GE gets $1.9 billion Algerian power deal: WSJ

(Reuters) - General Electric Co signed a $1.9 billion contract with Algeria to supply turbines for six power plants, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Under the deal Soci?t? Alg?rienne de Production de l'Electricit?, a unit of Algeria's national electricity and gas company, Sonelgaz Group, bought 26 heavy duty gas turbines from GE, the Journal said.

The turbines are for six new combined-cycle power plants that will add 8 gigawatts of power in Algeria by 2017 and aim to increase the country's generating capacity by 70 percent, the Journal reported.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ge-gets-1-9-billion-algerian-power-deal-063109572--sector.html

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Stronger winds may explain puzzling growth of sea ice in Antarctica, model shows

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Much attention is paid to melting sea ice in the Arctic. But less clear is the situation on the other side of the planet. Despite warmer air and oceans, there's more sea ice in Antarctica now than in the 1970s -- a fact often pounced on by global warming skeptics. The latest numbers suggest the Antarctic sea ice may be heading toward a record high this year. The reason may lie in the winds. A new modeling study shows that stronger polar winds lead to an increase in Antarctic sea ice, even in a warming climate.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/Y_93ShSnoJg/130918001910.htm

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New magnetic semiconductor material holds promise for 'spintronics'

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Researchers have created a new compound that can be integrated into silicon chips and is a dilute magnetic semiconductor -- meaning that it could be used to make "spintronic" devices, which rely on magnetic force to operate, rather than electrical currents.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/9jjoXI9IOZ4/130910104942.htm

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Paired Diagnostic and Pharmacodynamic Analysis of Rare Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells Enabled by the VerIFAST Platform

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NSA Spying: Indian Gov???t Bans Employee Google Use as Euro Parliament Weighs Law Fining Cooperative Firms

The rest of the world is much more appalled at the spying of the National Security Agency on telephone, email, web browsers and other personal information than is the US public. As new revelations come out almost daily about the cavalier way in which the NSA has spied on the world?s presidents, parliaments and ordinary citizens it is natural that the rest of the world should begin responding to what they see as a dire threat to government and personal privacy.

The Indian government is preparing to ban government employees from using Google mail (gmail) or Yahoo mail for official purposes.

India is also considering requiring that all Indian-to-Indian email be carried solely on Indian servers inside the country. At the moment, Indian email (like that of most countries) bounces around the world before being delivered to the recipient, and likely will pass through US servers, opening it to being spied on by the NSA. One of the likely outcomes of NSA overreaching is that the internet will become more fragmented and hence less useful to the rest of us.

Meanwhile, the European Parliament is considering legislation that would fine private telecom and internet firms operating in Europe that turn data over to the NSA or give it a back door into their systems.

RT has a video report:

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Gulf of Mexico shrimp subsidy case suffers blow in U.S. Commerce decision

Gulf of Mexico shrimp processors suffered a substantial setback Tuesday when the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that shrimp exports from Thailand to the United States would not be subject to "countervailing duties" -- assessments imposed to offset unfair subsidies on shrimp. In 2012, Thailand exported the largest portion of the targeted frozen warm-water shrimp to the United States -- shrimp valued at about $1.1 billion.

In its preliminary determination in late May, Commerce had excluded Ecuador and Indonesia from the assessments. Indonesia will remain excluded from the assessments, but Ecuador -- which often comes in second behind Thailand in terms of the targeted shrimp imports -- has been added to the list of countries that will have to pay such duties.

In its preliminary determination, Commerce had stated that some shrimp from Thailand would receive minimal duties, but on Tuesday -- after its more extensive investigation that included visits to each of the foreign countries -- the department changed course.

In addition to Ecuador, Commerce determined that certain frozen warm-water shrimp coming from India, Malaysia, Vietnam and China also would be subject to the duties. The imposed duties average about 15 percent.

In June, U.S. customs agents began collecting cash deposits at ports of entry for the certain frozen shrimp imports from China, India, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam that were determined to require duties based on the preliminary investigation. The money collected from the Thai companies now will be refunded.

And once Commerce's final determination is published in the Federal Register, the Ecuador companies will have to begin paying duties.

In the preliminary phase of an investigation, Commerce's analysis was largely based on the information provided by the petitioners and questionnaires to the various foreign companies. For its final determination, Commerce verified that information in part by visiting the foreign companies.

Also on Tuesday, Coalition of Gulf Shrimp Industries members -- the coalition that filed the initial petitions asking for the trade investigation -- testified on the subsidy case before the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington, D.C.

The International Trade Commission is expected to announce its final determination by Sept. 26 and final orders would be issued by Oct. 3.

But, regardless of the International Trade Commission's final determination, the Indonesia and Thailand investigations now are terminated because of Commerce's final determination. And if the International Trade Commission determines that additional foreign companies were not in violation of trade practices, then U.S. customs would refund the cash deposits taken during the intervening period.

Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., submitted testimony supporting countervailing duties -- including assessments for Thailand and Indonesia -- to the International Trade Commission hearing Tuesday.

"Today, we have the opportunity to throw a life jacket to our American shrimp industry which may otherwise drown," Landrieu wrote in her testimony.

She stated that imposing the countervailing duties "is to level the playing field, to support free and fair market conditions, and to provide the U.S. shrimp industry with a chance to once again flourish."

"If we don't stop unfair import competition, we will end up driving hard-working entrepreneurs out of this business and depriving one of America's cherished cultures of an industry that has flourished for generations," Landrieu continued.

Source: http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2013/08/gulf_of_mexico_shrimp_subsidy_3.html

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Gunmen kill police officer, driver in Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) ? Police say gunmen on motorcycles have killed a mid-ranking police officer and his driver in northwest Pakistan.

Police officer Mohammed Ibrahim Khan says Amanullah Khan, a deputy superintendent, and his driver were killed Monday in the main northwest city of Peshawar. Khan was in charge of the traffic police in Peshawar.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion will likely fall on the Pakistani Taliban.

The group is based in Pakistan's semiautonomous tribal region along the border with Afghanistan and has been waging a bloody insurgency against the government for years.

Peshawar is located on the edge of the tribal region and has been hit by hundreds of attacks over the years.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gunmen-kill-police-officer-driver-pakistan-055507452.html

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AOL Reader beta officially available for your RSS-perusing needs (hands-on)

Wondering how AOL's RSS client will rank as a Google Reader replacement? Today's the day we find out, as the doors to the AOL Reader beta have officially swung open. Feedly's been absorbing Google's castaways for weeks now, and Digg's is only two days away from launching its own freemium RSS client -- but we couldn't resist getting an early taste of what our parent company (Disclaimer alert!) is cooking. Join us after the break for all the details about this latest entrant in the field of feed readers.

