Groups: Clashes after Tibetan sets self on fire (AP)

BEIJING ? Security forces clashed with angry Tibetans in southwestern China, shooting one person, after a man set himself on fire in the latest protest against Chinese rule, activist groups said.

Local residents began to protest Saturday after seeing police severely beat the man who set himself on fire as they put out the flames, the London-based International Campaign for Tibet said.

"Tibetans at the scene became very distressed and angry and gathered together in what seems to be an impromptu demonstration," Kate Saunders of the group wrote in an email.

Little was known about the person who set himself on fire, although the group cited its sources as saying he was a man and that he was not a monk.

It and the London-based group Free Tibet said a woman was shot during the unrest.

At least 16 Buddhist monks, nuns and other Tibetans are now believed to have set themselves on fire in the past year ? including four in the past week ? mostly in traditionally Tibetan areas of Sichuan province. Most have chanted for Tibetan freedom and the return of their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, who fled to India amid an abortive uprising against Chinese rule in 1959.

Woeser, a Beijing-based Tibetan poet and activist, posted accounts of the unrest on Twitter that were similar to those reported by the groups.

"A young Tibetan person self-immolated ... the local area has erupted in public protests and marches, and they have been met with military police fire and suppression. There are Tibetan casualties," she wrote. Like some Tibetans, Woeser uses just one name.

The claims could not be independently confirmed. Calls to Aba county's police bureau rang unanswered. A man who answered the phone Sunday at the Aba prefecture government said they hadn't received any reports about a self-immolation or clashes and then hung up. People answering the phones at the lower Aba county and township governments also said they had no information.

Heavy security has turned Aba and the surrounding area into a virtual restricted zone since an anti-government uprising across Tibetan communities in 2008, and foreign reporters have had little or no access.

China chooses Buddhist leaders in Tibet and wants to pick a pro-Beijing successor to the Dalai Lama, whom Beijing considers to be a separatist. China says Tibet has been part of its territory for centuries, but many Tibetans say the Himalayan region was virtually independent for most of that time.

Chinese authorities routinely deny Tibetan claims of repression, although they have confirmed some self-immolations and accused supporters of the Dalai Lama of encouraging such acts. The Dalai Lama and representatives of the self-declared Tibetan government-in-exile in India say they oppose all violence.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/china/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120115/ap_on_re_as/as_china_tibet

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Costa Concordia: Why navigation might 'fail' and other cruise ship questions

An Italian cruise ship, the Costa Concordia, collided with rocks off the coast of Tuscany and capsized this week, leaving many unanswered questions as to how and why the accident occurred. The Monitor spoke with admiralty and maritime lawyer David Y. Loh, who points out how an over-reliance on technology and staffing shortages have been problems in the industry. Mr. Loh is a former Lieutenant Commander in the US Navy and specializes in risk management.?

- Whitney Eulich,?Staff Writer

The captain of the Costa Concordia cruise boat that ran aground off Tuscany on Friday claims the rock he hit?wasn?t marked on navigational charts, reports Reuters. But maritime lawyer David Y. Loh says relying on one navigation system is never fail-proof.
?
?[A large rock] wouldn?t show up if the [electronic] navigation system was turned off,? Mr. Loh says. ?If it was turned on and operating properly it would work properly, but that also presumes someone is monitoring the system and its settings.?
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Some navigation systems will have an alarm built in that will go off when it is close to hazards, Loh says. When a boat is leaving port and close to land the alarm may go off incessantly. ?If you?re close to land you might turn [the alarm] off to prevent that,? he says.

Steering a large vessel like the Costa Concordia cruise boat should never rely solely on electronic navigation systems, Loh says. ?I don?t know why they were so close and whether or not [the ship] was in a sea lane,? says Loh, but if they intended to take that route, procedure would have likely called for consulting with a local pilot familiar with the coastal terrain.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/7yVHOenB0kY/Costa-Concordia-Why-navigation-might-fail-and-other-cruise-ship-questions

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All The Little (But Awesome) Things You Definitely Missed At CES

It's true. CES is out of control. I have no reference point since this was my first visit, but from the first second you disembark the monorail and look down over the sprawling campus of the LVCC, you know you won't see everything. The inkling gets stronger as you enter the building, and find that the Samsung booth is about as big as a mall. Luckily for you, John Biggs and I ventured into the deepest corners of the show to find the little booths you most certainly missed. Enjoy!

