Feb 23 2011

On This Day in History February 23

This is your morning Open Thread. Pour your favorite beverage and review the past and comment on the future.

Find the past “On This Day in History” here.

February 23 is the 54th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 311 days remaining until the end of the year (312 in leap years).

On this day in 1954, a group of children from Arsenal Elementary School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, receive the first injections of the new polio vaccine developed by Dr. Jonas Salk.

Though not as devastating as the plague or influenza, poliomyelitis was a highly contagious disease that emerged in terrifying outbreaks and seemed impossible to stop. Attacking the nerve cells and sometimes the central nervous system, polio caused muscle deterioration, paralysis and even death. Even as medicine vastly improved in the first half of the 20th century in the Western world, polio still struck, affecting mostly children but sometimes adults as well. The most famous victim of a 1921 outbreak in America was future President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, then a young politician. The disease spread quickly, leaving his legs permanently paralyzed.

Poliomyelitis, often called polio or infantile paralysis, is an acute viral infectious disease spread from person to person, primarily via the fecal-oral route The term derives from the Greek polios, meaning “grey”, myelos, referring to the “spinal cord”, and the suffix -itis, which denotes inflammation.

Although around 90% of polio infections cause no symptoms at all, affected individuals can exhibit a range of symptoms if the virus enters the blood stream. In about 1% of cases the virus enters the central nervous system, preferentially infecting and destroying motor neurons, leading to muscle weakness and acute flaccid paralysis. Different types of paralysis may occur, depending on the nerves involved. Spinal polio is the most common form, characterized by asymmetric paralysis that most often involves the legs. Bulbar polio leads to weakness of muscles innervated by cranial nerves. Bulbospinal polio is a combination of bulbar and spinal paralysis.

Poliomyelitis was first recognized as a distinct condition by Jakob Heine in 1840. Its causative agent, poliovirus, was identified in 1908 by Karl Landsteiner. Although major polio epidemics were unknown before the late 19th century, polio was one of the most dreaded childhood diseases of the 20th century. Polio epidemics have crippled thousands of people, mostly young children; the disease has caused paralysis and death for much of human history. Polio had existed for thousands of years quietly as an endemic pathogen until the 1880s, when major epidemics began to occur in Europe; soon after, widespread epidemics appeared in the United States.

By 1910, much of the world experienced a dramatic increase in polio cases and frequent epidemics became regular events, primarily in cities during the summer months. These epidemics-which left thousands of children and adults paralyzed-provided the impetus for a “Great Race” towards the development of a vaccine. Developed in the 1950s, polio vaccines are credited with reducing the global number of polio cases per year from many hundreds of thousands to around a thousand. Enhanced vaccination efforts led by the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and Rotary International could result in global eradication of the disease.

Eradication

While now rare in the Western world, polio is still endemic to South Asia and Nigeria. Following the widespread use of poliovirus vaccine in the mid-1950s, the incidence of poliomyelitis declined dramatically in many industrialized countries. A global effort to eradicate polio began in 1988, led by the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and The Rotary Foundation. These efforts have reduced the number of annual diagnosed cases by 99%; from an estimated 350,000 cases in 1988 to a low of 483 cases in 2001, after which it has remained at a level of about 1,000 cases per year (1,606 in 2009). Polio is one of only two diseases currently the subject of a global eradication program, the other being Guinea worm disease. If the global Polio Eradication initiative is successful before that for Guinea worm or any other disease, it would be only the third time humankind has ever completely eradicated a disease, after smallpox in 1979 and rinderpest in 2010. A number of eradication milestones have already been reached, and several regions of the world have been certified polio-free. The Americas were declared polio-free in 1994. In 2000 polio was officially eliminated in 36 Western Pacific countries, including China and Australia. Europe was declared polio-free in 2002. As of 2006, polio remains endemic in only four countries: Nigeria, India (specifically Uttar Pradesh and Bihar), Pakistan, and Afghanistan, although it continues to cause epidemics in other nearby countries born of hidden or reestablished transmission.

 632 – The Last Sermon (Khutbah, Khutbatul Wada’) of prophet Muhammad.

1455 – Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed with movable type.

1778 – American Revolution: Baron von Steuben arrives at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania to help to train the Continental Army.

1836 – The Battle of the Alamo begins in San Antonio, Texas.

1846 – John Henry Newman leaves the Church of England and is received into the Roman Catholic Church.

1847 – Mexican-American War: Battle of Buena Vista – In Mexico, American troops under General Zachary Taylor defeat Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.

1848 – The French Revolution of 1848, which would lead to the establishment of the French Second Republic, begins.

1854 – The official independence of the Orange Free State is declared.

1861 – President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrives secretly in Washington, D.C., after the thwarting of an alleged assassination plot in Baltimore, Maryland.

1870 – In the United States, post-Civil War military control of Mississippi ends and it is readmitted to the Union.

1883 – Alabama becomes the first U.S. state to enact an antitrust law.

1886 – Charles Martin Hall produced the first samples of man-made aluminum, after several years of intensive work. He was assisted in this project by his older sister Julia Brainerd Hall.

1887 – The French Riviera is hit by a large earthquake, killing around 2,000.

1898 – Emile Zola is imprisoned in France after writing “J’accuse”, a letter accusing the French government of anti-Semitism and wrongfully imprisoning Captain Alfred Dreyfus.

1903 – Cuba leases Guantanamo Bay to the United States “in perpetuity”.

1917 – First demonstrations in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The beginning of the February Revolution.

1918 – First victory of Red Army over the Kaiser’s German troops near Narva and Pskov. In honor of this victory, the date is celebrated from 1923 onward as “Red Army Day”; it is renamed Defender of the Fatherland Day after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, and is colloquially known as “Men’s Day”.

1927 – The Federal Radio Commission (later renamed the Federal Communications Commission) begins to regulate the use of radio frequencies in the United States.

1927 – German theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg writes a letter to fellow physicist Wolfgang Pauli, in which he describes his uncertainty principle for the first time.

1934 – Leopold III becomes King of Belgium.

1941 – Plutonium is first produced and isolated by Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg.

1942 – World War II: Japanese submarines fire artillery shells at the California coastline near Santa Barbara.

1944 – The Soviet Union begins the forced deportation of the Chechen and Ingush people from the North Caucasus to Central Asia.

1945 – World War II: During the Battle of Iwo Jima, a group of United States Marines and a commonly forgotten U.S. Navy Corpsman, reach the top of Mount Suribachi on the island and are photographed raising the American flag. The photo would later win a Pulitzer Prize and become the model for the national USMC War Memorial.

1945 – World War II: The 11th Airborne Division, with Filipino guerrillas, free the captives of the Los Banos internment camp.

1945 – World War II: The capital of the Philippines, Manila, is liberated by American forces.

1945 – World War II: Capitulation of German garrison in Poznan. The city is liberated by Soviet and Polish forces.

1945 – World War II: The German town of Pforzheim is completely destroyed in a raid by 379 British bombers.

1945 – World War II: The Verona Philharmonic Theatre is bombed by Allied forces. It would later be re-opened in 1975.

1947 – The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is founded.

1954 – The first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine begins in Pittsburgh.

1955 – First meeting of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO).

1966 – In Syria, Baath party member Salah Jadid leads an intra-party military coup that replaces the previous government of General Amin Hafiz, also a Baathist.

1974 – The Symbionese Liberation Army demands $4 million more to release kidnap victim Patty Hearst.

1980 – Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini states that Iran’s parliament will decide the fate of the American embassy hostages.

1983 – The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces its intent to buy out and evacuate the dioxin-contaminated community of Times Beach, Missouri.

1987 – Supernova 1987a is seen in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

1991 – Gulf War: Ground troops cross the Saudi Arabian border and enter Iraq, thus beginning the ground phase of the war.

1991 – In Thailand, General Sunthorn Kongsompong leads a bloodless coup d’etat, deposing Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan.

1992 – The Socialist Labour Party is founded in the nation of Georgia.

1997 – A small fire occurs in the Russian Space station, Mir.

1998 – Osama bin Laden publishes a fatwa declaring jihad against all Jews and “Crusaders”; the latter term is commonly interpreted to refer to the people of Europe and the United States.

1999 – Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan is charged with treason in Ankara, Turkey.

2005 – In Slovakia, a two-day meeting dubbed “Slovakia Summit 2005” takes place between U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin. This occasion marks the first visit of a sitting American President to the Slovak Republic since its establishment in 1993.

2006 – Dubai Ports World agrees to postpone its plans to take over management of six U.S. ports after the proposal ignited harsh bipartisan criticism.

2010 – Unknown criminals pour more than 2.5 million liters of diesel oil and other hydrocarbons into the river Lambro, in Northern Italy, causing an environmental disaster.

