CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The space shuttle and space station crews hugged goodbye Sunday after more than a week together, but saved their most heartfelt farewell for Discovery.
On its final voyage after nearly three decades, Discovery, the most traveled rocketship ever, will be retired following this week's return to Earth.
The hatches between Discovery and the International Space Station were sealed Sunday afternoon, setting the stage for the shuttle's departure first thing Monday.
"We're going to miss you," the space station's commander, Scott Kelly, told the six shuttle astronauts. "But most of all we're going to miss Discovery.
"Discovery has been a great ship and has really supported the International Space Station more so, I think, than any other space shuttle. We wish her fair winds and following seas."
Shuttle skipper Steven Lindsey nodded in agreement, then shook hands with Kelly. Lindsey noted that all the mission objectives had been accomplished: The new storage unit carried up by Discovery was installed and unloaded, leaving behind an empty, pristine compartment ready to serve its purpose.
Lead flight director Royce Renfrew radioed up congratulations to the two crews, before the hatches slammed shut. He said he was "really proud to take Discovery home at the very top of her game," and he credited the astronauts in large part. "You guys rock," he said.
Mission Control gave Discovery's astronauts two extra days at the orbiting outpost. They took advantage of the bonus time to empty the storage unit of all the gear that went up inside it. The bonus days stretched the entire mission to 13 days on top of the 352 days already logged during Discovery's previous 38 missions.
In their last hour together, the 12 astronauts amused themselves in the new 21-foot-long, 15-foot-wide storage compartment. Taking turns a few at a time, they performed somersaults in the center of the chamber, bounced off the walls, and floated through with outstretched arms like underwater swimmers.
The astronauts were having so much fun that Mission Control was sorry to interrupt. "I hate to ring the recess bell on you," Mission Control radioed, reminding the shuttle crew of one last job remaining before the hatches needed to be shut.
Immediately after undocking, Discovery will fly a victory lap of sorts around the orbiting lab, essentially for picture-taking. Then the shuttle astronauts will pull out an inspection boom and survey their ship for any signs of micrometeorite damage.
Landing is scheduled for Wednesday.
Aboard the space station, meanwhile, the crew hopes in the next week or two to unpack the humanoid robot that was left behind.
The robot, named R2 for Robonaut 2, is the first humanoid in space.
Mission Control, meanwhile, is monitoring a piece of space junk — an old rocket segment — that is threatening to come too close to the space station on Wednesday. Experts will assess the risk to the station following Discovery's undocking and determine whether the complex will have to move out of the way. The shuttle is not expected to be affected by the debris, officials said.
Only two other shuttle missions remain.
Endeavour is due to blast off April 19 with Kelly's identical twin brother Mark at the controls. Mark is married to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who is recuperating from a gunshot blast to the head.
Atlantis will close out the 30-year shuttle program with a launch at the end of June.
___
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NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html
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Sunday, 6 March 2011
New Egypt PM names most of new Cabinet
CAIRO – Egypt's prime minister-designate named a caretaker Cabinet on Sunday to help lead the country through reforms and toward free elections after the uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak.
The changes include new faces in the key foreign, interior and justice ministries — a decision expected to be met with the approval of the pro-reform groups that led an 18-day uprising that force Mubarak to step down on Feb. 11.
Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters staging a rally outside the Interior Ministry in Cairo, which houses offices the hated State Security agency, was violently broken up.
Protesters have over the past two days rallied outside some dozen state security offices across the nation. In many cases, protesters stormed the buildings, including the main State Security headquarters in the Cairo suburb of Nasr City. The protests followed reports that agents were burning and shredding documents to destroy evidence that would incriminate them in possible cases of human rights abuses.
On Sunday, army soldiers fired in the air and used stun guns to disperse a crowd that wanted to storm the State security offices inside the Interior Ministry in downtown Cairo. The protesters said they wanted to see for themselves whether the building had secret cells and to stop officers from destroying documents.
Thugs armed with rocks, firebombs and machetes also charged at the protesters, but it was not immediately known who had sent them. State TV said 27 arrests were made at the scene.
The State Security agency, which employs about 100,000 of Egypt's 500,0000-strong security forces, is blamed for the worst human rights abuses against Mubarak's opponents.
Dismantling the agency has been a key demand of the protest groups that led the uprising.
In a move clearly designed to respond to such demands, Prime Minister designate Essam Sharaf has named a new interior minister. Maj. Gen. Mansour el-Essawy, a former Cairo security chief, was expected to replace Mahmoud Wagdi, who has held the post for less than a month.
The Interior Ministry is in charge of the security forces.
El-Essawy, according to a report by the state news agency, pledged after meeting Sharaf that he would work to restore security and reduce the role of the State Security.
Sharaf met with 22 other ministerial nominees, including Nabil Elaraby, expected to be Egypt's foreign minister. Elaraby will replace Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul-Gheit who has held the job since 2004, but has been maligned by the protesters because of his criticism of the uprising in its early days.
Elaraby was Egypt's U.N. representative in the 1990s and served as a judge in the International Court of Justice between 2001 and 2006. He was critical of the government's crackdown against the uprising and was a member of a committee to advise protest leaders on their reform demands.
The new Cabinet also includes a new justice minister, replacing one who was considered a close Mubarak ally and whose dismissal was demanded by the opposition groups.
The new Cabinet has to be approved and sworn in by Egypt's military rulers.
Nasser Abdel-Hamid, a protest leader and member of the Youth Coalition, said the new cabinet lineup was acceptable because it did not include Mubarak loyalists.
"Most of them are experts in their field, and have a good history," he said.
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The changes include new faces in the key foreign, interior and justice ministries — a decision expected to be met with the approval of the pro-reform groups that led an 18-day uprising that force Mubarak to step down on Feb. 11.
Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters staging a rally outside the Interior Ministry in Cairo, which houses offices the hated State Security agency, was violently broken up.
Protesters have over the past two days rallied outside some dozen state security offices across the nation. In many cases, protesters stormed the buildings, including the main State Security headquarters in the Cairo suburb of Nasr City. The protests followed reports that agents were burning and shredding documents to destroy evidence that would incriminate them in possible cases of human rights abuses.
On Sunday, army soldiers fired in the air and used stun guns to disperse a crowd that wanted to storm the State security offices inside the Interior Ministry in downtown Cairo. The protesters said they wanted to see for themselves whether the building had secret cells and to stop officers from destroying documents.
Thugs armed with rocks, firebombs and machetes also charged at the protesters, but it was not immediately known who had sent them. State TV said 27 arrests were made at the scene.
The State Security agency, which employs about 100,000 of Egypt's 500,0000-strong security forces, is blamed for the worst human rights abuses against Mubarak's opponents.
Dismantling the agency has been a key demand of the protest groups that led the uprising.
In a move clearly designed to respond to such demands, Prime Minister designate Essam Sharaf has named a new interior minister. Maj. Gen. Mansour el-Essawy, a former Cairo security chief, was expected to replace Mahmoud Wagdi, who has held the post for less than a month.
The Interior Ministry is in charge of the security forces.
El-Essawy, according to a report by the state news agency, pledged after meeting Sharaf that he would work to restore security and reduce the role of the State Security.
Sharaf met with 22 other ministerial nominees, including Nabil Elaraby, expected to be Egypt's foreign minister. Elaraby will replace Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul-Gheit who has held the job since 2004, but has been maligned by the protesters because of his criticism of the uprising in its early days.
Elaraby was Egypt's U.N. representative in the 1990s and served as a judge in the International Court of Justice between 2001 and 2006. He was critical of the government's crackdown against the uprising and was a member of a committee to advise protest leaders on their reform demands.
The new Cabinet also includes a new justice minister, replacing one who was considered a close Mubarak ally and whose dismissal was demanded by the opposition groups.
The new Cabinet has to be approved and sworn in by Egypt's military rulers.
Nasser Abdel-Hamid, a protest leader and member of the Youth Coalition, said the new cabinet lineup was acceptable because it did not include Mubarak loyalists.
"Most of them are experts in their field, and have a good history," he said.
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White House praises Muslims ahead of House hearing
STERLING, Va. – The White House on Sunday praised American Muslims for helping fight violent extremism, but a House leader on terrorism issues said they aren't cooperating enough with law enforcement to counter the radicalization of young followers by al-Qaida-linked groups.
Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough, speaking at an interfaith forum at a Northern Virginia mosque, commended its members for taking "an unequivocal stand against terrorism."
"You've sent a message that those who perpetrate such horrific attacks do not represent you or your faith, and that they will not succeed in pitting believers of different faiths against one another," McDonough said.
But Rep. Peter King, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, re-asserted warnings about al-Qaida terrorists targeting Muslim youth in this country.
"The overwhelming majority of Muslims are outstanding Americans, but at this stage in our history there's an effort ... to radicalize elements within the Muslim community," he said in a preview of his hearing Thursday on the extent of the problem and the Muslim community's response.
"It's there and that's where the threat is coming from at this time," King said in an interview broadcast Sunday.
"I don't believe there is sufficient cooperation" by American Muslims with law enforcement, King said. "Certainly my dealings with the police in New York and FBI and others say they do not believe they get the same — they do not give the level of cooperation that they need."
In New York City, a coalition of over 100 interfaith, nonprofit and governmental organizations planned a rally Sunday against King's hearing, saying it will send the wrong message to U.S. Muslims by "demonizing" them. The committee hasn't released a witness list yet for the hearing.
The administration has tried to strike a balance on the thorny issue, working to go after homegrown Islamic extremists without appearing to be at war with the Muslim world. There has been an effort to build stronger relationships with Muslims — internationally and with Islamic leaders in the United States.
At the same time, however, militant Islamic propaganda has factored into recent terrorist attacks and foiled attempts in this country.
Maj. Nidal Hasan, the suspect in 2009 shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, is believed to have been inspired by the Internet postings of violent Islamic extremists, as was Faisal Shahzad, who pleaded guilty to terrorism and weapons charges in the attempted car bombing in New York's Times Square.
The first Muslim elected to the House, Rep. Keith Ellison, said that while it's proper to investigate radicalization, he thinks it is wrong to single out one religion.
"To say we're going to investigate a religious minority, and a particular one, I think is the wrong course of action to take," said Ellison, D-Minn. "I don't want them to be able to stand up and claim, you know, see, we told you, America is at war with Islam. That's one of their main recruiting arguments."
Ellison said Congress needs to be careful about how it addresses the issue in investigative hearings. Appearing with King on CNN's "State of the Union," he said it makes sense to speak with people in the Muslim community about efforts by extremists such as radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki to encourage Muslims to wage attacks against the U.S.
But Ellison argued that Muslim-Americans have worked with authorities to report suspected terrorists within their community. It's important, he said, to engage Muslims, not frighten them.
Shortly after he took office, Obama pledged a new beginning in the U.S. relationship with the Muslim world. His national security strategy dropped rhetorical references to Islamic radicalism as Obama argued that words matter and such inflammatory language linking Islam to the terrorist threat feeds al-Qaida propaganda and could alienate moderate Muslims.
Others, however, say the administration is failing to clearly articulate the threat, and should more directly identify Islamic extremism as a root cause of terrorism.
"It's an international movement with elements here in the United States, and to me, that's a real distinction," King said. "There's always going to be isolated incidents, isolated fanatics, isolated terrorists even. But an organized terrorist effort, to me, is different, which requires an investigation unto itself."
The site for McDonough's speech was the All Dulles Area Muslim Society, one of the largest Muslim communities-mosque in the U.S., with seven branches serving more than 5,000 families, according to its website.
It is an outreach partner of the FBI and its executive director is a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council's Countering Violent Extremism Working Group.
___
Online:
All Dulles Area Muslim Society: http://adamscenter.org/
House Homeland Security Committee: http://homeland.house.gov/
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Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough, speaking at an interfaith forum at a Northern Virginia mosque, commended its members for taking "an unequivocal stand against terrorism."
"You've sent a message that those who perpetrate such horrific attacks do not represent you or your faith, and that they will not succeed in pitting believers of different faiths against one another," McDonough said.
But Rep. Peter King, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, re-asserted warnings about al-Qaida terrorists targeting Muslim youth in this country.
"The overwhelming majority of Muslims are outstanding Americans, but at this stage in our history there's an effort ... to radicalize elements within the Muslim community," he said in a preview of his hearing Thursday on the extent of the problem and the Muslim community's response.
"It's there and that's where the threat is coming from at this time," King said in an interview broadcast Sunday.
"I don't believe there is sufficient cooperation" by American Muslims with law enforcement, King said. "Certainly my dealings with the police in New York and FBI and others say they do not believe they get the same — they do not give the level of cooperation that they need."
In New York City, a coalition of over 100 interfaith, nonprofit and governmental organizations planned a rally Sunday against King's hearing, saying it will send the wrong message to U.S. Muslims by "demonizing" them. The committee hasn't released a witness list yet for the hearing.
The administration has tried to strike a balance on the thorny issue, working to go after homegrown Islamic extremists without appearing to be at war with the Muslim world. There has been an effort to build stronger relationships with Muslims — internationally and with Islamic leaders in the United States.
At the same time, however, militant Islamic propaganda has factored into recent terrorist attacks and foiled attempts in this country.
Maj. Nidal Hasan, the suspect in 2009 shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, is believed to have been inspired by the Internet postings of violent Islamic extremists, as was Faisal Shahzad, who pleaded guilty to terrorism and weapons charges in the attempted car bombing in New York's Times Square.
The first Muslim elected to the House, Rep. Keith Ellison, said that while it's proper to investigate radicalization, he thinks it is wrong to single out one religion.
"To say we're going to investigate a religious minority, and a particular one, I think is the wrong course of action to take," said Ellison, D-Minn. "I don't want them to be able to stand up and claim, you know, see, we told you, America is at war with Islam. That's one of their main recruiting arguments."
Ellison said Congress needs to be careful about how it addresses the issue in investigative hearings. Appearing with King on CNN's "State of the Union," he said it makes sense to speak with people in the Muslim community about efforts by extremists such as radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki to encourage Muslims to wage attacks against the U.S.
But Ellison argued that Muslim-Americans have worked with authorities to report suspected terrorists within their community. It's important, he said, to engage Muslims, not frighten them.
Shortly after he took office, Obama pledged a new beginning in the U.S. relationship with the Muslim world. His national security strategy dropped rhetorical references to Islamic radicalism as Obama argued that words matter and such inflammatory language linking Islam to the terrorist threat feeds al-Qaida propaganda and could alienate moderate Muslims.
Others, however, say the administration is failing to clearly articulate the threat, and should more directly identify Islamic extremism as a root cause of terrorism.
"It's an international movement with elements here in the United States, and to me, that's a real distinction," King said. "There's always going to be isolated incidents, isolated fanatics, isolated terrorists even. But an organized terrorist effort, to me, is different, which requires an investigation unto itself."
