Hackers attack large Brazilian bank (AP)

SAO PAULO ? A group of Internet hackers said Tuesday it took down the website of Brazil's second largest private sector bank, one day after it did the same with the country's largest private bank.

The group that calls itself "Anonymous Brasil" said on Twitter: "Attention sailors: Target hit! The http://bradesco.com.br is sinking. TANGO DOWN."

Banco Bradesco SA said in a statement that its site suffered "momentary interruptions," due to a denial of service attack, but that it was never forced offline. However, attempts by The Associated Press to access the site were unsuccessful for several hours.

Denial of service attacks are operations that block websites by flooding them with traffic.

The group said on Twitter that its attacks were a protest against corruption and would continue for at least a week.

On Monday, the group attacked the website of Itau Unibanco Banco Multiplo SA, Brazil's largest private sector bank, saying it was the first of several such attacks.

That bank said in a statement that its site was offline for part of the day, but that it was re-established after the problem was detected.

The Brazilian Federation of Banks said in a statement posted on its website that it has been calling for approval of a law that criminalizes electronic attacks and fraud.

One week ago, the websites of the Sao Paulo state government and state court were taken down for a few hours by the same group of hackers.

Anonymous Brasil said the attacks were to protest the evictions of some 5,000 people from a sprawling slum.

In June last year, hackers struck the website of Brazil's statistics agency and temporarily blocked traffic to the websites of the Brazilian presidency, the nation's internal revenue service, oil company Petrobras, the Senate and the Sports Ministry

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120131/ap_on_hi_te/lt_brazil_hacker_attack

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Drug trafficker sentenced to 16 years in San Diego (AP)

SAN DIEGO ? A former high-ranking member of the Arellano Felix drug cartel has been sentenced to 16 years in prison in San Diego for coordinating the shipments of tons of cocaine from Colombia to Mexico and eventually to the U.S.

U-T San Diego ( http://bit.ly/A0OS1S) reports that Rigoberto Yanez-Guerrero was sentenced Monday. He had been in prison in Mexico awaiting trial since 2001. He was extradited to the U.S. to face federal charges in 2010 for narcotics trafficking, money laundering and organized crime-related offenses and pleaded guilty in July.

Federal prosecutors say Yanez was the chief operator of the cartel in Mexico City between 1995 and 2001. During that time, he allegedly orchestrated the shipments of 5 to 10 tons of cocaine that made its way to the U.S.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mexico/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120131/ap_on_re_us/us_drug_trafficker_sentenced

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2 for Wambach, Morgan; US women beat Canada 4-0

Canada goalkeeper Erin McLeod dives to make a save during the second half of CONCACAF women's Olympic qualifying final soccer action against the United States in Vancouver, British Columbia Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jonathan Hayward)

Canada goalkeeper Erin McLeod dives to make a save during the second half of CONCACAF women's Olympic qualifying final soccer action against the United States in Vancouver, British Columbia Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jonathan Hayward)

United States' Abby Wambach (20) celebrates her goal against Canada with teammates Alex Morgan, Carli Lloyd (10), Megan Rapinoe (15) and Lori Lindsey (16) during the first half of a CONCACAF women's Olympic qualifying match in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jonathan Hayward)

United States' Alex Morgan (13) celebrates her goal against Canada with teammates Megan Rapinoe (15) and Lori Lindsey (16) during the first half of a CONCACAF women's Olympic qualifying match in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jonathan Hayward)

United States' Alex Morgan, left, celebrates her goal with teammate Lauren Cheney (12) as Canada's Shannon Woeller (2) and Desiree Scott (11) walk past during the second half of a CONCACAF women's Olympic qualifying match in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jonathan Hayward)

United States' Alex Morgan, left, celebrates her goal with teammate Lauren Cheney during the second half against Canada in a CONCACAF women's Olympic qualifying match in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jonathan Hayward)

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) ? With a flick of the head, Abby Wambach sent Alex Morgan on a 30-yard run that gave the United States an early lead, the first of three goals resulting from impeccable teamwork between the veteran and the up-and-comer.

There's no question that Wambach, now the second leading goal-scorer in women's soccer, will be at the front of the attack for the U.S. women's soccer team at the London Olympics. The emerging question is whether Morgan should be starting as well.

Wambach and Morgan scored two goals apiece Sunday night in the Americans' 4-0 victory over Canada in the championship game of the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament, a match that was essentially for bragging rights between two teams that had already earned their berths for the Summer Games.

"I'm not going to lie. I think we play really well together," Wambach said. "Her skill set is completely opposite of mine, and that just makes for a nightmare for any defenses. She's so fast. Not only is she fast, she's so strong on the ball."

Wambach's head-flick provided the assist on Morgan's goal in the fourth minute, then Morgan assisted in the 24th and 28th as Wambach pushed her career total to 131 goals, one ahead of longtime U.S. captain Kristine Lilly. The 31-year-old forward said last week that it's only a matter of time before she or Canada's Christine Sinclair topple Mia Hamm's record of 158, but that's still a few years off.

"Lill emailed me a couple of days ago," Wambach said. "And she says 'How about you go ahead and tie me already, and then why don't you go ahead and beat me already? But don't make it a toe-poke, make it a nice goal.' And I think those two goals were great goals for us."

Wambach left for a sub at halftime, but Morgan continued merrily on, scoring her second goal in the 56th after running onto a long ball from Lauren Cheney.

Morgan has become the Americans' super-sub, bringing energy and lightning-fast scoring potential off the bench at last year's World Cup. She'd prefer to start ? and she admits she was mad when she sat the entire game against Mexico last week ? and she took advantage of a spot in the first 11 on Sunday to show that is perhaps where she belongs.

"If we play tomorrow, I'd say yes," coach Pia Sundhage said. "When we go to Algarve Cup (next month), I don't know. That's the beauty of the team we have right now. We will still change the starting lineup quite a bit. Regardless of who we pick, it will be a good team. But she brought something special today with Abby."

Sundhage has been starting games with a Wambach alone at the top of a 4-2-3-1 formation. Playing Wambach and Morgan together, as the coach did Sunday, makes it a more traditional 4-4-2 ? and it worked magic from the opening whistle.

When Carli Lloyd hit a long ball early in the game, Wambach knew that all she had to do was nod it to on to Morgan, who used her power and speed to fight off two defenders. Canada's Candace Chapman did everything but pull Morgan to the ground, but instead it was Chapman who ended up on the turf as Morgan finished off a left-footer from 12 yards.

