[OOC] DreamScape Ch.1: Day One

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Video: Mom doesn?t want daughter to live on ?Harm?s Way?

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Investors cautious as euro debt summit nears (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? Uncertainty about just how close European Union leaders will come to solving the euro zone debt crisis kept many markets trading in a tight range on Tuesday.

World stocks, including European shares, were slightly higher and the euro was flat. Both, however, remained close to recent highs.

EU leaders are to meet on Wednesday with tentative plans in place for Greece's debt to be reduced, European banks to be recapitalised and the euro zone's EFSF rescue fund to be increased to provide partial insurance for sovereign bonds.

But the agreements and how far they go remain under discussion, causing some nerves on financial markets.

Adding to the uncertainty, German lawmakers secured a full parliamentary vote on any euro zone crisis measures negotiated, a move that risks delaying Europe's response to its two-year debt problems.

"Whilst official comments have stated that "good progress" is being made, behind the scenes things look a little shakier," Capital Spreads dealer Jonathan Sudaria said.

Investors are also becoming concerned about the impact of the crisis on overall European growth, although news that German consumer morale unexpectedly rose going into November will have provided some succour.

MSCI's all-country world stock index (.MIWD00000PUS) was up 0.1 percent, close to highs last seen at the beginning of September. Hopes for a euro zone settlement have boosted stocks in recent weeks.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 (.FTEU3) was up about the same. Strong corporate results from the likes of oil and gas firm BG Group (BG.L) and Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), which both beat forecasts, helped underpin the market, after its recent two-day rally.

Earlier, Japan's Nikkei (.N225) closed down 0.9 percent as the domestic corporate earnings season began.

EURO SLIPS

The euro was flat on the day but still held near a six-week high against the dollar hit on Monday, supported by market expectations for European leaders to come up with an agreement.

The yen also hovered just shy of a record high against the dollar, leaving investors nervous about possible intervention by the Japanese authorities to stem the currency's rise.

The euro was at $1.3930.

"It will be difficult for the euro to break above $1.40 ahead of the meeting. People are happy to sit on their positions awaiting any outcome," said Niels Christensen, currency strategist at Nordea in Copenhagen.

"The indications are that there is a will to solve the problem, which is maybe not a huge leap but it's a step ahead not backwards."

German Bund futures ticked lower.

Traders and strategists said they expected the bond market to remain volatile going into Wednesday's summit, with thin volumes adding to the potential for sharp market moves.

(Additional reporting by Simon Jessop, Jessica Mortimer and Emelia Sithome-Matarise; editing by Anna Willard)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111025/bs_nm/us_markets_global

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Obama to offer student loan relief (cbsnews)

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Ethan Rome: Had Enough? Occupy Protesters Ask, and America Answers: YES!

At an Occupy Wall Street event in Minneapolis, last weekend protesters held up a sign that asked, "Had Enough?" A simple question. An expression of outrage. People are rightly and righteously angry, but they're also scared and worried about the future. That's why these protests across the country are supported by the majority of Americans. These are uncertain times and the system has failed them.

Some media and political pundits don't seem to get what the demonstrators are saying, but America's working and middle-class families do: People want their country back. People want to reclaim America before it becomes the unrecognizable property of the super-rich and the big corporations that see our country merely as a source of labor and natural resources to exploit for their gain.

People want jobs, homes, health care and a future. That's why they're fighting back in Minneapolis and cities across the nation. We see this spirit at the Occupy protests and in other struggles, especially in a number of state battles.

Many of us toss around the phrase "American Dream" so much that there's a risk it will lose meaning. For the protesters and the increasing number of folks in "middle America" who support them, the American Dream is real, and it represents one thing above all others - opportunity. While Wall Street sharpshooters wrecked our economy and took away peoples' homes, jobs and so much more, they also took away the future. And the Wall Street profiteers are making the present pretty rotten too.

Beneath the rhetoric about unbridled corporate greed and the grotesque income inequality ruining our country, there is a basic and understandable fear. People of all ages are terrified about finding jobs, affording a home and planning their lives. As it gets harder to afford college, it's becoming less clear what a college education gets you. In America that's a game changer. Getting an education is supposed to mean something, and all of us are supposed to do better than our parents did. That's the core aspiration of the American Dream.

Meanwhile, savings and pensions are turning into artifacts. We can't afford to save, and the jobs we do get don't have pensions. At the same time programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security are under relentless attack by right-wing Republicans who answer to their special-interest corporate campaign contributors instead of their constituents back home.

We're at a moment in our history where any detailed list of policy prescriptions understates the kind of change we need. So the chattering class should stop asking the Occupy movement for a 200-point plan. America's middle class and the working poor are under assault by big corporations and the top 1 percent, and the moneyed interests are dangerously close to winning. These attacks are the real deal, and stopping them is what the protesters are talking about. We are all in different parts of the same boat, struggling today and worried about what's next. For people in their 20s, 30s and 40s, books, college degrees and great resumes won't be enough if the big corporations and the 1 percent own everything. That's the agenda - taking back our country for everyone in the 99 percent while we are still hanging on.

The 1 percent and the Republican politicians they own are chipping away at the foundation of one of the greatest inventions we've ever had in this country besides political freedom - the middle class. And led by billionaires like the Koch Brothers, extremists on the right are working to undermine our political democracy as well.

That's why the Occupy protests are so inspiring. Their message is as much what they are doing as what they're saying, and they are making it crystal clear that they've had enough. Activists from established groups on the left should look for ways to support Occupy efforts on the terms of the protesters, from turning out supporters for events to providing cash and supplies.

