Kelly Lynn Wilneff

Incredible career of Etta James

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

John Chow Testimonials

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:33:00 +0000

Raw Video: Searching Under the Costa Concordia

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:29:00 +0000

Raw Video: Rejected by Mother, Bear Cub Stable

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:10:00 +0000

BIG BROTHER: Kirk tries to kiss Georgia

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:49:00 +0000

Zooey Deschanel Tells Allure: Girls Spit In My Face

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:46:00 +0000

Lana Del Rey - Video Games (on Later Live with Jools Holland)

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:23:00 +0000

Michelle Williams' Sexy GQ Photo Shoot February 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:15:00 +0000

Cost of next-generation Mars rover soars to $2.5B

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 14:16:00 +0000

LOS ANGELES – NASA's next-generation rover to the surface of Mars will be quite the behemoth — with a price tag to match.

Nine months before its scheduled launch, the space agency said the flagship mission has burned through its reserves and needs an extra $82 million to complete testing before liftoff.

It's the latest cost overrun to plague the Mars Science Laboratory, a nuclear-powered rover the size of a small SUV that will study whether the planet was or is still habitable.

Technical snags during development coupled with ballooning costs forced NASA to delay the launch by two years. Curiosity, as the rover is known, is now slated to lift off in late November from Cape Canaveral, Fla.

The latest price tag? $2.5 billion, making it the most expensive mission yet to Mars.

NASA broke the bad news last week to members of the planetary science subcommittee of the NASA Advisory Council, which provides input to the space agency. It blamed the latest budget woes on issues that cropped up during testing involving the rover's avionics, landing radar and drill that took more time and money than expected to fix.

Arizona State University planetary scientist Ronald Greeley, who chairs the panel, was disappointed about the latest cost increase, but still supports the mega-rover.

"We want that mission to fly," Greeley said.

The problem could have been worse, some scientists say.

The amount needed to usher Curiosity to the launch pad is relatively small compared to what's already been spent, said Arizona State University astronomer Jim Bell, who works on the long-running twin Mars rovers mission.

Still, researchers are bracing for possible cuts to their projects to cover the latest cost growth.

"It's unavoidable that there will be some pain," Bell said.

Just how much pain remains to be seen. NASA said the extra cash will come from its planetary science division, which funds everything from technology development to Mars missions to projects to the outer solar system.

Jim Green, who heads the division, said in a statement it's too soon to know what missions will be affected. He noted that "no other projects are being cancelled or delayed to provide funding" for Curiosity.

Since 2008, the project cost has skyrocketed by than $660 million, mainly because of technological and engineering hurdles, according to a report last year by the Government Accountability Office.

NASA has never landed such an advanced spacecraft on the Martian surface before. Curiosity proved to be a challenge from the outset because of its size and capability. It can drive farther than golf cart-size twin rovers Spirit and Opportunity and will carry a sophisticated suite of instruments including a rock-zapping laser.

Late-night comics happy to joke about Barack Obama

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 12:47:00 +0000

NEW YORK – Late-night comics are over any initial reluctance to make President Barack Obama the butt of their jokes.

The Center for Media and Public Affairs found that Obama was the most joked-about political figure this year through Labor Day. The Washington-based think tank said Friday that Jay Leno, David Letterman, Jon Stewart and Jimmy Fallon joked about Obama a total of 309 times. Sarah Palin, with 137, was a distant second.

That's in line with the level of jokes levied at Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Comics initially had a difficult time zeroing in on Obama — he was fourth behind John McCain, Bush and Palin as a butt of jokes during the year he was elected president.

The center says most Obama jokes portray him as disinterested or ineffective. Much of them are tied to policy.

Cinemax casts South African actress in Femme Fatales

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 13:37:00 +0000

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – South African actress Tanit Phoenix has landed the lead role in "Femme Fatales," Cinemax's first scripted series.

Phoenix ("Death Race II," "Lost Boys II") will play Lilith, a mysterious, enigmatic narrator who will appear weekly in each episode introducing the episodes of the anthology format. The part has been dubbed a "sexy Rod Serling."

The show, inspired by the men's magazine, will be a half-hour program with stories similar to such noir movies as "Bound," "Dead Calm" and "Red Rock West." "Fatales" will debut next year.

N.Korea justifies nuclear 'treasured sword'

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 12:11:00 +0000

SEOUL — North Korea said its nuclear arsenal "serves as a treasured sword", amid reports the secretive state could be preparing for a third nuclear test.

