Gaga launches foundation with MacArthur, Harvard (AP)

NEW YORK ? Lady Gaga is launching a foundation with the help of the MacArthur Foundation and Harvard University.

The Grammy-winning singer announced Wednesday that she is launching the Born This Way Foundation, a nonprofit focusing on youth empowerment and "issues like self-confidence, well-being, anti-bullying, mentoring and career development."

Gaga's partners include the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The California Endowment and the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University.

The foundation will be directed by the 25-year-old singer and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta.

"Together we hope to establish a standard of Bravery and Kindness, as well as a community worldwide that protects and nurtures others in the face of bullying and abandonment," Gaga said in a statement.

The multiplatinum singer is known for speaking out for others. She recently said she wanted to meet with President Barack Obama to discuss her concerns over bullying, and she visited Maine last year to support the repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays.

She has won Grammys, released three platinum efforts ? including her latest album, "Born This Way" ? and has a massive online presence: The singer has over 15 million Twitter followers and 44 million Facebook fans.

"Lady Gaga will help empower and give voice to young people who find themselves overwhelmed, undersupported, disconnected, isolated, bullied, or struggling," said Dr. Bob Ross, the CEO and president of The California Endowment. "This brand of leadership is sorely needed in today's world."

The official launch for the Born This Way Foundation will be next year, and an advisory board will be announced soon.

___

Online:

http://www.bornthiswayfoundation.org

http://www.ladygaga.com

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111102/ap_en_mu/us_people_lady_gaga

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$8 million luxury iPad 2 comes with diamonds and dinosaur bones (Yahoo! News)

Stuart Hughes gives Apple's tablet a makeover that will break the bank

Apple's iPad line may be the most popular consumer tablets in the world, but for the world's richest individuals, the iPad 2's sleek and simple design just doesn't cut it. For those folks, luxury afficianado Stuart Hughes is here to help, and his company has created what is undoubtedly the most expensive tablet ever. It's called the iPad 2 Gold History Edition, and while you won't likely be able to afford it, the fact that it even exists should be enough to make your jaw drop.

To craft the ridiculously expensive tablet, Hughes starts with a 3G-equipped iPad 2. The standard aluminum back panel is then replaced with one formed out of solid 24ct gold, weighing approximately 70 ounces. The default black Apple logo is kicked to the curb in favor of 24ct gold version covered in 53 separate diamonds.

The iPad 2 before its stunning makeover

Turning attention to the front of the device, the bezel that surrounds the screen is swapped with one made of?ammolite, one of the rarest rocks on the planet. Ammolite was made over millions of years from the remains of prehistoric mollusks called ammonites. The Ammolite produces a bright, rainbow-colored sheen that gives the tablet a one-of-a-kind look, but Hughes isn't done yet.

To really set the Gold History Edition apart from other luxury slates, the company takes actual Tyrannosaurus rex thigh bones and shaves them into the finish.?To top it all off, the iPad's iconic home button gets a facelift. The tiny black sphere is replaced with a platinum base studded with 12 outer diamonds and a single 8.5ct centerpiece.

The Gold History Edition isn't the first insanely luxurious gadget that the company has produced, and gilded iPads are available from a number of producers. However, it appears great lengths were taken to make this new offering stand out from the rest of the pack ? and it shows in the staggering $8 million price tag. If you're one of the lucky few who have that kind of cash burning a hole in your bank vault, you better hurry; just two of the lavish tablets are being produced, and they are first-come, first-served.

[via Engadget]

This article originally appeared on Tecca

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_technews/20111101/tc_yblog_technews/8-million-luxury-ipad-2-comes-with-diamonds-and-dinosaur-bones

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ICC fears son of Libya's Gaddafi may flee justice (Reuters)

TRIPOLI/BEIJING (Reuters) ? The International Criminal Court said on Saturday that Libya's Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was in contact via intermediaries about surrendering for trial, but it also had information mercenaries were trying to spirit him to a friendly African nation.

