Salesforce Launches Assistly-Powered Social And Mobile Customer Service Platform For SMBs, Desk.com

Last September, Salesforce bought social customer service SaaS startup Assistly for $50 million-plus to help expand its service cloud offerings to small businesses. Today, Salesforce is debuting a brand new Assistly-inspired social and mobile customer service platform for small businesses, called Desk.com. As you may remember, Assistly helped companies collect and organize all of their customer conversations into a prioritized actionable list and equips support staff with the tools to respond to customers. The application allows businesses to filter conversations, access customer histories, automate processes and even tap into social media conversations on Facebook, Twitter and other sites. And Assistly provides users with key metrics and analytics, such as case volume, interaction volume by channel, response time, service levels, agent performance and more.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/SazVbPS1xoA/

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Neeson's 'The Grey' tops box office with $20M

NEW YORK (AP) ? Beware the Liam in Winter. Liam Neeson's "The Grey" topped the weekend box office with $20 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, continuing the actor's success as an action star in the winter months.

The Alaskan survivalist thriller opened above expectations with a performance on par with previous Neeson thrillers "Taken" and "Unknown." Those films, both January-February releases, opened with $24.7 million and $21.9 million, respectively.

But the R-rated "The Grey," which has received good reviews, drove home the strong appeal of Neeson, action star. It's an unlikely turn for the 59-year-old Neeson, previously better known for his dramatic performances, like those in "Schindler's List" and "Kinsey."

"Liam is a true movie star, period," said Tom Ortenberg, CEO of Open Road Films. It's the second release for the newly formed distributor, created by theater chains AMC and Regal.

"My guess is that Liam Neeson in action thrillers would work just about any time of year."

January is often a dumping ground for less-stellar releases, a tradition held up by two badly reviewed new wide releases: "Man on a Ledge," with Sam Worthington, and "One for the Money" with Katherine Heigl.

"One for the Money" fared better, earning $11.8 million, while "Man on a Ledge" opened with $8.3 million.

Those were reasonably solid returns, and, in an unusual twist, were both ultimately for Lions Gate Entertainment. Its film studio, Lionsgate, released the romantic comedy "One for the Money." The action thriller "Man on a Ledge" was released by Summit Entertainment, which Lions Gate bought for $412.5 million earlier this month.

"One for the Money" was helped by a promotion with Groupon, the Internet discount site, with which Lionsgate previously partnered for "The Lincoln Lawyer." David Spitz, head of distribution for Lionsgate, said the large number of older, female subscribers of Groupon matched well with the audience of "One for the Money."

Groupon email blasts, he said, had a significant promotional effect.

Last week's box-office leader, "Underworld: Awakenings," Sony's Screen Gem's latest installment in its vampire series, came in second with $12.5 million, bringing its cumulative total to $45.1 million.

The unexpectedly large haul for "The Grey," strong holdovers (such as the George Lucas-produced World War II action film "Red Tails," which earned $10.4 million in its second week) and the bump for Oscar contending films following Tuesday's nominations added up to a good weekend for Hollywood. The box office was up about 15 percent on the corresponding weekend last year.

So far, every weekend this year has been an "up" weekend, after a somewhat dismal fourth quarter in 2011.

"'Mission: Impossible,' I think, really helped reinvigorate the marketplace, and that's carried over into the first part of the year," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "That's good news for Hollywood after the down-trending box office of 2011."

Oscar favorites "The Descendants," ''Hugo" and "The Artist" sought to capitalize on their recent Academy Awards nominations. Each expanded to more theaters and saw an uptick in business.

Fox Searchlight's "The Descendants," which is nominated for five Oscars including best picture, added 1,441 screens in its 11th week of release. It added $6.6 million and has now made $58.8 million, making it one of Fox Searchlight's most successful releases.

Sheila DeLoach, senior vice president of distribution for Fox Searchlight, said the film's nominations and its recent Golden Globes wins (for best drama and best actor, George Clooney) "played a big role" in its weekend box office.

Paramount's "Hugo," which led Oscar nominations with 11 including best picture, saw a 143 percent jump in business over its last weekend. In its tenth week of release, it earned $2.3 million, bringing its total to $58.7 million.

The Weinstein Co.'s "The Artist," with 10 Oscar nominations including best picture, expanded a modest 235 screens to bring it to a total of 897 screens in its 10th week of release. It earned $3.3 million, with a total of $16.7 million.

The Weinstein Co. is being careful with the black-and-white, largely silent film. Thus far, it has appealed particularly to older audiences.

"It's not the same type of picture as any other picture in the marketplace," said Erik Loomis, head of distribution for the Weinstein Co. "Now that the nominations are out, we're going to look to capitalize on it as best we can. ... We're being very, very meticulous with it. We're not throwing it out there and grabbing every theater we can. At some point, we'll open the floodgates on the movie, maybe closer to the awards."

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "The Grey," $20 million.

2. "Underworld: Awakening," $12.5 million.

3. "One for the Money," $11.8 million.

4. "Red Tails," $10.4 million.

5. "Man on a Ledge," $8.3 million.

6. "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close," $7.1 million.

7. "The Descendants," $6.6 million.

8. "Contraband," $6.5 million.

9. "Beauty and the Beast," $5.3 million.

10. "Haywire," $4 million.

___

Online:

http://www.hollywood.com/boxoffice

___

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by Rainbow Media Holdings, a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corp.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-29-US-Box-Office/id-3a45dd8e69224f159d9850fb268e5b4f

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Hey people, it's Rawr :D

So, well. It wouldn't let me actually post this in the forums, So I'll just post it here. If it DOES work finally on the other, I'll just.... yeah. leave this here.

Hey! I'm Rawr, or shadefeather413 on deviantART (Yeah I know.. I wish so terribly I could change my username.)

I'm an animal artist and tend to draw wolves. (Yes, I know they're popular. Everyone draws them. But why practice crocodiles if I don't like drawing crocodiles? Anyways. Here. [url]shadefeather413.deviantart.com/[/url]

I do lot's of requests on iScribble, my favorite drawing site. I've used the tools for so long, my drawings are at it's best on there. Unfortunately, the canvas is a 373x700. That's too small, shaped weird, and the resolution is terrible. But I don't care! It's fun, and I know it. I've drawn on that site for 3 years so... hard to get used to SAI.

As I said, I do alot of requests. I'm going through some artist phase where nothing is actually original, so to avoid that I do other people's characters rather than looking like a poser and drawing unoriginal characters.

