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US Commanders Concerned About Ramadan Fighting

2011-07-31T05:32:00.000-07:00

KABUL, Afghanistan — The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan has until mid-October to submit a plan for the initial withdrawal of American troops. His decisions may hinge in part on whether the latest surge in attacks continues through the holy month of Ramadan.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says commanders are hearing that Taliban leaders may try to regain lost ground during the Islamic holy period, which begins Monday.

Mullen says Marine Gen. John Allen, who has just taken over as top U.S. commander here, needs time to evaluate security needs and put together a detailed withdrawal plan.

Mullen's comments for the first time laid out a deadline for Allen to submit plans for withdrawing 10,000 U.S. troops by the end of the year.

Increasing muscle mass may lower type 2 diabetes risk

2011-07-31T05:31:00.000-07:00

The more your muscle mass, the lesser is your risk of developing diabetes, a new study led by an Indian-origin researcher has shown .

Previous studies have shown that very low muscle mass is a risk factor for insulin resistance, the major precursor of type 2 diabetes, but new research has suggested otherwise.

Previous studies have shown that very low muscle mass is a risk factor for insulin resistance, the major precursor of type 2 diabetes, but new research has suggested otherwise.

For the study, published online Thursday and in the September issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, researchers analyzed data from 13,644 adults who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III (NHANES III) to determine whether there was a correlation between higher levels of muscle mass and lower levels of insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes.
After controlling for age, race and other factors, the scientists found that for each 10% increase in the skeletal muscle index — the ratio of muscle mass to total body weight — there was a corresponding 11% reduction in insulin resistance and a 12% decrease in pre-diabetes.
According to the American Diabetes Association, 79 million people in the USA have pre-diabetes, which means their blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not in the diabetes range yet.
The finding that more muscle mass is beneficial is consistent with what's already known about muscle and fat — that they do affect metabolism, says Daniel Rubin, an assistant professor of medicine in the division of Endocrinology at Temple University School of Medicine.
"Extra fat has bad effects, but more muscle has good effects. These data are also consistent with data we see on exercise, that it helps decrease diabetes risk, and that a lack of exercise and weight gain increase risk," Rubin says.
Srikanthan points out that the study was not an intervention, it was observational. In other words, the authors did not look at the effect of different kinds of muscle-building activities on diabetes.
It's difficult to know when looking at a correlational study like this one whether it's just a correlation or an effect, says Duke endocrinologist Susan Spratt.
"Are there other healthy behaviors that tag along with high muscle mass that reduce the risk of diabetes? We don't know from this study that if you increase muscle mass you will decrease insulin resistance, but we can infer that might be the case," Spratt says.
It's a welcome message for patients who have trouble shedding extra pounds, Srikanthan says: "We should consider monitoring improvements in muscle mass in addition to changes in fat.

White House, GOP discuss potential debt limit

2011-07-31T05:29:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON — White House officials and congressional Republicans are reaching toward a potential end to their bitter debt limit showdown, raising hopes that a deal could be in place by Tuesday to avert a possible federal default.
After weeks of strident partisan conflict, the two sides were discussing an accord that would raise the government's borrowing authority in two steps by about $2.4 trillion and cut federal spending by slightly more, according to knowledgeable officials.
Congress would also have to vote on a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced federal budget, a top-flight GOP goal. Unlike a bill approved Friday by the Republican-run House, none of the debt limit increase would be tied to congressional approval of that amendment.
Details of a possible accord began emerging Saturday night after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, R-Nev., said on the Senate floor that the two sides were trying to nail down loose ends and complete an agreement.
"I'm glad to see this move toward cooperation and compromise, and hope it bears fruit," he said.
A Democratic official said that while bargainers were not on the cusp of a deal, one could gel quickly. A Republican said there was consensus on general concepts but cautioned there were no guarantees of a final handshake. Both spoke on condition of anonymity to reveal details of confidential talks.
Any pact would have to quickly pass both chambers of Congress after a rancorous period that has seen the two parties repeatedly belittle each other's efforts to end the standoff.
Even so, the deal under discussion offers wins for both sides. Republicans and their tea party supporters would get spending cuts at least as large as the amount the debt ceiling would grow and avoid any tax increases. For President Barack Obama and Democrats, there would be no renewed battle over extending the borrowing limit until after next year's elections.
Under the possible compromise, the debt limit would rise by an initial $1 trillion.
A second, $1.4 trillion increase would be tied to a specially created congressional committee that would have to suggest deficit cuts of a slightly larger amount. If that panel did not act — or if Congress rejected their recommendations — automatic spending cuts would be triggered that could affect Medicare and defense spending, two of the most politically sacrosanct programs.
Obama and Democrats have been insisting on a one-shot debt ceiling increase of around $2.4 trillion, enough to last until 2013. Bowing to GOP pressure, they eventually agreed to include an equal amount of spending cuts and dropped their earlier bid for tax increases.

Details of a possible accord began emerging Saturday night after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, R-Nev., said on the Senate floor that the two sides were trying to nail down loose ends and complete an agreement.

"I'm glad to see this move toward cooperation and compromise, and hope it bears fruit," he said.

A Democratic official said that while bargainers were not on the cusp of a deal, one could gel quickly. A Republican said there was consensus on general concepts but cautioned there were no guarantees of a final handshake. Both spoke on condition of anonymity to reveal details of confidential talks.

Any pact would have to quickly pass both chambers of Congress after a rancorous period that has seen the two parties repeatedly belittle each other's efforts to end the standoff.

Even so, the deal under discussion offers wins for both sides. Republicans and their tea party supporters would get spending cuts at least as large as the amount the debt ceiling would grow and avoid any tax increases. For President Barack Obama and Democrats, there would be no renewed battle over extending the borrowing limit until after next year's elections.

Under the possible compromise, the debt limit would rise by an initial $1 trillion.

A second, $1.4 trillion increase would be tied to a specially created congressional committee that would have to suggest deficit cuts of a slightly larger amount. If that panel did not act — or if Congress rejected their recommendations — automatic spending cuts would be triggered that could affect Medicare and defense spending, two of the most politically sacrosanct programs.

Obama and Democrats have been insisting on a one-shot debt ceiling increase of around $2.4 trillion, enough to last until 2013. Bowing to GOP pressure, they eventually agreed to include an equal amount of spending cuts and dropped their earlier bid for tax increases.

In a bill the House approved Friday — and the Senate rejected — Republicans would initially extend federal borrowing authority by $900 billion, accompanied by $917 billion in spending cuts. They would tie a second $1.6 trillion debt limit boost to spending cuts of up to $1.8 trillion and approval of the balanced budget amendment.

The government has exhausted its $14.3 trillion borrowing limit and has paid its bills since May with money freed up by accounting maneuvers.

The Treasury Department has said it will run out of available cash on Tuesday. The administration has warned that an economy-shaking default would follow that could balloon interest rates and wound the world economy.

U.S. regulators close three small banks

2011-07-31T05:28:00.000-07:00

Colorado bank failures this year could cost the nation's deposit insurance fund slightly more than $1 billion.
That represents a fifth of the $5 billion in overall losses to the fund from bank failures through July 22, said Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. spokesman Greg Hernandez.
Only Georgia, with 16 failures costing $1.5 billion, has taken a bigger bite. Colorado and Georgia combined account for half of the hit to the FDIC fund this year.
That $1 billion exceeds the $970.6 million that three Colorado bank failures in 2009, led by Greeley's New Frontier Bank, cost the fund.
Deposit insurance protects individual bank accounts for up to $250,000 and is a key reason why the country doesn't see bank runs during a financial crisis.
But when banks fail, surviving banks pick up the tab, through higher premiums to replenish the fund. Those costs eventually pass down to customers and investors.
And if things ever got bad enough, taxpayers could be asked to ante up.
"There is a bit of moral hazard involved in deposit insurance," said Matt Anderson, a managing director at Trepp, an Oakland firm that does analysis on commercial real estate and banking.
The moral hazard exists because bankers and investors, knowing they won't be fully liable if a bank collapses, may take bigger risks.
Although bank failures almost always wipe out the money investors put into banks, they also leave behind much bigger messes for everyone else to clean up.
"It is frustrating, but we built a business model that can absorb it," said Mariner Kemper, chief executive of UMB Financial Corp. "I try not to think about it too much."
The loss a failed bank passes on to the deposit insurance fund is one measure of its failure to properly price risk, said Denver banking consultant Larry Martin.
The losses at the five Colorado banks represent about 22 percent of their assets, which are made up mostly of loans.
"That is probably pretty much ballpark with what has been going on so far nationally," Anderson said.
His measures show that the bank failures in June nationwide passed on losses of 25 percent of assets, up from a 19 percent rate in April.

The FDIC said Xenith Bank of Richmond agreed to take over Virginia Business Bank's $85 million in deposits and purchase all of its assets, which total about $95.8 million.

In South Carolina, the FDIC said the three BankMeridian branches would reopen as branches of SCBT NA. Orangeburg, South Carolina-based SCBT would take over $215.5 million in BankMeridian deposits and purchase its assets of $239.8 million.

The three closures were expected to cost the FDIC's deposit insurance fund a combined $253.4 million.

On July 26, acting FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg told the Senate Banking Committee the balance of the insurance fund the agency uses to cover the cost of failed banks became positive in June after being negative during the 2007-2009 financial crisis.

The overall outlook for the banking industry, however, has been improving as the effects of the crisis and the recession it caused recede.

Bank failures are down so far this year and the FDIC expects the year-end tally to be below last year's total. In 2010, 157 banks failed, following 140 failures in 2009.

Apple holding more cash than USA

2011-07-31T05:26:00.000-07:00

Apple Inc. may not have more money than God. But it's got more cash than Uncle Sam.

As the government struggled to reach an agreement on raising the debt ceiling, the U.S. Treasury's cash balance fell to $74 billion this week. That's less than the $76 billion that Apple now has in cash.

It's not terribly likely that the government will ask Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs for help. But it wouldn't be the first time the government has asked for a bailout from an industry mogul.

In the mid-1890s, with the U.S. economy still recovering from the financial panic of 1893, the U.S. Treasury was in danger of going bankrupt as worried investors clamored to collect what they were owed from U.S. gold reserves. With few options left, President Cleveland met with New York financier J.P. Morgan, who pledged a whopping $60 million in gold. Adjusted for inflation, that would be about $1.5 billion today.

The United States is currently spending around $200bn more than it collects in revenue every month.

Apple, on the other hand, is making money hand over fist, according to its financial results.