U.S. military and government representatives held security talks in neighboring Niger with local officials in Agadez, which has been a way station for other Libyan fugitives, including another son of Muammar Gaddafi, Saadi. A Reuters reporter saw a U.S. military plane at Agadez airport.

A top Agadez regional official declined to say what the talks with the Americans were about, but spoke of escape plans by Saif al-Islam and former Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi, both wanted by the ICC for crimes against humanity.

"Senussi is being extricated from Mali toward a country that is a non-signatory to the (ICC) convention. I am certain that they will both (Senussi and Saif al-Islam) be extricated by plane, one from Mali the other from Niger," said the official, who asked not to be named.

He said there were at least 10 airstrips in the north of Niger near the Libyan border that could be used to whisk Saif al-Islam out of the country.

However, a member of parliament from northern Mali, Ibrahim Assaleh Ag Mohamed, denied Senussi or Saif al-Islam were in his country and said they would not be accepted if they tried to enter.

The arrival of the U.S. delegation followed remarks by Mohamed Anako, president of Agadez region, who said he would give Saif al-Islam refuge. "Libya and Niger are brother countries and cousins ... so we will welcome him in," he said.

The ICC has warned Saif al-Islam, 39, apparently anxious not to be captured by Libyan interim government forces in whose hands his father Muammar Gaddafi was killed last week, that it could order a mid-air interception if he tried to flee by plane from his Sahara desert hideout for a safe haven.

INDIRECT CONTACTS

The ICC's comments offered some corroboration of reports from Tripoli's National Transitional Council (NTC) leaders and African neighbors that he has taken refuge with Tuareg nomads in the borderlands between Libya and Niger.

"There are some people connected with him that are in touch with people connected with us ... it's through intermediaries," ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo told Reuters in an interview during a visit to Beijing.

"We have some information that there is a mercenary group trying to help him to move to a different country, so we are trying to prevent this activity," said Moreno-Ocampo.

"We are also working with some states to see if we can disrupt this attempt. Some of them are South Africans allegedly."

Moreno-Ocampo said the ICC was not making any deal with Saif al-Islam but was explaining through the contacts that he had to face trial because he had been indicted for war crimes. "He says he is innocent," said the prosecutor.

However, surrender is only one option for Saif al-Islam.

The Gaddafis befriended desert tribes in Niger, Mali and other poor former French colonies in West Africa. Other African countries received Libyan largesse during the 42-year rule of Gaddafi, a self-styled African "king of kings."

France, a backer of February's revolt against Gaddafi, reminded African states of their obligations to hand Saif al-Islam over to the international court.

"We don't care whether he goes on foot, by plane, by boat, by car or on a camel, the only thing that matters is that he belongs in the ICC," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero.

Niger, Mali, Chad and Burkina Faso, a swathe of arid states to the south of Libya, are all signatories to the treaty that set up the ICC. Algeria, which took in Saif al-Islam's mother, sister, brother Hannibal and half-brother Mohammed, is not a signatory. Nor is Sudan or Zimbabwe.

AFRICAN MERCENARIES

As well as enjoying protection from Tuareg allies who traditionally provided close security for the Gaddafis, Saif al-Islam may be in the company of mercenaries from elsewhere in Africa, including possibly South Africa, NTC officials say.

A South African newspaper, in an unconfirmed report, said South African mercenaries were working to fly him out.

A bodyguard who saw Saif al-Islam as he fled last week from one of the last pro-Gaddafi bastions near Tripoli told Reuters that he seemed "nervous" and "confused." He escaped even though his motorcade was hit by a NATO air strike as it left Bani Walid on October 19, the day before his father died in Sirte.

Three of Saif al-Islam's brothers were killed in the war.

The arrest or surrender of Saif al-Islam would bring a new prominence for the nine-year-old ICC, whose highest profile suspect to date is Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who remains defiantly in office, defended by many fellow Africans.

Following Gaddafi's killing, probably by fighters who filmed themselves battering and abusing him, Western allies of Libya's new leaders urged them to impose respect for human rights.

NTC leaders would like to run their own trials, but acknowledge that their writ barely runs in the deep south.