Morgan then supplied the cross for Wambach's header to make it 2-0, then collected a rebound and slid the ball to Wambach again for an easy right-footer from 7 yards four minutes later.

Wambach and Sinclair started the game tied at 129 goals, but the anticipated head-to-head matchup between two of the game's greats turned out to be as lopsided as the final score. Sinclair, whose nine goals led all scorers in the tournament, found herself bottled up by U.S. defenders. The better scoring chances were left to Christina Julien, who was twice stymied point-blank by goalkeeper Hope Solo in the first half.

Solo played every minute of the tournament despite a slight pull of her right quadriceps suffered before the second game. The Americans outscored their opponents by a combined score of 38-0 over five games.

The U.S. and Canada were playing for the 50th or 51st time ? there's some disagreement between the two sides over a game that might or might not have taken place in the 1980s ? but either way it's been a series of American domination. Canada has only three wins and five draws, its last victory coming 11 years ago in a tournament in Portugal.

Even a sellout crowd of 25,427 at BC Place ? the second-largest ever for a Canada home game ? failed to rally the underdogs, who have much work to do to catch up with the Americans before heading to London.

"From what we can see, the naked eye will tell you, there's a bit of a gap there," Canada coach John Herdman said. "We can close that gap. I'm absolutely sure."

___

Joseph White can be reached at http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-29-SOC-US-Canada/id-71d5c32e49994621bfa4b37edf231e57

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Gingrich discounts polls suggesting Romney's up by double digits in Florida (Washington Bureau)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/192960245?client_source=feed&format=rss

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France to cut Afghan combat role, leave 2013 (Reuters)

PARIS (Reuters) ? French troops will start handing over security to the Afghan army in March and focus on training until pulling out of Afghanistan completely at the end of 2013, President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Friday.

Sarkozy suspended training and support operations on the ground last week and sent his defense minister and armed forces chief to Kabul after four of their soldiers were killed by a rogue Afghan soldier.

While the French decision was not an outright retreat, the move effectively brings an end to Paris' frontline military operations, a decision that could prove a boost to Sarkozy ahead of a presidential election.

Paris has 3,600 troops in Afghanistan as part of the 130,000-strong NATO-led force. French troops mainly patrol Kapisa, a mountainous province near Kabul.

Speaking after talks with Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai in Paris, Sarkozy said France would only have a training-and-support role once Kapisa is handed over.

"President Karzai has assured us that Kapisa province where the French contingent is based will pass under Afghan responsibility from March," Sarkozy said.

One thousand French troops were due to leave by the end of 2012 and the rest by 2014.

"From that point on France will engage in training and support activities," Karzai said.

"It is right that Afghanistan has to provide for its own security and protection of its own people and provision of law and order. Afghanistan is now ready to take more of this responsibility."

In Washington, the State Department gave a measured response to Sarkozy's decision, which it said had been thoroughly discussed both with NATO and with the Afghan government.

"What we are gratified by is that this was not precipitous, that this was worked through carefully with NATO, with the Afghans and in consultation with all of us," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters.

"This was a national decision of France. It was done in a managed way. We will all work with it," Nuland said, referring any questions on the operational impact of the French pullout.

Sarkozy said he would speak with U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday and Paris was preparing a plan to present to NATO at a defense ministers meeting on February 2-3 proposing the handover of all foreign combat operations in Afghanistan next year.

"It's important that you understand that this agreement was done with President Karzai and with our allies in an organized and reasonable manner," Sarkozy said. "Our soldiers have done a tremendous job in Kapisa. We are not an occupying force."

ELECTION BOOST

Sarkozy said French troops would resume training operations tomorrow after receiving security guarantees from Karzai and the two leaders would also ask NATO to look deeper into the problem of Taliban infiltrators in the Afghan army and police.

Sarkozy's Socialist rival Francois Hollande, who is comfortably ahead in the polls, has pledged to pull out of Afghanistan by the end of this year if he wins the election held in two rounds in April and May.

In a CSA survey published on Thursday, 84 percent of people said they were in favor of troops leaving by the end of 2012.

Foreign Minister Alain Juppe has ruled out a "hasty" retreat and most analysts believe it will technically be difficult for Paris to drop out of the NATO-led coalition so quickly.

"Announcing a French withdrawal could set off panic among other European countries in Afghanistan," said military analyst Jean-Dominique Merchet.

The killings in the Taghab valley of Afghanistan's eastern Kapisa province were the latest in a series of incidents in which Afghan troops have turned on Western allies.

More than 2,500 foreign soldiers have died in Afghanistan since 2001. The latest killings take the French toll to 82.

NATO has been rapidly expanding the Afghan security forces so that they will be able to take over all responsibility for security when Western combat forces leave in 2014.

Kabul and Paris also signed a cooperation treaty for post- 2014. The agreement will see several hundred French military advisers stay to continue training Afghan soldiers and police. It will also set out several scientific, cultural, technical and infrastructure accords for various sectors ranging over agriculture, health and transport.

(Reporting By John Irish)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120127/wl_nm/us_france_afghanistan

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School lunches to have more veggies, whole grains (AP)

ALEXANDRIA, Va. ? The first major nutritional overhaul of school meals in more than 15 years means most offerings ? including the always popular pizza ? will come with less sodium, more whole grains and a wider selection of fruits and vegetables on the side.

First lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the new guidelines during a visit Wednesday with elementary students. Mrs. Obama, also joined by celebrity chef Rachael Ray, said youngsters will learn better if they don't have growling stomachs at school.

"As parents, we try to prepare decent meals, limit how much junk food our kids eat, and ensure they have a reasonably balanced diet," Mrs. Obama said. "And when we're putting in all that effort the last thing we want is for our hard work to be undone each day in the school cafeteria."

After the announcement, the three went through the line with students and ate turkey tacos with brown rice, black bean and corn salad and fruit ? all Ray's recipes ? with the children in the Parklawn Elementary lunchroom.

Under the new rules, pizza won't disappear from lunch lines, but will be made with healthier ingredients. Entire meals will have calorie caps for the first time and most trans fats will be banned. Sodium will gradually decrease over a 10 year period. Milk will have to be low in fat and flavored milks will have to be nonfat.

Despite the improvements, the new rules aren't as aggressive as the Obama administration had hoped. Congress last year blocked the Agriculture Department from making some of the desired changes, including limiting french fries and pizzas.

A bill passed in November would require the department to allow tomato paste on pizzas to be counted as a vegetable, as it is now. The initial draft of the department's guidelines, released a year ago, would have prevented that. Congress also blocked the department from limiting servings of potatoes to two servings a week. The final rules have incorporated those directions from Congress.