The site for McDonough's speech was the All Dulles Area Muslim Society, one of the largest Muslim communities-mosque in the U.S., with seven branches serving more than 5,000 families, according to its website.
It is an outreach partner of the FBI and its executive director is a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council's Countering Violent Extremism Working Group.
___
Online:
All Dulles Area Muslim Society: http://adamscenter.org/
House Homeland Security Committee: http://homeland.house.gov/
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Libya forces try to halt rebel move toward capital
BIN JAWWAD, Libya – Forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi, some in helicopter gunships, pounded opposition fighters with artillery, rockets and gunfire Sunday, dramatically escalating their counteroffensive to halt the rebels' rapid advance toward the capital.
They also battled to loosen the grip of rebels on two cities close to Tripoli. But in at least one case, their tactics appeared to lead them into a trap.
Residents said pro-Gadhafi troops punched into the city of Misrata, 120 miles (200 kilometers) east of Tripoli, the capital, with mortars and tanks but were pushed out five hours later by rebel forces. The rebel commanders intentionally opened the way for government tanks to enter the city, then surrounded them and attacked with anti-aircraft guns and mortars, said Abdel Fatah al-Misrati, one of the rebels.
"Our spirits are high," al-Misrati said. "The regime is struggling and what is happening is a desperate attempt to survive and crush the opposition. But the rebels are in control of the city."
As fighting across Libya grew more fierce, the international community appeared to be struggling to put military muscle behind its demands for Gadhafi to give up power.
A small British delegation sent to talk to the rebels headquartered in the main eastern city of Benghazi, meanwhile, was arrested by the rebels themselves, who said the group had entered the country without permission. The rebels have set up an interim governing council that is urging international airstrikes on Gadhafi's strongholds and forces, though they strongly oppose foreign intervention on the ground.
Sunday's fighting appeared to signal the start of a new phase in the conflict, with Gadhafi's regime unleashing its air power on the rebel force trying to oust the ruler of 41 years. Resorting to heavy use of air attacks signaled the regime's concern that it needed to check the advance of the rebel force toward the city of Sirte — Gadhafi's hometown and stronghold.
Anti-Gadhafi forces would get a massive morale boost if they captured Sirte, and it would clear a major obstacle on the march toward the gates of Tripoli.
The uprising against Gadhafi, which began Feb. 15, is already longer and much bloodier than the relatively quick revolts that overthrew the longtime authoritarian leaders of neighboring Egypt and Tunisia.
Libya appears to be sliding toward a civil war that could drag out for weeks, or even months. Both sides seem to be relatively weak and poorly trained, though Gadhafi's forces have the advantage in numbers and equipment.
The conflict took a turn late last week when government opponents, backed by mutinous army units and armed with weaponry seized from storehouses, went on the offensive. At the same time, pro-Gadhafi forces have conducted counteroffensives to try to retake the towns and oil ports the rebels have captured since they moved out of the rebel-held east.
An opposition force estimated at 500 to 1,000 fighters pushed out of the rebel-held eastern half of Libya and has been cutting a path west toward Tripoli. On the way, they secured control of two important oil ports at Brega and Ras Lanouf.
If the rebels continue to advance, even slowly, Gadhafi's heavy dependence on air power could prompt the West to try to hurriedly enforce a no-fly zone over the country. The U.N. has already imposed sanctions against Libya, and the U.S. has moved military forces closer to its shores to back up its demand that Gadhafi step down.
Enforcing a no-fly zone could take weeks to organize, however, and U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has noted that it must be preceded by a military operation to take out Libya's air defenses. British Foreign Minister William Hague said Sunday that a no-fly zone over Libya is still in an early stage of planning and ruled out the use of ground forces.
Hague also said a small British diplomatic team sent to Libya to try to talk to the rebels left after it "experienced difficulties," but that another team would be sent. He told the BBC it would be inappropriate to comment on an article in Britain's Sunday Times that soldiers were captured by rebel forces when a secret mission to put British diplomats in touch with leading opponents of Gadhafi went awry.
Abdel-Hafidh Ghoga, spokesman for the rebels' provisional transitional national council, said eight people with British passports were arrested, including one who claimed to be a British diplomat. He said their departure was being arranged, and that they have "probably already left."
"The reason they were arrested is because they came into the country unofficially without previous arrangement with Libyan officials. Libya is an independent nation, and we have our borders that we expect to be respected," Ghoga said.
He added that there is "no crisis" between the council and Britain and that anti-Gadhafi forces are "more than willing" to talk to any delegation sent "in a legitimate way."
Hundreds if not thousands of people have died since Libya's uprising began Feb. 15 — tight restrictions on media make it near impossible to get an accurate tally. More than 200,000 people have fled the country, most of them foreign workers. The exodus is creating a humanitarian crisis across the border with Tunisia — another North African country in turmoil after an uprising in January that ousted its longtime leader.
The turmoil is being felt more broadly still in the form of rising oil prices. Libya's oil production has been seriously crippled by the unrest.
On Saturday night, the rebels pushed to just 20 miles (30 kilometers) east of Sirte, but then pulled back about 90 miles (150 kilometers) to the town of Ras Lanouf for the night.
That night, pro-Gadhafi forces infiltrated the town of Bin Jawwad, on the road to Sirte, and set an ambush for the rebel forces when they returned at daylight. They also came under a barrage of fire from helicopter gunships, artillery and rockets. Associated Press reporters at the scene saw fierce battles raging throughout the day.
"We got thrown by bombs and snipers from the side roads that we can't see," recalled Jamal al-Karrari, a Libyan who abandoned his studies in the U.S. to join the uprising. "I didn't even use my Kalashnikov; I didn't find a target. All we were trying to do was escape and come back."
The rebels staged several offensives throughout the day, while unarmed spectators, many decorated with the rebel flag, cheered them on from the road. Each advance, however, was met with a withering barrage of cannon fire that threw the rebels back. The government also launched airstrikes against Ras Lanouf.
About 50 rebel fighters were trapped inside a Bin Jawwad mosque, and their comrades who had retreated to the edge of the city suddenly surged forward in 20 pickup trucks to try to rescue them. They drove straight into the bombardment and one of the trucks was hit, sending a huge plume of black smoke into the air. The rest of the convoy quickly retreated back to the edges of the town.
Rebel soldier Musa Ibrahim said Gadhafi's forces took hostages in the town in the morning.
"They took one of every family hostage to keep them from fighting," he said.
During the fighting, ambulances sped east toward a hospital in Ras Lanouf while rebel trucks, at least four of them mounted with multiple rocket launchers, raced west to reinforce the front lines.
Hospital officials said six people were killed in the fighting for Bin Jawwad and 60 were wounded, including a French journalist for France 24 TV.
In Misrata, a city about halfway between Tripoli and Sirte, residents said the rebels repelled a government counteroffensive to seize back control.
The regime forces attacked just before noon with tanks, mortars, artillery and anti-aircraft guns. A heavy gunbattle raged for about five hours and residents said they were choking on the smoke that clogged the air.
Abubakr al-Misrati, a doctor at a Misrata hospital, said 20 people were killed, 14 of them from Gadhafi's forces, and 100 injured.
Tripoli, the capital of 2 million, is the city most firmly in Gadhafi's grip. Residents there awoke before dawn to the crackle of unusually heavy and sustained gunfire that lasted for at least two hours. Some of the gunfire was heard around the sprawling Bab al-Aziziya military camp where Gadhafi lives, giving rise to speculation that there may have been some sort of internal fighting within the forces defending the Libyan leader inside his fortress-like barracks. Gadhafi's whereabouts were unknown.
Libyan authorities tried to explain the unusually heavy gunfire by saying it was a celebration of the regime taking back Ras Lanouf and Misrata, though both places appeared to still be in rebel hands.
After the gunfire eased in the early morning, thousands of Gadhafi's supporters poured into Tripoli's central square for a rally that lasted all day, waving green flags, firing guns in the air and holding up banners in support of the regime. Hundreds drove past Gadhafi's residence, waving flags and cheering. Armed men in plainclothes were standing at the gates, also shooting in the air.
Khaild Kaid, deputy foreign minister, claimed the government now held the cities of Ras Lanouf, Misrata and Zawiya, though rebels and residents said all were held by Gadhafi's opponents.
Kaid said government forces arrested 37 rebels. He said that Zawiya's rebels have used their families as human shields and that the army decided not to attack them.
Zawiya, just 30 miles west of Tripoli, is the closest rebel-held city to the capital. Residents there said pro-Gadhafi forces entered with tanks, anti-aircraft guns and mortars Saturday but retreated after a three-hour battle, and that rebels seized some of the troops' weapons and equipment. They said pro-Gadhafi forces had withdrawn to the outskirts of the city and were bracing for a new offensive. Most of the residents interviewed spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
"At the beginning (of fighting), our weapons were rudimentary. But every time they attack us, we seize their weapons," one rebel fighter said. He also said opposition fighters took hostages and shot and killed at least 10 of them in a hotel near the square.
___
Michael reported from Tripoli.
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They also battled to loosen the grip of rebels on two cities close to Tripoli. But in at least one case, their tactics appeared to lead them into a trap.
Residents said pro-Gadhafi troops punched into the city of Misrata, 120 miles (200 kilometers) east of Tripoli, the capital, with mortars and tanks but were pushed out five hours later by rebel forces. The rebel commanders intentionally opened the way for government tanks to enter the city, then surrounded them and attacked with anti-aircraft guns and mortars, said Abdel Fatah al-Misrati, one of the rebels.
"Our spirits are high," al-Misrati said. "The regime is struggling and what is happening is a desperate attempt to survive and crush the opposition. But the rebels are in control of the city."
As fighting across Libya grew more fierce, the international community appeared to be struggling to put military muscle behind its demands for Gadhafi to give up power.
A small British delegation sent to talk to the rebels headquartered in the main eastern city of Benghazi, meanwhile, was arrested by the rebels themselves, who said the group had entered the country without permission. The rebels have set up an interim governing council that is urging international airstrikes on Gadhafi's strongholds and forces, though they strongly oppose foreign intervention on the ground.
Sunday's fighting appeared to signal the start of a new phase in the conflict, with Gadhafi's regime unleashing its air power on the rebel force trying to oust the ruler of 41 years. Resorting to heavy use of air attacks signaled the regime's concern that it needed to check the advance of the rebel force toward the city of Sirte — Gadhafi's hometown and stronghold.
Anti-Gadhafi forces would get a massive morale boost if they captured Sirte, and it would clear a major obstacle on the march toward the gates of Tripoli.
The uprising against Gadhafi, which began Feb. 15, is already longer and much bloodier than the relatively quick revolts that overthrew the longtime authoritarian leaders of neighboring Egypt and Tunisia.
Libya appears to be sliding toward a civil war that could drag out for weeks, or even months. Both sides seem to be relatively weak and poorly trained, though Gadhafi's forces have the advantage in numbers and equipment.
The conflict took a turn late last week when government opponents, backed by mutinous army units and armed with weaponry seized from storehouses, went on the offensive. At the same time, pro-Gadhafi forces have conducted counteroffensives to try to retake the towns and oil ports the rebels have captured since they moved out of the rebel-held east.
An opposition force estimated at 500 to 1,000 fighters pushed out of the rebel-held eastern half of Libya and has been cutting a path west toward Tripoli. On the way, they secured control of two important oil ports at Brega and Ras Lanouf.
If the rebels continue to advance, even slowly, Gadhafi's heavy dependence on air power could prompt the West to try to hurriedly enforce a no-fly zone over the country. The U.N. has already imposed sanctions against Libya, and the U.S. has moved military forces closer to its shores to back up its demand that Gadhafi step down.
Enforcing a no-fly zone could take weeks to organize, however, and U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has noted that it must be preceded by a military operation to take out Libya's air defenses. British Foreign Minister William Hague said Sunday that a no-fly zone over Libya is still in an early stage of planning and ruled out the use of ground forces.
Hague also said a small British diplomatic team sent to Libya to try to talk to the rebels left after it "experienced difficulties," but that another team would be sent. He told the BBC it would be inappropriate to comment on an article in Britain's Sunday Times that soldiers were captured by rebel forces when a secret mission to put British diplomats in touch with leading opponents of Gadhafi went awry.
Abdel-Hafidh Ghoga, spokesman for the rebels' provisional transitional national council, said eight people with British passports were arrested, including one who claimed to be a British diplomat. He said their departure was being arranged, and that they have "probably already left."
"The reason they were arrested is because they came into the country unofficially without previous arrangement with Libyan officials. Libya is an independent nation, and we have our borders that we expect to be respected," Ghoga said.
He added that there is "no crisis" between the council and Britain and that anti-Gadhafi forces are "more than willing" to talk to any delegation sent "in a legitimate way."
Hundreds if not thousands of people have died since Libya's uprising began Feb. 15 — tight restrictions on media make it near impossible to get an accurate tally. More than 200,000 people have fled the country, most of them foreign workers. The exodus is creating a humanitarian crisis across the border with Tunisia — another North African country in turmoil after an uprising in January that ousted its longtime leader.
The turmoil is being felt more broadly still in the form of rising oil prices. Libya's oil production has been seriously crippled by the unrest.
On Saturday night, the rebels pushed to just 20 miles (30 kilometers) east of Sirte, but then pulled back about 90 miles (150 kilometers) to the town of Ras Lanouf for the night.
That night, pro-Gadhafi forces infiltrated the town of Bin Jawwad, on the road to Sirte, and set an ambush for the rebel forces when they returned at daylight. They also came under a barrage of fire from helicopter gunships, artillery and rockets. Associated Press reporters at the scene saw fierce battles raging throughout the day.
"We got thrown by bombs and snipers from the side roads that we can't see," recalled Jamal al-Karrari, a Libyan who abandoned his studies in the U.S. to join the uprising. "I didn't even use my Kalashnikov; I didn't find a target. All we were trying to do was escape and come back."
The rebels staged several offensives throughout the day, while unarmed spectators, many decorated with the rebel flag, cheered them on from the road. Each advance, however, was met with a withering barrage of cannon fire that threw the rebels back. The government also launched airstrikes against Ras Lanouf.
About 50 rebel fighters were trapped inside a Bin Jawwad mosque, and their comrades who had retreated to the edge of the city suddenly surged forward in 20 pickup trucks to try to rescue them. They drove straight into the bombardment and one of the trucks was hit, sending a huge plume of black smoke into the air. The rest of the convoy quickly retreated back to the edges of the town.
Rebel soldier Musa Ibrahim said Gadhafi's forces took hostages in the town in the morning.
"They took one of every family hostage to keep them from fighting," he said.
During the fighting, ambulances sped east toward a hospital in Ras Lanouf while rebel trucks, at least four of them mounted with multiple rocket launchers, raced west to reinforce the front lines.
Hospital officials said six people were killed in the fighting for Bin Jawwad and 60 were wounded, including a French journalist for France 24 TV.