The bellicose claim came amid a visit by a Chinese military delegation, as well as intense world interest after Pyongyang lay the ground work for the future succession of ruler Kim Jong-Il's youngest son Kim Jong-Un.

North Korea was "entirely right when it opted for having access to nukes", the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a commentary, adding the communist country needed to protect itself.

The North has long justified having the weapons saying they are to counter a similar threat from the United States.

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), a global nuclear safeguard accord, was not doing its job properly, the official commentary late on Saturday said.

"This compelled (North Korea) to pull out of the NPT and have access to nuclear deterrent legitimately in order to protect the sovereignty and security of the country," it said.

The isolated and impoverished North withdrew from the NPT in 2003.

Chosun Ilbo, South Korea's biggest-selling newspaper, reported Thursday that the North appeared to be preparing for another nuclear test, citing an unidentified government source.

US satellites had detected movements of personnel and vehicles at the site where Pyongyang carried out its first two nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009, the report said.

US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Thursday that another atomic weapons test would be "provocative" but said he did not have any evidence to support the South Korean report.

Pyongyang said on Saturday it was willing to resume stalled six-nation nuclear disarmament talks but would not be "hasty" because the United States and some other parties were "not ready".

China, the North's sole major ally and economic lifeline, is pressing to restart the forum, which groups the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia, and began in 2003.

But prospects for renewed negotiations have been clouded by South Korean and US accusations that the North torpedoed one of Seoul's warships in March with the loss of 46 lives, a charge Pyongyang denies.

The Chinese military delegation paid tribute to the North's late president Kim Il-Sung Sunday on the second day of a four-day trip to mark the 60th anniversary of Chinese forces' intervention in the Korean War, KCNA said.

After arriving in the capital on Saturday, Guo Boxiong, vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, said close ties between the two countries would be handed down through the generations.

Jong-Un's status as leader-in-waiting was effectively made public after Pyongyang made him a four-star general and gave him key ruling party posts late last month.

Kim Jong-Il has visited China twice this year. The last visit, in August, was seen by many analysts as a bid by the North Korean leader for Chinese support for the dynastic succession.

Beijing fears the collapse of North Korea and resulting instability on its borders and thus provides heavy aid and trade support to its neighbour, experts say.

The South's Yonhap news agency meanwhile reported that Seoul and Washington have shelved a plan to stage a joint exercise involving a US aircraft carrier later this month in the Yellow Sea.

The exercise was cancelled over fears that it could heighten regional tensions ahead of the upcoming G20 summit in Seoul, it said.

China has bristled at the idea of a US aircraft carrier group patrolling waters near its coast.

Israel says talks on Hamas-held soldier have resumed

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 10:14:00 +0000

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that talks aimed at releasing a captured soldier held by Hamas in its Gaza enclave have resumed after nearly a year-long hiatus.

"The contacts for the release of Gilad Shalit have resumed... There are many discrete efforts," Netanyahu told army radio, without elaborating.

An Israeli official confirmed on condition of anonymity that "efforts to release Gilad Shalit continue," but also declined to provide further details.

Hamas spokesmen declined to comment on Netanyahu's remarks.

The radical Islamist group and other Palestinian militants captured Shalit, now 24, in a deadly cross-border raid in June 2006 and have demanded hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including top militants, in exchange for his release.

Israel had been struggling to reach a deal through Egyptian and German mediation, but the indirect talks ground to a halt late last year when Hamas refused to formally respond to an Israeli offer.

Each side has blamed the other for the failed negotiations.

Shalit's father Noam, also interviewed by army radio, said he was not aware of any new talks with Hamas.

"There is no progress, and everything is blocked. There are efforts, but nothing new because, ultimately, the prime minister has to take the right decisions," he said.

Afghan violence kills 13 civilians

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 19:31:00 +0000

KABUL — Thirteen Afghan civilians were killed in separate incidents across Afghanistan over the weekend as a result of Taliban insurgent attacks and NATO action, officials said Sunday.

Seven members of one family died when a roadside bomb ripped through a civilian vehicle in Yahyakhail district of eastern Paktika province on Saturday, provincial spokesman Mukhlis Afghan told AFP.

"Seven civilians including three children, all members of one family, were killed in the bomb blast," he said.