Among those who had sought the changes were potato growers and food companies that produce frozen pizzas for schools. Conservatives in Congress called the guidelines an overreach and said the government shouldn't tell children what to eat. School districts also objected to some of the requirements, saying they go too far and would cost too much.

The guidelines apply to lunches subsidized by the federal government. A child nutrition bill signed by President Barack Obama in 2010 will help school districts pay for some of the increased costs. Some of the changes will take place as soon as this September; others will be phased in over time.

While many schools are improving meals already, others still serve children meals high in fat, salt and calories. The guidelines are designed to combat childhood obesity and are based on 2009 recommendations by the Institute of Medicine, the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences.

Vilsack said food companies are reformulating many of the foods they sell to schools in anticipation of the changes.

"The food industry is already responding," he said. "This is a movement that has started, it's gaining momentum."

Diane Pratt-Heavner of the School Nutrition Association, which represents school lunch workers, said that many schools won't count pizza as a vegetable even though they can. Students qualifying for subsidized meals must have a certain number of vegetables and other nutritious foods on their lunch trays.

"Most schools are serving fruit or vegetables next to their pizza and some schools are even allowing unlimited servings of fruit or vegetables," Pratt-Heavner said.

Celebrity chef Ray said she thinks too much has been made of the availability of pizza and French fries. The new rules will make kids' lunch plates much more nutrient dense, she said.

"The overall picture is really good," she said. "This is a big deal."

The subsidized meals that would fall under the guidelines are served as free and low-cost meals to low-income children and long have been subject to government nutrition standards. The 2010 law will extend, for the first time, nutrition standards to other foods sold in schools that aren't subsidized by the federal government. That includes "a la carte" foods on the lunch line and snacks in vending machines.

Those standards, while expected to be similar, will be written separately and have not yet been proposed by the department.

___

Online:

USDA school lunch rules: http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Governance/Legislation/nutritionstandards.htm

___

Find Mary Clare Jalonick on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mcjalonick

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_healthier_school_lunches

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AT&T posts 4Q loss on charges; revenue increases

In this Jan. 23, 2012 photo, the AT&T globe logo hangs on an AT&T Wireless store in Hanover, Mass. AT&T Inc. reported a fourth-quarter loss Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012, as results were weighed down by hefty charges. But strong smartphone sales led to the best-ever quarter in activations. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)

In this Jan. 23, 2012 photo, the AT&T globe logo hangs on an AT&T Wireless store in Hanover, Mass. AT&T Inc. reported a fourth-quarter loss Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012, as results were weighed down by hefty charges. But strong smartphone sales led to the best-ever quarter in activations. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)

NEW YORK (AP) ? AT&T Inc. is still the home of the iPhone. It activated 7.6 million of them in the latest quarter, accounting for one out of every five iPhones sold globally.

And AT&T remains heavily dependent on the iPhone to gain and keep customers, despite a vow by CEO Randall Stephenson a year ago to "very aggressively" market competing smartphones in 2011. That vow came in the wake AT&T's loss of an exclusive right to sell the iPhone in the U.S.

The iPhone accounted for about 80 percent of the smartphones AT&T activated in the fourth quarter of 2011, up from 70 percent just before Stephenson made his vow.

The figures are somewhat skewed because the fourth quarter of 2011 saw the launch of a new iPhone model, the iPhone 4S, whereas the fourth quarter of 2010 didn't. Looking at annual sales instead, there's a decline in the iPhone's percentage of AT&T smartphones ? to 69 percent last year, from 79 percent in 2010.

The Dallas-based company has also retained its position as the premier U.S. iPhone carrier, beating Verizon Wireless' 4.3 million iPhone activations handily.

AT&T's iPhone dependency comes at a heavy cost. The phone is more expensive than many other smartphones, and AT&T needs to subsidize each iPhone with hundreds of dollars to put it in customers' hands for as little as $1.

That, together with massive charges for adjustments in the value of the company's pension plans, the breakup of a deal to buy T-Mobile USA and a writedown of the value of its phone-directory business, forced AT&T to report a massive loss on Thursday of $6.68 billion, or $1.12 per share, for the fourth quarter.

It was the first quarterly loss for AT&T in three years. An adjustment of pension-plan obligations was also the main culprit behind the previous loss, in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Excluding charges, net income was 42 cents per share in the latest quarter, a penny shy of Wall Street expectations, according to a survey by FactSet.

The loss compares with net income of $1.09 billion, or 18 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Revenue rose 3.6 percent to $32.5 billion, helped by the smartphone sales. Analysts were expecting revenue of $31.99 billion, on average.

AT&T also said it expects earnings per share to grow by a mid-single-digit percentage in 2012, a bit lower than analysts had expected.

In morning trading Thursday, shares of AT&T Inc. fell 63 cents, or 2 percent, to $29.59.

In a welcome move for investors, AT&T is shifting the cash it had hoped to buy T-Mobile with into stock buybacks, saying it will buy back 300 million shares, worth about $9 billion at current prices, into a program that will start immediately.

Most of the iPhone activations were upgrades for people who were already AT&T subscribers. The carrier gained a net 717,000 subscribers on contract plans in the quarter. That was the best result all year, but didn't match Verizon's 1.2 million. AT&T has been lagging Verizon in this important measure for more than a year.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2012-01-26-Earns-ATandT/id-6d00918c27284960afe9a45426eedef1

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Video: Private Equity & The Future of Pension & Profits

"We are a big supporter and believer of private equity," says James Leech, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan president/CEO. Leech says private equity has produced good results for pension plans and in the last 20 years his pension plan has produced over 2...

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/46145167/

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CE-Oh no he didn't!: Tim Cook savoring the iPad's Windows 'cannibalization'

Tim Cook had plenty of reason to celebrate during today's Apple earnings call -- and really, who can blame the guy if a bit of that celebration spilled over into some old school executive gloating? While talking up the company's impressive iPad numbers -- and the inevitable PC-eclipsing nature of the space, Cook let this bomb drop,

There is cannibalization of the Mac by the iPad, but we think there's more cannibalization of Windows PCs by the iPad - we love that trend.

Yep, the iPad may be eating away at the company's computer business like the iPhone did to the iPod before it, but that's fine, since the tablet looks to be eroding Windows PCs even more so.

