Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU University)

Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) was established by an Act of Parliament in 1985. Its a distance learning national university. IGNOU is run by the central government of India. In 1987, The University had started offering two academic courses (Diploma in Management and Diploma in Distance Education) with only 4528 students. Today IGNOU has more than 4 million students in India. It has more than 60 Regional centres. Now IGNOU is offering a lot of academic courses. The course fees are also very affordable. The University has made a significant mark in the areas of higher education, community education and continual professional development.

Address:
INDIRA GANDHI NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY
Maidan Garhi,
New Delhi-110068
India

Official Website of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU University)

http://www.ignou.ac.in/

Youtube page of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU University)

http://www.youtube.com/ignou

List of Regional Centres and websites of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU University) are as follows:-
AGARTALA? ? http://rcagartala.ignou.ac.in/
AHMEDABAD? ? http://rcahmedabad.ignou.ac.in/
AIZAWL ? ? http://rcaizawl.ignou.ac.in/
ALIGARH ? ? http://rcaligarh.ignou.ac.in/
BANGALORE? ? http://rcbangalore.ignou.ac.in/
BHAGALPUR? ? http://rcbhagalpur.ignou.ac.in/
BHOPAL ? ? http://rcbhopal.ignou.ac.in/
BHUBANESWAR? ? http://rcbhubaneshwar.ignou.ac.in/
CHANDIGARH? ? http://rcchandigarh.ignou.ac.in/
CHENNAI ? ? http://rcchennai.ignou.ac.in/
COCHIN ? ? http://rccochin.ignou.ac.in/
DARBHANGA? ? http://rcdarbhanga.ignou.ac.in/
DELHI-1 ? ? http://rcdelhi1.ignou.ac.in/
DELHI-2 ? ? http://rcdelhi2.ignou.ac.in/
DELHI-3 ? ? http://rcdelhi3.ignou.ac.in/
DEOGHAR ? ? http://rcdeoghar.ignou.ac.in/
GANGTOK? ? http://rcgangtok.ignou.ac.in/
GUWAHATI? ? http://rcguwahati.ignou.ac.in/
HYDERABAD? ? http://rchyderabad.ignou.ac.in/
IMPHAL ? ? http://rcimphal.ignou.ac.in/
ITANAGAR? ? http://rcitanagar.ignou.ac.in/
JABALPUR? ? http://rcjabalpur.ignou.ac.in/
JAIPUR ? ? http://rcjaipur.ignou.ac.in/
JAMMU ? ? http://rcjammu.ignou.ac.in/
JODHPUR ? ? http://rcjodhpur.ignou.ac.in/
JORHAT ? ? http://rcjorhat.ignou.ac.in/
KARNAL ? ? http://rckarnal.ignou.ac.in/
KHANNA ? ? http://rckhanna.ignou.ac.in/
KOHIMA ? ? http://rckohima.ignou.ac.in/
KOLKATA ? ? http://rckolkatta.ignou.ac.in/
KORAPUT ? ? http://rckoraput.ignou.ac.in/
LUCKNOW? ? http://rclucknow.ignou.ac.in/
MADURAI ? ? http://rcmadurai.ignou.ac.in/
MUMBAI ? ? http://rcmumbai.ignou.ac.in/
NAGPUR ? ? http://rcnagpur.ignou.ac.in/
NOIDA ? ? http://rcnoida.ignou.ac.in/
PANAJI? ? http://rcpanaji.ignou.ac.in/
PATNA ? ? http://rcpatna.ignou.ac.in/
PORT BLAIR? ? http://rcportblair.ignou.ac.in/
PUNE ? ? http://rcpune.ignou.ac.in/
RAGHUNATHGANJ? ? http://rcraghunathgunj.ignou.ac.in/
RAIPUR ? ? http://rcraipur.ignou.ac.in/
RAJKOT ? ? http://rcrajkot.ignou.ac.in/
RANCHI ? ? http://rcranchi.ignou.ac.in/
SAHARSA ? ? http://rcsaharsa.ignou.ac.in/
SHILLONG? ? http://rcshillong.ignou.ac.in/
SHIMLA ? ? http://rcshimla.ignou.ac.in/
SILIGURI ? ? http://rcsiliguri.ignou.ac.in/
SRINAGAR? ? http://rcsrinagar.ignou.ac.in/
TRIVANDRUM? ? http://rctrivandrum.ignou.ac.in/
VARANASI? ? http://rcvaranasi.ignou.ac.in/
VATAKARA? ? http://rcvatakara.ignou.ac.in/
VIJAYAWADA? ? http://rcvijayawada.ignou.ac.in/
VISAKHAPATNAM? ? http://rcvishakhapatnam.ignou.ac.in/

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Updated: January 30, 2013 at 6:31 pm

Source: http://indiayatra.in/indira-gandhi-national-open-university-ignou-university/

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Togo vs Tunisia 2013 Prompts Final Africa Cup of Nations Results for Groups

LOS ANGELES (LALATE) ? Togo vs Tunisia 2013 (live score below) prompts the finals Africa Cup of Nations group results today. While the games of Algeria vs Ivory Coast, and Togo vs Tunisia, kick off this morning, only the second match will have an impact on Africa Cup of Nations results. Officials tell news that Algeria won?t be advancing to the quarterfinals and Ivory Coast has already qualified. But the remaining second qualifying slot for Group D is up for grabs still between Togo and Tunisia.

Togo vs Tunisia (start time 9 am PST) is closest remaining match of the group round. Prior to today?s game, both teams have three points in Group D. But based upon performance, Togo is slighting ahead of Tunisia. Hence a draw today will advance Togo and eliminate Tunisia, officials tell news. A win by either team will qualify that team to the quarterfinals; any loss today will send the team home.

All remaining Africa Cup of Nations results for the groups were completed yesterday. Heading to the quarterfinals in Group A are South Africa and Cape Verde, while eliminated are Morocco and Angola. Officials indicate to news that Ghana and Mali are moving forward in Group B but Congo DR and Niger are going home.

And in group C, Burkina Faso and Nigeria are heading to the quarterfinals while officials confirm to news that Zambia and Ethiopia are eliminated. All quarterfinal games will run February 2 and 3, while semifinals will kick off exclusively on February 6. For live score results today click HERE.

Africa Cup, Soccer

Source: http://news.lalate.com/2013/01/30/togo-vs-tunisia-2013-prompts-final-africa-cup-of-nations-results-for-groups/

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American Oil Revolution

American Oil Revolution By STEVE AUSTIN for OIL-PRICE.NET, 2013/01/02

By now, you'd have heard the news (yes, the world doesn't end on February 30, let alone on December 21) that the US is set to become the world's largest oil producer in a decade. So, how did this great nation, perceived as emaciated on the oil front, turn around?

After all, not long ago, any analysis of the oil scene in the US treated it- predominantly- as an oil importing country Well, the crude oil production in the US, according to the latest monthly report of EIA, averaged about 6.5 million barrels per day in September 2012. As a fact, this is the highest volume in almost 15 years.

So what exactly did the US do to warrant all this? What changed the game-plan? The short and long answer: Shale boom.

That shale has changed the oil landscape of the US would be a gross understatement. In fact, the present energy revolution in the US is mainly due to shale. What is Shale, so? Oil Shale is nothing but a type of sedimentary oil bearing rock with low permeability which contains a mixture of natural gas and liquids including oil (Shale oil). It's controversial as the extraction process, fracking, is harmful to the environment. There's also the looming fear of induced earthquakes because of fracking. So what's the extraction process? Fracking is the method used to extract gas from the shale formations. A hole is drilled into the rock and a mixture of sand, chemicals and water are injected at high pressure. Under the impact, the rock splits releasing the gas. Irrespective of popular opinion, extracting shale is expensive. But, what wasn't possible a decade ago is happening today not only because of technological advances, but also due to the current price of oil. On the other hand, returns from conventional wells aren't encouraging either. Yes, the energy scene in the US is changing.