The one in the middle doesn't belong to me

This I would like feedback on and constructive criticism so I can improve. Compared to my last human picture, this is amazing. But I still must improve. must must must, cause that picture is sort of... yeah. http://shadefeather413.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d4mmlu4 (Yes, I know the collar bone looks freaky, It was just a quick one. I know they don't jut out like that x3. )

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/wj9aj15Yjzk/viewtopic.php

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College presidents wary of Obama cost-control plan (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Fuzzy math, Illinois State University's president called it. "Political theater of the worst sort," said the University of Washington's head.

President Barack Obama's new plan to force colleges and universities to contain tuition or face losing federal dollars is raising alarm among education leaders who worry about the threat of government overreach. Particularly sharp words came from the presidents of public universities; they're already frustrated by increasing state budget cuts.

The reality, said Illinois State's Al Bowman, is that simple changes cannot easily overcome deficits at many public schools. He said he was happy to hear Obama, in a speech Friday at the University of Michigan, urge state-level support of public universities. But, Bowman said, given the decreases in state aid, tying federal support to tuition prices is a product of fuzzy math.

Illinois has lowered public support for higher education by about one-third over the past decade when adjusted for inflation. Illinois State, with 21,000 students, has raised tuition almost 47 percent since 2007, from $6,150 a year for an in-state undergraduate student to $9,030.

"Most people, including the president, assume if universities were simply more efficient they would be able to operate with much smaller state subsidies, and I believe there are certainly efficiency gains that can be realized," Bowman said. "But they pale in comparison to the loss in state support."

Bowman said the undergraduate experience can be made cheaper, but there are trade-offs.

"You could hire mostly part-time, adjunct faculty. You could teach in much larger lecture halls, but the things that would allow you achieve the greatest levels of efficiency would dilute the product and would make it something I wouldn't be willing to be part of," he said.

At Washington, President Mike Young said Obama showed he did not understand how the budgets of public universities work.

Young said the total cost to educate college students in his state, which is paid for by both tuition and state government dollars, has gone down because of efficiencies on campus. While universities are tightening costs, the state is cutting their subsidies and authorizing tuition increases to make up for the loss.

"They really should know better," Young said. "This really is political theater of the worst sort."

Obama's plan would need approval by Congress, a hard sell in an atmosphere of partisan gridlock.

In his State of the Union address Tuesday, Obama described meeting with university presidents who explained how some schools curtailed costs through technology and redesigning courses to help students finish more quickly. He said more schools need to take such steps.

Obama said at Michigan that higher education has become an imperative for success in America, but the cost has grown unrealistic for too many families and the debt burden unbearable. He said states should properly fund colleges and universities.

"We are putting colleges on notice," Obama told an arena packed with cheering students. "You can't assume that you'll just jack up tuition every single year. If you can't stop tuition from going up, then the funding you get from taxpayers each year will go down."

Obama is targeting only a small part of the financial aid picture: the $3 billion known as campus-based aid that flows through college administrators to students. He is proposing to increase that amount to $10 billion and change how it is distributed to reward schools that hold down costs and ensure that more poor students complete their education.

The bulk of the more than $140 billion in federal grants and loans goes directly to students and would not be affected.

The average in-state tuition and fees at four-year public colleges this school year rose 8.3 percent and with room and board now exceed $17,000 a year, according to the College Board.

Rising tuition costs have been attributed to a variety of factors, among them a decline in state dollars and competition for the best facilities and professors. Critics say some higher education institutions are attempting to wait out the economic downturn and have been too reluctant to make large-scale changes that would cut costs such as offering three-year degree programs.

The federal government's leverage to take on the rising cost of college is limited because higher education is decentralized, with most student aid following the student.

The response to Obama's plan wasn't all negative. Many university presidents said they welcome a conversation about making college more affordable and efficient.

In Missouri, where Gov. Jay Nixon has proposed a 12.5 percent funding cut for higher education in the coming fiscal year, Obama's proposal could put even more pressure on public colleges and universities to limit tuition increases. By state law, schools must limit such increases to the annual inflation rate unless they receive permission for larger ones. Nixon has warned schools that he doesn't want to see a tuition increase of more than 3 percent, the latest Consumer Price Index increase.

"The president's message isn't inconsistent with the agenda that we've been pursuing here in Missouri," said Paul Wagner, deputy commissioner of the state Department of Higher Education. "It's good to see him put the focus on the same things."

Obama also wants to create a "Race to the Top" competition in higher education similar to the one his administration used on lower grades. He wants to encourage states to make better use of higher education dollars in exchange for $1 billion in prize money.

Obama is also pushing for more tools to help students determine which colleges and universities have the best value.

___

Online:

White House: http://tinyurl.com/75yrqyh

___

Associated Press writers Ben Feller and Julie Pace in Washington, Jim Kuhnhenn and David Runk in Ann Arbor, Mich., David Mercer in Champaign, Ill., Alan Zagier in Columbia, Mo., Alex Dominguez in Baltimore, Dorie Turner in Atlanta, and Donna Gordon Blankinship in Seattle contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_college_costs

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Biden Prediction: Dems Will Retake House (Michellemalkin)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

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Slovenia parliament confirms Jansa as prime minister (Reuters)

LJUBLJANA (Reuters) ? The Slovenian parliament confirmed conservative Janez Jansa as prime minister on Saturday, almost two months after an inconclusive December 4 election, parliamentary speaker Gregor Virant said.

Jansa has 15 days to put forward a cabinet charged with driving economic growth and introducing reforms to stop the country's credit rating from being cut - but he has a corruption trial hanging over him, which could derail his premiership if he were found guilty.

The cabinet must be confirmed by parliament, in which Jansa's five-party coalition has a solid majority.

Jansa, also prime minister from 2004 to 2008, has promised to cut taxes, red tape and the budget deficit, ease the credit crunch and raise the retirement age in the euro zone member.

"The first steps of this government will be stabilisation of public finances ... decrees to give impetus to economic growth and enable formation of new jobs," Jansa told reporters after the vote, saying he hoped the new government would be voted in by February 10.

President Danilo Turk said earlier this week that Jansa lacked legitimacy for the post because of a trial, which began in September, in which he and four co-defendants are charged with bribery over a 2006 deal for Finnish armoured vehicles worth 278 million euros ($365 million). Jansa denied all charges.

