Gov't: US not responsible for Europe's debt woes (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Wary of Europe's deepening debt crisis, President Barack Obama said Monday the United States stands ready to do its part to help the continent, even as the White House ruled out any financial contributions from U.S. taxpayers.

Meantime, a top European official offered his assurances to Obama and the American people that Europe's leaders fully understood the magnitude of the crisis. But European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso warned that decisions on how to solve the economic woes could take time.

The annual meeting between U.S. and European Union officials came amid growing fears over the future of the euro. Experts say that without drastic action, the euro could be days away from collapsing, a scenario that could cause more financial damage to the already shaky American economy.

While Obama offered no specifics on how the U.S. may be willing to assist Europe, he said failing to resolve the continent's debt crisis could damage a U.S. economy saddled with slow growth and 9 percent unemployment.

"If Europe is contracting, or if Europe is having difficulties, then it's much more difficult for us to create good here jobs at home," Obama said at the conclusion of the day-long summit.

While Obama has offered support to his European peers, the U.S. believes the Europeans have the financial capacity to solve the debt crisis on their own.

But some U.S. allies, including Finland and the Netherlands, have called for the International Monetary Fund to be bolstered with more capital so that it could in turn help stem Europe's debt crisis from deepening and spreading.

The U.S. is the single-biggest stakeholder in the IMF. And earlier Monday, White House spokesman Jay Carney said the IMF has substantial resources already.

"We do not in any way believe that additional resources are required from the United States and from American taxpayers," Carney said.

European leaders are set to meet Dec. 9 to discuss next steps in tackling the financial crisis. New ideas were circulating Monday for how to finally cap the debt woes that began in Greece two years ago and have spread to other larger economies, most notably Italy.

One idea gaining momentum, was a radical proposal in which countries that use the common currency would cede control of a big chunk of their budgets to a central authority. Some say the proposal would be a big leap toward a United States of Europe, a move that could greatly enhance European stability, but at the cost, critics say, of national sovereignty and democratic accountability.

Another plan being aired in the face of fierce German resistance is for the eurozone's six triple A rated nations to pool their resources through a joint bond to prop up some of the single currency bloc's most indebted members. Germany, the EU's richest member, rejects the idea because it fears it would be tapped for the lion's share of the bailout

Back in Washington, Barroso said Europe's leaders are taking strong steps to solve what he called an unprecedented situation.

"We are absolutely serious about the magnitude of the challenges," he said. "You have to understand that sometimes some decisions take time."

Carney said that Obama, along with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, would continue to stay in close contact with European leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Vice President Joe Biden will travel to Greece later this week to meet with new Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, who took office earlier this month.

While Monday's meeting between Obama and European Union leaders centered on the global economy, there were also discussions on supporting democracy in the Middle East and North Africa, cooperation on counterterrorism and transatlantic law enforcement, and Iran.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111128/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_european_union

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Massive Black Hole Yields its Mysteries to Astronomers (SPACE.com)

To strive for the most complete understanding of a black hole, astronomers have turned their telescopes to the double-star system Cygnus X-1, which boasts the first of these discovered oddities.

The move paid off, providing detailed information on the black hole's mass, spin and its distance from the sun.

The knowledge could help scientists piece together information about the black hole's state today, and also reveal clues about its early history.

Decades in the dark

To study objects in space, astronomers rely on information emitted in the form of electromagnetic radiation ? light. But the gravity of black holes is so strong that no emission escapes, making them a challenge to study. The only information they reveal is their mass, spin and electrical charge.

Containing a star and a stellar-mass black hole, Cygnus X-1 is tucked within the constellation of Cygnus the swan, inside the Milky Way. Its discovery in 1972 prompted widespread discussion, including a friendly bet by Stephen Hawking, as to whether or not it held a black hole. (Hawking lost.) [Video: Final Nail in Stephen Hawking's Cygnus X-1 Bet?]

In three papers published in the December issue of the Astrophysical Journal, Mark Reid and Lijun Gou of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass., and Jerry Orosz of San Diego State University report the most detailed look at a black hole ever when they examined Cygnus X-1.

Distance scale

Before the astronomers could start their measurements, they needed to determine just how far away the Cygnus X-1 system is.

Using the Very Large Baseline Array, a radio telescope system spanning from Hawaii to the Virgin Islands, the team first calculated the most accurate distance yet to Cygnus X-1. The object is 6,070 light-years from the sun, they found.

The Very Large Baseline Array also revealed that the object was moving very slowly through the Milky Way ? only about 9 miles per second (15 kilometers per second).

The scientists then combed through two decades' worth of data from Chandra X-Ray Observatory, the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer, the Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics, and visible light measurements.

Combining this data allowed them to calculate that the black hole within Cygnus X-1 is almost 15 times more massive than the sun, making it one of the most massive stellar black holes in the Milky Way.

Stellar black holes are smaller and more common than their supermassive cousins. While the larger black holes tend to be found in the centers of galaxies, stellar-mass black holes are sprinkled throughout. Currently, about 20 stellar black holes have been studied within the Milky Way alone, though theoretical arguments suggest our galaxy may boast a few hundred million.

From there, the astronomers calculated that the black hole spins more than 800 times per second ? almost half the speed of light.

None of these steps could have been taken until an accurate measurement of the distance to Cygnus X-1 was obtained. Previous estimates had placed it between 5,800 and 7,800 light years.

"If the distance is so rough, the measured spin rate could be anywhere," Gou told SPACE.com.

Speedy spin

That rapid rotation could help astronomers as they analyze other dark giants.

"Knowing that the black hole was formed with an apparently large spin helps constrain detailed models of supernova and/or stellar collapse," Orosz told SPACE.com in an email.

Its fast spin, combined with its slow progress through the galaxy, give hints about the black hole's origin.

The high rotational speed was most likely a product of its birth. At the same time, if the black hole had been created by a stellar explosion called a supernova, the force of the blast would have provided a "kick" that would have caused Cygnus X-1 to travel faster through the Milky Way.