Holidays and observances

   * Christian Feast Day:

         o Polycarp of Smyrna(Catholic Church)

         o Blessed Isabelle of France

         o Serenus the Gardener

         o February 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

   * Mashramani-Republic Day (Guyana)

   * National Day (Brunei)

   * Red Army Day or Day of Soviet Army and Navy in the former Soviet Union, also held in various former Soviet republics:

         o Defender of the Fatherland Day (Russia)

   * Terminalia held in honor of Terminus (Ancient Rome)

Feb 23 2011

It’s Gotta Be Bad If Even Bob Barr Gets It

(2 pm. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

Sen. Al Franken, (D-MI) has called Internet Freedom the most important free speech issue of our time. That Freedom is now being threatened by Senators Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Susan Collins (R-ME) who have introduced a bill that would essentially give the President the authority to shut down the internet with new national emergency powers, aka a “kill switch”:

President Obama would be given the power to “issue a declaration of a national cyberemergency.” Once that happens, Homeland Security would receive sweeping new authorities, including the power to require that so-called critical companies “shall immediately comply with any emergency measure or action” decreed.

No “notice” needs to be given “before mandating any emergency measure or actions.” That means a company could be added to the “critical” infrastructure list one moment, and ordered by Homeland Security to “immediately comply” with its directives the next.

The U.S. Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which Lieberman chairs, appears to believe that it’s not necessary to include explicit judicial review of the president’s emergency authority once exercised, believing it’s implicit. Any such lawsuit filed by a targeted company would likely focus on language saying the emergency decrees should be “the least disruptive means feasible.”

The president may declare a “cyberemergency” for 30 days, and extend it for one 30-day period, unless Congress votes to approve further extensions.

Homeland Security will “establish and maintain a list of systems or assets that constitute covered critical infrastructure” and that will be subject to those emergency decrees.

(emphasis mine)

The ACLU legislative counsel Michelle Richardson said”It still gives the president incredible authority to interfere with Internet communications.” If the Department of Homeland Security wants to pull the plug on Web sites or networks, she said, “the government needs to go to court and get a court order.” I  light of the recent erroneous seizure of 84,000 web sites by the Department of Homeland Security that took them off line even Bob Barr has weighed in with this statement:

No government – no matter how benign or well-meaning – should be empowered to control the Internet. Moreover, the Congress should take a long, hard look at how federal agencies are using – and abusing – their existing powers to control parts of the Internet.

Holy FSM. They’re even calling this bill “Cybersecurity and Internet Freedom Act.”

Liars

Hello!!!! Does this sound familiar?????? Egypt, Libya, anyone?????

Feb 23 2011

DocuDharma Digest

Regular Features-

Featured Essays for February 22, 2011-

DocuDharma

Feb 23 2011

Under the Radar: Look Over Here

(10 am. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

Here’s some of the other news that gets missed or relegated to the inner pages by our ratings fixated media and what some of the loonies have been “plotting”.

  • Apparently somebody at the Justice Department told the White House that defending war criminals, even in a civil law suit, just might be problematic.

    The Justice Department under President Barack Obama has quietly dropped its legal representation of more than a dozen Bush-era Pentagon and administration officials – including former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and aide Paul Wolfowitz – in a lawsuit by Al Qaeda operative Jose Padilla, who spent years behind bars without charges in conditions his lawyers compare to torture.

    Charles Miller, a Justice Department spokesman, confirmed Tuesday that the government has agreed to retain private lawyers for the officials, at a cost of up to $200 per hour. Miller said “conflicts concerns” prompted the decision. He did not elaborate.

    (emphasis mine)

  • Is New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller on the White House payroll? Sure sounds like it. Again Keller, at the request of the White House withheld information from a news story. On January 27, Raymond Davis, who works at the US Embassy, killed two Pakistani men alleging they were threatening him. The White House has claimed that Davis is a diplomat and Pakistan cannot hold him. What was known but not released by the NYT, at the Obama administrations request, was that Davis, a former special forces soldier, was actually working for the CIA and, in fact, worked for Xe, aka Blackwater.

    This is not the first time that the NYT has done the bidding of the administration in power. Keller even boasted in a BBC interview that the NYT had earned the praise of the U.S. Government for withholding materials which the Obama administration wanted withheld.

    The NYT is now Pravda and Izvestia all in one.

  • Arizona may be overboard on a few issues like guns, immigration and denial of transplants under Medicare but the criminal justice system got it right in two cases.

    Jury Convicts Iraqi Immigrant in ‘Honor Killing’ of Daughter

    Faleh Hassan Almaleki, 50, also was convicted of aggravated assault for injuries suffered by the mother of his daughter’s boyfriend during the October 2009 incident in a suburban Phoenix parking lot, and two counts of leaving the scene of an accident.

    Prosecutors told jurors during the trial that he mowed down 20-year-old Noor Almaleki with his Jeep Cherokee because she had brought the family dishonor by becoming too Westernized. He wanted Noor Almaleki to act like a traditional Iraq woman, but she refused an arranged marriage, went to college and had a boyfriend.

    Border Activist Sentenced to Death for Fatal Home Invasion

    Forde was convicted Feb. 14 of first-degree murder in the May 30, 2009, deaths of Raul “Junior” Flores, 29, and his daughter, Brisenia Flores, 9. She was also found guilty of attempted murder in the shooting of Gina Gonzalez, Flores’ wife and Brisenia’s mother.

    Prosecutors said Forde decided to target the house in Arivaca, Ariz., because she believed Flores was a drug smuggler and would have cash in the house. She wanted money to fund her border protection group, Minutemen American Defense, prosecutors said.

  • What do you end up with when you close half the public schools because you don’t want to tax the wealthy? Masses of uneducated, not fit to hold down anything but low paying menial jobs, more homeless, more crime but hey, lalalalalala, they have beans in their ears.

    Detroit Ordered to Close Half Its Public Schools Amid Budget Crisis

    The Detroit public school system has been ordered to close half its schools to make up for a $327 million deficit. The schools will be shuttered over the next four years, causing class sizes to bulge to 60.

    The plan, mandated by state education officials, will reduce the number of schools in the district from 142 to 72. . . . . .

    Census figures on Detroit show a bleak reality. Incomes in the city are half the national average, and one third of the population is in poverty. Michigan’s unemployment rate is 12 percent, and from 2000 to 2010, it was the only state in the country where population decreased.

    Data released today shows that only 10 percent of the state’s high school graduates this year are ready for college.

  • In Montana, Global Warming is good and humans will adapt. Uhhuh

    State of Montana, Representative Read submitted Montana House Bill 549 entitled “An Act Stating Montana’s Position on Global Warming.”

    This bill does three very simple things. If passed and signed into law, Montana’s legislature repeals the laws of nature and the realities of science by simply declaring that (1) carbon dioxide does not cause global warming; (2) oh, well, maybe there is global warming but it is entirely natural; and (3) anyway, it’s going to be good for the welfare and “business climate” of Montana — all findings that are self-contradictory, false, or simply out of the control of the Montana legislature, no matter what reality they might prefer.

    The Laws of Physics are just hard work to understand, so just repeal them.

  • The Tea Party in New Hampshire is worried about being invaded so they have introduced a bill to allocate a half million dollars to establish a state militia:

    The purpose of the state guard shall be the defense of the state: to coordinate the resources of the state and interface between the state and the national guard in time of emergency or natural disaster and to defend the state against invasion.

    (emphasis mine)

    Will out of staters need passports? You never know about those damned skiers, hikers and campers.

  • If you thought that South Dakota was off the wall when they proposed legislation that would permit the legal assassination of abortion providers and let a woman bleed to death rather than provide an abortion, well they have now reach new depths of stupid with a bill that would require every 21 year old to buy a gun for self defense.
  • Back to the loonies in Montana who want to repeal or defy anything the Federal government passes and proposed a series of seven bills to do it. Goll Darn It!
  • On to Georgia where state Rep. Bobby Franklin, a Republican, has introduced the “Constitutional Tender Act” to require the exclusive use of gold or silver for payment of state debts. It would also require banks that take state money to accept and offer gold. But not just any gold. The bill specifies that “pre-1965 silver coins, silver eagles, and gold eagles” be used.

    South Carolina, not to be  out done, wants to introduce its own currency

  • The Iowa House in response to the legalization of same-sex marriage in the state, has introduced a bill that make it “legal for an Iowa business owner who cites religious beliefs to refuse to provide jobs, housing, goods or services to people involved in a marriage that violates his or her religious convictions, according to a bill an Iowa House subcommittee will consider on Wednesday.”

    Bigotry in the guise of religious beliefs. Twist that First Amendment, just don’t expect to have health insurance to cover the back injury sustained while doing it.

  • Connecticut and 10 other states want to see your birth certificate before you can run for President of the United States.

    Proof of life anyone?

  • I really hate to be the one to tell the Arizona legislators that they can’t repeal the 14th Amendment this way. They are considering bills :

    – House Bill 2561 and Senate Bill 1309 would define children as citizens of Arizona and the U.S. if at least one of their parents was either a U.S. citizen or a legal permanent U.S. resident and therefore subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

    – House Bill 2562 and Senate Bill 1308 would seek permission from Congress to set up a system so states can create separate birth certificates for children who meet the new definition of a citizen and those who do not.

    • Imaginative aren’t they? Too bad they are doing anything to solve out economic problems and create jobs.