In the US, Shale oil production is mainly concentrated in Texas and North Dakota. Drilling in the Permian Basin and the Eagle Ford shale formation has enabled oil production in Texas to grow from 31,661,000 barrels per month in September 2008 to 61,500,000 barrels per month in September 2012. Oil production in North Dakota is mainly from the Bakken shale formation. According to estimates of the US Geological Survey there are about 4.3 billion barrels of recoverable oil in Bakken and drilling in this formation has helped North Dakota's oil production to shoot by more than 250,000 barrels per day (between September 2011 and September 2012).

The IEA predicts the US to overtake Saudi Arabia and Russia as the world's biggest producer of oil by 2017. Also, on the anvil: US becoming self-sufficient in oil by 2035 and North America trudging on to become a net oil exporter sometime around the year 2030. Exxon Mobil Corp.'s annual outlook, for its part, expects North America as an exporter of oil and gas 'by the middle of the next decade.' Both these reports, if you care, are closely monitored by oil investors. If you're one, do factor the EIA prediction of oil production at 6.8 million barrels per day in 2013, which will put in the oil prices at about $3.44 per gallon next year as against the 3.64 gallon in 2012. Yet, from the long- term perspective this is definitely a good time to be in a region with immense potential for growth. Or not. Ostensibly, environmental curbs over fracking can change everything written on the wall. Of course, these are intriguing times. If we have to, we'd like to call this period the 'transitional phase.'

It has to be noted that this 'shale bloom' occurred during the present administration. Or rather, in spite of it.

After the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, the Obama administration issued a six-month moratorium on oil drilling permits for new projects. Since then, new projects take longer with more stringent rules and regulations. Consequently, in 2011, according to the Institute for Energy Research, oil production on federal lands fell to 11 percent from 2010 levels, while oil production on private and state lands increased by 14 percent. As per EIA estimates, oil production from federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico would increase in 2013, but not to the levels prior to the accident in 2010. To make a comparison: The Gulf of Mexico was producing about 1.71 million barrels of oil per day before the moratorium and about 1.09 million barrels per day after the moratorium.

When oil prices soared in 2008, President Bush and the Congress allotted additional federal lands for oil exploration. Despite those plans, according to the Institute of Energy Research, the federal government leases 'less than 2.2 percent of federal offshore areas' and less than six percent of federal onshore areas. Also, soon after taking office for a second term, the Obama administration closed off 1.6 million acres of Western US territory originally meant for oil shale and tar sands. In other words, the shale oil production is mainly on state and private lands. The Congressional Research Service believes that almost 96 percent of the increased oil production in recent times was produced on state and private lands.

Of course, if not for the shale bloom, the oil prices would have gone through the roof with similar results for unemployment figures. As per existing laws, the oil produced domestically cannot be exported, thus the possibility of even lower oil prices. Should the government open the market for exports, the oil prices will see a revision. However, it'll take another decade at least, for the US to become a major gas exporter. In terms of energy security, from a futuristic point of view, shale will reduce the US dependence on oil from the Middle-East, Nigeria and Venezuela.

Recently, Norse Energy, a Norwegian company, filed for bankruptcy after failing to extract gas from the Marcellus Shale in New York. With the four-year ban on hydraulic fracturing by the state department, Norse Energy's wait to drill the 130,000 acres under lease proved to be too expensive for the company. Meanwhile, the UK government has lifted restrictions on fracking with the Energy and climate secretary saying that Sale gas could 'contribute to energy security in the country.'

Of course, talking about energy, it's not only shale, there's the Canadian Oil sands or tar sands too. Like Shale, this unconventional oil reached people only after the dramatic price rise in oil. In fact, compared to a conventional oil well, the extraction of these sands is about twelve percent dirtier, not to mention the pristine forests destroyed. If the Keystone XL pipeline manages to transport this oil to the Texas refineries, it would be a victory to the oil pundits at the expense of the environment. The Canadian tar sands produce about 1.5 million barrels a day, most of them coming from the Alberta oil fields. As a result, Canada is rather over-enthusiastic for pipelines to conduit the excess oil.

Anyway, how is the administration going to balance coal, shale and tar sands on one side and the renewable on the other? "As long as I'm president, we will not walk away from the promise of clean energy," said President Obama. According to Economic Modeling Specialists International, the six fastest growing jobs since 2010-2011 were related to oil and gas extraction. So, the challenge for the present administration: More jobs, faster economic growth or greener energy policies? (Hey, what's the point of energy without the Earth?)

Recently the Obama administration announced plans to allocate 285,000 acres of federal land in six SouthWestern states for solar energy projects. In spite of the odd efforts, there's confusion in the energy policies. Will the new-year bring in a clearer picture?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Oil-pricenet-OilPriceTodayAndTomorrow/~3/UwV1fozYHpg/american-oil-revolution.php

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German Proposal For Search Engines To Pay For Displaying Publishers? Text Snippets Gets Expert Hearing. Google Dubs It ?Bad Law?

Google is sounding a warning klaxon about a proposed law change in Germany which aims to strengthen copyright law for publishers by requiring search engines and online news aggregators to pay a royalty to display snippets of copyrighted text -- such as the first paragraph of an article displayed within a Google News search. If the law passes, fines would be imposed for unlicensed use of snippets.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/83ts042U-vo/

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Shrewd Strategies On How To Deal With Hemorrhoids | Daily Health ...

Hemorrhoids

Dependent on the size and pain level of the hemorrhoid, you could attempt to gently return it to the inside of your body. Gently pushing them back inside the body can reduce hemorrhoid pain caused from sitting for prolonged periods, or from swelling due to irritation. If you decide to do this, be extremely gentle and don?t do anything to worsen the condition.

Undue strain in bowel movements is a normal contributing factor to the development of hemorrhoids. Increase the amount of water you drink and eliminate refined sugar from your diet to soften your stool. Squatting can also help in passing bowel movements without straining. When you are on the toilet, put a short stool underneath your feet. Interestingly, hemorrhoids don?t plague cultures for whom it is customary to squat while using the toilet to the degree that they plague those accustomed to the porcelain niceties.

You do not have to suffer needlessly through a bout of hemorrhoids with no relief at all. Try bathing the region with a sitz bath for 10 minutes several times throughout the day. You might also feel better if you apply cold compresses in the affected area.

If you think that you may have a hemorrhoid, schedule an appointment to see your doctor. It can be tricky to correctly differentiate between a polyp and a hemorrhoid, and this confusion can lead to unnecessary panic. Schedule a quick check-up with your doctor if you are concerned about any growth.

Caffeine will help keep you awake, and it can also help you with your hemorrhoids. Caffeine works in your favor as it will stimulate the bowels and help you avoid some of the issues related to hemorrhoids, such as constipation and hard stool.

Add more fiber in your diet if you have hemorrhoids. This can be brought on by straining while you are making a bowel movement. Avoid constipation by adding ample fiber to your daily diet, so that you will not aggravate your hemorrhoid condition. Staying regular will assist you in battling hemorrhoids.

If your target is to minimize hemorrhoids, see to it that you?re body is properly hydrated. To get loose and soft stools, you should drink at least eight glasses of water and beverages that do not contain alcohol every day.

If you are having hemorrhoid problems, there?s a simple remedy you can try. If you feel like you need to release some feces out of your body, don?t wait! A lot of people don?t know that they should defecate as soon as they feel the urge to when they have hemorrhoids, this is because your stool becomes harder the longer it stays in the large intestine, which makes it hurt when you go when you have hemorrhoids. Try not to strain during a bowel movement, as this aggravates hemorrhoids.

As has already been mentioned, there are all kinds of ways to treat hemorrhoids. If you tend to have problems with hemorrhoids, you should keep a good stock of supplies to treat your symptoms as needed. Use the information in this article and you will have more knowledge about hemorrhoids.