Gallery: AOL Reader hands-on

Filed under: Internet, Software

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/24/aol-reader-hands-on/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Watch how Google brought Street View to the Burj Khalifa (video)

Street View's fine for navigation, but we're sure plenty more people use it just for their armchair tourism. Google has now turned its attention to giving thrill-seekers a chance to gaze out from the top of Dubai's Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building. Using Trekker backpacks and trolleys, it took the Googlers three days to capture the images from both the viewing gallery on the 124th floor and the window cleaning gantry on the 80th. Curious to experience some of that vertigo for yourself? Video's after the break.

Filed under: Cameras, GPS, Google

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Via: Official Google Blog

Source: Google Street View

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/24/street-view-burj-khalifa/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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No sign of Snowden as Aeroflot plane lands in Havana

HAVANA (Reuters) - An Aeroflot flight from Moscow that was being closely tracked by media organizations in case Edward Snowden, the former security contractor who revealed details of U.S. surveillance programs, was on board, landed in Cuba uneventfully on Monday.

Russian reporters on board the flight and foreign press gathered at Havana airport reported no sightings of Snowden or any unusual security.

When the captain of the Aeroflot plane emerged from customs he was surrounded by photographers. He pulled out his own camera, took picture of the photographers and said "No Snowden, no."

Members of the aircraft's crew also told reporters on the plane soon after take-off that Snowden was not on board, according to a Reuters reporter who was on the flight.

(Editing by Tim Dobbyn and Christopher Wilson)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/no-sign-snowden-aeroflot-plane-lands-havana-002840758.html

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Spain resists pressure for swift moves on nationalized banks

By Jes?s Aguado and Sarah White

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's economy minister said on Monday he would not be pushed into selling two nationalized banks too quickly or too cheaply as bankers press the government to act to resolve the lingering problems of its financial system.

Bankers say that Spain must pump more funds into some of the lenders it bailed out last year using EU aid and its own money if it hopes to sell them soon, with the government's options for recovering some of the investment narrowing.

A recent government-commissioned report on the sector by investment bank Nomura and consultancy McKinsey suggested quickly selling Catalunya Banc and NCG Banco before their assets deteriorate further, two banking sources said.

Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said on Monday that the government was exploring all options for the sale of the two banks, although he said there was no rush.

"The buyers always try to give the impression that things are worth less than what they are... We are convinced that these entities have value," de Guindos told COPE radio on Monday.

"We have to do it at the right moment and the process must be competitive... We have five years to do it, there's no need to rush. I know there are some that want it to go quickly."

Barcelona-based Catalunya Banc and NCG Banco, from the northern region of Galicia, together worth less than 10 percent of the Spanish market, were among the biggest recipients of the 41 billion euros ($55 billion) Madrid took from Brussels in aid last year.

Fernando Restoy, deputy head of Spain's central bank, opened the door on Friday to an asset protection scheme to speed up the sale of the banks, although he repeated the government's view that they do not need more capital.

Bankers say potential bidders are demanding guarantees against losses, or more capital, even though the banks are now mostly cleansed of the soured property assets that nearly felled them.

But pumping extra funds into the banks would hinder Spain's attempts to slash its deficit in a prolonged recession, as it faces public anger over deep public spending cuts.

It would also bring the money spent on saving Catalunya Banc closer to its cost of liquidation. Under the terms of the European bailout, Spain cannot spend more on capitalizing a bank than it would on winding it down.

"There is interest in these banks," one senior Madrid investment banker said. "But that interest is at a price which is very different to where the government's price is. Buyers essentially want to get money to buy them, as bank acquisitions in Spain have been more sour than sweet as norms keep changing and provisioning needs keep rising."

No formal process to sell the banks is yet underway, several bankers familiar with their situation said, although informal conversations with investors are taking place.

EXTRA

Spain has spent over 75 billion euros to help 14 banks in the past four years. With many still facing big hurdles as they recover from 2008's domestic property crash, it has the option to draw down more of a 100 billion euro aid line from Europe.

While Bankia, the biggest lender in state hands, became a symbol of Spain's financial turmoil when it needed a 22.5 billion euro rescue barely a year after listing, Catalunya Banc has turned into the government's most immediate problem.

Spain aborted its last attempt to sell Catalunya Banc in March when those interested - some of Spain's healthier lenders - requested government-funded schemes to protect them against future losses, or other types of aid.

Two financial sources familiar with the lender's accounts said bidders have identified additional losses of between 3 billion and 4 billion euros at the bank due to souring loans to households and companies.

A spokeswoman for the bank denied it faced a 3 to 4 billion euro hole but said it had not conducted analysis of projected losses under new provisioning rules.

For comparison, liquidating Catalunya would have cost 17.8 billion euros, the bank disclosed in a stock market filing this month. It has received 12 billion euros in state aid so far.

The bank made a loss of 18.5 million euros in the first quarter of 2013 and its loans in arrears rose to 9.91 percent of outstanding loans at the end of March from 9.39 percent at end December. The average for the whole Spanish sector was 10.5 percent - compared to less than 7 percent in the euro zone.

NCG Banco returned to profit in the same period, but its bad debt ratio grew to 14.4 percent at the end of March from 13.5 percent in December.

It has made some progress shedding assets, however, and is close to clinching the sale of parts of its branch networks outside Galicia, a source close to the bank said.

(Additional reporting by Sarah Morris; editing by Patrick Graham and Fiona Ortiz)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pressed-spain-considers-options-nationalized-bank-sales-091558572.html

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Social media spreads and splinters Brazil protests

Social media

Caroline Stauffer Reuters

June 22, 2013 at 2:17 PM ET

UESLEI MARCELINO / REUTERS

A demonstrator holds a sign next to street structures set on fire during a protest against the Confederations Cup and President Dilma Rousseff's government, in front of the National Congress in Brasilia June 20, 2013.

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil's biggest protests in decades are a confusing, conflicting mix of people and messages. Blame Facebook.

Social media tools like Facebook and Twitter enabled mass protests of the sort that have not happened in Latin America's biggest country in more than two decades.

As a result of the speed, efficiency and anonymity of online activism, though, an amorphous, unwieldy movement has emerged that is beyond the control of any of those who first began pushing for change.

"Social media has helped us organize without having leaders," said Victor Damaso, 22, demonstrating on Sao Paulo's main Paulista Avenue on Thursday night. "Our ideas, our demands are discussed on Facebook. There are no meetings, no rules."

The demonstrations have been mostly peaceful, but as more than a million Brazilians took to the streets on Thursday, vandals and looters cast a violent pall over some of the protests. Police and security forces have responded with teargas, rubber bullets and pepper spray.