In Misrata, a city about halfway between Tripoli and Sirte, residents said the rebels repelled a government counteroffensive to seize back control.
The regime forces attacked just before noon with tanks, mortars, artillery and anti-aircraft guns. A heavy gunbattle raged for about five hours and residents said they were choking on the smoke that clogged the air.
Abubakr al-Misrati, a doctor at a Misrata hospital, said 20 people were killed, 14 of them from Gadhafi's forces, and 100 injured.
Tripoli, the capital of 2 million, is the city most firmly in Gadhafi's grip. Residents there awoke before dawn to the crackle of unusually heavy and sustained gunfire that lasted for at least two hours. Some of the gunfire was heard around the sprawling Bab al-Aziziya military camp where Gadhafi lives, giving rise to speculation that there may have been some sort of internal fighting within the forces defending the Libyan leader inside his fortress-like barracks. Gadhafi's whereabouts were unknown.
Libyan authorities tried to explain the unusually heavy gunfire by saying it was a celebration of the regime taking back Ras Lanouf and Misrata, though both places appeared to still be in rebel hands.
After the gunfire eased in the early morning, thousands of Gadhafi's supporters poured into Tripoli's central square for a rally that lasted all day, waving green flags, firing guns in the air and holding up banners in support of the regime. Hundreds drove past Gadhafi's residence, waving flags and cheering. Armed men in plainclothes were standing at the gates, also shooting in the air.
Khaild Kaid, deputy foreign minister, claimed the government now held the cities of Ras Lanouf, Misrata and Zawiya, though rebels and residents said all were held by Gadhafi's opponents.
Kaid said government forces arrested 37 rebels. He said that Zawiya's rebels have used their families as human shields and that the army decided not to attack them.
Zawiya, just 30 miles west of Tripoli, is the closest rebel-held city to the capital. Residents there said pro-Gadhafi forces entered with tanks, anti-aircraft guns and mortars Saturday but retreated after a three-hour battle, and that rebels seized some of the troops' weapons and equipment. They said pro-Gadhafi forces had withdrawn to the outskirts of the city and were bracing for a new offensive. Most of the residents interviewed spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
"At the beginning (of fighting), our weapons were rudimentary. But every time they attack us, we seize their weapons," one rebel fighter said. He also said opposition fighters took hostages and shot and killed at least 10 of them in a hotel near the square.
___
Michael reported from Tripoli.
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Saturday, 5 March 2011
Michael Moore rallies Wis. pro-union protesters
MADISON, Wis. – Liberal filmmaker Michael Moore urged Wisconsin residents Saturday to fight against Republican efforts to strip most public workers of their collective bargaining rights, telling thousands of protesters that "Madison is only the beginning."
The crowd roared in approval as Moore implored demonstrators to keep up their struggle against Republican Gov. Scott Walker's legislation, saying they've galvanized the nation against the wealthy elite and comparing their fight to Egypt's revolt. He also thanked the 14 state Democratic senators who fled Wisconsin to block a vote on the bill, saying they'll go down in history books.
"We're going to do this together. Don't give up. Please don't give up," Moore told the protesters, who have swarmed the Capitol every day for close to three weeks.
Police said there were "tens of thousands" of protesters but didn't give a specific count. The vast majority of the crowd was pro-union, and no one was arrested or cited. Rallies drew huge crowds the previous two Saturdays, too: about 70,000 on Feb. 19, and an even larger one on Feb. 26.
Moore told them that the wealthy have overreached, first taking the working class' money and then taking their souls by shutting them up at the bargaining table. The crowd yelled "thank you" before Moore began to speak, and he responded: "All of America thanks you, Wisconsin."
Walker has said the legislation is needed to help ease a state deficit projected to hit $3.6 billion by mid-2013, though opponents see it as an effort to weaken unions.
Negotiations between Democrats and Republicans broke down Thursday, though communication lines remain open, Sen. Tim Cullen said Saturday. Cullen, one of the Democrats who fled the state, said it's difficult for either side to compromise since Democrats don't want to lose support from their base and Walker doesn't want to appear weak by backing down.
Walker's spokesman, Cullen Werwie, wrote in an e-mail Saturday that Walker wouldn't publicly comment on the negotiations but was focused on balancing the budget and following through on his campaign pledge to create 250,000 new jobs. Walker has said he wouldn't compromise on the collective bargaining issue or anything that saves the state money.
Playing to the hometown crowd, Moore disputed the governor's claims that Wisconsin was broke, saying the idea was as farfetched as the belief that the Green Bay Packers needed former quarterback Brett Favre to win a Super Bowl. The Packers won the title last month with Favre's replacement, Aaron Rodgers.
Activists began a sit-in at the Wisconsin Capitol on Feb. 15, and although a judge ended protestors' overnight stays late last week, several hundred were back in the rotunda Saturday chanting "Who's house? Our house!" and "Hey-hey, ho-ho, Scott Walker's got to go!"
Renee Peplinski, a fifth-grade teacher in Wisconsin Rapids, said she doesn't mind making financial concessions to help the state even though it would hurt her family. She's more concerned about losing her collective bargaining rights. Without union protections, teachers would be at the mercy of administrators who could decide to fire them for any perceived slight, she said.
"Every teacher I know is depressed," said Peplinski, 42. "Every minute of the day there's this black cloud."
Thousands more marched in the streets. They banged drums, waved flags and carrying signs with messages like "No one has ever died from overexposure to education," "Worst bill ever" and "Tree huggers for unions."
Meanwhile, two other Democratic senators who fled the state joined the Rev. Jesse Jackson in Chicago to urge Walker to negotiate with workers. Sen. Lena Taylor said Democrats left because they "needed to slow the bill down."
"I ask the governor, 'Do your job. Come to the table and speak to Wisconsin workers,'" Taylor said. "We agree that fiscally we need to do things differently. We even agree that there are some places where we need to talk about how we negotiate. ... However we refuse to accept in America that we don't believe that a voice at the table is an option. It is not an option of a leader and it surely is not the Wisconsin way."
Sen. Chris Larson urged protestors to stay strong.
"We've been here for the last 16 days we'll continue to be here until worker's rights are removed as the target in this budget repair bill by our governor," he said.
Walker has said the bill is needed to ease a deficit that could hit $137 million by July and $3.6 billion by the middle of 2013. His proposal comes up with the money for this year in part by forcing state employees to pay for half the cost of their pensions and twice their current health care premiums — concessions equivalent to an 8 percent pay cut.
With the labor bill stalled, Walker said layoffs may be necessary so the state can start to realize the $30 million savings he had assumed would come from the concessions. All state workers, except those at prisons, state hospitals and other facilities open around the clock, would be potential layoff targets.
Walker informed state employee unions Friday that he intends to issue layoff notices to 1,500 workers that would be effective on April 4.
___
Associated Press writer Caryn Rousseau contributed to this report from Chicago.
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The crowd roared in approval as Moore implored demonstrators to keep up their struggle against Republican Gov. Scott Walker's legislation, saying they've galvanized the nation against the wealthy elite and comparing their fight to Egypt's revolt. He also thanked the 14 state Democratic senators who fled Wisconsin to block a vote on the bill, saying they'll go down in history books.
"We're going to do this together. Don't give up. Please don't give up," Moore told the protesters, who have swarmed the Capitol every day for close to three weeks.
Police said there were "tens of thousands" of protesters but didn't give a specific count. The vast majority of the crowd was pro-union, and no one was arrested or cited. Rallies drew huge crowds the previous two Saturdays, too: about 70,000 on Feb. 19, and an even larger one on Feb. 26.
Moore told them that the wealthy have overreached, first taking the working class' money and then taking their souls by shutting them up at the bargaining table. The crowd yelled "thank you" before Moore began to speak, and he responded: "All of America thanks you, Wisconsin."
Walker has said the legislation is needed to help ease a state deficit projected to hit $3.6 billion by mid-2013, though opponents see it as an effort to weaken unions.
Negotiations between Democrats and Republicans broke down Thursday, though communication lines remain open, Sen. Tim Cullen said Saturday. Cullen, one of the Democrats who fled the state, said it's difficult for either side to compromise since Democrats don't want to lose support from their base and Walker doesn't want to appear weak by backing down.
Walker's spokesman, Cullen Werwie, wrote in an e-mail Saturday that Walker wouldn't publicly comment on the negotiations but was focused on balancing the budget and following through on his campaign pledge to create 250,000 new jobs. Walker has said he wouldn't compromise on the collective bargaining issue or anything that saves the state money.
Playing to the hometown crowd, Moore disputed the governor's claims that Wisconsin was broke, saying the idea was as farfetched as the belief that the Green Bay Packers needed former quarterback Brett Favre to win a Super Bowl. The Packers won the title last month with Favre's replacement, Aaron Rodgers.
Activists began a sit-in at the Wisconsin Capitol on Feb. 15, and although a judge ended protestors' overnight stays late last week, several hundred were back in the rotunda Saturday chanting "Who's house? Our house!" and "Hey-hey, ho-ho, Scott Walker's got to go!"
Renee Peplinski, a fifth-grade teacher in Wisconsin Rapids, said she doesn't mind making financial concessions to help the state even though it would hurt her family. She's more concerned about losing her collective bargaining rights. Without union protections, teachers would be at the mercy of administrators who could decide to fire them for any perceived slight, she said.
"Every teacher I know is depressed," said Peplinski, 42. "Every minute of the day there's this black cloud."
Thousands more marched in the streets. They banged drums, waved flags and carrying signs with messages like "No one has ever died from overexposure to education," "Worst bill ever" and "Tree huggers for unions."
Meanwhile, two other Democratic senators who fled the state joined the Rev. Jesse Jackson in Chicago to urge Walker to negotiate with workers. Sen. Lena Taylor said Democrats left because they "needed to slow the bill down."
"I ask the governor, 'Do your job. Come to the table and speak to Wisconsin workers,'" Taylor said. "We agree that fiscally we need to do things differently. We even agree that there are some places where we need to talk about how we negotiate. ... However we refuse to accept in America that we don't believe that a voice at the table is an option. It is not an option of a leader and it surely is not the Wisconsin way."
Sen. Chris Larson urged protestors to stay strong.
"We've been here for the last 16 days we'll continue to be here until worker's rights are removed as the target in this budget repair bill by our governor," he said.
Walker has said the bill is needed to ease a deficit that could hit $137 million by July and $3.6 billion by the middle of 2013. His proposal comes up with the money for this year in part by forcing state employees to pay for half the cost of their pensions and twice their current health care premiums — concessions equivalent to an 8 percent pay cut.
With the labor bill stalled, Walker said layoffs may be necessary so the state can start to realize the $30 million savings he had assumed would come from the concessions. All state workers, except those at prisons, state hospitals and other facilities open around the clock, would be potential layoff targets.
Walker informed state employee unions Friday that he intends to issue layoff notices to 1,500 workers that would be effective on April 4.
___
Associated Press writer Caryn Rousseau contributed to this report from Chicago.
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Tornado slams La. town, downed tree kills mother
RAYNE, La. – A tornado slammed a southwestern Louisiana town Saturday, killing a young mother who was sheltering her child and injuring 11 other people. More than 100 homes were damaged, many of them destroyed, authorities said, and about 1,500 people were evacuated because of natural gas leaks.
Maxine Trahan, a spokeswoman for the Acadia Parish Sheriff's Office, said 21-year-old Jalisa Granger was killed when a tree fell on her house.
"She sheltered the child to protect her from the storm and a tree fell on the house and it killed the mother but the child was OK," Trahan said, adding that a relative who lived nearby found them.
Debris was littered throughout Rayne, a town of about 8,500 people, after a line of violent thunderstorms moved through the area and left behind a swath of damage about a quarter of a mile wide to three miles long.
Pieces of homes were strewn about the tops of trees, and power lines were down. A U.S. Postal Service truck was flipped to its side.
"It's a mess back there — a lot of damage," Trahan said. The community is near Route 10 and about 70 miles west of Baton Rouge.
Trahan said the natural gas leaks, which were later fixed, delayed authorities trying to count how many homes and businesses were damaged. About 1,500 people were ordered out of the area for the night, she said, because officials feared more gas leaks could occur. A temporary shelter was set up at a fire station — about two dozen displaced persons were there Saturday night — and officials were working to find other shelters. A curfew was imposed for the storm-damaged area and will remain in effect until at least 6 a.m.
"There are houses off their foundations," said State Police Trooper Stephen Hammons. "There are houses that have been destroyed."
The National Weather Service sent a team to investigate and confirmed a tornado had struck the area.
The system that hit Rayne quickly moved east and drenched New Orleans, where several Mardi Gras parades either were delayed, started earlier or canceled because of the severe weather.
As the storm system moved east, it weakened, and at 11 p.m. Eastern time, tornado watches expired for south-central and southwest Alabama and northwest Florida, including Destin and Panama City.
Showers and thunderstorms were expected to move through the area, contributing to rough waters and dense fog in the early-morning hours.
"The thunderstorms are moving into increasingly stable air and they're getting a little weaker as they move east, particularly the ones above land," NWS forecaster Mark Wool said Saturday evening.
Wool said the severe weather was caused by strong winds ahead of a cold front.
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Maxine Trahan, a spokeswoman for the Acadia Parish Sheriff's Office, said 21-year-old Jalisa Granger was killed when a tree fell on her house.
"She sheltered the child to protect her from the storm and a tree fell on the house and it killed the mother but the child was OK," Trahan said, adding that a relative who lived nearby found them.
Debris was littered throughout Rayne, a town of about 8,500 people, after a line of violent thunderstorms moved through the area and left behind a swath of damage about a quarter of a mile wide to three miles long.
Pieces of homes were strewn about the tops of trees, and power lines were down. A U.S. Postal Service truck was flipped to its side.
"It's a mess back there — a lot of damage," Trahan said. The community is near Route 10 and about 70 miles west of Baton Rouge.
Trahan said the natural gas leaks, which were later fixed, delayed authorities trying to count how many homes and businesses were damaged. About 1,500 people were ordered out of the area for the night, she said, because officials feared more gas leaks could occur. A temporary shelter was set up at a fire station — about two dozen displaced persons were there Saturday night — and officials were working to find other shelters. A curfew was imposed for the storm-damaged area and will remain in effect until at least 6 a.m.
"There are houses off their foundations," said State Police Trooper Stephen Hammons. "There are houses that have been destroyed."
The National Weather Service sent a team to investigate and confirmed a tornado had struck the area.
The system that hit Rayne quickly moved east and drenched New Orleans, where several Mardi Gras parades either were delayed, started earlier or canceled because of the severe weather.
As the storm system moved east, it weakened, and at 11 p.m. Eastern time, tornado watches expired for south-central and southwest Alabama and northwest Florida, including Destin and Panama City.
Showers and thunderstorms were expected to move through the area, contributing to rough waters and dense fog in the early-morning hours.