Of course, progressive organizations already have plenty to do. For example, people in Wisconsin have just launched a recall effort against anti-middle class, pro-corporate Gov. Scott Walker. They want their state back. Those of us involved in the budget debate in Washington, D.C., are following a so-called "super committee" that must protect low-income and middle-class programs like Medicare and Medicaid and ask the 1 percent to pay their fair share instead of perpetuating the status quo. That's not easy in a town dominated by corporate interests that care more about their bottom lines than anything else.

When it comes to state battles, one of the biggest and most important is in Ohio. Hundreds of thousands of teachers, corrections officers, firefighters, nurses, administrative assistants, sanitation workers, social workers and so many others hit the streets to gather petition signatures to repeal Ohio Senate Bill 5. This anti-democratic, anti-middle class legislation takes away the right of workers to bargain for a better life and for jobs, better services and stronger communities for everyone.

We can't have a middle class, a vibrant democracy and a just society without strong unions and a growing labor movement. And we can't have the country that we all deserve without putting people before corporate domination, a demand at the heart of the Occupy movement.

?

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ethan-rome/had-enough-occupy-protest_b_1029264.html

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Father of actress Lindsay Lohan arrested in Tampa

In this arrest photo made available by the Tampa Police Department, shows Michael Lohan following his arrest, Tuesday Oct. 25, 2011 in Tampa, Fla. Lohan was arrested after police received a domestic violence call from his Tampa home. He was arrested for battery on his live-in girlfriend. (AP Photo/Tampa Police Department)

In this arrest photo made available by the Tampa Police Department, shows Michael Lohan following his arrest, Tuesday Oct. 25, 2011 in Tampa, Fla. Lohan was arrested after police received a domestic violence call from his Tampa home. He was arrested for battery on his live-in girlfriend. (AP Photo/Tampa Police Department)

FILE - In a Sept. 26, 2011 file photo, Michael Lohan attends the "Celebrity Fight Night" press conference in Beverly Hills, Ca. Lohan, the father of actress Lindsay Lohan, was arrested in Florida early Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2011 after police received a domestic violence call from his Tampa home. (AP Photo /Tammie Arroyo, File)

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) ? The father of actress Lindsay Lohan was arrested Tuesday in Florida on domestic violence charges after police said he grabbed his on-and-off girlfriend's arms and pushed her down multiple times during a daylong argument.

A Tampa Police Department report said one cause of the fight between 51-year-old Michael Lohan and 28-year-old Kathryn Major was a scheduled Tuesday court date in nearby Sarasota County on a previous domestic violence case.

"She had some redness on her arms, some minor bruising and it was determined that he grabbed her arm and threw her to the ground a couple of times," police spokeswoman Andrea Davis said.

After being placed in custody, Lohan complained of chest pains and was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital. Davis said he apparently tried to check himself out and leave unnoticed when he thought the officers had departed, but they quickly arrested him.

Lohan, who told police he moved to Tampa to get away from the publicity surrounding his celebrity daughter, was being held at the Hillsborough County Orient Road Jail without bail. There was no indication he had hired an attorney.

According to the police report, officers arrived at Major's condominium early Tuesday to respond to a domestic violence call. They could hear a woman yelling "stop" and "leave me alone."

Lohan opened the door when officers knocked, out of breath and sweating, the report said.

"He immediately got defensive saying 'everything is OK and nothing happened here,'" the report said. "The victim started yelling in the background for us to help her because he was lying."

In addition to the injuries to Major, which did not require medical treatment, police said jewelry and clothing from her closet was strewn around and a bathroom door had a dent at about the height of Lohan's head. The report quoted Major as saying Lohan had banged his own head on the door and that he intended to blame her for injuring him if police came.

In addition to the court date, police said Lohan was angry because Major would not perform oral sex on him.

Police said Lohan came to Major's condo Sunday and that she decided to let him stay even though she had a temporary domestic violence injunction against him from the Sarasota County case. The hearing Tuesday was whether to make it permanent.

Lohan told police Major, a former reporter for the Star tabloid, was his girlfriend and soon-to-be fianc?e.

In July, a misdemeanor domestic violence charge against Lohan stemming from a fight with Major was dismissed in Los Angeles after she failed to show up for the trial. Lohan's attorney said Major declined to cooperate to avoid a court spectacle.

He has a history of arrests in New York over allegations of harassment from ex-girlfriends.

Meanwhile, Lindsay Lohan could also return to jail in California after a judge last week ruled she violated probation involving a community service assignment. A Nov. 2 court date was set to decide whether Lindsay Lohan should be jailed.

The 25-year-old actress was given probation for a 2007 drunken driving case and a misdemeanor theft case this year.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2011-10-25-US-People-Lindsay-Lohan's-Father/id-d4acf799d0b24840be3c1ec32d9ab2f6

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AP Exclusive: NASA sting terrifies woman, 74

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? The elaborate mission to recover a moon rock led NASA agents to one of the most down-to-earth places: a Denny's restaurant in Riverside County.

But at the end of the sting operation, agents were left holding a speck of lunar dust smaller than a grain of rice and a 74-year-old suspect who was terrified by armed officials.

Five months after NASA investigators and local agents swooped into the restaurant and hailed their operation as a cautionary tale for anyone trying to sell national treasure, no charges have been filed, NASA isn't talking and the case appears stalled.

The target, Joann Davis, a grandmother who says she was trying to raise money for her sick son, asserts the lunar material was rightfully hers, having been given to her space-engineer husband by Neil Armstrong in the 1970s.