Facebook pages set up for logistical coordination and Twitter hash tags have cropped up for protests in hundreds of cities across Brazil. Rival groups appear to be vying for control of one of the most-viewed organizing pages on Facebook and an associated Twitter feed.

"Any movement risks attracting unaffiliated groups and individuals," said Angela Alonso, a sociologist at the University of Sao Paulo. "It's a price of growth. In this case there is no centralized leadership, administration is more difficult and it is even becoming uncontrollable."

The Free Fare movement, a group of 40 activists who marched for - and got - lower transportation rates, said on Friday it was suspending any further marches for now because of mounting tension and violence.

Sparked by Free Fare's protests, the nationwide call for reform quickly evolved into what is now known online as Anonymous Brazil.

The group appears to use encrypted Web browsers that make it difficult to identify page administrators and has adopted the Guy Fawkes mask, the symbol for the global cyber group of hackers known as Anonymous, as its mascot, although it is not clear if the two have a formal link.

While that opens the door to all sorts of fringe groups, the people at the core of the protests generally share a commitment to better public services. Their rallying cries, found on Twitter and Facebook and on traditional signs at the protests, range from ending political corruption to lambasting more than $12 billion being poured into soccer stadiums and other preparations for the 2014 World Cup.

The demonstrators, mostly educated, middle class and under age 30, want nothing to do with established groups that were behind the causes of their parents' generation.

Online organizing
Unlike Brazil's movement for redemocratization in the 1970s and 1980s and protests for the impeachment of President Fernando Collor de Mello in the early 1990s, today's demonstrations have no clear leadership or political affinity.

"The recent protests are not partisan, and they do not have centralized leadership," said Alonso, the sociologist. "This has to do with new technologies that allow for organization without centralization, and also with the fact that the activists are from a new generation that is no longer guided by ideals like socialism, and doesn't want state power."

Indeed, Brazil's protests do not target any specific leader or political party. That makes them different from the Arab Spring, a series of uprisings against autocratic leaders in the past few years, or even this year's demonstrations in Turkey against the government of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.

While some of the Arab governments blocked access to the Internet to disrupt the planning of protests, Brazil's intelligence agency, Abin, has beefed up efforts to monitor calls for demonstrations online and on popular smart phone chat tool WhatsApp.

President Dilma Rousseff, a leftist guerrilla in the 1970s, has praised the protests as democratic.

Anonymous Brazil's Facebook page, which has nearly 1 million followers, briefly disappeared from the Web on Friday. The group later said via Facebook that its Twitter account had been "robbed" by one of its own members, generating conflicts on its linked Facebook platform.

The group says competing Twitter accounts like @AnonymousBr4sil and #AnonymousFuel are run by "usurpers."

Of the 53.5 million Brazilians online, almost a third of the population, 86 percent use some kind of micro blog or social media tool, according to polling firm Ibope.

(Additional reporting by Silvio Cascione; Editing by Paulo Prada and Mohammad Zargham)

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653377/s/2da7054c/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Ctechnology0Csocial0Emedia0Espreads0Esplinters0Ebrazil0Eprotests0E6C10A4180A84/story01.htm

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Hong Kong says Snowden has left for third country

HONG KONG (AP) ? A former National Security Agency contractor wanted by the United States for revealing highly classified surveillance programs has been allowed to leave for a "third country" because a U.S. extradition request did not fully comply with Hong Kong law, the territory's government said Sunday.

Hong Kong's government did not identify the country, but the South China Morning Post, which has been in contact with Edward Snowden, reported that he was on a plane for Moscow, but that Russia was not his final destination.

Snowden, who has been in hiding in Hong Kong for several weeks since he revealed information on the highly classified spy programs, has talked of seeking asylum in Iceland.

However, Russia's ITAR-Tass news agency cited an unidentified Aeroflot official as saying Snowden would fly from Moscow to Cuba on Monday and then on to Caracas, Venezuela.

The White House had no immediate comment about Snowden's departure, which came a day after the United States made a formal request for his extradition and gave a pointed warning to Hong Kong against delaying the process of returning him to face trial in the U.S.

The Hong Kong government said in a statement that Snowden left "on his own accord for a third country through a lawful and normal channel."

It acknowledged the U.S. extradition request, but said U.S. documentation did not "fully comply with the legal requirements under Hong Kong law." It said additional information was requested from Washington, but since the Hong Kong government "has yet to have sufficient information to process the request for provisional warrant of arrest, there is no legal basis to restrict Mr. Snowden from leaving Hong Kong."

The statement said Hong Kong had informed the U.S. of Snowden's departure. It added that it wanted more information about alleged hacking of computer systems in Hong Kong by U.S. government agencies which Snowden had revealed.

The anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks took credit for helping Snowden leave Hong Kong, saying on Twitter, "Mr. Snowden is currently over Russian airspace accompanied by WikiLeaks legal advisors."

Snowden's departure eliminates a possible fight between Washington and Beijing at a time when China is trying to deflect U.S. accusations that it carries out extensive surveillance of American government and commercial operations. Hong Kong, a former British colony, has a high degree of autonomy and is granted rights and freedoms not seen on mainland China, but under the city's mini constitution Beijing is allowed to intervene in matters involving defense and diplomatic affairs.

Hong Kong has an extradition treaty with the U.S., but the document has some exceptions, including for crimes deemed political.

The Obama administration on Saturday warned Hong Kong against delaying Snowden's extradition, with White House national security adviser Tom Donilon saying in an interview with CBS News, "Hong Kong has been a historically good partner of the United States in law enforcement matters, and we expect them to comply with the treaty in this case."

Snowden's departure came as the South China Morning Post released new allegations from Snowden that U.S. hacking targets in China included the nation's cellphone companies and two universities hosting extensive Internet traffic hubs.

He told the newspaper that "the NSA does all kinds of things like hack Chinese cellphone companies to steal all of your SMS data." It added that Snowden said he had documents to support the hacking allegations, but the report did not identify the documents. It said he spoke to the newspaper in a June 12 interview.

With a population of more than 1.3 billion, China has massive cellphone companies. China Mobile is the world's largest mobile network carrier with 735 million subscribers, followed by China Unicom with 258 million users and China Telecom with 172 million users.

Snowden said Tsinghua University in Beijing and Chinese University in Hong Kong, home of some of the country's major Internet traffic hubs, were targets of extensive hacking by U.S. spies this year. He said the NSA was focusing on so-called "network backbones" in China, through which enormous amounts of Internet data passes.

The Chinese government has not commented on the extradition request and Snowden's departure, but its state-run media have used Snowden's allegations to poke back at Washington after the U.S. had spent the past several months pressuring China on its international spying operations.

A commentary published Sunday by the official Xinhua News Agency said Snowden's disclosures of U.S. spying activities in China have "put Washington in a really awkward situation."