Independent research, published almost a decade ago, suggests that the black hole was produced by a stellar implosion without an explosion, when a massive star collapsed in on itself after a supernova.

However, the black hole in Cygnus X-1 seems to have been born of a relatively mild stellar death.

"In this case, there is no core bounce that generates the massive shock wave that creates a supernova," Orosz said. "Thus, a direct collapse could be a relatively mild event as seen from great distances."

Such a transformation would have allowed Cygnus X-1 to hold on to the mass and energy that most stellar black holes lose during their violent deaths.

Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter?@Spacedotcom?and on?Facebook.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/space/20111129/sc_space/massiveblackholeyieldsitsmysteriestoastronomers

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Senate Democrats to press GOP on payroll tax break (Los Angeles Times)

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Pakistan PM: No more "business as usual" with U.S. (Reuters)

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) ? Pakistan's prime minister ruled out "business as usual" with the United States on Monday after a NATO attack killed 24 Pakistani soldiers and the army threatened to curtail cooperation over the war in Afghanistan.

Saturday's incident on Pakistan's border with Afghanistan has complicated U.S. attempts to ease a crisis in relations with Islamabad and stabilize the region before foreign combat troops leave Afghanistan.

"Business as usual will not be there," Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani told CNN when asked if ties with the United States would continue. "We have to have something bigger so as to satisfy my nation."

While the NATO strike has shifted attention from what critics say is Islamabad's failure to go after militants, Gilani's comments reflect the fury of Pakistan's government and military - and the pressure they face from their own people.

"You cannot win any war without the support of the masses," Gilani said. "We need the people with us."

The relationship, he said, would continue only if based on "mutual respect and mutual interest." Asked if Pakistan was receiving that respect, Gilani replied: "At the moment, not."

Gilani's comments cap a day of growing pressure from the Pakistani military, which threatened to reduce cooperation on peace efforts in Afghanistan.

"This could have serious consequences in the level and extent of our cooperation," military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told Reuters.

Pakistan has a long history of ties to militant groups in Afghanistan so it is uniquely positioned to help bring about a peace settlement, a top foreign policy and security goal for the Obama administration.

Washington believes Islamabad can play a critical role in efforts to pacify Afghanistan before all NATO combat troops pull out in 2014 and it cannot afford to alienate its ally.

U.S. national security officials met at the White House on Monday to discuss Pakistan following the weekend incident, which prompted Pakistan to shut down NATO supply routes into Afghanistan in retaliation and which was the worst of its kind since Islamabad allied itself with Washington in 2001.

"We have been here before. But this time it's much more serious," said Farzana Sheikh, associate fellow of the Asia program at Chatham House in London.

"The government has taken a very stern view. It's not quite clear at this stage what more Pakistani authorities can do, apart from suspending supplies to NATO forces in Afghanistan."

The weekend attack was the latest perceived provocation by the United States, which infuriated and embarrassed Pakistan's powerful military in May with a unilateral special forces raid that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

CHINA AND RUSSIA VOICE CONCERN

Adding a new element to tensions and giving a diplomatic boost to Islamabad, China said it was "deeply shocked" by the incident and expressed "strong concern for the victims and profound condolences for Pakistan.

Russia, seeking warmer relations with Pakistan as worry grows over the NATO troop pullout in Afghanistan, said it was "unacceptable" to violate the sovereignty of states even when hunting "terrorists."

U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Pakistan was rethinking whether to attend next week's conference on Afghanistan in Bonn, Germany, although Washington had not yet received any definitive decision from the Pakistanis.

"We understand that they are reconsidering," Toner told reporters. "We hope that they do in fact attend this conference because this is a conference about ... building a more stable and prosperous and peaceful Afghanistan and so that is very much in the interests of Pakistan."

On Saturday, NATO helicopters and fighter jets attacked two military outposts in northwest Pakistan, killing the 24 soldiers and wounding 13, the army said.

NATO described the killings as a "tragic, unintended incident." U.S. officials say a NATO investigation and a separate American one will seek to determine what happened. The U.S. investigation will provide initial findings by December 23, military officials said.

"It is very much in America's national security interest to maintain a cooperative relationship with Pakistan because we have shared interests in the fight against terrorism, and so we will continue to work on that relationship," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters.

A Western official and an Afghan security official who requested anonymity said NATO troops were responding to fire from across the border at the time of the incident.

Pakistan's military denied NATO forces had come under fire before launching the attack, saying the strike was unprovoked and reserving the right to retaliate.

Abbas, the military spokesman, said the attack lasted two hours despite warnings from Pakistani border posts.

"They were contacted through the local hotline and also there had been contacts through the director-general of military operations. But despite that, this continued," he said.

After a string of deadly incidents in the largely lawless and confusing border region, NATO and Pakistan set up the hotline that should allow them to communicate in case of confusion over targets and avoid "friendly fire."

Both the Western and Pakistani explanations are possibly correct: that a retaliatory attack by NATO troops took a tragic, mistaken turn in harsh terrain where differentiating friend from foe can be difficult.

An Afghan Taliban commander, Mullah Samiullah Rahmani, said the group had not been engaged in any fighting with NATO or Afghan forces in the area when the incident took place. But he added that Taliban fighters control several Afghan villages near the border with Pakistan.

A similar cross-border incident on September 30, 2010, which killed two Pakistani service personnel, led to the closure of one of NATO's supply routes through Pakistan for 10 days.

OBAMA EFFIGY BURNED

The main Pakistani association that delivers fuel to NATO forces in Afghanistan said it would not resume supplies soon in protest against the NATO strike.

In the Mohmand region, where the attack took place, hundreds of angry tribesmen yelled "Death to America." About 200 lawyers protested in Peshawar city, some burning an effigy of U.S. President Barack Obama.