"It's a very upsetting thing," Davis told The Associated Press. "It's very detrimental, very humiliating, all of it a lie."

The strange case centers on a speck of authenticated moon rock encased in an acrylic-looking dome that appears to be a paperweight. For years, NASA has gone after anyone selling lunar material gathered on the Apollo missions because it is considered government property, so cannot be sold for profit.

Still, NASA has given hundreds of lunar samples to nations, states and high-profile individuals but only on the understanding they remain government property. NASA's inspector general works to arrest anyone trying to sell them.

The case was triggered by Davis herself, according to a search warrant affidavit written by Norman Conley, an agent for the inspector general.

She emailed a NASA contractor May 10 trying to find a buyer for the rock, as well as a nickel-sized piece of the heat shield that protected the Apollo 11 space capsule as it returned to earth from the first successful manned mission to the moon in 1969.

"I've been searching the internet for months attempting to find a buyer," Davis wrote. "If you have any thoughts as to how I can proceed with the sale of these two items, please call."

Davis told AP the items were among many of the space-related heirlooms her husband left her when he died in 1986. She said she had worked as a lexicographer and he had worked as an engineer for North American Rockwell, which contracted for NASA during the Apollo era.

Davis claims Armstrong gave the items to her husband, though the affidavit says the first man on the moon has previously told investigators he never gave or sold lunar material to anyone.

In follow-up phone conversations with a NASA agent, Davis acknowledged the rock was not sellable on the open market and fretted about an agent knocking on her door and taking the material, which she was willing to sell for "big money underground."

"She must know that this is a questionable transaction because she used the term 'black market,'" Agent Conley states in the search warrant.

Curiously, though, Davis agreed to sell the sample to NASA for a stellar $1.7 million. She said she wanted to leave her three children an inheritance and take care of her sick son.

NASA investigators then arranged the sting, where Conley met with Davis and her current husband at the Denny's at Lake Elsinore in Riverside County.

Soon after settling into a booth, Davis said, she pulled out the moon sample and about half a dozen sheriff's deputies and NASA investigators rushed into the eatery.

When officers in flack vests took a hold of her, the 4-foot-11 woman said she was so scared she lost control of her bladder and was taken outside to a parking lot, where she was questioned and detained for about two hours.

"They grabbed me and pulled me out of the booth," Davis claimed. "I had very, very deep bruises on my left side."

Conley declined to comment and NASA Office of the Inspector General spokeswoman Renee Juhans said she could not talk about an ongoing investigation.

Davis was eventually allowed home, without the moon rock, and was never booked into a police station or charged.

The affidavit states authorities believed Davis was in possession of stolen government property but so far they have not publicly revealed any proof.

"This (is) abhorrent behavior by the federal government to steal something from a retiree that was given to her," said Davis's attorney, Peter Schlueter, who is planning legal action.

Joseph Gutheinz, a University of Phoenix instructor and former NASA investigator who has spent years tracking down missing moon rocks, said prosecuting Davis could prove tricky.

Gutheinz said he recently learned that NASA did not always take good care of lunar materials. In some instances, space suits were simply hosed off and any moon dust on them lost forever.

While bigger rocks, such as those given to various countries and museums were carefully inventoried and tracked, it now appears there are unknown numbers of much smaller pieces circulating in the public. Some of these may have been turned into paperweights and informally given away by NASA engineers.

"I have a real moral problem with what's happened here in California," Gutheinz said. "I've always taken the position that no one should own an Apollo-era moon rock. They belong to the people. But if we did such a poor job of safeguarding (lunar samples,) I cannot fault that person."

About 2,200 samples of lunar rocks, core samples, pebbles, sand and dust ? weighing about 840 pounds ? were brought to Earth by NASA's Apollo lunar landing missions from 1969 to 1972. A recent count showed 10 states and more than 90 countries could not account for their shares of the gray rocks.

___

Watkins can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/thomaswatkins

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2011-10-24-US-Moon-Rock-Sting/id-aed400a825744cb7ba63ffc0704ad2ff

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Courtney Stodden Booted from Pumpkin Patch for Revealing Outfit, Responds Via Scripture

Courtney Stodden got ejected from a pumpkin patch this weekend for... well, being Courtney Stodden.

According to reports, the 17-year old and her middle-aged husband, Doug Hutchison, were simply minding their own business in Santa Clarita Valley, getting into the Halloween spirit, when parents around them complained about Stodden's revealing outfit. 

It was comprised of a plaid shirt, tied into a knot on her bare stomach, and short jean shorts.

Of course, there are no witness quotes or reliable sources reporting on the story, meaning it might be as manufactured as everything you'll see on Stodden's upcoming reality show.

How did Courtney respond to this alleged diss? By appropriately quoting John 7:24, of course: "Have a beautifully blessed Sunday! :) Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment," she Tweeted.

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/10/courtney-stodden-booted-from-pumpkin-patch-for-revealing-outfit/

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Australia to argue 1902 war crimes case was unfair (AP)

CANBERRA, Australia ? Australia's government said Friday that it would tell Britain that two Australian soldiers executed more than a century ago for war crimes in South Africa were likely denied fair trials under the British military justice system.

Australia's intervention comes after the British government rejected in June a petition to pardon Lieutenants Harry "Breaker" Morant and Peter Handcock, who in 1902 became the only Australian soldiers ever executed for war crimes.

The case has become folklore and underscores lingering anger among Australians over their former colonial master's treatment of the pair, who are variously regarded as either scapegoats or murderers.

The pair faced a firing squad in Pretoria on Feb. 27, 1902, 18 hours after separate British courts-martial convicted them of murdering 12 prisoners a year earlier during the Boer War.