     

    Feb 23 2011

    Prime Time

    Pretty solid premiers. V, double shot of NCIS, Frontline covers Egypt.

    Snakes.  Why is it always snakes.

    Oh, Marcus. What are you trying to do, scare me? You sound like my mother. We’ve known each other for a long time. I don’t believe in magic, a lot of superstitious hocus pocus. I’m going after a find of incredible historical significance, you’re talking about the boogie man. Besides, you know what a cautious fellow I am.

    Later-

    Barzini is dead. So is Phillip Tattallgia. Moe Green. Slacci. Cuneo. Today I settled all family business so don’t tell me that you’re innocent. Admit what you did.

    Dave hosts Amy Poehler, Jean Chu and her cat, and Deerhunter.  Jon has Anderson Cooper, Stephen Bing West (an interesting piece from digby about Jon and his false equivalence ‘centrism’ and ‘civility’.  Let me just add a hearty “Fuck you, you privileged poppycock asshole” Jon.).  Conan hosts Matthew Perry, Mike Sorrentino, and Jason Aldean.

    You’re not a wartime Consigliari, Tom. Things could get rough with the move we’re making.

    Zap2it TV Listings, Yahoo TV Listings

    Feb 22 2011

    from firefly-dreaming 22.2.11

    (midnight. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

    Regular Daily Features:

    • The Yardbirds kick off the day in Late Night Karaoke, mishima DJs
    • Six Brilliant Articles!   from Six Different Places!!   on Six Different Topics!!!  

                            Six Days a Week!!!         at Six in the Morning!!!!

    Essays Featured Tuesday, February 22nd:

    join the conversation! come firefly-dreaming with me….

    Feb 22 2011

    Evening Edition

    Evening Edition is an Open Thread

    Now with 36 Top Stories.

    From Yahoo News Top Stories

    1 Defiant Kadhafi orders uprising crushed

    AFP

    1 hr 3 mins ago

    TRIPOLI (AFP) – Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi on Tuesday ordered his forces to crush an uprising that has rocked his 41-year rule, warning armed protesters they will be executed and vowing to fight to his last.

    In a defiant, sometimes rambling speech on television, Kadhafi vowed to remain in Libya as head of its revolution, saying he would die as a martyr in the land of his ancestors and fight to the “last drop” of his blood.

    Proclaiming the support of the people, Kadhafi ordered the army and police to crush the popular uprising against his iron-fisted four-decade rule that has already left hundreds dead in the past eight days.

    AFP

    2 Libya’s Kadhafi denies fleeing as cities overrun

    AFP

    Mon Feb 21, 10:09 pm ET

    TRIPOLI (AFP) – Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi denied fleeing the country in a defiant television appearance as protesters overran several cities, shaking the foundations of his four-decade rule.

    The Libyan strongman’s comments, designed to scotch “malicious rumours” he had fled to Venezuela, were the first since protests erupted last Tuesday in the east of the oil-rich north African nation.

    “I am going to meet with the youth in Green Square” in downtown Tripoli, Kadhafi said in what state television billed as a live broadcast from outside the strongman’s home.

    3 Defiant Kadhafi vows to stay on as Libyan leader

    AFP

    2 hrs 52 mins ago

    TRIPOLI (AFP) – A defiant Moamer Kadhafi vowed on Tuesday to remain in Libya as head of its revolution, saying he would die as a martyr in the land of his ancestors and fight to the “last drop” of his blood.

    Proclaiming the people to be behind him, Kadhafi ordered the army and police to crush the popular uprising against his iron-fisted four-decade rule that rights groups say have left hundreds dead in the past eight days.

    In a live, apparently unscripted speech on national television, the 68-year-old Kadhafi said, “Moamer Kadhafi is the leader of a revolution; Moamer Kadhafi has no official position in order for him to resign. He is the leader of the revolution forever.”

    4 World markets slide, oil soars on Libya unrest

    AFP

    Tue Feb 22, 7:43 am ET

    LONDON (AFP) – Global markets dived Tuesday and oil prices spiked above $108 per barrel, as sentiment was rocked by violent unrest in Libya, while the safe-haven US dollar gained ground.

    “The revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt are continuing to spread across the region. It seems to be Libya’s turn now. These developments cause a high degree of uncertainty,” said Commerzbank analyst Ulrich Leuchtmann.

    Financial markets were also rattled by news of a deadly earthquake in New Zealand and a ratings downgrade for Japan, dealers said.

    5 Anger in Pakistan over US gunman revelations

    by Waqar Hussain, AFP

    Tue Feb 22, 5:20 am ET

    LAHORE, Pakistan (AFP) – New revelations about a CIA contractor in custody for shooting two men dead heaped pressure on Pakistan’s fragile government Tuesday and exposed burning public mistrust of Washington.

    Officials in Washington cited by US media reports confirmed the account of a Pakistani intelligence official, who told AFP that Raymond Davis, the American being held in a prison in Lahore city, was working undercover for the CIA.

    Washington is pushing hard for Pakistan’s authorities to free Davis, arguing that he has diplomatic immunity and backing his claim to have acted in self-defence when he shot the men in a busy city street nearly four weeks ago.

    6 50 million ‘environmental refugees’ by 2020, experts say

    by Karin Zeitvogel, AFP

    Mon Feb 21, 7:50 pm ET

    WASHINGTON (AFP) – Fifty million “environmental refugees” will flood into the global north by 2020, fleeing food shortages sparked by climate change, experts warned at a major science conference that ended here Monday.

    “In 2020, the UN has projected that we will have 50 million environmental refugees,” University of California, Los Angeles professor Cristina Tirado said at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

    “When people are not living in sustainable conditions, they migrate,” she continued, outlining with the other speakers how climate change is impacting both food security and food safety, or the amount of food available and the healthfulness of that food.

    7 Cricket: England squeak home after Dutch scare

    by John Weaver, AFP

    2 hrs 1 min ago

    NEW DELHI (AFP) – The Netherlands’ Ryan ten Doeschate scored a dazzling World Cup century against ragged England Tuesday but the three-times finalists fought back to win a nervy game.

    In a contest the competition badly needed after a series of mismatches, the Dutch, inspired by ten Doeschate’s knock of 119 off just 110 balls, racked up a challenging score of 292 for six in Nagpur.

    The Ashes winners were shocking in the field as ten Doeschate went on the rampage, hitting three sixes and nine fours in a devastating show of power.

    Reuters

    8 Defiant Gaddafi vows to die as martyr, fight revolt

    Reuters

    23 mins ago

    TRIPOLI (Reuters) – A defiant Muammar Gaddafi vowed on Tuesday to die “a martyr” in Libya and said he would crush a revolt which has seen eastern regions already break free from four decades of his rule.

    Swathed in brown robes, Gaddafi seethed with anger and banged the podium outside one of his residences that was damaged in a 1986 U.S. bombing raid that attempted to kill him. Next to him stood a monument of a fist crushing a U.S. fighter jet.

    “I am not going to leave this land, I will die here as a martyr,” Gaddafi said on state television, refusing to bow to calls from his own diplomats, soldiers and protesters clamouring in the streets for him to go.

    9 Flamboyant Gaddafi fights for survival

    By Giles Elgood, Reuters

    Tue Feb 22, 10:25 am ET

    LONDON (Reuters) – With his penchant for bedouin tents and heavily armed female bodyguards, along with a readiness to execute his opponents, Muammar Gaddafi has cut a disturbing figure as Libya’s leader for more than 40 years.

    For most of that time he held a prominent position in the West’s international rogues’ gallery, while maintaining tight control at home by eliminating dissidents and refusing to annoint a successor.

    As his oil-producing nation feels the wind of change gusting across the Arab world, his security forces have responded with the deadly force that human rights groups say has characterized the Gaddafi era.

    10 Oil holds near 2-1/2 year highs on Libya revolt

    By David Sheppard, Reuters

    39 mins ago

    NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil prices held firm near 2-1/2 year highs on Tuesday as the revolt in Libya disrupted more supplies, but there was no repeat of Monday’s spike as both OPEC and the IEA said they could help meet any shortage.

    Turmoil in Libya drove prices as much as 6 percent higher in the previous session, taking Brent crude in London to almost $109 a barrel for the first time since 2008.

    In a defiant speech on Tuesday, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi refused to step aside on Tuesday and threatened tougher action against protests, as rebel troops said eastern regions, including major oilfields, had broken free from his rule.

    11 Wal-Mart says needs more time to fix U.S. missteps

    By Jessica Wohl, Reuters

    1 hr 47 mins ago

    CHICAGO (Reuters) – Wal-Mart Stores Inc failed to meet its promise of reigniting sales at its U.S. stores and it is up to relatively new leaders to turn things around as they face increased pressure from dollar stores.

    The retailer reported its seventh consecutive quarterly decline in sales at U.S. stores open at least a year, posting a 1.8 percent drop that was much bigger than its worst forecast and showing how hard it is for a merchant that accounts for 10 percent of U.S. retail sales to overcome its own mistakes.

    Wal-Mart shares fell 4 percent, despite reporting earnings that beat analysts’ expectations. U.S. sales are also still being hurt by a poorly executed decision, since reversed, to pare down the number of items Wal-Mart offers.