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

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Mass S&P downgrade as Greek debt impasse hit euro zone (Reuters)

BERLIN/ATHENS (Reuters) ? Standard & Poor's downgraded the credit ratings of nine euro zone countries, stripping France and Austria of their coveted triple-A status but not EU paymaster Germany, in a Black Friday 13th for the troubled single currency area.

"Today's rating actions are primarily driven by our assessment that the policy initiatives that have been taken by European policymakers in recent weeks may be insufficient to fully address ongoing systemic stresses in the eurozone," the U.S.-based ratings agency said in a statement.

In a potentially more ominous setback, negotiations on a debt swap by private creditors seen as crucial to avert a Greek default that would rock Europe and the world economy broke up without agreement in Athens, although officials said more talks are likely next week.

If Greece cannot persuade banks and insurers to accept voluntary losses on their bond holdings, a second international rescue package for the euro zone's most heavily indebted state will unravel, raising the prospect of bankruptcy in late March, when it has to redeem 14.4 billion euros in maturing debt.

S&P cut the ratings of Italy, Spain, Portugal and Cyprus by two notches and the standings of France, Austria, Malta, Slovakia and Slovenia by one notch each.

The move puts highly indebted Italy on the same BBB+ level as Kazakhstan and pushes Portugal into junk status.

It put 14 euro zone states on negative outlook for a possible further downgrade, including France, Austria, and still triple-A rated Finland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

Germany was the only country to emerge totally unscathed with its triple-A rating and a stable outlook.

French Finance Minister Francois Baroin, speaking after an emergency meeting with President Nicolas Sarkozy, played down the impact of Europe's second biggest economy being downgraded to AA+ for the first time since 1975.

"This is not a catastrophe. It's an excellent rating. But it's not good news," Baroin told France 2 television, saying the government would not respond with further austerity measures.

The euro fell by more than a cent to $1.2650 on the news. European stocks, which had been up on the day, turned negative but reaction to the widely anticipated news was moderate. Safe-haven German 10-year bond futures rose to a new record high while the risk premium investors charge on French, Spanish, Italian and Belgian debt widened.

Euro zone finance ministers responded jointly by saying in a statement they had taken "far-reaching measures" in response to the sovereign debt crisis and were accelerating reforms towards stronger economic union.

Greek negotiators who have repeatedly voiced confidence in a deal in which private creditors would accept writedowns of 50 percent of the face value of their bond holdings said they were now less hopeful, warning of "catastrophic consequences" for Greece and Europe if they failed.

"Yesterday we were cautious and confident. Today we are less optimistic," a source close to the Greek task force in charge of the negotiations said.

The Institute for International Finance, negotiating on behalf of banks, said: "Under the circumstances, discussions with Greece and the official sector are paused for reflection on the benefits of a voluntary approach.

The two sides are divided principally over the interest rate Greece will end up paying, which determines how much of a hit banks take. While both appear to be engaged in brinkmanship, there are also doubts about the take-up rate of any voluntary deal, since some hedge funds have bought up Greek debt and want to be paid out in full or trigger default insurance.

The double blow of the S&P news and the stalling of the Greek debt talks came after a brighter start to the year with Spain and Italy beginning their marathon debt rollover at lower borrowing costs this week.

The European Central Bank's move last month to flood banks with cheap three-year liquidity helped ease a worsening credit crunch and provided funds which governments hope some will use to buy sovereign bonds.

RESCUE FUND WEAKENED

S&P said the euro zone faced stresses including tightening credit conditions, rising risk premiums for a growing number of sovereigns, simultaneous deleveraging by governments and households and weakening economic growth prospects.