Earlier this month parliament rejected Turk's candidate as prime minister, centre-left Zoran Jankovic. Jankovic's Positive Slovenia party won most votes at the election but was unable to form a coalition that would have a majority in parliament.

Jansa's centre-right Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) signed a coalition pact this week with the centre-right People's Party and New Slovenia, the centrist Civic List of Gregor Virant and the pensioners' party Desus. The five parties hold 50 out of 90 seats in parliament.

On Friday credit rating agency Fitch cut Slovenia's sovereign debt rating by two notches to A because of a deterioration in the economic outlook.

All major credit agencies have cut Slovenia's rating since September because of the political crisis, lack of reforms and the deepening euro zone debt crisis, and put it on negative watch. Slovenia is rated A+ by Standard&Poor's and A1 by Moody's.

The political crisis started in September when parliament ousted the centre-left government of Prime Minister Borut Pahor amid internal coalition squabbles and an inability to implement reforms that would speed economic growth.

"The new government will have a hard time because of the need for big budget savings ... and because it is made of five parties which are very different," Meta Roglic, an analyst at the daily Dnevnik, told Reuters.

"Even so it might succeed in staying in power for the full four-year mandate, particularly since it can expect that the opposition will support some of the main economic reforms," she added.

Slovenia's budget deficit soared to some 5.5 percent of GDP in 2011 from a balanced budget in 2007 because of lower tax income and high government spending.

On Thursday, the government's macroeconomic institute said Slovenia's economic growth would slow to 0.2 percent this year from 0.5 percent in 2011 because of lower export demand and low domestic spending.

Slovenia was the fastest-growing euro zone member in 2007 but its export-oriented economy was badly hit by the global crisis and shrank by 8 percent in 2009. Recent data showed another recession was possible as the economy shrank by 0.5 percent in the third quarter of 2011.

(Reporting By Marja Novak; Editing by Tim Pearce)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120128/wl_nm/us_slovenia_pm

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AP Exclusive: Barrier proposed as Israel border (AP)

RAMALLAH, West Bank ? Israel is proposing to essentially turn its West Bank separation barrier into the border with a future state of Palestine, two Palestinian officials said Friday, based on their interpretation of principles Israel presented in talks this week.

The officials said Israeli envoy Yitzak Molcho told his Palestinian counterpart that Israel wants to keep east Jerusalem and consolidate Jewish settlements behind the separation barrier, which slices close to 10 percent off the West Bank. They spoke on condition of anonymity, citing strict no-leaks rules by Jordanian mediators.

The proposal would fall short of what the Palestinians seem likely to accept, especially because it would leave Jerusalem on the "Israeli" side of the border.

But it would also mark a significant step for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has spent most of his career as a staunch opponent of Palestinian independence.

And if talks advance in such a direction, it could also spell the end for his nationalist coalition, where key members would consider the abandonment of most of the West Bank ? a strategic highland and biblical heartland ? an unforgivable betrayal.

Israel has confirmed that it presented principles this week for drawing a border with a Palestinian state. But the politically charged nature of the talks ? even though they were held at a relatively low level, below that of Cabinet ministers ? was reflected in the guarded refusal by any top official to discuss details.

An Israeli government official said that as far as he knew, the information was incorrect, but declined to elaborate or go on the record, citing Jordan's demand for discretion.

Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor, one of the closest Cabinet ministers to Netanyahu, said he has been supporting such an offer for months, and that Israel should concentrate on preserving the large West Bank settlement blocs, close to the pre-1967 border. But he could not confirm whether the offer was in fact made.

"I do not know if (Molcho) said these words exactly, but it would be great," Meridor told The Associated Press.

The Palestinian officials ? one a senior member of the leadership ? said Molcho told the Palestinians that Israel wants to leave peacefully beside a Palestinian state.

It would be the most detailed offer yet from Netanyahu on how much he wants to keep of the lands Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast War ? the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem.

The Palestinians want to establish their state in virtually all of these lands ? although they do seem ready to accept minor adjustments, through land swaps in which Israel keeps some of the largest settlements.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is certainly unlikely to consider a proposal that keeps east Jerusalem under Israeli control. The eastern sector of the city is home to key Jewish, Muslim and Christian sites.

And Israel's position, as described by the Palestinians, is less than what was offered by Netanyahu's predecessors, Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert, who were willing to discuss a partition of Jerusalem as well.

About half a million Israelis settled in east Jerusalem and the West Bank after 1967, including tens of thousands east of the barrier.

Israel started building the barrier in 2002, in the midst of a Palestinian uprising that included scores of deadly attacks by Palestinian militants who crossed from the West Bank into Israel and blew themselves up among civilians.

Israelis have generally credited the barrier ? along with other punitive measures ? with stopping the spate of incursions several years ago.

However, it was routed in a way that raised questions about Israel's claim that it was a temporary security measure ? weaving through the West Bank, looping wide around some settlements to leave room for expansion, and looking very much like a border a future Israeli government might argue for. The Palestinians condemned it from the start as a land grab.

The Palestinian officials also said that Molcho portrayed the Jordan Valley, which makes up about one-fourth of the West Bank and borders Jordan, as a strategic Israeli security asset. However, that wording suggests less than a demand for firm territorial control.

Netanyahu has said he wants a continued Israeli presence on the eastern border of a future Palestinian state as part of any peace deal.

Netanyahu has long argued Israel needs the area as a security buffer ? protection against possible attack from the east.

The 1994 peace treaty with Jordan eased this concern ? but the Arab Spring has given it new life: although it is almost never discussed by officials, mindful of riling Jordan, many in Israel ponder a nightmare scenario in which the Jordanian monarchy falls to Israel's enemies, who then pour weapons and militants into the West Bank, reaching within miles (kilometers) from its major cities.

A senior Israeli military official said last week the Israeli army had to consider in its planning the possibility of heightened threats from east of the West Bank.

Israeli officials have said any presence in the Jordan Valley could be reviewed over time.

Abbas, meanwhile, is under growing pressure from the Quartet of Mideast mediators ? the U.S., the U.N., the EU and Russia ? to continue the talks with Israel, which began earlier this month. The Quartet had asked the sides to present detailed proposals on borders and security arrangements.

The Palestinians argue that the period set aside for the contacts ended Thursday, or three months after the Quartet issued its marching orders. Israel says the intention was to have three months of talks, and so wants meetings to continue.