NATO countries, now winding up a mission that backed the revolt, have expressed little enthusiasm for hunting a few individuals across a vast tract of empty continent.

Saif al-Islam was once seen as a liberal reformer, architect of a rapprochement with Western states on whom his father waged proxy guerrilla wars for decades. But he responded with belligerent rhetoric after the revolt erupted in Libya.

The ICC accuses him of hiring mercenaries to carry out a plan, worked out with his father and Senussi, to kill unarmed protesters inspired by "Arab Spring" uprisings elsewhere.

Niger's government in the capital Niamey has vowed to meet its ICC commitments. But 400 miles north in a region where cross-border allegiances among Tuareg nomads often outweigh national ties, the picture looks different.

Some of the tens of thousands of people who eke out a living in the Sahara, roamed by smugglers and nomadic herders, say there would be a welcome for the younger Gaddafi.

"We are ready to hide him wherever needed," said Mouddour Barka, a resident of Agadez. "We are telling the international community to stay out of this business and our own authorities not to hand him over -- otherwise we are ready to go out on to the streets and they will have us to deal with."

A U.S. military aircraft flew 25 wounded NTC fighters out of Tripoli on Saturday for medical treatment in the United States. Britain has also taken in wounded fighters.

(Additional reporting by Sara Webb and Aaron Gray-Block in Amsterdam, Samia Nakhoul in London, Mark John in Dakar, Ibrahim Diallo in Agadez and Nathalie Prevost; Editing by Alistair Lyon)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111029/ts_nm/us_libya

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Insight: Firms to charge smokers, obese more for healthcare (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Like a lot of companies, Veridian Credit Union wants its employees to be healthier. In January, the Waterloo, Iowa-company rolled out a wellness program and voluntary screenings.

It also gave workers a mandate - quit smoking, curb obesity, or you'll be paying higher healthcare costs in 2013. It doesn't yet know by how much, but one thing's for certain - the unhealthy will pay more.

The credit union, which has more than 500 employees, is not alone.

In recent years, a growing number of companies have been encouraging workers to voluntarily improve their health to control escalating insurance costs. And while workers mostly like to see an employer offer smoking cessation classes and weight loss programs, too few are signing up or showing signs of improvement.

So now more employers are trying a different strategy - they're replacing the carrot with a stick and raising costs for workers who can't seem to lower their cholesterol or tackle obesity. They're also coming down hard on smokers. For example, discount store giant Wal-Mart says that starting in 2012 it will charge tobacco users higher premiums but also offer free smoking cessation programs.

Tobacco users consume about 25 percent more healthcare services than non-tobacco users, says Greg Rossiter, a spokesman for Wal-Mart, which insures more than 1 million people, including family members. "The decisions aren't easy, but we need to balance costs and provide quality coverage."

For decades, workers - especially with large employers - have taken many health benefits for granted and until the past few years hardly noticed the price increases.

But the new policies could not only badly dent their take home pay and benefits but also reduce their freedom to behave as they want outside of work and make them resentful toward their employers. There are also fears the trend will hurt the lower-paid hardest as health costs can eat up a bigger slice of their disposable income and because they may not have much access to gyms and fresh food in their neighborhoods.

"It's not inherently wrong to hold people responsible," says Lewis Maltby, president of the National Workrights Institute, a research and advocacy organization on employment issues based in Princeton, New Jersey. "But it's a dangerous precedent," he says. "Everything you do in your personal private life affects your health."

Overall, the use of penalties is expected to climb in 2012 to almost 40 percent of large and mid-sized companies, up from 19 percent this year and only 8 percent in 2009, according to an October survey by consulting firm Towers Watson and the National Business Group on Health. The penalties include higher premiums and deductibles for individuals who failed to participate in health management activities as well as those who engaged in risky health behaviors such as smoking.

"Nothing else has worked to control health trends," says LuAnn Heinen, vice president of the National Business Group on Health, which represents large employers on health and benefits issues. "A financial incentive reduces that procrastination."