In the three months ending 25 June, net income was 125% higher than a year earlier at $7.31bn.

With more than $75bn either sitting in the bank or in easily accessible assets, there has been enormous speculation about what the company will do with the money.

"Apple keeps its cards close to its chest," said Daniel Ashdown, an analyst at Juniper Research.

Industry watchers believe that it is building up a war chest to be used for strategic acquisitions of other businesses, and to secure technology patents.

Bookstore Barnes and Noble and the online movie site Netflix have both been tipped as possible targets, said Mr Ashdown.

The company may also have its eye on smaller firms that develop systems Apple might want to add to its devices, such as voice recognition.

Apple dipped into some of its reserves recently when it teamed-up with Microsoft to buy a batch of patents from defunct Canadian firm Nortel.

The bidding consortium shelled out $4.5bn for more than 6,000 patents.

Mosaic church

2011-07-31T05:24:00.000-07:00

Mosaic is a multi-site church based in Los Angeles, California, currently led by Erwin McManus. Mosaic was listed as one of the 50 most influential churches in the United States.
Thirty-five charter members of Bethel Baptist Church began meeting on January 3, 1943 in a rented store front in Los Angeles, California. In its humble beginnings, members brought their own chairs to the first service. By 1958, two more "missions" or services were established in Baldwin Park and Monterey Park, and weekly attendance in worship was averaging 250.

Growth Years
In 1969, at age 24, Thomas A. Wolf "Bro Thom" became senior pastor of the then-named First Southern Baptist Church of East Los Angeles. The '60s brought many changes to East Los Angeles with many groups resettling into new area in the county. The handful of people still attending were predominantly Caucasian/Anglo and elderly in an area that was becoming more and more mixed with Hispanic, Armenian and Asian families (and others from the lower and middle classes) moving in as Caucasian/Anglo families moved to the suburbs. The churches new make-up was approximately 50% Hispanic, 40% Caucasian/Anglo and 10% Asian.
Wolf brought enthusiasm, hope, drive and vision. He created a leadership team that reflected this new cultural make-up with Hispanics filling well over 50% of elder and leadership roles and Asian serving approximately 20% of these roles.
Located on Brady Ave, church members began to refer to the congregation as The Church on Brady. Although never officially changed this was how it became recognized. Wolf gracefully weathered the fall-out from traditionalists who worried over the term "Baptist" missing from church signs and communications.
Bro Thom, as he was called, developed and led the church in a common mission to "become a spiritual reference point east of downtown Los Angeles and a sending base to the ends of the earth."
Wolf pioneered "Oikos Evangelism": reaching out to one’s circle of influence; home church groups or "Share Groups". He fostered a new church, an American apostolic church, rather a church based solely on tradition. After examining American apostolic churches (including Willow Creek and Saddleback Church) George Hunter III , Reaching the Unreached (1997) found The Church on Brady to be "...the most apostolic congregation in America."
In the early 1990s The Church on Brady was responsible for more missionaries than any other church in the International Mission Board, regardless of size. Dr. Lyle Schaller states, The Church on Brady tenaciously and persistently pursued the perennial apostolic paradigm of church ... multiplication rather than church maintenance." The Church on Brady started many new churches both locally in or near Los Angeles and internationally.
By 1983 the original building on Brady was far outgrown and in need of repair. Wolf lead the church through a building phase that was completed in 1987. Even though many were sent out, Brady faced a constant issue of overcrowding due to perennial growth.
Initializing the Spare Not Conference on World Evangelism Wolf saw it become internationally recognized encouraging worldwide evangelism and influencing the thoughts and actions of hundreds of congregations and thousands of students, leaders and missionaries across the United States as well as like-minded individuals and organizations across the globe. Brady became the destination of those wanting to get closer to God and to learn to share with others. Brady was not a suburban church of professionals, but was composed of ordinary people.
In 25 years as Senior Pastor, Tom Wolf saw the rebirth and great growth of a vibrant, world impacting, multi-national community.

Transitional Years
In October 1991, Erwin McManus was first introduced to The Church on Brady as the keynote speaker at Brady’s Spare Not Conference on World Evangelism. He was then invited to move to The Church on Brady and Los Angeles to transition into the role of Senior Pastor.
Early in 1994, McManus officially became Senior Pastor. Wolf then moved into the role of "Teaching Pastor" and simultaneously accepted a teaching position at Golden Gate Seminary in San Francisco.
Born in El Salvador, McManus had moved at an early age to the United States with his family. He brought 15 years experience as urban church planter, evangelist, and speaker.
McManus built on the foundation set at Brady. Multi-media was the new tool in churches at the time. McManus encouraged use of these new tools making greater use of art and dance as weekly components of worship. Regular night-time services became part of the landscape.
A new name was sought with "Mosaic" being the accepted choice. It was at this time that the Sunday night service was moved to the Mayan Theatre, a nightclub in downtown L.A. Mosaic became a single church with multiple sites. In 2003 the property on Brady street was sold making Mosaic independent of land ownership.

Mosaic Today
Mosaic has been mentioned as one the "top 50 most influential churches in the nation" and has approximately 60 nationalities in attendance. Mosaic currently operates in seven locations: Pasadena; Beverly Hills; Downtown L.A.; Pomona; South Bay; Whittier; San Diego;. Associated Press called Mosaic a "hipster megachurch", describing it as a "congregation full of hip twenty-somethings who mostly work in the film industry and make short films for a hobby.

Church of Satan

2011-07-31T05:23:00.000-07:00

Church of Satan is an organization dedicated to the acceptance of the carnal self, as articulated in The Satanic Bible, written in 1969 by Anton Szandor LaVey.

Membership
The Church of Satan has two types of members: Registered Members and Active Members. Registered Members are simply people who have been inducted as members of the Church, and there are no requirements to achieve this position. To be deemed an Active Member, a person has to be involved with the Church and local members. Active Membership is divided into five Degrees:
Active Members begin at the First Degree. One must apply and be approved for an Active Membership, and this is subject to one's answers to a lengthy series of questions. One cannot apply for higher Degrees, and the requirements for each degree are not open to the public. Promotion to a higher degree is by invitation only. Members of the Third through Fifth degrees constitute the Priesthood and may be addressed as "Reverend" (although the titles of "Magister/Magistra" and "Magus/Maga" are more often used when referring to members of the Fourth and Fifth degrees, respectively). Members of the Fifth degree may also be known as "Doctor", although "The Doctor" usually refers to LaVey.
Individuals seeking membership must be legally defined as adults in their nation of residence. The only exception made is for children of members who demonstrate an understanding of the Church philosophy and practices who wish to join. Their participation is limited until they reach legal adulthood.
The Church of Satan does not solicit membership. Those who wish to affiliate can become a Registered Member for a one-time registration fee of two hundred dollars ($200) in United States currency. Affiliates receive a red card declaring them as a member of the Church of Satan to other members.
Memberships may be terminated at the discretion of the ruling body of the Church of Satan consisting of the High Priest, the High Priestess and the Council of Nine. Upon termination, the issuing of a refund is ultimately left up to the High Priest's ruling, though generally 50% is returned to the cast-out member (the other 50% used to cover ruling expenditures).

Agents
The Church of Satan authorizes some Active Members as Agents, qualified to represent the Church of Satan and to explain the philosophy of Satanism to the media and other interested parties.

Priesthood
Members of the Priesthood act as spokespersons for the philosophy of the Church of Satan, which include the titles of "Priest"/"Priestess", "Magister"/"Magistra", "Magus"/"Maga". Members of the Priesthood make up the Council of Nine, which is the ruling body of the Church of Satan. The Order of the Trapezoid consists of the individuals who assist in the administration of the Church of Satan. The High Priest and Priestess act as administrative chiefs and primary public representatives; each position (High Priest and High Priestess) is held by a single individual at a time. The current High Priest is Peter H. Gilmore, the current High Priestess Peggy Nadramia.
The Church of Satan evaluates active members for the Priesthood by their accomplishment in society—mastered skills and peer recognition within a profession—rather than by mastery of irrelevant occult trivia. While expected to be experts in communicating the Satanic philosophy, members of the Priesthood are not required to speak on behalf of the Church of Satan, and may even choose to keep their affiliation and rank secret in order to better serve their personal goals, as well as those of the organization. Membership in the Priesthood is by invitation only.

Past & present Church of Satan High Priesthood
Anton LaVey — Founder & High Priest 1966–1997
Diane Hegarty — Co-Founder & High Priestess 1966–1984
Blanche Barton — Anton's Assistant, High Priestess 1997–2002, now Magistra Templi Rex
Peter H. Gilmore — High Priest 2001 – Present (5th Degree, Magus)
Peggy Nadramia — High Priestess 2002 – Present

Beliefs
The Church of Satan does not worship or support a belief in the Devil or other supernatural entities. "My real feeling is that anybody who believes in supernatural entities on some level is insane. Whether they believe in The Devil or God, they are abdicating reason," said Peter Gilmore. Gilmore defines the word Satan: "Satan is a model or a mode of behavior. Satan in Hebrew means 'adversary' or 'opposer'; one who questions.
Satanists within the Church of Satan adhere to these as guidelines on how to live. However, it is important to remember that Satanists generally do not view the Satanic sins, statements, and rules of the earth as things that one must go out of their way to do. The Satanist ideally sees these things as truisms and how they naturally live their lives, as opposed to a Christian or Jew, who would strive to follow the words of Christ or the mitzvot, respectively.

The Nine Satanic Statements
The Nine Satanic Statements outline what "Satan" represents in the Church of Satan:
Satan represents indulgence instead of abstinence.
Satan represents vital existence instead of spiritual pipe dreams.
Satan represents undefiled wisdom instead of hypocritical self-deceit.
Satan represents kindness to those who deserve it instead of love wasted on ingrates.
Satan represents vengeance instead of turning the other cheek.
Satan represents responsibility to the responsible instead of concern for psychic vampires.
Satan represents man as just another animal, sometimes better, more often worse than those that walk on all-fours, who, because of his "divine spiritual and intellectual development", has become the most vicious animal of all.
Satan represents all of the so-called sins, as they all lead to physical, mental, or emotional gratification.
Satan has been the best friend the Church has ever had, as He has kept it in business all these years.