Pakistani editorials were strident. "We have to send a clear and unequivocal message to NATO and America that our patience has run out. If even a single bullet of foreign forces crosses into our border, then two fires will be shot in retaliation," said one mass-circulation Urdu language paper.

Pakistan joined the U.S.-led war on militancy launched after al Qaeda's attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, and has won billions of dollars in aid in return.

But the unstable, nuclear-armed country has often been described as an unreliable ally and the United States has resorted to controversial drone aircraft strikes against militants on Pakistani territory to pursue its aims.

U.S. Senator John McCain, a leading voice of Republicans on military issues, echoed frustration in Washington when he said the loss of life was "tragic" but that Pakistani intelligence still supported militants fueling violence in Afghanistan.

"Certain facts in Pakistan continue to complicate significantly the ability of coalition and Afghan forces to succeed in Afghanistan," he said.

(Additional reporting by Zeeshan Haider and Rebecca Conway in ISLAMABAD, Izaz Mohmand, Jibran Ahmad and Faris Ali in PESHAWAR, William Maclean in LONDON and Missy Ryan, Caren Bohan, Susan Cornwell and Arshad Mohammed in WASHINGTON; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Eric Walsh)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111129/wl_nm/us_pakistan_nato

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Anne Teschner brings Shakespeare, Plato, and high academic goals to teen mothers

The Care Center, in Holyoke, Mass., uses private school and even college coursework to challenge teen moms to aim higher.

There was something, Anne Teschner says, about seeing the facts in black and white.

Skip to next paragraph

That was the motivation behind founding The Care Center in Holyoke, Mass,. in 1986 after a state report was released about the high teen pregnancy rate in Holyoke. At that time, the rate there was five times the national average.

When The Center opened, it had 20 teen mothers as students. Ms. Teschner came on board as executive director in 1997, and The Center now takes more than 120 students each year.

The Center helps teen mothers who have dropped out of high school, but want to complete their GED, the high-school equivalency test. Class sizes are kept small, and there?s a daycare center on site.

But this is no ordinary teen shelter: Currently, between 70 and 85 percent of its graduates go on to college.

Courses for college credit are also available at The Center, including The Clemente Course in the Humanities, which focuses on art history, literature, and philosophy. Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y., gives the credit for the course. The Center also works with Holyoke Community College and Elms College in Chicopee, Mass., to create college courses and give students credit for completion.

Expecting that teen mothers can set, and meet, high educational goals for themselves is the goal. One of the most difficult challenges the 24 staff members face, Teschner says, is getting past students? beliefs that they have somehow gone wrong in life.

?One of the ideas we had to break down is, 'you?re a teen mom, you?re a failure,' ? she says. ?They hear the message that if you?re a teen mother, you?ve closed a lot of doors ? and our take on it was, why don?t we open some of those doors??

The courses at The Care Center have subject matter that many would not expect, including classes that focus on Shakespeare and Plato. Integrating such classical authors began as an experiment, Teschner says.

Her idea was ?Let?s see what happens if we do a six-week workshop on Plato,? she says. ?Maybe everyone will run out the door screaming. But they didn?t.?

Some staff and students first opposed including classic authors and classes such as poetry and creative writing in the curriculum. They didn't think the subjects would be practical.

?Some staff left,? Teschner says. ?They said, ?The girls have enough on their plate. They?re on welfare. They have babies?. Some of the students were very dubious. They said, ?This [author] is some white guy, and I need a job.? ?

But Teschner says the courses have since succeeded, becoming popular with students. The Care Center has added a course on religion, inspired by the students, that?s also gone over well.

?We heard students talking about big spiritual questions,? she says. ?And especially if you just had a baby, those questions are front and center.?

On Nov. 2 The Center, which receives state and local government funding and private donations, was given the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, presented by Michelle Obama. It was recognized from a group of almost 500 nominations. The award includes a $10,000 donation to the Center.

Teschner said receiving the award felt like an affirmation.

?It was so wonderful to have the White House ratify what we?re doing,? she says. ?Both for us, but also to spotlight what other people are doing in other cities working with teens.?

The Center will be adding a fencing course to its athletics roster for the spring, and it wants to add more college courses.

The ultimate dream? Opening an all-women community college.

Teschner also hopes that public schools will be inspired by The Center?s success in adopting methods used by private schools to achieve results.

?What goes on in a private school works,? she says. ?Why don?t we do it in a public school??

? Sign-up to receive a weekly selection of practical and inspiring Change Agent articles by clicking here.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/JOYFv3hv4Os/Anne-Teschner-brings-Shakespeare-Plato-and-high-academic-goals-to-teen-mothers

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Backed By Ellen DeGeneres And Others, Sojo Studios Launches Facebook Game ?WeTopia?

If you're going to waste your time playing games on Facebook, you might as well do it and help build a better world while you're at it. That's the promise, at least, of online entertainment company Sojo Studios, which is today debuting the preview of a Facebook game with a philanthropic twist called 'WeTOPIA'. Backed by a former key Facebook employee, Path CEO Dave Morin, and Esther Dyson - both are on the advisory board - Sojo Studios wants to entice online gamers to play WeTopia in order to develop a better world for children, both on Facebook and in the real world.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/cjT9X4_Dtew/

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Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard: Expecting!

Maggie Gyllenhaal and husband Peter Sarsgaard, already the parents of a five-year-old daughter, are expecting their second child together, according to reports.

Rumors swirled last month when she arrived on the red carpet premiere of her movie Hysteria at the Rome Film Festival, sporting what looked like a baby bump.

A source confirmed: "Over Thanksgiving weekend, Maggie was telling friends that she's six months pregnant. Her bump is so big! She's thrilled to be pregnant!"

Maggie and Peter got engaged in 2006 and wed in 2009.

The Gyllenhaarsgaard source adds: "She and Peter have wanted another child for a while. They're very happy that they'll have another baby in the house soon."

Jake Gyllenhaal, meanwhile, "is so happy she's pregnant again because he loves kids. Maggie's said that he's the best uncle and has done a lot of sweet things."