Source: http://dailyhealthboost.com/shrewd-strategies-on-how-to-deal-with-hemorrhoids/

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Immigration reform 101: How would Senate plan actually work?

Features of the bipartisan plan range from more drones along the Rio Grande to a path to citizenship for some 11 million people in the country illegally. But the fight is all about the details.

By Peter Grier,?Staff writer / January 29, 2013

From left to right, Sens. Richard Durbin (D) of Illinois, Charles Schumer (D) of New York, and John McCain (R) of Arizona listen to a question at a news conference on comprehensive immigration reform at the US Capitol in Washington Monday.

Gary Cameron/Reuters

Enlarge

On Monday a bipartisan group of eight senators unveiled a proposed overhaul of the US immigration system. The plan includes both increased border enforcement and an eventual path to citizenship for many of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants already in the country. Yet some important details of the effort remain undefined. According to what we know now, how would the immigration overhaul work?

Skip to next paragraph Peter Grier

Washington Editor

Peter Grier is The Christian Science Monitor's Washington editor. In this capacity, he helps direct coverage for the paper on most news events in the nation's capital.

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We?ll give you a stripped-down, ?Immigration 101? version of the plan so you can follow debate on the issue in days and weeks ahead.

First, the senatorial plan calls for devoting increased resources to what it calls ?the basic governmental function of securing our borders." Specifically, it calls for increasing the use of drones and other electronic surveillance equipment, improving radio interoperability, and in general upping the number of agents at and between US border crossings.

?The purpose is to substantially lower the number of successful illegal border crossings while continuing to facilitate commerce," says the proposal.

Second, the plan calls for completion of a system capable of tracking whether people who enter the US via temporary visas have left the country when their visa has expired. Most surveys find that overstays range from 31 to 57 percent of those in the country illegally, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Third, it would establish a commission of Southwestern governors, attorneys general, and community leaders ?to monitor the progress of securing our border and to make a recommendation regarding when the bill?s security measures outlined in the legislation are completed."

The actual importance of this commission is unclear, as we?ll see in a moment.

Fourth, this approach to the problem would require persons who are currently here illegally to register with the government while the security measures are being put in place. Those who pass a background check designed to weed out actual criminals, and who pay a fine and settle all back taxes, would earn a probationary legal status.?

Again, this would occur simultaneously with the all the more-drones-along-the-Rio-Grande stuff. There?s been some confusion about that.

Fifth, citizenship! After the enforcement measures have been completed, those on probationary legal status could stand in the back of the line to get a green card and eventual citizenship. They would not earn these coveted items until everyone who has played by the rules and is already legally waiting has been taken care of.

?Our purpose is to ensure that no one who has violated America?s immigration laws will receive preferential treatment as they relate to those individuals who have complied with the law,? states the proposal.

(Hmm. Haven?t they already received preferential treatment via the probationary legal status thing? What?s the difference between that and a green card? Isn?t legal status, probationary or not, what most illegal immigrants really want? Those are questions the plan?s proponents have yet to address.)

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/PxzJBoHxkC8/Immigration-reform-101-How-would-Senate-plan-actually-work

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Write With Spike

Hey Y?all,

My friend Amy Friedman?who wrote a terrific essay that appeared in Stricken, an anthology about grief that I co-edited-- has a new memoir out. Desperado?s Wife, about the time in her life when she was married to a man in prison for murder. You can get the book by visiting AmyFriedman.net, Pages A Bookstore in Manhattan Beach, California and on Amazon. Watch her website for an airdate announcement for her interview with Katie Couric. Below, Amy answers questions about her life and her book. SG: Hi Amy. Great to be back in touch. Will you start out by giving us a little background re: your writing career? AF: I began writing short stories when I was a teenager, inspired at first by a desire to give voice to a grandmother who had stopped speaking and whose story I wanted to know. And then I never stopped, though throughout my teens and 20s and into my 30s I was a devout fiction writer. I received my MFA in creative writing from City College of New York, worked for years as an editor and writer, and in 1985 moved to Kingston, Ontario, Canada where I happened upon a newspaper that was, at the time, a literary wonder. The Kingston Whig Standard had a beautiful Saturday magazine. I sent off a couple stories to the editor who invited me in for a talk and offered me a weekly column. That column is what turned me into a personal essayist and memoirist. Over the eight years I wrote Hard Lines, that column, I also published two memoirs and hundreds of stories and essays. I also began writing Tell Me a Story for The Whig, a newspaper feature of adaptations of myths, legends, folk and fairytales and within a year I was under contract with Universal Press Syndicate?to syndicate the column internationally. Twenty years later, I?m still writing that weekly column. I also teach personal essay and memoir in Los Angeles where I moved in 2002. SG: Your new book, Desperado's Wife, is a memoir about a time in your life when you met a prisoner who was behind bars for murder, married him, and what ensued. I'm guessing a question you are often asked is, "What were you thinking?" or "How could you marry a murderer?" Is that right? Will you give me a little laundry list of FAQs you get hit with and a couple of answers you perhaps have memorized by now? AF: Why is definitely the question, and it?s often followed by an eye roll or two. And quickly followed by the question: Did you ever get to sleep together? And how did you get past the fact that he had killed someone, were you afraid? The shortest answer is you have to read the book, which of course leads me to your next question?why I decided to write it. So I?ll take those two together. Will and I were married for 7 years, 5-1/2 of which he was in prison (I met him during his 7^th year inside); when he was paroled (and yes, even those who have been sentenced to murder receive parole?though less and less in the States), and the last 18 months of our marriage we lived together, but the marriage disintegrated when our strongest bond?the fight we were waging together to win his parole?was gone. He also did not cope well with the world when he was first released?he fell apart emotionally and that put a strain on our relationship?a strain that finally broke us apart. ?But he did not fall apart in the way most people imagine released prisoners do. The general image of a ?murderer? is someone who does nothing else?who moves through the world seeking to kill. When I was an official visitor (I first visited prison as a columnist so that I could learn about prison), and during the years Will and I were married, I came to know dozens of men serving time for murder. It?s important to understand that each of these people were individuals, each one with a story?bar fights gone awry, drug rivalries, accidents, drunk driving. Most of the stories involved drugs and/or alcohol. I did not meet any serial killers (though it is the women who marry psychopaths and serial killers that seems to me to inspire psychologists to write books about ?those prisoners wives.?) But Will and I fell in love the way people do outside?at first I was drawn to him because he was intelligent and when I asked him questions about prison, he was the person who gave me the answers that made most sense. For instance, the very first thing he told me was that if I wanted to understand prison, I ought to talk to prisoners? families because they understand prison and never did anything to hurt anyone. And so I began to talk to families. I also continued to talk to Will (and many other prisoners, guards and administrators) until one day a prison official told me I was welcome to continue visiting, that I was welcome to write stories about prison for the paper, but that I was NOT permitted to talk to one inmate. That inmate was Will. I was na?ve enough to think that the official had just given me valuable information?had told me that it was Will who was telling me the truth about prison. I ignored his instruction and continued talking to Will, at which point prison officials wrote a letter to my editor letting him know the prison was expelling me, refusing to allow me in. My editor who had always been my staunch supporter did not support me in my effort to fight for the right to keep visiting. The prison I later learned (by accessing their letter through the Privacy Commission Act) had accused me of inappropriate behavior (which was untrue)?I argued with my editor: This was, I said, Canada, a free country; prison officials could not decide who could and who could not investigate what went on behind those walls, who a writer could or could not talk to. Alas, at just that point in time the prison had been purchased by a large corporate syndicate and my editor, worried about his own job, turned his back on me. I?m rebellious by nature, and that literally pushed me into Will?s arms because once I was forbidden to visit prison, the only way I could continue going in was to sign on as a personal visitor. And I did. And soon after that, Will?s mother and children invited me to join them in what were known as Private Family Visits (colloquially conjugal or trailer visits). I applied to do so, but the warden (whom I had interviewed many times and knew well and with whom I had always gotten along) refused my request. He told us we could have a trailer visit in a year?if we ?behaved.? Will asked me to marry him?if we were married, the prison could not refuse us the visit. By that time I was so angry and alienated from those around me who were judging without knowledge and turning their backs on me, and I was so attracted to and engaged by and in love with Will, I quickly agreed. Again, that?s the snapshot. What followed were years of great difficulty because overnight after I married Will, I became, in the eyes of the prison system and of many outside, just as suspicious and subject to invasion of privacy as were all prisoners. All prisoners? wives, children, parents, sisters and brothers and friends suffer the humiliation of things like strip searches and long waiting lines and hostility and job loss and every other imaginable indignation. Indeed, the publisher canceled my column, friends turned their backs, for a while so did my family, a board of directors on which I had long served kicked me off its board, and I wound up in combat against prejudice and misunderstanding?the sort that I think inspires those eye rolls, and the question. That?s not to say I don?t understand why or how people ask, but one of the reasons I knew I had to write the book was to continue what I started out to do when I first visited prison?long before I met Will. That was to paint a picture of the world that is prison, to try to better understand and then describe in writing what happens to those impacted by prison, to write about what it is like trying to have a have a relationship against the odds. When the relationship collapsed, I collapsed for about a year. I knew I would have to write about it to find my way back to making sense of the story, of all the specifics of what happened. ? There?s another important piece to the book and that is that Desperado?s Wife is actually two love stories?the love story between me and Will, but maybe more important, the love story between his daughters and me. They were 14 and 8 when we met, and I helped to raise them for most of those years. And they are still two of the most important loves of my life. One of the reasons I wanted to write the book was to help to lift the mantle of shame from them, a mantle that is the result of others? lack of understanding and prejudice against anyone who loves a prisoner.