"The thunderstorms are moving into increasingly stable air and they're getting a little weaker as they move east, particularly the ones above land," NWS forecaster Mark Wool said Saturday evening.
Wool said the severe weather was caused by strong winds ahead of a cold front.
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Romney seeks to address health care woes
BARTLETT, N.H. – Call it an attempt to address an obvious political vulnerability. Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Saturday derided President Barack Obama's health care law — modeled in some ways after one the ex-governor signed in Massachusetts — as a misguided and egregious effort to seize more power for Washington.
"Obamacare is bad law, bad policy, and it is bad for America's families," Romney declared. "And that's the reason why President Obama will be a one-term president." He vowed to repeal it if he were ever in a position to do so, and drew hearty cheers from his Republican Party audience.
Then, raising the Massachusetts law, Romney argued that the solution for the unique problems of one state isn't the right prescription for the nation as a whole, and he acknowledged: "Our experiment wasn't perfect — some things worked, some didn't, and some things I'd change."
"One thing I would never do is to usurp the constitutional power of states with a one-size-fits-all federal takeover," Romney said, again earning applause. "The federal government isn't the answer for running health care any more than it's the answer for running Amtrak or the post office."
With that, he used his first appearance before New Hampshire Republicans since the midterm elections to start addressing head-on the issue that's certain to be a hurdle in his all-but-certain presidential campaign.
[ For complete coverage of politics and policy, go to Yahoo! Politics ]
Romney's states-rights pitch is one that GOP primary voters are likely to hear over the next year as he tries to persuade them to overlook his flaws because he alone is the strongest Republican to challenge Obama on the country's top issue — the economy.
The failed candidate of 2008 is expected to formally announce a second candidacy later this spring. Campaign signs posted along the road leading to the hotel where he was speaking may have gotten a bit ahead of him. They said "Mitt Romney for President" and suggested that the theme would be "True Strength for America's Future."
Romney and his aides insisted they were old signs.
Among Romney's biggest challenges: explaining to GOP primary voters why he signed a law that became the foundation for Obama's national overhaul. Passed by Congress last year, Obama's health care law has enraged conservatives who view it as a costly government expansion and intrusion into their lives because it mandates insurance for most Americans.
Romney all but ignored the topic in his last major public appearance last month at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.
But, since then, the similarities with Romney's 2006 law in Massachusetts have increasingly been dogging him.
Obama praised the efforts in Massachusetts during a meeting with governors at the White House, saying: "I agree with Mitt Romney, who recently said he's proud of what he accomplished on health care by giving states the power to determine their own health care solutions. He's right."
Also, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, an Obama friend, said Romney deserves a lot of credit on health care. "One of the best things he did was to be the co-author of our health care reform, which has been a model for national health care reform," he said.
The praise from Democrats provides fodder for Romney's Republican primary opponents; some are already heaping on the criticism.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee says in his new book: "If our goal in health care reform is better care at lower cost, then we should take a lesson from RomneyCare, which shows that socialized medicine does not work." It was a play on the word that conservative critics use to describe the national law: Obamacare.
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, who is likely to run for president against Romney, took a shot at Romney when he testified before a House committee reviewing Obama's health care overhaul. He lumped Romney in with a late liberal icon and an Obama friend in saying: "Senator (Edward M.) Kennedy and Governor Romney and then Governor Patrick, if that's what Massachusetts wants, we're happy for them. We don't want that. That's not good for us."
A GOP rising star, House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., also weighed in, saying of Romney's law: "It's not that dissimilar to Obamacare. And you probably know I'm not a big fan of Obamacare."
All that was the backdrop as Romney took the stage at the Carroll County Lincoln Day Dinner at the Attitash Grand Summit Hotel in northern New Hampshire.
First, he poked fun at the criticism that seems to be coming from all sides, saying "you may have noticed that the president and his people spend more time talking about me and Massachusetts health care than Entertainment Tonight spends talking about Charlie Sheen."
Then he turned serious and provided an explanation, emphasizing states' rights to a crowd from the "Live Free Or Die" state.
His coming candidacy may hinge on whether they buy it.
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"Obamacare is bad law, bad policy, and it is bad for America's families," Romney declared. "And that's the reason why President Obama will be a one-term president." He vowed to repeal it if he were ever in a position to do so, and drew hearty cheers from his Republican Party audience.
Then, raising the Massachusetts law, Romney argued that the solution for the unique problems of one state isn't the right prescription for the nation as a whole, and he acknowledged: "Our experiment wasn't perfect — some things worked, some didn't, and some things I'd change."
"One thing I would never do is to usurp the constitutional power of states with a one-size-fits-all federal takeover," Romney said, again earning applause. "The federal government isn't the answer for running health care any more than it's the answer for running Amtrak or the post office."
With that, he used his first appearance before New Hampshire Republicans since the midterm elections to start addressing head-on the issue that's certain to be a hurdle in his all-but-certain presidential campaign.
[ For complete coverage of politics and policy, go to Yahoo! Politics ]
Romney's states-rights pitch is one that GOP primary voters are likely to hear over the next year as he tries to persuade them to overlook his flaws because he alone is the strongest Republican to challenge Obama on the country's top issue — the economy.
The failed candidate of 2008 is expected to formally announce a second candidacy later this spring. Campaign signs posted along the road leading to the hotel where he was speaking may have gotten a bit ahead of him. They said "Mitt Romney for President" and suggested that the theme would be "True Strength for America's Future."
Romney and his aides insisted they were old signs.
Among Romney's biggest challenges: explaining to GOP primary voters why he signed a law that became the foundation for Obama's national overhaul. Passed by Congress last year, Obama's health care law has enraged conservatives who view it as a costly government expansion and intrusion into their lives because it mandates insurance for most Americans.
Romney all but ignored the topic in his last major public appearance last month at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.
But, since then, the similarities with Romney's 2006 law in Massachusetts have increasingly been dogging him.
Obama praised the efforts in Massachusetts during a meeting with governors at the White House, saying: "I agree with Mitt Romney, who recently said he's proud of what he accomplished on health care by giving states the power to determine their own health care solutions. He's right."
Also, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, an Obama friend, said Romney deserves a lot of credit on health care. "One of the best things he did was to be the co-author of our health care reform, which has been a model for national health care reform," he said.
The praise from Democrats provides fodder for Romney's Republican primary opponents; some are already heaping on the criticism.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee says in his new book: "If our goal in health care reform is better care at lower cost, then we should take a lesson from RomneyCare, which shows that socialized medicine does not work." It was a play on the word that conservative critics use to describe the national law: Obamacare.
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, who is likely to run for president against Romney, took a shot at Romney when he testified before a House committee reviewing Obama's health care overhaul. He lumped Romney in with a late liberal icon and an Obama friend in saying: "Senator (Edward M.) Kennedy and Governor Romney and then Governor Patrick, if that's what Massachusetts wants, we're happy for them. We don't want that. That's not good for us."
A GOP rising star, House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., also weighed in, saying of Romney's law: "It's not that dissimilar to Obamacare. And you probably know I'm not a big fan of Obamacare."
All that was the backdrop as Romney took the stage at the Carroll County Lincoln Day Dinner at the Attitash Grand Summit Hotel in northern New Hampshire.
First, he poked fun at the criticism that seems to be coming from all sides, saying "you may have noticed that the president and his people spend more time talking about me and Massachusetts health care than Entertainment Tonight spends talking about Charlie Sheen."
Then he turned serious and provided an explanation, emphasizing states' rights to a crowd from the "Live Free Or Die" state.
His coming candidacy may hinge on whether they buy it.
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Anti-abortion plans pose dilemma for Republicans
WASHINGTON – Restrict abortion or cut spending?
The Republicans' "Pledge for America" says the new majority will do both. But negotiations over the federal budget threaten to force the GOP, including its 87 House freshmen, to choose between them.
It's a lesson in congressional reality that has Republicans struggling with how to vote — and what to do — when a divided government pits pledge against pledge.
"That's a problem - and I mean, a real problem," said Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee's budget and spending task force.
How would he vote on a budget that cuts spending but lacks the promised abortion restrictions? Jordan winces.
"We haven't seen the finished product," he said.
The House last month passed its version of the budget that would fund the government through September. The measure would cut spending by $61 billion and prohibit federal dollars from going to Planned Parenthood as long as the organization performs abortions. It also reinstates restrictions, lifted by President Barack Obama, on government money for any organization that funds abortions in foreign countries.
The abortion restrictions have almost no chance of being included in the spending plan that the Democrat-dominated Senate ultimately passes. That could be weeks from now despite a March 18 deadline that carries with it the threat of a partial government shutdown.
A compromise that could pass both the House and Senate will contain at least a good portion of the cuts that now-GOP freshmen promised during the campaign and say their constituents loudly demand. Slashing federal spending, they insist, is their No. 1 priority.
Restricting federal money for abortion providers comes a close second or third, as much a part of the GOP's campaign "Pledge" as spending cuts and repealing Obama's health care overhaul.
The new Republican majority has done plenty of fighting for what they promised, but getting their wish list through the entire Congress is a tougher task. The health care law repeal failed in the Senate. The House's budget received a thorough scoffing from Senate Democratic leaders and Obama said he would veto it.
House Republicans say just having their debate last month went a long way toward satisfying their campaign promises.
In an emotional overnight session on the current year's budget, the House voted 240-185 to block federal dollars from going to Planned Parenthood.
There was more.
The spending bill, before any amendments, reinstated a prohibition on federal money for any organization that uses its own funds for abortions performed in foreign countries. Obama lifted the restrictions in 2009.
Under current law, federal dollars may not be used for abortions except in the cases of rape, incest or when the life of the mother is in danger.
Pro-choice lawmakers and groups said the Republican efforts on abortion amount to an attack on women and family-planning services. Democrats make the case that while Planned Parenthood performs abortions, the group uses federal money on health services for women who can't afford it any other way.
Planned Parenthood has undertaken a formidable lobbying campaign to kick out the restrictions from the Senate bill.
Watching the negotiations from the House, some social conservatives were uncomfortable even talking about how they would vote should a newly negotiated budget pass the Senate and come to the House without the anti-abortion provisions.
If they vote against the new version, they also would say no to spending cuts they demanded.
If they vote for it, they would ditch, for now, the party's anti-abortion promises.
Rep. Chris Smith, perhaps the House's most fervently anti-abortion member, said he'd vote against any budget that doesn't "preserve life." Blocking money for Planned Parenthood also cuts spending, said Smith, R-N.J.
"There's no reason to be divided. These are twin objectives," Smith said, predicting many Republican freshmen opposed to abortion will vote with him.
Freshman Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., isn't one of them. He opposes abortion. But he said he'd vote for a budget that lacks new restrictions on the procedure because current law already bans federal dollars from being used for most abortions. Banning taxpayer dollars from going to Planned Parenthood, he said, should be a battle for another day if it comes to a choice.
"If we're staying with that current policy, I think we'd still be safe," Schweikert said. "Because for me, it's substantially about the fiscal position" he took in last year's elections when it came to reining in the federal deficit.
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The Republicans' "Pledge for America" says the new majority will do both. But negotiations over the federal budget threaten to force the GOP, including its 87 House freshmen, to choose between them.
It's a lesson in congressional reality that has Republicans struggling with how to vote — and what to do — when a divided government pits pledge against pledge.
"That's a problem - and I mean, a real problem," said Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee's budget and spending task force.
How would he vote on a budget that cuts spending but lacks the promised abortion restrictions? Jordan winces.
"We haven't seen the finished product," he said.
The House last month passed its version of the budget that would fund the government through September. The measure would cut spending by $61 billion and prohibit federal dollars from going to Planned Parenthood as long as the organization performs abortions. It also reinstates restrictions, lifted by President Barack Obama, on government money for any organization that funds abortions in foreign countries.
The abortion restrictions have almost no chance of being included in the spending plan that the Democrat-dominated Senate ultimately passes. That could be weeks from now despite a March 18 deadline that carries with it the threat of a partial government shutdown.
A compromise that could pass both the House and Senate will contain at least a good portion of the cuts that now-GOP freshmen promised during the campaign and say their constituents loudly demand. Slashing federal spending, they insist, is their No. 1 priority.
Restricting federal money for abortion providers comes a close second or third, as much a part of the GOP's campaign "Pledge" as spending cuts and repealing Obama's health care overhaul.
The new Republican majority has done plenty of fighting for what they promised, but getting their wish list through the entire Congress is a tougher task. The health care law repeal failed in the Senate. The House's budget received a thorough scoffing from Senate Democratic leaders and Obama said he would veto it.
House Republicans say just having their debate last month went a long way toward satisfying their campaign promises.
In an emotional overnight session on the current year's budget, the House voted 240-185 to block federal dollars from going to Planned Parenthood.
There was more.
The spending bill, before any amendments, reinstated a prohibition on federal money for any organization that uses its own funds for abortions performed in foreign countries. Obama lifted the restrictions in 2009.
Under current law, federal dollars may not be used for abortions except in the cases of rape, incest or when the life of the mother is in danger.
Pro-choice lawmakers and groups said the Republican efforts on abortion amount to an attack on women and family-planning services. Democrats make the case that while Planned Parenthood performs abortions, the group uses federal money on health services for women who can't afford it any other way.
Planned Parenthood has undertaken a formidable lobbying campaign to kick out the restrictions from the Senate bill.
Watching the negotiations from the House, some social conservatives were uncomfortable even talking about how they would vote should a newly negotiated budget pass the Senate and come to the House without the anti-abortion provisions.
If they vote against the new version, they also would say no to spending cuts they demanded.
If they vote for it, they would ditch, for now, the party's anti-abortion promises.
Rep. Chris Smith, perhaps the House's most fervently anti-abortion member, said he'd vote against any budget that doesn't "preserve life." Blocking money for Planned Parenthood also cuts spending, said Smith, R-N.J.
"There's no reason to be divided. These are twin objectives," Smith said, predicting many Republican freshmen opposed to abortion will vote with him.
Freshman Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., isn't one of them. He opposes abortion. But he said he'd vote for a budget that lacks new restrictions on the procedure because current law already bans federal dollars from being used for most abortions. Banning taxpayer dollars from going to Planned Parenthood, he said, should be a battle for another day if it comes to a choice.
"If we're staying with that current policy, I think we'd still be safe," Schweikert said. "Because for me, it's substantially about the fiscal position" he took in last year's elections when it came to reining in the federal deficit.
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21 airlines fined for fixing passenger, cargo fees
WASHINGTON – When the airline industry took a nose dive a decade ago, executives at global carriers scrambled to find a quick fix to avoid financial ruin.
What they came up with, according to federal prosecutors, was a massive price-fixing scheme among airlines that artificially inflated passenger and cargo fuel surcharges between 2000 and 2006 to make up for lost profits.
The airlines' crimes cost U.S. consumers and businesses — mostly international passengers and cargo shippers — hundreds of millions of dollars, prosecutors say.
