[OOC] Atrelvium

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Boatright attorney blasts NCAA after probe (AP)

HARTFORD, Conn. ? A lawyer representing the mother of Connecticut guard Ryan Boatright says the family is considering legal options after the NCAA detailed its investigation into the freshman's eligibility.

The NCAA has cleared Boatright to play, but said Saturday he and his mother had accepted more than $8,000 in impermissible benefits from at least two people.

Attorney Scott Tompsett issued a statement Sunday calling the NCAA's news release false and misleading. He said the people providing the benefits were friends of the Boatright family and had "no expectation of repayment or reciprocation."

Boatright has missed nine games this season as a result of the investigation, including a six-game suspension to start the season, and is repaying $4,500 in benefits.

The 6-foot Boatright was back in uniform Sunday as UConn hosted Notre Dame.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_sp_co_ne/bkc_uconn_boatright

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Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich trade barbs in Florida (Washington Post)

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Obama holds fundraiser with American Indians (AP)

WASHINGTON ? President Barack Obama, raising money for his campaign among tribal leaders, said Friday he wants American Indians to be "full partners" in the economy.

Obama met with 70 to 75 supporters from Native American tribes. Democratic officials said the fundraiser would benefit the Obama Victory Fund, a joint committee of the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Tickets started at $15,000.

Obama told participants that he has worked to include American Indians in his administration and wants Native Americans to be "full partners in our economy." The president noted that he had signed laws to improve health care for Native American tribes and pushed for better educational opportunities and more improvements to tribal economies.

"We want new businesses and new opportunities to take root on the reservations," Obama said. Attendees included Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Florida congresswoman, and former Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I.

Obama raised more than $220 million for his re-election campaign and the Democratic National Committee in 2011. The president returned to Washington after completing a three-day, five-state trip following his State of the Union address.

When Obama ran for president in 2008, he visited Montana's Crow Indian reservation and was adopted into the nation during a private ceremony.

Obama quipped, "If my adoptive parents were here, I know what they'd say, "Kids just grow up so fast."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_el_pr/us_obama_fundraiser

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Distro Issue 25: Ultrabook overload, Snap Analysis and Gina Trapani

Distro is 25... weeks old, today! And to celebrate we're debuting a new page that puts you, our readers, front and center. We've been sending out questions over various social networking channels and collecting your answers for the inaugural run of Snap Analysis. Among other things, you weighed in on RIM's CEO switch up, as did our own Darren Murph in his editorial, "RIM's New CEO Isn't the Shakeup It Needed." We have more editorializing coming your way from the desk of Donald Melanson, who's taking the Ultrabook marketing hype to task. Also in this issue, we test drive the BlackBerry Porsche Design P'9981 and review the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1 and Huawei's Honor. Lifehacker's Gina Trapani takes on the Distro Q&A, IRL goes back to CES and Ross Rubin explores Apple's education push. There's a lot to soak up in this issue, so hit the appropriate link below and get to reading!

Continue reading Distro Issue 25: Ultrabook overload, Snap Analysis and Gina Trapani

Distro Issue 25: Ultrabook overload, Snap Analysis and Gina Trapani originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Phil Knight at JoePa event: Who's real trustee?

Sue Paterno, wife of former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, waves to well-wishers as she enters a memorial service at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pa., on Thursday Jan. 26, 2012 . A capacity crowd of more than 12,000 packed the Bryce Jordan Center for one more tribute to Paterno, the Hall of Fame football coach who died Sunday from lung cancer. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Sue Paterno, wife of former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, waves to well-wishers as she enters a memorial service at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pa., on Thursday Jan. 26, 2012 . A capacity crowd of more than 12,000 packed the Bryce Jordan Center for one more tribute to Paterno, the Hall of Fame football coach who died Sunday from lung cancer. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Charles V. Pittman, senior vice president for publishing at Schurz Communications Inc., an Indiana-based company that owns television and radio stations and newspapers speaks at "A Memorial for Joe" in honor of Joe Paterno at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pa. Thursday Jan. 26, 2012. Pittman is a former player who has said he was in Paterno's first class and was the coach's first All-America running back. A capacity crowd of more than 12,000 packed Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center for one more tribute to Paterno, the Hall of Fame football coach who died Sunday from lung cancer. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Attendees at a memorial service for former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno arrive at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pa. Thursday Jan. 26, 2012. A capacity crowd of more than 12,000 is expected to pack the arenawld for one more tribute to Paterno, the Hall of Fame football coach who died Sunday from lung cancer. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer arrives at a memorial service for Joe Paterno at the Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pa. Thursday Jan. 26, 2012. A capacity crowd of more than 12,000 is expected to pack the arena for one more tribute to Paterno, the Hall of Fame football coach who died Sunday from lung cancer. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pallbearers including sons Jay Paterno, foreground right, and Scott Paterno, foreground center, carry the casket with the remains of former Penn State coach Joe Paterno after funeral services at the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center on the Penn State campus Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012 in State College, Pa. Paterno died Sunday morning, Jan. 22. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) ? Nike founder and chairman Phil Knight got a standing ovation at Joe Paterno's public memorial Thursday for defending the late coach's response to an accusation of child sex abuse against a former assistant.

At a ceremony filled with lavish praise that would likely have embarrassed the school's beloved coach, Knight waded into a subject that had been virtually ignored since Paterno died on Sunday from lung cancer ? the immediate cause of his firing after 46 seasons leading Penn State's football team to a record-setting 409 wins.

University trustees have said a major reason Paterno was ousted Nov. 9 was that he failed to alert anyone beyond his two superiors at the school when he was told of an abuse allegation against former assistant Jerry Sandusky in 2002. Sandusky was charged with dozens of child sex abuse counts on Nov. 5, two school officials were charged with perjury and former school president Graham Spanier was pushed out the same night as Paterno.