?SG: Has writing it been healing?

AF: Yes, but also painful. The book took ten years to write?because it started out filled with the fury I felt towards those who had turned their backs and full of the despair the divorce left me feeling. After several drafts of writing with an agenda of sorts (to prove prisoners wives are no different from other women who love someone), I realized I had to give up trying to prove anything. I decided to try to write the book as a novel from the point of view of a prisoner?s child?that way readers wouldn?t come to the book with a built-in question (how could you love him?) because everyone understands a child?s love for a parent (no matter how flawed that parent is). And after another three years of working on the novel, I finished it and a good friend and colleague read it and looked me in the eye and said, ?You do realize you have to write this as a memoir.? At first I wanted to punch him, but I knew he was right. I went back to the drawing board, back to beginning as if I were walking into prison for the first time, open and ready to learn what there was to learn, to find what there was to find. The journey led me to a deep understanding of how this story happened, to my realization that ever since childhood I?d longed to know what prison does to human beings in large measure because I am the daughter of a man who was a Jewish prisoner of War in World War II and granddaughter of a man who was a prisoner of War in Siberia in World War I. That is how I know that prison seeps deep under the skin not only of those who are imprisoned but of their loved ones, and future generations. SG: Where is your ex-husband-- does he know about the book? AF: He was released from prison in 1999, and he has remained out, living and working in Canada. There is no animosity between us, and though I haven?t consulted with him about the book. We did have a conversation a few years ago when an excerpt of the book was published in the NewYork Times Modern Love column,?and he found out about it and read it. I was worried?that?s why I hadn?t told him about it. I thought he would object to my telling this story. But in fact he called me and told me he fully supported me in anything I wrote, that he knew me to be a person of integrity, and he was confident that my writing would always reflect that integrity. SG: This is probably one of those stupid questions, since I know we should take life on a case-by-case basis, but if I told you that I was going to marry a prisoner, would you counsel me one way or the other, for/against? AF: Not stupid at all, but the answer has two parts. The first is yes, I would. In fact, a friend of mine has a daughter who is engaged to a man in prison, and I?ve been talking to her for months, trying to convince her to wait until he is released to marry him. But the counsel does not come in the form of ?he?s a loser, why would you do that?? or ?you?re throwing your life away.? Rather it?s that the life of a prisoner?s spouse is full of suspicion and hostility and loneliness and a kind of poverty of the soul. Part two: I know that my counsel and anyone else?s is likely useless. People in love do what they feel they need to do, what they must do. Love is powerful medicine, and I don?t think there?s a verbal antidote, and if you?re anything like me, if I counsel you for or against, you?ll rebel against my counsel. SG: What was your publishing process-- agent, NY publisher, etc? Or more DIY? Whichever it was, will you tell us the pitfalls and rewards you encountered? AF:?Ah publishing! For the last 10 years, ever since I moved back to the States, it?s been more or less the bane of my existence. I have an agent (my second in the last ten years), and both have loved the book and sent it out far and wide. The rejections have come mostly in this form: This is a fascinating story and beautifully written but it would not interest enough people. One editor even wrote, ?But there aren?t enough prisoners? wives to make this saleable.? But my agent convinced me she could keep at it. In the meantime, a producer at the Katie Couric show came to me?she?d read my piece in the New York Times and another excerpt in Salon and a third in your book, Stricken: 5,000 Stages of Grief, and she wanted me to appear on Katie to tell my story and feature the book, and I decided I would not appear on the show without a book. So I went the self-publishing route. The reward is I have a book between covers, the pitfall?because the book is self-published it is ineligible for all kinds of reviews and awards for which I wish it were eligible and the cost, of course?in terms of money and time invested in doing everything on my own?hiring my own editors, copyeditors, designers, and so on, and working with no publicist or machine behind me. But I?ve reached out for reviews and so far these have been more positive than I could have dreamed?most people have told me that once they picked up the book they couldn?t put it down?and I think it?s opened some eyes, and hearts. That?s my hope. And of course it would be nice to make back the investment ? And meantime my agent has the self-published version out for consideration too. We shall see. SG: How's the marketing going? My experience is that it's pretty tough out there to get noticed. On the other hand, I really am pleased that, as a self-publisher this time around-- I got to write exactly what I wanted. But the marketing can be a bit exhausting. Agreed? AF:?Absolutely agreed. I?ve gone this route before with a series of CD Audiobooks I?ve produced from Tell Me a Story, and when I put those out into the world, I developed a schedule which was this: For three years, each day I wrote one letter to someone?to librarians, to reviewers, to bloggers, to schools, to churches, to women?s groups. And now, six years since the release of the first CD, I do nothing and the CDs continue to sell?not gangbusters but it?s always amazing to me, and I sell at least one CD or story each day to someone somewhere. I thought to do that with this book, but in some ways I?d prefer now to put that energy into writing the next book. That?s why people like you, and interviews like this, are blessings. I?m scheduled to do a radio interview with KPFK (Experience Talks) in early February. But you?re absolutely right. Making this book be and say precisely what I wanted it to be and say is, ultimately, what matters. And that it exists has left me with the energy to begin to put prison behind me. SG: Working on another big project now?? AF: Slowly, slowly bringing myself back into an old novel I first wrote when I was in graduate school, and ?I have another book recently completed that?s coming out in September. This is with St. Martin?s Press, it?s a co-authored memoir with Anne Willan. In other words, I?m the ?ghost? (I?ve ghosted several books, though for this one I have an author credit). Anne is a well-known cooking teacher and author of 30 books who had a famous cooking school in Paris, and the book?s called One Souffle at a Time, and I love her and the story and the book?and it couldn?t be more different from Desperado?s Wife. Her story is one of travel, adventure, food, life in a chateau in Burgundy?very little darkness, lots of light, and Anne?s amazing recipes, too. SG: What else would you like to tell me? AF: Without you and Stricken, I don?t know that I would have ever finished Desperado?s Wife. The writing and the efforts to entice editors was such a slog until the day your co-author, Katherine Tanney, called to tell me you and she had submitted my excerpt to Dan Jones at Modern Love and that he wanted to run a portion of my piece. That opportunity seriously turned everything around for me, first because at the time so many editors were telling me no one cared about the story of a prisoner?s wife, and then because Dan cared so deeply, and afterwards because the feedback was oceanic, and 95% was positive. So I honestly feel that without you and Katherine on my side, I might not have made the long trek to publication.