    12 Wal-Mart must prove executives right on recovery

    By Jessica Wohl, Reuters

    Tue Feb 22, 12:34 am ET

    CHICAGO (Reuters) – Wal-Mart Stores Inc investors are eager to see whether management made good on the claim that the company’s biggest business, its namesake discount chain, would finally see sales turn the corner.

    Under Chief Executive Mike Duke and new U.S. chief Bill Simon, the world’s largest retailer is stocking more goods and has a renewed focus on consistently low pricing.

    Tuesday’s quarterly results will show whether the fresh management team at the U.S. discount chain was able to make a difference in the key fourth quarter.

    13 Pakistan says American’s CIA link has no bearing on murder trial

    By Kiyoshi Takenaka and Mubasher Bokhari, Reuters

    Tue Feb 22, 10:31 am ET

    LAHORE/TOKYO (Reuters) – Pakistan insisted on Tuesday that the courts would decide the fate of an American detained on murder charges, even after it was revealed he was a CIA contractor whom Washington says enjoys diplomatic immunity.

    The case of 36-year-old Raymond Davis, a former U.S. special forces officer, has strained the already-uneasy alliance between the United States and Pakistan, who are supposed to be united in the face of Islamist militants waging a war in Afghanistan.

    Davis’ killing of two Pakistani men in the eastern city of Lahore last month has inflamed anti-U.S. sentiment in Pakistan, effectively giving the government little choice but to prosecute him in court. His trial for murder beings on Friday, February 25.

    14 American held in Lahore is CIA contractor: sources

    By Mark Hosenball and Mubasher Bokhari, Reuters

    Mon Feb 21, 5:38 pm ET

    WASHINGTON/LAHORE (Reuters) – An American held on murder charges in Pakistan after a shooting worked as a CIA contractor but was not involved in covert operations, U.S. sources closely following the case said on Monday.

    The confirmation of a link with the CIA — which had been reported in recent days in Pakistani media — was likely to further strain Washington’s ties with Islamabad over the case.

    The shooting of two Pakistanis last month in the eastern city of Lahore has inflamed anti-American feeling in Pakistan and highlighted the countries’ uneasy alliance against Islamist militants who attack U.S. troops in neighboring Afghanistan.

    15 Special Report: Is Wen’s "new socialist countryside" working?

    By Chris Buckley, Reuters

    Tue Feb 22, 7:43 am ET

    ZHAOYUAN, China (Reuters) – When Chinese premier Wen Jiabao visited Zhao Mengleng’s village, she hoped to show him the cracks threatening her mud-brick home, a reminder that the country’s embryonic prosperity has not reached everybody in the vast rural heartland.

    The 68-year-old prime minister, who has cultivated an image as a man of the people and is popularly known as “Grandpa Wen, visited Zhaoyuan village in eastern Anhui province during the Chinese New Year holidays.

    He came to support his pledge to narrow the rich-poor gap and channel more wealth to China’s 720 million villagers and rural migrant workers, a population more than double the size of the United States.

    16 ECB policymakers ratchet up inflation warnings

    By Farah Master and Marc Jones, Reuters

    Mon Feb 21, 6:25 pm ET

    HONG KONG/FRANKFURT (Reuters) – ECB policymakers sent a fresh round of inflation warnings on Monday, as euro-zone data showed the region’s economic recovery remained robust and likely to keep upward pressure on prices.

    ECB policymakers have sounded increasingly aggressive on inflation this year since it topped the bank’s target of just under two percent.

    Speaking late in Frankfurt, Juergen Stark, one of the ECB’s inflation hardliners, added to the message.

    AFP

    2 Libya’s Kadhafi denies fleeing as cities overrun

    AFP

    Mon Feb 21, 10:09 pm ET

    TRIPOLI (AFP) – Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi denied fleeing the country in a defiant television appearance as protesters overran several cities, shaking the foundations of his four-decade rule.

    The Libyan strongman’s comments, designed to scotch “malicious rumours” he had fled to Venezuela, were the first since protests erupted last Tuesday in the east of the oil-rich north African nation.

    “I am going to meet with the youth in Green Square” in downtown Tripoli, Kadhafi said in what state television billed as a live broadcast from outside the strongman’s home.

    3 Defiant Kadhafi vows to stay on as Libyan leader

    AFP

    2 hrs 52 mins ago

    TRIPOLI (AFP) – A defiant Moamer Kadhafi vowed on Tuesday to remain in Libya as head of its revolution, saying he would die as a martyr in the land of his ancestors and fight to the “last drop” of his blood.

    Proclaiming the people to be behind him, Kadhafi ordered the army and police to crush the popular uprising against his iron-fisted four-decade rule that rights groups say have left hundreds dead in the past eight days.

    In a live, apparently unscripted speech on national television, the 68-year-old Kadhafi said, “Moamer Kadhafi is the leader of a revolution; Moamer Kadhafi has no official position in order for him to resign. He is the leader of the revolution forever.”

    4 World markets slide, oil soars on Libya unrest

    AFP

    Tue Feb 22, 7:43 am ET

    LONDON (AFP) – Global markets dived Tuesday and oil prices spiked above $108 per barrel, as sentiment was rocked by violent unrest in Libya, while the safe-haven US dollar gained ground.

    “The revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt are continuing to spread across the region. It seems to be Libya’s turn now. These developments cause a high degree of uncertainty,” said Commerzbank analyst Ulrich Leuchtmann.

    Financial markets were also rattled by news of a deadly earthquake in New Zealand and a ratings downgrade for Japan, dealers said.

    5 Anger in Pakistan over US gunman revelations

    by Waqar Hussain, AFP

    Tue Feb 22, 5:20 am ET

    LAHORE, Pakistan (AFP) – New revelations about a CIA contractor in custody for shooting two men dead heaped pressure on Pakistan’s fragile government Tuesday and exposed burning public mistrust of Washington.

    Officials in Washington cited by US media reports confirmed the account of a Pakistani intelligence official, who told AFP that Raymond Davis, the American being held in a prison in Lahore city, was working undercover for the CIA.

    Washington is pushing hard for Pakistan’s authorities to free Davis, arguing that he has diplomatic immunity and backing his claim to have acted in self-defence when he shot the men in a busy city street nearly four weeks ago.

    6 50 million ‘environmental refugees’ by 2020, experts say

    by Karin Zeitvogel, AFP

    Mon Feb 21, 7:50 pm ET

    WASHINGTON (AFP) – Fifty million “environmental refugees” will flood into the global north by 2020, fleeing food shortages sparked by climate change, experts warned at a major science conference that ended here Monday.

    “In 2020, the UN has projected that we will have 50 million environmental refugees,” University of California, Los Angeles professor Cristina Tirado said at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

    “When people are not living in sustainable conditions, they migrate,” she continued, outlining with the other speakers how climate change is impacting both food security and food safety, or the amount of food available and the healthfulness of that food.

    7 Cricket: England squeak home after Dutch scare

    by John Weaver, AFP

    2 hrs 1 min ago

    NEW DELHI (AFP) – The Netherlands’ Ryan ten Doeschate scored a dazzling World Cup century against ragged England Tuesday but the three-times finalists fought back to win a nervy game.

    In a contest the competition badly needed after a series of mismatches, the Dutch, inspired by ten Doeschate’s knock of 119 off just 110 balls, racked up a challenging score of 292 for six in Nagpur.

    The Ashes winners were shocking in the field as ten Doeschate went on the rampage, hitting three sixes and nine fours in a devastating show of power.

    Reuters

    8 Defiant Gaddafi vows to die as martyr, fight revolt

    Reuters

    23 mins ago

    TRIPOLI (Reuters) – A defiant Muammar Gaddafi vowed on Tuesday to die “a martyr” in Libya and said he would crush a revolt which has seen eastern regions already break free from four decades of his rule.

    Swathed in brown robes, Gaddafi seethed with anger and banged the podium outside one of his residences that was damaged in a 1986 U.S. bombing raid that attempted to kill him. Next to him stood a monument of a fist crushing a U.S. fighter jet.

    “I am not going to leave this land, I will die here as a martyr,” Gaddafi said on state television, refusing to bow to calls from his own diplomats, soldiers and protesters clamouring in the streets for him to go.

    9 Flamboyant Gaddafi fights for survival

    By Giles Elgood, Reuters

    Tue Feb 22, 10:25 am ET

    LONDON (Reuters) – With his penchant for bedouin tents and heavily armed female bodyguards, along with a readiness to execute his opponents, Muammar Gaddafi has cut a disturbing figure as Libya’s leader for more than 40 years.

    For most of that time he held a prominent position in the West’s international rogues’ gallery, while maintaining tight control at home by eliminating dissidents and refusing to annoint a successor.

    As his oil-producing nation feels the wind of change gusting across the Arab world, his security forces have responded with the deadly force that human rights groups say has characterized the Gaddafi era.