Australian Attorney General Robert McClelland said Friday that he was preparing a submission to British Defense Secretary Philip Hammond outlining alleged defects in the court-martial system, including that the defendants received inadequate legal representation and were denied access to some evidence.

McClelland said that if Britain confirmed there were procedural defects in the courts-martial, the convictions would be voided.

"I am advised, indeed by government lawyers, that if established, they would ... be heinous breaches of the procedures of 1902," McClelland told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio, referring to the alleged procedural defects in the trials.

"My preliminary conclusion ... is that there was a denial of procedural fairness," he said.

British-born Morant was a talented horse breaker and published poet who has been immortalized in books, a play and the 1980 award-winning movie "Breaker Morant," directed by Bruce Beresford and starring Edward Woodward. Handcock was a veterinary lieutenant.

A third Australian soldier, Lt. George Witton, was sentenced in 1902 to life in prison for his part in the massacre. He was released two years later after 80,000 Australians signed a petition to British King George VII asking for mercy.

All three had admitted to shooting the prisoners ? Dutch-Afrikaner settlers known as Boers ? but argued that they were obeying British orders to take no prisoners.

James Unkles, an Australian navy lawyer who first petitioned Queen Elizabeth II for pardons in 2009, was confident that the Australian government's intervention would lead to all convictions being annulled and pardons for all three.

"The attorney general's stand is welcome," Unkles said. "It's the first time in 109 years that an Australian government minister has finally, on behalf of the government, taken action."

McClelland said his submission would avoid the controversy over whether or not the three had been following orders that came down from Lord Kitchener, chief of staff to the British commander in the war, when they shot the prisoners.

"By today's standards in particular, there is no way that the shooting of civilians could be justified in any circumstances, but I won't be going into that issue," McClelland said.

Unkles, who said he has received death threats from South Africans since he mounted his campaign on behalf of the Australian soldiers, said the prisoners should not be characterized as civilians, but as guerrilla fighters waging a war against British colonists.

McClelland said he did not intend to raise the issue with the queen, who was in the capital, Canberra, during a 10-day visit to Australia.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111021/ap_on_re_as/as_australia_war_crimes

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Libya's new leaders to declare liberation Sunday

Libyan women walk past a graffiti reading: "The greatest Crazy of the World" in Tripoli, Libya, Friday Oct. 21, 2011. The death Thursday of Gadhafi, two months after he was driven from power and into hiding, decisively buries the nearly 42-year regime that had turned the oil-rich country into an international pariah and his own personal fiefdom. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

Libyan women walk past a graffiti reading: "The greatest Crazy of the World" in Tripoli, Libya, Friday Oct. 21, 2011. The death Thursday of Gadhafi, two months after he was driven from power and into hiding, decisively buries the nearly 42-year regime that had turned the oil-rich country into an international pariah and his own personal fiefdom. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

Libyan celebrate after the Muslim Friday prayer at Martyrs Square in Tripoli, Libya, Friday Oct. 21, 2011. The death Thursday of Gadhafi, two months after he was driven from power and into hiding, decisively buries the nearly 42-year regime that had turned the oil-rich country into an international pariah and his own personal fiefdom. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

Libyans attend the Muslim Friday prayer at Martyrs Square in Tripoli, Libya, Friday Oct. 21, 2011. The death Thursday of Moammar Gadhafi, two months after he was driven from power and into hiding, decisively buries the nearly 42-year regime that had turned the oil-rich country into an international pariah and his own personal fiefdom. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

Libyan kids holding an assault rifle celebrate in Souk El Juma district in Tripoli, Libya, Friday Oct. 20, 2011. The death Thursday of Gadhafi, two months after he was driven from power and into hiding, decisively buries the nearly 42-year regime that had turned the oil-rich country into an international pariah and his own personal fiefdom. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

Libyans line up to view Moammar Gadhafi's body at a shopping centre in Misrata, Libya, Friday, Oct. 21, 2011. The burial of slain leader Moammar Gadhafi has been delayed until the circumstances of his death can be further examined and a decision is made about where to bury the body, Libyan officials said Friday, as the U.N. human rights office called for an investigation into his death. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) ? Libya's new leaders will declare liberation on Sunday, officials said, a move that will start the clock for elections after months of bloodshed that culminated in the death of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

But the victory has been clouded by questions over how Gadhafi was killed after images emerged showing he was found alive and taunted and beaten by his captors.

The long-awaited declaration of liberation will come more than two months after revolutionary forces swept into Tripoli and seized control of most of the oil-rich North African nation. It was stalled by fierce resistance by Gadhafi loyalists in his hometown of Sirte, Bani Walid and pockets in the south.

Sirte was the last to fall, but Gadhafi's son and one-time heir apparent and many of his fighters have apparently escaped, raising fears they could continue to stir up trouble.

With Gadhafi gone, however, the governing National Transitional Council was moving forward with efforts to transform the country that was ruled by one man for more than four decades into a democracy.

In Tripoli, residents said they were relieved Gadhafi was killed, not captured, allowing the nation to move forward without fear that his supporters would try to sabotage the transition to democracy.

"If there was a trial, it would take some time. ... Maybe there would be revenge attacks," said Hosni Bashir, an oil worker who was attending the first meeting of a new political party in a Tripoli hotel. "Now, they (Libya's new leaders) can start."

Initially, NTC officials said the declaration of liberation would be made Saturday. But spokesman Abdel-Rahman Busin said preparations were under way for a Sunday ceremony in the eastern city of Benghazi, the revolution's birthplace.