And this: That 95% of prisoners get out of prison eventually, and families of prisoners are the single best hope that that release will end up being positive and nurturing. And as Will told me on the first day we met, prisoners? families understand prison, and they never did anything wrong. Before I was a prisoner?s wife, I thought all those women (wives, moms, daughters, sisters) standing at the bus stop outside the prison waiting to go home were probably smuggling drugs or knives. Ninety-nine percent of them not only aren?t smuggling knives and guns and drugs, they?re only trying to hold tight to their love, despite the burden of sorrows.

Source: http://writewithspike.blogspot.com/2013/01/normal.html

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Survival of the prettiest: Sexual selection can be inferred from the fossil record

Jan. 29, 2013 ? Detecting sexual selection in the fossil record is not impossible, according to scientists writing in Trends in Ecology and Evolution this month, co-authored by Dr Darren Naish of the University of Southampton.

The term "sexual selection" refers to the evolutionary pressures that relate to a species' ability to repel rivals, meet mates and pass on genes. We can observe these processes happening in living animals but how do palaeontologists know that sexual selection operated in fossil ones?

Historically, palaeontologists have thought it challenging, even impossible, to recognise sexual selection in extinct animals. Many fossil animals have elaborate crests, horns, frills and other structures that look like they were used in sexual display but it can be difficult to distinguish these structures from those that might play a role in feeding behaviour, escaping predators, controlling body temperature and so on.

However in their review, the scientists argue that clues in the fossil record can indeed be used to infer sexual selection.

"We see much evidence from the fossil record suggesting that sexual selection played a major role in the evolution of many extinct groups," says Dr Naish, of the University's Vertebrate Palaeontology Research Group.

"Using observations of modern animal behaviour we can draw analogies with extinct animals and infer how certain features improve success during courtship and breeding."

Modern examples of sexual selection, where species have evolved certain behaviours or ornamentation that repel rivals and attract members of the opposite sex, include the male peacock's display of feathers, and the male moose's antlers for use in clashes during mating season.

Dr Naish and co-authors state that the fossil record holds many clues that point to the existence of sexual selection in extinct species, for example weaponry for fighting, bone fractures from duels, and ornamentation for display, such as fan-shaped crests on dinosaurs. Distinct differences between males and females of a species, called 'sexual dimorphism', can also suggest the presence of sexual selection, and features observed in sexually mature adults, where absent from the young, indicate that their purpose might be linked to reproduction.

We can also make inferences from features that are 'costly' in terms of how much energy they take to maintain, if we assume that the reproductive advantages outweighed the costs.

Whilst these features might have had multiple uses, the authors conclude that sexual selection should not be ruled out.

"Some scientists argue that many of the elaborate features on dinosaurs were not sexually selected at all," adds Dr Naish, who is based at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton.

"But as observations show that sexual selection is the most common process shaping evolutionary traits in modern animals, there is every reason to assume that things were exactly the same in the distant geological past."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Southampton.

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Journal Reference:

1. Robert J. Knell, Darren Naish, Joseph L. Tomkins, David W.E. Hone. Sexual selection in prehistoric animals: detection and implications. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 2013; 28 (1): 38 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2012.07.015

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/EIyoP0e6xn8/130129080217.htm

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UK: Specific threat to Westerners in Somaliland

LONDON (AP) ? British citizens should immediately leave the breakaway Somaliland region of Somalia because of a specific threat to Westerners, British diplomats said Sunday. It was the second such warning issued for an African region in just days and comes amid growing turbulence across the continent's north.

In a statement emailed to reporters, Britain's Foreign Office did not go into any further detail about the nature of the threat but noted that "kidnapping for financial or political gain, motivated by criminality or terrorism" is an issue throughout Somalia.

Somalia has endured years of civil war, and Britain ? along with the United States and a host of other countries ? has long advised against all travel to the Horn of Africa nation. Sunday's travel warning applies specifically to the northwest territory of Somaliland, which declared its independence from Somalia in 1991 and has since been a haven of relative peace amid the chaos and bloodshed of the country's south.

Somaliland Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdulahi Omar told a news conference that his government has full confidence in its security. "We don't believe in that warning," he said. "We are informing the public and foreigners in our country that there's no security scares at all. But in general, terrorism is a worldwide menace."

The new warning was issued only days after Britain, Germany, the Netherlands and Canada urged their citizens in the Libyan city of Benghazi to evacuate in response to what was then described as an imminent threat to Westerners. European officials told The Associated Press at the time that schools were thought to be among the potential targets.

The exact reason for the warnings remains unclear, but they come at a time of heightened tension across north Africa. French and African land forces are battling al-Qaida-linked Islamists in northern Mali, while a renewed bout of unrest has gripped Egypt following the two-year anniversary of the revolution that toppled strongman Hosni Mubarak.

In addition, a Jan. 16 attack on the Ain Amenas natural gas plant in the Sahara ignited a four-day siege by Algerian forces in which at least 37 hostages and 29 militants died. An al-Qaida-affiliated group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Libya also remains unstable following the overthrow of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

It was unclear if any of those factors played a role in Britain's latest warning. The Foreign Office declined to comment beyond its brief statement.

Somaliland, a former British colony, is a key ally for neighboring Ethiopia, which has an embassy in the enclave, and collaborates with the United States and its allies on anti-terrorism missions. Somaliland employs its own security forces, justice system, and currency but is not recognized as a separate country by the international community.

Somaliland was most recently hit by terror attacks in 2008, when suicide car bombers struck inside the enclave and its neighboring Puntland territory, killing more than 29 people.

___

Abdi Guled in Mogadishu, Somalia, contributed to this report.

___

Online:

British government travel advice on Somalia: http://bit.ly/cbSix4

Raphael Satter can be reached at: http://raphae.li/twitter

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-01-27-Somalia%20Warning/id-c131d80f8ba84302af6884f8ce66bfdf

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Stores Hold Own Against Online Competition | Stuff.co.nz

FACE TO FACE: Scorpio Books owner Dave Cameron says customers still prefer to buy books at the Riccarton store rather than online

Many quake-displaced Christchurch retailers turned to online sales, took their first foray into Facebook or at the very least beefed up their company websites as a way to keep their businesses alive after the February 2011 quake.

But many also found online selling was no silver bullet.

A new survey of 11,000 people in 11 countries by PricewaterhouseCoopers reveals why.

The report debunks what it calls the 10 myths of multichannel retailing, which include beliefs that social media will soon be an indispensable retail channel, online retail is cannibalising sales in other channels, and physical stores will become simply showrooms in the future.

In fact, social media is not likely to become an important retail channel any time soon, the survey shows.

Seven out of 10 respondents said they never shopped through social media platforms, although nearly 40 per cent of respondents were following their favourite brands or retailers online, up from 33 per cent last year, as brand lovers were using social media as a "warmup" for future online or physical store shopping excursions.

Nick Paulsen, owner of clothing boutique Clash, said the business used social media mainly to develop the brand and personality of the business but it did not equate to sales.

Clash's Facebook page has 1249 "likes" and is focused on personality and style, music and trends.

"Sometimes we post pics [of new products] but we are not putting price points on there.

"I really want to develop a high level of customer service.

"I believe interaction between customers and retail staff members is so important.

A Facebook community took time to grow and was not a quick fix, Paulsen said.

Social media had limited impact on sales so far. "It's not as reactive as people think."

According to the report, other myths are that physical stores will become mainly showrooms in the future, and online sales are cannibalising sales in other channels.

In fact, respondents said although they researched online, they still preferred to buy products at a physical store.

And shoppers were spending more with their favourite multichannel retailers, not just shifting some purchases to a different brand.