LACK OF JOBS

The weak economy is contributing to the change. Employers face higher health care costs - in part - because they're hiring fewer younger healthy workers and losing fewer more sickly senior employees.

The poor job market also means employers don't have to be as generous with these benefits to compete. They now expect workers to contribute to the solution just as they would to a 401(k) retirement plan, says Jim Winkler, a managing principal at consulting firm Aon Hewitt's health and benefits practice. "You're going to face consequences based on whether you've achieved or not," he says.

And those that don't are more likely to be punished. An Aon Hewitt survey released in June found that almost half of employers expect by 2016 to have programs that penalize workers "for not achieving specific health outcomes" such as lowering their weight, up from 10 percent in 2011

The programs have until now met little resistance in the courts. The 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) prevents workers from being discriminated against on the basis of health if they're in a group health insurance plan. But HIPAA also allows employers to offer wellness programs and to offer incentives of up to 20 percent of the cost for participation.

President Barack Obama's big health care reform, the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, will enable employers beginning in 2014 to bump that difference in premiums to 30 percent and potentially up to 50 percent.

Employers do, however, also need to provide an alternative for workers who can't meet the goals. That could include producing a doctor's note to say it is medically very difficult, or even impossible, to achieve certain goals, says Timothy Jost, a professor at the Washington and Lee School of Law. For example, a worker with asthma may not be able to participate in a company exercise program.

These wellness programs typically include a health risk assessment completed online, and on-site free medical screenings for things such as blood pressure, body mass index, and cholesterol.

The programs, while voluntary, often typically offer financial benefits - including lower insurance premiums, gift cards and employer contributions to health savings accounts. For example, workers at the railroad company Union Pacific get $100 in their health savings account for completing the health assessment, $100 if they don't use tobacco and $100 if they get an annual physical (tobacco users also can get the $100 if they participate in a tobacco cessation program).

INCENTIVE TO EXERCISE

Like Wal-Mart, more employers are coming down harder on individuals who have voluntarily identified themselves as tobacco users, often during their health risk assessment. As yet, very few employers identify smokers through on-site medical screenings.

Veridian, which until now has not charged its employees for healthcare premiums, says increases to its health care costs have been unsustainable, climbing 9 percent annually for the past three years. Earlier this year, it rolled out a wellness program and free screenings, which 90 percent of workers have now completed.

As it starts charging, it will provide discounts to those making progress as it "wants to reward those who have healthy lifestyles," says Renee Christoffer, senior vice president of administration for the credit union.

Mark Koppedryer, vice president of branches at Veridian, was one of the workers who participated in the screenings. The 37-year-old father of three initially participated to show his support but was shocked to find out that he had elevated blood pressure and cholesterol scores.

His colleague, Stacy Phillips, says she used the new wellness programs to exercise more. "I knew there needed to be a change in my life," says the 35-year-old, who has lost 40 pounds since January. "This made me more aware that at some time there would be a cost."

These changes come at a time when health insurance premiums are soaring. In 2011, the average-cost of an employer-provided family plan was more than $15,000, according to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust. That's 31 percent higher than five years ago. And the number is expected to climb another 5-8 percent next year, according to various estimates.

In contrast, the giant medical and research center Cleveland Clinic, which employs about 40,000 people, has seen these costs grow by only 2 percent this year because it has implemented a comprehensive wellness program that has dramatically improved the health of many workers.

The effort began several years when it banned smoking at the medical center and then refused to hire smokers. It later recognized that having a gym and weight loss classes wasn't enough to get people to participate. It made these facilities and programs free and provided lower premiums to workers who maintained their health or improved it, typically with their doctor's help.

"You don't do this overnight," says Paul Terpeluk, Medical Director of Occupational Health at the Cleveland Clinic. You have to develop a program and change the culture, he said.

INTRUSIVE

But not all programs are as well constructed and effective, says Mark A. Rothstein, a lawyer and professor at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. The wellness programs may be well-intentioned, he says, but there's not strong empirical evidence that they work and getting a weekly call about your weight or smoking habits, which is offered by some programs, could be humiliating for participants.