"Washington should come clean about its record first. It owes ... an explanation to China and other countries it has allegedly spied on," it said. "It has to share with the world the range, extent and intent of its clandestine hacking programs."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hong-kong-says-snowden-left-third-country-081745849.html

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Climate change, business top Kerry visit to India

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, center left, is greeted by Aman Puri, with the Indian protocol office, upon arrival in New Delhi, India on Sunday, June 23, 2013, on his first visit to India as secretary. At right is U.S. Ambassador to India Nancy Powell. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, center left, is greeted by Aman Puri, with the Indian protocol office, upon arrival in New Delhi, India on Sunday, June 23, 2013, on his first visit to India as secretary. At right is U.S. Ambassador to India Nancy Powell. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks to the traveling press on board the airplane as he leaves Doha, Qatar en route to New Delhi, on Sunday, June 23, 2013. In Qatar Kerry spent time discussing Syria and Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

NEW DELHI (AP) ? U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will urge fast-growing India on Sunday to curb emissions that contribute to global warming and ease barriers to U.S. business and investment in the world's largest democracy that is viewed as a counterweight to China.

New Delhi is the second stop on Kerry's two-week visit to seven countries in the Mideast and Asia. During his stay, the top U.S. diplomat also is expected to discuss a myriad of other topics, including enhancing security in the region and prospects for finding a political resolution to the war in Afghanistan.

Kerry has traveled to India before, but his two-day visit is his first to the country as secretary of state. He is to deliver a speech that will focus on climate change along with other bilateral issues.

India has installed about 1,000 megawatts of solar power in the past 2 1/2 years ? about one fifth with American financing. Education also will figure prominently in their discussions. India is facing the challenge of educating about 500 million young people during the next decade or so and there is an opportunity for U.S. schools to help meet the demand.

Discussions also will include India's relationship with its archenemy, Pakistan, and the hope that Pakistan's new president, Nawaz Sharif, will try to improve relations, thus reducing the chance of a fourth major war between the nuclear-armed neighbors.

Kerry is talking about climate change just two days before President Barack Obama is to unveil his long-awaited national plan on the issue.

People consulting with White House officials on Obama's plan say they expect the president to put forth regulations on heat-trapping gases emitted by coal-fired power plants that are already running. Environmental groups have been pleading with Obama to take that step, but the administration has said it's focused first on controls on new power plants.

More than half of India's power comes from coal and while the U.S. has emission issues of its own, it wants to see India and other nations in the region rely less on old, coal generation facilities. The U.S. is backing a Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline that would bring energy to a power-starved region.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-06-23-Kerry/id-a3f45b40ee844001b8bff0db7ecf4cc2

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People's Fest at Atlantic Station | Atlanta Food & Drink Blog ...

Source: http://clatl.com/omnivore/archives/2013/06/21/peoples-fest-at-atlantic-station

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Flooding may force 100,000 from west Canada homes

HIGHWOOD RIVER, Calgary (AP) ? As many as 100,000 people could be forced from their homes by heavy flooding in western Canada, Calgary city officials said, while mudslides forced the closure of the Trans-Canada Highway, isolating the mountain resort towns of Banff and Canmore.

Torrential rains and widespread flooding throughout southern Alberta on Thursday washed out roads and bridges, left at least one person missing and caused cars, couches and refrigerators to float away. Communities were hit hard just south of Calgary, a city of more than a million people that hosted the 1988 Winter Olympics.

Many downtown neighborhoods were ordered evacuated as the evening went on. Officials said the evacuation would take place in stages over the next few days. The province reported that 12 communities were under states of emergency.

Water levels were expected to reach their maximum around noon on Friday.

One woman who had been stranded on top of a trailer was missing after it was swept away, STARS air ambulance spokesman Cam Heke said.

Motorists who were trapped overnight Wednesday by water spilling over Canada's main western highway had to be rescued by helicopter, Town of Canmore spokeswoman Sally Caudill said.

"I woke up at about three o'clock in morning to the sound of this kind of rumbling, and it was the creek," said Wade Graham, a resident of Canmore. "At first it was just intense, pretty powerful, amazing thing to watch. As daylight came, it just got bigger and bigger and wider and wider, and it's still getting bigger and bigger and wider and wider."

He added, "I watched a refrigerator go by, I watched a shed go by, I watched couches go by. It's insane."

Bruce Burrell, director of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency, said water levels on the Bow River aren't expected to subside until Saturday afternoon. The Bow River Basin already has been battered with up to 100 mm (3.9 inches) of rain.

"Depending on the extent of flooding we experience overnight, there may be areas of the city where people are not going to be able to get into until the weekend," he told a news conference.

In High River, Mounties asked people with motorboats to help rescue at least a dozen stranded homeowners.

"We have people on their rooftops who were unable to evacuate fast enough," said RCMP Sgt. Patricia Neely.

Environment Canada issued a rainfall warning for the affected areas, estimating as much as 100 millimetres more rain could fall in the next two days.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/flooding-may-force-100-000-west-canada-homes-084839000.html

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WOW! Women On Writing Blog: Friday Speak Out!: Getting Creative ...

Drivers along the northern stretch of Alabama?s busy I65 met with an eerie and unexpected sight during February of 2012 when a gaping sinkhole appeared before them in the blacktop.

It must have been terrifying.

In a peculiar way, the event reminded me of the potentially devastating effects of writer?s block. How many of us have been swept along by intoxicating whirlwinds of creativity and inspiration, only to be dropped suddenly and unceremoniously at the brink of our own black and cavernous ?sinkhole??

The big question is: how should we react when this happens? Human nature seems to say stare at the looming sinkhole. Think about it. Focus on it, to the exclusion of every good thing around you. And, yes, possibly even begin to spend time researching sinkholes. In other words ?Think SINK?. Until the gnawing blackness grows to an overwhelming, all-consuming size.

Or?take action.

For just a moment, imagine the result if those unlucky February drivers had chosen to simply sit in their vehicles and stare at their obstacle. Not too efficient.

Instead, traffic was detoured and people started thinking. Some enterprising folks chose different modes of transportation for a week or two, a few drivers sought new routes, and still others opted to make phone calls instead of personal visits. People got creative!

To ward off writer?s block, you too, have to be pro-active and creative. One step is by choosing to become proficient in different genres. Though you may prefer to pen Young Adult Fiction, your talent can only improve as you learn to write quality Flash Fiction or try your hand at Poetry or Romance. If you always compose while sitting at the computer, ?unplug? yourself now and then to write long-handed or speak into a voice-recorder. Join a critique group or consider co-writing a piece or story. Or why not consider getting a ?fresh start?, literally, by scribbling some notes while sitting beneath a tree under an expansive blue sky?