CE-Oh no he didn't!: Tim Cook savoring the iPad's Windows 'cannibalization' originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/XYmUs8dhs6o/

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'Co-Occurring' Disorders May Explain Change in Autism Diagnosis (HealthDay)

MONDAY, Jan. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Many children with autism also have other developmental or psychiatric conditions, including learning disabilities, speech delays, attention or seizure disorders and anxiety.

According to new research, some of those co-occurring conditions may explain why autism diagnoses often change as children get older.

In a survey by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, more than one-third of parents with children between 6 and 17 years old reported that their child's diagnosis of autism had changed over time.

"We don't know what changed the diagnosis. However, we want to deliver the message that it's important to look at the other coexisting conditions, evaluate them before you make a diagnosis, and also recognize these conditions vary by development age," said study author Li-Ching Lee, an associate scientist in the epidemiology and mental health departments at the School of Public Health.

Autism is a neurodevelopment disorder characterized by problems with social interaction, communication and restricted interests and behaviors.

In the study, researchers used 2007-2008 survey data from the parents of nearly 1,400 children aged 3 to 17 who had received a diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), including autism, Asperger disorder -- a mild form of autism, and pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified.

Parents were asked if their child currently had a diagnosis of autism or an ASD, or had had one in the past.

Nearly 26 percent of parents of children aged 3 to 5 reported a change in diagnosis, the researchers said. Nearly 34 percent of parents of children aged 6 to 11 and 35 percent of the parents of 12- to 17-year-olds reported their child was diagnosed with autism at some point but no longer was considered to have autism, the researchers found.

Overall, children with two or more co-occurring developmental or psychiatric conditions were five times more likely than kids with fewer coexisting conditions to continue to have an autism diagnosis, the researchers said.

Kids who had a moderate-to-severe learning disability were 11 times more likely to continue to have an autism diagnosis over time, while kids with a developmental delay were nine times more likely to retain an autism diagnosis, the study authors said.

Researchers didn't look at why certain conditions are associated with a change in autism diagnosis. But some of the symptoms of various development and psychiatric conditions can overlap, so it's possible that having certain ones can lead to a misdiagnosis until the child gets older and their issues become more clear, according to the study.

For example, kids diagnosed with a hearing problem showed a tendency to "lose" their autism diagnosis over time. Researchers speculated that behaviors that initially resembled autism symptoms -- not responding or not engaging -- were later discovered to stem from impaired hearing.

The study is published in the February issue of Pediatrics.

Dr. Joseph Horrigan, assistant vice president and head of medical research for the advocacy group Autism Speaks, cautioned not to make too much of the findings. The children weren't actually followed over time, nor were they actually examined, a methodology that would be the "gold standard" of research.

Because the results were based on a telephone survey, Horrigan said, "I'd be a little cautious about over-interpreting whether this means there's likely to be change in an autism diagnosis or a loss of an autism diagnosis for a given individual."

Nor did researchers look at kids whose diagnosis went the other way -- that is, they were initially not diagnosed with autism but were later diagnosed with it.

However, the findings highlight how often kids with ASD experience other conditions, some of which may be treatable with medications or with educational interventions. These include anxiety, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, epilepsy and learning disabilities.

"Up until the recent past, there's been a tendency to spend most of the time and energy on the autism and the autism diagnosis, and thinking about a treatment package that's keyed directly to the autism," Horrigan said. "What's important here is they are highlighting some of the most common co-occurring disorders, a number of which are readily amenable to treatments."

An estimated one in 110 U.S. children -- many more boys than girls -- has autism, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health has more on autism.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/parenting/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20120123/hl_hsn/cooccurringdisordersmayexplainchangeinautismdiagnosis

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Five Best Online Meeting Services [Hive Five]

If you work at a company with employees in offices around the globe, or you work in a small company but want to collaborate with a contractor who works from home or vendor across the country, you need a service that will let you connect with your team, share documents, collaborate on them, and in some cases even share your screen or webcam with them. Here are five of the best services to conduct productive online meetings, based on your nominations.

Earlier in the week we asked you which services you used for online meetings. You responded with lots of great options that you use personally or your company provides for you. Here's a look at the top five.

Cisco WebEx ($19/mo - $49/mo)

WebEx is probably one of the oldest and most commonly used online meeting services in the market. WebEx's customer portfolio is impressive, and their online meeting service is incredibly easy to use. Install the WebEx plugin on your desktop that allows you to quickly host or join meetings, and a few clicks will get you working with your team, sharing screens, passing around the "presenter" role to others who have documents to show, or even chatting face-to-face in minutes. WebEx integrates with apps on your desktop so you can schedule an appointment and instantly add a meeting to it, start a meeting and email the attendees quickly, or even join a meeting on your mobile device or tablet. WebEx has a number of products and subscription plans for individuals, small businesses, or large enterprises that offer different features depending on what you need (and what you can afford), but one thing is sure-these features don't come cheap.

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GoToMeeting ($49/mo)

GoToMeeting is another tool used by individuals and enterprises to host online meetings, collaborate on documents, and share desktops and screens among colleagues. The service offers a wealth of enterprise features even to individual users, like desktop sharing, HD video conferencing, and mobile apps that allow you to attend GoToMeeting meetings on your iOS or Android device. Install the GoToMeeting application on your Mac or PC and you can start meetings with a single click, or set them up meticulously so you only share the information you want to with the people you want to invite. Attendees get a tiny plug-in to install before they can join your meetings, but once installed, joining your meetings is a one-click affair.

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Google+ Hangouts (Free)

A number of you mentioned that Google's recent addition of screen sharing and document collaboration to Google+ Hangouts has rocketed it to the top of your list of online meeting services. We can't blame you?it's no secret we love Google+ Hangouts, and the service keeps getting better, with free voice calls and large, clear video. In addition to the ability to see your friends clearly, host a meeting with several of them, share documents via Google Docs and collaborate, you get the benefit of being able to do it all on the web, for free. The only thing you need is a Google account, a webcam, and a microphone.

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TeamViewer (Free)

TeamViewer has a reputation for being a fast and hassle-free method to troubleshoot remote computers, but it's also a great method to get a team together on the web, share screens, chat, and work together on documents. TeamViewer allows you to?for the low price of free?start instant meetings, schedule them in advance and email your attendees when they should join and the access code needed to see your screen, share your screen or pass the "host" role to another meeting attendee so they can share theirs, and even stream video from your webcam to the group so you can all see one another's faces while you talk. TeamViewer also offers mobile apps so you can attend online meetings from your iOS or Android device.