"What might be seen as a question to one person may be an intrusion to another," he says. That's one reason that lower-paid janitors at his school participate but, "the professors on campus consider it a privacy tax so we don't get some stranger calling us about how much we weigh."

And there are also those that no matter how much they exercise or how healthy they eat can't lose weight or lower their blood pressure or body mass index. "There are thousands and thousands of people whose paycheck is being cut because of factors beyond their control," says Maltby from the National Workrights Institute.

The programs could be especially burdensome for low-income workers, who are more likely to fail health assessment tests and less likely to have access to gyms and healthier fresh produce, says Harald Schmidt - a research associate at the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics at the University of Pennsylvania.

"We want to use provisions to help people and not penalize people for factors beyond their control," Schmidt says. "Poorer people are often less healthy and this constitutes a potential double whammy. They are likely to face a higher burden in insurance premiums."

That's the case for Barbara Collins, a 35-year-old Wal-Mart employee - who lives in Placerville , California. She says she'll have to pay $127 every two weeks for health insurance next year, including a penalty of almost $25 because she's a smoker.

"I'll cut back on cigarettes and hopefully eventually quit," says Collins, who earned $19,000 pretax, or about $730 every two weeks, last year. "Christmas will definitely be tight this year and for years to come if this lasts," she says. "Family vacations, there's no way I can afford that.".

(Reporting by Jilian Mincer in New York. Editing by Martin Howell in New York)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111030/hl_nm/us_penalties

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YouTube launches broad entertainment venture (AP)

NEW YORK ? YouTube is making a bold step into original programming in an entertainment venture with some 100 content creators, from Madonna to The Wall Street Journal.

The Google Inc.-owned video site said Friday that it's launching more than 100 new video channels. The partners include an array of Hollywood production companies, celebrities and new media groups that will produce mainly niche-oriented videos.

YouTube is shelling out $100 million to producers, according to people familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The money is an advance on advertising money the videos will bring in, and Google will recoup its portion first before splitting the proceeds. Advances are as high as $5 million per channel, said another person familiar with the arrangement, also speaking on condition of anonymity.

Neither person was authorized to comment publicly on the matter.

Google declined to offer financial details of the deals, but said the majority of revenue will go to partners.

Participants include Madonna, former NBA star Shaquille O'Neal, comedian Amy Poehler, actor Ashton Kutcher, "Office" star Rainn Wilson, spiritual doctor Deepak Chopra and "Modern Family" actress Sofia Vergara. Most are creating channels through their production companies. Madonna is a partner with the dance channel DanceOn, while O'Neal plans the Comedy Shaq Network.

Lionsgate is presenting a fitness channel, and other channels will be launched by news satire the Onion, professional wrestling's WWE, online magazine Slate and news service Thomson Reuters.

The channels will roll out beginning this month, though most will premiere next year. YouTube says the channels will add 25 hours of new original content daily, with dozens of Web series debuting at scheduled times.

Ultimately, YouTube is aiming to create a new digital video platform that will rival television programming.

In a blog posting Friday night, YouTube said the channels are being developed "specifically for the digital age." The video site compared the expanded video offerings to the advent of cable television.

YouTube has tried to build a more advertiser-friendly product of professional-quality video, as opposed to simply user-created videos. Advertisers generally prefer to have their ads matched with known quantities. YouTube has also previously tried to urge viewers to stay longer with TV-like services like the YouTube Leanback, which continuously plays a personalized selection of videos.

Google is also looking to add professionally produced content to its huge roster of user-generated videos, to give users of its Google TV platform something to watch.

Major Hollywood networks such as News Corp.'s Fox and The Walt Disney Co.'s ABC have blocked their content from being shown on Google TV because the sides have been unable to come to a licensing deal that the networks believes pays them fairly. Networks also don't want to jeopardize their lucrative relationship with pay TV distributors like Comcast Corp. and DirecTV.

Google is a platform that has been adopted by set-top box maker Logitech, which makes a device called a Logitech Revue that sells for $100.