The transitional leadership has said it would declare a new interim government within a month of liberation and elections for a constitutional assembly within eight months to be followed by a parliamentary and presidential vote within a year.

On Saturday, acting Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril, who has said he plans to resign after liberation, said the interim government "should last until the first presidential elections."

Speaking at the World Economic Forum on the Jordanian shores of the Dead Sea, he also said the NTC must move quickly to disarm rebels who helped to overthrow Gadhafi's nearly 42-year-old regime. He said it was a priority to ensure huge caches of weapons are turned in over the "next few days."

Jibril also said the Libyan people must remember the agony of the past and choose a different path for the future. He said he was "relieved" after Gadhafi's ouster, describing it as a "great moment in my life."

Gadhafi's blood-streaked body has been put on display in a commercial freezer at a shopping center in Misrata as Libyan authorities argued about where to bury the remains. Abdel-Basit al-Mzirig, the deputy justice minister, said Gadhafi will be buried according to Islamic tradition, but his burial place will be kept secret.

Fighters from Misrata ? a city brutally besieged by regime forces during the civil war ? seemed to claim ownership of Gadhafi's body, forcing the delay of a planned burial Friday.

Fathi Bashagha, a spokesman for the Misrata military council, said the body of Gadhafi is in the custody of prosecutors and that they will be the ones to decide, along with the NTC, whether an autopsy is necessary.

At least four groups of doctors have examined the body and determined the cause of death was a bullet to the head and stomach, but "so far there is no autopsy," he said.

International rights groups, including Amnesty International, called for a probe into the killing.

Men, women and children lined up to view Gadhafi's body, which was laid out on a mattress on the floor of an emptied-out vegetable freezer. The bodies of Gadhafi's son Muatassim and his ex-defense minister Abu Bakr Younis also were put on display Saturday, although they were covered with blankets so only their faces were visible.

The site's guards had even organized separate visiting hours for families and single men.

Gadhafi's bodyguard Mansour Dao also was captured during the battle. In a television interview aired on Al-Arabiya this week, he said the Libyan leader had been in Sirte since fleeing Tripoli as it was being overrun in late August.

Gadhafi's son Muatassim directed the battle, the bodyguard said, while the Libyan leader himself spent most of his time trying to evade capture by moving between apartments and homes that had been owned by supporters.

Dao described chaotic and desperate conditions, and said Gadhafi recorded speeches that were transmitted by Thuraya satellite phone. The convoy was struck by NATO warplanes as it was trying to flee to an area called Jaref, and revolutionary forces subsequently moved in on the survivors, he said.

"There were problems, they besieged us outside of District 2 and prevented us from going to Jaref," he told the pan-Arab station. "We got out on foot and the groups were divided ... I was in the group with Gadhafi, Abu Bakr Younis and his two sons."

Mohammed Misrati, a 45-year-old fighter in Misrata, said it was time to move past Gadhafi and take advantage of the country's natural resources.

"We need to look ahead and start building and developing," he said. "We deserve that after all of the struggle we had to go through and so the sacrifices won't go in vain."

___

Associated Press writers Karin Laub in Tripoli, Rami al-Shaheibi in Benghazi, Hadeel al-Shalchi and Sarah El Deeb in Cairo and Dale Gavlak in Southern Shuneh, Jordan, contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-10-22-ML-Libya/id-ed690cfe59c64f68881b8f08e54762a0

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Forces take Gadhafi hometown; capture unconfirmed (AP)

SIRTE, Libya ? NATO confirms it hit a convoy of Moammar Gadhafi's loyalists fleeing Sirte as the city fell Thursday, but there are conflicting reports whether the ousted Libyan leader was in the convoy or possibly killed or captured.

Col. Roland Lavoie, spokesman for NATO's operational headquarters in Naples, Italy, says the alliance's aircraft Thursday morning struck two vehicles of pro-Gadhafi forces "which were part of a larger group maneuvering in the vicinity of Sirte."

NATO officials, speaking on condition of anonymity in accordance to alliance rules, said the alliance also could not independently confirm whether Gadhafi was killed or captured.

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

SIRTE, Libya (AP) ? Libyan fighters drove the last holdouts of Moammar Gadhafi out of his hometown of Sirte in fierce gunbattles Thursday, then declared victory over the last major resistance two months after the fall of Tripoli. Fighters reported to have captured the ousted leader, but Libyan officials and NATO said they could not immediately confirm.

The Misrata Military Council, one of multiple command groups for revolutionary forces, said its fighters captured Gadhafi. Another commander, Abdel-Basit Haroun, says Gadhafi was killed when an airstrike hit a convoy trying to flee.

The spokesman for Libya's transitional government, Jalal al-Gallal, and its military spokesman Abdul-Rahman Busin said the reports have not been confirmed.

Col. Roland Lavoie, spokesman for NATO's operational headquarters in Naples, Italy, said the alliance's aircraft Thursday morning struck two vehicles of pro-Gadhafi forces "which were part of a larger group maneuvering in the vicinity of Sirte."

But NATO officials, speaking on condition of anonymity in accordance to alliance rules, said the alliance also could not independently confirm whether Gadhafi was killed or captured.

The ecstatic former rebels celebrated the fall of Sirte after weeks of bloody siege by firing endless rounds into the sky, pumping their guns, knives and even a meat cleaver in the air and singing the national anthem.

In the central quarter where Thursday's final battle took place, the fighters looking like the same ragtag force that started the uprising eight months ago jumped up and down with joy and flashed V-for-victory signs. Some burned the green Gadhafi flag, then stepped on it with their boots.

