, Paterno left an indelible mark on Penn State and college football in general.

He is survived by his wife Sue, five children and 17 grandchildren.

A Brooklyn native and Brown University graduate, Paterno began coaching the Nittany Lions in 1966 and his tenure stretched to October of this year.

In his 46 years as head coach, Paterno holds the all-time Division I record for football coaching wins with a 409-136-3 record and two national titles.

After a highly celebrated career and iconic status, Paterno's career as coach ended as a result of a scandal involving former assistant Jerry Sandusky.

Sandusky allegedly sexually assaulted young boys, including a 10-year-old. Paterno was fired over his handling (or lack of handling) of the scandal.

Announcing his retirement, he said, “This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more."

"I'm sick about it. I didn’t know exactly how to handle it, and I was afraid to do something that might jeopardize what the university procedure was."

"So I backed away and turned it over to some other people, people I thought would have a little more expertise than I did. It didn’t work out that way."

In November, he was diagnosed with lung cancer and his health rapidly deteriorated.

Though the scandal sullied Paterno's image in his final days, the coach enjoyed decades of success and reverence on the campus he and his wife helped build.

That's not likely to change anytime soon. R.I.P.

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/joe-paterno-dies-at-85-reports-say/

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PCE in drinking water linked to an increased risk of mental illness

Friday, January 20, 2012

The solvent tetrachloroethylene (PCE) widely used in industry and to dry clean clothes is a neurotoxin known to cause mood changes, anxiety, and depression in people who work with it. To date the long-term effect of this chemical on children exposed to PCE has been less clear, although there is some evidence that children of people who work in the dry cleaning industry have an increased risk of schizophrenia. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Environmental Health found that exposure to PCE as a child was associated with an increased risk of bipolar disorder and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

From 1968, until the early 1980s, water companies in Massachusetts installed vinyl-lined (VL/AC) water pipes that were subsequently found to be leaching PCE into the drinking water supply. Researchers from Boston University followed the incidence of mental illness amongst adults from Cape Cod, born between 1969 and 1983, who were consequently exposed to PCE both before birth and during early childhood.

While there was no increase seen in the incidence of depression, regardless of PCE exposure, people with prenatal and early childhood exposure to PCE had almost twice the risk of bipolar disorder, compared to an unexposed group, and their risk of PTSD was raised by 50%.

Dr Ann Aschengrau from Boston University School of Public Health warned, "It is impossible to calculate the exact amount of PCE these people were exposed to - levels of PCE were recorded as high as 1,550 times the currently recommended safe limit. While the water companies flushed the pipes to address this problem, people are still being exposed to PCE in the dry cleaning and textile industries, and from consumer products, and so the potential for an increased risk of illness remains real."

###

BioMed Central: http://www.biomedcentral.com

Thanks to BioMed Central for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116907/PCE_in_drinking_water_linked_to_an_increased_risk_of_mental_illness

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Russian tycoons' marathon London legal battle ends (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? A $6 billion lawsuit between two of Russia's best-known tycoons ended in London on Thursday after a four-month High Court hearing that provided a sometimes deeply unflattering insight into the ruthless business world of post-Soviet Russia.

Judge Elizabeth Gloster reserved her judgment in the case, in which former Kremlin insider Boris Berezovsky claimed he was extorted into handing the crown jewel of his business empire to Roman Abramovich, the billionaire owner of Chelsea soccer club.

Her ruling, expected at the end of March or in early April, will bring the curtain down on one of the biggest private lawsuits in British history, with legal costs alone reported to be as high as 100 million pounds ($155 million).

Berezovsky, 65, says Abramovich intimidated him into selling his stake in oil firm Sibneft at a knockdown price. Abramovich, 45, denies Berezovsky ever had an interest in the firm.

The titanic legal battle has provided rich media pickings in Britain ever since a tussle between the two tycoons and their retinues of bodyguards in a Hermes luxury boutique in London in 2007, when Berezovsky served Abramovich with a writ.

Hearings provided details of the extravagant lifestyles enjoyed by Russia's super-rich, with helicopter flights to luxury skiing resorts in the Alps, Caribbean cruises, large English country estates and French chateaux.

The two key witnesses traded insults during the 43 days of hearings, Berezovsky dismissing his one-time ally as not "smart" while Abramovich described his former mentor as "something of a megalomaniac".

MURKY BUSINESS WORLD

The case threw a powerful spotlight on the conduct of business in Russia in the decade following the collapse of the Soviet Union, when opaque deals to sell off state assets turned a handful of insiders into the owners of multi-billion dollar natural resources companies.

A Kremlin insider in the 1990s under former President Boris Yeltsin, Berezovsky left Russia in late 2000 after falling out with Yeltsin's hand-picked successor Vladimir Putin.

He says he gave up his Sibneft stake because he feared that if he refused, Abramovich would ensure Putin had the shares expropriated.