It also cited political obstacles to a solution to the crisis due to "an open and prolonged dispute among European policymakers over the proper approach to address challenges."

Austerity and budget discipline alone were not sufficient to fight the debt crisis and risked becoming self-defeating, the ratings agency said.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble played down the news, saying: "In the past months, we've come to agree that the ratings agencies' judgments should not be overvalued."

France and Austria were at risk because of their banks' exposure to the debt of peripheral euro zone countries and Hungary respectively, as well as the weakening economic outlook for Europe. Italy and Spain face historically high borrowing costs.

The cut in France's rating is a serious setback for the centre-right Sarkozy's chances of re-election in May and could weaken the euro zone's rescue fund, reducing its ability to help countries in difficulty.

France is the second largest guarantor of the European Financial Stability Facility, which has a AAA rating. Preserving that status would require members to increase their guarantees, which could prove politically unpopular.

In their statement, the euro zone finance ministers said they would do all they could to ensure the rescue fund keeps its top rating.

After vowing for months to do everything to preserve Paris' top-notch standing, Sarkozy appeared to prepare voters last month for the loss of the prized status before the election.

His political opponents pounced on the S&P decision as a verdict on the failure of his policies.

"This is in reality a double downgrade. It is a downgrade of our sovereign rating that will affect the country's reputation, with heavy consequences, and it is also a downgrade compared to our main neighbor, Germany, with which we had equal status up to now," centrist candidate Francois Bayrou said.

Socialist party leader Martine Aubry said: "Mr Sarkozy will be remembered as the president who downgraded France."

It is not clear how far the downgrade will increase France's borrowing costs, since markets have already anticipated the prospect by raising the French risk premium over German Bunds.

"One notch is priced in but not more. The Franco-German spread can widen. It is about 130 basis points for the 10-year bond. The maximum level reached was 180 to 190 basis points and it can go back to this level," said Alessandro Giansanti, senior rates strategist at ING in Amsterdam.

(Additional reporting by Reuters euro zone bureaux; Writing by Paul Taylor, editing by Mike Peacock)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120113/bs_nm/us_eurozone_sp

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God and Sports: Does Tebow Have a Prayer Against Brady? (LiveScience.com)

Whether or not you believe in divine intervention in sports ? and a recent survey suggests that about 40 percent of Americans do ? prayer may help athletes like football player Tim Tebow win on game day.

That's because praying can help focus athletes, calming them when they need to relax and pumping them up when they need energy and motivation, said Daniel Czech, a professor of exercise psychology who researches sports and spirituality. And while outsiders might question the concept of asking for divine intervention in a sporting match, Czech said athletes rarely pray for a win.

"I've never interviewed an athlete that prays for victory," Czech said. "It's more, 'God, help me accept the outcome.'"

Religion and sports

Religion and sports go hand-in-hand in America, with prayers as a common pre-game ritual. Denver Broncos quarterback Tebow is especially vocal about his faith, starring in an anti-abortion ad put out by Christian group Focus on the Family during the 2010 Super Bowl. (Tebow's mother fell ill during her pregnancy with him but decided against an abortion.)

Tebow's tendency to pray while on the field has even triggered a national meme called "tebowing," in which people kneel in a prayerful position in odd and unusual spots.

The Broncos play the New England Patriots on Saturday (Jan. 14), and a new national poll finds that many Americans suspect that God has an interest in the outcome. According to a poll of 1,076 registered voters, weighted to be nationally representative, 43 percent of Americans who are aware of Tebow's success believe that divine intervention has played a role. Forty-two percent said it had not.

It's not surprising that Christians, at least, would assume that God involves himself in football, Czech told LiveScience.

"Stressing God and 'God will intercede' is a very important concept for many Christians," Czech said. "It's very interesting that they transfer the idea that God will intercede and divine inspiration will come to the Tebow situation."