But the airlines caught by the Justice Department have paid a hefty price in the five years since the government's widespread investigation became public.
To date, 19 executives have been charged with wrongdoing — four have gone to prison — and 21 airlines have coughed up more than $1.7 billion in fines in one of the largest criminal antitrust investigations in U.S. history.
The court cases reveal a complex web of schemes between mostly international carriers willing to fix fees in lockstep with competitors for flights to and from the United States.
Convicted airlines include British Airways, Korean Air, and Air France-KLM. No major U.S. carriers have been charged.
The price-fixing unraveled largely because two airlines decided to come clean and turn in their co-conspirators.
In late 2005, officials with German-based Lufthansa notified the Justice Department that the airline had been conspiring to set cargo surcharges. By Valentine's Day 2006, FBI agents and their counterparts in Europe made the investigation public by raiding airline offices. After those raids, British-based Virgin Atlantic came forward about its role in a similar scheme to set fuel surcharges for passengers.
Investigators eventually found a detailed paper trail laying out agreements, stretching back to 2000, to set passenger and cargo fuel surcharges The probe expanded to airlines doing business between the U.S. and Europe, Asia, South America, and Australia.
The Lufthansa and Virgin Atlantic mea culpas allowed them to take advantage of a Justice Department leniency program because they helped crack the conspiracies.
Former Associate Attorney General Kevin J. O'Connor, who oversaw Justice's antitrust division in the late 2000s, said he doesn't know why they confessed, but the result "demonstrates the effectiveness of that amnesty program."
Now in private practice, O'Connor said companies that confess for amnesty may be wisely trying to limit liabilities from illegal conduct.
"Generally speaking, if they have an inkling they might get caught, they come in," O'Connor said. "The theory might be that eventually these things will be exposed and why risk continuing."
Federal prosecutors and investigators declined to discuss details of the cases because they are still investigating.
"Lufthansa Cargo fully cooperated with the investigation launched by DOJ," Martin Riecken, Lufthansa's director of corporate communications for the Americas said. Virgin Atlantic referred all questions to the Justice Department.
Airlines and executives who didn't come forward were charged with violating the Sherman Antitrust Act.
Two former airline executives were sentenced to six months in prison; two others were ordered to prison for eight months. Charges are pending against 15 executives, nine of whom are considered fugitives.
Bruce McCaffrey, one-time vice president of freight for the Americas at the Australian carrier Qantas, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to restrain trade. He was sentenced to six months in prison in 2008. He admitted working with other airlines to fix cargo fuel surcharges between 2000 and 2006.
Keith H. Packer, a former senior manager of sales and marketing for British Airways, pleaded to conspiracy to restrain trade and was sentenced to eight months in prison in 2008. He admitted joining the cargo conspiracy in 2002 and participating until February 2006.
British Airways and Korean Air pleaded guilty to violating the Sherman act; each was fined $300 million in August 2007.
British Airways admitted fixing cargo surcharges from 2002 to 2006 and passenger fuel surcharges from 2004 to 2006. Korean Air admitted fixing cargo and passenger surcharges from 2000 to 2006.
Announcing four guilty pleas in June 2008, O'Connor said the case "conservatively, has affected billions of dollars of shipments. Estimates suggest that the harm to American consumers and businesses from this conspiracy is in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
"As an example of the impact of the conspiracy, fuel surcharges imposed by some of the conspirators rose by as much as 1,000 percent during the conspiracy, far outpacing any percentage increases in fuel costs that existed during the same time period," O'Connor said.
In one of several lawsuits by passengers and cargo shippers now being heard in a California federal court, San Francisco-based lawyer Christopher Lebsock and others allege airline officials routinely gathered at industry meetings to discuss fuel costs and how to make up losses.
Lebsock said they agreed to add or increase the fuel surcharges that are tacked onto passenger fares and cargo fees.
"We have seen in public documents that they were concerned and wanted to raise revenue to offset the increasing price in fuel," Lebsock said.
According to published notes of an October 2005 meeting of airline representatives in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, a host of executives openly spoke about surcharges already in place. One official, identified in meeting minutes only by the initials" GF," suggested the group create "a subcommittee to study this subject and come up with a joint proposal."
According to published notes of another meeting of airline representatives in Saudi Arabia in September 2004, "the participants agreed to make uniform policy for such (insurance and fuel) surcharges to be applied."
Not all airline officials at these meetings agreed to join the conspiracies.
During a 2004 industry meeting in Thailand, executives from U.S. based-United Airlines and Northwest Airlines left the meeting when others started discussing setting fares and fuel surcharges, according to a court filing by lawyers in one class action suit.
Warren Gerig, an international manager for United when he walked out of that meeting, declined to discuss the case. The Northwest executive was identified only as Sarathool M. and could not be reached.
While meeting notes make it appear the discussions were open to anyone who accidently walked into the wrong ballroom, Lebsock and Justice officials believe executives were more careful to hide their activities.
"My sense is they weren't really open to the public," Lebsock said. "They weren't that stupid."
Lebsock said documents obtained in pretrial discovery make clear that many surcharge discussions carried over from large group meetings around the world to more private office settings and e-mail discussions
According to one passenger lawsuit, several Asian airlines — including Cathay Pacific Airways, Japan Airlines, and All Nippon Airways — confined many discussions to phone calls and e-mails. Lebsock said evidence shows some airline executives tried to hide or destroy incriminating documents and e-mails.
Lebsock believes the conspiracies were so well hidden that it's possible they would have continued undetected had Lufthansa not come forward.
"In the absence of someone coming forward, and ratting it out, it is very, very difficult to establish that there was a (conspiracy)," Lebsock said.
___
Online:
Justice Department's antitrust division: http://www.justice.gov/atr/index.html
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What they came up with, according to federal prosecutors, was a massive price-fixing scheme among airlines that artificially inflated passenger and cargo fuel surcharges between 2000 and 2006 to make up for lost profits.
The airlines' crimes cost U.S. consumers and businesses — mostly international passengers and cargo shippers — hundreds of millions of dollars, prosecutors say.
But the airlines caught by the Justice Department have paid a hefty price in the five years since the government's widespread investigation became public.
To date, 19 executives have been charged with wrongdoing — four have gone to prison — and 21 airlines have coughed up more than $1.7 billion in fines in one of the largest criminal antitrust investigations in U.S. history.
The court cases reveal a complex web of schemes between mostly international carriers willing to fix fees in lockstep with competitors for flights to and from the United States.
Convicted airlines include British Airways, Korean Air, and Air France-KLM. No major U.S. carriers have been charged.
The price-fixing unraveled largely because two airlines decided to come clean and turn in their co-conspirators.
In late 2005, officials with German-based Lufthansa notified the Justice Department that the airline had been conspiring to set cargo surcharges. By Valentine's Day 2006, FBI agents and their counterparts in Europe made the investigation public by raiding airline offices. After those raids, British-based Virgin Atlantic came forward about its role in a similar scheme to set fuel surcharges for passengers.
Investigators eventually found a detailed paper trail laying out agreements, stretching back to 2000, to set passenger and cargo fuel surcharges The probe expanded to airlines doing business between the U.S. and Europe, Asia, South America, and Australia.
The Lufthansa and Virgin Atlantic mea culpas allowed them to take advantage of a Justice Department leniency program because they helped crack the conspiracies.
Former Associate Attorney General Kevin J. O'Connor, who oversaw Justice's antitrust division in the late 2000s, said he doesn't know why they confessed, but the result "demonstrates the effectiveness of that amnesty program."
Now in private practice, O'Connor said companies that confess for amnesty may be wisely trying to limit liabilities from illegal conduct.
"Generally speaking, if they have an inkling they might get caught, they come in," O'Connor said. "The theory might be that eventually these things will be exposed and why risk continuing."
Federal prosecutors and investigators declined to discuss details of the cases because they are still investigating.
"Lufthansa Cargo fully cooperated with the investigation launched by DOJ," Martin Riecken, Lufthansa's director of corporate communications for the Americas said. Virgin Atlantic referred all questions to the Justice Department.
Airlines and executives who didn't come forward were charged with violating the Sherman Antitrust Act.
Two former airline executives were sentenced to six months in prison; two others were ordered to prison for eight months. Charges are pending against 15 executives, nine of whom are considered fugitives.
Bruce McCaffrey, one-time vice president of freight for the Americas at the Australian carrier Qantas, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to restrain trade. He was sentenced to six months in prison in 2008. He admitted working with other airlines to fix cargo fuel surcharges between 2000 and 2006.
Keith H. Packer, a former senior manager of sales and marketing for British Airways, pleaded to conspiracy to restrain trade and was sentenced to eight months in prison in 2008. He admitted joining the cargo conspiracy in 2002 and participating until February 2006.
British Airways and Korean Air pleaded guilty to violating the Sherman act; each was fined $300 million in August 2007.
British Airways admitted fixing cargo surcharges from 2002 to 2006 and passenger fuel surcharges from 2004 to 2006. Korean Air admitted fixing cargo and passenger surcharges from 2000 to 2006.
Announcing four guilty pleas in June 2008, O'Connor said the case "conservatively, has affected billions of dollars of shipments. Estimates suggest that the harm to American consumers and businesses from this conspiracy is in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
"As an example of the impact of the conspiracy, fuel surcharges imposed by some of the conspirators rose by as much as 1,000 percent during the conspiracy, far outpacing any percentage increases in fuel costs that existed during the same time period," O'Connor said.
In one of several lawsuits by passengers and cargo shippers now being heard in a California federal court, San Francisco-based lawyer Christopher Lebsock and others allege airline officials routinely gathered at industry meetings to discuss fuel costs and how to make up losses.
Lebsock said they agreed to add or increase the fuel surcharges that are tacked onto passenger fares and cargo fees.
"We have seen in public documents that they were concerned and wanted to raise revenue to offset the increasing price in fuel," Lebsock said.
According to published notes of an October 2005 meeting of airline representatives in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, a host of executives openly spoke about surcharges already in place. One official, identified in meeting minutes only by the initials" GF," suggested the group create "a subcommittee to study this subject and come up with a joint proposal."
According to published notes of another meeting of airline representatives in Saudi Arabia in September 2004, "the participants agreed to make uniform policy for such (insurance and fuel) surcharges to be applied."
Not all airline officials at these meetings agreed to join the conspiracies.
During a 2004 industry meeting in Thailand, executives from U.S. based-United Airlines and Northwest Airlines left the meeting when others started discussing setting fares and fuel surcharges, according to a court filing by lawyers in one class action suit.
Warren Gerig, an international manager for United when he walked out of that meeting, declined to discuss the case. The Northwest executive was identified only as Sarathool M. and could not be reached.
While meeting notes make it appear the discussions were open to anyone who accidently walked into the wrong ballroom, Lebsock and Justice officials believe executives were more careful to hide their activities.
"My sense is they weren't really open to the public," Lebsock said. "They weren't that stupid."
Lebsock said documents obtained in pretrial discovery make clear that many surcharge discussions carried over from large group meetings around the world to more private office settings and e-mail discussions
According to one passenger lawsuit, several Asian airlines — including Cathay Pacific Airways, Japan Airlines, and All Nippon Airways — confined many discussions to phone calls and e-mails. Lebsock said evidence shows some airline executives tried to hide or destroy incriminating documents and e-mails.
Lebsock believes the conspiracies were so well hidden that it's possible they would have continued undetected had Lufthansa not come forward.
"In the absence of someone coming forward, and ratting it out, it is very, very difficult to establish that there was a (conspiracy)," Lebsock said.
___
Online:
Justice Department's antitrust division: http://www.justice.gov/atr/index.html
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Gunfire heard in Tripoli
TRIPOLI, Libya – Gunfire has broken out in the Libyan capital of Tripoli.
Frequent bursts of gunfire could be heard around Tripoli early Sunday, one day after government forces in tanks rolled into the opposition-held city closest to the capital. Also Saturday, rebels captured a key oil port and pushed toward Moammar Gadhafi's hometown in a seesaw for both sides in the bloody battle for control of Libya.
The rival successes signaled an increasingly long and violent battle that could last weeks or months and veered the country ever closer to civil war.
It was not immediately clear who was firing on Sunday.
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Frequent bursts of gunfire could be heard around Tripoli early Sunday, one day after government forces in tanks rolled into the opposition-held city closest to the capital. Also Saturday, rebels captured a key oil port and pushed toward Moammar Gadhafi's hometown in a seesaw for both sides in the bloody battle for control of Libya.
The rival successes signaled an increasingly long and violent battle that could last weeks or months and veered the country ever closer to civil war.
It was not immediately clear who was firing on Sunday.
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Michael Moore rallies Wis. pro-union protesters
MADISON, Wis. – Liberal filmmaker Michael Moore urged Wisconsin residents Saturday to fight against Republican efforts to strip most public workers of their collective bargaining rights, telling thousands of protesters that "Madison is only the beginning."
The crowd roared in approval as Moore implored demonstrators to keep up their struggle against Republican Gov. Scott Walker's legislation, saying they've galvanized the nation against the wealthy elite and comparing their fight to Egypt's revolt. He also thanked the 14 state Democratic senators who fled Wisconsin to block a vote on the bill, saying they'll go down in history books.
"We're going to do this together. Don't give up. Please don't give up," Moore told the protesters, who have swarmed the Capitol every day for close to three weeks.
Police said there were "tens of thousands" of protesters but didn't give a specific count. The vast majority of the crowd was pro-union, and no one was arrested or cited. Rallies drew huge crowds the previous two Saturdays, too: about 70,000 on Feb. 19, and an even larger one on Feb. 26.
Moore told them that the wealthy have overreached, first taking the working class' money and then taking their souls by shutting them up at the bargaining table. The crowd yelled "thank you" before Moore began to speak, and he responded: "All of America thanks you, Wisconsin."
Walker has said the legislation is needed to help ease a state deficit projected to hit $3.6 billion by mid-2013, though opponents see it as an effort to weaken unions.
Negotiations between Democrats and Republicans broke down Thursday, though communication lines remain open, Sen. Tim Cullen said Saturday. Cullen, one of the Democrats who fled the state, said it's difficult for either side to compromise since Democrats don't want to lose support from their base and Walker doesn't want to appear weak by backing down.
Walker's spokesman, Cullen Werwie, wrote in an e-mail Saturday that Walker wouldn't publicly comment on the negotiations but was focused on balancing the budget and following through on his campaign pledge to create 250,000 new jobs. Walker has said he wouldn't compromise on the collective bargaining issue or anything that saves the state money.
Playing to the hometown crowd, Moore disputed the governor's claims that Wisconsin was broke, saying the idea was as farfetched as the belief that the Green Bay Packers needed former quarterback Brett Favre to win a Super Bowl. The Packers won the title last month with Favre's replacement, Aaron Rodgers.