Abramovich says he paid Berezovsky $2 billion for his political patronage and protection from criminal gangs, but not as dividends from Sibneft because Berezovsky was never an owner.

Abramovich has since sold Sibneft to the Russian state natural gas monopoly Gazprom.

Berezovsky also accuses Abramovich of selling, without permission, his shares in aluminium producer RUSAL.

The trial has been followed closely by Russia watchers from London and Moscow for new clues into Russian business and politics under Putin, now prime minister but expected to become president again this year.

(Editing by Jon Boyle)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120119/wl_nm/us_britain_russia_berezovsky

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Womack Releases Finance Reports | Arkansas News

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Source: http://arkansasnews.com/2012/01/21/womack-releases-finance-reports/

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IMF seeks $600 billion more in funds (Reuters)

WASHINGTON/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) ? The International Monetary Fund is seeking to boost its war chest by $600 billion to help countries reeling from the euro zone debt crisis, but some nations insist Europe must first do more to support its ailing members, international financial sources said on Wednesday.

Group of 20 officials will discuss increasing IMF resources at a meeting in Mexico City on Thursday and Friday, the first under Mexico's 2012 presidency of the group of developed and emerging economies.

The IMF said it will need $500 billion to lend to member countries in need and IMF sources who were present at an IMF board meeting on the issue on Tuesday told Reuters that another $100 billion is needed as a "protection buffer."

The IMF also estimated there would be a $1 trillion global financing gap over the next two years if global economic conditions worsened considerably, the sources added.

On foreign exchange markets, the reports of plans for increased IMF lending capacity helped boost the euro.

Euro zone nations have already promised to inject an extra 150 billion euros ($200 billion) into the IMF, which is included in the total estimate. G20 officials in Mexico for the meeting of deputy finance ministers and central bank officials said there was still resistance in some quarters to increase funding.

"Many countries want the Europeans to move ahead with tougher and clearer measures, which at this moment translates to more resources to its stability fund," said a senior Brazilian government source attending the meeting.

Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney said it was not clear European governments had done everything necessary to make sure they could fund themselves at sustainable interest rates over the next few years.

"If it makes sense to enhance the resources of the IMF the principal focus, it would seem, should be on dealing with fallout of the European crisis for innocent bystanders," he told a news briefing in Ottawa.

Another source connected to the process said that as well as Canada, the United States, Japan and Korea were pressing for discussions first about Europe's contribution to the crisis and for it to agree on additional measures. European nations were arguing that they have done enough and were calling for more IMF resources now.

"If, with the parallel discussion, we can achieve extra measures from the Europeans and afterwards agree on promises of additional resources for the IMF from non-European countries in the G20, I think it would be a good result," the source said.

RESOURCES STRETCHED

The IMF currently has a lending capacity of about $380 billion and estimates demand could be about $ 1 trillion in the medium-term.

"Based on staff's estimate of global potential financing needs of about $1 trillion in the coming years, the fund would aim to raise up to $500 billion in additional lending resources. This total includes the recent European commitment of about $200 billion in increased fund resources," an IMF spokesman said.

"At this preliminary stage, we are exploring options on funding and will have no further comment until the necessary consultations," he added.

Emerging market countries such as China and Brazil have said they are willing to contribute new resources to the Washington-based global lender in exchange for greater voting power. Emerging market powers have repeatedly argued in recent times that their power at the IMF should be increased to reflect their growing clout in the world economy.

Getting more resources from advanced economies, such as the United States, is going to be difficult, if not impossible. With a strained budget at home, some U.S. congressional Republicans have threatened to yank $100 billion in U.S. money to the IMF if the funds are used to bail out more euro zone countries.

The White House is unlikely to want to take on the issue as President Barack Obama seeks reelection this year.

The IMF's managing director, Christine Lagarde, said on Tuesday she met with the IMF board to assess whether the global lender needs additional funds to respond effectively to the euro zone crisis. She said IMF management would explore options for increasing the fund's firepower.

The IMF has warned it will cut global growth projections for 2012 when it updates its forecast on January 24. Weakening global growth prospects raise fears that more countries will need to be rescued by the IMF, especially if capital markets freeze up completely.

The World Bank warned in its annual growth outlook late on Tuesday that Europe appears to already be in recession and developing countries should brace for a slowdown in their economies, especially Brazil and India, and to a lesser extent Russia, South Africa and Turkey.

With credit downgrades in nine euro zone countries by Standard & Poor's last week, including France, and uncertainty over Greek debt talks that risk pushing the country into default, the IMF board has urged euro zone leaders to take steps to contain the crisis.

The board called for policies that would address the European crisis and for euro zone policymakers to make sure there is enough money available to tackle the bloc's debt problems effectively.

($1 = 0.7851 euros)

(Additional reporting by Alonso Sota in Brasilia and Louise Egan and Randall Palmer in Ottawa; Editing by W Simon, Leslie Adler and Andrew Hay)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120118/bs_nm/us_imf_resources

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