Abbas will consult Monday with senior officials from the Palestine Liberation Organization and his Fatah movement. Later next week, he will also seek advice from the Arab League.

___

Perry reported from Tel Aviv, Israel.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_palestinians

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Colts owner wishes Manning kept comments in-house

FILE - In this Jan. 1, 2012, file photo, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning watches from the sideline during the first half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Jacksonville, Fla. Shortly after introducing Chuck Pagano as Indianapolis' new coach, team owner Jim Irsay responded to the comments Manning made earlier this week about the Colts by referring to the only four-time league MVP as a "politician." (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 1, 2012, file photo, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning watches from the sideline during the first half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Jacksonville, Fla. Shortly after introducing Chuck Pagano as Indianapolis' new coach, team owner Jim Irsay responded to the comments Manning made earlier this week about the Colts by referring to the only four-time league MVP as a "politician." (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)

Indianapolis Colts new head coach Chuck Pagano, left, and owner Jim Irsay greet each after Pagano was introduced during a news conference at the NFL football team's headquarters in Indianapolis, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indianapolis Colts new head coach Chuck Pagano talks about joking with Colts wide receiver Reggie Wanye during a game at a news conference at the NFL football team's headquarters in Indianapolis, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indianapolis Colts new head coach Chuck Pagano speaks during a news conference at the NFL football team's headquarters in Indianapolis, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indianapolis Colts new head coach Chuck Pagano speaks during a news conference at the NFL football team's headquarters in Indianapolis, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ? The Indianapolis Colts are a long, long way from being healed.

Two days after Peyton Manning publicly complained about the dour atmosphere at team headquarters following a 2-14 season and a rash of firings, Colts owner Jim Irsay introduced his new head coach and then stunned everyone by calling his franchise player a "politician" who had decided to air dirty laundry.

"I don't think it's in the best interest to paint the horseshoe in a negative light, I really don't," Irsay told reporters, referring to the team's longtime logo. "The horseshoe always comes first, and I think one thing he's always known, because he's been around it so long, is that, you know, you keep it in the family. If you've got a problem you talk to each other, it's not about campaigning or anything like that."

The comments suggest there is a rift between Manning and Irsay, who is just six weeks from a deadline to pay the four-time league MVP a $28 million bonus or risk losing him as a free agent. And it all blew up in public on a day the team wanted attention focused on Chuck Pagano, the Ravens' defensive coordinator who takes over as head coach with a host of problems to address.

The biggest question mark is Manning, the face of the franchise and the primary reason for its run of success over the past decade. He is clearly upset with the fallout of the Colts' dismal season in which he never played a down after Sept. 8 neck surgery -- his third such procedure in a span of 19 months.

In the past three weeks, the Colts have fired vice chairman Bill Polian and general manager Chris Polian, coach Jim Caldwell and most of Caldwell's assistants. Irsay hired 39-year-old Ryan Grigson as the new general manager and on Wednesday chose Pagano as Caldwell's replacement.

Pagano, however, was almost an afterthought on Thursday. Last week, actor Rob Lowe caused a media frenzy by writing on Twitter that Manning was about to retire. The story got so much attention that even Pagano, who was preparing for the Ravens' AFC championship game against New England, apparently took notice.

"You know, I've got a text or a call out to Rob Lowe and I haven't heard back yet, so I'm going to have to get back to you on that one," Pagano said when asked if he expected to be coaching Manning next season.

The saga took an even more dramatic twist this week.

Manning told The Indianapolis Star that his only real conversation with Grigson, a first-time GM, had come in passing and that the vast overhaul at team headquarters had "walking around on eggshells." He said it wasn't healthy for his healing, and then said that he had no idea where Irsay stood on the question of whether he was going to play again for the Colts.

Many wondered if Manning's comments indicated that he is ready to leave Indianapolis.

Whatever the explanation, Irsay didn't like it one bit.

"I have so much affection and appreciation for Peyton. I mean we're family. We always will be and we are," Irsay said. "He's a politician. I mean look at, when it comes to being competitive, let's just say on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the highest, we're both 11s, OK? So there's been plenty of eggshells scattered around this building by him with his competitive desire to win."

The drama is just beginning, too.

Now that Irsay has his people in place in the front office, Pagano can focus his attention on selecting a staff. Grigson said Pagano will make those choices.

Irsay's decisions will be much more difficult.

Indy's horrendous season means the Colts landed the No. 1 overall pick, which is Irsay has said they will use for their quarterback of the future -- presumably Stanford's Andrew Luck.

If so, Irsay must decide how much money he wants to invest in one position. Manning signed a five-year, $90 million contract in July and is due that bonus in March. The perennial Pro Bowler is said to be recovering well from his latest surgery, but he will also turn 36 on March 24 -- a little more than two weeks after the March 8 deadline to pay that bonus.

Irsay reiterated Thursday that his choice will come down to Manning's health, not money.

"I think fans already understand that," Irsay said when asked whether Manning may have played his final game in Colts' blue. "This isn't an ankle, it isn't a shoulder. Often times the NFL is criticized for putting someone out there at risk, and I'm not going to doing that. I think he and I just need to see where his health is because this isn't about money or anything else. It's about his life and his long-term health."

That's only the start of the Colts' questions.

Grigson and Irsay must figure out how to free up salary cap space and what to do with a group of high-priced veterans such as Gary Brackett and Melvin Bullitt, and whether they want to bring back some of their key free agents such as Robert Mathis, Jeff Saturday and Reggie Wayne.

Not surprisingly, Pagano wants as many of those guys back as he can get, including Manning.

"I just came from a great organization and just spent some time with one of the greatest leaders (Ray Lewis) to ever play this game," Pagano said. "And there's one of those leaders right here (Manning) and those are the types of individuals and people that you have to surround yourself with."

But it's Irsay who must make that decision, and it's obvious that the two haven't been talking much lately -- something Irsay acknowledged will change between now and March 8.

"It's a very simple issue, it's a health issue," Irsay said.

"It's one of those things where just when you think it's going in the right direction, things change," he said, explaining later there was no indication Manning has had a setback over the last month. "It's been very hard on everyone around here, and it's been very hard on Peyton, too."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-26-Colts-Manning/id-a1ac9280a1c948f19d18cbb4fd57ba59

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Judge: BP contract shielded Transocean in spill (AP)

NEW ORLEANS ? The rig owner involved in drilling the ill-fated well that blew out in the Gulf of Mexico and spewed more than 200 million gallons of oil will not have to pay many of the pollution claims because it was shielded in a contract with well-owner BP, a federal judge ruled on Thursday.