Also Saturday, three civilians were killed when NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) bombed a Taliban meeting in southern Helmand province, during an attack in which 17 militants also died, provincial police chief Abdul Hakim Angar told AFP.

"NATO bombed the Taliban location based on intelligence information," Angar said, adding that 17 Taliban and three civilians were killed and four civilians wounded.

He said that the Taliban had summoned seven local people to attend the meeting in the Dara-e-Hazara area.

Angar added there were four Taliban commanders among those killed, adding that the militants took the bodies of the four commanders and left the rest of the corpses.

Two Afghan civilians were accidentally killed Sunday by coalition forces after insurgents attacked an ISAF base in Logar Province, eastern Afghanistan.

The incident, being investigated by NATO, occurred when coalition forces returned fire following an attack by insurgents.

Following the engagement, ISAF servicemembers conducted a battlefield assessment during which they found that two civilians had been accidentally killed.

The force said it deeply regretted that the operation had resulted in the loss of civilian lives.

Meanwhile, US-led coalition forces said they had killed a child along with a suspected insurgent, and wounded a civilian man in the Shah Wali Kot district of southern Kandahar province Saturday.

The troops opened fire, "killed an Afghan adult male and inadvertently killed a child and wounded another adult", a statement from NATO's International Security Assistance Force said.

"The incident occurred when the patrol engaged a suspected insurgent who was perceived as about to fire a weapon," it said.

The wounded civilian was given immediate medical attention and was taken to a coalition forces hospital for further treatment, the statement said.

A recent UN report said about 20 percent of the roughly 1,300 civilians killed in the first half of the year lost their lives in NATO and other pro-government troops' actions, with most of the rest killed by militants.

Two foreign troops were also killed in separate incidents.

An ISAF soldier was killed Sunday morning in an insurgent attack in relatively peaceful northern Afghanistan, NATO said in a press statement.

Another ISAF soldier was killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, the force said.

So-called improvised explosive devices (IEDs) cause the majority of casualties among foreign and Afghan troops fighting the Taliban.

NATO did not release the nationalities of the two soldiers, but the total number of foreign troops killed so far this year now stands at 556 -- the deadliest on record -- according to an AFP tally based on the count kept by icasualties.org.

The United States and NATO allies have increased the number of foreign troops fighting the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan to more than 152,000.

US-led forces stepped up attacks on insurgents early this year as part of a new strategy aiming to root out Taliban militants before drawing down their military presence next year.

Israeli police, Palestinians clash in Jerusalem

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 19:18:00 +0000

JERUSALEM — Stone-throwing youths clashed with Israeli police in an Arab area of east Jerusalem on Thursday, an AFP journalist said, a day after violence was sparked when a Jewish settlement guard shot dead a Palestinian.

Police fired tear gas grenades and water cannon to disperse groups of youths hurling stones and burning tyres in the Issawiya district of the holy city.

Jerusalem police spokesman Shmulik Ben Rubi said there were no casualties or arrests, adding that it was now calm again, "apart from some sporadic clashes."

The fighting on Wednesday erupted when Arab residents of the Silwan neighbourhood stoned a security guard in his vehicle and he opened fire, police said.

Witnesses said another two Palestinians were wounded in the shooting, and several were injured later as police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at protesters in and around Silwan.

The violence came as negotiators sought to reach a compromise on the impending end of a partial settlement moratorium that threatens to torpedo Israeli-Palestinian peace talks relaunched earlier this month.

Naomi Campbell diamond testimony put off to August 5

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:01:00 +0000

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Supermodel Naomi Campbell's testimony about a "blood diamond" in the war crimes trial of ex- Liberian leader Charles Taylor has been postponed until August 5 at her request, a court spokesman said on Monday.

Prosecutors want Campbell to testify over a diamond they allege former president Taylor gave her. She was due to appear in court on July 29, but on July 16 asked for a later date.

A spokesman for the war crimes court said on Monday judges had approved the request, adding that Campbell was now scheduled to give testimony at 3 a.m. ET on August 5.

The prosecution has said Campbell could provide material evidence to rebut Taylor's claims that he never possessed rough diamonds. They accuse Taylor of taking diamonds to South Africa to buy weapons, which he denies.

In January, prosecutors said that during a visit to South Africa in 1997, Taylor gave Campbell a large rough cut diamond after a dinner hosted by Nelson Mandela.