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Join.me (Free, $19/mo Pro)

Also more often considered a remote control and support tool than an online meeting service, Join.me, a free service from the folks at LogMeIn, has the features to pull double duty. The service allows you to bring up to 250 viewers into the same room, share your screen with them, chat, send files around to your attendees, and, like the others, offers iOS and Android apps for remote viewing. If you're willing to spend some coin, the Join.me Pro gets you the ability to make another attendee the presenter so they can share their screen, the ability to pre-schedule and lock meetings, and a desktop app to make meeting management easy.

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Now that you've seen the top five, it's time to put them to an all-out vote.

Honorable mentions this week go to two up and coming meeting services with passionate user-bases, iMeet and MeetingBurner. Both services offer a wealth of features including screen sharing, document collaboration, and multi-person meetings for free for most users. If you've tried the big names above and just haven't really found what you're looking for, or want to try something new, give these guys a shot.

Did your favorite not get enough nominations to make the top five? Know about a feature about one of the contenders we neglected to mention? Share your tips?and your alternative services?in the comments below.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/LR6EAaqHUA4/five-best-online-meeting-services

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This Week's Top Downloads [Download Roundup]

Jan 21, 2012 5:00 PM 16,105 2

• Boxer is a Free DOS Game Emulator for your Mac (Mac) Computer games have come a long way since the days of Doom, Zork, Tie Fighter, and Castle Wolfenstein, but many of us who grew up with those games would like to replay them. Boxer is a free app that will let you play any DOS game on your Mac.
• iBoostUp Cleans Out Your Mac's System File Clutter in a Minute (Mac) iBoostUp cleans out the crap on your drive and fine-tunes your system for better performance. It's simple, it's quick, and it's free.
• AntiCrop "Uncrops" Your Photos by Extending the Picture's Background (iOS) If you've ever taken a hasty photo on your phone and didn't leave enough room on the outside, AntiCrop is the app can "uncrop" those photos by filling in the edges with just a few swipes.
• Untethered Jailbreak for iPhone 4S and iOS 5 Is Finally Here (iOS) iPhone-hacking group Chronic Dev Team just released the first untethered jailbreak for the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 running iOS 5.0.1. We've explained why a tethered jailbreak can be such a hassle, which is why we've been waiting to recommend jailbreaking your up-to-date iPhone. Luckily, that wait is over.
• Clean My Desktop Sorts Files Into Content Specific Folders (Mac) A desktop filled with hundreds of files in a variety of formats can be a headache to clean up, but Clean My Desktop makes it easy by sorting everything into content specific folders based on the file type.
• MindNode Is a Mind Mapping App that Makes Brainstorming Simple and Easy (Mac/iOS) Regardless of the type of work that you do, brainstorming is an important part of generating new ideas and new approaches to getting your work done more efficiently. Mind mapping is a brainstorming technique that helps you get all of your interconnected thoughts out in a diagram, and there are a number of complicated tools designed to help you do it. MindNode for Mac and iOS is pricey, but it's one of the best tools we've seen for the job.
• Pomodroido Is an Elegant Pomodoro Timer for Your Android Phone (Pomodroido) If you're a fan of the Pomodoro productivity technique, you know that part of the philosophy is to work in short, focused, timed bursts and then take periodic breaks to relax. To do this, you'll need a timer, and Pomodroido is a free app that turns your Android phone into one that follows you everywhere.
• Forismatic Is a Free App that Helps You Relax and Keeps You Inspired Every Day (Mac) Computers are supposed to make our work easier, but in reality they often just bring us more work and stress us out. Give your Mac the opportunity to help you relax for a change with Forismatic, a free app that sits in the menubar until you need a little inspiration to help you keep going, and will remind you to take a break now and again to relax.
• Breathing Zone Guides You Towards Slower Breathing to Help Reduce Stress and Anxiety (Mac/iOS) Breathing Zone is a simple app that helps slow your breathing rhythm to calm you down and make you feel more relaxed. If you're a bit stressed or anxious, it's a good way to help you alleviate those feelings in just a few minutes.
• WatchMe Is a Desktop Timer that Keeps Track of Multiple Alarms at Once (Windows) Unfortunately, few of us have the luxury of only keeping track of one thing at a time. There are plenty of great timers available to help you keep track of how long you've been working or when you need to take a break, but if you need to track multiple times or set more than one timer, you may be out of luck. WatchMe is a timer that allows you to set multiple alerts and multiple timers so you're alerted at different times for different things.

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Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/94J0DABeIrw/this-weeks-top-downloads

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Birthers Stuck On Endless Loop (Balloon Juice)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/190097309?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Beijing releases key air pollution data (AP)

BEIJING ? Caving to public pressure, Beijing environmental authorities started releasing more detailed air quality data Saturday that may better reflect how bad the Chinese capital's air pollution is.

The initial measurements were low on a day where you could see blue sky. After a week of smothering smog, the skies over the city were being cleared by a north wind.

The readings of PM2.5 ? particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in size or about 1/30th the average width of a human hair ? were being posted on Beijing's environmental monitoring center's website. Such small particulates can penetrate deep into the lungs, so measuring them is considered a more accurate reflection of air quality than other methods.

It is the first time Beijing has publicly revealed PM2.5 data and follows a clamor of calls by citizens on social networking sites tired of breathing in gray and yellow air. The U.S. Embassy measures PM2.5 from a device on its rooftop and releases the results, and some residents have even tested the air around their neighborhoods and posted the results online.

Beijing is releasing hourly readings of PM2.5 that are taken from one monitoring site about 4 miles (7 kilometers) west of Tiananmen Square, the monitoring center's website said Saturday. It said the data was for research purposes and the public should only use it as a reference.

The reading at noon Saturday was 0.015 mg/m3, which would be classed as "good" for a 24-hour exposure at that level, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards. The U.S. Embassy reading taken from its site on the eastern edge of downtown Beijing said its noon reading was "moderate." Its readings are posted on Twitter.

Steven Andrews, an environmental consultant who has studied Beijing's pollution data since 2006, said he was "already a bit suspicious" of Beijing's PM2.5 data. Within the 24-hour period to noon Saturday, Beijing reported seven hourly figures "at the very low level" of 0.003 milligrams per cubic meter.

"In all of 2010 and 2011, the U.S. Embassy reported values at or below that level only 18 times out of over 15,000 hourly values or about 0.1 percent of the time," said Andrews. "PM2.5 concentrations vary by area so a direct comparison between sites isn't possible, but the numbers being reported during some hours seem surpisingly low."