Activists began a sit-in at the Wisconsin Capitol on Feb. 15, and although a judge ended protestors' overnight stays late last week, several hundred were back in the rotunda Saturday chanting "Who's house? Our house!" and "Hey-hey, ho-ho, Scott Walker's got to go!"
Renee Peplinski, a fifth-grade teacher in Wisconsin Rapids, said she doesn't mind making financial concessions to help the state even though it would hurt her family. She's more concerned about losing her collective bargaining rights. Without union protections, teachers would be at the mercy of administrators who could decide to fire them for any perceived slight, she said.
"Every teacher I know is depressed," said Peplinski, 42. "Every minute of the day there's this black cloud."
Thousands more marched in the streets. They banged drums, waved flags and carrying signs with messages like "No one has ever died from overexposure to education," "Worst bill ever" and "Tree huggers for unions."
Meanwhile, two other Democratic senators who fled the state joined the Rev. Jesse Jackson in Chicago to urge Walker to negotiate with workers. Sen. Lena Taylor said Democrats left because they "needed to slow the bill down."
"I ask the governor, 'Do your job. Come to the table and speak to Wisconsin workers,'" Taylor said. "We agree that fiscally we need to do things differently. We even agree that there are some places where we need to talk about how we negotiate. ... However we refuse to accept in America that we don't believe that a voice at the table is an option. It is not an option of a leader and it surely is not the Wisconsin way."
Sen. Chris Larson urged protestors to stay strong.
"We've been here for the last 16 days we'll continue to be here until worker's rights are removed as the target in this budget repair bill by our governor," he said.
Walker has said the bill is needed to ease a deficit that could hit $137 million by July and $3.6 billion by the middle of 2013. His proposal comes up with the money for this year in part by forcing state employees to pay for half the cost of their pensions and twice their current health care premiums — concessions equivalent to an 8 percent pay cut.
With the labor bill stalled, Walker said layoffs may be necessary so the state can start to realize the $30 million savings he had assumed would come from the concessions. All state workers, except those at prisons, state hospitals and other facilities open around the clock, would be potential layoff targets.
Walker informed state employee unions Friday that he intends to issue layoff notices to 1,500 workers that would be effective on April 4.
___
Associated Press writer Caryn Rousseau contributed to this report from Chicago.
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The crowd roared in approval as Moore implored demonstrators to keep up their struggle against Republican Gov. Scott Walker's legislation, saying they've galvanized the nation against the wealthy elite and comparing their fight to Egypt's revolt. He also thanked the 14 state Democratic senators who fled Wisconsin to block a vote on the bill, saying they'll go down in history books.
"We're going to do this together. Don't give up. Please don't give up," Moore told the protesters, who have swarmed the Capitol every day for close to three weeks.
Police said there were "tens of thousands" of protesters but didn't give a specific count. The vast majority of the crowd was pro-union, and no one was arrested or cited. Rallies drew huge crowds the previous two Saturdays, too: about 70,000 on Feb. 19, and an even larger one on Feb. 26.
Moore told them that the wealthy have overreached, first taking the working class' money and then taking their souls by shutting them up at the bargaining table. The crowd yelled "thank you" before Moore began to speak, and he responded: "All of America thanks you, Wisconsin."
Walker has said the legislation is needed to help ease a state deficit projected to hit $3.6 billion by mid-2013, though opponents see it as an effort to weaken unions.
Negotiations between Democrats and Republicans broke down Thursday, though communication lines remain open, Sen. Tim Cullen said Saturday. Cullen, one of the Democrats who fled the state, said it's difficult for either side to compromise since Democrats don't want to lose support from their base and Walker doesn't want to appear weak by backing down.
Walker's spokesman, Cullen Werwie, wrote in an e-mail Saturday that Walker wouldn't publicly comment on the negotiations but was focused on balancing the budget and following through on his campaign pledge to create 250,000 new jobs. Walker has said he wouldn't compromise on the collective bargaining issue or anything that saves the state money.
Playing to the hometown crowd, Moore disputed the governor's claims that Wisconsin was broke, saying the idea was as farfetched as the belief that the Green Bay Packers needed former quarterback Brett Favre to win a Super Bowl. The Packers won the title last month with Favre's replacement, Aaron Rodgers.
Activists began a sit-in at the Wisconsin Capitol on Feb. 15, and although a judge ended protestors' overnight stays late last week, several hundred were back in the rotunda Saturday chanting "Who's house? Our house!" and "Hey-hey, ho-ho, Scott Walker's got to go!"
Renee Peplinski, a fifth-grade teacher in Wisconsin Rapids, said she doesn't mind making financial concessions to help the state even though it would hurt her family. She's more concerned about losing her collective bargaining rights. Without union protections, teachers would be at the mercy of administrators who could decide to fire them for any perceived slight, she said.
"Every teacher I know is depressed," said Peplinski, 42. "Every minute of the day there's this black cloud."
Thousands more marched in the streets. They banged drums, waved flags and carrying signs with messages like "No one has ever died from overexposure to education," "Worst bill ever" and "Tree huggers for unions."
Meanwhile, two other Democratic senators who fled the state joined the Rev. Jesse Jackson in Chicago to urge Walker to negotiate with workers. Sen. Lena Taylor said Democrats left because they "needed to slow the bill down."
"I ask the governor, 'Do your job. Come to the table and speak to Wisconsin workers,'" Taylor said. "We agree that fiscally we need to do things differently. We even agree that there are some places where we need to talk about how we negotiate. ... However we refuse to accept in America that we don't believe that a voice at the table is an option. It is not an option of a leader and it surely is not the Wisconsin way."
Sen. Chris Larson urged protestors to stay strong.
"We've been here for the last 16 days we'll continue to be here until worker's rights are removed as the target in this budget repair bill by our governor," he said.
Walker has said the bill is needed to ease a deficit that could hit $137 million by July and $3.6 billion by the middle of 2013. His proposal comes up with the money for this year in part by forcing state employees to pay for half the cost of their pensions and twice their current health care premiums — concessions equivalent to an 8 percent pay cut.
With the labor bill stalled, Walker said layoffs may be necessary so the state can start to realize the $30 million savings he had assumed would come from the concessions. All state workers, except those at prisons, state hospitals and other facilities open around the clock, would be potential layoff targets.
Walker informed state employee unions Friday that he intends to issue layoff notices to 1,500 workers that would be effective on April 4.
___
Associated Press writer Caryn Rousseau contributed to this report from Chicago.
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Veteran federal judge visits drug gang's NYC turf
NEW YORK – The scene in a gritty Brooklyn neighborhood had the feel of a political campaign stop, except the stately man trailed by aides, a bodyguard and two news photographers wasn't making speeches or working a crowd.
Instead, longtime federal Judge Jack B. Weinstein — 6-foot-2 and looking fit — strolled mostly in silence on Friday around the Louis Armstrong Houses in Bedford-Stuyvesant — the same streets where authorities say armed thugs once terrorized residents with an "open-air drug bazaar."
Weinstein, who's overseeing the case against the crack cocaine crew, had decided it was important to leave his chambers, don his dark overcoat and fedora and visit the defendants' former turf. The outing on a quiet and crisp winter afternoon drew some stares, but was otherwise uneventful.
Before slipping into a black van to be driven back to the courthouse, the judge explained that he sometimes needs a firsthand reality check on his cases.
"Otherwise," he said, "it gets very abstract."
The 30-minute foray was unorthodox for the formal world of the federal judiciary. But Weinstein, 89, has long had a reputation as a legal maverick.
As a U.S. district judge in Brooklyn for more than four decades, Weinstein has championed class-action cases resulting in sweeping verdicts and rulings against the makers of Agent Orange, handgun manufacturers and tobacco companies. His liberal decisions have angered conservatives and run afoul of appellate courts.
He handed out life sentences in 2009 in the closely watched case of two police detectives convicted of moonlighting as hitmen for the mob — but only after an appeals court reversed his decision to throw out their convictions based on the statute of limitations. He's also shown distain for harsh sentences for low-level offenders in more obscure cases.
In a book about mass tort litigation, Weinstein espoused a belief in "humankind's obligation to create a just society."
The World War II veteran still carries a heavy caseload. In court, he favors business suits over black robes. He often presides while seated at a conference table with lawyers and defendants, rather than from the bench.
Before the takedown at the Armstrong Houses, the defendants were "selling drugs and carrying firearms in broad daylight and in plain view of law-abiding citizens," prosecutors wrote in court papers. Investigators shot surveillance video of some of the brazen dealers shooting pool between transactions at a table set up on the sidewalk.
After a flurry of guilty pleas, Weinstein received appeals for mercy from defense attorneys arguing their youthful clients were products of abusive upbringings and deserved a second chance.
"Yes, I agree he made some terrible decisions but he has learned from them," the sister of Pedro "White Bread" Torres wrote to the judge.
Last month, Weinstein announced in a court order that he would be visiting the Armstrong Houses under the protection of a deputy U.S. marshal "to assist in sentencing." He invited along Torres' lawyer, Margaret Shalley and prosecutor Daniel Silver.
Shalley said Friday she's hopeful "something good will come of this." Another defense attorney who tagged along, Heidi Cesare, called the outing "unusual."
But, she added, "Judge Weinstein is unusual."
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Instead, longtime federal Judge Jack B. Weinstein — 6-foot-2 and looking fit — strolled mostly in silence on Friday around the Louis Armstrong Houses in Bedford-Stuyvesant — the same streets where authorities say armed thugs once terrorized residents with an "open-air drug bazaar."
Weinstein, who's overseeing the case against the crack cocaine crew, had decided it was important to leave his chambers, don his dark overcoat and fedora and visit the defendants' former turf. The outing on a quiet and crisp winter afternoon drew some stares, but was otherwise uneventful.
Before slipping into a black van to be driven back to the courthouse, the judge explained that he sometimes needs a firsthand reality check on his cases.
"Otherwise," he said, "it gets very abstract."
The 30-minute foray was unorthodox for the formal world of the federal judiciary. But Weinstein, 89, has long had a reputation as a legal maverick.
As a U.S. district judge in Brooklyn for more than four decades, Weinstein has championed class-action cases resulting in sweeping verdicts and rulings against the makers of Agent Orange, handgun manufacturers and tobacco companies. His liberal decisions have angered conservatives and run afoul of appellate courts.
He handed out life sentences in 2009 in the closely watched case of two police detectives convicted of moonlighting as hitmen for the mob — but only after an appeals court reversed his decision to throw out their convictions based on the statute of limitations. He's also shown distain for harsh sentences for low-level offenders in more obscure cases.
In a book about mass tort litigation, Weinstein espoused a belief in "humankind's obligation to create a just society."
The World War II veteran still carries a heavy caseload. In court, he favors business suits over black robes. He often presides while seated at a conference table with lawyers and defendants, rather than from the bench.
Before the takedown at the Armstrong Houses, the defendants were "selling drugs and carrying firearms in broad daylight and in plain view of law-abiding citizens," prosecutors wrote in court papers. Investigators shot surveillance video of some of the brazen dealers shooting pool between transactions at a table set up on the sidewalk.
After a flurry of guilty pleas, Weinstein received appeals for mercy from defense attorneys arguing their youthful clients were products of abusive upbringings and deserved a second chance.
"Yes, I agree he made some terrible decisions but he has learned from them," the sister of Pedro "White Bread" Torres wrote to the judge.
Last month, Weinstein announced in a court order that he would be visiting the Armstrong Houses under the protection of a deputy U.S. marshal "to assist in sentencing." He invited along Torres' lawyer, Margaret Shalley and prosecutor Daniel Silver.
Shalley said Friday she's hopeful "something good will come of this." Another defense attorney who tagged along, Heidi Cesare, called the outing "unusual."
But, she added, "Judge Weinstein is unusual."
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$430k Love settlement shows tweets can be costly
LOS ANGELES – Courtney Love's settlement of a case sparked by online attacks on a fashion designer show that while Twitter posts may be short, they can also be costly.
The singer has agreed to pay Dawn Simorangkir $430,000, plus interest, to settle a lawsuit the designer filed in March 2009 over comments Love made on Twitter and her MySpace blog.
While the case didn't go to a jury, First Amendment experts say it highlights the need for celebrities and average people to watch what they say online.
"People are getting in trouble for Twitter postings on an almost daily basis," said First Amendment Attorney Doug Mirell, a partner at Loeb and Loeb who did not handle the case.
"The laws controlling what is and isn't libelous are the same regardless of the medium in which the statements appear," he said.
Nancy Derwin-Weiss, an attorney who specializes in digital entertainment and advertising law, said the amount was sure to get the attention of stars and their handlers.
"I think it's just a wake up call," she said. "It's something that their advisers should talk to them about."
Simorangkir's attorney, Bryan J. Freedman, predicted the case would spark conversations between celebrities and their advisers.
"The fact is that this case shows that the forum upon which you communicate makes no difference in terms of potential legal exposure," Freedman said. "Disparaging someone on Twitter does not excuse one from liability."
Love's attorney, Jim Janowitz, said the settlement actually saved the rocker money. "This is a case where the economics of the case didn't make a lot of sense for either side," he said, noting that the costs of going to trial would have been large.
Janowitz said he would have argued that Love's statements were opinion and hyperbole, but not libelous, and that Simorangkir's sales rose after Love's tirades.
Derwin-Weiss, a partner at Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon, said the settlement amount was significant.
"It's a number that's not trivial," she said. "It has some heft to it."
Twitter's popularity has skyrocketed in the past year, in part because celebrities interact with fans on a daily basis by posting candid photos, thoughts and even product endorsements.
The widow of grunge rocker Kurt Cobain, Love has gained a reputation on the microblogging service Twitter with her posts, which are occasionally profane and sometimes nonsensical messages on a variety of topics. Several posts have lashed out at attorneys and other individuals who have drawn the musician's ire, with her tweets coming in rapid succession and using every bit of the site's 140 character maximum per post.
Simorangkir sued over several postings written under Love's former Twitter account, courtneylover79, that accused the designer, who is known as Boudoir Queen, of theft and of having a criminal background.
Simorangkir's lawsuit claimed Love became angry with her after she completed five outfits for the singer and sent her a bill.
"Love mounted a malicious campaign to not only terrorize Simorangkir, but to ruin and destroy her reputation and livelihood," Freedman wrote in a May 2009 filing.
The case had been scheduled to go to trial in February, and was expected to be the first in which a jury decides whether a celebrity's Twitter posts could be considered libel.
Freedman confirmed that a settlement had been reached, and said Love's attorneys had hoped to keep it confidential. Love also settled another lawsuit filed by Simorangkir's husband over photos for a nominal amount, Janowitz said.
"In order to show the world the comments were derogatory and completely illegal, it was imperative to my client to have the settlement be public," Freedman said.
The attorney said a public statement will be issued next week, but the monetary settlement that Love is required to pay, reflects the seriousness of the case.
"Personally, I think $430,000 is an appropriate way to say she's sorry," Freedman said.