___

Nakashima reported from Los Angeles.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111029/ap_on_hi_te/us_youtube_original_programming

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Seven billion people are not the issue: Human development is what counts

ScienceDaily (Oct. 28, 2011) ? As the global media speculate on the number of people likely to inhabit the planet on October 31 an international team of population and development experts argue that it is not simply the number of people that matters but more so their distribution by age, education, health status and location that is most relevant to local and global sustainability.

Any realistic attempt to achieve sustainable development must focus primarily on the human wellbeing and be founded on an understanding of the inherent differences in people in terms of their differential impact on the environment and their vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities are often closely associated with age, gender, lack of education, and poverty.

These are some of the messages formulated by twenty of the world's leading experts in population, development and environment who met at IIASA in Austria in September 2011, with the objective of defining the critical elements of the interactions between the human population and sustainable development. The Laxenburg Declaration on Population and Development as prepared by the Expert Panel, describes the following five actions as necessary to address sustainable development, achieve a 'green economy' and adapt to environmental change:

  • Recognize that the numbers, characteristics, and behaviors of people are at the heart of sustainable development challenges and of their solutions.
  • Identify subpopulations that contribute most to environmental degradation and those that are most vulnerable to its consequences. In poor countries especially, these subpopulations are readily identifiable according to age, gender, level of education, place of residence, and standard of living.
  • Devise sustainable development policies to treat these subpopulations differently and appropriately, according to their demographic and behavioral characteristics.
  • Facilitate the inevitable trend of increasing urbanization in ways that ensure that environmental hazards and vulnerabilities are under control.
  • Invest in human capital -- people's education and health, including reproductive health -- to slow population growth, accelerate the transition to green technologies, and improve people's adaptive capacity to environmental change.

According to the Panel, "Education increases people's life opportunities in general, greatly contributes to technological and social innovation, and creates the mental flexibility required for a rapid transition to a green economy. This applies to both low- and high-income countries. Hence, the enhancement of human capital from early childhood to old age through formal and informal education and life-long learning is now known to be a decisive policy priority."

Joint convener of the Expert Panel, Professor Wolfgang Lutz from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, IIASA, and the Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital, states that the Panel's findings reaffirm research from several key demographic research teams around the world. "Female education and reproductive health services are the two factors that will bring down unsustainable population growth. There is also increasing evidence that 'human capital', the education and health of people, is one of the most important factors in the capacity of people to contribute to sustainable development and economic growth, and adapt to environmental change. These issues are becoming ever more profound, as the population grows and we start to see the consequences of climate change."

Rather than seeing the increase in the number of people sharing the planet merely as a 'problem' Lutz and the other members of the global panel believe that with the right policies and targeted investments in people, particularly the most vulnerable sectors or subpopulations, people will be seen as a resource and not simply a 'problem'.

As stated in the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, "Human beings are at the centre of concern for sustainable development." Therefore, consideration of the changing numbers, characteristics, and distributions of human beings on the planet must be at the core of any serious analysis of the challenges and opportunities for sustainable development.

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Protesters defy calls to quit St. Paul's cathedral (AP)

LONDON ? St. Paul's Cathedral has welcomed visitors for 300 years, but for almost a week its heavy oak doors have been shut, locked because of an anti-capitalist protest camp outside the landmark building.

Church officials say the campsite is a health hazard, and on Wednesday London's Anglican bishop asked the demonstrators to leave. But hours later, the church appeared to acknowledge that the protesters are settling in for a long stay.

The protesters accuse the church of choosing the wrong side in the standoff between capitalism and idealism that has spawned sit-ins from New York to Sydney.

"We want this church to open," said a 50-year-old protest spokesman who gave his name as Akira. "We were shocked that they closed it."

The Dean of St. Paul's, Rev. Graeme Knowles, said Wednesday evening he was optimistic that the cathedral would reopen Friday following changes to the layout of tents used by the protesters.

The cathedral is considering all its options in response to the protest ? including legal action ? Knowles said, adding that a final decision would be made Thursday on whether St. Paul's could open in time for a midday service Friday.