Commenting on those events, Knight said, "it turns out (Paterno) gave full disclosure to his superiors, information that went up the chains to the head of the campus police and the president of the school. The matter was in the hands of a world-class university, and by a president with an outstanding national reputation."

Knight added, "...this much is clear to me. If there is a villain in this tragedy, it lies in that investigation and not in Joe Paterno."

The remark drew a standing ovation from the crowd of 12,000 at the Bryce Jordan Center ? with Paterno's widow, Sue, and former defensive coordinator, Tom Bradley, among those rising to their feet.

"Who is the real trustee at Penn State University?" Knight asked.

The campus has been torn by anger over the Sandusky scandal and Paterno's firing, but this week thousands of alumni, fans, students and former players in Happy Valley have remembered Paterno for his stellar career, his love for the school and his generosity.

That made Knight's remarks even more surprising.

Paterno's son and former quarterbacks coach, Jay, also got a standing ovation near the end of the ceremony when he imitated his raised-in-Brooklyn father's voice, telling the audience to "Sit down! Sit down!"

Then, growing serious, he told the crowd, "Joe Paterno left this world with a clear conscience."

Earlier in ceremony, the focus was praise for Paterno and fond memories.

"Bless us this day as we honor and celebrate one of your greatest gifts to the world ? Joe Paterno," the Rev. Matthew Laffey said in the opening prayer.

A short time later, after a video montage, former star Penn State quarterback Todd Blackledge said, "No one individual has ever done more for a university anywhere in the country than what Joe Paterno did for this school."

The line drew applause, and Blackledge was followed on the podium in the darkened arena by Lauren Perrotti, a Penn State student and Paterno fellow.

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

"Now, with grown children grandkids and 42 years removed from my playing days, I thought Joe Paterno had taught me all that he could teach me. I was wrong," he said. "Despite being pushed away from his beloved game, and under the extreme pressure of the events of the past few months, Joe's grace was startling."

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

"He was building a proud program for the school, the state and the hundreds of young men he watched over for a half century," said Pittman, senior vice president for publishing at Schurz Communications Inc., an Indiana-based company that owns television and radio stations and newspapers, and a member of the Board of Directors of The Associated Press.

Thursday's event brought to a close the public mourning period for Paterno.

Public viewings were held Tuesday and Wednesday morning at a campus spiritual center, followed by a funeral Mass, procession and burial for Paterno that afternoon.

___

Associated Press writer Kathy Matheson in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-26-Penn%20State-Paterno/id-5dc3145c64fb4d919dab097bc9ea3e03

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Arab League observers see spike in Syrian violence (AP)

CAIRO ? The head of the Arab League observers in Syria says violence in the country has spiked over the past four days.

Sudanese Gen. Mohammed Ahmed al-Dabi said in a statement Friday that three Syrian cities ? Homs, Hama and Idlib ? have witnessed a "very high escalation" of violence since Tuesday.

The head of the League's operations room for the mission, Adnan al-Khudeir, said 30 additional observers will be sent to Syria next week to bolster the mission.

The observers are in Syria to monitor a League plan to end the country's 10-month-old crisis.

The mission has been widely criticized for failing to stop the violence.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

BEIRUT (AP) ? Armed forces loyal to President Bashar Assad barraged residential buildings with mortars and machine-gun fire, killing at least 30 people, including a family of women and children during a day of sectarian killings and kidnappings in the besieged Syrian city of Homs, activists said Friday.

The violence erupted Thursday, but important details were only emerging a day later. Video posted online by activists showed the bodies of five small children, five women of varying ages and a man, all bloodied and piled on beds in what appeared to be an apartment after a building was hit in the Karm el-Zaytoun neighborhood of the city. A narrator said an entire family had been "slaughtered."

The video could not be independently verified.

Heavy gunfire erupted for a second day Friday in the city, which has seen some of the heaviest violence of the 10-month-old uprising against Assad's rule. Activists said at least 10 people were killed across the country, four of them in Homs.

Elsewhere, a car bomb exploded Friday at a checkpoint outside the northern city of Idlib, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, citing witnesses on the ground. The number of casualties was not immediately clear.

In an attempt to stop the bloodshed in Syria, the U.N. Security Council was to hold a closed-door meeting Friday to discuss the crisis, a step toward a possible resolution against the Damascus regime, diplomats said. The U.N. says at least 5,400 people have been killed in the government crackdown since March, and the turmoil has intensified as dissident soldiers have joined the ranks of the anti-Assad protesters and carried out attacks on regime forces.

Details of Thursday's wave of killings in Homs were emerging from an array of residents and activists on Friday, though they said they were having difficulty because of continuing gunfire.

"There has been a terrifying massacre," Rami Abdul-Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told the AP on Friday, calling for an independent investigation of Thursday's killings.

Thursday started with a spate of sectarian kidnappings and killings between the city's population of Sunnis and Allawites, a Shiite sect to which Assad belongs and which is the backbone of his regime, said Mohammad Saleh, a centrist opposition figure and activist resident of Homs.

There were also a string of attacks by unknown gunmen on army checkpoints, Saleh said. Checkpoints are a frequent target of dissident troops who have joined the opposition.

The violence culminated with the evening killing of the family, Saleh said, adding that the full details of what happened were not yet clear.

The Observatory said 29 people were killed, including eight children, when a building came under heavy mortar and machine gun fire. Some residents spoke of another massacre that took place when shabiha ? armed regime loyalists ? stormed the district, slaughtering residents in an apartment, including children.

"It's racial cleansing," said one Sunni resident of Karm el-Zaytoun, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. "They are killing people because of their sect," he said.

Some residents said kidnappers were holding Alawites in the building hit by mortars and gunfire in Karm el-Zaytoun, but the reports could not be confirmed.