Mirell said stars need to be cautious about how and what they post online, especially when they're talking about others.
"When you start talking about someone other than yourself, you are beginning to get into dangerous territory," Mirell said.
Janowitz predicted other celebrities are likely to get into trouble over their social media musings.
"Undoubtedly there will be people who do it until it is better understood that this publication, just like anything else, is publication," he said.
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The singer has agreed to pay Dawn Simorangkir $430,000, plus interest, to settle a lawsuit the designer filed in March 2009 over comments Love made on Twitter and her MySpace blog.
While the case didn't go to a jury, First Amendment experts say it highlights the need for celebrities and average people to watch what they say online.
"People are getting in trouble for Twitter postings on an almost daily basis," said First Amendment Attorney Doug Mirell, a partner at Loeb and Loeb who did not handle the case.
"The laws controlling what is and isn't libelous are the same regardless of the medium in which the statements appear," he said.
Nancy Derwin-Weiss, an attorney who specializes in digital entertainment and advertising law, said the amount was sure to get the attention of stars and their handlers.
"I think it's just a wake up call," she said. "It's something that their advisers should talk to them about."
Simorangkir's attorney, Bryan J. Freedman, predicted the case would spark conversations between celebrities and their advisers.
"The fact is that this case shows that the forum upon which you communicate makes no difference in terms of potential legal exposure," Freedman said. "Disparaging someone on Twitter does not excuse one from liability."
Love's attorney, Jim Janowitz, said the settlement actually saved the rocker money. "This is a case where the economics of the case didn't make a lot of sense for either side," he said, noting that the costs of going to trial would have been large.
Janowitz said he would have argued that Love's statements were opinion and hyperbole, but not libelous, and that Simorangkir's sales rose after Love's tirades.
Derwin-Weiss, a partner at Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon, said the settlement amount was significant.
"It's a number that's not trivial," she said. "It has some heft to it."
Twitter's popularity has skyrocketed in the past year, in part because celebrities interact with fans on a daily basis by posting candid photos, thoughts and even product endorsements.
The widow of grunge rocker Kurt Cobain, Love has gained a reputation on the microblogging service Twitter with her posts, which are occasionally profane and sometimes nonsensical messages on a variety of topics. Several posts have lashed out at attorneys and other individuals who have drawn the musician's ire, with her tweets coming in rapid succession and using every bit of the site's 140 character maximum per post.
Simorangkir sued over several postings written under Love's former Twitter account, courtneylover79, that accused the designer, who is known as Boudoir Queen, of theft and of having a criminal background.
Simorangkir's lawsuit claimed Love became angry with her after she completed five outfits for the singer and sent her a bill.
"Love mounted a malicious campaign to not only terrorize Simorangkir, but to ruin and destroy her reputation and livelihood," Freedman wrote in a May 2009 filing.
The case had been scheduled to go to trial in February, and was expected to be the first in which a jury decides whether a celebrity's Twitter posts could be considered libel.
Freedman confirmed that a settlement had been reached, and said Love's attorneys had hoped to keep it confidential. Love also settled another lawsuit filed by Simorangkir's husband over photos for a nominal amount, Janowitz said.
"In order to show the world the comments were derogatory and completely illegal, it was imperative to my client to have the settlement be public," Freedman said.
The attorney said a public statement will be issued next week, but the monetary settlement that Love is required to pay, reflects the seriousness of the case.
"Personally, I think $430,000 is an appropriate way to say she's sorry," Freedman said.
Mirell said stars need to be cautious about how and what they post online, especially when they're talking about others.
"When you start talking about someone other than yourself, you are beginning to get into dangerous territory," Mirell said.
Janowitz predicted other celebrities are likely to get into trouble over their social media musings.
"Undoubtedly there will be people who do it until it is better understood that this publication, just like anything else, is publication," he said.
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Tent camp, airlifts to help Libya refugees
RAS ADJIR, Tunisia – An international effort to shelter and repatriate tens of thousands of migrant workers who fled Libya moved forward Friday, with the traumatized refugees able to rest at a Tunisian tent camp with toilets and showers before crowding onto planes or boats for home.
The camp near the border with Libya can house 20,000 people and its white tents equipped with blankets and mattresses filled up quickly Friday. More aid supplies were streaming in, including from the United States and Europe, and dozens of flights have taken off from a nearby airport in the past two days to take refugees home.
Chaos and uncertainty remain, however. The pace of evacuations can't keep up with the thousands who have already reached Tunisia, and there are daily scenes of throngs of people fighting to get on buses for the airport.
There was a marked drop Friday in the number of those crossing into Tunisia, prompting speculation that forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi were intimidating those fleeing the country. Many people coming out of Libya reported that security forces took their cash and cell phones at checkpoints along the way.
However, Monji Slim, head of the Red Crescent in southern Tunisia, said he believed the reduced border traffic was because Friday is the Muslim day of rest and fewer Libyan border officials were on duty.
More than 200,000 people have fled to neighboring Tunisia, Egypt and Niger since Feb. 15, when the uprising against Gadhafi began, U.N. officials say. Of those, more than 100,000 have entered Tunisia in recent days.
After their harrowing ordeal in Libya, the fleeing workers' first stop in Tunisia is a garbage-strewn makeshift camp just outside the Ras Adjir border crossing. From there, they make their way to the transit tent camp, about seven kilometers (four miles) away, and then get on buses to the airport in Djerba, a two-hour drive away.
For many, that journey can mean anxiety-filled days. Among the hardest hit groups are laborers from Bangladesh. Unlike their counterparts from Egypt, Vietnam and China, whose governments quickly stepped in to bring them home, Bangladeshis complained of slow-acting officials.
Thousands of Bangladeshi laborers endured a cold night in the open, then marched single file from the border to the transit camp, balancing sacks of belongings on their heads or lugging heavy suitcases. A like number of their compatriots were already in the camp, having spent the night there.
Noor Hussain of Dhaka, Bangladesh, who said he workd two years as a janitor at a Tripoli hospital, was angry at his government for not doing more to get people home. Most of the Bangladeshis appear to have arrived penniless because their Libyan employers did not pay them or because they were robbed on the way.
A Bangladeshi diplomat appeared and hundreds crowded around him. He tried to assemble the first group of 350 for two flights later Friday, but as yellow airport buses pulled up, some workers simply stormed them, and the system quickly collapsed.
Andrew Mitchell, the British secretary of state for International Development, said the biggest challenge is speeding up evacuations, calling it "a logistical crisis."
The camp was set up in the past few days by international aid groups, the Tunisian militia and local volunteers.
Friday marked the first day of operations with all facilities, including showers, said Soraya Chelly, a Red Crescent volunteer. Later, about 8,000 migrants had been settled into their tents, and thousands more were still waiting to be assigned a place to sleep, she said.
More than 500 metric tons (550 tons) of humanitarian supplies like tents, blankets and kitchen sets arrived in recent days, said Goran Stojanovski, of the U.N.'s refugee agency. More aid is on the way, including two U.S. cargo planes bringing blankets and water. The most urgently needed items include soap, toothbrushes and disinfectant, Chelly said.
Tunisians have donated much of the food and have cooked warm lunches of pasta and couscous.
In midafternoon, new arrivals lined up for white bread, yogurt and water. In another part of the camp, men waited for the chance to make a three-minute call home, thanks to Telecoms Sans Frontieres (Telecommunications Without Borders), a group donating the service.
Elsewhere, several men from Bangladesh, stripped down to traditional sarongs, took showers with water from hoses.
Mitchell and Slim, the Red Crescent official, said they expect more foreign workers from Libya, despite Friday's relative lull at the border. Slim said he believed thousands more want to leave Libya and that traffic will pick up again Saturday.
The U.N. refugee agency said it appears some are reluctant to make the trip.
"Many people appear to be frightened and are unwilling to speak," said Melissa Fleming, a spokeswoman for the U.N. refugee agency in Geneva. "They feel hunted and targeted."
In the last 24 hours, fewer than 2,000 people made it to Tunisia, compared with 10,000 to 15,000 in previous days, she said, linking the drop to Gadhafi forces trying to choke off the flow.
"The security situation in Libya may be preventing people from fleeing," Fleming said. "If (the Libyan) military control of the border and roads reduces, a huge exodus of people could resume."
At an Egyptian crossing, 40 West Africans "paid a human smuggler to take them to Egypt in a sealed and refrigerated truck," said Jemini Pandya, spokeswoman for the International Organization for Migration.
British, French and U.N. planes were taking turns getting Egyptian workers to Cairo. France was preparing to evacuate 5,000 Egyptians who arrived in Tunisia by air and boat. Egypt itself has repatriated tens of thousands of citizens.
The U.N. was also evacuating 3,100 Egyptians from the Tunisian port of Djerba to Cairo.
___
Heilprin reported from Geneva, Switzerland.
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The camp near the border with Libya can house 20,000 people and its white tents equipped with blankets and mattresses filled up quickly Friday. More aid supplies were streaming in, including from the United States and Europe, and dozens of flights have taken off from a nearby airport in the past two days to take refugees home.
Chaos and uncertainty remain, however. The pace of evacuations can't keep up with the thousands who have already reached Tunisia, and there are daily scenes of throngs of people fighting to get on buses for the airport.
There was a marked drop Friday in the number of those crossing into Tunisia, prompting speculation that forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi were intimidating those fleeing the country. Many people coming out of Libya reported that security forces took their cash and cell phones at checkpoints along the way.
However, Monji Slim, head of the Red Crescent in southern Tunisia, said he believed the reduced border traffic was because Friday is the Muslim day of rest and fewer Libyan border officials were on duty.
More than 200,000 people have fled to neighboring Tunisia, Egypt and Niger since Feb. 15, when the uprising against Gadhafi began, U.N. officials say. Of those, more than 100,000 have entered Tunisia in recent days.
After their harrowing ordeal in Libya, the fleeing workers' first stop in Tunisia is a garbage-strewn makeshift camp just outside the Ras Adjir border crossing. From there, they make their way to the transit tent camp, about seven kilometers (four miles) away, and then get on buses to the airport in Djerba, a two-hour drive away.
For many, that journey can mean anxiety-filled days. Among the hardest hit groups are laborers from Bangladesh. Unlike their counterparts from Egypt, Vietnam and China, whose governments quickly stepped in to bring them home, Bangladeshis complained of slow-acting officials.
Thousands of Bangladeshi laborers endured a cold night in the open, then marched single file from the border to the transit camp, balancing sacks of belongings on their heads or lugging heavy suitcases. A like number of their compatriots were already in the camp, having spent the night there.
Noor Hussain of Dhaka, Bangladesh, who said he workd two years as a janitor at a Tripoli hospital, was angry at his government for not doing more to get people home. Most of the Bangladeshis appear to have arrived penniless because their Libyan employers did not pay them or because they were robbed on the way.
A Bangladeshi diplomat appeared and hundreds crowded around him. He tried to assemble the first group of 350 for two flights later Friday, but as yellow airport buses pulled up, some workers simply stormed them, and the system quickly collapsed.
Andrew Mitchell, the British secretary of state for International Development, said the biggest challenge is speeding up evacuations, calling it "a logistical crisis."
The camp was set up in the past few days by international aid groups, the Tunisian militia and local volunteers.
Friday marked the first day of operations with all facilities, including showers, said Soraya Chelly, a Red Crescent volunteer. Later, about 8,000 migrants had been settled into their tents, and thousands more were still waiting to be assigned a place to sleep, she said.
More than 500 metric tons (550 tons) of humanitarian supplies like tents, blankets and kitchen sets arrived in recent days, said Goran Stojanovski, of the U.N.'s refugee agency. More aid is on the way, including two U.S. cargo planes bringing blankets and water. The most urgently needed items include soap, toothbrushes and disinfectant, Chelly said.
Tunisians have donated much of the food and have cooked warm lunches of pasta and couscous.
In midafternoon, new arrivals lined up for white bread, yogurt and water. In another part of the camp, men waited for the chance to make a three-minute call home, thanks to Telecoms Sans Frontieres (Telecommunications Without Borders), a group donating the service.
Elsewhere, several men from Bangladesh, stripped down to traditional sarongs, took showers with water from hoses.
Mitchell and Slim, the Red Crescent official, said they expect more foreign workers from Libya, despite Friday's relative lull at the border. Slim said he believed thousands more want to leave Libya and that traffic will pick up again Saturday.
The U.N. refugee agency said it appears some are reluctant to make the trip.
"Many people appear to be frightened and are unwilling to speak," said Melissa Fleming, a spokeswoman for the U.N. refugee agency in Geneva. "They feel hunted and targeted."
In the last 24 hours, fewer than 2,000 people made it to Tunisia, compared with 10,000 to 15,000 in previous days, she said, linking the drop to Gadhafi forces trying to choke off the flow.
"The security situation in Libya may be preventing people from fleeing," Fleming said. "If (the Libyan) military control of the border and roads reduces, a huge exodus of people could resume."
At an Egyptian crossing, 40 West Africans "paid a human smuggler to take them to Egypt in a sealed and refrigerated truck," said Jemini Pandya, spokeswoman for the International Organization for Migration.
British, French and U.N. planes were taking turns getting Egyptian workers to Cairo. France was preparing to evacuate 5,000 Egyptians who arrived in Tunisia by air and boat. Egypt itself has repatriated tens of thousands of citizens.
The U.N. was also evacuating 3,100 Egyptians from the Tunisian port of Djerba to Cairo.
___
Heilprin reported from Geneva, Switzerland.
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Things To Ponder In Gift Giving
Aside from Christmas Holidays, Birthday is one of the most magical and exciting days in a child's life. I believe we all went through the same experience getting very agitated to open the gifts that we received from loved ones. We love to guess what is inside each present and we like being surprised. Well, the feeling is the same even for an older person. We still greatly appreciate the thoughtfulness of a person who exerted effort and spent time and money to be able to surprise us with a present. Oftentimes, we give gifts to express our love and care for that person. After all, gifts are tokens of appreciation to let our loved ones feel how much thankful we are for having them as part of our lives.
Being able to give presents for our loved one is great, however, our gift choices matter and there are many things to take into mind before giving them a present. Let me share a couple of things to consider when giving gifts to truly amaze and surprise the recipient.
First, we need to look for a gift that matches the recipient's personality and taste. Although, there are many gifts that are beautiful for us, it may not suit the recipient's taste, we should consider looking for a gift that we know the recipient will love as well. We should never give presents if we do it just for the sole sake of being able to give them presents. Give to impress.
Second, although price doesn't really matter to the recipient, we should look for a present that costs reasonable. Not all expensive gifts are beautiful and not all low-cost presents are low quality. If you know how to look for gifts well, choose the one that has a reasonable price but has a great quality. The price of the gift isn't directly proportional to its quality. I suggest you look all over the internet and compare the gifts that you like first before buying the final one.