The Nine Satanic Sins
Stupidity
Pretentiousness
Solipsism
Self-deceit
Herd Conformity
Lack of Perspective
Forgetfulness of Past Orthodoxies
Counterproductive Pride
Lack of Aesthetics

The Eleven Satanic Rules of the Earth
Do not give opinions or advice unless you are asked.
Do not tell your troubles to others unless you are sure they want to hear them.
When in another's lair, show them respect or else do not go there.
If a guest in your lair annoys you, treat them cruelly and without mercy.
Do not make sexual advances unless you are given the mating signal.
Do not take that which does not belong to you unless it is a burden to the other person and they cry out to be relieved.
Acknowledge the power of magic if you have employed it successfully to obtain your desires. If you deny the power of magic after having called upon it with success, you will lose all you have obtained.
Do not complain about anything to which you need not subject yourself.
Do not harm little children.
Do not kill non-human animals unless you are attacked or for your food.
When walking in open territory, bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask them to stop. If they don’t stop, destroy them.

History

Wikinews has related news: Satanism: An interview with Church of Satan High Priest Peter Gilmore

In the 1960s Anton LaVey formed a group called the Order of the Trapezoid, which later became the governing body of the Church of Satan. The group included: "The Baroness" Carin de Plessen, Dr. Cecil Nixon, Kenneth Anger, City Assessor Russell Wolden, Donald Werby, and Michael Harner. According to the Church of Satan historiography, other LaVey associates from this time include noted Science Fiction and Horror writers Anthony Boucher, August Derleth, Robert Barbour Johnson, Reginald Bretnor, Emil Petaja, Stuart Palmer, Clark Ashton Smith, Forrest J. Ackerman, and Fritz Leiber Jr. The Church of Satan was established at the Black House in San Francisco, California, on Walpurgisnacht, April 30, 1966, by Anton Szandor LaVey, who was the Church's High Priest until his death in 1997.

In the first year of its foundation, Anton LaVey and the Church of Satan publicly performed a Satanic marriage of Judith Case and journalist John Raymond. The ceremony was attended by Joe Rosenthal. The church also performed a public funeral for Church of Satan member Edward Olson, at the request of his wife.

The Church of Satan has been the subject of books, magazine and newspaper articles during the 1960s and 1970s. It is also the subject of a documentary, Satanis (1970). LaVey appeared in Kenneth Anger's film Invocation of my Demon Brother, acted as technical adviser on The Devil's Rain, which starred Ernest Borgnine, William Shatner, and introduced John Travolta. The Church of Satan was also featured in a segment of Luigi Scattini's film Angeli Bianchi, Angeli Neri, released in the United States as "Witchcraft '70". According to Peter H. Gilmore, "Satanism begins with atheism. We begin with the universe and say, 'It’s indifferent. There’s no God, there’s no Devil. No one cares!

In 1975 LaVey phased out the Church's "Grotto" system and eliminated people he thought were using the Church as a substitute for accomplishment in the outside world. Thereafter, conventional achievement in society would be the criterion for advancement within the Church of Satan. At the same time, LaVey became more selective in granting interviews. This shift to "closed door" activities resulted in some rumors of the Church’s demise, and even rumors of LaVey’s death.

In the 1980s the media reported concerns of criminal conspiracies within the Church of Satan. Members of the Church of Satan, such as Peter H. Gilmore, Peggy Nadramia, Boyd Rice, Adam Parfrey, Diabolos Rex,and musician King Diamond, were active in media appearances to refute allegations of criminal activity. The FBI would later issue an official report refuting the criminal conspiracy theories of this time. This phenomenon became known as "The Satanic Panic". During this period, Nikolas Schreck (not a member of the COS) and Zeena Lavey (the younger daughter of Anton Lavey) appeared on interview with televangelist Bob Larson, during which they both refuted any Satanic criminal ties, and pressed Bob Larson on his own ideals, stating that it was hypocritical of him to endorse such claims by christians, pointing out the christian background of many criminals, and violent acts within christian history, such as the crusades. The Satanic Panic culminated with a documentary conducted by Geraldo Rivera, on which Michael Aquino of the Temple of Set, and Zeena Lavey (Still a part of the Church of Satan at this point) both renounced claims that Satanists were ritualistically murdering and abusing children and animals as part of their religion. Geraldo also indicated Ozzy Osbourne (who was also interviewed remotely) was Satanic, a claim he denied.

As the Church of Satan does not publicly release membership information, it is not known how many members belong to the Church. However, according to an interview with the Church of Satan, "interest in the Church of Satan and Satanism is growing all the time if our mailboxes, answering and fax machines, and e-mail is any indication.

In October 2004 the Royal Navy officially recognised its first registered Satanist, 24-year-old Chris Cranmer, as a technician on the HMS Cumberland.

On June 6, 2006 The Church of Satan held the first public ritual Satanic Mass in 40 years at the Steve Allen Theater in the Center for Inquiry in Los Angeles. The ritual, based on the rites outlined in The Satanic Bible and The Satanic Rituals, was conducted by Reverend Bryan Moore and Priestess Heather Saenz.

In December 2007 the Associated Press reported on a story concerning the Church of Satan, in which a teenager had sent an e-mail to High Priest Gilmore stating he wanted to "kill in the name of our unholy lord Satan". Gilmore then reported the message to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who informed local police who arrested the teenager.

Suspect Killed After Stabbing L.A. Officer in Church

2011-07-31T05:21:00.000-07:00

Four Los Angeles police officers were injured on Saturday, one of them critically, when a 64 year-old woman who may have been asleep at the wheel struck their cruisers, police said.

The 2:20 a.m. crash in the city's Woodland Hills suburb occurred as the officers responded to a fight at a loud party, said police spokeswoman Officer Norma Eisenman.

A 64 year-old driver at the wheel of a Jaguar struck two parked police cruisers, in a chain reaction crash that injured the four officers, who were standing outside their vehicles and were struck by them, Eisenman said.

The woman driver and all four officers were hospitalized. One officer remains in critical condition with broken ribs and other injuries, Eisenman said.

Police spokeswoman Norma Eisenman says the man was freed Saturday afternoon and attacked medics taking him to a hospital in a private ambulance.

Commander Andrew Smith tells the Los Angeles Times the man jumped out of the ambulance and ran into a church in Boyle Heights.

Smith says as officers searched the church with a dog, the man stabbed one of them through the bicep with an 8-inch knife. He says at least one officer then fired and killed the man.

Eisenman says the officer is in a hospital and is expected to survive.

Hope fading for missing N.H. girl

2011-07-31T05:17:00.000-07:00

Tips continued to pour in Saturday in the disappearance of an 11-year-old New Hampshire girl, but so far none have led to the child, Assistant Attorney General Jane Young said.
"We are looking at those tips. We are honing the investigation based on those tips," she said.
The FBI offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the disappearance of Celina Cass, who vanished between 9 p.m. Monday night and the time her parents went to wake her Tuesday morning. Officials said a private citizen is also offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to Celina Cass' return.
Dive teams will be brought in Sunday to search area ponds, Young said.
About 100 investigators -- including FBI agents, New Hampshire and Vermont state police, local authorities and employees of the state's Fish and Game Department -- have been searching for Celina door-to-door in the small, tight-knit town of West Stewartstown.
"We are still aggressively, aggressively searching and hoping to bring Celina Cass home," FBI Supervisory Special Agent Kieran Ramsay said Saturday.

Residents said police canvassing hundreds of homes had collected household garbage and were going through it, looking for clues. Police also spent time at Back Pond.

Jane Young of the state attorney general’s office said dive teams would be brought in today, but she would not specify where they would search for the girl.

FBI Supervisory Special Agent Kieran Ramsey, announcing the $25,000 reward, said, “This reward should not be read into that we are transitioning in any way in this investigation.”

“We are still aggressively — aggressively — searching and hoping to bring Celina Cass home,” Ramsey said.

Residents said they believed the rewards could be effective.

“That’ll get some gums flapping,” said Robby Kimball, 53, owner of Wayne’s Lanes and Jo’s Bar in neighboring Canaan. “Ain’t no doubt about it, whether it’s right or wrong, that’ll get some gums flapping.”

Investigators from multiple federal and state agencies, including the Massachusetts state police who arrived with all-terrain vehicles, again trekked through the rugged, wooded north country landscape.

“We have some very extreme terrain here, even the mountain goats don’t like,” said local emergency management director Bill Allen, adding there are plenty of places that could conceal a body indefinitely in the area on the Canadian border.

Nearly a week into the search, people here began to voice concerns Cass may never be found.

Domcrete debt dispute

2011-07-31T05:15:00.001-07:00

President Obama will speak on the debt-limit impasse at 10:20 a.m. ET. We'll have more soon.

Our original post is here:

President Obama planned to make some kind of statement last night -- after the Republican House passed Speaker John Boehner's debt ceiling plan.

Instead, as he has for most of the week, Obama sat and waited as Boehner scrambled to find enough Republicans to get his plan through the House -- and eventually put off a final vote.

Largely sidelined since Boehner decided last week to break off direct White House talks, Obama and his team are constantly trying to plan the next moves in the debt ceiling dispute, hoping to avoid the prospect of a government default next week.

Administration officials expect the Boehner bill to pass today. They also expect the Democratic Senate to kill it, setting up even more talks on a potential compromise.

Officials said there are enough similarities between the Boehner plan and the proposal by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to get a deal and avoid a government default next week.

"What a compromise looks like is pretty clear," White House spokesman Jay Carney said. "Significant deficit reduction; a mechanism by which Congress would take on the tough issues of tax reform and entitlement reform; and a lifting of the debt ceiling into 2013 so that we do not have the cloud of uncertainty that is hanging over our economy right now."

Obama has not spoken publicly on the debt impasse since his prime time speech Monday.

After a tense day of congressional floor fights and angry exchanges, Sen. Harry Reid, the majority leader, called off a planned showdown vote set for after midnight, but said he would convene the Senate at noon Sunday for a vote an hour later. He said he wanted to give the new negotiations a chance to produce a plan to raise the federal debt limit in exchange for spending cuts and the creation of a new congressional committee that would try to assemble a long-range deficit-cutting proposal.
"There are many elements to be finalized and there is still a distance to go before an arrangement can be completed," said Reid, who just a few hours earlier had played down talk of any agreement. "But I believe we should give everyone as much room as possible to do their work."
Reid's announcement set off an almost audible sigh of relief on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers and their aides had been bracing for an overnight clash over the debt following a day that had seen a heated House vote and lawmakers trudging from office to office in search of an answer to the impasse.
The first indication of a softening of the hard lines that have marked weeks of partisan wrangling over the debt limit came in the afternoon when the two leading congressional Republicans announced that they had reopened fiscal talks with the White House and expected their last-ditch drive to produce a compromise.
Following the House's sharp rejection of a proposal by Reid to raise the debt limit and cut spending, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader and a linchpin in efforts to reach a deal, said he and Speaker John Boehner were "now fully engaged" in efforts with the White House to find a resolution that would tie an increase in the debt limit to spending cuts and other conditions.
"I'm confident and optimistic that we're going to get an agreement in the very near future and resolve this crisis in the best interests of the American people," said McConnell, who noted he was personally talking to both Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, a favorite partner in past negotiations.
Boehner, who would have to steer a compromise through the House, said he based his confidence on the prospect of an agreement on the sense that "we're dealing with reasonable, responsible people who want this crisis to end as quickly as possible."
A Democratic official with knowledge of the talks said that McConnell called Biden early Saturday afternoon, the first conversation between the two men since Wednesday. The official said they talked at least four more times on Saturday as they tried to work out an agreement.
The deal they were discussing, this person said, resembled the bill that Boehner won approval for in the House on Friday more than it did the one Reid had proposed.