Shake things up! Keep the creative juices flowing by daring to challenge yourself and your brain. Do things differently and don?t be afraid to take detours!

* * *

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Would you like to participate in Friday "Speak Out!"? Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Source: http://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com/2013/06/friday-speak-out-getting-creative-with.html

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Navistar idling Mississippi plant

WEST POINT, Miss. (AP) -- Navistar Defense is suspending production at its plant in West Point, Miss.

Navistar spokeswoman Lauren McFarland said in a statement that the 80 workers at the plant were notified Thursday. Navistar Defense is part of Warrenville, Ill.-based Navistar International Corp.

McFarland says the decision came in response to across-the-board federal budget reductions known as the sequester that went into effect on March 1.

"The sequester along with the pending drawdown of operations in Afghanistan, have led to a depleted order board, which requires us to make the difficult decision to suspend production at the West Point facility.

"We are navigating through a challenging environment in the defense industry, and this was a very difficult decision because Navistar values the workers. These are truly great people who have produced vehicles that make a difference, but the reality is the defense environment has changed significantly and as a business, Navistar has to change and adapt with it," McFarland said.

The last day for production and for most workers at the facility is July 5.

The West Point plant opened five years ago. It initially assembled the company's MRAP ? mine resistant vehicles ? that helped better protect soldiers against roadside bombs and other explosive devices in Iraq and Afghanistan. The company has gone on to produce a variety of related vehicles such as armored tow trucks and ambulances to better meet the military's needs.

But after hitting peak production three years ago, orders have steadily slipped.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/navistar-idling-mississippi-plant-170136940.html

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Weiner calls rival over voter's gay slur

Christine Quinn said she received a message from Anthony Weiner on Thursday. (Andrew Burton/Getty Images)Former Rep. Anthony Weiner called his New York City mayoral rival Christine Quinn on Thursday to clarify a recent discussion he had with a voter who reportedly used a homophobic slur to describe Quinn.

Quinn, who is gay, told reporters on Friday she received a phone message from Weiner on Thursday after he came under fire for not strongly admonishing a voter he met during a campaign event who reportedly referred to Quinn as a ?dyke.?

The interaction, detailed in a Washington Post story, said Weiner did not scold the woman until after he noticed a reporter?s ?incredulous reaction." Weiner then reportedly told the voter, who apologized, ?It?s OK. It?s not your fault.?

On Thursday, Weiner told reporters that he recalled admonishing the woman but insisted he did not recall any further interaction. He reaffirmed his support for gay rights and said he would not tolerate ?any utterance of any type of slur against any community.?

On Friday, Quinn said she was ?grateful? that Weiner clarified the interaction in his phone message to her?but she stopped short of saying whether he explicitly apologized.

?It is incredibly important for all New Yorkers?but particularly those in public life?to make very clear that in this city, the most diverse city in the world, in the city where the LGBT civil rights movement was born, that that type of language cannot be tolerated,? Quinn said, according to Politicker. ?I think all of us need to re-commit to making sure that whenever we hear language of any type that is demeaning, derogatory, racists, sexist, homophobic, anything of that nature, that we speak out against it.?

Weiner issued a stronger apology in a statement issued on Twitter by his spokeswoman Barbara Morgan, insisting again that he did not believe the woman?s comment was ?appropriate.?

?If the impression is that I did, I apologize because behavior like this will absolutely not be tolerated in my administration,? Weiner said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/weiner-called-quinn-clarify-talk-voter-used-gay-175640568.html

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Loan to value ratios | Kiwiblog

The Herald reports:

Prime Minister John Key was adamant yesterday the Reserve Bank and retail banks could find a way to exempt first-home buyers from proposed restrictions on low-deposit home loans.

At his post-Cabinet press conference, Mr Key said he supported the move by the Reserve Bank that would see banks limit how much of its new mortgage lending could be made on high loan-to-value ratios (LVRs).

He indicated any measures negotiated would be unacceptable if they penalised first-home buyers at the expense of speculators and property investors.

?Yes I accept absolutely and endorse the view that the banks should be forced to use this as a legitimate tool.

?I don?t think it should be a tool that is used to write high LVR ratios for a bunch of rich people, and lock out a whole lot of first-home buyers.?

I?m not so sure it is as easy as the Reserve Bank or the PM thinks. First let?s look at how big the ?problem? is.

?

This data is from the five major NZ banks.

So the top three lines are all mortgages with LVRs below 80%. ?They comprise four fifths of the total mortgages, and this was much the same in 2008.

There has been virtually zero growth in high LVR loans (over 90%) since 2008 despite there being solid growth in the housing mortgage market.

Essentially, of the approximate $185 billion of housing lending in NZ currently around $150 billion worth of it has an LVR of under 80%.

I think both the RBNZ are the Government somewhat over egging the problem and the need for LVRs.

We also have to be careful of the possibilities of unforeseen consequences. Restrictions on how much a bank can loan to home buyer may mean that they seek unsecured funding, rather than secured funding. This actually happened in Sweden, and actually works to decrease financial stability.

The proposed policies work fairly well in housing markets when there is an over-supply. But in NZ the problem is more an under-supply.

Tags: housing affordability, LVRs, Reserve Bank

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 20th, 2013 at 3:00 pm and is filed under NZ Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Source: http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2013/06/loan_to_value_ratios.html

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LeBron leads Heat to second straight title

MIAMI (AP) ? Victory in Game 7 brought more than another crown for LeBron James and the Miami Heat. It validated the team and its leader, forever cementing their place among the NBA's greats.

For the vanquished San Antonio Spurs, it simply compounded the misery of a championship that got away.

James led the Heat to their second straight title, scoring 37 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in a 95-88 victory Thursday night in a tense game that was tight until Miami pulled away in the final minute.

Capping their best season in franchise history ? and perhaps the three-superstar system they used to build it ? the Heat ran off with the second straight thriller in the NBA's first championship series to go the distance since 2010.

Two nights after his Game 6 save when the Heat were almost eliminated, James continued his unparalleled run through the basketball world, with two titles and an Olympic gold medal in the last 12 months.

"I work on my game a lot throughout the offseason," said James, who was MVP for the second straight finals. "I put a lot of work into it and to be able to come out here and (have) the results happen out on the floor is the ultimate. The ultimate. I'm at a loss for words."

He made five 3-pointers, defended Tony Parker when he had to, and did everything else that could ever be expected from the best player in the game.

The Heat became the NBA's first repeat champions since the Lakers in 2009-10, and the first team to beat the Spurs in the NBA Finals.

"It took everything we had as a team," Dwyane Wade said. "Credit to the San Antonio Spurs, they're an unbelievable team, an unbelievable franchise. This is the hardest series we ever had to play. But we're a resilient team and we did whatever it took."