Praying for performance

While fans may credit divine inspiration for Tebow's success, it's very likely that the quarterback isn't praying for victory himself. According to Czech's research on Christian elite athletes, prayers fall into four common themes. One, players pray to play to the best of their ability, no matter the outcome of the game. Second, they take a "God's will" mindset, praying that God's will be done whether they win or lose. [Life's Extremes: Atheists vs. Believers]

"It's almost a passivity, if you will, of giving up control of the outcome ? It's a process-oriented mindset," Czech said. That attitude may be helpful for players to relieve stress and to shore up self-confidence even in the face of loses, he said.

Players also pray to remain free from injury and to be beacons for Christianity, Czech said.

Prayer also contains a ritual aspect, Czech said, such as when a baseball player crosses himself before stepping up to the plate.

"Once they do that sign of the cross, it's almost like, 'I have protection, I have strength,'" he said.

The ritual can help players pump themselves up in a "I'm playing for Christ," way, Czech said, or it can soothe them when things get stressful.

"If you have two seconds to go, if you're in overtime like Tebow and everyone is yelling and screaming, maybe a prayer can calm you and get you back into that optimal zone," Czech said.

You can follow LiveScience?senior writer Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappas. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience?and on Facebook.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20120113/sc_livescience/godandsportsdoestebowhaveaprayeragainstbrady

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Hedge funds scammed by Madoff won't get payments

Customers of hedge funds ? or so-called 'feeder funds' ? that invested with Madoff don't qualify for a settlement fund, a federal judge affirms. Thousands of clients of 16 hedge funds hoped to collect from the $500,000 fund.

A federal judge has affirmed a bankruptcy court ruling that thousands of clients of?funds that invested money with jailed financier Bernard Madoff do not qualify for payouts that reimburse Madoff customers.

Skip to next paragraph

The decision made public Thursday by Judge Denise Cote (koht) agreed with a judge's finding last year. It said the clients don't qualify because they did not hold accounts in their names.

It means investors still cannot recover up to $500,000 from a?fund?created to reimburse small investors who are victims of fraudulent schemes.

The ruling came in a case brought on behalf of 16 feeder or?hedge?funds?that invested with Madoff.

Lawyers for the?funds?did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

Madoff is serving a 150-year prison sentence for masterminding the multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/lvQhy8Oa6hw/Hedge-funds-scammed-by-Madoff-won-t-get-payments

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Fire whom? Romney draws flak on eve of NH primary (AP)

NASHUA, N.H. ? Republican front-runner Mitt Romney stumbled down the homestretch of the New Hampshire primary on Monday, declaring, "I like being able to fire people who provide services to me" as his rivals intensified already fierce criticism.

"Gov. Romney enjoys firing people. I enjoy creating jobs," said former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who has staked his candidacy on a strong showing in Tuesday's primary and has shown signs of gaining ground in recent polls.

Adding insult to any injury, Texas Gov. Rick Perry posted a ringtone to his campaign website that consisted of Romney saying, "I like being able to fire people," over and over.

Romney is the odds-on favorite in New Hampshire, and Huntsman as well as other Republicans who are contesting the state have generally been content to vie for second place in hopes of emerging as his main rival in the South Carolina primary on Jan. 21.

"Second place would be a dream come true," said former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, as he raced through a final full New Hampshire campaign day that began before sunrise and stretched for more than 14 hours. The former Pennsylvania senator finished a surprising second in last week's Iowa caucuses, but without money for television ads he has appeared to struggle as he seeks to convert that into momentum.

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, won in Iowa by eight votes. A victory in New Hampshire would make him the first Republican in a contested presidential nomination battle to capture the first two races of the campaign since Iowa began leading off for the GOP in 1976.

The battle has grown increasingly rancorous in recent days ? both in New Hampshire and next-up South Carolina ? with Santorum, Perry and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich escalating their attacks on Romney's claim that a background in business uniquely qualifies him to help create American jobs.

At the same time, an organization that backs Gingrich has spread the word that it intends to spend $3.4 million on television ads in South Carolina that are expected to attack Romney with gusto.