A spokeswoman for Campbell earlier confirmed she had agreed to provide testimony but stressed Campbell was a witness who had only been asked to help clarify events.

"For avoidance of doubt she is not being accused of any wrongdoing and is not on trial," the spokeswoman said.

On trial in The Hague, Taylor denies all 11 charges of instigating murder, rape, mutilation, sexual slavery and conscription of child soldiers during wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone in which more than 250,000 people were killed.

Kissinger released from S.Korean hospital

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 07:06:00 +0000

SEOUL — Former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger was discharged from hospital in the South Korean capital Seoul on Sunday after being treated for a minor stomach problem, officials said.

Kissinger, 86, was admitted to Severance Hospital on Saturday after complaining of stomach pain, according to the hospital and the US embassy.

"Mr. Kissinger has just been released from hospital, healthy," a hospital spokesman told AFP on Sunday.

"I understand he had a minor stomach ache."

The former top US diplomat had been in Seoul since Wednesday to address a security forum. He also met President Lee Myung-Bak on Friday.

Kissinger was secretary of state during the Nixon and Ford administrations. He had originally been due to leave Seoul on Saturday.

Mugabe factor hits Zimbabwe hopes of ending sanctions

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 08:18:00 +0000

DAVOS, Switzerland — Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is pressing the world to end sanctions on his country as it climbs out of a political and economic abyss but wherever he goes the shadow of Robert Mugabe follows.

The two will soon have been in an uneasy "inclusive government" for a year. The relationship remains difficult, Tsvangirai said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos where he tried to convince global leaders to take a new look at the African nation.

"How do you deal with a president who was determined to see your destruction? How do you deal with the level of acrimony that existed between us?" said the prime minister.

Tsvangirai and the veteran president, who is the subject of a western travel ban and asset freeze, now meet every Monday and then go to the regular cabinet meeting.

"I have taken a decision that we can work together, despite this acrimony, for the good of the country. There is a working relationship. Personally I don't know what his intentions are but I think what is important is for us to ensure that we finish this transition."

"I cannot predict that a coup will happen or derailment of the project, but I am satisfied that so far all the indications are that this process is irreversible."

Tsvangirai pulled out of a runoff presidential election last year, citing deadly violence against his followers. Further trouble was only avoided when Mugabe agreed to set up a unity government with his arch-rival as prime minister.

Tsvangirai said "toxic issues" remain with Mugabe's ZANU-PF party over control of the central bank, use of the attorney general's powers and the share of other political posts.

But his foreign trips abroad are now devoted to getting aid, investment and trying to convince the international community to ease sanctions.

Tsvangirai met Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Davos. "His view is that the perception out there is still very negative as long as Mugabe is there.

"As far as we are concerned, the country has to move forward with or without Mugabe."

Tsvangirai insisted there has been "significant progress" with the government's dual aims of stabilising the country and "national healing" changes to improve democracy and make constitutional reform.

The Zimbabwe dollar was eradicated in favour of a multi-currency regime. Inflation, once estimated in the billions of percent, is now minus three percent, said the prime minister. "We are in a deflationary state."

Tsvangirai said there can be no new Zimbabwe currency for at least two or three years until the country's production base is functioning again.

On the political front, he said a constitutional referendum would be held in October and then he and Mugabe would set a date for elections in 2011.

"We have done so much in so little time," he said. "However I would be the last to say that everything is rosy" and acknowledged international "scepticism" at the slow pace of implementing political change.

But he said: "This is a delicate moment, to support the process that is taking part in Zimbabwe."

"We are not sliding back. Suddenly the country is moving forward and now is the time to look at the country in a more positive environment."

The European Union meets on February 20 to discuss Zimbabwe. Tsvangirai would like them to take "a two stage approach" to ease some sanctions and acknowledge progress has been made.

He also wants foreign companies to return to Zimbabwe and is keen to renew links with China. The mining, tourism and agriculture sectors are all important to the government.

There is platinum, gold, diamonds and huge coal deposits in Zimbabwe, Tsvangirai said, adding that there is no limitation of profits being taken out of the country.

China broke off a business relationship with Mugabe's party about five years ago, Tsvangirai said, but now China wants to renew links.

"They have said they will work with the inclusive government. What it means is that we will have to revisit some of the projects that were suspended five years ago."

Tsvangirai called it a key relationship. "Who wants to avoid one of the biggest developing economies in the world?" he declared.