Players and coaches hugged afterward ? their respect for each other was obvious from the opening tipoff of Game 1 through the final buzzer.

A whisker away from a fifth title two nights earlier, the Spurs couldn't find a way to win it all in what was perhaps the last shot for Tim Duncan, Parker and Manu Ginobili to grab another ring together.

"In my case I still have Game 6 in my head," Ginobili said. "Today we played an OK game, they just made more shots than us. LeBron got hot. Shane (Battier), too. Those things can happen. But being so close and feeling that you are about to grab that trophy, and seeing it vanish is very hard."

They were trying to become the first team to win a Game 7 on the road since Washington beat Seattle in 1978, but those old guys ran out of gas just before the finish.

Fans stood, clapped and danced as the clock ticked down, when every score was answered by another score, each stop followed by a better stop. The Heat pushed their lead to six points a few times midway through the fourth but San Antonio kept coming back.

Duncan had 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Spurs, but missed a shot and follow attempt right under the basket with about 50 seconds left and the Spurs trailing by two.

James followed with a jumper ? the shot the Spurs were daring him to take earlier in the series ? to make it 92-88, sending San Antonio to a timeout as Glenn Frey's "The Heat Is On" blared over the arena's sound system.

He then came up with a steal and made two free throws for a six-point lead, and after Ginobili missed, James stalked toward the sideline, knowing it was over and that he was, once again, the last one standing.

Wade had 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat, who overcame a scoreless Chris Bosh by getting six 3-pointers and 18 points from Shane Battier.

"It was a great series and we all felt that," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "I don't know if 'enjoy' is the right word, but in all honesty, even in defeat, I'm starting to enjoy what our group accomplished already, when you look back. And you need to do that, to put in perspective. So it's no fun to lose, but we lost to a better team. And you can live with that as long as you've given your best, and I think we have."

Streamers fell from the arena ceiling onto the fans for the second year in a row, but this one meant so much more. A narrow escape in Game 6 was still fresh in everyone's mind.

They were down 10 in the fourth quarter of that one before James led the charge back, finishing with a triple-double in Miami's 103-100 overtime victory. This one was nearly as tight, neither team leading by more than seven and the game tied 11 times.

Kawhi Leonard had 19 points and 16 rebounds for the Spurs, who had been 4 for 4 in the championship round. Ginobili had 18 points but Parker managed just 10 points on 3-of-12 shooting.

"Just give credit to the Miami Heat. LeBron was unbelievable. Dwyane was great. I just think they found a way to get it done," Duncan said. "We stayed in the game. We gave ourselves opportunities to win the game, we just couldn't turn that corner."

The Heat and coach Erik Spoelstra collected the Larry O'Brien trophy again from Commissioner David Stern, presiding over his final NBA Finals before retiring next February.

He couldn't have asked for a better way to go out.

James avenged his first finals loss, when his Cleveland Cavaliers were swept by the Spurs on 2007. That helped send James on his way to South Florida, realizing it would take more help to win titles that could never come alone.

He said he would appreciate this one more because of how tough it was. The Heat overpowered Oklahoma City in five games last year, a team of 20-something kids who weren't ready to be champions yet.

This came against a respected group of Spurs whose trio has combined for more than 100 playoff victories together and wanted one more in case this was San Antonio's last rodeo.

Duncan is 37 and Ginobili will be a 36-year-old free agent next month, the core of a franchise whose best days may be behind them.

Meanwhile, it's a potential dynasty along Biscayne Bay, but also one with a potentially small window. Wade's latest knee problems are a reminder that though he came into the NBA at the same time as James and Bosh, he's a couple of years older at 31 with wheels that have seen some miles.

James can become a free agent again next summer with another decision ? though hopefully not another Decision ? to make. He's comfortable in Miami and close with Wade, and the Heat have the leadership and commitment from owner Micky Arison and president Pat Riley to keep building a championship core around him.

Why would he want to leave?

San Antonio's most recent title came at James' expense. The Spurs exploited the weaknesses in James' game though knew someday they would be gone, Duncan telling him afterward that the league would someday belong to James.

And James simply isn't giving it back.

He came in averaging 33.8 points in Game 7s, already the best in NBA history, and was even better in this one.

He can't be defended the way he was six years ago, too strong inside and too solid from the outside. He drove Danny Green back like a tackling dummy to convert a three-point play in the second quarter, then knocked down a 3-pointer for the Heat's next score.

Heat fans, criticized over the last two days after many bolted before the finish Tuesday and then tried to force their way back in, weren't going anywhere early in this one. The game was too good.

And there was another celebration to watch.

The Heat had the classic championship hangover through the first few months of this season, too strong to lose at home but not committed enough to win on the road, where they were just 11-11 following a 102-89 loss in Indiana on Feb. 1.

They won in Toronto two nights later on Super Bowl Sunday and didn't lose again until well into March Madness, running off 27 straight victories before falling in Chicago on March 27 and finishing a franchise-best 66-16.

The small-market Spurs have always been a ratings killer, but interest grew throughout this series in their attempt to toppled the champs. Game 6 drew more than 20 million viewers, a total that Game 7 was expected to top.

And the games got better, too. Games 2-5 were all decided by double digits, neither team able to carry its momentum from one game to the next.

This one was back and forth for more than three quarters, with Mario Chalmers' 3-pointer at the buzzer giving Miami a 72-71 lead heading to the final 12 minutes of the season.

Game 6 could have shaken the Spurs, who were so close to holding the trophy that officials were preparing the championship presentation before Miami's rally. The Spurs held a team dinner late that night, figuring the company was better than having to dwell on the defeat alone in their rooms.

The pain of that game or the pressure of this one had little effect on their veterans but brought out a change in their leader, the subject of some rare second-guessing for his rotations near the end of the collapse.

The famously blunt Popovich was in a chatty mood pregame, actually preferring to stay and talk even when there were no more questions, saying the busier he was, the less he'd worry.

"It's torture," he said earlier of Game 7s. "It's hard to appreciate or enjoy torture."

But it sure was beautiful to watch.

The sport's most pressure-packed game had a nervous start, each team making just seven baskets in the first quarter and combining for seven turnovers. The Spurs took an early seven-point lead, but a pair of 3-pointers by Battier during an 8-0 run helped Miami take an 18-16 lead.

The Heat nursed a narrow lead for most of the second quarter, and after San Antonio went ahead in the final minute of the period, James tipped in a miss before Wade knocked down a jumper with 0.8 seconds left to send the Heat to the locker room with a 46-44 edge.

Notes: Home teams are 15-3 in Game 7s of the NBA Finals. ... Miami improved to 5-3 all-time in Game 7s in the postseason and became the fourth team to win the final two games at home since the finals went to a 2-3-2 format in 1985, joining the Lakers in 1988 and 2010, and Houston Rockets in 1994. ... Green was just 1 for 12, going 1 for 6 behind the arc. He started the series by making 25 3s in the first five games, a finals record for an entire series.