For example, 23 per cent of respondents surveyed said they researched consumer electronics online and then went to a store to buy the product, compared with only 2 per cent who did it the other way around.

Clash does not sell items online.

"To me, online shopping is a real trend.

"I believe people want that interaction with a staff member on the shop floor.

"Online shopping doesn't give you that."

Christchurch bookstore Scorpio is holding its own against online competitors.

Scorpio Books co-owner David Cameron said most sales still came from traditional sales at its physical stores.

Scorpio Books has a website and online sales capacity but online sales were only a small part of the business, Cameron said.

"We do have a Facebook page and we put some quirky stuff up there and we get some favourable responses.

"But it is still not a great marketing tool.

"Despite all the hype about new technology, there is still strong demand for a range of titles that people can come and inspect at their leisure."

Cameron said he expected the trend of online sales would continue to grow but for now online sales were a "relatively tiny" part of overall sales.

After the February 2011 earthquake he had thought the company might have to push online sales but once the business established itself in Riccarton, it had not been necessary.

"The bricks-and-mortar sales have kept up with what we were doing in town, which was a good surprise."

Savoir Lingerie and Swimwear owner Kirsten Billcliff does not place much faith in selling online or using social media to drive sales.

Billcliff said the Merivale swimwear and lingerie boutique used its website to provide customers with information but did not offer online sales because it wanted to maintain relationships with customers.

"We do have Twitter and Facebook. Twitter I barely use at all, and Facebook I use . . . as a medium to keep customers up to date with the latest arrivals in stock," Billcliff said.

"It's about having a relationship with a retailer.

"And specifically, lingerie - it is one of those particular purchases that can't effectively be done online.

"A lot of women are left fairly dissatisfied with online purchases."

Facebook was great for things like getting information out quickly but the business did not "push it".

"We work on the basis our customers are busy, intelligent people. We don't consider our business the be-all and end-all in anybody's life.

"People don't need to spend more time sat at a computer."

Since the earthquakes, customers were doing a lot more pre-purchase research on Savoir's website before coming into the store, because it was harder to get around town since the earthquakes.

Billcliff had improved Savoir's website gallery so customers could have a look online and then come into the store.

However, other Christchurch retailers are reporting strong growth in online sales, include gift and homewares retailer Redcurrent, fashion retailer Lynn Woods and larger companies such as outdoor gear retailer Kathmandu, department store chain Smiths City and clothing retailer Hallenstein Glasson.

And for Christchurch confectionery business The Fudge Cottage, online sales are growing and are likely to be a major part of the business's revenue stream before too long.

The Fudge Cottage managing director Kevin Burns said that after the business was forced to leave its central Arts Centre premises and move to the Bishopdale Mall, the business had become a bit isolated from its central-city customers.

To "fill the gap" created by less foot traffic in between special occasions and seasonal events, and to reconnect with former customers, Burns invested in a responsive, shopper-friendly website designed by Christchurch web design company LeftClick.

Internet orders are already about 10 per cent of total sales, and the business is looking to grow that.

It has a wide network of customers overseas and elsewhere in New Zealand and it has just had its first direct order from Australia.

MULTICHANNEL RETAILING MYTHS OF MULTICHANNEL RETAILING:

? Social media will soon become an indispensable retail channel. On its own, social media isn't likely to become an important retail channel any time soon.

? Physical stores will become mainly showrooms in the future. Many multichannel shoppers research online, but more still prefer to buy at a physical store.

? The tablet will soon overtake the PC as the preferred online shopping device. Shoppers are still overwhelmingly using their PCs to shop online.

? As the world gets smaller, global consumers are becoming more alike. A wide range of local differences in consumer behaviours exists.

? China is the future model of online retail. China is leading in some key trends, but its multichannel and online model is unique.

? Domestic retailers will always have a "home field" advantage over global retailers.. Foreign retailers are making inroads into consumers' lists of favourite multichannel retailers.

? Global online players such as Amazon and eBay will always have a scale advantage over local online players. Many domestic pure players are holding their own.

? Retailers are better positioned than brands because they are closest to the customer. Consumers are shopping directly from manufacturers and many no longer distinguish between retailers and favourite brands.

? Online retail is cannibalising sales in other channels. Consumers are actually spending more with their favourite multichannel retailers, not just shifting some purchases to a different channel.

? Low price is the main driver of customer spending at favourite retailers.Customers value quality, innovative brands over price.

Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers

- ? Fairfax NZ News

Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/8229759/Physical-stores-hold-own-against-online-sales

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Music Spotlight: Matt Hectorne & the Family Tree | Brite Winter Festival

Hanging around the green room below the Beachland Ballroom, Matt Hectorne seems at his most content talking church music and his Mississippi upbringings when the conversation comes to a halt and a smile breaks behind a grizzly beard. ??I?ll Fly Away,?? he points upstairs in approval to the Womack Family Band?s psychedelic rendition of the spiritual standard taking place on stage that?s echoing through the floor. In 20 minutes he?ll take the stage himself for the last time with Humble Home. In five months he?ll move to Nashville.

For a boy who grew up in a small suburb of Memphis immersed in a church of country and gospel vintage lore, a Southern homecoming marks the past year as a return to the roots. With a contributing cast of musicians he released two EPs, The Family Tree and Your Light My Dark, a collection of songs that were no doubt inspired by the way he paints his Episcopalian youth: Sunday bands with Elvis slick backs and sideburns, pedal steel and banjo players, running, screaming, dancing, and speaking in tongues.

?As soon as I started writing songs that style came naturally; the imagery, the Christian allegory,? Hectorne says of his early years. ?I started delving into outlaw country like Merle Haggard, Guy Clarke, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn. When I play now, it?s nothing I ever really think about any more. That?s just what comes out.?

The result was February?s Family Tree EP, written and recorded over an inspired two week span. Its spontaneous live recording added an immediacy to Hectorne?s antiqued Americana, a human quality that parallels the songs? themes of questioning and denouncing faith that ends with a stand-out bonus track of a sparse, arresting cover of Bruce Springsteen?s ?Downbound Train?.

?What I love about classic albums, when bands like the Byrds or the Animals would record live back in the day, is they just took everything off the floor, did a take and said that felt good, let?s just keep that,? he explains on producing the EP. ?It?s not so much that every song should be pristine; I think the idea of recording isn?t so much getting it perfect as getting it right for that moment. It should be a portrait of the time you were in.?

Hectorne spent the next months penning Your Light My Dark, an EP that expanded into moments of shimmering pop and choral sing-alongs. With the hushed harmonies of Nina DeRubertis becoming fully realized on the chanting hymnal ?(Will There Be a Time When I Will Not Be) Lost Without You? and the release of the stark black-and-white video for ?Coming Around?, Your Light My Dark is a project steeped in minimalism, an unembellished effort that finds beauty in subtlety.

?I never set out to make the simplest video or the simplest sounding recording. To me it?s just being honest and almost a necessity. I?m not necessarily a prolific musician; I learned my instrument to write songs and it?s all I know,? says Hectorne. ?But when you strip songs down, the only thing that stands up or holds anything together is the lyrics. You have no room for any other pretense. You have the song or you have nothing. ?

In late June, Hectorne will move to Nashville with a two week tour planned for this year and demos in the works that he hopes to turn into a full-length album to be released by early 2014. ?I love the hospitality of the South,? he says about the move. ?I love the dynamic and that?s where I want to be. I just feel like it?s the right time and I feel very good about it.?

Matt Hectorne & the Family Tree plays at the Market Avenue Wine Bar. Stream the Family Tree?s album?Your Light My Dark?on?Bandcamp?and keep up with them on?Facebook?and?Tumblr.

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Source: http://www.britewinter.com/music-spotlight-matt-hectorne-the-family-tree/

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Barbara Kruger Birthday: The Subversive Female Artist Turns 68 (PHOTOS)

Today is the birthday of Barbara Kruger, the subversive female artist known to harness the power of print media in her bold, declarative artworks. In the midst of a major exhibition at the Hirschhorn Museum in D.C., Kruger is turning 68 years old.