Thursday's death toll in Homs city was at least 35, said the Observatory and the Local Coordination Committees, an umbrella group of activists. Both groups cite a network of activists on the ground in Syria for their death tolls. The reports could not be confirmed.

Syria tightly controls access to trouble spots and generally allows journalists to report only on escorted trips, which slows the flow of information.

The Syrian uprising began last March with largely peaceful anti-government protests, but it has grown increasingly militarized in recent months as frustrated regime opponents and army defectors arm themselves and fight back against government forces.

It has also seen outbreaks of bloody tit-for-tat sectarian killings. Syria has a volatile religious divide, making civil unrest one of the most dire scenarios. The Assad regime and the leadership of its military and security forces are dominated by the Alawite minority, but the country is overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim.

Also Friday, Iran's official IRNA news agency said gunmen in Syria have kidnapped 11 Iranian pilgrims traveling by road from Turkey to Damascus.

Iranian pilgrims routinely visit Syria ? Iran's closest ally in the Arab world ? to pay homage to Shiite holy shrines.

The government crackdown has killed more than 5,400 people since March, according to estimates from the United Nations.

U.N. rights chief Navi Pillay said the "fragmentation within the country" was making it harder to update the numbers. "Some areas are completely closed, such as parts of Homs, we are unable to verify much of the information that's coming to us. We are watching the figures, working closely with civil society organizations, and sifting through all the information that's coming to us," he said at the Davos Forum in Switzerland.

But he expressed "great concern that the killings are continuing and in my view it's the authorities who are killing civilians, and so it would all stop if an order comes from the top to stop the killings."

Assad's regime claims terrorists acting out a foreign conspiracy are behind the uprising, not protesters seeking change, and that thousands of security forces have been killed.

International pressure on Damascus to end the bloodshed so far has produced few results.

The Arab League has sent observers to the country, but the mission has been widely criticized for failing to stop the violence. Gulf states led by Saudi Arabia pulled out of the mission Tuesday, asking the Security Council to intervene because the Syrian government has not halted its crackdown.

The U.N. Security Council has been unable to agree on a resolution since violence began in March because of strong opposition from Russia and China.

A senior Russian diplomat said Moscow will oppose a new draft United Nations resolution on Syria because it fails to take Kremlin's concerns into account.

Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov was quoted by the ITAR-Tass news agency as saying Friday that the draft worked out by the West and some Arab states fails to exclude the possibility of outside military interference.

In Cairo, Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby told reporters that he and the prime minister of Qatar would leave for New York on Saturday seek U.N. support for the latest Arab plan to end Syria's crisis. The plans calls for a two-month transition to a unity government, with Assad giving his vice president full powers to work with the proposed government.

Syria has rejected the plan, saying it violates its sovereignty.

Bassma Kodmani, a spokeswoman for the opposition Syrian National Council, said the Arab initiative was a move in the right direction.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_syria

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Australian Open Show Court Schedules

By The Associated Press

Associated Press Sports

updated 5:34 a.m. ET Jan. 25, 2012

Thursday

At Melbourne Park

Melbourne, Australia

Play begins at 7 p.m. EST Wednesday

Rod Laver Arena

Bob and Mike Bryan (1), United States, vs. Robert Lindstedt, Sweden, and Horia Tecau (7), Romania

Not before 9:30 p.m. EST Wednesday: Kim Clijsters (11), Belgium, vs. Victoria Azarenka (3), Belarus

Maria Sharapova (4), Russia, vs. Petra Kvitova (2), Czech Republic

Night Session (3:30 a.m. EST Thursday)

Roger Federer (3), Switzerland, vs. Rafael Nadal (2), Spain

Exhibition: Martina Navratilova, United States, and Goran Ivanisevic, Croatia, vs. Martina Hingis, Switzerland, and Pat Cash, Australia

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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More newsNicolas Asfouri / AFP - Getty Images

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??Appearing uncomfortable for much of the match, defending champion Novak Djokovic held on to beat David Ferrer 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-1 Wednesday night and complete a blockbuster semifinal lineup at the Australian Open.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46128601/ns/sports-tennis/

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Google Authenticator updated, CyanogenMod 7.1 users beware

For those of you using two-step authentication for your Google account, a new update for the Google Authenticator app has just landed in the Android Market. Version 0.85 apparently fixes a few security bugs, and adds some UI improvements -- though we have to say, the app looks exactly the same to our untrained eyes.

Anyone with CyanogenMod 7.1 installed will want to stay clear of this Authenticator update, however, as users of the popular custom firmware are reporting that this new update force-closes at startup on their devices. Our own Chris Parsons has confirmed that the latest version doesn't work with CM 7.1 on his HTC Desire HD and Motorola Atrix, while the app is equally borked on Josh Munoz's CM'd HTC EVO 3D. Because two-step authentication users need the Authenticator app to sign in on a new computer, this could cause a few headaches for anyone affected. So if you're running CM, or a custom ROM based upon it, we'd recommend holding off updating until more is known, or an official fix is available.

In the meantime, if you find yourself unable to use the new version of Google Authenticator, you can always authenticate your account over the phone, or use one of your emergency sign-in codes (you remembered to write those down, right?) After you're signed in, you'll then be able to disable two-stage authentication until either Google or the CM team comes out with a fix.

If you're not running a custom ROM, however, you should be just fine. You'll find the usual QR code and Android Market links after the break.

read more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/q5RL52wnjaQ/story01.htm

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Google to merge user data across more services (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? Google announced a plan Tuesday to link user data across its email, video, social-networking and other services that it says will create a "beautifully simple and intuitive" user experience. But critics raised privacy concerns like those that helped kill the search giant's Buzz social networking service.

The changes, which take effect March 1, will remove some of the legal hurdles Google Inc. faces in trying to link information across services from Gmail to YouTube to the Google Plus social network that replaced Buzz.