___

Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lebron-leads-heat-second-straight-title-035241582.html

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Chris Brown on Rihanna's Pu$$y: Just a Song, No Actual Ownership Implied

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/03/chris-brown-on-rihannas-pu$$y-just-a-song-no-actual-ownership-im/

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City Council speaker launches NYC mayoral bid

FILE - In this Wednesday, May 9, 2012 file photo, New York City Council speaker Christine Quinn laughs during a news conference at City Hall in New York. Quinn, a Democrat, announced through her Twitter feed Sunday, March 10, 2013, that she's in the race to succeed Mayor Michael Bloomberg. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

FILE - In this Wednesday, May 9, 2012 file photo, New York City Council speaker Christine Quinn laughs during a news conference at City Hall in New York. Quinn, a Democrat, announced through her Twitter feed Sunday, March 10, 2013, that she's in the race to succeed Mayor Michael Bloomberg. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Long seen as a leading contender, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn formally launched Sunday what she hopes will be a history-making mayoral bid.

A veteran of city politics, Quinn would be a groundbreaking mayor across two personal dimensions: She would be the first female and first openly gay mayor to lead the nation's largest city.

Announcing through her Twitter feed that she's in the race, Quinn said she wanted to give middle- and working-class New Yorkers the same opportunities generations of her family got when they came here.

"I'm running for mayor because I love this city. It's the greatest place in the world," she said in a video linked to her post, before setting out to start what she called a walk-and-talk tour intended to take her to every neighborhood in the city before the Democratic primary in September.

A former tenant organizer and director of a gay and lesbian advocacy group, Quinn, 46, has been on the City Council since 1999 and its leader since 2006. The position has afforded her considerable exposure going into the crowded field of candidates vying to succeed term-limited Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

She's enjoyed a considerable edge over other Democratic contenders in polls. A Quinnipiac University poll late last month gave her 37 percent of the Democratic vote, while her opponents each got less than 15 percent. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans more than 6 to 1 in the city, though that hasn't translated into Democratic success in a mayor's race since 1989.

Quinn has generally been perceived as likely to get the Republican-turned-independent Bloomberg's backing, and with it support from business leaders.

Some of her Democratic opponents have tried to use that against her, suggesting Quinn is too close to a mayor they say has sometimes turned a cold shoulder to the concerns of middle-class and working-class New Yorkers. Opponents have faulted her, for example, for joining Bloomberg in opposing a plan to require businesses with at least five employees to provide paid sick leave. Quinn has said it's a worthy goal, but now is not the economic time to do it.

She also has taken heat for helping Bloomberg get the council to agree to extend term limits so he could run for a third time in 2008, without asking the voters who had approved a two-term limit twice in the 1990s.

In office, Quinn leads 50 other council members and largely controls what proposals come to a vote. Under her leadership, the council has taken on matters including requiring electronics manufacturers to collect their products for recycling, making it tougher for immigration officials to deport people being released from city jails or police custody and barring employers from discriminating against unemployed job applicants ? the last of which Bloomberg vetoed. Quinn has vowed the council will override his veto.

Quinn and her longtime partner, products liability lawyer Kim Catullo, married last year after more than a decade together. Their wedding guest list was a who's-who of New York politics, with Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Bloomberg and many other officeholders in attendance.

The year before, Quinn had invoked her personal story in lobbying state lawmakers to legalize gay marriage, a cause Cuomo championed. She called it "one of the best feelings I have ever had in my life" when the measure passed in June 2011.

Her announced and likely Democratic opponents include former City Councilman Sal Albanese; Public Advocate Bill de Blasio; Comptroller John Liu; and former Comptroller Bill Thompson.

Republican contenders include former Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Joseph Lhota; Tom Allon, a publisher; billionaire businessman John Catsimatidis; and George McDonald, the head of a nonprofit that helps the homeless.

Former Bronx borough president and federal housing official Adolfo Carrion, a former Democrat who is now unaffiliated, is running on the Independence Party line and seeking Republican backing.

___

Follow Jennifer Peltz at http://twitter.com/jennpeltz

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-03-10-NYC%20Mayor's%20Race/id-0679e3d78e4f4eb2838af10c4d0b1fae

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Long to-do list awaits the next pope

VATICAN CITY (AP) ? The moment Cardinal Albino Luciani learned his colleagues had elected him pope, he responded: "May God forgive you for what you've done." The remark, by the man who became Pope John Paul I, was seen as an expression of humility ? but also a commentary on the mammoth task ahead.

There is no job like that of pope. He is the CEO of a global enterprise, head of state, a moral voice in the world and, in the eyes of Roman Catholics, Christ's representative on earth.

And the man who emerges as pontiff from the conclave starting Tuesday has a particularly crushing to-do list.

Here are some of the challenges awaiting the next pope:

___

REFORM: The next pope will have to restore discipline to the scandal-plagued central administration of the church. Benedict XVI, the former pope, commissioned a report on the Vatican bureaucracy, or Curia, that will be shown only to his successor. Benedict's butler had leaked the pope's private papers revealing feuding, corruption and cronyism at the highest levels of administration. The secretive Vatican bank recently ousted a president for incompetence and is under pressure for greater financial transparency. Bishops in several countries say nonresponsive Vatican officials are hampering local churches. The Curia decides everything from bishop appointments and liturgy, to parish closings and discipline for abusive priests.

___

SEX ABUSE: The Vatican remains under pressure to reveal more about its past role in the church's failures to protect children worldwide. The issue erupted ahead of the conclave, when victims from the U.S., Chile and Mexico pressured cardinals to recuse themselves because they had shielded priests from prosecution. Benedict instructed bishops around the world to craft policies to keep abusers from the priesthood, but church leaders in some nations haven't yet complied. "There's still the victims," Chicago Cardinal Francis George said in a news conference last week. "The wound is still deep in their hearts, and as long as it's with them it will be with us. The pope has to keep this in mind."

___

EMPTY PEWS: Secularism has already taken a toll on churches in Europe and the U.S., where a growing number of people don't identify with a faith. The move away from organized religion is also hurting parishes in Latin America. Churches in Brazil and other predominantly Catholic countries in South America already had been losing members to the spirited worship found in independent Pentecostal movements. As the church loses members, it also loses influence in public life in many countries. Church opposition to same-sex marriage has been largely ineffective in the West. The next pope must be a missionary-in-chief, with the gravitas, charisma and personal holiness to bring Catholics back to church.