An artwork by Barbara Kruger is exhibited by the Mary Boone Gallery during the Vernissage Art Basel Miami Beach, Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011, in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/ Lynne Sladky)

Addressing issues of language and mass communication, Kruger has created billboard-sized works that combine striking found images with sharply critical text. From sexism to consumerism, the artist takes aim at the power structures that be with phrases like "Money makes money," "Plenty should be enough," and "You comfort is my silence." It's a technique that's not too surprising, given the artist's early career in publishing in the 1970s, submersed in the text and image-filled universe of Conde Nast.

Since entering into the realm of fine art, and participating in the Whitney Biennial in 1973, Kruger has shown her large-scale work at galleries across the world including the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the Serpentine Gallery in London, and the Moderna Museet in Stockholm. This year, an exhibit, titled "Belief+Doubt," is taking over the lower lobby of D.C.'s Hirschhorn Gallery, featuring her biting imaginations as floor-to-ceiling wallpaper designs.

In honor of Ms. Kruger's birthday, watch a time-lapse video of the Hirschhorn installation process here, and view a slideshow of images from the exhibit below. Let us know how you are celebrating the iconic artist's birthday in the comments section.

• Belief+Doubt Barbara Kruger, Belief+Doubt, 2012. ?Barbara Kruger. Photo: Cathy Carver

• Belief+Doubt Barbara Kruger, Belief+Doubt, 2012. ?Barbara Kruger. Photo: Cathy Carver

• Belief+Doubt Barbara Kruger, Belief+Doubt, 2012. ?Barbara Kruger. Photo: Cathy Carver

• Belief+Doubt Barbara Kruger, Belief+Doubt, 2012. ?Barbara Kruger. Photo: Cathy Carver

• Belief+Doubt Barbara Kruger, Belief+Doubt, 2012. ?Barbara Kruger. Photo: Cathy Carver

• Belief+Doubt Barbara Kruger, Belief+Doubt, 2012. ?Barbara Kruger. Photo: Cathy Carver

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/26/barbara-kruger-birthday-the-female-artist-turns-68_n_2552518.html

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Iraqi insurgents try to harness opposition rage

BAGHDAD (AP) ? Iraqi insurgents are trying to capitalize on the rage of anti-government protesters and the instability caused by rising civil unrest, complicating the government's efforts to stamp out a resurgent al-Qaida and other militants.

Organizers of the protests attracting minority Iraqi Sunnis insist they have no links to terrorist groups. Yet Iraqi and U.S. officials have expressed concern that violent extremists could benefit from the demonstrators' feelings of alienation and hostility toward the Shiite-led Iraqi government.

And tensions are rising.

At least five protesters were killed and more than 20 were wounded on Friday when soldiers opened fire at stone-hurling demonstrators near Fallujah, a former al-Qaida stronghold where tens of thousands took to the streets. Some in the crowd waved black banners emblazoned with the Muslim confession of faith.

They were the first deaths at opposition rallies that have been raging around the country for more than a month. Two soldiers were later killed in an apparent retaliatory attack.

Protesters also have staged demonstrations in other areas with large concentrations of Sunni Arabs, who feel discriminated against by the government. Their list of demands includes the release of detainees and an end to policies they believe unfairly target their sect.

For now, the American Embassy has no indication that al-Qaida is gaining support from the demonstrations. But the fear remains, particularly as the security situation deteriorates in neighboring Syria.

An embassy official said the U.S. had expressed concern that the protesters' peaceful expression of their viewpoints must not be usurped by extremists trying to provoke violence. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

Sectarian violence that once pushed Iraq to the brink of civil war has ebbed significantly, though violent attacks aimed mainly at Iraq's Shiite majority, security forces and civil servants still happen frequently.

Insurgents have managed to mount large, mass-casualty bombings of the type favored by al-Qaida on at least five days this month. In another attack, a suicide bomber killed a total of seven when he assassinated a prominent politician who played a leading role in the fight against al-Qaida.

The extremist group later claimed responsibility for the latter bombing and other unspecified attacks.

At least 170 people have been killed in insurgent violence since the start of the year, making January already the deadliest month since September.

Protest organizers and the politicians who support them are eager to distance themselves from extremist rhetoric.

Sunni lawmaker Ahmed al-Alawani recently urged Iraq President Nouri al-Maliki to meet demonstrators' demands so al-Qaida and other militant groups could not exploit their frustration.

That was a sentiment echoed by protest organizer and spokesman Saeed Humaim in Ramadi, a city in western Iraq that has been the focus of daily sit-ins and frequent mass rallies. He said protesters have no intention to take up arms, but will defend themselves if attacked by government security forces.

Still, many Iraqi Sunnis have little doubt that the protests strengthen militant groups.

"I don't think the al-Qaida people would miss an opportunity to move freely when the government and security forces are busy handling these spreading protests," said Ayad Salman, 42, who owns a shoe store in northern Baghdad. "The country is slipping toward a new round of civil war, or at least some groups are planning and pushing for this."

The rallies broke out just over a month ago in Iraq's western Sunni heartland of Anbar following the arrest of guards assigned to the Iraqi finance minister, a Sunni who hails from the province. The vast desert territory on Syria's doorstep was the birthplace of the Sunni insurgency that erupted after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, and where Iraqi officials believe al-Qaida's Iraq arm is regrouping.

In an interview aired late Thursday, the Iraqi prime minister suggested that al-Qaida and members of Saddam Hussein's ousted regime have a hand in the demonstrations.

"I hope that these protests would not turn violent ... and drag the country to a sectarian war," he told al-Baghdadiya TV.

Al-Qaida's local affiliate this week posted a statement praising the protesters, saluting what it called "the true Muslims who revolted in defense of their honor and religion."

A senior Iraqi security official who specializes in terrorist activities said al-Qaida is making use of the resentment in predominantly Sunni provinces, where local residents who used to provide authorities tips about terrorist activities are growing much more reluctant to snitch.

He and another senior security official said al-Qaida fighters now have more freedom to move around. That is partly because state security forces' movements are being restricted in Sunni areas so they cannot be accused of unfairly targeting the Muslim sect, they said.

The second official said the demonstrations give extremists a good opportunity to try to mobilize Sunni opposition and portray themselves as the only groups who can safeguard the rights and interests of the Sunni minority.

The Iraqi officials insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss security operations with the media.

The local wing of al-Qaida, known as the Islamic State of Iraq, generally does not operate beyond Iraq's borders. But al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri last year urged Iraqi insurgents to support the Sunni-based uprising in neighboring Syria against President Bashar Assad, whose Alawite sect is a branch of Shiite Islam.

Iraqi officials believe Sunni fighters aligned with al-Qaida's Iraq franchise are moving back and forth across the Syrian border to help Sunni rebels overthrow Assad.

Rebel gains in Syria are giving Iraq's Sunni protesters and insurgents alike a sense that their fortunes may be shifting too.

"Sunnis seem ascendant in Syria. That is a major psychological boost to the Sunnis in Iraq," said Kamran Bokhari, an expert on Mideast issues for the global intelligence company Stratfor. "They're trying to capitalize on that."

Other militants are trying to tie their fight to the protests too.

Earlier this month, uniformed members of the Naqshabandi Army appeared in an online video urging Iraqis to continue their protests, sit-ins and acts of civil disobedience. It called on security forces to turn their weapons on the "traitors and foreign agents" ? a likely reference to what many Sunnis see is Shiite powerhouse Iran's influence over the government.

The group, a network of former Iraqi military officers and jihadists, frequently claims responsibility for attacks on government security forces.

The highest ranking member of Saddam's regime still at large, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, has separately lent his support to the demonstrators. Al-Douri, who is suspected of having ties to the Naqshabandi Army, is thought to have played a key role in financing Sunni insurgents seeking to undermine Iraq's post-Saddam government.