Business owners, residents and officials in cities where encampments have sprouted up are increasingly complaining about sanitation problems, disruptions to business, and crime.

In Glasgow, Scottish police said Wednesday they were investigating reports a woman was raped in a tent in the city's George's Square, where protesters have set up camp.

In recent days, authorities in several cities around the world have swooped in to evict encampments of anti-corporate demonstrators inspired by New York's Occupy Wall Street movement, clashing with demonstrators in some U.S. cities.

But London's campsite has grown since protesters erected tents near the base of the cathedral steps on Oct. 15. They had hoped to camp outside the nearby London Stock Exchange, but were stopped by police. Cathedral officials initially permitted the protesters to stay.

The camp, perhaps 100 tents and 500 people strong, has the air of a scruffy village carnival, with banners, speeches, activities ? and even, one recent afternoon, a singalong. "Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right," sang a small but enthusiastic group attempting a Stealers Wheel classic. "Here I am, stuck in the middle with you."

That is a fair summary of how cathedral officials feel. They say they support the right to demonstrate and did not want to shut the building ? for the first time since German bombers blitzed London during World War II ? but made the decision last Friday because the protesters' tents, stoves and generators pose a threat to public safety.

The closure is costing the cathedral thousands of pounds (dollars) a day ? St. Paul's charges adults 14.50 pounds ($23) for admission, unless they are attending a service ? and means disappointment for tourists hoping to visit Christopher Wren's domed church, one of London's most famous buildings and the site of the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer.

On Wednesday, Bishop of London Richard Chartres, the third highest-ranking cleric in the Church of England, asked the protesters to go home, saying: "The camp's presence threatens to eclipse entirely the issues that it was set up to address."

The protesters say they have worked with health-and-safety officials to make sure the site is safe, and want to negotiate a compromise with the church.

The protest is less than two weeks old but has a semi-permanent feel. There is a kitchen dispensing donated food and water, a tent offering free "tea and coffee and empathy," a technology tent linking the camp to the world via the Internet, a music tent, a meditation tent, a library, a movie theater and a newspaper.

There are twice-daily meetings to plan strategy, and near-constant debates. The activists include many students and veteran protesters, but also, organizers say, doctors, shopkeepers and teachers.

Their demands are diverse, ranging from tighter control of banks to the complete dismantling of the capitalist system. But that diversity, the protesters say, is the point.

"This is a free space ? a free space for ideas, for discussions, for coming together and trying to brainstorm something, as a collective," said Emma Medoes, a student who works part time in a bar.

Similar camps have sprung up across the United States and around the world since activists took over a plaza near New York's Wall Street seven weeks ago to protest corporate greed and social inequality.

Most have withered or been dismantled, sometimes by force. On Tuesday police in Oakland, California, fired tear gas and bean bags to disperse about 170 protesters who had been camping in front of City Hall for the past two weeks. Police in Atlanta also moved in to break up a 2-week-old camp.

Several high-profile protests remain. In the hub of Asian capitalism, Hong Kong, 30 to 40 protesters are camped outside the headquarters of banking giant HSBC.

In Germany, crowds of several thousand demonstrated on Oct. 15 and again on Saturday, and a small camp has been pitched outside the headquarters of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt. But the protests have failed to catch fire in a country that has one of Europe's strongest economies.

As winter approaches in London, it's unclear whether the protest will prosper or shrink.

At the moment police can't remove the protesters, who technically are not trespassing ? they camped with the Cathedral's approval. A handful of people have been arrested for public disorder offenses since the protest began, but police say it has been mainly peaceful.

The local governing authority, the City of London Corporation, says it is taking legal advice on the best way to evict the protesters ? but that could be a long process.

An anti-war vigil outside Britain's Parliament has continued for 10 years, despite repeated legal attempts by local authorities to move it. A handful of die-hards remain, even though legal challenges have limited the protesters to the sidewalk, rather than the grass area of Parliament Square.