Congratulations to Maggie, Peter and Ramona on the big news!

[Photo: WENN.com]

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/11/maggie-gyllenhaal-and-peter-sarsgaard-expecting/

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In unprecedented step, Arab League sanctions Syria (AP)

BEIRUT ? In an unprecedented move against an Arab nation, the Arab League on Sunday approved economic sanctions on Syria to pressure Damascus to end its deadly suppression of an 8-month-old uprising against President Bashar Assad.

But even as world leaders abandon Assad, the regime has refused to ease a military assault on dissent that already has killed more than 3,500 people. On Sunday, Damascus slammed the sanctions as a betrayal of Arab solidarity and insisted a foreign conspiracy was behind the revolt, all but assuring more bloodshed will follow.

The sanctions are among the clearest signs yet of the isolation Syria is suffering because of the crackdown. Damascus has long boasted of being a powerhouse of Arab nationalism, but Assad has been abandoned by some of his closest allies and now his Arab neighbors. The growing movement against his regime could transform some of the most enduring alliances in the Middle East and beyond.

At a news conference in Cairo, Qatari Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassim said 19 of the League's 22 member nations approved a series of tough punishments that include cutting off transactions with the Syrian central bank, halting Arab government funding for projects in Syria and freezing government assets. Those sanctions are to take effect immediately.

Other steps, including halting flights and imposing travel bans on some, as-yet unnamed Syrian officials, will come later after a committee reviews them.

"The Syrian people are being killed but we don't want this. Every Syrian official should not accept killing even one person," bin Jassim said. "Power is worth nothing while you stand as an enemy to your people."

He added that the League aims to "to avoid any suffering for the Syrian people."

Iraq and Lebanon ? important trading partners for Syria ? abstained from the vote, which came after Damascus missed an Arab League deadline to agree to allow hundreds of observers into the country as part of a peace deal Syria agreed to early this month to end the crisis.

Arab League Secretary General Nabil Elaraby said the bloc will reconsider the sanctions if Syria carries out the Arab-brokered plan, which includes pulling tanks from the streets and ending violence against civilians.

The regime, however, has shown no signs of easing its crackdown, and activist groups said more than 30 people were killed Sunday. The death toll was impossible to confirm. Syria has banned most foreign journalists and prevented independent reporting inside the country.

The Local Coordinating Committees, a coalition of Syrian activist groups, praised the sanctions but called for a mechanism to ensure compliance.

"The sanctions leave open the opportunity for the regime to commit fraud and strip the sanctions of any substance, thereby prolonging the suffering of the Syrian people at the hands of an oppressive and brutal regime," the group said.

The Arab League move is the latest in a growing wave of international pressure pushing Damascus to end its crackdown. The European Union and the United States already have imposed sanctions, the League has suspended Syria's membership and world leaders increasingly are calling on Assad to go. But as the crisis drags on, the violence appears to be spiraling out of control as attacks by army defectors increase and some protesters take up arms to protect themselves.

Syria has seen the bloodiest crackdown against the Arab Spring's eruption of protests, and has descended into a deadly grind. Though internationally isolated, Assad appears to have a firm grip on power with the loyalty of most of the armed forces, which in the past months have moved from city to city to put down uprisings. In each place, however, protests have resumed.

The escalating bloodshed has raised fears of civil war ? a worst-case scenario in a country that is a geographical and political keystone in the heart of the Middle East.

Syria borders five countries with whom it shares religious and ethnic minorities and, in Israel's case, a fragile truce. Its web of allegiances extends to Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah movement and Iran's Shiite theocracy. Chaos in Syria could send unsettling ripples across the region.

For now, Assad still has a strong bulwark to prevent his meeting the same fate as the leaders of Egypt, Tunisia or Libya anytime soon. His key advantages are the support of Russia and China, fear among many Syrians about a future without Assad, and the near-certainty that foreign militaries will stay away.

But the unrest is eviscerating the economy, threatening the business community and prosperous merchant classes that are key to propping up the regime. An influential bloc, the business leaders have long traded political freedoms for economic privileges.

The opposition has tried to rally these largely silent, but hugely important, sectors of society. But Assad's opponents have failed so far to galvanize support in Damascus and Aleppo ? the two economic centers in Syria.

Sunday's sanctions, however, could chip away at their resolve.

Since the revolt began, the regime has blamed the bloodshed on terrorists acting out a foreign conspiracy to divide and undermine Syria. The bloodshed has laid bare Syria's long-simmering sectarian tensions, with disturbing reports of Iraq-style sectarian killings.

Syria is an overwhelmingly Sunni country of 22 million, but Assad and the ruling elite belong to the minority Alawite sect. Assad, and his father before him, stacked key military posts with Alawites to meld the fates of the army and the regime ? a tactic aimed at compelling the army to fight to the death to protect the Assad family dynasty.

Until recently, most of the bloodshed was caused by security forces firing on mainly peaceful protests. Lately, there have been growing reports of army defectors and armed civilians fighting Assad's forces ? a development that some say plays into the regime's hands by giving government troops a pretext to crack down with overwhelming force.

___

Youssef reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Adam Schreck contributed from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111128/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_syria

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Wife: Man imprisoned in Cuba concerned before trip

Judy Gross, wife of Alan Gross, an American imprisoned in Cuba, right, talks to Nirma Medrano, left, during a rally to support her husband, Monday, Nov. 28, 2011, outside the Cuban Interests Section in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Judy Gross, wife of Alan Gross, an American imprisoned in Cuba, right, talks to Nirma Medrano, left, during a rally to support her husband, Monday, Nov. 28, 2011, outside the Cuban Interests Section in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Judy Gross, wife of Alan Gross, an American imprisoned in Cuba, right, takes part in a rally to support her husband, Monday, Nov. 28, 2011, outside the Cuban Interests Section in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? An American imprisoned in Cuba since December 2009 after bringing communications equipment onto the island wanted reassurance that what he was doing was legal but was told by his company not to ask Cuban officials, the man's wife said Monday.