The decision may have spared the driller from having to pay potentially billions of dollars. However, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier said that Transocean still is not exempt from paying punitive damages and civil penalties that arise from the April 20, 2010, blowout 100 miles off the Louisiana coast.

The ruling comes as BP, the states affected by the disaster and the federal government are discussing a settlement over the nation's largest offshore oil spill. The Justice Department is working with the states to create an outline for a settlement that would resolve their potentially multibillion dollar claims against BP and the other companies involved in the disaster, Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange told The Associated Press.

Justice led a meeting last week in Washington among the states in an effort to formulate an agreement that would satisfy government and state claims, including penalties and fines, Strange said. He also indicated if there is a settlement that officials are discussing what to do with the $20 billion fund set up by BP to pay victims.

A first phase of the trial is set for Feb. 27 to determine liability for the spill.

Despite the setback, BP claimed victory and said Barbier's ruling "at a minimum" left Transocean facing "punitive damages, fines and penalties flowing from its own conduct."

Blaine LeCesne, an associate professor at Loyola University law school, however, said Barbier's ruling was a "major victory" for Transocean.

"If anything is going to compel the parties toward settlement, it's going to be this," he said. "I think BP is in a very bad position now, and they don't have a lot of leverage."

BP PLC, Transocean Ltd. and Halliburton Co. have been sparring over who was at fault for causing the blowout. The out-of-control well was capped in July, 2010. Federal investigators have said that BP bears ultimate responsibility for the spill, but has faulted all three companies to some degree.

Under a drilling contract, BP and Transocean agreed to indemnify each other in the case of an accident, with BP taking responsibility for pollution originating from the well and Transocean for any pollution or accidents aboard the rig.

However, in court BP argued that the contract did not shield Transocean if the drilling company acted in manner that was grossly negligent.

Barbier, though, largely sided with Transocean and said the contract was a "clear and unequivocal agreement" to provide "broad indemnity."

"As we have said from the beginning, Transocean cannot avoid its responsibility for this accident," BP said.

The British oil giant said it had "stepped up" and admitted its role in the spill and paid billions of dollars in claims.

___

Associated Press writer Michael Kunzelman contributed to this reported. Weber reported from Atlanta.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_bi_ge/us_gulf_oil_spill_litigation

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How to live with the Facebook Timeline

By Rosa Golijan

Facebook

You can pout and you can shout, but there's no avoiding it: You'll soon be forced to use a new profile page design?? better known as the Timeline???on Facebook. It'll be alright though,?because I'm here to (virtually) hold your hand through this big life change.

Woah! Wait! What is this Timeline thing?
Odds are that you've already?heard about?the Facebook Timeline, but let's have a quick review for the sake of those who might've been on a really long vacation or have a (dangerous) tendency to tune out Facebook-related news.

The Facebook Timeline is a new approach to the profile page. According to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, it's a way to better present "the story of your life."

When someone looks at your Timeline, he or she will be able to see summaries of the most important events in your personal history ? instead of having to scroll through years of silly status updates. You're able to feature (or hide)?"Stories" ? life?events, images, and other details ??in order to create what you feel is the best representation of your life.

Since your personal history no longer starts with the day you joined Facebook, but the date of your actual birth, you are encouraged to go back and add events which weren't previously on Facebook. Please choose what you enter with absolute care, and bear in mind that what you enter (ahem, place of birth, mother's maiden name) could be used for nefarious purposes.

While a lifelong timeline may seem convenient and logical, our own privacy-minded Helen Popkin said this may be "the ultimate Trojan horse,"?a way for Facebook to squeeze even more personal information out of you by posing as an unrequested but alluring feature.

Oh, and you can also?augment your Timeline by using apps which track books you've read, movies you've watched, music you've listened to, and so on. (Yeah, this can get a bit creepy?? so you'll probably want to fiddle with your privacy settings. More on that later.)

I don't really want this! How do I avoid it?
As I said when we started our journey down the Timeline rabbit hole: You can pout and shout as much as you want, but there's no avoiding Timeline.

As?Paul McDonald, an engineering manager on the Timeline team, explained recently:

Over the next few weeks, everyone will get timeline. When you get timeline, you'll have 7 days to preview what's there now. This gives you a chance to add or hide whatever you want before anyone else sees it. ...?

?You can also choose to publish your timeline at any time during the review period. If you decide to wait, your timeline will go live automatically after seven days. Your new timeline will replace your profile, but all your stories and photos will still be there.

A warning whistle, a seven-day head start, and ... that's it, that's all you're getting. If anyone is trying to convince you that there's a loophole or a way to outsmart Facebook on this particular issue, odds are that he or she is trying to scam you.

Facebook

Fine. I'll live with this somehow, but can I at least hold on to my privacy?
As Lifehacker's Whitson Gordon points out, the?"one big downside to the Timeline layout is that you can easily see every post you've ever made or received on Facebook. All anyone needs to do is go to a certain year on your profile and click the "All Posts" button."

Yes, that particular downside could lead to quite a bit of embarrassing moments, awkward confrontations, and so on.

Thankfully there are two ways to minimize humiliation. Neither of them is particularly perfect, but they help a bit.

Facebook

As tedious as it is, you could go through your Timeline and hide (or delete) individual posts. All you have to do is click the little pencil icon on a post and you'll be presented with the different options.

Of course, this process could take forever and a day if you're a particularly active Facebook user. (I told you it wasn't perfect.)

Facebook

The other action you can take to prevent some embarrassment involves the posts which are visible to the general public or friends of friends. You can change the privacy setting for all of those posts to "friends only" with just one click.?

Live Poll

Are you properly prepared for the arrival of the Timeline?

• 174337

  Wait. What? This is actually happening?

  73%

• 174338

  I've been ready for this since it was first announced. Wake me up when there's real news.

  9%

• 174339

  I ... I think so. I am, right? Did I forget about something?

  12%

• 174340

  Ready? I was born ready (and made myself some custom Timeline cover images later on).

  6%

VoteTotal Votes: 245

You just have to head to the "Privacy Settings" menu, select the "Manage Past Post Visibility" button next to "Limit the Audience for Past Posts." You'll see a little popup which will confirm that you really want to limit the visibility of your old posts and you're done.