Third, look for gifts that are practical, which means, presents that the our loved ones can use for their everyday life or choose a gift that a person can eat. Gourmet gifts is one of the perfect examples of a practical gift. A gourmet gift has many health benefits, it is also mouth-watering and sumptuous, it has a reasonable price, and most of all, unique. A one of a kind gift like a gourmet gift will surely surprise the recipient.
People have been practicing gift giving for the longest time. Each time our loved ones celebrates an important and joyous event in their lives, it has been our practice to give them gifts and celebrate with them. We only wish the best and all the happiness in the world for our loved ones so giving them only the best gift we can think of is only just the first step of making them happier. As an old adage goes, it is always better to give than to receive.
Being able to give presents for our loved one is great, however, our gift choices matter and there are many things to take into mind before giving them a present. Let me share a couple of things to consider when giving gifts to truly amaze and surprise the recipient.
First, we need to look for a gift that matches the recipient's personality and taste. Although, there are many gifts that are beautiful for us, it may not suit the recipient's taste, we should consider looking for a gift that we know the recipient will love as well. We should never give presents if we do it just for the sole sake of being able to give them presents. Give to impress.
Second, although price doesn't really matter to the recipient, we should look for a present that costs reasonable. Not all expensive gifts are beautiful and not all low-cost presents are low quality. If you know how to look for gifts well, choose the one that has a reasonable price but has a great quality. The price of the gift isn't directly proportional to its quality. I suggest you look all over the internet and compare the gifts that you like first before buying the final one.
Third, look for gifts that are practical, which means, presents that the our loved ones can use for their everyday life or choose a gift that a person can eat. Gourmet gifts is one of the perfect examples of a practical gift. A gourmet gift has many health benefits, it is also mouth-watering and sumptuous, it has a reasonable price, and most of all, unique. A one of a kind gift like a gourmet gift will surely surprise the recipient.
People have been practicing gift giving for the longest time. Each time our loved ones celebrates an important and joyous event in their lives, it has been our practice to give them gifts and celebrate with them. We only wish the best and all the happiness in the world for our loved ones so giving them only the best gift we can think of is only just the first step of making them happier. As an old adage goes, it is always better to give than to receive.
Dog Vomiting - Home Remedies That Are Effective
Being an animal lover and a dog owner subjects you to many unexpected concerns about the well being of your dog such as dog vomiting, injuries and other unexpected illnesses. Although in most cases, there is nothing the owner can do to prevent some things from happening to your dog, there are things you can do to treat some of the minor health issues from home.
Dog vomiting is one of the most common issues dog owners have to face with their furry family member. Generally speaking, vomiting with dogs is not usually a very serious condition that will require veterinarian care. However, if the vomiting is only one of the symptoms you should consider calling your vet for advice as to whether or not your dog should go in for an office visit.
Here are some of the top home remedies for treating dog that are vomiting:
1. Fasting is one of the first methods used to ensure the dog is only vomiting because of an upset stomach. By doing this you are not allowing your dog to ingest any more food which in turn will give his intestines and digestive system a break to heal.
2. Continue to offer your dog water and make sure he is drinking enough to remain properly hydrated. To check your dog for dehydration, you can simply lift up a small bit of his skin on his back. If the skin falls quickly back into place he is hydrated if not, call your veterinarian and have your dog seen. He might require an IV to re-hydrate him.
3. Pepto Bismol can be given to a dog with the approval of a veterinarian. This will do the exact same thing for your dog as it would for you, however, dosing instructions for a dog should be given by your vet.
Dog vomiting is one of the most common issues dog owners have to face with their furry family member. Generally speaking, vomiting with dogs is not usually a very serious condition that will require veterinarian care. However, if the vomiting is only one of the symptoms you should consider calling your vet for advice as to whether or not your dog should go in for an office visit.
Here are some of the top home remedies for treating dog that are vomiting:
1. Fasting is one of the first methods used to ensure the dog is only vomiting because of an upset stomach. By doing this you are not allowing your dog to ingest any more food which in turn will give his intestines and digestive system a break to heal.
2. Continue to offer your dog water and make sure he is drinking enough to remain properly hydrated. To check your dog for dehydration, you can simply lift up a small bit of his skin on his back. If the skin falls quickly back into place he is hydrated if not, call your veterinarian and have your dog seen. He might require an IV to re-hydrate him.
3. Pepto Bismol can be given to a dog with the approval of a veterinarian. This will do the exact same thing for your dog as it would for you, however, dosing instructions for a dog should be given by your vet.
Budget Holidays - Planning a Trip to San Francisco on a Budget
When you are planning your holidays to San Francisco, the first thing you need to realize that San Francisco can be a very expensive city to visit. If your money is limited however; there is no need to be concerned about it because if you plan it just right and include a lot of their attractions that are free, you should be able to enjoy your travel in and around San Francisco with very little money worries.
The biggest question when planning your trip to San Francisco is where are you going to stay? Do you want a hostel, a hotel or a motel. Of course the hostel is going to be the cheapest way to go but you may not like the idea of sharing everything with a bunch of strangers, so you might want to look into staying at one of the many chain motels or hotels that can be found in the area.
Word of warning though, for the price you don't want to stay by or on the Wharf these places can be pretty expensive. So you should look for places that might be in the Union Square or Nob Hill areas. Try and stay away from the Tenderloin part of town because these places are going to be pretty run down and will attract some unsavory characters. Make sure that any hotel or motel you are considering, that you read the customers reviews to get an idea of what the place is like.
Unless you live in California you are probably going to want to fly so make sure that you check for the best deals by looking for your tickets online. You can either book your flight through the airlines own websites or you can use one of the travel sites like Expedia for example. Never call the airlines, you will more than likely have to pay more. Most of the airlines websites will have website offers that you can choose from which will save you a bundle of money. There are usually restrictions but it's worth the savings in money.
Before you go check out the city guides that are available so that you can research the restaurants that are available. These guides will generally indicate how expensive each place is by dollar signs. This way, you can put together a list of places to go eat that won't cost you a fortune.
Not only will this save you money but it's going to save you time on your vacation since you will already know where to go and have your meals. Consider going to the Mission area for cheap and great Mexican food and Chinatown is going to offer you delicious food at a fraction of the price you might find elsewhere. Make sure to look for deals when you are online that you can utilize when you go to the restaurants you've chosen in San Francisco.
Don't get a rental car to see the city, especially if you are staying right in San Francisco, they really can be a waste. Not only are they an added expense but they are even more of an expense because parking is extremely pricey in San Francisco and even extremely hard to find. Best thing to do is get a pass for the MUNI system. They have a variety of different pass packages you can get and this can be purchased online as well to save you time and money. Even taking a cab is a lot less than if you were to rent a car, especially if you are just using the cab for driving around the city.
Before you leave for San Francisco, look up online for "free attractions in San Francisco" you should be able to find quite a few things you can do for free, you will also probably run into a variety of different printable coupons you can use at places that do cost. Once you get there you can also get a variety of different brochures and discount coupons from the place you are staying as well.
The biggest question when planning your trip to San Francisco is where are you going to stay? Do you want a hostel, a hotel or a motel. Of course the hostel is going to be the cheapest way to go but you may not like the idea of sharing everything with a bunch of strangers, so you might want to look into staying at one of the many chain motels or hotels that can be found in the area.
Word of warning though, for the price you don't want to stay by or on the Wharf these places can be pretty expensive. So you should look for places that might be in the Union Square or Nob Hill areas. Try and stay away from the Tenderloin part of town because these places are going to be pretty run down and will attract some unsavory characters. Make sure that any hotel or motel you are considering, that you read the customers reviews to get an idea of what the place is like.
Unless you live in California you are probably going to want to fly so make sure that you check for the best deals by looking for your tickets online. You can either book your flight through the airlines own websites or you can use one of the travel sites like Expedia for example. Never call the airlines, you will more than likely have to pay more. Most of the airlines websites will have website offers that you can choose from which will save you a bundle of money. There are usually restrictions but it's worth the savings in money.
Before you go check out the city guides that are available so that you can research the restaurants that are available. These guides will generally indicate how expensive each place is by dollar signs. This way, you can put together a list of places to go eat that won't cost you a fortune.
Not only will this save you money but it's going to save you time on your vacation since you will already know where to go and have your meals. Consider going to the Mission area for cheap and great Mexican food and Chinatown is going to offer you delicious food at a fraction of the price you might find elsewhere. Make sure to look for deals when you are online that you can utilize when you go to the restaurants you've chosen in San Francisco.
Don't get a rental car to see the city, especially if you are staying right in San Francisco, they really can be a waste. Not only are they an added expense but they are even more of an expense because parking is extremely pricey in San Francisco and even extremely hard to find. Best thing to do is get a pass for the MUNI system. They have a variety of different pass packages you can get and this can be purchased online as well to save you time and money. Even taking a cab is a lot less than if you were to rent a car, especially if you are just using the cab for driving around the city.
Before you leave for San Francisco, look up online for "free attractions in San Francisco" you should be able to find quite a few things you can do for free, you will also probably run into a variety of different printable coupons you can use at places that do cost. Once you get there you can also get a variety of different brochures and discount coupons from the place you are staying as well.
China's Fuerdai - The New Agents of Value Deterioration
Balinghou signifies the generation of single-child Chinese in the 1980s, who grew up in 'reform China' and thus are considered more spoiled than prior generations. Among the new generation, a hot topic in Chinese popular discourse is the sons and daughters of parents who became rich in the reform era. The term 'fuerdai', the 2nd generation of rich, refers to Chinese youngsters who grew up with a silver spoon in their mouth.
So what's the problem with the fuerdai? First of all, many Chinese consider these newcomers as spoiled, unmannered and lacking principle values, which represent good old China, or even basic values which make a society function properly. Unlike the balinghou who are sometimes spoiled but later on must stand on their feet in order to succeed, the fuerdai get away with every mistake they make. This brings us to another problem which is the link between wealth and power, as well as a reality in which the wealthy often enjoy special privileges, but we'll not get into it here.
I read an article about the fuerdai in one of the popular Chinese portals, which defined the several types of the fuerdai which exist in China nowadays, as well as stated which types are 'good' and which are 'bad' for China's social order, and even stated what percent of the total fuerdai is consisted in each type. According to the author (who made a harsh generalization), while some of the fuerdai follow the footpaths of their parents' success by working hard to keep their fortune, most parents of fuerdai wish to protect their kid's from experiencing any problems, so they allow the youngsters get away with almost everything.
What makes the 'fuerdai' growing environment different compared to that of other rich kids? Well there are many similarities between the two, but the fact that in the fuerdai's families wealth is a new concept, fuerdai often develop and irresponsible attitude towards labor, an attitude which could result in a reality where families don't reach the 'fusandai - the 3rd generation of rich'. No wonder there's a common saying in Chinese 'fu bu guo san dai' - 'Wealth doesn't reach the third generation'.
Apart from risking their own families' fortune, the fuerdai can become a burden on society. Since their parents remember the hard times before they became wealthy and wish that their kids won't experience the bitter taste of economic difficulties, even for a short instant, the fuerdai often enjoy an adolescence full of leisure and material benefits. Being both a single child and one who gets away with everything can later on result in a young adult who contributes to the lack of interpersonal values that many people experience in urban China. The spotlight that Chinese media put this topic intensifies the generalization of the fuerdai, however it also helps us understand more about the popular discourse in modern China.
So what's the problem with the fuerdai? First of all, many Chinese consider these newcomers as spoiled, unmannered and lacking principle values, which represent good old China, or even basic values which make a society function properly. Unlike the balinghou who are sometimes spoiled but later on must stand on their feet in order to succeed, the fuerdai get away with every mistake they make. This brings us to another problem which is the link between wealth and power, as well as a reality in which the wealthy often enjoy special privileges, but we'll not get into it here.
I read an article about the fuerdai in one of the popular Chinese portals, which defined the several types of the fuerdai which exist in China nowadays, as well as stated which types are 'good' and which are 'bad' for China's social order, and even stated what percent of the total fuerdai is consisted in each type. According to the author (who made a harsh generalization), while some of the fuerdai follow the footpaths of their parents' success by working hard to keep their fortune, most parents of fuerdai wish to protect their kid's from experiencing any problems, so they allow the youngsters get away with almost everything.
What makes the 'fuerdai' growing environment different compared to that of other rich kids? Well there are many similarities between the two, but the fact that in the fuerdai's families wealth is a new concept, fuerdai often develop and irresponsible attitude towards labor, an attitude which could result in a reality where families don't reach the 'fusandai - the 3rd generation of rich'. No wonder there's a common saying in Chinese 'fu bu guo san dai' - 'Wealth doesn't reach the third generation'.
Apart from risking their own families' fortune, the fuerdai can become a burden on society. Since their parents remember the hard times before they became wealthy and wish that their kids won't experience the bitter taste of economic difficulties, even for a short instant, the fuerdai often enjoy an adolescence full of leisure and material benefits. Being both a single child and one who gets away with everything can later on result in a young adult who contributes to the lack of interpersonal values that many people experience in urban China. The spotlight that Chinese media put this topic intensifies the generalization of the fuerdai, however it also helps us understand more about the popular discourse in modern China.
Gadhafi forces break rebel lines in Libyan city
TRIPOLI, Libya – Moammar Gadhafi's forces on Saturday broke through rebel lines at an opposition-held city that is closest to Tripoli, in a dawn attack that could prove crucial to the regime's defense of the Libyan capital, witnesses said.
They said the forces loyal to the country's longtime leader were inside Zawiya, 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Tripoli, after overcoming rebel positions with heavy mortar shelling and machinegun fire. They said the shelling damaged government buildings and homes.
The hours-long attack started at dawn and the rattle of gunfire and explosions could be heard as the witnesses spoke to The Associated Press by phone. They spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing for their own safety.
They said several fires were raging in Zawiya on Saturday and that heavy black smoke hung over many parts of the city of some 200,000 people. They said snipers were shooting on sight anyone on the streets or residents who venture out on their homes' balconies.
The city's rebels, they said, had retreated to take new positions deeper inside the city.
"We will fight them on the streets and will never give up so long as Gadhafi is still in power," said one of the rebel fighters, who also spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
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They said the forces loyal to the country's longtime leader were inside Zawiya, 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Tripoli, after overcoming rebel positions with heavy mortar shelling and machinegun fire. They said the shelling damaged government buildings and homes.
The hours-long attack started at dawn and the rattle of gunfire and explosions could be heard as the witnesses spoke to The Associated Press by phone. They spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing for their own safety.
They said several fires were raging in Zawiya on Saturday and that heavy black smoke hung over many parts of the city of some 200,000 people. They said snipers were shooting on sight anyone on the streets or residents who venture out on their homes' balconies.
The city's rebels, they said, had retreated to take new positions deeper inside the city.
"We will fight them on the streets and will never give up so long as Gadhafi is still in power," said one of the rebel fighters, who also spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
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