"Zimbabwe has to open up to all possibilities and I think that China is one of those possibilities."

Top designers to highlight biodiversity loss at UN fashion show

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 03:10:00 +0000

GENEVA — Top designers including Diane von Furstenberg and John Rocha will hold a catwalk at the European headquarters of the United Nations on January 21 to appeal against the loss of biodiversity.

"More than 500 prominent figures from government, international organizations and the fashion and cosmetics industries will meet in Geneva on 20-21 January to call for action against the rapid loss of the world's biodiversity," said the UN Conference on Trade and Development, which is organising the event.

A seminar and exhibition will be held on issues including the rise of eco-fashion and luxury brands as role models on sustainability, while the fashion show is set to close the event.

According to the updated global "Red List" of endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, 22 percent of all known mammals and 70 percent of plant species surveyed are under threat of extinction.

The problem of the declining number of species and ecosystems is expected to be highlighted by scientists in coming months, as 2010 has been named the International Year of Biodiversity.

US steps up anti-terror campaign in Yemen: report

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 04:38:00 +0000

WASHINGTON — The United States has quietly opened a third, largely covert front against the Al-Qaeda terror network in Yemen, The New York Times reported.

Citing an unnamed former top CIA official, the newspaper said that a year ago the Central Intelligence Agency sent many field operatives with counterterrorism experience to the country.

At the same time, some of the most secretive special operations commandos have begun training Yemeni security forces in counterterrorism tactics, the report said.

The Pentagon will be spending more than 70 million dollars over the next 18 months, and using teams of special forces, to train and equip Yemeni military, Interior Ministry and coast guard forces, more than doubling previous military aid levels, the paper noted.

The country has long been a refuge for jihadists, in part because Yemen?s government welcomed returning Islamist fighters who had fought in Afghanistan during the 1980s, the report pointed out.

But Al-Qaeda militants have made much more focused efforts to build a base in Yemen in recent years, drawing recruits from throughout the region and mounting more frequent attacks on foreign embassies and other targets, according to The Times.

The White House is seeking to nurture enduring ties with the government of President Ali Abdullah Saleh and prod him to combat the local Al-Qaeda affiliate, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the paper said.

Holiday travelers greeted by delays, tight security

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 04:36:00 +0000

CHICAGO — Stressed travelers were greeted by heightened security Sunday on the holiday season's busiest travel day, following a botched attempt to blow up a US airliner.

Dino Melchior, 50, was stuck in Chicago with his parents and two children after his flight was delayed by two hours due to heightened security in Toronto and they missed their connecting flight to Hawaii.

"Apparently a new directive came out for people to be physically patted down and they weren't prepared for it," Melchior said as his teenaged son waited in line to try to retrieve their luggage.

"I've never seen lines like that."

Melchior described a scene of chaos as security officers without megaphones tried to organize the massive crowd at Toronto's Pearson airport.

Each carry-on bag was emptied and searched. People were told to lift their shoeless feet for a quick pat after their full bodies were skimmed.

Screeners even lifted his daughter's long black hair to make sure nothing was hidden under her locks.

Melchior said he was disappointed by the delay, but understood the need for heightened security.

"It was a minor inconvenience," he told AFP. "Would I have liked to be on the plane to Maui. Yes. Mostly, it just could have been better organized."

The new measures follow the botched Christmas Day attack by terror suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, accused of trying to bring down a Northwest Airlines flight with 290 people on board by detonating explosive material sewn into his underwear.

Lines at security at Chicago's O'Hare airport - one of the busiest in the United States - moved smoothly Sunday afternoon with the screening process appearing to be essentially unchanged.

People pulled off their shoes and coats and loaded them into grey rubber bins for x-ray, but few were pulled aside to be frisked and most bags passed the initial screening.

"Everything worked like a charm today," said Don Kawamoto, a Transportation Security Administration supervisor in Terminal 1.

"Everything was smooth. The passengers were happy. It was good planning by the TSA - we had enough people and it worked."

Passenger Kamesh Nara, 25, said more work needs to be done to keep air travel safe in the wake of the latest terror attack.

"How did he get it on the plane?" Nara asked. "It's a failure of government."

Nara, an engineer who lives in South Carolina and was on his way to India see his family for the first time in two years, said he would not be deterred by the threat of terrorist attacks.