More than 70 different company policies are being streamlined into one main privacy policy and about a dozen others. Separate policies will continue to govern products including Google's Chrome Web browser and its Wallet service for electronic payments.

The company said the new system will give users more relevant search results and information, while helping advertisers find customers ? especially on mobile devices.

For example, if you spend an hour on Google searching the Web for skateboards, the next time you log into YouTube, you might get recommendations for videos featuring Tony Hawk, along with ads for his merchandise and the nearest place to buy them.

"If you're signed into Google, we can do things like suggest search queries ? or tailor your search results ? based on the interests you've expressed in Google (Plus), Gmail and YouTube," the company says on a new overview page for its privacy policies. "We'll better understand (what) you're searching for and get you those results faster."

The changes follow the shutdown of Buzz last month. After its introduction less than two years ago, the social networking tool was ridiculed for exposing users' most-emailed contacts to other participants by default, inadvertently revealing some users' ongoing contact with ex-spouses and competitors.

Google has since made Plus the focal point of its challenge to Facebook's social network. In the first seven months since its debut, Plus has attracted more than 90 million users, according to Google. To promote Plus, Google recently began including recommendations about people and companies with Plus accounts in its search results. That change has provoked an outcry from critics who say Google is abusing its dominance in Internet search to drive more traffic to its own services.

Google and the Federal Trade Commission reached a settlement last year that forbids Google from misrepresenting how it uses personal information and from sharing an individual's data without prior approval. Google also agreed to biennial privacy audits for the next two decades.

Google said it talked to regulators about the upcoming privacy changes, which it will apply worldwide. An FTC spokeswoman declined to comment on the changes or say whether the agency was consulted.

Some critics saw Google as trying to beat regulators to the punch by setting a precedent before the FTC unveils its own framework for protecting online privacy.

Jeff Chester, executive director of the privacy group Center for Digital Democracy, said Google hopes "that by creating a one-stop shop for privacy policy it will deflect regulatory action."

Google, Facebook and other popular Internet services all want to learn as much as possible about their users so they can sell more advertising at higher rates to marketers looking to target people interested in specific products, such as golf clubs or skinny jeans.

Google says users who opt to see personalized ads are 37 percent more likely to respond to an ad than people who opt out of targeting.

The changes follow a rare letdown in revenue growth at Google's lucrative advertising network. Google's fourth-quarter earnings report last week showed the company's average revenue per click fell 8 percent from the previous year, despite robust growth in online shopping at the holidays.

Google shares, which have fallen 9 percent since the report, closed Tuesday at $580.93, down $4.59 for the day.

Ryan Calo, director for privacy at the Stanford Center for Internet and Society, said Google is trying to make its policy privacy transparent instead of bogging users down with pages of legalese; the new privacy policies run about 10,000 words, down from 68,000.

But he said the company must ensure that the ways it uses data help users without revealing sensitive information.

"If it creeps people out, then they need to be aware of that," he said.

___

Technology Writer Michael Liedtke in San Francisco contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/internet/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_hi_te/us_google_privacy

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Hope fades for four missing at Mount Rainier, Park Service says (Reuters)

SEATTLE (Reuters) ? Chances are slim of finding four people alive who have been missing since last week on Mount Rainier in Washington state as rescue efforts were suspended on Tuesday due to a snow storm that hit the region, a Park Service official said.

The suspension of the search came a day after officials, taking advantage of a break between winter storms, conducted a major operation to look for the missing people.

An Army Chinook helicopter, a private helicopter and a Washington State Patrol plane with infrared capabilities were used in the latest unsuccessful search, along with seven ground teams, the U.S. National Park Service said in a statement.

But on Tuesday, a winter storm brought more snowfall to Mount Rainier, 50 miles southeast of Seattle, hindering further rescue efforts. Heavy snow blanketed Mount Rainier last week during an unusually strong winter storm that virtually paralyzed nearby Seattle.

The four missing people were in two separate parties. Mark Vucich, 37, of San Diego and Michelle Trojanowski, 30, of Atlanta had been planning to camp at Muir Snowfield at the mountain, the Park Service said. They had said they would exit the park on Sunday, January 15.

The second party consisted of two 52-year-old climbers. Sork Yang of Springfield, Oregon, and Seol Hee Jin of South Korea, were trying to reach the mountain's summit and planned to return on Monday, January 16, the Park Service said.

Patti Wold, a spokeswoman for the Park Service, said on Tuesday that the chances of finding the four people alive were "very minimal, minimum to none."

"We're not searching today," Wold said. "We are scaling back the operation."

The families of the four missing people have been told that the chances of finding them alive were small, she added.

(Reporting by Laura L. Myers: Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/weather/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120125/us_nm/us_missing_rainier_washington

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Speaker Denney and Chairman Semanko Submit Legal Opinion ...

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Speaker Denney and Chairman Semanko Submit Legal Opinion Confirming Power to Replace Redistricting Commissioners

?Boise, Idaho ? Speaker of the House Lawerence Denney and Idaho GOP Chairman Norm Semanko delivered a legal opinion to the Secretary of State today, revealing that the Idaho Attorney General's opinion regarding the replacement of Redistricting Commissioners is contrary to the controlling legal authority and clearly in error. The legal opinion, prepared by attorney Christ Troupis, concludes that ?the Idaho Attorney General?s conclusions are contrary to Idaho law settled over 45 years ago, and completely unsupported not only in Idaho, but every other jurisdiction that has addressed this issue.? Troupis? legal opinion clearly states that Denney and Semanko have the authority to remove their Redistricting Commissioners and appoint replacements.

?The legal analysis relies on two Idaho Supreme Court opinions, which ruled that the power of removal is incident to the power of appointment, absent an express Constitutional or statutory provision to the contrary.? No provision limiting the power of removal exists in the redistricting laws. [Note: The two Supreme Court cases are Gowey v. Siggelkow, 85 Idaho 574 (1963) and Hansen v. White, 114 Idaho 907 (1988). The prevailing attorney in the Gowey case was Allen Derr of Boise.]