They chanted "Allah akbar," or "God is great" in Arabic, while one fighter climbed a traffic light pole to unfurl the revolution's flag, which he first kissed. Discarded military uniforms of Gadhafi's fighters littered the streets. One revolutionary fighter waved a silver trophy in the air while another held up a box of firecrackers, then set them off.

"Our forces control the last neighborhood in Sirte," Hassan Draoua, a member of Libya's interim National Transitional Council, told The Associated Press in Tripoli. "The city has been liberated."

Despite the fall of Tripoli on Aug. 21, Gadhafi loyalists mounted fierce resistance in several areas, including Sirte, preventing Libya's new leaders from declaring full victory in the eight-month civil war. Earlier this week, revolutionary fighters gained control of one stronghold, Bani Walid, and by Tuesday said they had squeezed Gadhafi's forces in Sirte into a residential area of about 700 square yards but were still coming under heavy fire from surrounding buildings.

Reporters at the scene watched as the final assault began around 8 a.m. and ended about 90 minutes later. Just before the battle, about five carloads of Gadhafi loyalists tried to flee the enclave down the coastal highway that leads out of the city. But they were met by gunfire from the revolutionaries, who killed at least 20 of them.

After the battle, revolutionaries began searching homes and buildings looking for any hiding Gadhafi fighters. At least 16 were captured, along with cases of ammunition and trucks loaded with weapons. Reporters saw revolutionaries beating captured Gadhafi men in the back of trucks and officers intervening to stop them.

Deputy Defense Minister Fawzi Abu Katif on Wednesday told the AP that authorities still believe Gadhafi's son Muatassim is among the ex-regime figures holed up in the diminishing area in Sirte. He was not seen on the ground after the final battle on Thursday.

In an illustration of how difficult and slow the fighting for Sirte was, it took the anti-Gadhafi fighters, who also faced disorganization in their own ranks, two days to capture a single residential building.

Gadhafi loyalists who have escaped could still continue the fight and attempt to organize an insurgency using the vast amount of weapons Gadhafi was believed to have stored in hideouts in the remote southern desert.

Unlike Iraq's Saddam Hussein, Gadhafi had no well-organized political party that could form the basis of an insurgent leadership. However, regional and ethnic differences have already appeared among the ranks of the revolutionaries, possibly laying the foundation for civil strife.

Gadhafi has issued several audio recordings trying to rally supporters. Libyan officials have said they believe he's hiding somewhere in the vast southwestern desert near the borders with Niger and Algeria.

___

Associated Press Writer Kim Gamel in Tripoli contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111020/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_libya

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Gmail Gives An Accidental Peek At Its Upcoming Redesign

A video inadvertently posted to Google's YouTube account has given a sneak peek at some of the changes that will be coming to Gmail in the very near future. It was quickly taken down, but not before a few screenshots were snagged by Google Operating System. The new UI is obviously based on the Gmail 'preview' theme that it began offering back in June, which has more whitespace and options for tweaking how densely you want your conversations listed. ?The biggest change seen in the video is the conversation/reply view, which looks a lot more like Facebook Messages ??each person in the conversation has their photo shown, and it's easier to read previous messages in the thread.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/tGh2U9bM1cY/

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'Dark Knight Rises' Prologue On Its Way?

Hoping to see "The Dark Knight Rises" a little bit early? Hang on for another two months and you just might get your chance.
The latest Batman buzz is that a six-minute "Dark Knight Rises" prologue will be attached to copies of the IMAX release of "Mission: Impossible ? Ghost Protocol" in December, just like the [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2011/10/20/dark-knight-rises-prologue/

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Happy 24th Birthday, Zac Efron!

Hey Bristol Palin, we've found you a drinking partner.

On the same day that this formerly impregnated celebrity turns 21, Zac Efron also celebrates a birthday: the young stud is now 24. He's eagerly awaiting your best wishes.

Efron has enjoyed a quiet, drama-free 2011. He split with Vanessa Hudgens near the end of last year, and gossip site have linked him with both Teresa Palmer and some other dude over the last few months. But that's been about it for Zac.

He'll next be seen in December's New Year's Eve.

Other stars celebrating birthdays today include: Freida Pinto (27), Ne-Yo (28), Jean-Claude Van Damme (51) and Mike Ditka (72).

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/10/happy-24th-birthday-zac-efron/

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LIVE: Follow Jets-Dolphins on Monday Night Football

Miami?Rushing
Player	Carries	Yds	Avg	TDs
R. Bush	1	36	36.0	0
D. Thomas	1	1	1.0	0

Miami?Passing
Player	Att	Cmp	Comp %	Yds	TDs	Int
M. Moore	1	1	100.0	8	0	0

Miami?Receiving
Player	Rec	Yds	Avg	TDs
R. Wallace	1	8	8.00	0

Miami?Kicking Statistics
Player	FG	Made	Missed	XP

Miami?Fumbles
Player	Fumbles

Miami?Fumbles Lost
Player	Fumbles Lost

Miami?Defensive Statistics
Player	TK	Asst	Sack-Yds	PD
Y. Bell	1	0	0-0	0
D. Carpenter	0	0	0-0	0

Miami?Interceptions
Player	Int	Yds

Miami?Punt Returns
Player	Ret	Yds	Avg
D. Bess	1	4	4.0

Miami?Kick Returns
Player	Ret	Yds	Avg

Miami?Punting
Player	Punts	Blocks	Yds	Avg	in 20

Dolphins ball on New York 41, 3rd and 1

Last Play (Miami ball on New York 49, 2nd and 9):
Matt Moore pass to the right to Roberto Wallace for 8 yards to the NYJ41. Tackled by Darrelle Revis.