    10 Oil holds near 2-1/2 year highs on Libya revolt

    By David Sheppard, Reuters

    39 mins ago

    NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil prices held firm near 2-1/2 year highs on Tuesday as the revolt in Libya disrupted more supplies, but there was no repeat of Monday’s spike as both OPEC and the IEA said they could help meet any shortage.

    Turmoil in Libya drove prices as much as 6 percent higher in the previous session, taking Brent crude in London to almost $109 a barrel for the first time since 2008.

    In a defiant speech on Tuesday, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi refused to step aside on Tuesday and threatened tougher action against protests, as rebel troops said eastern regions, including major oilfields, had broken free from his rule.

    11 Wal-Mart says needs more time to fix U.S. missteps

    By Jessica Wohl, Reuters

    1 hr 47 mins ago

    CHICAGO (Reuters) – Wal-Mart Stores Inc failed to meet its promise of reigniting sales at its U.S. stores and it is up to relatively new leaders to turn things around as they face increased pressure from dollar stores.

    The retailer reported its seventh consecutive quarterly decline in sales at U.S. stores open at least a year, posting a 1.8 percent drop that was much bigger than its worst forecast and showing how hard it is for a merchant that accounts for 10 percent of U.S. retail sales to overcome its own mistakes.

    Wal-Mart shares fell 4 percent, despite reporting earnings that beat analysts’ expectations. U.S. sales are also still being hurt by a poorly executed decision, since reversed, to pare down the number of items Wal-Mart offers.

    12 Wal-Mart must prove executives right on recovery

    By Jessica Wohl, Reuters

    Tue Feb 22, 12:34 am ET

    CHICAGO (Reuters) – Wal-Mart Stores Inc investors are eager to see whether management made good on the claim that the company’s biggest business, its namesake discount chain, would finally see sales turn the corner.

    Under Chief Executive Mike Duke and new U.S. chief Bill Simon, the world’s largest retailer is stocking more goods and has a renewed focus on consistently low pricing.

    Tuesday’s quarterly results will show whether the fresh management team at the U.S. discount chain was able to make a difference in the key fourth quarter.

    13 Pakistan says American’s CIA link has no bearing on murder trial

    By Kiyoshi Takenaka and Mubasher Bokhari, Reuters

    Tue Feb 22, 10:31 am ET

    LAHORE/TOKYO (Reuters) – Pakistan insisted on Tuesday that the courts would decide the fate of an American detained on murder charges, even after it was revealed he was a CIA contractor whom Washington says enjoys diplomatic immunity.

    The case of 36-year-old Raymond Davis, a former U.S. special forces officer, has strained the already-uneasy alliance between the United States and Pakistan, who are supposed to be united in the face of Islamist militants waging a war in Afghanistan.

    Davis’ killing of two Pakistani men in the eastern city of Lahore last month has inflamed anti-U.S. sentiment in Pakistan, effectively giving the government little choice but to prosecute him in court. His trial for murder beings on Friday, February 25.

    14 American held in Lahore is CIA contractor: sources

    By Mark Hosenball and Mubasher Bokhari, Reuters

    Mon Feb 21, 5:38 pm ET

    WASHINGTON/LAHORE (Reuters) – An American held on murder charges in Pakistan after a shooting worked as a CIA contractor but was not involved in covert operations, U.S. sources closely following the case said on Monday.

    The confirmation of a link with the CIA — which had been reported in recent days in Pakistani media — was likely to further strain Washington’s ties with Islamabad over the case.

    The shooting of two Pakistanis last month in the eastern city of Lahore has inflamed anti-American feeling in Pakistan and highlighted the countries’ uneasy alliance against Islamist militants who attack U.S. troops in neighboring Afghanistan.

    15 Special Report: Is Wen’s "new socialist countryside" working?

    By Chris Buckley, Reuters

    Tue Feb 22, 7:43 am ET

    ZHAOYUAN, China (Reuters) – When Chinese premier Wen Jiabao visited Zhao Mengleng’s village, she hoped to show him the cracks threatening her mud-brick home, a reminder that the country’s embryonic prosperity has not reached everybody in the vast rural heartland.

    The 68-year-old prime minister, who has cultivated an image as a man of the people and is popularly known as “Grandpa Wen, visited Zhaoyuan village in eastern Anhui province during the Chinese New Year holidays.

    He came to support his pledge to narrow the rich-poor gap and channel more wealth to China’s 720 million villagers and rural migrant workers, a population more than double the size of the United States.

    16 ECB policymakers ratchet up inflation warnings

    By Farah Master and Marc Jones, Reuters

    Mon Feb 21, 6:25 pm ET

    HONG KONG/FRANKFURT (Reuters) – ECB policymakers sent a fresh round of inflation warnings on Monday, as euro-zone data showed the region’s economic recovery remained robust and likely to keep upward pressure on prices.

    ECB policymakers have sounded increasingly aggressive on inflation this year since it topped the bank’s target of just under two percent.

    Speaking late in Frankfurt, Juergen Stark, one of the ECB’s inflation hardliners, added to the message.

    AP

    17 Libya’s Gadhafi vows to fight on, die a martyr

    By MAGGIE MICHAEL and SARAH EL DEEB, Associated Press

    15 mins ago

    CAIRO – Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi vowed to fight on to his “last drop of blood” and roared at his supporters to take to the streets against protesters in a furious, fist-pounding speech Tuesday after two nights of bloodshed in the capital as his forces tried to crush the uprising that has fragmented his regime.

    Gadhafi’s call portended a new round of mayhem in the capital of 2 million people. The night before, residents described a rampage by pro-regime militiamen, who shot on sight anyone found in the streets and opened fire from speeding vehicles at people watching from windows of their homes. Tuesday morning, bodies still lay strewn in some streets.

    Gunshots in celebration were heard after Gadhafi’s speech, aired on state TV and on a screen to several hundred supporters in Tripoli’s central Green Square, witnesses said.

    18 Council to meet late Tuesday on Libya violence

    By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press

    Tue Feb 22, 1:28 pm ET

    UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. Security Council called an emergency meeting for late Tuesday on Libya’s bloody anti-government protests and the country’s ambassador, who supports Moammar Gadhafi, said he will speak – not his deputy who has called for the Libyan leader to step down.

    Western nations are urging the U.N.’s most powerful body to demand an immediate end to Gadhafi’s crackdown on civilian protestors and to strongly condemn the attacks.

    “We want a clear message to the Libyan regime to stop the violence and to respect human rights and to protect the civilians,” said Germany’s U.N. Ambassador Peter Wittig, whose country is serving a two-year term on the council. “That’s what we are working for – something that is efficient on the ground.”

    19 US condemns ‘appalling’ violence in Libya

    By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press

    1 hr 38 mins ago

    WASHINGTON – The Obama administration on Tuesday condemned “appalling” violence in Libya, where security forces are unleashing a bloody crackdown on protesters demanding the ouster of longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi.

    “This violence is completely unacceptable,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said.

    But as it sought to safely extricate U.S. diplomats and other Americans from the violence spreading around Libya, Washington stopped short of criticizing Gadhafi personally or demanding that he step down.

    20 Bahrain king orders release of political prisoners

    By HADEEL AL-SHALCHI and BARBARA SURK, Associated Press

    Tue Feb 22, 12:08 pm ET

    MANAMA, Bahrain – Tens of thousands of red-and-white draped, flag-waving protesters flooded this tiny kingdom’s capital Tuesday, a massive show of force against the embattled monarchy as the king made another concession to the marchers – a promise to release an unspecified number of political prisoners.

    Upbeat, determined demonstrators took over Manama for the day, circling the Bahrain Mall and Manama’s financial district, symbols of the country’s recent prosperity, in a march to the heart of the protest at Pearl Square.

    “Egypt, Tunisia, are we any different?” marchers chanted, calling for the Sunni rulers they accuse of discriminating against the island’s Shiite majority to fall as the presidents of two other Arab countries have in recent weeks.

    21 Wisconsin governor warns of layoff notices

    By SCOTT BAUER, Associated Press

    17 mins ago

    MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker warned Tuesday that state employees could start receiving layoff notices as early as next week if a bill eliminating most collective bargaining rights isn’t passed soon.

    Walker said in a statement to The Associated Press that the layoffs wouldn’t take effect immediately. He didn’t say which workers would be targeted but he has repeatedly warned that up to 1,500 workers could lose their jobs by July if his proposal isn’t passed.

    “Hopefully we don’t get to that point,” Walker said.

    22 Census: Near-record level of US counties dying

    By HOPE YEN and JOHN RABY, Associated Press

    2 hrs 10 mins ago

    WELCH, W.Va. – Nestled within America’s once-thriving coal country, 87-year-old Ed Shepard laments a prosperous era gone by, when shoppers lined the streets and government lent a helping hand. Now, here as in one-fourth of all U.S. counties, West Virginia’s graying residents are slowly dying off.

    Hit by an aging population and a poor economy, a near-record number of U.S. counties are experiencing more deaths than births in their communities, a phenomenon demographers call “natural decrease.”

    Years in the making, the problem is spreading amid a prolonged job slump and a push by Republicans in Congress to downsize government and federal spending.