After McConnell sounded a hopeful note, Reid called members of the Senate to the floor to hear him dispute the claims by his Republican counterpart and accuse Republicans of failing to enter into serious negotiations even as the Treasury risked running out of money to pay all its bills after Tuesday.
"The speaker and Republican leader should know that merely saying you have an agreement in front of television cameras doesn't make it so," Reid said after returning from a visit to the White House with Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the Democratic leader in the House.
Trying to build momentum for his own proposal, Reid and fellow Democrats were working to win over Republican senators to support his plan to raise the debt ceiling through 2012 and circumvent McConnell.
"Americans are watching us and demanding a result that is balanced," Reid said.
The Senate Democrats' efforts were set back Saturday when 43 of the 47 Republican senators signed a letter to Reid saying they would not back his proposal, which would allow a $2.4 trillion increase in the debt ceiling in two stages while establishing a new congressional committee to explore deeper spending cuts. The numbers signaled that without changes in the plan, Reid would not be able to overcome a Republican filibuster, which requires 60 votes.
House Republicans signaled their disapproval of the Reid plan by holding a symbolic vote on Saturday, rejecting it by a 246 to 173 vote, in a move intended to show it had no chance of passing in that chamber. About a dozen Democrats joined Republicans in rejecting the Reid plan.
The pre-emptive vote could strengthen McConnell's hand as he seeks to shape any final compromise.
At the White House and in talks in congressional offices and corridors, most of the attention was focused on finding a way to define the precise conditions under which the President could get a second increase in the debt limit that would be needed early in 2012 under both Republican and Democratic proposals. Officials in both parties said another idea that had surfaced was to require a change in Social Security policy if the new committee deadlocked, providing an incentive for the new committee to act on its own.

Midair plane collision kills 4 in Alaska

2011-07-31T05:14:00.000-07:00

TRAPPER CREEK, Alaska — Authorities say four people are dead after two small planes collided over Alaska.
Alaska State trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters says four bodies have been recovered from the wreckage of Saturday's crash.
One of the aircraft landed safely after the accident near Trapper Creek, while the other crashed in flames.
Authorities initially said at least two people were killed, but later announced that there were four confirmed deaths.

The two Cessna float planes collided at 2:14 p.m. near Amber Lake in the Trapper Creek area, about 90 miles northeast of Anchorage, the Alaska Department of Public Safety said.
One plane, a Cessna 180, crashed into the ground and became engulfed in flames after impact. Four bodies were recovered from the aircraft, Alaska State Troopers said. The names of the deceased were not immediately released.
The other plane, a Cessna 206, maintained flight and returned to Anchorage where the pilot, Kevin Earp, 56, of Eagle River, made an emergency landing at Ted Stevens International Airport. Earp was alone and not injured, officials said. However, the plane sustained significant damage as it landed on its floats.
The cause and circumstances surrounding the crash are under investigation. Troopers, the State Medical Examiner's Office, the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration were investigating the crash.

Federal Judge Rules Florida Drug Law

2011-07-31T05:12:00.000-07:00

A federal judge in Orlando on Wednesday declared the state’s controlled-substances laws unconstitutional. A 2002 Florida law eliminated the requirement of a “guilty mind,” or “mens rea,” as part of a drug offense. Briefs attacking the Florida law, in which a defendant need not know that a substance is illegal to be convicted of possessing or selling it, had been filed by groups including the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the American Civil Liberties Union and dozens of law professors. Judge Mary S. Scriven of Federal District Court threw out the drug delivery charges against Mackle Vincent Shelton, and ordered a new sentencing hearing on other charges. Florida’s unique law expressly eliminating mens rea for drug offenses, the judge wrote, is “atavistic and repugnant to the common law.

Obviously, we are immediately drafting motions and pursuing this line on behalf of our own clients' (cases) that are pending, but we can't do much retroactively since those cases are closed," said Bob Wesley, public defender for Orange and Osceola counties. "I think it will be a robust line of litigation for all of us who appear in Florida criminal courts."
Tampa attorney James Felman, who won the landmark case, says the Florida legislature went too far.
"What the legislature attempted to do was essentially presume guilt and then let you come in and prove your innocence if you wish to avoid being imprisoned," Felman told MyFoxTampaBay.com.
When the law was passed in 2002, Florida became the only state not to require that a suspect have knowledge that a controlled substance is illegal to be convicted. The law shifted the burden from prosecutors having to prove that a suspect knew to the defendant having to assert ignorance about the illegality of the controlled substance.
Attorney General Pam Bondi's office says they are currently reviewing the case. Many thing the state will appeal the decision.

California could make Mexican drug cartels

2011-07-31T05:10:00.000-07:00

Authorities said they had seized 1,500 pounds (680kg) of processed marijuana, 27 guns and 11 vehicles over two weeks in Mendocino National Forest.

The 900,000-acre site is part of an area known as the Emerald Triangle for its high number of marijuana plots.

The raids are part of a wider campaign to remove marijuana from public land.

Marijuana for medicinal use is legal in California if you have a permit to grow it or a doctor's note to buy it.

But Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman said there was no sign that any of the gardens raided were being used to grow medical marijuana.

In the past, Mexican drug cartels have been blamed for the cultivation large quantities of marijuana in California, though no details were given about those arrested over the past two weeks.

But US Attorney Melinda Haag told the Associated Press that 25 people were already facing federal charges.

Does anyone think that the drug cartels are going to go quietly into the night? They will not concede a multi-billion dollar cash cow to Mom and Pops or some Walmart-style corporate pot growing operation without a fight.

Just look at meth production and distribution in the San Joaquin Valley. A large chunk of the “jobs” it created have been lost to Mexico. The loss of American meth, manufacturing, if you will, means the distribution is more and more under the control of the Mexican drug cartels that make the Hells Angels look like Boy Scouts in comparison.

The reason why the cartels are as far north as the Mendocino National Forest is fairly clear. And it has a lot more than the fact it is a relatively isolated area given the forest is the size of Rhode Island. Marijuana grown in California’s North Coast forest tends to be of higher quality and fetches more money per ounce.

It would be Pollyanna to think that legalizing marijuana would do the same thing that legalizing alcohol did to illegal moonshine operations. Most moonshiners disappeared as big business moved to cash in.

Moonshiners didn’t execute police, kill innocent people, and terrify entire towns as the drug cartels do in Mexico.

Even so, how could the cartels hold onto their control of a large chunk of the marijuana market or event expand it if California legalizes recreation use of pot? The answer is rather obvious. If California legalizes pot for recreational purposes, there are 49 other states where it still would not be legal.

States rights are an important - and sacred - part of the constitution.

But in this case Californians may want to think twice about trying to thumb their noses up at Uncle Sam at the ballot box.

The drug cartels are getting more brazen with each passing day in Mexico. Should the door open a bit more in California, not much will stop the cartels from kicking it wide open.

Royal wedding from Washington DC

2011-04-29T11:25:00.000-07:00

911 audio released of call made

2011-02-18T23:59:00.000-08:00

PHOENIX - A week after "Malcolm in the Middle" star Frankie Muniz called police from his Phoenix home, we are getting a glimpse of the fight that prompted the 911 call that was made at 10:18 p.m.

911: Tell me your name

Muniz: I, I don't want to make a big deal because I’m, I’m a celebrity.

A woman in the background cries out: “Oh my God!”

That’s about the only time you can make out what she is saying.

Muniz: You need to calm down. (woman heard screaming in the background)

911: Frankie? She sounds really upset.

Muniz says that woman is his girlfriend, “her name's Elycia.”

Police list 25-year-old Francisco Muniz and 33-year-old Elycia Marie Turnbow as both suspect and victim of disorderly conduct.

Muniz told the operator, “Like, my girlfriend is drunk and she's going crazy and she's trashing my house. Literally lamps, everything and she's going crazy she's hitting me in the face. I don't know what to do because I’m, I’m about to lose control.”

As the 911 dispatcher tries to gather more information Muniz begs with her not to make this a big deal. He even begins to backtrack letting the dispatcher know he doesn’t even want anyone to come, he just was hoping she could help him calm her down.

“I don't want any charges; I just want her to stop throwing stuff,” Muniz says.

According to the police report, when officers arrived, Elycia claimed Frankie hit her and at one point held a gun to his own head.

Since nobody was there, it’s a he said, she said.

All we’ve got is what we can hear on the tape.

Muniz: Babe you just damaged the house you're still damaging it. Just leave it, leave it where it is babe.

Turnbow: You just hit me!

Muniz: I did not hit you, you punched me in the face because I was sleeping.

To the 911 dispatcher he added, “Ma'am I was literally sleeping and she came in, she had a pretty bad day, but she came in and punched me in the face.”

A gun was found in a closet and police removed it from the home.

For all the drama, the report says there were “no signs of injury, no signs of damage."

Police did not charge either of them, instead they offered a warning saying next time they could face jail time.

Frankie tells the 911 operator, “I love her so much. Now my, the love of my life hates me because she's, you know, having a bad day.”

Tags:Compiled Footage of Building 7's, Building what Facts,building what,Khalid Sheikh Mohammed,Aafia Siddiqui,Bojinka plot,Bosnian War,1993 WTC bombing,Bosnian mujahideen,Location of bin Laden,Militant activity bin Laden,CIA-Osama bin Laden controversy,Osama bin Laden,Beliefs of Osama bin Laden,bin Laden family,Childhood of Osama bin Laden,Blowback (intelligence),Al-Qaeda,Able Danger,9 11advance-knowledge debate,Motives for 9 11 attacks,Responsibility for 9 11 attacks,Hijackers in 9 11 attacks,9 11 pollution controversy,Health effects arising from the September 11 attac,Rescue and recovery 9 11 attacks

(source:abc15.com)

Remarks on breast-feeding draw criticism from Palin, Bachmann

2011-02-18T23:23:00.000-08:00

It began with a modest remark during a roundtable discussion with reporters: First lady Michelle Obama said she supports making it easier for mothers to breast-feed their babies, because "kids who are breast-fed longer have a lower tendency to be obese."