The issue is complicated because this patch of London dates back to medieval times, with complex ownership split between the local authority and the cathedral.

Bookmaker William Hill is taking bets on a reopening date, offering 50 to 1 odds on the building still being shut at Christmas.

The camp is drawing support from some of the tourists, office workers ? and even bankers ? who stop by the site to take photographs and chat. Many say they understand the anger at bankers at a time when economic crisis and government austerity are bringing rising unemployment, higher prices, scarcer services and dwindling pensions.

"I agree with some of the things they are saying," said David Pressman, a 19-year-old trainee investment banker. "I think there is a lot of greed from a small number of people."

The protest has already spawned a second, smaller camp, a mile (1.6 kilometers) away in Finsbury Square. But a local councilor claimed this week that infrared photographs revealed that 90 percent of the tents at St. Paul's were unoccupied at night as protesters returned home to hot showers and warm beds.

Camp organizers insist that most of the tents are occupied at night, saying there are plenty of newcomers willing to take over from those whose who have to leave.

Protester Malcolm Blackman, 44, said the photographs were probably taken before midnight ? when many demonstrators were in the pub.

"If you're going to have a tent city in the middle of London, you're going to enjoy London," he said. "We're not all so poor we can't afford a pint."

____

Associated Press Writers Juergen Baetz in Berlin and Peter Enav in Hong Kong contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111026/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_britain_wall_street_protests

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Kenyan military action slows famine refugee flow (AP)

NAIROBI, Kenya ? The United Nations says the number of famine refugees flowing into Kenya slowed to a trickle after Kenyan troops moved into Somalia.

The U.N. said Wednesday that only 100 Somali refugees entered Kenya last week, down from 3,400 the week before.

The U.N. Refugee Agency said military operations and heavy rains at the border have contributed to the reduced flow. Kenyan troops moved into Somalia around Oct. 15.

Since January, 152,000 Somalis have been registered at the Dadaab refugee camps in Kenya, an average of more than 3,500 a week.

UNHCR says it is possible more refugees are moving into camps in Ethiopia instead of Kenya because of the new military activity.

Hundreds of thousands of Somalis are at risk of starvation because of the country's famine.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111026/ap_on_re_af/af_east_africa_famine

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Jobs Bill -- Reply to 'We Can't Wait' Should Be 'Yes We Can' (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | As a former political consultant, I have to shake my head at how President Barack Obama continues his attempt to pressure Congress into passing a jobs bill that Republicans and many Democrats do not agree with. His new technique of going around the country repeating the words "We Can't Wait" continues to support the idea the president has no clue how to fix the problems he promised he would take care of. His plan of borrowing and throwing money at a problem with the hope that it will go away does not work.

Soon after taking office, we were given the stimulus package. Essentially, he borrowed money and squandered it on programs that never got off the ground. Instead of reducing unemployment, unemployment went up and so did the debt. When unemployment continued to be a problem, he borrowed more money and gave more weeks of unemployment to those that had run out. Instead of trying to find viable and cost-effective fixes for the health care crisis, he threw borrowed money at the issue and gave us Obamacare.

Out of the three points of legislation, the only one that made a measurable difference was the unemployment extension. The other two were meant to create jobs, and all of us are still waiting to see when that will happen. I find it interesting how President Obama mirrors the actions of many that drowned at the beginning of the downturn.

They borrowed money to pay a certain bill, then they had to borrow more to pay the second. This continued in a vicious cycle until bankruptcy. Now we are seeing this issue on a national level. How many more federal credit scores have to be lowered until the president gets the picture?

I understand President Obama could not get these bills passed on his own. These three points of legislation went through Congress and were eventually passed. Now, though, the Republicans are taking heat from the president, his administration and many in the media for not passing the current jobs bill.

Why should they pass it? When you look over the president's track record, all you are going to see is a history of stumbling over hurdles. All you are going to see is a president who throws money at problems. When he says "We Can't Wait," Congress should reply "Yes We Can."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111025/us_ac/10281999_jobs_bill__reply_to_we_cant_wait_should_be_yes_we_can

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