    23 Bahrain king orders release of political prisoners

    By HADEEL AL-SHALCHI and BARBARA SURK, Associated Press

    Tue Feb 22, 12:08 pm ET

    MANAMA, Bahrain – Tens of thousands of red-and-white draped, flag-waving protesters flooded this tiny kingdom’s capital Tuesday, a massive show of force against the embattled monarchy as the king made another concession to the marchers – a promise to release an unspecified number of political prisoners.

    Upbeat, determined demonstrators took over Manama for the day, circling the Bahrain Mall and Manama’s financial district, symbols of the country’s recent prosperity, in a march to the heart of the protest at Pearl Square.

    “Egypt, Tunisia, are we any different?” marchers chanted, calling for the Sunni rulers they accuse of discriminating against the island’s Shiite majority to fall as the presidents of two other Arab countries have in recent weeks.

    24 Parents lose high court appeal in vaccine case

    By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press

    2 mins ago

    WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court closed the courthouse door Tuesday to parents who want to sue drug makers over claims that their children developed autism and other serious health problems from vaccines. The ruling was a stinging defeat for families dissatisfied with how they fared before a special no-fault vaccine court.

    The court voted 6-2 against the parents of a child who sued the drug maker Wyeth in Pennsylvania state court for the health problems they say their daughter, now 19, suffered from a vaccine she received in infancy.

    Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the court, said Congress set up a special vaccine court in 1986 to handle such claims as a way to provide compensation to injured children without driving drug manufacturers from the vaccine market. The idea, he said, was to create a system that spares the drug companies the costs of defending against parents’ lawsuits.

    25 Jefferson’s books found in Mo. university library

    By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH, Associated Press

    1 hr 40 mins ago

    Dozens of Thomas Jefferson’s books, some including handwritten notes from the nation’s third president, have been found in the rare books collection at Washington University in St. Louis.

    Now, historians are poring through the 69 newly discovered books and five others the school already knew about, and librarians are searching the collection for more volumes that may have belonged to the founding father.

    Even if no other Jefferson-owned books are found, the school’s collection of 74 books is the third largest in the nation after the Library of Congress and the University of Virginia.

    26 Chicago voters cast ‘Daley’-less mayoral ballots

    By DON BABWIN and DEANNA BELLANDI, Associated Press

    33 mins ago

    CHICAGO – Chicago voters cast ballots in a mayoral election Tuesday that didn’t include the name “Richard M. Daley” for the first time in decades – a contest that will bring new leadership to a city facing some of the most daunting economic challenges in its history.

    The six candidates spent Tuesday morning still pushing for votes, shaking hands with surprised commuters and diner-goers and pleading their cases for why they should be picked to succeed the retiring Daley, who will leave office this spring after 22 years on the job.

    “This is a critical election for the future of the city of Chicago. We’re at a crossroads,” front-runner Rahm Emanuel said as he greeted commuters at a South Side train station.

    27 Court seems likely to let jilted wife appeal

    By JESSE J. HOLLAND, Associated Press

    13 mins ago

    WASHINGTON (AP) – Like a storyline from a tawdry soap opera, a jilted wife tried to poison her husband’s pregnant lover by spreading toxic chemicals around the woman’s house and car. But after Carol Anne Bond put some in a mailbox, federal prosecutors swept her up and sent her to prison using a federal anti-terrorism law for using “chemical weapons.”

    The Supreme Court on Tuesday indicated it would likely allow Bond to challenge her conviction despite arguments from federal prosecutors and judges that she shouldn’t even be allowed to appeal the verdict that has left her in federal prison since 2007.

    Bond, from Lansdale, Pa. almost 30 miles northwest of Philadelphia, wants to challenge her conviction on 10th Amendment grounds, saying that the federal government’s decision to charge her in this case using a chemical weapons law was an unconstitutional reach into a state’s power to handle what her lawyer calls a domestic dispute.

    28 Judge says trial of ex-CIA agent can continue

    By WILL WEISSERT, Associated Press

    1 hr 36 mins ago

    EL PASO, Texas – A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the perjury trial of an elderly ex-CIA agent can continue although defense claims that prosecutors let a covert Cuban intelligence agent testify while delaying divulging his true identity were valid.

    The politically charged case against Luis Posada Carriles, 83, ground to a halt Feb. 10, when the defense moved for a mistrial – its fifth such request in five weeks. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone then delayed the proceedings for 11 days to consider the motion.

    She found U.S. attorneys were indeed deliberately slow in turning over documents providing information about one of their star witnesses, saying “it is difficult for this court to believe the government simply overlooked this material,” but that that wasn’t enough to throw the case out.

    29 Obama’s budget offers few clues on health overhaul

    By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, Associated Press

    44 mins ago

    WASHINGTON – How many federal bureaucrats does it take to carry out President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul? Don’t expect to find an easy answer in his new budget.

    It has no line item for health care implementation, a task delegated to agencies in several government departments, each with its own procedures – and quirks – to account for spending and hiring.

    Republicans suspect a dodge to make it harder for them to track the money as they strategize over how to block the law by shutting off the spigot of federal funds.

    30 Credit card regulation offers hits and misses

    By CANDICE CHOI, AP Personal Finance Writer

    Tue Feb 22, 11:52 am ET

    NEW YORK – Credit card customers are facing fewer interest rate hikes and forking over sharply less in late fees.

    A year after new regulations curbed a spate of questionable billing practices, federal officials say over-the-limit penalty charges have also been dramatically curtailed. The findings were released by the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which will administer the regulations once it’s officially up and running this summer.

    The agency focused only on the impact of specific regulations, however, and did not look at the full scope of costs customers pay for cards. For example, new credit card accounts are now more likely to come with annual fees and higher interest rates. That could offset the savings noted by the consumer watchdog. The regulations have also greatly reduced available credit for riskier customers, the American Bankers Association noted in a release.

    31 Arrested US official is actually CIA contractor

    By ADAM GOLDMAN and KIMBERLY DOZIER, Associated Press

    Tue Feb 22, 3:10 am ET

    WASHINGTON – An American jailed in Pakistan for the fatal shooting of two armed men was secretly working for the CIA and scouting a neighborhood when he was arrested, a disclosure likely to further frustrate U.S. government efforts to free the man and one that’s expected to strain relations between two countries partnered in a fragile alliance in the war on terror.

    Raymond Allen Davis, 36, had been working as a CIA security contractor and living in a Lahore safe house, according to former and current U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to talk publicly about the incident.

    Davis, a former Special Forces soldier who left the military in 2003, shot the men in what he described as an attempted armed robbery in the eastern city of Lahore as they approached him on a motorcycle. A third Pakistani, a bystander, died when a car rushing to help Davis struck him. Davis was carrying a Glock handgun, a pocket telescope and papers with different identifications.

    32 INFLUENCE GAME: Aircraft titans spark lobby blitz

    By DONNA CASSATA, Associated Press

    8 mins ago

    WASHINGTON – Even by Pentagon standards, it’s an eye-popping prize: a $35 billion contract to build nearly 200 giant airborne refueling tankers. And the decade-long brawl by two defense industry titans to win it has been just as epic.

    In a matter of days, the Pentagon will announce whether Chicago-based Boeing Co. or European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) will build 179 new tankers to replace the Air Force’s Eisenhower-era KC-135 planes.

    The competition is far more complex than a case of the U.S. against Europe. If Boeing wins, the air tanker would be built in Everett, Wash., Wichita, Kan., and several other states. If EADS wins, the tanker would be assembled in Mobile, Ala., at the former Brookley military base that was shuttered in the 1960s.

    33 Obama pitches economic message one state at a time

    By NANCY BENAC, Associated Press

    22 mins ago

    CLEVELAND – Twenty months ahead of the 2012 election, President Barack Obama is traveling the nation, vying for the public’s attention one state at a time, while international crises and budget fights compete with his plans for economic revival.

    On Tuesday, Obama curried favor with small businesses in politically important Ohio, pushing his plans to boost American competitiveness by increasing spending on sectors like education and infrastructure. That agenda, however, is running up against opposition from some Republican governors in cash-strapped states, and GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill, whose demands for deep spending cuts raise the prospect of a federal government shutdown.

    The president’s domestic initiatives have also been overshadowed by the turmoil in the Middle East. Tuesday’s trip came amid an escalation of violence in Libya, where government-backed security forces clashed with protesters, and news that four Americans were killed at the hands of pirates off the coast of Africa.

    34 Grieving mom screams at Pa. judge, becomes symbol

    By MICHAEL RUBINKAM, Associated Press

    27 mins ago

    SCRANTON, Pa. – Sandy Fonzo hadn’t planned on confronting the Pennsylvania judge whom she blames for robbing her late son of his chance at a happy, productive life.

    Her emotional, obscenity-laced outburst last week – caught on video and spread over the Internet – has come to symbolize the anger felt by parents whose children were railroaded by Mark Ciavarella, the former Luzerne County judge convicted Friday of racketeering in a $2.8 million “kids for cash” plot to send youth offenders to for-profit detention centers.