___

EMPTY PULPITS: Europe and North America need more priests. Clergy in developing countries need more resources. And everywhere, priests are struggling with the outsized burdens of the modern-day pastor. The job requires fundraising, personal counseling and an ability to uphold doctrine, often to Catholics who don't want to listen. The abuse crisis, meanwhile, casts a shadow on today's clergy, even though most known molestation cases occurred decades ago. In recent years, some priests have made their own proposals to strengthen their ranks. Clergy in heavily Catholic Austria in 2011 called for ordaining women and relaxing the celibacy requirement. Benedict rebuked them.

___

RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION: Catholics and other Christians live as religious minorities in many countries, including Syria, India and China, where they face discrimination, government interference and, in many cases, violence as they try to practice their faith. The issue is a rare one that unites religious leaders across faiths. The pope is considered a key voice in the fight. Some of the tougher conditions are in Muslim nations, which often ban and punish Christian evangelizing. Addressing the issue requires utmost diplomacy; a misstep can cost lives.

___

GLOBALIZATION: While the church is shrinking in the West, it's booming in Africa and Asia. The new pope will have to shift much of his attention to the challenges for these relatively new dioceses: a life-and-death fight against poverty; threats from radical Muslim movements; and maintaining Catholic orthodoxy while leaving room for local styles of worship.

___

OTHER FAITHS: The new pope will have to keep up friendships with a long list of other Christian groups and other religions, including Orthodox Christians, Anglicans and Jews. But his most pressing task will be navigating relations with Islam. The importance of the issue was made starkly clear in the fallout from Benedict's 2006 speech in Regensburg, Germany, in which he cited the words of a Byzantine emperor who characterized some teachings of the Prophet Muhammad as "evil and inhuman." Benedict made many efforts to mend fences, including praying beside an imam that same year at the historic Blue Mosque in Istanbul.

___

UNITY: The next pontiff inherits a church divided over the role of lay people and women, on doctrine and social justice teaching ? even on what is required to be considered Catholic. In Benedict's final audience with cardinals, he urged them to work "like an orchestra" where "agreement and harmony" can be reached despite diversity. He could have been talking to the whole church.

Cardinal Angelo Scola
Country: Italy
Age: 71
Titles: Cardinal-Priest of Santi XII Apostoli; Archbishop of Milan

Scola is one of the front-runners to be selected, after many considered him a candidate ... more?

Cardinal Angelo Scola
Country: Italy
Age: 71
Titles: Cardinal-Priest of Santi XII Apostoli; Archbishop of Milan

Scola is one of the front-runners to be selected, after many considered him a candidate following John Paul II's death in 2005. More academic than pastoral, Scola has published over 100 articles in journals of philosophy and theology and is the founder of Oasis, an organization that seeks to bolster the relationship between the Western and Muslim worlds. less?

?

_____

Follow Rachel Zoll at www.twitter.com/rzollAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/heavy-workload-awaits-next-pope-church-turmoil-164626575.html

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Dave Barry's Blog: INSURANCE PROFESSIONAL OF THE WEEK

Actually, I've known some insurance agents, and I would say they would NEVER get tired of a nickname like that. Never, ever, ever. We're talking illustrated stationery.

Posted by: padraig | March 09, 2013 at 01:12 PM

queensbee - he's here in Atlanta (not far from me) In as much as there are almost no native Georgians in Atlanta, he's likely from Up Nawth,from whence they have exported their worst drivers, making this a paradise for carpetbagging insurance agents.

Posted by: pogo | March 09, 2013 at 02:55 PM

So true Pogo. I am a native Georgian so I appreciate that. btw, my insurance man's last name is Pecker. I find it hard to discuss my insurance needs with him sometimes. ISIANMTU.

Posted by: nursecindy | March 09, 2013 at 05:07 PM

Source: http://blogs.herald.com/dave_barrys_blog/2013/03/insurance-professional-of-the-week.html

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Spiritual craft: Meet the pope's shoemaker

Carlo Angerer / NBC News

Adriano Stefanelli has been making shoes for decades, but it wasn't until

By Carlo Angerer, Producer, NBC News

NOVARA, Italy -- When the white smoke will mark the election of a new pope later this month, Adriano Stefanelli will stand at the ready with nails, leather and his hammer by his side.

Stefanelli, 64, is the pope?s shoemaker, commissioned by the Vatican, and he said he will work day and night to manufacture the next pope?s new custom-made shoes as quickly as possible.

?All I need to know is the shoe size and what color the new pope wants,? he said during an interview with NBC News in his small corner store in Novara, in northern Italy. ?I hope to finish the shoes in about 10 days.?

---

Normally the process takes about a month, with Stefanelli working on the special shoes during his free time. He makes a living by selling his line of shoes exclusively in his small shop, which his father founded in 1954 and where Stefanelli has been working since he was 14. The handmade shoes are only gifted to a small circle of special people picked by Stefanelli himself, a group that has included U.S. presidents.

Carlo Angerer / NBC News

Stefanelli created the flashy red shoes Pope Benedict XVI wore during most public audiences in the Vatican and on foreign trips. That garnered Benedict the title ?Accessorizer of the Year? by Esquire Magazine in 2007.

Rumors abounded that the pope wore Prada. When the Italian fashion behemoth didn?t deny the rumors, the Vatican publicly announced that Stefanelli was the creator of the red shoes.

Stefanelli proudly showed us a letter from Benedict?s secretary, Georg G?nswein, requesting a new pair of shoes for the pope.?Stefanelli?doesn't charge the Vatican for the papal shoes; he?calls?the shoes a "regalo,"?Italian for gift, and said, ?I?m not doing this for business purposes; I want to show the quality of Italian craftsmanship.?

And others have been impressed, as well. When President George W. Bush saw the pope?s red shoes during his U.S. visit in 2008, he immediately requested a pair in black. Stefanelli also sent shoes to the Obamas, receiving a thank you letter from the White House.

Carlo Angerer / NBC News

Stefanelli's decision to deliver shoes to the pope was prompted by Pope John Paul II?s illness.

?I began to think, 'What can I do to ease his pain?'? he said. ?And the answer was that I can make shoes, so let?s make shoes. I started and made the first pair, they fit the pope well, and I continued until now.?

Stefanelli said he?s looking forward to making the next pope?s shoes, not only to show his craftsmanship, but also because it is a spiritual matter for this Catholic shoemaker.

?When you are working for the Holy Father, you try and do your best,? he said. ?Spirituality is there because you are working for someone not only important but also charismatic and that has strength for the faithful ? that has deep meaning.?

As cardinals gather at the Vatican to make their selection, behind the scenes skilled artisans hidden away in the side streets of Rome are already hard at work for the next pope. NBC's Keir Simmons reports.

Source: http://dailynightly.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/09/17240975-spiritual-craftsmanship-meet-the-popes-shoemaker?lite

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