But, as?Gordon notes, this particular move "won't hide those posts from your friends, but it will at least keep everyone else on Facebook from being able to browse every post you've ever made public."

Unfortunately that's about all you can do to shelter what little bit or privacy you have left when you're forced to switch over to the Timeline layout. You can?? and should?? be vigilant about what you post in the first place and what sort of state your general privacy settings are in though, of course. (For more details on that, I recommend checking out Lifehacker's "always up-to-date guide to managing your Facebook privacy.")

Facebook

New York Times columnist Nick Bilton gets creative with his Timeline cover image.

Can I at least make this thing look pretty?
One of the first things you'll notice about the Timeline is that it puts a gigantic photo front and center. This is called the "cover" photo and you're prompted to select one as soon as your profile is converted to this new design. (You can change the cover image as often as you want.)

You can use (or abuse) this feature to make your little corner of the social network look as unique as a snowflake.

Your decorating options include ready-made images ??such as the geeky or intense illustrations artist Sam Spratt made available on BuzzFeed?? or your own creations.

Facebook

Buzzfeed's Director of Creative Services Tanner Ringerud shows how a profile photo can interact with a cover image on Facebook.

If you're really itching to have a one-of-a-kind image, then the best thing to do is is to brainstorm until you find a way to make the large cover image interact with your profile photo. The only tricky part ? aside from actually coming up with a clever idea ? is that you need to keep the proportions of the images in mind to make sure that everything looks perfect.

So make note that the large cover image is 851 x 315 pixels and that the smaller profile photo is 125 x 125 pixels.

That's really all there is to it?
Yes, that's all you really need to know about the Facebook Timeline??? what it is, why you can't avoid it, how to keep it from embarrassing you, and how to make it look pretty.

Not so bad after all, right?

Now go on and pass this handy-dandy guide on to your confused friends and family members so that you can enjoy your last seven Timeline-free days in peace.

Related stories:

Want more tech news, silly puns, or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on?Twitter, subscribing to her?Facebook?posts, or circling her?on?Google+.

Source: http://digitallife.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/25/10232841-facebook-timeline-what-you-need-to-know

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Watch: GOP Members on State of the Union (ABC News)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/190998028?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Even With Insurance, Unemployed Have Worse Health Outcomes (HealthDay)

TUESDAY, Jan. 24 (HealthDay News) -- People without jobs who have health insurance are less likely to get medical care or prescription drugs than people with jobs who have such coverage, U.S. health officials reported Tuesday.

During the depths of the recent recession, unemployment reached 9.6 percent, a level not seen since 1983. Because health insurance affects access to care and most people rely on getting insured through their employer, researchers wanted to look at the effect of unemployment and lower income on access to health care, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Insurance without a job is a difficult position to be in," said report author Anne Driscoll, a senior fellow at the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.

In the study, Driscoll and her colleague, Amy Bernstein, wanted to find out whether having private, public or no insurance mattered if you were employed or unemployed.

They found that private insurance, which experts think is the most comprehensive, was no guarantee of better health care.

"If you had private insurance but weren't employed, you had worse mental health, worse physical health and were less likely to get prescriptions you needed or care that you needed than if you had a job," Driscoll said.

Cost of care appears to be the overriding factor why having private insurance and no job was associated with lack of access to care, she said.

"Because you don't have a job, deductibles and co-payments are the reasons you can't use your insurance to the fullest. You're better having insurance than no insurance, but it's not a panacea. A job and insurance is the most advantageous category to be in, not just being insured," Driscoll said.

For their study, the authors used data from the 2009 and 2010 U.S. National Health Interview Survey and compared the health insurance status, health and access to health care of employed and unemployed adults aged 18 to 64.

Highlights of the report include:

• 48 percent of unemployed adults had health insurance, compared with 81 percent of employed adults.
• More of the unemployed had public insurance than those employed.
• The unemployed had worse physical and mental health than the employed, whether they had insurance or not.
• The insured unemployed were less likely to get medical care because of cost than the insured employed.
• The insured unemployed were less likely to get prescription drugs because of cost than the insured employed.
• The uninsured were less likely to get medical care and prescription drugs because of cost than people with public or private insurance, regardless of whether they had jobs or not.
• The unemployed were more likely to be black, have less than a high school education and have an income below the poverty level.

Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, a visiting professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Program, doesn't hold out hope that health care reform will make things better for the unemployed.

"During the recession, the use of health care plummeted. We had a 19.5 percent drop in primary care in the United States," she said.

This study shows that even if people lost their jobs and held onto their insurance, they couldn't afford to use health care, Woolhandler said.

"That's a uniquely American issue because we have such high co-payments, deductibles and uncovered services that people can't afford to use care," she said.

Woolhandler noted that health care reform will help some people because the number of uninsured is expected to be cut by over half.

"While there will still be 23 million uninsured after health reform is fully implemented, it's a whole lot less than it would be otherwise," she said.

But, having health insurance will not mean that you can afford care if you lose your job, Woolhandler added.

"It will be a little worse after health reform, because the new policies that will be offered will be quite a bit skimpier than an employer policy is now. And there will be high co-pays, high deductibles. So even if you hang on to your insurance you likely won't be able to afford care," she said.

More information

For more on health insurance, visit the Commonwealth Fund.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/meds/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20120125/hl_hsn/evenwithinsuranceunemployedhaveworsehealthoutcomes

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Federal appeals court to hear NASCAR drug case (AP)

RICHMOND, Va. ? A federal appeals panel in Virginia is set to hear arguments in former racecar driver Jeremy Mayfield's lawsuit against NASCAR over his suspension for failing a random drug test.

Mayfield is asking the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reinstate his lawsuit. A federal judge dismissed the suit, ruling that Mayfield signed documents that waived his right to sue.

NASCAR suspended Mayfield in 2009 after he failed a drug test at Richmond International Raceway. He sued NASCAR, its owner and the drug testing company for defamation, unfair and deceptive trade practices, breach of contract and negligence.

Mayfield has argued that a combination of over-the-counter allergy medication and the prescription drug Adderall led to a positive test.