The Beijing center had promised to release PM2.5 data by the start of the Chinese Lunar New Year on Monday. It has six sites that can test for PM2.5 and 27 that can test for the larger, coarser PM10 particles that are considered less hazardous. The center is expected to buy equipment and build more monitoring sites to enable PM2.5 testing.

Beijing wasn't expected to include PM2.5 in its daily roundups of the air quality anytime soon. Those disclosures, for example "light" or "serious," are based on the amount of PM10, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide in the air.

Beijing interprets air quality using less stringent standards than the U.S. Embassy, so often when the government says pollution is "light," the embassy terms it "hazardous."

"There has been tremendous amounts of attention in the Chinese media ? whichever newspaper you pick up, whichever radio station you listen to, channel you watch ? they are all talking about PM2.5 and how levels are so high," said Andrews.

"What has been so powerful is that people are skeptical, and I think rightly skeptical," about the government's descriptions of data, he said.

___

Online:

Beijing center's readings (in Chinese): http://zx.bjmemc.com.cn/

The U.S. Embassy's Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/beijingair

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120121/ap_on_re_as/as_china_air_quality

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Danes wins pudding pot from Harvard drama group (AP)

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. ? Golden Globe winner Claire Danes will be picking up a pudding pot from Harvard's Hasty Pudding Theatricals.

The student group named Danes on Friday as its Woman of the Year. She'll get a parade and a roast Jan. 26.

Danes won her third Golden Globe on Sunday for her role as CIA agent Carrie Mathison on Showtime's new "Homeland." She won a Golden Globe, an Emmy and a Screen Actors Guild award last year for her work in HBO's "Temple Grandin."

The 32-year-old gained attention at 15 when she won her first Golden Globe and an Emmy nomination for "My So Called Life."

Julianne Moore won the Harvard club's award last year.

The Man of the Year will be announced next week and honored Feb. 3. Jay Leno won last year.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120120/ap_en_ot/us_people_hasty_pudding_danes

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Wall St Week Ahead: Strong start for stocks, but what's changed? (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? Stocks rising, bulls rampant are motifs you might pick if designing a coat of arms for Wall Street at the moment. But the motto should read: Caveat emptor. Yes, buyer beware.

The S&P 500, a broad measure of the market valuation of the biggest U.S. publicly traded companies, is up 20 percent from its October closing low. It keeps climbing on a mixed bag of fourth-quarter earnings, improving U.S. economic data, and easing credit conditions in Europe. It now stands at its highest level since early last August.

We have already seen what is probably the first upgrade of a target level for the index this year courtesy of Credit Suisse.

The CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX (.VIX), a measure of what investors are paying to protect themselves against the risk of losses, is at its lowest level in seven months.

So it raises the question: Is this another Jackson Hole moment for risk assets?

At the Wyoming retreat in late August 2010, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke sparked what was the second major leg of the stock market's rally from bear market lows the year before.

Is this the start of the third?

FRIENDLIER FOOTING FOR STOCKS

For Andrew Garthwaite, the Credit Suisse analyst behind the firm's more bullish stance, there are big changes afoot that are creating a more benign environment for stocks.

First, the European Central Bank's long-term repo operations are succeeding in reducing stresses in the region's banking sector. This week, three-month dollar Libor, the cost at which European banks can borrow dollars, marked its ninth straight day of declines.

Analysts say heavy cash infusions from the European Central Bank since late last year and signs of revived willingness to lend by U.S. investors in the new year show the banking system is flush with cash.

The U.S. economy is looking stronger than thought, with notable movement in the long-dormant housing market, where sales of previously owned homes just rose to an 11-month high.

In China, the engine of global growth whose manufacturing sector has been showing worrying signs of slowing, policymakers have demonstrated willingness to make conditions easier by lowering banks' reserve requirements.

"As we approach our year-end target two weeks into January, we have to ask ourselves the following questions: What has changed? Will equities rally further?," Garthwaite said in a research note.

His answer to the second question was yes. Credit Suisse raised its year-end S&P 500 target to 1,400 from 1,340. Critically, however, the firm did not overweight equities, saying the risks of a more severe recession in Europe and a slowdown stateside were still there.

HEALTHY DOSE OF SKEPTICISM

For Nicholas Colas, chief market strategist at the ConvergEx Group in New York, the rally remains largely untested. More scary headlines from Europe or any signs that the global economy is deteriorating could spark a sharp reversal.

Heading into the weekend, Greece was closing in on an initial deal with private bondholders that would prevent it from tumbling into a chaotic default. Creditors faced to 70 percent of the loans they have given to Athens.

"It's a confidence-based rally with the overhang of several still meaningful events to come," Colas said. "It is all well and good to say that the Greek default is well understood, but we haven't gone through it."

Outside the United States, there are mixed signals from the global economy, too.

China's factory activity likely fell for a third successive month in January. The HSBC flash manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI), the earliest indicator of China's industrial activity, stood below 50.

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index (.BADI), which tracks rates to ship dry commodities and can be a useful gauge of economic activity, fell to its lowest level in three years on Friday on a growing surplus of vessels and a slump in cargo demand.

That is at odds with the work of RBC technical analyst Robert Sluymer. He sees growing outperformance of industrial metal copper to the safe-haven bet of gold as well as an upturn in a basket of Asian currencies as a bullish sign for the economy.

The caution generated by the mismatches in the various data points is perhaps reflected in by U.S. interest rates.

The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury note has hovered at 2 percent or just below for the last month despite a brief spike in mid-December. That suggests bondholders are not eagerly embracing the improving economy thesis for the moment.

"There is still a lot of skepticism about recovery, about moving into risk assets, about a lot of things," Colas said.

"If you really wanted to believe this about incrementally economic certainty and expansion ... I would have thought you'd expect to see the 10-year back over 2 percent."

EARNINGS, DATA AND THE FED

A blitz of earnings and economic indicators next week will provide an important gauge of the economy's health.

What's more, the Federal Reserve's policymakers will convene their first meeting of the year with a two-day session that starts on Tuesday. The Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed's rate-setting panel, will release its policy statement on Wednesday. No fireworks are expected, but a decision to release individual policymakers' interest-rate forecasts could alter expectations for rates on the margins.

Monday will start one of the two most hectic weeks of the earnings season. Marquee names due to report earnings on Monday include Texas Instruments Inc (TXN.O) and Halliburton Co (HAL.N), followed by Apple Inc (AAPL.O), DuPont (DD.N), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N), McDonald's Corp (MCD.N), Verizon Communications (VZ.N) and Yahoo! Inc (YHOO.O) - all on Tuesday.