"Even though we're nervous, we can't stop. We have no other choice. We have to travel," he said. "Being from India, we know the problem. We have to fight against terrorism and we need to strengthen our security."

Passenger Amy Timm, 31, also said she refused to let the terrorism threat affect her daily life.

"There's nothing we can do about it," she said as she waited to board a KLM flight ahead of a three week trip to climb Mt. Kilmanjaro in Tanzania.

Timm arrived early for the flight because she had to catch a bus from Wisconsin and said she was surprised by how quiet things were at the airport.

"I'm kind of shocked. We were expecting heightened security and stuff."

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Obama: 'Meaningful breakthrough' on climate change

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 04:43:00 +0000

COPENHAGEN — President Barack Obama declared Friday a "meaningful and unprecedented breakthrough" had been reached among the U.S., China and three other countries on a global effort to curb climate change but said much work was still be needed to reach a legally binding treaty.

"It is going to be very hard, and it's going to take some time," he said near the conclusion of a 193-nation global warming summit. "We have come a long way, but we have much further to go."

The president said there was a "fundamental deadlock in perspectives" between big, industrially developed countries like the United States and poorer, though sometimes large, developing nations. Still he said this week's efforts "will help us begin to meet our responsibilities to leave our children and grandchildren a cleaner planet."

The deal as described by Obama reflects some progress helping poor nations cope with climate change and getting China to disclose its actions to address the warming problem.

But it falls far short of committing any nation to pollution reductions beyond a general acknowledgment that the effort should contain global temperatures along the lines agreed to at a conference of the leading economic nations last July.

Obama suggested Friday's agreement among the five key countries would be adopted by the larger summit in its closing hours.

"I am leaving before the final vote," he said. "We feel confident we are moving in the direction of a final accord."

If the countries had waited to reach a full, binding agreement, "then we wouldn't make any progress," Obama said. In that case, he said, "there might be such frustration and cynicism that rather than taking one step forward we ended up taking two steps back."

The limited agreement by the U.S., China, Brazil, India and South Africa reflected the intense political and economic obstacles that had blocked a binding accord to restrict emissions of "greenhouse gases" believed to be causing a dangerous warming of the Earth.

The accord calls for the participating countries to list specific actions they have taken to control emissions and the commitments they are willing to make to achieve deeper reductions.

There would be a method for verifying reductions of heat-trapping gases, a senior administration official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity before Obama made his comments.

Obama said the five nation's pledges would be "subject to an international consultation" that will allow each country to "show the world what they're doing."

China's resistance to a verification mechanism had been one of the major sticking points for the U.S. during the two weeks of climate negotiations here.

"We're in this together, and we'll know who is meeting and not meeting the mutual obligations that are set forth," Obama said.

As for the U.S., he said, "We will not be legally bound by anything that took place here today," pre-emptively answering congressional critics who had warned repeatedly that Congress will have the final say in any U.S. emission reduction commitments.

The deal also would provide a mechanism to help poor countries pay for dealing with climate change.

The president had planned to spend only about nine hours in Copenhagen as the summit wrapped up after two weeks. But, as an agreement appeared within reach, he added extended his stay by more than six hours to attend a series of meetings aimed at brokering a deal.

"We are running short on time," Obama had told the summit as the clock was running out on its final day. "There has to be movement on all sides."

He met with other leaders, including Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

Obama and Wen met twice — once privately and once with other world leaders present — in hopes of sweeping aside some of the disputes that have barred a final deal. Officials said the two leaders took a step forward and directed negotiators to keep working.

An important moment that led up to the deal took place when Obama walked uninvited into the second meeting, which was already under way. Later, a senior Obama administration official said that "the only surprise we had, in all honesty, was ... that in that room wasn't just the Chinese having a meeting ... but in fact all four countries that we had been trying to arrange meetings with were indeed all in the same room. ... The president's viewpoint is, I wanted to see them all and now is our chance."

The official spoke on condition of anonymity in order to be able to talk about the sensitive diplomatic events of the day.

Late in the evening, Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton held talks with European leaders, including British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Asked how negotiations were going as he entered the meeting, Obama replied: "Always hopeful."

The direct talks between Obama and Wen underscored efforts to resolve differences that represent one of the major roadblocks in reaching a global climate deal. The U.S. has been insisting that China, the only nation that emits more heat-trapping gasses than the U.S., make its emissions-reduction pledges subject to international review.