?An opinion authored by the Attorney General's office for the Secretary of State last Friday failed to identify or recognize the controlling Supreme Court authority and instead came to the opposite conclusion, without the benefit of any binding legal precedent. The legal opinion provided to Denney and Semanko concludes that the AG's opinion is in error.

?Semanko, himself a practicing attorney for the past 18 years, with numerous appearances before the Idaho Supreme Court, and former General Counsel for the Republican National Committee, said that the AG's opinion cannot be credibly or validly relied upon by the Secretary of State or anyone else, in light of the controlling Idaho Supreme Court precedent to the contrary.

?Denney and Semanko plan to name their two new Redistricting Commissioners to fill the vacant positions tomorrow, in advance of the Commission reconvening on Thursday.

Source: http://idgop.org/speaker-denney-and-chairman-semanko-submit-legal-opinion-confirming-power-to-replace-redistricting-commissioners/

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Gingrich Wins the South Carolina Primary (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | The results were overwhelming for Newt Gingrich in the South Carolina primary, according to the New York Times. The people of South Carolina rallied around the American flag, showing they wanted to take America back to a direction of patriotism that our forefathers once dreamed it could be, not toward a socialized nation like the Europeans have, that just is not America. Gingrich won 40 percent of the votes and Mitt Romney received 27 percent, while Rick Santorum came in third with 17 percent and Ron Paul with 10 percent.

Some in the media said, with an ex-wife coming out against the former speaker, he never stood a chance with women voters. He received a whopping 58 percent in favor when a poll where women were asked if they let a past infidelity change their decision about the former Speaker of the House. Gingrich showed America that he stands for America, and it shows on every face of every American who voted for the man.

Many in the media are also saying Romney stumbled when he was flip-flopping on his tax issues. When asked when he will release his tax statement for 2010, he said he did not know or he will or he won't. People are suspect when they think someone has something to hide. All politicians should be an open book or else, they will fall by the wayside fast.

The people of South Carolina have spoken. Many said they did not care about problems that happened with candidates years ago, they are concerned with now. The voters polled at various precincts were not concerned with domestic rhetoric with politicians personal lives or financial concerns, but were concerned with the direction of this country.

The voter turnout was higher than 2008 by at least 100,000 votes, which is a wonderful thing. It shows Americans are doing their civic duty and using their rights as Americans. The feeling this time was a patriotic one by most of the voters.

The amount of cheering and flag waving I have seen is addictive as patriotism is alive and well in the South. It is off to the Sunshine State in 10 days to see who comes out ahead. We have a long way to go in this, but the infectious pride of being American is spreading thanks to the final four.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120122/pl_ac/10866015_gingrich_wins_the_south_carolina_primary

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Source: http://www.arlingtonbaptistpatriots.com/2012/01/select-your-individual-daily-life-insurance-plan-program/

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Embattled Olympus to remain on Tokyo stock market (AP)

TOKYO ? Olympus Corp. will not be kicked off the Tokyo Stock Exchange, but the camera and medical device maker must pay a fine for covering up massive losses with false accounting, exchange officials said Friday.

Olympus will be monitored by the exchange as a security on "Alert" because significant improvements must be made in its internal control systems, it said in an emailed statement.

Olympus faced removal from the stock exchange following revelations of a scheme by the Tokyo-based company to hide 117.7 billion yen ($1.5 billion) in investment losses dating back to the 1990s.

The scandal came to light late last year after then-President Michael Woodford raised questions about huge payments for financial advice and expensive acquisitions of companies unrelated to the company's mainstay businesses. Olympus first denied, then affirmed the allegations.

The TSE said that even though the deception was perpetuated over a long period, it "cannot be deemed to have caused significant misinterpretation of profit levels or performance trends" given the size of the company. "The improper accounting practices had generally no effect on sales or operating profit."

Olympus was also slapped with a 10 million yen ($130,000) penalty because its actions damaged investor confidence in the stock market, the statement said, castigating the company for "using devious methods."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/japan/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120120/ap_on_bi_ge/as_japan_olympus_stock_exchange

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Florida State ends No. 4 Duke's home streak at 45

Florida State's Michael Snaer shoots the game-winning basket during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Duke in Durham, N.C., Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. Florida State won 76-73. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Florida State's Michael Snaer shoots the game-winning basket during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Duke in Durham, N.C., Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. Florida State won 76-73. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Florida State's Michael Snaer (21) and Ian Miller celebrate Snaer's game-winning shot against Duke during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Durham, N.C., Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. Florida State won 76-73. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Florida State's Michael Snaer (21) and Ian Miller celebrate Snaer's game-winning basket against Duke during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Durham, N.C., Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. Florida State won 76-73. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) ? Michael Snaer acknowledged he never felt comfortable playing in one of college basketball's most hostile environments, from the rowdy fans perched on the sideline to the way Duke tried to pressure the Seminoles out of their offense.

One shot changed everything ? and ended Duke's long reign on its famed home court.

Snaer hit a 3-pointer as time expired and Florida State beat the fourth-ranked Blue Devils 76-73 on Saturday, snapping Duke's 45-game home winning streak.

With the game tied, Luke Loucks sprinted up the middle of the court before zipping a pass to Snaer on the right side in front of the FSU bench. Snaer quickly launched the shot over Andre Dawkins that dropped cleanly through the net at the horn, stunning the once-rowdy crowd at Cameron Indoor Stadium and sending the Seminoles' bench spilling onto "Coach K Court" in celebration.

"When it went in, I didn't know what to think," Snaer said. "It was amazing."