In November, Mayfield was arrested in North Carolina and charged with possessing methamphetamine.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_sp_au_ra_ne/car_nascar_mayfield_suspension

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Olympus turns to Sony to help it get its feet back on the ground (updated)

Olympus might have some good news soon: it might have found a hero to rescue it from its woes. The "troubled" (read: it hid $1.7 billion worth of accounting losses, was nearly de-listed from the Tokyo Stock Exchange and is currently suing its leadership team for fraud) company is reportedly about to negotiate a capital-and-business alliance with Sony. The TSE gave the optics-maker three years to clean up its act, which it's hoping Big S (that already owns a 0.03 percent stake in the company) will assist with some know-how, a big pot of cash, and maybe loaning them a competent accountant, or something. Whatever happens, the rumors are that all will be revealed at a press conference next week, we're just hoping Will Smith turns up to announce it.

Update: The Nikkei is reporting that Sony could be interested in buying up between 20 and 30 percent of Olympus in order to get at its medical imaging business. It also mentioned that it's not a done-deal just yet, Fujifilm and (medical gear maker) Terumo are still circling in the hope of biting off a piece of the action.

Olympus turns to Sony to help it get its feet back on the ground (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/23/olympus-sony-talks/

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Canada set to deport Rwandan genocide suspect (Reuters)

OTTAWA (Reuters) ? A Rwandan man charged with crimes against humanity, will be deported to his homeland as soon as possible, Canadian authorities said on Monday, ending his 16-year battle to stay in Canada.

Leon Mugesera will be sent to Rwanda to face charges of inciting murder, extermination and genocide.

Mugesera, who says he fears torture or death if returned to Rwanda, spent years fighting his deportation in various courts. He and his family live in the predominantly French-speaking province of Quebec.

"I am not aware of any outstanding court issues ... we will remove him as quickly as legally possible," a federal government official told Reuters.

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in 2005 that a speech Mugesera made in Rwanda in 1992 was a crime against humanity by inciting Hutus to kill Tutsis, who he referred to cockroaches and said should be exterminated

Rwanda says Mugesera is a war criminal who was complicit in the genocide of 1994, when hundreds of thousands of Tutsis died in massacres.

Lawyers for Mugesera argued their client, who taught at a Quebec City college after he arrived in Canada, was a man of integrity who had sheltered ethnic Tutsis.

The United Nations Committee Against Torture had requested Mugesera not be deported until a group of experts could review the case. Ottawa though pressed ahead with the deportation bid.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by Rob Wilson)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/wl_canada_nm/canada_us_rwanda

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HRW calls on West to accept Islamist rise to power

Protesters chant slogans at a rally honoring those killed in clashes with security forces in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, nearly a year after the 18-day uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak. Activists are now trying to energize the public to demand that the ruling military step down. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Protesters chant slogans at a rally honoring those killed in clashes with security forces in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, nearly a year after the 18-day uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak. Activists are now trying to energize the public to demand that the ruling military step down. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Protesters seen through the Syrian national flag chant slogans during an anti-regime protest in front of the Syrian embassy in Amman, Jordan, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hannon)

CAIRO (AP) ? The United States and other Western governments must accept the new reality that Islamists have emerged to fill the power vacuum in the Arab world after a wave of popular uprisings, Human Rights Watch said in its annual report Sunday.

The New York-based group also urged Islamist parties, which have emerged as the biggest winners in recent elections in Tunisia and Egypt and are expected to fare well in Libya, to respect the rights of women and religious minorities, saying they cannot "pick and choose" when it comes to human rights.

Islamist parties are "genuinely popular" in the Arab world, said HRW's executive director, Kenneth Roth, warning that "ignoring that popularity would violate democratic principles."

"Being a political Islamic government should not be a reason to turn a government into a pariah," Roth told reporters in Cairo, where the group released its annual report.

The Arab Spring revolts began in Tunisia in late 2010 and quickly spread to Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Syria and Bahrain, deposing or challenging authoritarian rulers as citizens who long seemed incapable or unwilling to rise against decades of repression took to the streets in a stunning awakening.

Since the collapse of the regimes in Egypt and Tunisia a year ago, Islamist groups once largely confined to the political sidelines, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, have formed parties and contested parliamentary polls, winning the greatest share of seats.

Even the ultraconservative Salafis, who abstained from politics under Egypt's ousted President Hosni Mubarak, have fared well, winning more than 20 percent of the vote in the country's first post-uprising ballot.

Roth was cautious when asked about concerns about potential human rights violations under Islamist rule. He said that so far, Islamists have said "a lot of right things," but said the true test will be how they deal with the full sweep of human rights once in power.

"These are the big questions," he said.

The Muslim Brotherhood, for example, has been most interested in political freedoms, but Roth noted that "it is very difficult to secure political freedom if you are not respecting religious and women rights."

In some ways, the unexpected Arab uprisings have amounted to a slap to the United States and other Western governments, which had supported autocratic regimes that served as bulwarks against Islamists hostile to the West and appeared to offer stability in a volatile region.

"The West backed an array of autocrats as long as they, in turn, supported Western interests," Roth said. "The West is still adjusting to this historic transformation."

He added that the wave of uprisings "show that the forced silence of people living under autocrats should never have been mistaken for popular complacency."

Roth acknowledged Western governments were re-evaluating their policies as new governments emerge in the region.

Western nations have been accused of being selective in supporting the protesters, with NATO airstrikes proving key to the ouster of slain Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi. Meanwhile, the West has stood largely on the sidelines amid continued crackdowns in Bahrain, Yemen and Syria.

"The people driving the Arab Spring deserve strong international support to realize their rights and to build genuine democracies," Roth said in the group's annual report, which covers some 90 countries. He added that the Arab world is in a "transformative moment," and it will not be an easy one.

Human Rights Watch pointed to five main issues that dominated the relationship between Western governments and their Arab autocratic friends: the threat of political Islam, the fight against terrorism, support for Israel, protection of the oil flow and cooperation in stemming immigration.

Even after the leaders of Egypt, Libya and Tunisia were toppled, Western governments remained hesitant to lean too hard on other shaky authoritarian leaders, the group said. China and Russia acted "obstructionist," using their veto power at the U.N. security council to halt pressure on Syria to stop killings of protesters.

The popular uprisings also have alarmed other repressive regimes such as China, Zimbabwe, North Korea, Ethiopia, Vietnam, and Uzbekistan, where rulers were worried about facing similar fates.

"The worst response to the Arab Spring is the dictatorial world who are living in fear of the precedents set in this region," Roth said. "China greatly deepened its repression in an effort to avoid jasmine rallies."

Saudi Arabia also continues to discriminate against its citizens and workers, according to HRW, which said 9 million women, 8 million foreign workers and 2 million Shiite citizens are either suppressed or lacking rights in the country.