"If anything happens you'll be out two days. Don't worry," Judy Gross said her husband Alan was told by a co-worker when he expressed concern about the trip.

Saturday will mark two years since Alan Gross, 62, was arrested in Cuba. Since then, the former Maryland resident has been sentenced to spend 15 years in a Cuban prison, and his case has become a sticking point in talks between the two countries, which do not have diplomatic relations. Judy Gross said that in the past year she twice thought her husband might be able to return to the United States. Both times she was disappointed.

"The Cubans will say one thing one day and change their minds the next," said Gross, who had to sell the couple's home and now lives in Washington.

Gross has rarely talked about her husband's situation, giving interviews only infrequently and waiting for her husband's case to work its way through the Cuban legal process. She hired a prominent Washington litigator who advised her against saying much because of the sensitivity of the case and also because it was working its way through the Cuban courts. But she acknowledged Monday that staying silent "didn't work."

Gross said in an interview that her husband asked the company he was working for to contact the Cuban government to clear his work setting up Internet access for the island's small Jewish community. But the company, Maryland-based Development Alternatives Inc., refused to contact Cuban officials and refused to let him contact anyone either, she said. He was told separately not to worry about the project by a co-worker, she said.

A spokesman for DAI, Steven O'Connor, said in a statement that Gross "designed, proposed, and implemented this work" for the company, which had a government contract for a democracy-building project on the communist island. Gross was a subcontractor for the company, which had a contract financed by the U.S. Agency for International Development. The company wants to correct some of the misconceptions surrounding his work, O'Connor wrote, but "now is not the time."

Judy Gross said her husband believes he was duped by the company, a characterization O'Connor disputed. Gross called himself a "trusting fool" in Cuban court testimony released by his lawyer and said, "I was duped. I was used."

In March, the father of two was sentenced in Cuba to 15 years in prison for crimes against the state. His final appeal to Cuba's Supreme Court was denied in August, and expectations in some quarters that he might be released once the appeals process was over never materialized.

Subsequent efforts by American officials to win his release have failed.

In September, former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson visited Cuba and told reporters he had been invited to negotiate Gross' release. But Richardson's efforts imploded after he called Gross a hostage in one interview. Cuban officials accused him of trying to blackmail them, and he returned empty handed.

Gross said she "had a lot of hopes dashed" when Richardson was unsuccessful and that he had been very confident before going down.

"I don't fault anyone or anybody on that because I don't really know what happened," she said.

U.S. officials also reportedly tried to negotiate Gross' release by offering to let a convicted Cuban spy return home, but Cuba rebuffed the offer.

Judy Gross said both she and her husband are now less hopeful about his release anytime soon. And she said she is worried that if President Barack Obama isn't re-elected, a Republican president may be less willing to work with Cuba to secure his release. She urged Obama to make a statement about the case, which arose just as the Obama administration was making tentative movements to ease decades of U.S. tensions with Cuba.

For now, Alan Gross is generally allowed to call his wife once a week, on Fridays. Judy Gross said she last spoke to him days ago and he sounded "more hopeless and more depressed" than before. He has lost more than 100 pounds (45 kilograms) while in Havana's maximum-security Villa Marista prison but is now gaining weight, she said, adding arthritis now makes it difficult for him to walk.

She was allowed to visit him in Cuba earlier this month, her third visit since his arrest. She said she brought chocolate chip cookies, pictures of his family, and issues of his favorite magazine, The Economist.

On Monday, Judy Gross joined about a dozen others in a demonstration calling for her husband's release in front of the Cuban Interests Section in northwest Washington, the presence Cuba maintains instead of an embassy. The weekly vigils began in September. Demonstrators promised to be there until Alan Gross returns.

___

Jessica Gresko can be reached at http://twitter.com/jessicagresko

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-11-28-Cuba-Imprisoned%20American/id-e5b6bc621bec475db402d282a51bf0c5

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How should the Eurozone fiscal union/finance ministry look like ...

Benedicta Marzinotto,?Andr? Sapir,?Guntram B. Wolff? of Bruegel institute throw some light on this hot issue.

Basically, it has to be like any other finance ministry/treasury responsible for stability of the economy. Here as we are talking about Europe, this should also mean it has veto powers over budgets of national finance ministries that could create instability in Euroarea ?as we are seeing today.

We propose limited fiscal union, including the creation of a euro-area?finance ministry, with a minister with veto rights over national budgets?that could threaten euro-area sustainability. The ministry would also?assess the liquidity and solvency of governments facing difficulties, and?provide support to illiquid but solvent governments. It would be able to rely?on federal tax resources, and would set up and back up a euro-area deposit?insurance corporation with banking supervision and resolution authority.

Our plan implies a significant?transfer of sovereignty, requiring?a new political contract between?the euro area?s nations and?people. The finance minister?would be held democratically?accountable. Setting a clear transition?to limited fiscal union?should create space for the European?Central Bank to act as?lender of last resort.

Broadly the Euroarea finance ministry will be responsible for following:

• For illiquid banks ECB should be responsible. For insolvent ones, it should be Fiscal union.
• We need Euroarea financial supervision and regulation. For instance they propose a European Despoit Insurance Corporation like the FDIC which guarrantees bank deposits across Europe. But there is no fiscal space to create such institutions as in case of large bailouts there is no money on the table. The ministry will help create such instis
• There should be veto power over national budgets which harm the union as a whole. In a way it will act as a check to the national fiscal policies.

How will it be financed?