Snaer's basket gave the Seminoles (13-6, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) a fourth straight win, which includes last weekend's 33-point home rout of preseason No. 1 North Carolina. It marked only the second time in school history that the Seminoles have beaten both Duke and North Carolina in the same season, the other time coming in 2002.

It marked the first home loss for the Blue Devils (16-3, 4-1) since falling to the eventual national champion Tar Heels in February 2009. It also ended Duke's 64-game home winning streak against unranked opponents, which began after a one-point loss to Florida State five years ago.

"There's not too many times teams can come in and win at a hostile environment like Duke and a great team like Duke," Loucks said. "We just kind of saw an opportunity here and went ahead and seized it. After the jubilation and jumping around in the locker room, the whole speech was that we're not finished. We only have four ACC wins right now, and that's not going to get us into the (NCAA) tournament."

Xavier Gibson led Florida State with 16 points, while Snaer scored 14 ? including a banked-in 3 to beat the buzzer on the final play of the first half.

Duke led by nine in the first half and by eight midway through the second, but the Seminoles just wouldn't let the Blue Devils pull away to tie a school and ACC record for the longest home winning streak. Instead, they kept attacking and knocking down tough shots.

In fact, Snaer knocked down a pair of clutch shots in the final minute. On the first, he drove into the paint and knocked down a pull-up for a 71-70 lead with 55.8 seconds left. Then ? after Austin Rivers tied the game on a driving basket with 4.9 seconds left ? Snaer answered with an even bigger one, putting him at the center of a celebration that migrated all the way across the court to stand in front of a stunned group of Cameron Crazies.

"The kid hit a beautiful shot," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said.

FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said the shot looked good to him, prompting a reporter to ask him if he had any doubts it would go in.

"None whatsoever," Hamilton said as he playfully looked to the ceiling. "That's my story and I'm sticking to it."

Duke came in ranked last in the ACC in field goal percentage defense, an unusual stat for Krzyzewski's program. Florida State finished this one at 54 percent, including 67 percent (18 for 27) in a tense second half. The Seminoles scored 50 points after halftime.

Rivers hit a free throw to give Duke a 70-69 lead with 1:13 left, but he missed the second and Snaer followed with his basket for the lead. But Loucks and Gibson each went 1 for 2 at the line in the final 35 seconds, setting up Rivers' final basket that put Duke within reach of overtime.

Duke had won 46 straight at home from 1997-2000, and most of the wins in the current 45-game streak had come by double-digit margins. Duke overcame its own 40-percent shooting by knocking down 10 3-pointers. The Blue Devils also dominated the offensive boards and outscored Florida State 20-6 on second-chance points, but they couldn't come up with a final stop.

"It's so frustrating because we prepare so well and work so hard," Rivers said. "Everybody fought. I don't think anybody was lazy. We were blow for blow and they got that last blow in, the last shot at the last second."

Rivers had 19 points to lead Duke, while Dawkins had 14.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-21-BKC-T25-Florida-State-Duke/id-063701c5957e438a82f4f93a07c261d9

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Malawi women protest stripping attacks

By msnbc staff and news services

CHOGM via Getty Images file

Malawi President Bungu wa Mutharika on Thursday says he won't tolerate attacks on women for wearing non-traditional dress.

Women in Malawi plan to protest in the streets Friday over recent beatings by street-vendor mobs who beat and stripped naked several women for wearing trousers or miniskirts?instead of the south Africa country's traditional dress.

Malawi's president on Thursday ordered the arrest of anyone who attacks women for their apparel.

"I will not allow anyone to wake up and go on the streets and start undressing women and girls wearing trousers, because that is illegal," President Bingu wa Mutharika told state radio on Thursday. "Every woman and girl has the right to dress the way they wish."

"No one should lie that I have asked vendors to assault women dressed in trousers. It's a lie and I will not allow that," the president said.

Malawi?had laws until 1994 under the autocratic rule of Hastings Banda that banned women from wearing short skirts and men having long hair or flared trousers, the BBC reported.?It dropped the restrictions when multi-party democracy was introduced.

However, this week street vendors attacked several women in Lilongwe and commercial capital Blantyre over their dress, saying they were enforcing a government decree.

Seodi White, a lawyer and leading women's rights activist, told the BBC that?protesters would gather Friday?"in solidarity with the victims and to express our indignation at such barbaric treatment of mothers, wives and daughters of our country".

Malawi's Vice-President Joyce Banda earlier blamed the attacks on Malawi's economic woes, the BBC said.

"There is so much suffering that people have decided to vent their frustrations on each other," she said.

The country faces?severe shortages of fuel and foreign currency, the BBC said.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/19/10191640-malawi-women-protest-stripping-attacks-on-streets-over-wearing-trousers

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How the major stock indexes fared on Wednesday (AP)

Encouraging news about the U.S. housing market and the prospect of a beefed-up International Monetary Fund bailout effort for troubled countries helped stocks to their highest close since last summer.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 96.88 points, or 0.8 percent, to close at 12,578.95.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 14.37 points, or 1.1 percent, to 1,308.04.

The Nasdaq composite index added 41.63 points, or 1.5 percent, to 2,769.71.

For the year to date:

The Dow is up 361.39, or 3 percent.

The S&P 500 is up 50.44 points, or 4 percent.

The Nasdaq is up 164.56 points, or 6.3 percent.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120118/ap_on_bi_ge/us_wall_street_box

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SOPA Blackout Jan. 18: Wikipedia Goes Offline, But Why Not Twitter?

As a protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act (Sopa) and Protect IP Act (Pipa) in the US, Wikipedia has taken its English-language site offline for 24 hours.

But Twitter?s CEO Dick Costolo said his micro-blogging site would not join in the protest. Costolo said that he had planned "something else" in protest.

In a message on Twitter, Costolo said: ?That's just silly. Closing a global business in reaction to single-issue national politics is foolish."