Within days, the sentence - and a new Internal Revenue Service policy offering tax deductions for breast pumps - had touched off a political firestorm. Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn.) blasted the Obama administration for trying to impose a "nanny state" on mothers. Another potential 2012 presidential candidate, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin (R), mockingly said the first lady was trying to compensate for high milk prices. The East Wing withdrew, issuing a brief statement calling the subject "personal."

For Michelle Obama, the moment is a reminder that she will inevitably become more of a target as the 2012 campaign gets underway. After cultivating a non-controversial image as the "mom in chief" over the past two years, she remains overwhelmingly popular with the public, yet even her most carefully planned moves will not be immune to political jabs.

But the incident goes well beyond the first lady - raising questions about health policy and the role of government. Should the tax code offer an incentive aimed at working mothers who pump breast milk and not at those who stay home or give their children formula? Are breast pumps any different from other routine medical items that qualify for tax deductions? Is breast-feeding truly better for children?

The discussion has both riveted and dismayed those involved in the breast-feeding issue. "We all expect this - we all know the Republicans and Democrats have their differences," sighed Marsha Walker, a registered nurse who is executive director of the National Alliance for Breastfeeding Advocacy.

Referring to Bachmann, Walker said: "It's not that she's against breast-feeding. It's that she's using it as a vehicle of attack. And it's unfortunate, because breast-feeding isn't a political entity. It's a public-health entity that doesn't deserve to be used as political leverage."

Much of the discussion centers not only on Obama's remarks but also the new IRS rules, which were announced Feb. 10 and will apply retroactively to devices purchased in 2010 and in the future. The tax authority found that breast pumps "are for the purpose of affecting a structure or function of the body of the lactating woman," thus putting them in the category of a medical device.

Nursing mothers now have two options: If they have a medical flexible-spending account, they can potentially use pretax dollars to buy nursing supplies and breast pumps, which can run as much as $330 or more. Which devices will qualify will depend on each FSA's rules.

If a woman does not have an FSA, she can itemize her taxes and deduct breast-feeding equipment costs, as long as her overall out-of-pocket medical costs exceed 7.5 percent of her income. Only about one-third of taxpayers itemize their taxes. In no case will breast-milk equipment receive a tax credit, the IRS said.

Nor is the federal government purchasing breast pumps for women, as Bachmann claimed. In an interview with conservative radio host Laura Ingraham, Bachmann said she gave birth to and breast-fed five children without government help and described the new policy as part of a liberal agenda.

"To think that government has to go out and buy my breast pump. . . . You want to talk about nanny state, I think we just got a new definition," Bachmann said.

After her remarks drew attention, Bachmann added in a statement: "The issue is not breast feeding, but is rather Washington's use of the tax code to tell people how to run their lives."

Tags:Breastfeeding,Fertility,Menstrual cycle,Endometriosis,Egg donation,Denial of pregnanc,Complications of pregnancy,Postnatal,Bishop score,Beginning of pregnancy controversy,Hypercoagulability in pregnancy,Amniotic stem cells,Amniocentesi

(source:washingtonpost.com)

Mobile World Congress

2011-02-18T23:11:00.000-08:00

Another Mobile World Congress is in the bag and as the CNET crew leaves Barcelona we can take stock of the mobile madness that was. It was my fourth year attending the show and I can report that 2011 was one the busiest I've seen with a ton of new smartphones and tablets. It was a lot to handle, but Bonnie Cha of CNET Reviews, CNET's Ariel Nunez, and Maggie Reardon, Stephen Shankland, and Elinor Mills were along for the ride.

As with any trade show, Mobile World Congress (MWC) offered a series of satisfying devices and a couple of instances where companies fell short. Here's the report from Barcelona as we saw it. And don't forget to check out Maggie's insights in her Ask Maggie column.

Sony Ericsson

Even before Mobile World Congress began almost everyone knew about the Xperia Play. It wasn't just the endless leaks, but Sony Ericsson also teased us with a Super Bowl commercial a week before the company held its MWC press conference. We were glad to finally see the Xperia Pay for real, and shocked by the news that it would come to Verizon Wireless. I liked the the handset when I finally got my hands on it, though I was hoping for more on a couple fronts. And my colleague Scott Stein thinks it's not quite the gaming device he wanted.

Mobile World Congress had a lot to offer.

(Credit: Kent German/CNET)

Sony Ericsson also debuted the Xperia Pro and Neo (the former has a physical keyboard, the latter does not). They're not especially powerful devices, but they offer attractive hardware in the style of the recent Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc. I hope they make it to a U.S. carrier.

We got only two devices from our friends at LG, but that was more than enough. The LG Optimus Pad, and its G Slate counterpart at T-Mobile, won Bonnie's outright approval (not an easy feat, mind you). She liked the hardware and display and thought that the 3G video was cool if not entirely necessary. I agreed when I looked at the Optimus 3D smartphone. It's also a lovely device that feels good in the hand. And while the 3D capability is nifty, it's not a selling point for me.

HTC

In an effort to be different and "simply brilliant," HTC revealed its new products on the second day of the show. It certainly succeeded on the first front when it put another rumor to rest by introducing the elusive and poorly-named Facebook phones. The Salsa and ChaCha (no relation to Bonnie) aren't really more than regular Andorid smartphones with Facebook content surfaced at a high level. The hardware doesn't look like much right now, and we're still wary on the whole concept, but we'll give them a closer look once we have the opportunity.

HTC also introduced the Flyer tablet and the Desire S, Wildfire S and Incredible S. The Flyer has a few things going for it including HTCs Scribe technology, but Bonnie didn't like it as much as the G Slate. The smartphone trio weren't bad either, but they're not much more than upgrades to previous models.

Samsung

Sammy also kicked off MWC with a Sunday night press conference and true to its reputation it did its best to entertain (for proof, check out the above slide show). It unveiled the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy S II. Both devices have dual-core processors.

Yeah, Android was huge in Barcelona.

(Credit: Kent German/CNET)

Android

Judging from Android's booth alone (again, check out the slide show), the OS ruled Barcelona. Almost all of the 24 new phones introduced at MWC run Android and Sony Ericsson isn't shy about its desire to be the number one Android player. If you're still doubting that Android is on a roll, than MWC will convince you otherwise.

Tablets

Just as they did at CES, tablets arrived at MWC in force. Indeed, seven new tablets had their debut from not only the manufacturers mentioned above, but also Huawei and Viewsonic.

The lows

Moto had big booth, but that was it.

(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)

Motorola

After going big at CES, Motorola made barely a dent at MWC. It had a big flashy booth, but revealed only that it was bringing the existing Moto Droid Pro and Xoom to the European market. Honestly, we were hoping for more.

RIM

RIM was another company that kept a low profile in Barcelona. It announced plans for two new PlayBook tablets, but it didn't demonstrate any new devices either. Maybe it knew about the Android onslaught and is biding its time for CTIA.

And the in betweens

Stephen Elop, CEO of Nokia, speaks at a MWC keynote.

(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)

Nokia

Nokia entered MWC with a lot of buzz having announced only days before that it was pursuing a partnership with Microsoft to introduce Windows Mobile phones. Much of the mobile industry is still trying to digest the news--and opinions vary widely on how fruitful the relationship will be--but Nokia CEO Stephen Elop made his case at a press conference and a keynote address.

ZTE

It may still be growing in the U.S. market, but ZTE tried to make its presence known at MWC. Yet, its three new phones, the Skate, Amigo and Blade didn't leave a lasting impression.

Huawei

The same was true for ZTE's main Chinese competitor. Though its new Ideos X3 was kept mostly behind glass during the show, we did get to handle its Ideos Slim S7. But when compared with the tablets I mentioned above, I like it least of all.

Tags: Mobile broadband,Wireless broadband,Mobile browser,Mobile device,BlackBerry,Mobile operating system,Netbook,Mobile search,Reverse SMS billing,SMS spoofing,Personal digital assistant,Mobile Application Part,SMS,Short message service ,Text messaging,Voice call continuity,Mobile phone features

(source:cnet.com)

Planned Parenthood: Game on

2011-02-18T23:02:00.000-08:00

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives has voted to eliminate $317 million in federal funding for Planned Parenthood, not a nickel of which can or is spent on abortions, in spite of some of the political points that are scored by inferring that.

Republicans argued, as they have before, that putting so much as a nickel of federal money in Planned Parenthood -- which uses the money to provide services like reproductive health tests and checkups, pelvic and breast exams, infertility and safe-sex counseling to millions of women who can't afford them -- could actually be subsidizing abortions, because it's money that Planned Parenthood doesn't have to raise on its own to spend on those services.

One Republican-sponsored bill would even deny the standard federal tax credits to any private insurance plan that pays for abortions, the real motivation pretty obviously being to try to force those plans to drop coverage for a legal medical procedure. There are lots more bills along these lines, which purport to be about cutting the budget but that really, like the magician's trick of misdirection, are about cutting back women's reproductive rights.

Ten years ago, after George W. Bush was sworn in as president, he almost instantly rolled back abortion-rights polices and appointments. I suggested in a column that, for President Bush's first Presidents Day in the White House, Americans who disagreed with the president but agree with his wife, Laura (who is for abortion rights, as are Nancy Reagan, Betty Ford and Condoleezza Rice) should let the president know, and put their money behind their message.

Here was my thought: You know how, if you make a gift to a cause in someone's name, that organization will send the designated honoree a card noting, "A gift has been made in your name to xxx"? I envisioned sacks of such cards arriving at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue reading something like "President Bush, a gift of $__ has been made in your name to Planned Parenthood."

And, as House Speaker John A. Boehner is fond of saying, "So be it." Or so it was. That suggestion wound up making Bush, indirectly and inadvertently, one of the biggest fundraisers in Planned Parenthood history, to the tune of about $1 million. Somebody revived my idea a couple of years ago, when it was learned that then-vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin had said in an Alaska gubernatorial debate that even if her own daughter were a rape victim, she -– not the daughter, but Palin herself -– would "choose life." That too made Palin an indirect benefactor of Planned Parenthood.

Now we have several members of Congress, foremost among them Mike Pence of Indiana and Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania, as major movers behind the legislation throttling women's reproductive rights in the name of budget cuts.