"Now we'll see if he has the broad shoulders and can stand the heat," said Gingrich, relishing the battle ahead as the nominating campaign wheels South.

Romney's remark about firing people was the second jarring moment for the front-runner in the span of less than 24 hours.

On Sunday afternoon, the millionaire businessman told an audience that he understood the fear of being laid off, adding, "there were a couple of times when I was worried I was going to get pink-slipped." His aides refused to provide details.

On Monday morning, addressing the Nashua Chamber of Commerce, he said he wants individuals to be able to choose among different health insurance policies as they seek coverage.

"That means the insurance company will have an incentive to keep you healthy. It also means if you don't like what they do, you can fire them," he said.

"I like being able to fire people who provide services to me. If someone doesn't give me the good service I need, I'm going to go get somebody else to provide that service to me," he added.

A few hours later, in a previously unscheduled appearance before reporters, Romney emphasized he had been talking about insurance companies.

"Things can always be taken out of context, and I understand that's what the Obama people will do. But as you know I was speaking about insurance companies and we need to be able to make a choice and my comments entirely reflected that discussion."

As for once fearing he would be fired, he said, "I came out of school, and I got an entry level position like the other people that were freshly minted MBAs, and like anybody that starts at the bottom of an enterprise you wonder, when you don't do so well, whether you're going to be able to hang onto your job."

Romney has made his career in business the core credential of his candidacy, saying that his firm, Bain Capital, created 100,000 jobs on balance as it started some firms while taking over, remaking and then spinning off others.

Gingrich told one interviewer during the day that Bain Capital "apparently looted the companies, left people totally unemployed and walked off with millions of dollars."

He wasn't asked to provide details.

But Perry, campaigning in Anderson, South Carolina, was ? and did.

"If you're a victim of Bain Capital's downsizing, it's the ultimate insult for Mitt Romney to come to South Carolina to tell you he feels your pain. Because he caused it," he said.

`I have no doubt that Mitt Romney was worried about pink slips ? whether he'd have enough of them to hand out."

He cited Holson Burns Group Inc. of Gaffney, S.C., where he said 150 workers who made photo albums lost their jobs. "They looted that company," Perry said, referring to Bain Capital.

Santorum's message in New Hampshire was the same as it had been in Iowa. "Give us an opportunity to be the conservative alternative," he said.

He sidestepped questions about his proposal to reduce or eliminate Social Security benefits for wealthier beneficiaries, saying efforts by reporters to obtain specifics were "gotcha games."

Even though he runs second in some of the New Hampshire polls, Texas Rep. Ron Paul campaigned lightly in the state. He unveiled a new television ad in South Carolina that took aim at Santorum.

It notes the former senator's votes against right-to-work legislation and in favor of increases in the federal debt ceiling. "Rick Santorum, a record of betrayal, another serial hypocrite who can't be trusted," it says.

President Barack Obama appeared to cast the New Hampshire primary as a proving ground for a presidential nominee no different from the GOP lawmakers who oppose his policies.

"Republicans in Congress and these candidates, they think that the best way for America to compete for new jobs and businesses is to follow other countries in a race to the bottom," Obama said at a fundraiser in Washington. "We can't go back to this brand of you're-on-your-own economics."

In Manchester, N.H., protesters with Occupy and Paul signs swarmed events hosted by Gingrich and Santorum.

Outside a sports bar, they pushed toward Santorum as he made his way to his car, surrounded him and at times jostled his children. Police stepped in to get the Santorums to their cars.

Gingrich canceled an appearance at his state campaign headquarters after about 40 protesters gathered at its entrance. His spokesman, R.C. Hammond, said the former House speaker's private security detail had security concerns.

________

Associated Press writers Brian Bakst, Thomas Beaumont and Jim Davenport in South Carolina and Holly Ramer, Shannon McCaffrey, Philip Elliott and Beth Fouhy in New Hampshire and Stacy A. Anderson in Washington contributed to this report. Espo reported from Washington.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120110/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_campaign

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