Wikipedia has been joined by Reddit and Mozilla in the protest. But Costolo insisted: "Not shutting down a service doesn't equal not taking the proper stance on an issue. We've been very clear about our stance."

Twitter, as an international site, is used by millions of people across the world and many non-US users might not care about the protest as they are unaffected by the US legislation. That is why Wikipedia has only shut down its English-language site.

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Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales said on Twitter: ?Rumours of the death of Sopa may be premature. But Pipa is still going strong.

"The best action for Twitter might be to let us continue to use the service to organise our protests.?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ibtimes/tech/~3/9W9FWuIrTz8/sopa-blackout-jan-18-wikipedia-goes-offline.htm

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Boehner: Keystone breaks Obama's jobs promise (AP)

WASHINGTON ? House Speaker John Boehner says President Barack Obama is breaking his promise to create jobs by rejecting a plan to build an oil pipeline from Canada to Texas.

Boehner says Republicans will keep fighting for the Keystone XL pipeline because the project is good for the U.S. economy because it would create thousands of jobs.

The president says he's turning down the project not because it isn't worthy, but because of what he calls an arbitrary Feb. 21 deadline he was given by Congress to make a decision. The deadline was set by a GOP-written provision as part of a tax bill that Obama signed into law just before Christmas.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120118/ap_on_go_co/us_oil_pipeline_boehner

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Star Marine: Infinite Ammo tops iPhone Games of the Week (Appolicious)

Finally, the iTunes App Store is getting back into full swing with a fresh crop of quality games hitting this week. Leading the charge is Star Marine: Infinite Ammo, an arcade-style 2-D shooter in the vein of the classic Contra. The game nails the old-school feel of its inspiration and is definitely worth a look. Read all about Star Marine and four other great offerings in our list below.

Contra clone Star Marine is a high-quality arcade shooter reminiscent of titles from the 8-bit and 16-bit era of video gaming. As a Star Marine, you fight through hordes of robots with various weapons earned by scoring points and putting down enemies. The more points you earn, the higher you?ll climb on Star Marine?s Game Center leaderboards. The gems you gather can be spent on new weapons and items to make you a better fighter. Star Marine?s old-school feel is matched by its strong pacing and action-heavy shooter setup. It feels like a game from days gone by, and it stands up to its inspiration by being a fun, quality shooter experience.

One of the cool things that Words With Friends and its ilk established was the idea of playing turn-based games at your own pace, whenever you have free time. Hero Academy riffs on that same idea, but with a turn-based strategy game at the heart instead of a Scrabble-like word game. You command forces that you use to destroy the enemy player?s pair of special crystals, while defending your own. Each turn allows you to deploy forces, move characters around the grid-covered game board, and generally wage war. You can take on your friends from Facebook and Twitter in Hero Academy, and you can battle in multiple games simultaneously.

Part running game, part platformer, Tongue-Tied! has a great cartoon aesthetic that will remind you of Saturday mornings in front of the TV, plus an easygoing, kid-friendly atmosphere that makes it a lot of fun. Your protagonists are a pair of dogs with their tongues tied together. This gives them the ability to whip each other through the air in order to collect coins and avoid obstacles. Touch controls make the game easy and intuitive and your only goal is to snag as many coins as you can through quick reactions and smart use of your weird tongue-whipping abilities. Tongue-Tied! is great for killing five or 10 minutes and has a lot of cuteness going for it.

Some of the best games in the iTunes App Store have players taking on the role of some kind of monster or alien and destroying cities, chasing and eating hapless humans and essentially getting up to mischief. That?s what goes on in Dragon Wrath, a 2-D arcade title where your primary goal is to get revenge on the evil humans who ravaged your home, stole your gold and killed your dragon mother. With lots of abilities and methods to dispatch your enemies, Dragon Wrath is a power fantasy with old-school graphics that?s a lot of fun.

Tactical strategy title Legion of the Damned is based on the science fiction novels of William C. Dietz. If you?re a fan of those stories or of strong narratives finding their ways into your games, you?ll probably get a kick out of this one. In general, Legion of the Damned is a tight, turn-based strategy experience that will satisfy fans of the genre. It?s got a fairly lengthy campaign at 16 missions, plus pass-and-play multiplayer support for up to four players, as well as online multiplayer options. That?s a lot of strategy gaming to pack into one game, and with its sci-fi roots, Legion of the Damned stands above many of the other entries in the genre to be found in the App Store.

?

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/internet/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/appolicious_rss/rss_appolicious_tc/http___www_appolicious_com_articles10745_star_marine_infinite_ammo_tops_iphone_games_of_the_week/44166263/SIG=139aakof3/*http%3A//www.appolicious.com/games/articles/10745-star-marine-infinite-ammo-tops-iphone-games-of-the-week

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Imagine that: How you envision others says a lot about you in real life

Friday, January 13, 2012

Quick, come up with an imaginary co-worker.

Did you imagine someone who is positive, confident, and resourceful? Who rises to the occasion in times of trouble? If so, then chances are that you also display those traits in your own life, a new study finds.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers have found that study participants who conjured positive imaginary co-workers contributed more in the actual workplace, both in job performance and going above and beyond their job descriptions to help others.

The results showed that your perceptions of others ? even ones that are made up ? says a lot about what kind of person you really are, said Peter Harms, UNL assistant professor of management and the study's lead author. Imagining coworkers instead of reporting on how you perceive your actual coworkers produces more accurate ratings of having a positive worldview, he said, because it strips away the unique relational baggage that one may have with the people they know.

"When you make up imaginary peers, they are completely a product of how you see the world," Harms said. "Because of that we can gain better insight into your perceptual biases. That tells us a lot about how you see the world, how you interpret events and what your expectations of others are."