And once again, I must think that it would deliver no end of displeasure to them were they to find out that thousands of contributions were being sent to Planned Parenthood in their names -- that they, in fact, had become fundraisers for an organization they evidently despise.

Gentlemen, the checks, and the notes, may be in the mail.

And for you budget-conscious taxpayers: The Republican majority decided to let the Army go ahead and keep spending $7 million a year to sponsor a NASCAR driver.

(source:atimes.com)

Right Thing – Eventually

2011-02-18T23:00:00.000-08:00

No need to do a careful analysis of the budget President Obama dropped on the desks of the Congress last week – a few broad brushstrokes paint the picture. Debt triples from 2008 levels by 2021; debt as a percent of GDP goes from 41 percent to 77 percent. Not a word about how to reform Medicare, Medicaid and other entitlements that the country can no longer afford. Not a word endorsing the specific recommendations of his own deficit-reduction commission, which called for a $4 trillion deficit cut over ten years, quadruple that contained in the president’s budget. A few inconsequential slices in one small part of the budget, a call for “investment” in green energy projects – never mind that several of the firms receiving subsidies have gone broke – and in high-speed rail – never mind that the governors of the states slated to receive the funds are turning them down lest their taxpayers get stuck with huge cost overruns.

In the end, the president delivered more spending, more taxes, and deficits as far ahead as the eye can see. But the financial and currency markets were unperturbed. For several good reasons.

(source:weeklystandard.com)

On the jobs

2011-02-18T22:55:00.000-08:00

President Obama is leading a toast while dining with Silicon Valley's tech moguls -- including Apple's Steve Jobs -- in a photo released by the White House yesterday.

To Obama's left is Jobs, wearing his trademark black turtleneck.

Jobs has taken a leave of absence from Apple to deal with health issues. Of the 15 honchos seated around the table, Jobs is the only one who didn't lift his elbow off the table for the toast.

Mark Zuckerberg is seated to the right of Obama in the Silicon Valley fete.

The Facebook wunderkind ditched his hoodie, T-shirt and jeans for a starched white dress shirt and suit.

At one end of the table is Google's Eric Schmidt, and at the other end is Twitter's CEO Dick Costolo.

Costolo was hush-hush about the event. He didn't tweet about the two-hour Thursday night dinner hosted by Silicon Valley tech investor John Doerr.

Stanford University President John Hennessy, another dinner guest, also kept mum about what transpired.

But he called it "a good meeting with a frank and vigorous exchange of opinions focused on innovation and economic growth, including topics such as the nation's investment in research and education, high-skill visa reform, and educating more engineers and scientists."

Other than the release of the photos, the White House did not divulge many details about the event.

Press photographers were banned from taking photos. That prompted some news agencies to refuse to distribute the White House photos in protest.

Obama felt at home. Eight of the tech honchos were major campaign contributors to the president or the Democratic Party.

"The president specifically discussed his proposals to invest in research, and development and expand incentives for companies to grow and hire," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.

One source involved in arranging the meeting said the tech moguls applauded Obama's funding of science and technology programs and research and development. But they also pushed the president to back corporate tax reform, including lowering taxes on profit generated overseas.

"I was honored to be part of the discussion with President Obama and Silicon Valley business leaders. Government and private industry must work hand-in-hand to spur innovation, strengthen our economy, and get Americans back to work," John Chambers chairman and CEO of Cisco, who sat across the table from the commander-in-chief, said in a statement.

Many of the attendees are members of TechNet, an advocacy group for high-tech CEOs.

(source:nypost.com)

Obama's Wisconsin remarks ease labor's doubts

2011-02-18T22:48:00.000-08:00

A prominent union official in Washington says he's often wondered how President Barack Obama would answer the old organizing song, "Which Side Are You On?" -- until Obama weighed in on the Wisconsin labor war this week.

Obama's strongly-worded opposition to GOP plans to repeal the collective bargaining rights of Wisconsin public state employees, which he termed an "assault" on workers' rights, has gone a long way towards repairing the relationship between the president and his union allies after two years of mutual disappointment and friction.

But Obama, ever seeking the center, was careful to limit his criticism to Republican Gov. Scott Walker's attempt to roll back collective bargaining rights, and not Walker's attempt to plug his state's budget gap by forcing employees to pick up a greater share of the pension and health insurance costs.

"The president has been accused of watching situations to see how they develop so I think the fact that he issued a clear, clean, quick statement was critical for the relationship. It helps enormously," said former SEIU president Andy Stern, a key Obama labor ally who served on his deficit commission.

"But he's trying to walk the appropriate line here too??? We all clearly need to recognize that the states these battles are going to take place in are critical states for the president and other Democrats in 2012," he added.

Republicans tried to blur that line on Friday, arguing that Obama is sticking his nose into a state's fiscal matters, while burdening local governments with onerous health reform mandates.

The White House spent much of the day counterpunching.

"He is very understanding of the need for state governments, governors, state legislatures to reduce spending, to make tough choices, to be fiscally responsible," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Portland, Ore.

"But he also feels very strongly that we need not to make this an assault on the collective bargaining rights of workers in a given state. Public service workers need to make sacrifices just like everyone else, but there's a distinction here that he sees. And I just want to make sure that people see that he was very clear about his recognition that states need to deal with their budgets just like the federal government needs to deal with its budget."

It's all part of the Obama's tricky Midwestern two-step -- an attempt to energize a heavily unionized Democratic base in states like Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania who sat out the 2010 midterms, while not alienating the independents who helped evict dozens of Democratic incumbents from state houses and Congress last November.

Obama came into office on a crest of union support and supported many of the big ticket items at the top of its agenda: the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier to unionize closed shops, health care reform and the stimulus bill, which pumped billions into projects and government services that employ unionized workers.

But the relationship has frayed over the particulars. On health care, Obama punted on the labor-backed public option, he never made the free choice act a top legislative priority. He vigorously supported Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln in a primary with labor's chosen candidate. And last, but certainly not least, he proposed an across-the-board federal pay freeze that many workers' groups viewed as an attempt to woo white independent votes -- many of whom view the government workforce as a pampered special interest.

But in Wisconsin, Obama had no choice but stand up for his friends in labor, according to Charles Franklin, a University of Wisconsin, Madison political scientist and polling specialist. "The unions are seeing it as essentially a threat to their existence."

And the protests against Walker and the Republican legislature -- fueled by the disappearance of Democratic legislators who are refusing to vote on Walker's plan -- have energized labor supporters more than anything since - well, Obama's 2008 campaign there.

"It just invigorated the Democrats in Wisconsin," said Ed Huck, a Wisconsin Republican political consultant. "On Saturday there are going to be 30,000 people that may not have been going door-to-door in Wisconsin that is now going to be going door-to-door in Wisconsin???Something has happened here, a fight has come back with a vengeance in the Democratic party. So I think there will be something in 2012 that will benefit the president."

On Friday, for the second day in a row, Democratic state senators, who had fled to neighboring Illinois, missed a scheduled vote on Walker's budget measure, successfully preventing the legislature from moving forward.

But the leader of the state's largest public worker union said the union would agree to concessions on pensions and insurance benefits, if Walker abandoned his bid to weaken the union's bargaining power, according to news reports. Walker is reviewing the proposal, his spokesman told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

For Obama, who won Wisconsin by a whopping 56 to 42 percent in 2008, Wisconsin holds major risks.

Republicans, led by House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), are now accusing him of inciting rowdy protesters flooding the state sapitol in Madison, citing reports in POLITICO and elsewhere that Organizing for America, keeper of Obama's grassroots database and now part of the Democratic National Committee, has provided logistical support for the demonstrators.

Walker, who has had to use a back entrance to the capitol to avoid catcalls, said Friday that it would be "wise" for Obama to focus on the federal budget instead of the situation in his state.

Yet small gestures matter during huge crises, and Obama's brief remarks have earned him instant good will from union leaders who privately grouse about his caution.

"Some of what I've heard coming out of Wisconsin, where they're just making it harder for public employees to collectively bargain generally, seems like more of an assault on unions," Obama told a Milwaukee television reporter Wednesday night when asked about the battle in Madison. "I think everybody's got to make some adjustments, but I think it's also important to recognize that public employees make enormous contributions to our states and our citizens."

Union leaders have seized on that one word -- "assault" -- as providing the movement with precisely the right messaging in decrying Walker's initiatives, which labor leaders claim is an attack on workers' rights and a brazen effort to weaken a pillar of the Democratic Party.

"He's given labor a quote they can use and we're using it," said an aide to one of the country's top labor leaders.

But the people around Obama are contributing more than just words. OFA has set up 15 phone banks to rally Democrats to the union cause and helped organized some of the transportation to rallies. Late Thursday, OFA leaders posted a statement on the group's web site announcing it "is mobilizing on the ground in Wisconsin to defend the rights of public employees from an attempt by the governor to take away their rights."

That created an immediate attack from Republicans, including Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), who accused OFA of coordinating the protests in Madison.

DNC spokesman Hari Sevugan disputed that, saying, "Our role in this is being exaggerated by others to distract attention from the passionate grassroots activism that is being displayed on the ground in Wisconsin."

Yet the Bachmann attack exposed Obama's considerable vulnerabilities in a state that swept Republicans like Walker and GOP Sen. Ron Johnson to victories just four months ago.

"[Obama's] big margin [in 2008] was the exception not the rule for presidential elections, which have been hair thin in the state," says Franklin. "For a national organization like OFA you would certainly expect them to side with the base. Not to mention picking up a few emails in the process??? [But] mobilizing your base won't help you with independents."

(source:post-gazette.com)

Obama administration replaces controversial health-care workers

2011-02-18T22:43:00.000-08:00

After two years of struggling to balance the rights of patients against the beliefs of health-care workers, the Obama administration on Friday finally rescinded most of a federal regulation designed to protect those who refuse to provide care they find objectionable on moral or religious grounds.

The decision guts one of President George W. Bush's most controversial legacies: a rule that was widely interpreted as shielding workers who refuse to participate in a range of medical services, such as providing birth control pills, caring for gay men with AIDS and performing in-vitro fertilization for lesbians or single women.

Friday's move was seen as an important step in countering that trend, which in recent years had led pharmacists to refuse to fill prescriptions for the emergency contraceptive Plan B, doctors in California to reject a lesbian's request for infertility treatment, and an ambulance driver in Chicago to turn away a woman who needed transportation for an abortion.