Scoring Summary
First Quarter		Mia	NYJ

NY Jets?Rushing
Player	Carries	Yds	Avg	TDs
S. Greene	1	2	2.0	0

NY Jets?Passing
Player	Att	Cmp	Comp %	Yds	TDs	Int
M. Sanchez	2	0	0	0	0	0

NY Jets?Receiving
Player	Rec	Yds	Avg	TDs

NY Jets?Kicking Statistics
Player	FG	Made	Missed	XP

NY Jets?Fumbles
Player	Fumbles

NY Jets?Fumbles Lost
Player	Fumbles Lost

NY Jets?Interceptions
Player	Int	Yds

NY Jets?Punt Returns
Player	Ret	Yds	Avg

NY Jets?Kick Returns
Player	Ret	Yds	Avg
J. McKnight	1	31	31.0

NY Jets?Punting
Player	Punts	Blocks	Yds	Avg	in 20
T. Conley	1	0	51	51.0	1

Source: http://scores.nbcsports.msnbc.com/fb/gameview.asp?gamecode=20111017020

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Business and American Literature ? Organizations and Markets

17 October 2011

| Peter Klein |

Thanks to Shawn Ritenour for the pointer to Algis Valiunas?s National Affairs piece, ?Business and the Literati.?

The business of America may be business, but the business of American literature in the past century has been largely to insist that the nation is, in pursuing business, wasting itself on unworthy objects. In the eyes of most novelists and playwrights who deal with the subject, business is not an honorable vocation, but rather an obsessive scramble for lucre and status. Tycoons are plunderers. Salesmen are poor slobs truckling to their bosses, though most of them aspire to be cormorants and highwaymen, too. The mass desire to strike it rich has launched a forced march to nowhere. In short, American literature hates American business for what it has done to the souls of the rich, the poor, and the middling alike.

Right-thinking people now take it for granted that, in criticizing business, American literature has saved (or at least elevated) the nation?s soul. But after a century of slander, that assumption needs revisiting.

Entry filed under: - Klein -, Business/Economic History, Classical Liberalism, Myths and Realities. Tags: .

Source: http://organizationsandmarkets.com/2011/10/17/business-and-american-literature/

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Yemeni forces kill 12 in new protests

SANAA, Yemen?? Yemeni government forces opened fire Tuesday on protesters in Sanaa, killing 12 and injuring more than 70, a medical official said, a day after the capital witnessed its worst fighting in weeks.

Mohammed al-Qubati, the director of a field hospital at the main protest site in Sanaa dubbed "Change Square," said more than 70 protesters were injured in the protests demanding the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Tens of thousands of protesters marched through Sanaa, led by shirtless young men with the words "Leave ... you butcher" scrawled across their chests, referring to Saleh, .

Soldiers from the Republican Guard, a loyalist unit led by Saleh's son Ahmed, arrested four female protesters who were ahead of the main demonstration, said activist Habib al-Uraiqi.

Abdel-Rahman Berman of Yemen's National Organization for Defending Rights and Freedoms (HOOD) said Saleh's forces used live ammunition and harsh tear gas.

Berman said HOOD team monitoring the situation charged that government forces and thugs abducted female protesters and some wounded demonstrators in a "shameful and criminal way."

Similar demonstrations were held in other parts of Yemen, including the southern cities of Aden and Taiz, protest organizers said.

The protesters called for Saleh to be put on trial for killing demonstrators and urged the international community and the U.N. Security Council to help topple him.

On Tuesday, key members of the Security Council began considering a British-drafted resolution that would call for an immediate cease-fire in Yemen and transfer of power, as well as immediate action by Yemeni authorities to end attacks against civilians. The consultations are still in progress.

President Saleh is accused by many Yemenis of pushing the country into civil war by tenaciously clinging to power in the face of eight months of mass protests across the country, the defection to the opposition of key tribal and military allies and mounting international pressure on him to step down.

He has balked at a U.S.-backed plan proposed by Saudi Arabia and its five smaller allies in the Gulf Cooperation Council to hand over power to his deputy and step down in exchange for immunity.

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Pre-dawn fighting between troops loyal to Yemen's embattled leader and rival forces killed at least 18 people in Sanaa on Monday, reviving fears of civil war in the poor Arabian peninsula nation.

A civil war would significantly hurt efforts led by the U.S. to fight Yemen's dangerous al-Qaida branch. It could turn Yemen into a global haven for militants just a short distance away from the vast oil fields of the Gulf and the key shipping lanes in the Arabian and Red Seas to and from the Suez Canal.

___

Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer contributed to this report.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44947404/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/

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Charlie Day, Emma Stone, Jason Segal all "SNL" hosts (Reuters)

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) ? Charlie Day, Emma Stone and Jason Segel will host "Saturday Night Live" episodes in November, with respective musical guests Maroon 5, Coldplay, and Florence + The Machine.

Day and Segel will be hosting for the first time; it will be Stone's second hosting gig.

Day, star of "Horrible Bosses" and a star, writer and executive producer of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," with host November 5.

Stone will host November 12, and Segel will host November 19 to coincide with the November 23 release of "The Muppets."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tv/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111017/tv_nm/us_snl

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Double done, Red Bull aim for triple (Reuters)

SEOUL (Reuters) ? Among all the celebrations for Red Bull's second Formula One constructors' championship in South Korea on Sunday, one familiar team face was notably absent.