Outside the Arab world, the last year did not witness significant progress in countries with poor human rights records, including China and North Korea, according to the report.

Corruption, poverty and repression still prevail in Equatorial Guinea, the tiny, oil-rich nation off the western coast of Africa, which has been ruled by Africa's longest-serving ruler, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, the group said.

Eritrea continues to be governed by "one of the world's most repressive governments," and its citizens are subjected to torture, detentions and restrictions on freedom of speech, HRW said.

It also cited Colombia, saying armed conflict in the South American country has displaced millions while paramilitary groups with ties to the security apparatus are on the rise.

Cuba, HRW said, remains "the only country in Latin America that represses virtually all forms of political dissent."

The group also claimed that even member states of the European Union have violated human rights through restrictive asylum and migration policies.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-22-Human-Rights-Report/id-a96ebb3fd18b415a8840a5b2c761c6fd

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Dog Walker Did Not Take Photo with Severed Head (omg!)

Earlier today false internet reports surfaced claiming that a lady posed for a smiling photo with a severed head in the Hollywood Hills, and now The Insider is setting the record straight.

The woman in question, Lauren Kornberg of LA Pet Care, reveals to The Insider that the rumors are categorically false and that she never posed for any pictures with the severed head.

Kornberg continued saying that the only way her picture could have been taken at the crime scene is if one of the hikers took a snapshot of her without her knowledge. In any event, Kornberg emphatically denies any claims that she might benefit from the tragedy in any way.

Kornberg discovered the severed head on Tuesday during a trek through a hiking trail, sparking one of the largest searches in the Los Angeles Police Department's history.

According to CBS 2's Suraya Fadel, police are questioning an unamed person in connection with the homicide case.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_dog_walker_did_not_photo_severed_head050600898/44240376/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/dog-walker-did-not-photo-severed-head-050600898.html

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France threatens Afghan pullout after troops killed (Reuters)

PARIS/CHARIKAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) ? France threatened on Friday to pull out early from the NATO-led war in Afghanistan after a rogue Afghan soldier opened fire on French soldiers, killing four and wounding about 15 others.

The killings in the Taghab valley of Afghanistan's eastern Kapisa province were the latest in a series of incidents in which Afghan troops have turned on Western allies.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said all French operations on the ground were being suspended and his defense minister was dispatched to Afghanistan to clarify the situation.

"If the security conditions are not clearly established then the question of an early return of French forces from Afghanistan will arise," said Sarkozy.

France has almost 4,000 troops in Afghanistan as part of the 130,000-strong NATO-led force there. French troops mainly patrol Kapisa, a mountainous province near Kabul. They are due to leave by around the end of 2013.

NATO said four soldiers were killed. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe told a news conference about 15 others were wounded, eight of them seriously.

The Taliban did not claim responsibility for the attack, but told Reuters that an Afghan soldier had killed eight French troops. The Islamist group often exaggerates accounts of engagements with foreign forces and casualties.

NATO has been rapidly expanding the Afghan security forces so that they will be able to take over all responsibility for security when Western combat forces leave in 2014.

Previous incidents in which Western troops were killed by Afghan colleagues have been blamed either on Taliban infiltration of the Afghan military, or on stress, indiscipline and divided loyalties within the hastily trained Afghan ranks.

"It is incomprehensible and unacceptable that Afghan army soldiers assassinate French troops," Juppe told reporters.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who is due in Paris on January 27 to sign a cooperation treaty, expressed his "deep sadness and condolences to the families of the victims."

The Taliban "has skillfully placed the Taliban inside enemy ranks who have carried out attacks, however it is not clear whether the shooter belonged to the Islamic Emirate," spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in an emailed statement, using another name that the Taliban use for themselves.

Insurgent Maulvi Jamilur Rahman, who identified himself to Reuters as Taliban commander of Kapisa, said the Afghan soldier had been in contact with his fighters. "Now we are in control of a major portion of the area," Rahman said.

Karim Pakzad, associate researcher at the French Institute for Strategic Relations in Paris, said the move by Sarkozy was playing into the Taliban's hands.

"The Taliban are stronger than ever and want to impose their conditions on negotiations, and these attacks are a way to accelerate the departure of NATO troops," he said.

Jimmie Cummings, spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Kabul, said: "There is no indication that these incidents are linked or part of any larger coordinated effort."

"INSIDER THREAT"

More than 2,500 foreign troops have died in Afghanistan since the NATO-led war began in 2001. The latest killings take the French toll to 82.

"The way they were killed isn't new," Pakzad said. "Since NATO decided to increase the Afghan army to 300,000 soldiers recruitment has been done haphazardly and that has made it much easier for the Taliban to infiltrate the Afghan army."

Dozens of foreign soldiers have been killed in recent years by what NATO dubs the "insider threat." [ID:nL4E7JP1Y5]

Two French Foreign Legion soldiers and one American were killed in separate "green-on-blue" shootings last month, so called after the colors of the Afghan army and the symbol of NATO. The coalition no longer releases the number of its troops killed by Afghan soldiers.

In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she did not expect Paris to diverge from NATO's withdrawal plans agreed at a Lisbon summit in 2010.

"We are in close contact with our French colleagues and we have no reason to believe that France will do anything other than continue to be part of the very carefully considered transition process as we look at our exit as previously agreed upon in Lisbon," Clinton told reporters following a meeting with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle.

Westerwelle said it was important for western nations to keep focused on the reason for their presence in Afghanistan.

"We want to express our deepest condolences, but we think we have to continue because we protect our own security and our own freedom and way of life," he said.

In Paris, Defense Minister Gerard Longuet said he would report back to Sarkozy by Tuesday after his trip to Afghanistan.

Sarkozy may be tempted to announce an early withdrawal for domestic reasons, three months ahead of a presidential election. An opinion poll in May showed more than half of French voters back withdrawal. Sarkozy's Socialist rival Francois Hollande has pledged to pull out by the end of this year if he wins power.

"The new position announced by the president goes against all previous statements which had stayed loyal to the coalition line of a progressive withdrawal," Pakzad said. "Without a doubt this statement has been taken with internal politics in mind."

(Additional reporting by Amie Ferris-Rotman in Kabul and Jibran Ahmad in Peshawar, Pakistan, and Andrew Quinn in Washington; Writing by Brian Love and John Irish; Editing by Andrew Roche)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120120/wl_nm/us_afghanistan_french

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