Without the rescission of this regulation, we would see tremendous discrimination against patients based on their behavior and based just on who they are," said Susan Berke Fogel of the National Health Law Program, an advocacy group based in the District. "We would see real people suffer, and more women could die."

The new rule leaves intact only long-standing "conscience" protections for doctors and nurses who do not want to perform abortions or sterilizations. It also retains the process for allowing health workers whose rights are violated to file complaints.

Calling the Bush-era rule "unclear and potentially overbroad in scope," the new, much narrower version eliminates language that had triggered alarm among reproductive health advocates, women's groups, stem cell scientists and proponents of honoring end-life-life wishes of terminally ill patients.

"We've had conscience protections on the books in some cases for more than 30 years," said Rima Cohen, the counselor for health policy to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. "When the Bush administration put these rules out, they really contained overly broad language that was confusing to people. We didn't think that was necessary."

Friday's decision was condemned by proponents of stronger protections, who say doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other workers regularly face discrimination, firing and other punitive measures because of their deeply held convictions.

"Any weakening of conscience protections opens the door that much further to discrimination against life-affirming health-care professionals and institutions," said Jonathan Imbody, vice president for government relations at the Christian Medical Association. "With many areas already facing critical shortages of professionals and institutions, this is no time to be risking the further loss of health-care access for poor patients."

The new rule, which goes into effect in 30 days, is likely to fuel the intensifying debate over abortion and related issues. House Republicans have introduced several pieces of legislation containing provisions that would replicate many of the effects of the Bush rule.

"Today, the Obama administration demonstrated exactly why we need to have strong conscience protection for health workers written into our laws," said Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Pa.), who is sponsoring the Protect Life Act, which would write more protections into the health overhaul legislation. "Without legal protection, we can certainly expect even more bureaucratic assaults on the conscience of medical workers."

The Bush regulation, which was implemented during his final days in office, would have cut off federal funding for thousands of entities, including state and local governments, hospitals, health plans and clinics, if they did not accommodate doctors, nurses, pharmacists or other employees who refused to participate in care they felt violated their personal, moral or religious beliefs. It also would have required all those entities to formally detail how they were complying.

(source:washingtonpost.com)

Spot At Madame Tussauds in Washington D.C.

2011-02-18T22:37:00.000-08:00

The rather spooky assemblage shown above is something that could never happen in real life, a gathering of all 44 U.S. Presidents. The figures are part of a new American presidents exhibit at Madame Tussaud's wax museum in Washington. The gallery will show all of the presidents together in the nation's capital for the first time as part of a $2 million renovation of the wax museum. Each president is surrounded by items that relate to his presidency and life.

Some presidents are shown with low lights from their presidency. Herbert Hoover stands with a display of Hooverville, the name given to the shanty towns of the homeless and jobless that sprung up during the Great Depression.

President Carter is posed next to a gas pump, a reference to the late 1970s gas crisis.

President George W. Bush stands with images from 9/11 including the crash at the Pentagon.

Presidents James K. Polk, President John Tyler, President William Henry Harrison, and President Martin Van Buren stand amidst campaign memorabilia.

President John Adams and President Thomas Jefferson seem posed for a spirited debate on the principles of founding a nation.

(source:luxist.com)

Subaru to Donate Award-Winning Science Books to Washington D.C.

2011-02-18T22:33:00.000-08:00

CHERRY HILL, N.J., Feb. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Subaru of America, Inc. in partnership with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) announced today that it will donate up to 1,250 science books to Washington D.C. area schools. Subaru will donate one book for each person who submits a form at their booth at the annual meeting of the AAAS being held at the Washington D.C. Convention Center, February 18th – 20th.

Subaru is proud to once again sponsor the AAAS this year," said Tom Doll, Subaru of America Executive Vice President and COO. "Assisting science learning in the classroom through top rated educational, yet fun to read literature will help spur the imaginations of future science professionals."

In their nine-year partnership, Subaru and the AAAS have worked together to provide scholarships as well as opportunities for women in the science fields. This year the two organizations are also targeting four Washington D.C. area schools that are in critical need of quality science books. The donated books will come from the Subaru / AAAS Science Book and Film "2011 Excellence in Science Books Awards." The winning books were chosen for their outstanding science writing and illustration for children and young adults; the AAAS believes that through good science books, students will have a better understanding and appreciation of science.

Also unveiled today was the 2011 "Subaru Loves Science!" Subaru Forester. Local area dealerships: Herb Gordon Subaru, of Silver Springs, MD, Fitzgerald Subaru of Kensington, MD, and Fitzgerald Subaru of Gaithersburg, MD will have the "Subaru Loves Science!" Forester on display this spring.

Any customer who visits the dealerships during the book mobile tour will have the opportunity to commemorate one of the donated books with a personalized bookplate in their name. The Forester will then be used to deliver the books to the schools.

Washington D.C. area residents are encouraged to attend the free AAAS family science days, sponsored by Subaru, Saturday and Sunday, February 19th and 20th. The event features fun, hands-on science learning activities, plus a jam-packed "Meet the Scientists" speaker series that is designed especially for middle and high school students. Winning science book authors will be signing copies of their award-winning books at the Subaru display on February 19th and 20th.

More information can be found here: http://www.aaas.org/meetings/2011/program/fsd/

About AAAS

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the world's largest general scientific society, and publisher of the journal, Science (www.sciencemag.org) as well as Science Translational Medicine and Science Signaling. AAAS was founded in 1848, and serves 262 affiliated societies and academies of science, reaching 10 million individuals. Science has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world, with an estimated total readership of 1 million. The non-profit AAAS (www.aaas.org) is open to all and fulfills its mission to "advance science and serve society" through initiatives in science policy, international programs, science education and more. For the latest research news, log onto EurekAlert!, www.eurekalert.org, the premier science-news Web site, a service of AAAS.

For more information on AAAS awards, see http://www.aaas.org/aboutaaas/awards.

About Subaru of America, Inc.

Subaru of America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan. Headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 600 dealers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill production plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. is the only U.S. automobile production plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. For additional information visit:

www.subaru.com.

(source:prnewswire.com)

King calls for talks amid escalating violence

2011-02-18T22:29:00.000-08:00

Bahrain's king has offered a national dialogue "with all parties" in an effort to resolve a crisis that has killed four people and wounded hundreds.

More than 60 people are in hospital undergoing treatment for wounds sustained when Bahraini security forces fired on protesters as they headed to Pearl Square on Friday.

The shootings occurred on a day of mass mourning when Shiites buried the four people killed a day earlier in the police raid on the Pearl Square traffic circle.

In response to protests against his government, King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa announced the crown price had been granted "all the powers to fulfil the hopes and aspirations of all gracious citizens from all sections" in the national dialogue.

US president Barack Obama spoke with the king on Friday evening, condemning the violence and urging the government to show restraint.

Mr Obama said the stability of Bahrain, home to the US Middle East fleet, depended upon respect for the rights of its people.

Overnight, democracy protests were met with brute force not only in Bahrain but also in Libya, Yemen and Djibouti.

Streets were filled with tens of thousands of protesters demanding political reform and improved human rights conditions.

Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd also called on the authorities in Bahrain to respect the right of their people to protest peacefully.

He also says the Government in Bahrain needs to do more to meet the desire for political and economic reform in the country.

Australia has updated its travel advice for Bahrain, saying people should avoid all travel to the country.

Mr Rudd says there are about 1,000 Australians in Bahrain at the moment and they should stay away from any protests.

Protest ban defied

On Friday, thousands of Bahrainis took to the streets despite a government ban on protests.

Bahrain's opposition leader Ibrahim Sharif has told the BBC that troops have fired on protesters in the capital, Manama.

"Today people went to the graveyard to pay their respects for one of the first person who was killed three days ago," he said.

"And after they had paid their respects and prayed on the grave they went towards the Lulu roundabout - it's about three kilometres away from the village - and they approached the Lulu roundabout, about 300 metres. They were attacked by uniformed troops, the army."

Mr Sharif says the wounded have been taken to hospital.

"We understand there are about 22 injured people, including two in critical condition in the operation room," he said.

"The number was not very large - about a couple of thousand people - and the live ammunition had been used.

"I don't know what kind of ammunition but there are bullet wounds in the protesters."

The country's Crown Prince, Sheik Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, has appealed for calm.

"I express my condolences to all Bahrainis because of the painful days that we are living through," he said.

"I would like to address them with a message, a message of a citizen, a message for men to be calm.

"We need time to evaluate what happened and to regroup together again, and to restore our humanity, culture and future."

Benghazi uprising

In North Africa, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is facing an uprising in the coastal city of Benghazi and used security forces to hit back at protesters.

While information is difficult to get out of Libya, there have been reports of at least 46 deaths.

Journalists are not allowed to travel to Libya, but a Benghazi resident says authorities have warned of a fierce response to unrest.

"Anybody that they find the government kills. They'll check their ID, okay, and if they find out which family you're from they will go and imprison your family or they'll demolish your house," the resident said.

"This is what happened to five people in Benghazi."

Colonel Gaddafi's supporters have taken to the streets of the capital, Tripoli, to enforce the message.

In neighbouring Egypt the fallout from the toppling of president Hosni Mubarak is still being felt.

Huge crowds again packed Tahrir Square in Cairo for what is becoming a regular Friday demonstration of people power.

(source:abc.net.au)

Tags:Economy of Bahrain,Bahrain, مملكة البحرين‎,2011 Bahraini protests,Libya,2011 Libyan protests,Economy of Libya,

Internet in Bahrain

2011-02-18T22:20:00.000-08:00

Bahrain has been connected to the internet since 1995, and made it readily available to its citizens. The country's domain suffix is '.bh'. A liberal filtering system is used in Bahrain, one which can be easily bypassed.

As of January 2009, Batelco (largest ISP and maintainer of Bahrain Internet Exchange) has started blocking a vastly increased number of sites. The new filtering has had a noticeable impact in internet access speeds for all traffic.

As of 2008, there were about 250,000 internet users in Bahrain, or 34.8% of the population.