Hours before his announcement of the limited agreement, without mentioning China specifically, Obama said, "I don't know how you have an international agreement where we all are not sharing information and making sure we are meeting our commitments. That doesn't make sense. It would be a hollow victory."

Obama indirectly acknowledged that some nations feel the United States is doing too little to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and he urged leaders to accept a less-than-perfect pact. Meanwhile, he offered no new U.S. concessions.

"No country will get everything that it wants," Obama said.

It's possible that Obama's biggest success here will have nothing to do with the climate. He met with the Russian president and said afterward that the United States and Russia are "quite close" to a new nuclear arms control agreement to replace an expired Cold War-era arms control treaty.

The U.S. commitment to reduce greenhouse gasses mirrors legislation before Congress. It calls for 17 percent reduction in such pollution from 2005 levels by 2020 — the equivalent of 3 percent to 4 percent from the more commonly used baseline of 1990 levels. That is far less than the offers from the European Union, Japan and Russia.

Even that target was hard-won in a skittish Congress, and Obama has decided he can't go further without potentially souring final passage of the bill, approved in the House but not yet considered in the Senate. He also could imperil eventual Senate ratification of any global treaty that emerges next year.

Find behind-the-scenes information, blog posts and discussion about the Copenhagen climate conference at http://www.facebook.com/theclimatepool, a Facebook page run by AP and an array of international news agencies. Follow coverage and blogging of the event on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/AP_ClimatePool

N.Korea positive over talks with Japan: US envoy

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 06:01:00 +0000

TOKYO — A senior US envoy told Japan on Saturday that North Korea showed a "forward-looking" stance to resuming dialogue with Tokyo, when he held ice-breaking meetings in Pyongyang.

Stephen Bosworth held talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada shortly after he arrived in Tokyo following his meetings with North Korean officials from December 8 to 10.

Bosworth told Okada that during the meetings, he raised Tokyo's demand for the release of all Japanese citizens kidnapped by North Korean agents during the Cold War era.

"Bosworth explained that North Korea showed a forward-looking stance to dialogue between Japan and North Korea on the abduction and other issues," Okada told reporters after he met Bosworth at the foreign ministry.

But Okada said Pyongyang stopped short of providing Bosworth with any proposals for conditions on resuming talks with Tokyo.

The emotive issue has long been a major stumbling block to resuming stalled talks between Tokyo and isolated Pyongyang, which has raised tensions in the region with its repeated missile and nuclear tests.

Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who took power in September ending decades of conservative rule, has vowed that his centre-left government would push to clear up the fate of 12 people who remain missing.

During the meeting with Okada, Bosworth also said that he was able to hold a "quite straight and pragmatic" dialogue with North Korean officials during his stay in Pyongyang.

"(Bosworth) told me that he held a different impression on (North Korea) from the past," Okada said.

"Bosworth told me that it is extremely important for the five countries -- all participants of the six-way talks except North Korea -- to form a united front and take concerted action firmly," Okada said.

"I don't think we will be immediately close to a breakthrough ... but all we have to do is to patiently insist our demand."

Bosworth is to leave for Moscow on Sunday as part of a lightning tour to brief officials in the countries involved in stalled denuclearisation talks with North Korea about his meeting in Pyongyang.

Lesbian Episcopal priest elected LA assist. bishop

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 04:42:00 +0000

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles has elected the second openly gay bishop in the national church and the world Anglican fellowship.

The Rev. Mary Glasspool of Baltimore won election as assistant bishop in Los Angeles in voting Saturday. The first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, was consecrated in 2003.

The Episcopal Church is the Anglican body in the United States. The election of Robinson already has deeply fractured the global Anglican Communion.

Within the United States, theologically conservative Episcopalians this year formed a rival church, called the Anglican Church in North America.

Glasspool lives with a female partner. Her election as assistant bishop must be approved by a majority of national church leaders.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — An openly lesbian priest is among the candidates for assistant bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. If elected Saturday, she would become the second openly gay bishop in the national church and the global Anglican fellowship.

Two rounds of voting at the diocese's annual convention late Friday did not produce a winner. Balloting resumed at 9 a.m. Saturday.

When voting ended Friday, the Rev. Mary D. Glasspool of Baltimore, who has a female partner, was drawing a large share of votes. Another gay candidate, the Rev. John L. Kirkley of San Francisco, withdrew late Friday, winnowing the original field of candidates to five.