    Fonzo’s son was 17 and an all-star wrestler with a chance at a college scholarship when he landed in Ciavarella’s courtroom on a minor drug paraphernalia charge. Though the teen, Edward Kenzakoski, had no prior criminal record, he spent months at the private lockups and a wilderness camp and missed his senior year of high school.

    35 Rolling Stone honored for story on Gen. McChrystal

    By CHRIS HAWLEY, Associated Press

    Tue Feb 22, 9:57 am ET

    NEW YORK – Rolling Stone magazine won one of journalism’s most prestigious awards for an article that prompted President Barack Obama to fire his military commander in Afghanistan. The Associated Press also won a 2010 George Polk award for its coverage of the Gulf oil spill, and the Washington Post won for its investigation on the growth of national security agencies.

    Michael Hastings won the Polk Award for magazine reporting for his story that recounted how Gen. Stanley McChrystal and his staff made scornful comments about Obama administration officials. Obama removed the four-star general from his command in June, saying McChrystal’s comments undermined civilian control of the military.

    “We were as surprised as everyone else how swift and immediate the reaction was,” said Rolling Stone Executive Editor Eric Bates. The article “really helped put the war back on the map.”

    36 Texas youth prison abuse case ends in acquittal

    By BETSY BLANEY, Associated Press

    Tue Feb 22, 4:16 am ET

    LUBBOCK, Texas – The second criminal trial stemming from a sex abuse scandal at a West Texas juvenile prison that upended the state agency overseeing young offenders ended in an acquittal for the facility’s former principal.

    After two weeks of testimony and about six hours of deliberations, jurors late Monday acquitted John Paul Hernandez on 14 counts in 11 indictments that alleged he sexually abused five inmates at in 2004 and 2005.

    “Six years I’ve been waiting to hear those words,” Hernandez said. “I’ve already served a six-year punishment and finally a weight has been lifted.”

    Feb 22 2011

    Punting the Pundits

    “Punting the Pundits” is an Open Thread. It is a selection of editorials and opinions from around the news medium and the internet blogs. The intent is to provide a forum for your reactions and opinions, not just to the opinions presented, but to what ever you find important.

    Thanks to ek hornbeck, click on the link and you can access all the past “Punting the Pundits”

    Robert Reich: The Coming Shutdowns and Showdowns: What’s Really at Stake

    Wisconsin is in a showdown. Washington is headed for a government shutdown.

    Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker won’t budge. He insists on delivering a knockout blow to public unions in his state (except for those, like the police, who supported his election).

    In DC, House Republicans won’t budge on the $61 billion cut they pushed through last week, saying they’ll okay a temporary resolution to keep things running in Washington beyond March 4 only if it includes many of their steep cuts – among which are several that the middle class and poor depend on.

    Republicans say “we’ve” been spending too much, and they’re determined to end the spending with a scorched-earth policies in the states (Republican governors in Ohio, Indiana, and New Jersey are reading similar plans to decimate public unions) and shutdowns in Washington.

    There’s no doubt that government budgets are in trouble. The big lie is that the reason is excessive spending.

    New York Times Editorial: The Dirty Energy Party

    President Obama has decided that the failure of last year’s comprehensive climate bill does not have to mean the death of climate policy. Instead of imposing a mandatory cap and stiff price on carbon emissions, as the bill would have done, the president is offering a more modest approach involving sharply targeted and well-financed research into breakthrough technologies, cleaner fuels and more efficient cars and trucks.

    This is all part of a broader investment-for-the-future strategy that he outlined in his State of the Union address, and it all makes sense as a way of reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, creating more green jobs and reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil.

    Bob Herbert: At Grave Risk

    Buried deep beneath the stories about executive bonuses, the stock market surge and the economy’s agonizingly slow road to recovery is the all-but-silent suffering of the many millions of Americans who, economically, are going down for the count.

    A 46-year-old teacher in Charlotte, Vt., who has been unable to find a full-time job and is weighed down with debt, wrote to his U.S. senator, Bernie Sanders:

    “I am financially ruined. I find myself depressed and demoralized and my confidence is shattered. Worst of all, as I hear more and more talk about deficit reduction and further layoffs, I have the agonizing feeling that the worst may not be behind us.”

    Ari Melber: Can Egypt’s Internet Movement Be Exported?

    “Official Washington had no appetite for regime change in Egypt,” notes Evgeny Morozov, a leading skeptic of the power of digital uprisings, “while Silicon Valley managed to contribute to undermining Mubarak.”

    As the world has now seen, the resilient protestors who gathered in Cairo were continuously broadcast, and often organized, through social networks built in Palo Alto. Yet Morozov, an author and agitator who has met with democracy activists in Cairo, cautions against downloading the wrong lessons from Egypt, as he recently explained in an interview with The Nation.

    Egypt’s transformation does not illuminate our understanding of how most dictators combat web uprisings, he argues, because Egypt did not really fight the web in the first place.

    Dean Baker: Greenspan’s Incompetence Badgers Wisconsin’s Workers

    Alan Greenspan has been strangely missing from the fierce battle over the future of public-sector unions in Wisconsin and other states. His absence is strange because he bears more responsibility for the current conflict than anyone else alive.

    The reason is simple. Mr. Greenspan’s incredible incompetence in allowing the $8 trillion housing bubble to grow unchecked created the fiscal crisis that is gripping Wisconsin and most other states.

    To be clear, states always face financial stress in economic downturns. Most states had to struggle to balance their budgets in 2001-2002 and earlier in the earlier 1990-1991 recession. During a recession tax revenues fall. Consumers buy less, which means less sales tax revenue. Workers earn less money, which means less income tax. And property values fall, leading to less property tax revenue.

    John Nichhols: Wisconsin’s Political Crisis Is A Good Deal More Serious Than Its Fiscal Crisis

    Wisconsin’s Legislative Fiscal Bureau was created in 1968 by a Republican governor, Warren Knowles, and a Republican-controlled state legislature.

    The purpose was to establish a non-partisan agency that would provide honest fiscal analysis and information for Wisconsin Legislators. Across more than four decades, the bureau has done just that, earning the respect of legislators from both parties, including a young Scott Walker, who frequently cited the bureau when he served in the state Assembly.

    Less than a month ago, a Fiscal Bureau memo reported that the state had a $121.4 million surplus through the remainder of the current fiscal year.

    That is a fact that is now under attack by Governor Walker, who the conservative publication Human Events refers to as the “new hero” of the Republican right. Walker argues– as Republicans and Democrats have acknowledged for some time — that the state’s fiscal house is not in order and that unsettled issues relating to a payment due Minnesota after the canceling of a tax agreement, as well as rising health care and prison costs, could well create a shortfall before the end of the year.

    Peter Neill: Lest We Forget: Re-Calculating the True Cost of Deepwater Horizon

    Just one more look back, please, lest we forget. The Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico provides a telling example of how to calculate the true cost of “progress.” As economists join with scientists, we are moving from observation and study to predictable measurement and advance calculation of the true value of natural resources — the cost of their development, of their loss, of the mitigation and adaptation required by their consequence, and of their implementation without first taking into consideration the broader and deeper financial implications for the community, immediately and downstream.

    Historically, the conventional corporate argument, typically made to local communities, regulators, and state and federal legislators, has been that the presence of an offshore drilling industry be valued in terms of jobs created, taxes and royalties paid, and value added to the overall financial health of the local, national, and indeed global economy. Given the quarterly financial reports of the oil companies, this evaluation adds up to substantial profit. But so much is left out of the calculation.

    Feb 22 2011

    On This Day in History February 22

    This is your morning Open Thread. Pour your favorite beverage and review the past and comment on the future.

    Find the past “On This Day in History” here.

    February 22 is the 53rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 312 days remaining until the end of the year (313 in leap years).

    On this day in 1980, the U.S. Olympic hockey team makes “miracle on ice”.

    In one of the most dramatic upsets in Olympic history, the underdog U.S. hockey team, made up of college players, defeats the four-time defending gold-medal winning Soviet team at the XIII Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York. The Soviet squad, previously regarded as the finest in the world, fell to the youthful American team 4-3 before a frenzied crowd of 10,000 spectators.

    The United States did not win the gold medal upon defeating the USSR. In 1980 the medal round was a round-robin, not a single elimination format as it is today. Under Olympic rules at the time, the group game with Sweden was counted along with the medal round games versus the Soviet Union and Finland so it was mathematically possible for the United States to finish anywhere from first to fourth.

    Needing to win to secure the gold medal, Team USA came back from a 2-1 third period deficit to defeat Finland 4-2. According to Mike Eruzione, coming into the dressing room in the second intermission, Brooks turned to his players, looked at them and said, “If you lose this game, you’ll take it to your graves.” He then paused, took a few steps, turned again, said, “Your fucking graves,” and walked out.

    At the time, the players ascended a podium to receive their medals and then lined up on the ice for the playing of the national anthem, as the podium was only meant to accommodate one person. Only the team captains remained on the podium for the duration. After the completion of the anthem, Eruzione motioned for his teammates to join him on the podium. Today, the podiums are large enough to accommodate all of the players.