We note that all successful currency?areas have a sizeable?federal budget; our proposal?involves a smaller one. We argue?that the euro-area finance ministry?would need a taxing?capacity of perhaps two percent?of euro-area GDP in case loans?provided to an illiquid country?were to turn bad or bank recapitalisation?needs were to exceed?the funds available in the EDIC?insurance. Euro-area GDP is?around ?9,000 billion. With a?permanent income stream of??90 billion annually (ie one percent),?one could borrow up to??2250 billion at a hypothetical?interest rate of four percent. This?borrowing capacity would be?large enough to take Italy and?Spain from the market for several?years. Alternatively, a payment?mechanism that would guarantee?that liquidity crises do not?become self-fulfilling by reducing?the budgetary impact of?spreads could be established?with limited tax resources. Until?a proper insurance fund for bank?deposits is built up, some further?tax capacity may be needed to?cover the most immediate recapitaliation?needs of banks.

The paper does not cover the most important question. How will such a minister/cabinet be elected democratically? This isn?t like the ECB where appointments are done by the European Parliament.

It is beyond the scope of this?Policy Brief to elaborate the democratic?framework underlying the?euro-area finance ministry. Certainly,?the euro-area finance?minister will need to be elected?by the European Parliament and?the Council in euro-area composition?by the normal majority?rule. All major decisions would?have to be put to a vote in the two?chambers. This would concern in?particular decisions to raise?taxes and to veto national policies.?The new federal structure?would thus have to acquire federal?democratic legitimacy. It is?also crucial that decisions taken?by the euro-area finance minister?that would alter national?government and parliament?decisions, be explained and?debated in front of national parliaments?by the euro-area?finance minister.

This clearly is a case of who will bell the cat.

In the end they talk about transition of the various agencies to a common fiscal union.

Saying Europe needs a fiscal union is easy bit. To understand and design one given huge political compulsions is a major challenge?

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This entry was posted on 29/11/2011 at 2:51 pm and is filed under Academic research & research papers, Economics - macro, micro etc, Economist, Financial Markets/ Finance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://mostlyeconomics.wordpress.com/2011/11/29/how-should-the-eurozone-fiscal-unionfinance-ministry-look-like/

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Barney Frank to Retire From Congress (WSJ)

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Republican field crowded and likely to remain so (San Jose Mercury News)

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Lookin' for partners that...

...Don't suddenly disappear,
Know English (spelling mistakes allowed),
Are willing to put up with me via PM,
And are willing to help develop something to make it actually work. (Worst case scenario: We try another, or say good bye).

Let's not sugar coat this. I am sick and tired of people disappearing, especially without an excuse. I'm just returning from a break from role playing here, and I believe I am refreshed enough to deal with things again. There are so many people that have said "I definitely tell people before I disappear!" And they just stop replying. I'm done with that.

Also, I have to say, I don't exactly trust the PM system completely (though that's how I intend to role play) so if I do not answer your reply within 24 hours, feel free to pm me. I will not ignore your pm no matter what.

Ahem.

Now that my little rant is over, if you're looking for a role playing partner for a casual (LONG-TERM) role play, PM me! : ) I also know that I would like to play my Ghost character, though I've got others to choose from if necessary. Thanks, Sugarcakes <3

~Cherry

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NASA to Launch Huge Mars Rover Saturday (SPACE.com)

NASA plans to launch its newest Mars rover tomorrow (Nov. 26), a beast of a robot that officials say is the most complex and capable planetary explorer ever built.

Technicians rolled the car-size Curiosity rover and its Atlas 5 rocket to their pad at Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Friday morning (Nov. 25) to prepare for liftoff, which is slated for today at 10:02 a.m. EST (1502 GMT).

Chances are good that Curiosity ? the centerpiece of NASA's $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission to assess past and present Martian habitability ? will get off the ground on time, officials say. Current forecasts predict just a 30 percent chance that bad weather will postpone the launch, and the mission team is working no issues with the rover or its rocket.

"The Mars Science Lab and the rover Curiosity [are] locked and loaded, ready for final countdown on Saturday's launch to Mars," said Colleen Hartman, assistant associate administrator at NASA's science mission directorate. [Photos: Last Look at Curiosity Rover]

A rover on steroids

At 1 ton, Curiosity weighs about five times more than each of its immediate Mars rover predecessors, the golf-cart-size twins Spirit and Opportunity, which landed on the Red Planet in January 2004 to look for evidence of past water activity.

Both Spirit and Opportunity carried five science instruments. Curiosity boasts 10, including a rock-vaporizing laser and gear designed to identify organic molecules ? the carbon-containing building blocks of life as we know it.

Curiosity also sports a drill at the end of its 7-foot (2.1-meter) robotic arm that will allow it to collect samples from the interior of Martian rocks, a first for a Red Planet robot.

"This rover, Curiosity rover, is really a rover on steroids," Hartman said.

Investigating Gale Crater

After liftoff, Curiosity will embark upon an 8 1/2-month cruise to Mars. In August 2012, it will land at a 100-mile-wide (160-kilometer) crater called Gale and begin assessing whether Mars is, or ever was, capable of supporting microbial life.

A 3-mile-high (5-km) mound of layered sediment rises from Gale's center. These layers preserve a record of Martian environmental change spanning about one billion years, and Curiosity is designed to read them like a book.

The rover will pay special attention to layers near the mound's base, where Mars-orbiting spacecraft have identified clays and sulfates ? minerals that form in the presence of liquid water.

The rocks shift farther up the mountain, capturing Mars' transition from a relatively warm, wet planet to the frigid, dry and dusty world we see today. Curiosity's observations could help shed light on this dramatic transformation, researchers said.

The MSL team is quick to stress that Curiosity is not hunting for signs of life; if any microbes are squirming about in Mars' red dirt, the rover probably won't be able to spot them. But Curiosity's mission is a necessary precursor to future efforts to hunt down potential Red Planet life, researchers said.

"A habitable environment needs to be described," said MSL project scientist John Grotzinger of Caltech. "You just simply have to know where to look."