The Episcopal Church, which is the Anglican body in the United States, caused an uproar in 2003 by consecrating the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.

Breakaway Episcopal conservatives responded by forming a rival church, the Anglican Church in North America. Several overseas Anglicans have pressured Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the Anglican Communion's spiritual leader, to recognize the new conservative entity.

Anglican leaders in 2004 had asked the Episcopal Church for a moratorium on electing any more gay bishops while they tried to prevent a permanent break in the 77 million-member fellowship. However, last July, the Episcopal General Convention, the U.S. church's top policy body, voted that the job of Episcopal bishop was open to priests in same-sex relationships.

The Los Angeles diocese had openings for two assistant, or suffragan, bishops.

In the election for the first vacancy Friday, the winner was the Rev. Diane M. Jardine Bruce, rector of St. Clement's-By-The-Sea Episcopal Church in San Clemente. She will be the first female bishop in the diocese.

The Los Angeles diocese has 70,000 members and covers six Southern California counties.

US says 'playing leadership role' at WTO

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 04:51:00 +0000

GENEVA — The United States said Sunday it was "playing a leadership role" at the World Trade Organisation, even as some developing nations pointed the finger at Washington for holding up global trade talks.

On the eve of a WTO meeting of ministers, President Barack Obama's trade envoy Ron Kirk stressed that Washington remained committed to bringing the elusive Doha Round of trade negotiations to a successful conclusion.

"The United States engages with other economies and plays a leadership role at the World Trade Organization in order to boost American exports and grow the well-paid jobs Americans want and need," Kirk said in a statement.

"This ministerial is an important opportunity for the WTO?s 153 members to take stock of the trading system overall, to build on the foundation of our rules-based trading system, and to consider the potential of a balanced and ambitious conclusion to the Doha Round of world trade negotiations," he added.

Kirk's remarks came as some developing nations indirectly blamed the United States for holding up the Doha negotiation process in the run-up to the three-day ministerial meeting.

Brazil's Foreign Minister Celso Amorim pointed to "one country which is stopping us from moving forward," in an apparent reference to the United States.

Another Latin American diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, was more explicit, saying: "We clearly lack an explicit position from one of the most important members of the negotiations. We are of course talking about the United States."

He added that the WTO ministerial meeting "should pressure" US President Barack Obama's administration to take a deeper engagement on trade talks.

The Obama administration, grappling with domestic problems such as health care and the war in Afghanistan and facing a Congress largely hostile to trade liberalisation, has not put concrete trade reforms on the table, analysts say.

"If the Obama Administration wants to have a significant proactive trade policy, it will need to persuade the Congress to renew fast-track authority at least for the WTO negotiations, so that it can attempt to salvage the Doha Round," said economist Marcus Noland of the Washington-based Peterson Institute for International Economics.

However, some diplomats said Kirk had been active in Doha negotiations, albeit in a low-key fashion.

He has been holding low profile but direct talks with key US trading partners, including India and Japan, in additional to multilateral meetings to push the Doha Round forward, the diplomats said.

These talks were aimed at clarifying issues and bridging gaps, particularly with regard to market openings, one diplomat said.

At the same time, Washington wants to cut a deal on the lucrative services sector as the Doha Round gets bogged down by disagreements on agriculture and manufacturing issues.

"We have said flat out that there will be no deal without a solid result on services which would result in new market opportunities, but we believe that a positive outcome is still achievable," Kirk said last month.

World leaders have set a 2010 target to conclude the Doha process, launched in the Qatari capital in November 2001.

With little progress in negotiations, WTO chief Pascal Lamy recently warned that "it will be difficult to get to 2010 without a serious acceleration of pace."

While previous ministerial meetings have been venues for governments to make detailed offers and counter-offers, the WTO's 153 member-states have decided that Doha is not officially on the agenda this time in Geneva.

Ministers are instead expected to stress their overall commitment to completing the round, even though such pledges have been made over the years and deadlines repeatedly missed.

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Mark Lewis |Downtown Tilt, Zoom and Pan (2005)
I worked on this film back in Sept.2005

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Daryl Lorette 1.0 Feed.I was hoping this would happen.Google has let me move all my feeds over at one time.A big time saver.

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NY deal reached over Monroe's last nude photos - Yahoo! News
NY deal reached over Monroe's last nude photos

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Patrick Swayze in hospital, The Beast will have to wait
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