Boeing (BA.N), ConocoPhillips (COP.N) and United Technologies (UTX.N) are set to release results on Wednesday. Thursday's earnings line-up includes 3M Co (MMM.N), AT&T Inc (T.N), Starbucks (SBUX.O) and Time Warner Cable Inc (TWC.N). On Friday, earnings are expected from Chevron Corp (CVX.N), Honeywell International (HON.N) and Procter & Gamble Co. (PG.N)

In the coming week, economic indicators to watch will include December pending home sales data, a key measure of the housing market, on Wednesday as well as the latest weekly claims for jobless benefits on Thursday. December durable goods orders and new home sales for December also will be released on Thursday.

The week will wrap up with the Commerce Department's first look at fourth-quarter U.S. gross domestic product and the final reading for January on consumer sentiment from Reuters and the University of Michigan.

In terms of companies beating expectations, fourth-quarter earnings season has not been as good as previous ones. Of the approximately 70 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings so far, 60 percent have exceeded analysts' estimates, according to Thomson Reuters data.

In comparison, in the third quarter at this early point in the reporting cycle, 68 percent had beaten Wall Street's forecasts - well below the 78 percent in that category in the second quarter, Thomson Reuters data showed.

There have also been some high-profile misses on both revenue and earnings.

General Electric Co's (GE.N) fourth-quarter revenue fell short of Wall Street's expectations, with Europe's weakening economy and weak appliance sales the main culprits.

On the other hand, banks' earnings have served as a positive catalyst for the stock market so far. The sector has been one of the market's leaders despite mixed earnings, a sign that investors' worst fears did not materialize.

(Reporting By Edward Krudy; Editing by Jan Paschal.)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120121/bs_nm/us_usa_stocks_weekahead

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Andy Serkis Promises Smaug Will Be 'Extraordinary' In 'The Hobbit'

There really is nothing more delightful than an encounter with Andy Serkis. He is just so darn humble and nice, not to mention spectacularly talented. Our latest run-in with the "Tintin" and "Rise Of The Planet of the Apes" actor was at the Golden Globes which Serkis was attending in support of "Tintin," which took [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2012/01/18/andy-serkis-smaug-hobbit/

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US military chief in Israel to discuss Iran nukes (AP)

JERUSALEM ? The top U.S. general, visiting Israel at a delicate and dangerous moment in the global standoff with Tehran, is expected to press for restraint amid fears that the Jewish state is nearing a decision to attack Iran's nuclear program.

Thursday's arrival of Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, just four months after he took office as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, underscores Washington's concern about a possible Israeli military strike.

It also spotlights key questions at the center of the global maneuvering to prevent an Iranian bomb:

? How effective are the current economic sanctions in pressuring Iran's leadership? Israel wants a far tougher regime, while the Americans seem confident the current path will suffice.

? Could aerial bombardment or missile strikes, the expected Israeli military toolkit, damage nuclear installations deep underground enough to be worth a counterstrike from Iran? Some think Israel is mainly saber-rattling to scare governments into tougher sanctions.

? Might covert activity suffice? Iranian scientists and military officials have been killed, computer viruses unleashed, a missile base blown up. Finger-pointing and denials abound; evidence about who's behind it all does not.

? Could Israel really surprise Washington, its main ally and protector, with a military move that could affect America itself, in an election year to boot? Israeli officials have not pledged to give advance warning.

In the background, rarely openly discussed, is the somewhat prickly relationship between the Obama administration and the rightist government in Israel. The antipathy, born largely of disagreements on the Palestinian front, may not be helping navigate a situation as delicate as Iran.

But the main thing for Israel is the acute sense that a Rubicon is about to be crossed ? that a nuclear-armed Iran, whose President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calls for Israel's destruction, is a direct existential threat.

Most of the West does agree with Israel that Iran, despite denials, is developing nuclear weapons technology. But the United States is clearly concerned that a military attack could backfire, fragmenting international opposition to Iran and sending oil prices skyrocketing.

Beginning Friday, Dempsey is set to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and much of Israel's political and military leadership. Israeli officials involved in the preparations for the meetings said they expected Dempsey to urge restraint as the U.S. tries to rally additional global pressure on Iran. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the visit.

In a joint statement, the U.S. and Israel said the visit would focus on "cooperation between the two militaries, as well as mutual security challenges."

Israeli Cabinet Minister Dan Meridor, whose responsibilities include monitoring the Iranian nuclear program, said there was broad agreement with the Americans and the West on the need to stop the Iranians. "If the sanctions work, then all the other options will remain strictly theoretical," he said.

An air raid on Iran would require flying over potentially hostile Arab airspace and could well trigger a response from Iran, which possesses an arsenal of missiles capable of striking Israel. The Iranians could also encourage their proxies, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, to heat up Israel's northern and southern borders. American soldiers based in the Persian Gulf might come under fire. Islamist backers of Iran could target civilians all over the world.

It also remains unclear how much damage an attack could inflict. Iran's nuclear facilities are scattered throughout the country and buried deep underground. Israeli officials concede that any attack could set back, but not destroy, Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Speaking with The Associated Press, a senior military official said Thursday that the threat is real. "If you are talking about the use of power against Iran, any kind of power, and create any damage over there, yes, it can be done," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity under military guidelines.

Israel has attacked nuclear sites in foreign countries before. In 1981, Israeli warplanes destroyed an unfinished Iraqi nuclear reactor. In 2007, Israeli aircraft destroyed a site in Syria that the U.N. nuclear watchdog deemed to be a secretly built nuclear reactor.

While Israel is unlikely to strike without coordinating with the Americans, who maintain thousands of forces on aircraft carriers and military bases in the Gulf, Israeli officials will not make any promises to Dempsey, the officials said.

This week, Netanyahu told lawmakers that four rounds of international sanctions "have harmed the Iranians but not in a way that would stop their nuclear program." His deputy prime minister, Moshe Yaalon, expressed disappointment in a radio interview that the U.S. has delayed plans to expand sanctions, suggesting election-year considerations were to blame.

And in an interview published Thursday, the recently retired Israeli military intelligence chief claimed Iran already has all the components to build a nuclear bomb. "If the Iranians get together tonight and decide to secretly develop a bomb, then they have all the resources and components to do so," Amos Yadlin told the Maariv daily.

In a balancing message, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Wednesday that Israel was "very far" from deciding whether to strike. And Israel and the United States this week postponed a major military exercise.

Israelis generally assess that Iran is close to acquiring the expertise and know-how to build a bomb but a year or two away from being able to build and deliver an atomic weapon.