Another small jihadist group, the 1920 Revolution Brigades, put out a statement of its own backing the protest movement.

___

Associated Press writers Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Sameer N. Yacoub contributed reporting.

___

Follow Adam Schreck on Twitter at http://twitter.com/adamschreck

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iraqi-insurgents-try-harness-opposition-rage-092245530.html

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Google's Kansas City experiment begins to yield start-ups | TribLIVE

By The Washington Post

Published: Saturday, January 26, 2013, 5:16?p.m.
Updated 14 hours ago

KANSAS CITY, Kan. ? Smack in the middle of the nation, this city is about as far as possible from the hubs of high-tech innovation on both coasts.

An effort last spring to excite new Web entrepreneurs in a place better known for cattle drives and barbecue sauce turned up just a dozen people.

Then Google blew into town.

The company, dominant in the virtual world, began digging actual holes in the ground and connected homes and businesses to Internet speeds 100 times faster than most Americans have ever seen.

Three months into Google?s much-publicized experiment, signs of new business life have emerged. Nick Budidharma, an 18-year-old game developer, drove with his parents from Hilton Head, S.C., to live in a ?hacker home? that?s connected to Google?s Fiber broadband network. Synthia Payne uprooted from Denver and landed here to launch a start-up that aims to let musicians jam real-time online. That sleepy weekly gathering for Web entrepreneurs recently attracted a standing-room-only crowd of 260 businesspeople, investors and city officials.

Just as the move from dial-up modems to higher-speed Internet connections helped produce Netflix, Facebook and YouTube, policymakers and Google hope this next leap forward will breed a whole new slate of innovations.

The effort also is turning up the heat on cable companies, which now have to compete for consumers who can get faster speeds at lower monthly costs. Those telecom companies have begun bidding against Google to wire firms and city buildings with equally high-octane Internet.

?What Google is providing is a catalyst. This infrastructure is enormously important to create a ripple effect of entrepreneurial activity,? said Lesa Mitchell, a vice president at the Kauffman Foundation, a multibillion-dollar nonprofit that is trying to help local start-ups and officials turn around this city.

It?s an audacious and unproven experiment, the equivalent of replacing country roads with the Autobahn speedway and then assuming Formula One race cars will materialize. The question is whether it is a curiosity ? a publicity stunt ? or an example of what could happen around the country if more cities had access to such fast connections.

Some privacy advocates worry that the project raises questions about how deeply Google will become entwined in its customers? lives.

?It gives them yet another way to gather and amass information about people, to build their digital dossiers,? said John Simpson, director at the public interest group Consumer Watchdog. ?They have so much data about users at their fingertips and become a magnet for government request for that information.?

But local officials think those lightning-fast Internet speeds, which allow movies to download in seconds and create picture- and sound-perfect video conference calls, will enable companies to operate more efficiently and use increased computing power to create cutting-edge technologies.

The ripples so far are small. About a dozen start-ups have been introduced in the first neighborhood to get Google?s 1-gigabit-per-second service.

Of course, Google has much to gain if the test in Kansas City works.

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Source: http://triblive.com/usworld/nation/3368985-74/google-internet-start

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Azarenka beats Li, defends Australian Open title

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Victoria Azarenka had the bulk of the crowd against her. The fireworks were fizzling out, and when she looked over the net she saw Li Na crashing to the court and almost knocking herself out.

Considering the cascading criticism she'd encountered after her previous win, Azarenka didn't need the focus of the Australian Open final to be on another medical timeout.

So after defending her title with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over the sixth-seeded Li in one of the most unusual finals ever at Melbourne Park, Azarenka understandably dropped her racket and cried tears of relief late Saturday night.

She heaved as she sobbed into a towel beside the court, before regaining her composure to collect the trophy.

''It isn't easy, that's for sure, but I knew what I had to do,'' the 23-year-old Belarusian said. ''I had to stay calm. I had to stay positive. I just had to deal with the things that came onto me.''

There were a lot of those things squeezed into the 2-hour, 40-minute match. Li, who was playing her second Australian Open final in three years, twisted her ankle and tumbled to the court in the second and third sets.

The second time was on the point immediately after a 10-minute delay for the Australia Day fireworks - a familiar fixture in downtown Melbourne on Jan. 26, but not usually coinciding with a final.

Li had been sitting in her chair during the break, while Azarenka jogged and swung her racket around before leaving the court to rub some liniment into her legs to keep warm.

The 30-year-old Chinese player had tumbled to the court after twisting her left ankle and had it taped after falling in the fifth game of the second set. Immediately after the fireworks ceased, and with smoke still in the air, she twisted the ankle again, fell and hit the back of her head on the hard court.

The 2011 French Open champion was treated immediately by a tournament doctor and assessed for a concussion in another medical timeout before resuming the match.

''I think I was a little bit worried when I was falling,'' Li said, in her humorous, self-deprecating fashion. ''Because two seconds I couldn't really see anything. It was totally black.

''So when the physio come, she was like, 'Focus on my finger.' I was laughing. I was thinking, 'This is tennis court, not like hospital.'''

Li's injury was obvious and attracted even more support for her from the 15,000-strong crowd.

Azarenka had generated some bad PR by taking a medical timeout after wasting five match points on her own serve in her semifinal win over American teenager Sloane Stephens on Thursday. She came back after the break and finished off Stephens in the next game, later telling an on-court interviewer that she ''almost did the choke of the year.''

She was accused of gamesmanship and manipulating the rules to get time to regain her composure against Stephens, but defended herself by saying she actually was having difficulty breathing because of a rib injury that needed to be fixed.

That explanation didn't convince everybody. So when she walked onto Rod Laver Arena on Saturday, there were some people who booed, and others who heckled her or mimicked the distinctive hooting sound she makes when she hits the ball.

''Unfortunately, you have to go through some rough patches to achieve great things,'' she said. ''That's what makes it so special for me. I went through that, and I'm still able to kiss that beautiful trophy.''

She didn't hold a grudge.

''I was expecting way worse, to be honest. What can you do? You just have to go out there and try to play tennis in the end of the day,'' she said. ''It's a tennis match, tennis battle, final of the Australian Open. I was there to play that.

''The things what happened in the past, I did the best thing I could to explain, and it was left behind me already.''

The match contained plenty of nervy moments and tension, and 16 service breaks - nine for Li. But it also produced plenty of winners and bravery on big points.

Azarenka will retain the No. 1 ranking she's mostly held since her first Grand Slam win in Melbourne last year.

Li moved into the top five and is heartened by a recent trend of Australian runner-ups winning the French Open. She accomplished that in 2011, as did Ana Ivanovic (2008) and Maria Sharapova (2012).

''I wish I can do the same this year, as well,'' Li said.

Later Saturday, Bob and Mike Bryan won their record 13th Grand Slam men's doubles title, defeating the Dutch team of Robin Haase and Igor Sijsling 6-3, 6-4.

Sunday's men's final features two-time defending champion Novak Djokovic and U.S. Open winner Andy Murray. Djokovic is seeking to become the first man in the Open era to win three titles in a row in Australia.

Azarenka was planning a night of partying to celebrate her second major title, with her friend Redfoo and the Party Rock crew, and was hopeful of scoring some tickets to the men's final.

She said she needed to let her hair down after a draining two weeks and hoped that by being more open and frank in recent times she was clearing up any misconceptions the public had of her.

''When I came first on the tour I kind of was lost a little bit,'' he said. ''I didn't know how to open up my personality. It's very difficult when you're alone. I was independent since I was, you know, 10 years old. It was a little bit scary and I wouldn't show my personality.

''So the (last) couple of years I learned how to open up to people and to share the moments. I wasn't really good before. I hope I got better. It's your judgment.''

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/azarenka-secures-back-back-australian-113505989--ten.html

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