The study consisted of hundreds of working adults in a range of fields, Harms said. It specifically targeted their "psychological capital," a cluster of personality characteristics associated with the ability to overcome obstacles and the tendency to actively pursue one's goals. After asking participants to conjure up imaginary workers in a series of hypothetical situations, they were then asked to make ratings of the individuals they imagined on a wide range of characteristics.

Those who envisioned workers as engaging in proactive behaviors or readily rebounding from failures were actually happier and more productive in their real-life work, the researchers found.

Researchers have long acknowledged the benefits of having a positive mindset, but getting an accurate assessment has always been difficult because people are typically unwilling or unable to make accurate self-appraisals, Harms said.

Through the use of projective storytelling, the UNL researchers were able to predict real-life work outcomes above and beyond other established measures.

"We've known that workplace relations are a self-fulfilling prophecy for some time," Harms said. "If a manager believes that their workers are lazy and incompetent, they will elicit those patterns in their employees.

"It's hard to be motivated and enthusiastic for someone you know doesn't think of you very highly. But most people don't want to disappoint someone who sincerely believes in them."

###

University of Nebraska-Lincoln: http://www.unl.edu

Thanks to University of Nebraska-Lincoln for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116721/Imagine_that__How_you_envision_others_says_a_lot_about_you_in_real_life

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US, Taliban both talk of peace and war (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The Obama administration and the Taliban each voiced readiness Thursday to enter peace talks while pledging to carry on with a decade of military conflict in Afghanistan until their rival objectives are met.

The separate statements by senior U.S. and Taliban officials illustrated the improved environment for Afghan reconciliation efforts as well as the daunting task ahead. Despite the possibility of some trust-building measures in the near future, such as the opening of a Taliban office in Qatar and the transfer of some Afghan detainees in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, both sides remain committed to the fight.

"We don't have any idea standing here today what the outcome of such discussions could be," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told reporters. The U.S. supports Afghan negotiations toward peace, she said. But everyone, including Afghan President Hamid Karzai, is going into the talks with "a very realistic sense of what is possible," she said.

For the past month, rumors have swirled about the possibility of peace talks between the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan and the Taliban in the Gulf nation of Qatar. On Wednesday, Clinton gave the strongest indication yet of progress toward opening a political representative office for the Taliban in Qatar, whose role as would-be host for peace talks has gained reluctant approval from Karzai.

Even Thursday's emergence of an Internet video depicting U.S. Marines urinating on the corpses of Taliban fighters didn't appear to dampen hopes for negotiations. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta promised Karzai a full investigation and condemned the behavior as "entirely inappropriate" for members of the U.S. military. Asked about possible implications for peace talks, Clinton said the U.S. remained strongly committed to supporting Afghan efforts.

The United States and its coalition allies are preparing to withdraw most of their forces and end combat operations in 2014, with responsibility for security transferring to the greatly expanded Afghan army and police.

But despite a surge of foreign troops into Afghanistan in the past two years, and an overwhelming superiority in both numbers and firepower, the military effort has been unable to defeat the insurgency. Many now fear that a resurgent Taliban will be able to exploit the withdrawal of the 130,000-strong NATO-led force over the next three years by recapturing wide areas of the south and east.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said the success of any negotiations depends on the Taliban adhering to specific conditions, "including laying down arms, renouncing al-Qaida and abiding by the Afghan constitution, including its provisions for minority rights and women's rights."

Carney said a political agreement was absolutely necessary, at some point, for Afghanistan's security and stability. But he insisted that the U.S. "will continue to energetically prosecute the military campaign as we pursue this political effort."

That viewpoint was echoed by the Taliban's political wing, which suggested in an emailed statement that it could join Afghan factions at the table even as it refuses to accept Washington's precondition that it recognize Karzai's government. It insisted that Karzai remained an illegitimate "stooge" of the West.

Militants have fought for the past 15 years to establish an Islamic government in Afghanistan "in accordance with the request of its people," Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said. "It is for this purpose and for bringing about peace and stability in Afghanistan that we have increased our political efforts to come to mutual understanding with the world in order to solve the current ongoing situation."

Mujahid stressed that greater political engagement "does not mean surrender from jihad."

One of Karzai's and the international community's main conditions for reconciliation is that the Taliban must accept the Afghan constitution, meaning they must recognize Karzai's government. Mujahid's outright rejection of this is likely to be an obstacle in the peace process.

The Obama administration and its allies appear to have gradually embraced talks as the best way to end the war, even if fighting continues beyond the deadline to withdraw foreign combat forces in 2014. The U.S. says those talks must be led by the Karzai government, but it has made its own contacts with Taliban representatives over the last year.

The U.S. special representative for Afghanistan, Marc Grossman, will travel to Kabul and several Middle East capitals over the next two weeks to advance the reconciliation process. Asked if Grossman might meet directly with Taliban representatives, which would amount to the highest level of U.S. contact to date, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland declined to rule out the possibility.

Unlike those earlier exploratory discussions, any negotiations that might take place in Qatar would be aimed at drawing the Taliban movement formally into the political process. But deep skepticism persists on all sides, including among some members of Congress and parts of Obama's administration, tempering any optimism.

On Thursday, the latest U.S. intelligence community take on the war in Afghanistan concluded the Taliban remained committed to taking back Afghanistan by force, and that it may only be paying lip service to a peace process.

The Afghan National Intelligence Estimate declared the war at a stalemate, with NATO security gains far outweighed by corruption at all levels of Afghan government, according to two current and one former U.S. official, who spoke anonymously to discuss the classified document.

The report also finds that special operations raids and programs to bolster local Afghan security are having some impact on hurting the Taliban. But as soon as NATO forces withdraw from an area, the Taliban returns, said the report, which was summarized in several news outlets.

___

Associated Press writers Jim Kuhnhenn and Kimberly Dozier in Washington and Slobodan Lekic in Kabul, Afghanistan, contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120112/ap_on_el_pr/us_us_afghanistan

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