Adrian Newey, the technical boffin who has created title-winning cars for three teams and been a driving force behind Red Bull's double-double -- successive drivers' and team titles -- was hard at work on the other side of the planet designing the next world beater.

"Focus has to start moving towards next year and we've got less than four months to design and build a completely new car," said team principal Christian Horner after German double champion Sebastian Vettel took his 10th win in 16 races this season.

"That's why Adrian elected not to attend this race. He's busy back in the UK focused on our RB8 (car)."

As Horner pointed out with a smile, rivals might tolerate one world championship but two in a row will have proved seriously upsetting.

Making it three in a row -- a feat only ever achieved by Ferrari, McLaren and Williams -- will be his men's stiffest challenge yet.

"It never gets easier, that's for sure," said Horner.

"It would be foolish to underestimate the likes of Ferrari. They are a phenomenal team with tremendous pedigree, or the likes of McLaren and Mercedes Benz.

"We are not foolish or arrogant enough to think that this kind of performance is normal. It's abnormal and it takes a superhuman effort to try and achieve. Our competitors are going to be pushing hard over the winter."

Red Bull at least have the luxury of being able to treat the last three races as a test bed for 2012, even if they are also chasing a couple of records to put the icing on the cake, before the winter clampdown on testing.

Vettel can still equal compatriot Michael Schumacher's 2004 record of 13 wins in a single season and, with 12 poles so far, also beat Nigel Mansell's 1992 feat of 14 in a campaign.

"The remaining races are the only track time that we've got, other than a young driver test, between now and when the new car is effectively born," said Horner.

"So we'll look to learn everything we can out of the track time that we have available. And that means pushing right up to the chequered flag in Brazil."

Red Bull also want to wrap up a triumphant year by securing second place overall for Vettel's Australian team mate Mark Webber, who has yet to win a race this year after challenging for the title in 2010.

"I think the priority now is to get Mark into second in the championship," declared Horner.

"Effectively its like three FA Cup finals so I think they will be really exciting races ... both McLaren and Ferrari have been competitive here and I think it will be tight in India, Abu Dhabi and Brazil."

(Editing by Peter Rutherford; For Reuters sports blog Left Field go to: http://blogs.reuters.com/sport)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/india/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111017/india_nm/india599252

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W.H.'s long-term insurance U-turn (Politico)

The decision to abandon the CLASS Act announced Friday is a sharp U-turn for an administration that ? just a few weeks ago ? claimed it was not giving up on the long-term care insurance program.

When reports surfaced last month that the CLASS office at the Department of Health and Human Services was closing down, the Obama administration pushed back hard. It claimed that it was paring back staff but continuing to study how to implement the program created by President Barack Obama?s health reform law.

Continue Reading

Now, three weeks later, CLASS is dead, supporters are devastated, and critics are dancing on its grave.

Republicans on Capitol Hill, none of whom supported the final versions of the health reform legislation, hailed Friday's announcement as a victory on both a policy and political level.

It's clear that GOP lawmakers want to build on this momentum, using the latest setback to Obama's complex reform law as an entryway into other parts of the package.

?The Obama administration today acknowledged what they refused to admit when they passed their partisan health bill: The CLASS Act was a budget gimmick that might enhance the numbers on a Washington bureaucrat?s spreadsheet,? Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement.

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan declared that ?the smoke and mirrors that the Democrats employed to sell their health care overhaul are finally falling away, one broken promise at a time. ? Now it is time for Congress to do the responsible thing: Repeal the disastrous new law and replace it with true, patient-centered reforms.?

The Obama administration was quick to disavow any implications for the rest of the health reform law.

?The CLASS program is a unique, stand-alone program,? an administration official said. ?Long term care is important, and it?s something we are committed to addressing, but drawing conclusions between this and other parts of the law simply doesn?t make sense.?

But the fallout from the CLASS decision is not just political, but practical as well.

The Congressional Budget Office had scored CLASS as achieving $86 billion in savings over the next decade, because it would have collected premiums for five years before paying any benefits. In a conference call with reporters, Assistant Secretary for Aging Kathy Greenlee said the Office of Management and Budget would "likely reduce" the baseline budget for 2013 by taking CLASS out of the mix.

She emphasized that even without CLASS, the health reform law ? the Affordable Care Act ? would still save $127 billion over the next decade.

But after 19 months of research, the actuaries trying to make CLASS fiscally solvent decided that it was not possible within the framework provided by the law.

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was required to certify that the program would be fiscally solvent for 75 years before it could be implemented. "She could not meet that threshold," Greenlee said.

The decision was a bitter disappointment to the program?s advocates.

?The president of the United States promised to implement this program, and until we hear something different directly from the White House, we will expect him to keep that promise,? Connie Garner of Advance CLASS, Inc. and William L. Minnix of Leading Age said in a statement.

CLASS was designed as a voluntary long-term care insurance program, to be supported by premiums paid by people who join it ? without any infusion of tax dollars.

The department was ultimately stumped on how to stop the program from attracting a pool of beneficiaries that had unsustainably high needs, Greenlee wrote in a memo. Actuarial models showed that premiums could climb as high as $3,000 per month if adverse selection ? in which the program would attract only the people with health problems ? ?were particularly serious."

Such premiums would only cover the minimum benefit allowed in the statute ? $50 per day. Such low benefits, Greenlee warned, could make the risk selection problem even worse.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/politico_rss/rss_politico_mostpop/http___www_politico_com_news_stories1011_66015_html/43263064/SIG=11m28j0rl/*http%3A//www.politico.com/news/stories/1011/66015.html

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