You can follow SPACE.com senior writer Mike Wall on Twitter: @michaeldwall. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/space/20111125/sc_space/nasatolaunchhugemarsroversaturday

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Syria faces Arab sanctions deadline over monitors (Reuters)

BEIRUT (Reuters) ? Syria faces a Friday deadline to sign an Arab deal allowing monitors into the country or incur sanctions over its crackdown on protests including halting flights, curbing trade and stopping deals with the central bank.

Arab foreign ministers warned in Cairo that unless Syria agreed to let the monitors in to assess progress of an Arab League plan to end eight months of bloodshed, officials would consider imposing sanctions on Saturday.

Under a November 2 Arab League initiative, Syria agreed to withdraw troops from urban centers, release political prisoners, start a dialogue with the opposition and allow monitors and international media into the country.

Since then hundreds of people, including civilians, security forces and army deserters, have been killed as the unrest which the United Nations says has claimed at least 3,500 lives since March continued unabated.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based opposition group, said at least 47 people were killed in Syria on Thursday, including 16 soldiers and 17 army deserters, mostly around the rebellious city of Homs and near the town of Rastan to the north.

The violence has prompted former ally Turkey to bluntly tell President Bashar al-Assad to step down and led France to propose "humanitarian corridors" in Syria to help transport medicines or other supplies to civilians in need.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said he would discuss the idea with the Arab League but a source at the 22-member body said the proposal was not brought up at the Cairo meeting.

"In the case that Syria does not sign the protocol ... or that it later violates the commitments that it entails, and does not stop the killing or does not release the detainees ... (Arab League officials) will meet on Saturday to consider sanctions on Syria," the Arab ministers said in a statement.

They said possible sanctions, which were not intended to affect ordinary Syrians, included suspending flights to Syria, stopping dealings with the central bank, freezing Syrian government bank accounts and halting financial dealings.

They could also decide to stop commercial trade with the Syrian government "with the exception of strategic commodities so as not to impact the Syrian people," the statement said.

Syria's economy is already reeling from the eight months of unrest, aggravated by U.S. and European sanctions on oil exports and several state businesses.

"HUMANITARIAN CORRIDORS"

After months in which the international community has seemed determined to avoid direct entanglement in a core Middle East country, the diplomatic consensus seems to be changing.

The Arab League suspended Syria's membership two weeks ago, while this week the prime minister of neighboring Turkey - a NATO member with the military wherewithal to mount a cross-border operation - told Assad to quit and said he should be mindful of the fate of fallen dictators such as Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini and Libya's deposed leader Muammar Gaddafi.

France became the first major power to seek international intervention in Syria when it called for "humanitarian corridors" in Syria to alleviate civilian suffering.

A Western diplomatic source said the French plan, with or without approval from Damascus, could link Syrian civilian centers to the frontiers of Turkey and Lebanon, to the Mediterranean coast or to an airport.

Its aim would enable transport of humanitarian supplies or medicines to a population that is suffering.

Juppe insisted the plan fell short of a military intervention, but acknowledged that humanitarian convoys would need armed protection.

"There are two possible ways: That the international community, Arab League and the United Nations can get the regime to allow these humanitarian corridors," he told French radio. "But if that isn't the case we'd have to look at other solutions ... with international observers."

Asked if humanitarian convoys would need military protection, he said: "Of course... by international observers, but there is no question of military intervention in Syria."

"MOST DANGEROUS PHASE"

The Syrian Observatory said 15 army deserters were killed in clashes with the military west of Rastan and in raids by security forces. Eleven military and security personnel were killed by army deserters in the city of Houla, it said.

Alongside the mainly peaceful protests, armed insurgents have increasingly attacked military targets in recent weeks.

State media have reported the funerals of 34 soldiers and police in the last four days. Since the outbreak of the uprising officials have blamed armed groups for the violence and say 1,100 members of the security forces have been killed.

"The Syrian crisis may or may not have entered its final phase, but it undoubtedly has entered its most dangerous one to date," the International Crisis Group said.

"Many in Syria and abroad are now banking on the regime's imminent collapse and wagering that all then will be for the better. That is a luxury and optimism they cannot afford."

Washington repeated an appeal on Wednesday for U.S. citizens to leave Syria: "The U.S. Embassy continues to urge U.S. citizens in Syria to depart immediately while commercial transportation is available," the embassy said on its website.

Assad, 46, seems prepared to fight it out, playing on fears of a sectarian war if Syria's complex ethno-sectarian mosaic shatters and relying on support of senior officials and the military to suppress the protests, inspired by Arab uprisings which toppled the leaders of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen.

However many experts say Assad, who can depend mainly on the loyalty of two elite units dominated by his Alawite minority community, cannot maintain current military operations without cracks emerging in the mainly Sunni Muslim army.

(Additional reporting by Khaled Yacoub Oweis in Amman, Dina Zayed, Marwa Awad and Ayman Samir in Cairo, John Irish in Paris; Editing by Jon Hemming)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111124/ts_nm/us_syria

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JK Rowling: UK press left me feeling under siege

In this image made from television, "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling, who has campaigned to keep her children out of the media glare, gives evidence about media intrusion during a media ethics inquiry in London, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011. The inquiry, led by Judge Brian Leveson, plans to issue a report next year and could recommend major changes to media regulation in Britain. (AP Photo/Parliamentary Recording Unit via APTN) NO ARCHIVES

In this image made from television, "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling, who has campaigned to keep her children out of the media glare, gives evidence about media intrusion during a media ethics inquiry in London, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011. The inquiry, led by Judge Brian Leveson, plans to issue a report next year and could recommend major changes to media regulation in Britain. (AP Photo/Parliamentary Recording Unit via APTN) NO ARCHIVES

British actress Sienna Miller, arrives to testify at the Leveson inquiry at the Royal Courts of Justice in central London, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011. The Leveson inquiry is Britain's media ethics probe that was set up in the wake of the scandal over phone hacking at Rupert Murdoch's News of the World, which was shut in July after it became clear that the tabloid had systematically broken the law. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