Tags:Economy of Bahrain,Bahrain, مملكة البحرين‎,2011 Bahraini protests,Libya,2011 Libyan protests,Economy of Libya,

Economy of Bahrain

2011-02-18T22:16:00.000-08:00

Economy of Bahrain
Bahrain World Trade Center
Currency	Bahraini dinar (BHD)
Fiscal year	Calendar Year
Trade organisations	OPEC, GCC
Statistics
GDP	$26.75 billion (2008 est.)
GDP growth	7% (2008 est.)
GDP per capita	$37,200 (PPP) (2008 est.)
GDP by sector	Agriculture (0.3%), Industry (43.6%), Services (56%) (2007 est.)
Inflation (CPI)	7% (2008 est.)
Labour force	463,000
Labour force by occupation	Agriculture (1%), Industry (79%), Services (20%) (1997 est.)
Unemployment	15% (2005 est.)
Main industries	Petroleum Processing and Refining,Aluminum Smelting, Iron Pelletization,Fertilizers, Islamic and Offshore Banking, Insurance, Ship Repairing,Tourism
Ease of Doing Business Rank	28th
External
Exports	$19.17 billion (2008 est.)
Export goods	Petroleum and Petroleum Products,Aluminum, Textiles
Main export partners	Saudi Arabia 3.5%, United States2.5%, United Arab Emirates 2.5% (2007)
Imports	$15.64 billion (2008 est.)
Import goods	Crude Oil, Machinery, Chemicals
Main import partners	Saudi Arabia 37.7%, Japan 7.2%,United States 6.2%, Germany 4.7%,United Kingdom 4.5%, United Arab Emirates 4.2%, China 4.1% (2007)
Public finances
Public debt	$10.57 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Revenues	$7.226 billion (2008 est.)
Expenses	$5.806 billion (2008 est.)
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars

According to the 2011 Index of Economic Freedom published by the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal, Bahrain has the freest economy in the Middle East and North Africa region and is tenth overall in the world. An alternative index, published by the Fraser Institute, puts Bahrain in 44th place tied with 7 other countries.

Macro-economic trend

This is a chart of trend of gross domestic product of Bahrain at market prices estimated by the International Monetary Fund with figures in millions of Bahraini Dinars.

Year Gross Domestic Product US Dollar Exchange Inflation Index (2000=100)

1980 1,158 0.37 Bahraini Dinars 79

1985 1,375 0.37 Bahraini Dinars 97

1990 1,703 0.37 Bahraini Dinars 94

1995 2,199 0.37 Bahraini Dinars 100

2000 2,996 0.37 Bahraini Dinars 100

2005 4,859 0.37 Bahraini Dinars 104

For purchasing power parity comparisons, the US Dollar is exchanged at 0.30 Bahraini Dinars only. Mean wages were $19.81 per manhour in 2009.

Balance of Payments

Bahrain's current account balance is characterized by surpluses in merchandise trade and international services, and a large deficit in unilateral transfers, which is accounted for by the country's large expatriate workforce sending home a portion of its earnings. In 2003 and 2004, the balance of payments performance improved due to rising oil prices and increased receipts from the services sector. As a result, the current account balance registered a surplus of US$219 million in 2003 and a surplus of US$442 million in 2004, compared with a deficit of US$35 million in 2002. Bahrain's gross international reserves increased substantially in 2004 to US$1.6 billion, compared with US$1.4 billion in the previous three years (2001–2003).

Diversification

Though Current GDP per capita shrank by 2.4% in the Eighties, it bounced back to a growth of 36% in the Nineties as a result of successful diversification initiatives. Bahrain's urgency in embracing economic liberalisation is due to its need to diversify the economy away from its limited oil supplies. Unlike it Persian Gulf neighbours, Bahrain has little oil wealth and the economy has expanded into banking, heavy industries, retail and tourism. The Kingdom is the main banking hub for the Persian Gulf and a centre for Islamic finance, which has been attracted by the strong regulatory framework for the industry. According to the International Monetary Fund's Financial System Stability Assessment of Bahrain's financial regulartory environment, published on 6 March 2006, found:

The financial system is enjoying strong performance under favorable circumstances, and is likely to remain a major contributor to overall growth. The main risk stems from potential overheating in the economies of the region, but the system should be resilient to likely shocks.

Prudential regulations are modern and comprehensive, and supervision is generally effective, especially in the dominant banking sector. Supervisory capacity needs to be expanded in line with new regulations and to keep up with the growth and increasing sophistication of financial institutions.

The further expansion of the Islamic sector, the development of housing finance, and the deepening of securities markets are important for the future growth of the financial system. The banking and insurance sectors will eventually undergo consolidation.

In 2005, Bahrain signed the US-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement, becoming the first Persian Gulf state to sign such a bilateral trade agreement with the United States. A massive privatisation programme is underway to sell off key government assets: utilities, banks, financial services, and telecommunications have started to come under the control of the private sector.

As a result the economy has been well positioned to exploit the extra revenues generated in the region thanks to the sustained high oil prices since 2002. In January 2006, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia cited Bahrain as the fastest growing economy in the Arab world.

Between 1981 and 1993, Bahrain Government expenditures increased by 64%. During that same time, government revenues continued to be largely dependent on the oil industry and increased by only 4%. Bahrain has at times received significant budgetary support and project grants from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

The government has used its modest oil revenues to build an advanced infrastructure in transportation and telecommunications. Bahrain is a regional financial and business center. Tourism, especially from the region, has proved another significant source of income.

Bahrain has benefited from the oil boom since 2001, with economic growth of 5.5%. It has succeeded in attracting investment from other Persian Gulf states partly because it used the revenues of the 1970s-early 80s boom to invest in infrastructure development and other projects to improve the standard of living; health, education, housing, electricity, water, and roads all received attention.

The success of ventures such as the Bahrain Grand Prix has raised the Kingdom's international profile, and combined with the boom in Islamic banking, has encouraged major airlines to resume services to the country, with Lufthansa announcing on 14 March 2006 that it would schedule three flights a week to Manama from Frankfurt.

As part of its efforts to build a modern economy, Bahrain has initiated a series of labour reforms under Minister of Labour Majeed Al Alawi in order to bring the labour market in to line with international standards.Bahrain intends to expand its high tech industries, invest in research and development, and strengthen its competitive edge within a global economy. In 2006,it was announced that the Bahrain Science and Technology Park,a Kuwait Finance House Bahrain initiative would be a reflection of this effort to create a diversified economy, provide high quality jobs for locals and international workforce, providing a place for innovative and inventive thinking that will have direct benefits to the island nation.

In 2009 it was announced that the Bahraini Government would be developing land next door to the Bahrain International Circuit. The project being managed by @bahrain is a world-class mix of facilities including a state-of-the-art exhibition and convention facility, a choice of hotel accommodations ranging from mid-market to luxury, a multi-purpose indoor arena, an automotive club and engineering facility, retail and leisure establishments, a tech-tainment (technology interacting with entertainment) centre, a research institute, a technology park and a focus on education and training. @bahrain is part of the Mumtalakat group of companies and will dedicate more than 1 million square meters of business, entertainment and educational space with a value in excess of $2bn (BD 850 million), making it one of the largest investment projects to take place in Bahrain in the past five years.

Investment

The stock market capitalisation of listed companies in Bahrain was valued at $21,176 million in 2008 by the World Bank. Bahrain is generally a country which is open to creating a unique economy which is fast growing and open for all to create business opporturnities.

Hydrocarbon industry

Petroleum and natural gas, the only significant natural resources in Bahrain, dominate the economy and provide about 60% of budget revenues. Bahrain was the first Gulf state to discover crude oil. Because of limited reserves, Bahrain has worked to diversify its economy over the past decade. Bahrain has stabilized its oil production at about 40,000 barrels (6,400 m³) per day, and reserves are expected to last 10 to 15 years. The Bahrain Oil Company refinery was built in 1935, has a capacity of about 250,000 barrels (40,000 m³) per day, and was the first in the Persian Gulf. After selling 60% of the refinery to the state-owned Bahrain National Oil Company in 1980, Caltex, a U.S. company, now owns 40%. Saudi Arabia provides most of the crude for refinery operation via pipeline. Bahrain also receives a large portion of the net output and revenues from Saudi Arabia's Abu Saafa offshore oilfield.

The Bahrain National Gas Company operates a gas liquefaction plant that utilizes gas piped directly from Bahrain's oilfields. Gas reserves should last about 50 years at present rates of consumption.

The Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company is a joint venture of the petrochemical industries of Kuwait, the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, and the Government of Bahrain. The plant, completed in 1985, produces ammonia and methanol for export.

Bahrain's other industries include Aluminum Bahrain, which operates an aluminum smelter—the largest in the world with an annual production of about 525,000 metric tons—and related factories, such as the Aluminum Extrusion Company and the Gulf Aluminum Rolling Mill Company (GARMCO). Other plants include the Arab Iron and Steel Company's iron ore pelletizing plant (4 million tons annually) and a shipbuilding and repair yard.

Bahrain's development as a major financial center has been the most widely heralded aspect of its diversification effort. International financial institutions operate in Bahrain, both offshore and onshore, without impediments. In 2001, Bahrain's central bank issued 15 new licenses. More than 100 offshore banking units and representative offices are located in Bahrain, as well as 65 American firms. Bahrain's international airport is one of busiest in the Persian Gulf, serving 22 carriers. A modern, busy port offers direct and frequent cargo shipping connections to the U.S., Europe, and the Far East. Internationally recognised Bahraini companies include Investcorp, the venture capital firm credited with turning around the fortunes of Gucci.

Economy - overview

In Bahrain, petroleum production and processing account for about 60% of export receipts, 60% of government revenues, and 30% of GDP. Economic conditions have fluctuated with the changing fortunes of oil since 1985, for example, during and following the Gulf War of 1990-91. With its highly developed communication and transport facilities, Bahrain is home to numerous multinational firms with business in the Persian Gulf. A large share of exports consists of petroleum products made from imported crude. Construction proceeds on several major industrial projects. Unemployment, especially among the young, and the depletion of both oil and underground water resources are major long-term economic problems.

Taxation

Taxation and import laws apply equally to Bahraini and foreign-owned companies, and foreign investors must comply with the same requirements and legislation as local firms.

Oil and gas companies are taxed 46 percent on income derived from the sale of hydrocarbons and derivative products.

There is no personal income tax in Bahrain.

Employers and workers must pay social insurance contributions as follows:

(1) for old-age, disability and survivor protection: for Bahraini employees, employers pay 10% of salary plus constant allowances, workers pay 5% plus constant allowances; for non-Bahraini employees, employers pay 3% of salary plus constant allowances (then being entitled only to employment injury benefits).

(2) for unemployment insurance: since June 1, 2007, all wages are subject to a 2% tax, paid for equally by the employer and the employee, applicable both to nationals and non-citizens and supplemented by a government contribution of 1%. This makes Bahrain the first of the GCC countries to implement a UI scheme.

Tags: 2011 Bahraini protests,Libya,2011 Libyan protests,Economy of Libya

(source:wikipedia)