    The victory bolstered many American citizens’ feelings of national pride, which had been severely strained during the turbulent 1970s. The match against the Soviets popularized the “U-S-A! U-S-A!” chant, which has been used by American supporters at many international sports competitions since 1980.

     1371 – Robert II became King of Scotland, beginning the Stuart dynasty.

    1495 – King Charles VIII of France enters Naples to claim the city’s throne.

    1632 – Galileo’s Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems is published.

    1744 – War of the Austrian Succession: The Battle of Toulon begins.

    1797 – The Last Invasion of Britain begins near Fishguard, Wales.

    1819 – By the Adams-Onís Treaty, Spain sells Florida to the United States for five million U.S. dollars.

    1847 – Mexican-American War: The Battle of Buena Vista – 5,000 American troops drive off 15,000 Mexicans.

    1853 – Washington University in St. Louis is founded as Eliot Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri.

    1855 – The Pennsylvania State University is founded in State College, Pennsylvania (as the Farmers’ High School of Pennsylvania)

    1856 – The Republican Party opens its first national meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

    1862 – Jefferson Davis is officially inaugurated for a six-year term as the President of the Confederate States of America in Richmond, Virginia. He was previously inaugurated as a provisional president on February 18, 1861.

    1872 – The Prohibition Party held its first national convention in Columbus, Ohio, nominating James Black as its presidential nominee.

    1879 – In Utica, New York, Frank Woolworth opens the first of many of 5 and dime Woolworth stores.

    1882 – The Serbian kingdom is refounded.

    1889 – President Grover Cleveland signs a bill admitting North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Washington as U.S. states.

    1904 – The United Kingdom sells a meteorological station on the South Orkney Islands to Argentina, the islands are subsequently claimed by the United Kingdom in 1908.

    1909 – The sixteen battleships of the Great White Fleet, led by Connecticut, returns to the United States after a voyage around the world.

    1915 – World War I: Germany institutes unrestricted submarine warfare.

    1924 – U.S. President Calvin Coolidge becomes the first President to deliver a radio broadcast from the White House.

    1942 – World War II: President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders General Douglas MacArthur out of the Philippines as the Japanese victory becomes inevitable.

    1943 – World War II: Members of White Rose are executed in Nazi Germany.

    1944 – World War II: American aircraft mistakenly bomb the Dutch towns of Nijmegen, Arnhem, Enschede and Deventer, resulting in 800 dead in Nijmegen alone.

    1948 – Communist revolution in Czechoslovakia.

    1957 – Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam survived a communist shooting assassination attempt in Ban Me Thuot.

    1958 – Egypt and Syria join to form the United Arab Republic.

    1959 – Lee Petty wins the first Daytona 500.

    1972 – The Official Irish Republican Army detonates a car bomb at Aldershot barracks, killing seven and injuring nineteen others.

    1973 – Cold War: Following United States President Richard Nixon’s visit to the People’s Republic of China, the two countries agree to establish liaison offices.

    1974 – Organisation of the Islamic Conferencesummit begins in Lahore, Pakistan.

    Thirty-seven countries attend and twenty-two heads of state and government participate. It also recognizes Bangladesh.

    1974 – Samuel Byck tries and fails to assassinate U.S. President Richard Nixon.

    1979 – Independence of Saint Lucia from the United Kingdom.

    1980 – Miracle on Ice: In Lake Placid, New York, the United States hockey team defeats the Soviet Union hockey team 4-3, in what is considered to be one of the greatest upsets in sports history.

    1983 – The notorious Broadway flop Moose Murders opens and closes on the same night at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre.

    1986 – Start of the People Power Revolution in the Philippines.

    1994 – Aldrich Ames and his wife are charged by the United States Department of Justice with spying for the Soviet Union.

    1995 – The Corona reconnaissance satellite program, in existence from 1959 to 1972, is declassified.

    1997 – In Roslin, Scotland, scientists announce that an adult sheep named Dolly had been successfully cloned.

    2002 – Angolan political and rebel leader Jonas Savimbi is killed in a military ambush.

    2006 – At least six men stage Britain’s biggest robbery ever, stealing about $92.5 million from a Securitas depot in Tonbridge, Kent.

    Holidays and observances

       * Celebrity Day (Church of Scientology)

       * Christian Feast Day:

             o Margaret of Cortona

       * Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter (Roman Catholic Church)

       * Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Saint Lucia from the United Kingdom in 1979.

       * Washington’s Birthday, celebrate George Washington’s birthday on February 11, 1732. The different date is caused by the form of Julian calendar. (United States)

       * World Thinking Day, also known as “B.-P. day” or “Founder’s Day” (World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts)

    Feb 22 2011

    Six In The Morning

    ‘We may be witnessing New Zealand’s darkest day’: PM says 65 killed in quake

     



    February 22, 2011  

    New Zealand Prime Minister John Key says 65 people died in the earthquake that devastated Christchurch today.

    ”The death toll I have at the moment is 65 and that may rise. So it’s an absolute tragedy for this city, for New Zealand, for the people that we care so much about,” Mr Key told TVNZ. ”It’s a terrifying time for the people of Canterbury.”

    He said: “We may be witnessing New Zealand’s darkest day.”

    As thousands of shocked people wandered the rubble-strewn streets of Christchurch after today’s devastating and deadly earthquake, emergency workers were searching for survivors.

    Four American hostages killed by pirates



    All of the pirates were killed or captured by U.S. forces

    They Love That KGB Man  

    Russia’s Prime Minister is feared in the West – but adored at home, says Mary Dejevsky. Is the reason we don’t trust him that we don’t really understand him?

    Vladimir Putin and the people



    Later this week,  the Russian Prime Minister will be in Brussels – to which you might well respond wearily, “Big Deal”. EU-Russia meetings at this level take place every year and soon become non-events, even if they avoid descent into recriminations. This time, however, a real “Big Deal” might not be far off the mark. Russia has spent the past few months signalling that it would like to see relations with the EU shifting from the tetchy political arena to Russia’s economic modernisation, and the Prime Minister will have with him a large delegation of ministers and business people to that end.

    Guns In School That’s An Important Educational Need  

    Universities in Texas are set to be forced to allow students and academics to carry guns on campus, in a victory for a firearms lobby unbowed after last month’s massacre in Arizona.

     

    Universities in Texas ‘to allow students to carry guns on campus’



    A new law that looks certain to pass through the Texas legislature would mean that its 38 public colleges, which are attended by half a million students, must permit concealed handguns on site.

    It would become only the second state, after Utah, to enforce such a rule.

    More than 20 states have rejected similar proposals introduced since the Virginia Tech massacre in April 2007.

    At present, colleges in Texas – along with churches and businesses – are free to ban firearms from their premises. Guns are prohibited from university buildings, dormitories and surrounding grounds.

    Imprisoned For Their Crimes  

     

    Congolese court jails colonel 20 years in rape trial



    A CONGOLESE court has sentenced a colonel to 20 years in the highest-profile rape case ever held in the massive Central African nation where sexual violence is endemic.

    According to Agence France Presse (AFP) yesterday, 49 women testified in the mobile court in the lakeside village of Baraka in eastern Congo. The women – from a newlywed to a white-haired grandmother – relayed horrifying tales of being gang-raped and beaten by Congolese soldiers.

    Lt. Col. Mutuare Daniel Kibibi denied all charges before yesterday’s sentencing.

    The court of military judges was paid for by U.S. legal aid agencies and the United Nations (UN) mission to Congo.

    The Elephant In The Room Brought The Book  

    Sasha Alyson hauls (sometimes by elephant) children’s books in the local language to kids in rural Laos eager to learn to read.



    Publishing children’s books – and delivering them by elephant

    The little booklet contains riddles about animals – and the children in Pakseuang village just love it. Squeezing around a young Laotian staffer from Big Brother Mouse, the 40 or so second-graders listen with bated breath as he reads out the rhyming riddles to them..

    “Buffalo!” “Snake!” “Frog!” they shout back their guesses. At each correct answer they jump up cheering with arms raised. Books – even simple ones like the 32-page “What Am I?” – hold a magical appeal for Laotian children. Many of them have never seen a book, much less owned one.

    “What struck me when I came here [as a tourist in 2003],” says Sasha Alyson, the American expatriate who founded Big Brother Mouse, a local children’s publisher, “was that I never saw a book for children.”

    Britain, Italy condemned for Libya ties

     

    The countries have done business with Kadafi’s regime in recent years, including the reported sale of tear gas and bullets from a British arms dealer



    By Henry Chu, Los Angeles Times

    February 21, 2011



    Reporting from London –

    They opted for engagement instead of estrangement, lured in part by the prospect of Libyan oil. Decisions by Britain and Italy to do business with the regime of Moammar Kadafi have led to billions of dollars in contracts for companies from both countries.

    But their friendliness with the longtime dictator is generating angry denunciations of London and Rome as the deaths and injuries mount in Kadafi’s crackdown on anti-government protesters.

    In Britain, critics Monday blasted the 2007 “deal in the desert” between Kadafi and then-Prime Minister Tony Blair to try to normalize relations between their nations.

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