British actress Sienna Miller, center, arrives to testify at the Leveson inquiry at the Royal Courts of Justice in central London, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011. The Leveson inquiry is Britain's media ethics probe that was set up in the wake of the scandal over phone hacking at Rupert Murdoch's News of the World, which was shut in July after it became clear that the tabloid had systematically broken the law. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

British actress Sienna Miller, center, arrives to testify at the Leveson inquiry at the Royal Courts of Justice in central London, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011. The Leveson inquiry is Britain's media ethics probe that was set up in the wake of the scandal over phone hacking at Rupert Murdoch's News of the World, which was shut in July after it became clear that the tabloid had systematically broken the law. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

British actress Sienna Miller, center, arrives to testify at the Leveson inquiry at the Royal Courts of Justice in central London, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011. The Leveson inquiry is Britain's media ethics probe that was set up in the wake of the scandal over phone hacking at Rupert Murdoch's News of the World, which was shut in July after it became clear that the tabloid had systematically broken the law. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

LONDON (AP) ? Author J.K. Rowling told a U.K. media ethics inquiry Thursday how she felt "under siege" from intrusive journalists, who staked out her house and even went so far as to slip a note into her 5-year-old daughter's school bag.

The creator of boy wizard Harry Potter said media interest began shortly after the publication of her first novel in 1997 and soon escalated, with photographers and reporters frequently stationed outside her home.

"It feels threatening to have people watching you," she said.

Once, her daughter came home from primary school and Rowling found a letter from a journalist in the child's backpack.

"I felt such a sense of invasion," Rowling said. "It's very difficult to say how angry I felt that my 5-year-old daughter's school was no longer a place of complete security from journalists."

By the time her younger children were born in 2003 and 2005, Rowling said, the scrutiny was "like being under siege and like being a hostage."

Rowling was the latest in a string of prominent people to tell the inquiry about the distressing effect on their lives of intense press interest.

Earlier Thursday, actress Sienna Miller said she was left paranoid and scared by years of relentless tabloid pursuit that ranged from paparazzi outside her house to the hacking of her mobile phone.

Miller said the surveillance, and a stream of personal stories about her in the tabloids, led her to accuse friends and family of leaking information to the media. In fact, her cell phone voice mails had been hacked by Rupert Murdoch's News of the World tabloid.

Miller, 29, became a tabloid staple when she dated fellow actor Jude Law. She said the constant scrutiny left her feeling "very violated and very paranoid and anxious, constantly."

"I felt like I was living in some sort of video game," she said.

She called the paparazzi focus terrifying.

"For a number of years I was relentlessly pursued by 10 to 15 men, almost daily," she said. "Spat at, verbally abused.

"I would often find myself, at the age of 21, at midnight, running down a dark street on my own with 10 men chasing me. And the fact they had cameras in their hands made that legal."

Miller, the star of "Layer Cake" and "Alfie," was one of the first celebrities to take the News of the World to court over illegal eavesdropping. In May, the newspaper agreed to pay her 100,000 pounds ($160,000) to settle claims her phone had been hacked.

The newspaper's parent company now faces dozens of lawsuits from alleged hacking victims.

Miller, who looked confident as she gave evidence at London's Royal Courts of Justice, said it was a difficult decision to challenge Murdoch's media empire.

"I was very nervous about taking on an empire that was richer and far more powerful than I will ever be," she said. "It was very daunting."

Prime Minister David Cameron set up the inquiry amid a still-unfolding scandal over illegal eavesdropping by the Murdoch-owned tabloid. Murdoch closed down the News of the World in July after evidence emerged that it had illegally accessed the mobile phone voice mails of celebrities, politicians and even crime victims in its search of scoops.

More than a dozen News of the World journalists and editors have been arrested over allegations of illegal eavesdropping, and the scandal has also claimed the jobs of two top London police officers, Cameron's media adviser and several senior Murdoch executives.

The inquiry, led by Judge Brian Leveson, plans to issue a report next year and could recommend major changes to media regulation in Britain.

Miller took the stand after another witness was allowed to give evidence in private. The courtroom was cleared of the press as the witness, identified only as HJK, testified about suffering intrusions while in a relationship with a well-known figure, whose identity was also kept secret.

Also testifying Thursday was former Formula One boss Max Mosley, who has campaigned for a privacy law since his interest in sadomasochistic sex was exposed in the News of the World.

Mosley successfully sued the News of the World over a 2008 story headlined "Formula One boss has sick Nazi orgy with five hookers." Mosley has acknowledged the orgy, but argued that the story ? obtained with a hidden camera ? was an "outrageous" invasion of privacy. He said the Nazi allegation was damaging and "completely untrue."

Mosley said he has had stories about the incident removed from 193 websites around the world, and is currently taking legal action "in 22 or 23 different countries," including proceedings against search engine Google in France and Germany.

"The fundamental thing is that Google could stop this appearing but they don't or won't as a matter of principle," he said.

"You work all your life to try and achieve something or do something useful," Mosley added. "And suddenly something like this happens and that's what you're remembered for."

High-profile witnesses still to come include CNN celebrity interviewer Piers Morgan, who has denied using phone hacking while he was editor of the Daily Mirror newspaper.

The hearings have heard allegations of media malpractice and intrusion that extend far beyond the News of the World.

Witnesses have included celebrities like actor Hugh Grant and ordinary people pursued in times of grief, including the parents of murdered 13-year-old Milly Dowler, whose voice mails were accessed by the News of the World after she disappeared in 2002.

___

Leveson Inquiry: http://www.levesoninquiry.org.uk/

Jill Lawless can be reached at: http://twitter.com/JillLawless

Associated Press

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The Aussies Have Built One Bad Ass Flight Simulator [Video]

Your typical fake cockpit simulator has limited maneuverability, but this high speed robot arm can move in multiple axis at the same time, accurately recreating the feeling of flying including the extreme g-forces that come with it. More »

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Bachmann: Obama 'AWOL' at crunch time on deficits (The Arizona Republic)

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