In a possible preview of Dempsey's message, a senior U.S. State Department official convened Israeli journalists on Wednesday and insisted American sanctions have been effective, Israeli newspapers reported.

The official, who was not identified, reportedly said sanctions were gradual to avoid a sudden jump in oil prices but could be ramped up to include an embargo on Iran's central bank ? and were already having a harsh effect on Iran's economy.

For more than three years, Tehran has blocked International Atomic Energy Agency attempts to follow up on U.S. and other intelligence alleging covert Iranian work on nuclear arms, dismissing the charges as baseless and insisting all its nuclear activities were peaceful. In November the IAEA issued a report saying some of Iran's alleged experiments have no other purpose than developing nuclear weapons.

In Paris, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said he hoped European Union foreign ministers will reach an accord at a meeting Monday in Brussels on an embargo on Iranian petroleum exports and a freeze on the assets of the Iranian Central Bank.

The U.S. last month enacted similar sanctions, though it has delayed implementing them for at least six months in fear of sending oil prices higher at a time when the global economy is struggling. Iran has threatened to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz in response to sanctions.

At the Pentagon on Wednesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the U.S. military was "fully prepared" to deal with any Iranian effort to close the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has threatened to close the strategic waterway, the route for about one-sixth of the global oil flow, because of new U.S. sanctions.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120120/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_iran

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China's housing market to slow growth

.

China's cooling property market could shave more than 2 percentage points off 2012 growth, forcing Beijing to decide just how badly it wants to keep the economy expanding at more than 8 percent a year.

Even if the world's second-biggest economy avoids a housing crash, slower property investment is almost certain to constrain growth. That assumption was built into economists' predictions that the economy will slow in 2012, but data released this week suggests housing may take an even bigger chunk out of growth.

China's investment in real estate development rose 28 percent to 6.17 trillion yuan ($977.67 billion) in 2011 - a full $200 billion more than the United States put into residential real estate at the peak of its housing bubble in 2005.

Unlike the United States, China does not have an oversupply of housing. In fact, the government has pledged to build 7 million units of public housing in 2012 after an estimated 10 million in 2011.

But in order for property investment to add to GDP growth, it has to keep getting even larger each year, and with real estate prices falling and developers scrounging for credit, China will be hard pressed to outdo 2011's strong showing.

?If they build the same amount (in 2012) that they did last year, which is still a phenomenal rate of construction, then it would take GDP down to 6.6 percent,? said Patrick Chovanec, an economist who teaches at Tsinghua University's School of Economics and Management in Beijing.

That would be a dramatic slowdown from 2011's 9.2 percent growth, and it doesn't even include potential indirect impacts that typically come with a housing slowdown, such as falling demand for building materials or a rise in banks' bad debts.

China's latest economic plan targets GDP growth of 7 percent, but economists widely consider 8 percent as the minimum needed to generate sufficient job growth and support social stability - top priorities for the Communist Party.

The Chinese phrase ?bao ba?, or protect 8, is a commonly used line, illustrating Beijing's unwritten imperative to keep annual growth above that threshold.

?It's something that's almost ingrained within the (Communist) party,? said Alistair Thornton, an economist with IHS Global Insight in Beijing.

Thornton thinks 2012 growth will dip to the 7.5 percent to 8 percent range, largely because of the housing slowdown. But he said it could easily drift down to 7 percent if China chooses not to prop up the property market.

UBS economist Tao Wang predicted property investment growth would halve in 2012, less dire than Chovanec's prediction for a flat reading. That leaves GDP right around the 8 percent mark.

?We continue to hold the view that property investment will slow sharply but will not collapse in 2012,? she said.

Data released on Wednesday showed Chinese house prices have fallen for three consecutive months as of December, and property developers are bracing for a brutal 2012. A Reuters poll released on Jan. 10 found economists expected property prices to fall 10 to 20 percent this year.

Chinese officials have spent the past 18 months cracking down on property speculation to try to keep the market from overheating, and it appears to be in no hurry to change course now. A housing bubble and bust would inflict far more economic damage than a policy-induced slowdown.

In Beijing, which enjoyed one of the country's biggest price gains in 2010 but is now feeling the pinch of the government's tightening measures, property developers were still hoping that policymakers will loosen their grip.

?It totally depends on whether the government will relax policies or not,? said a young sales agent surnamed Cui, when asked about the likely direction of property prices.

It would take something more severe than weak property sales to alter the policy course.

Beijing seems willing to accept that some developers will go out of business, but rising unemployment or a steep drop in growth would probably prompt Beijing to lift some of the real estate purchase restrictions put in place since 2010.

?While the central government does not generally sympathise with developers, rapidly decelerating real estate investment growth is a major concern,? analysts at Macquarie wrote in a January 17 note to clients.

HOLDING THE LINE

There is little doubt that China has the policy tools available to keep growth above 8 percent, but it is not clear that policymakers are willing to live with the consequences.

Real estate investment accounted for 13 percent of China's GDP in 2011, according to government data released on Tuesday, bigger than the 10 percent estimate that some economists had assumed. That means a slowdown will weigh more heavily on growth, and the remaining 87 percent of the economy will have to pull even harder to take up the slack.

Net exports subtracted from GDP growth in 2011 and will probably do so again this year, so that leaves consumption and government spending as the two main economic drivers.

China could offer incentives to spur demand for big-ticket items such as cars or appliances, which it did with good success during the 2009 downturn.

But that strategy must be used sparingly. Incentive schemes tend to pull forward demand, essentially borrowing sales from later periods.

?You just can't force people to spend more money,? Global Insight's Thornton said.

As for government spending, China went on stimulus binge to combat the global recession in 2009, but local government debt soared to $1.7 trillion and problem loans are growing. China's audit office said in December it had identified $84 billion worth of irregularities with local government debt.

?They could pump a lot of money into this economy and keep the investment boom going,? Tsinghua's Chovanec said. ?All of those things have a cost and the cost might be pretty steep.? - Reuters

Source: http://www.iol.co.za/china-s-housing-market-to-slow-growth-1.1215212

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Is a Google Contractor Trying to Destroy OpenStreetMap? (UPDATED) [Google]

Well, this is bad. OpenStreetMap, the Wikipedia of world maps, has been vandalized, with someone deliberately screwing up its data. Worse, the offending IP addresses seem to be coming from a set belonging to Google India. Careful where you drive. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/cQvd8qAk2Po/is-a-google-contractor-trying-to-destroy-openstreetmap

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