salted smut: October 2012

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Sandy shuts down Northeast air travel

Travelers on Delta Airlines look at a departure screen Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, in Detroit. Dozens of departing flights have been canceled at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport as a looming superstorm locks down flights to the East Coast. Hurricane Sandy continued on its path Monday, as the storm forced the shutdown of mass transit, schools and financial markets, sending coastal residents fleeing, and threatening a dangerous mix of high winds and soaking rain.?(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

A traveler on Delta Airlines waits for her flight Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, in Detroit. Dozens of departing flights have been canceled at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport as a looming superstorm locks down flights to the East Coast. Hurricane Sandy continued on its path Monday, as the storm forced the shutdown of mass transit, schools and financial markets, sending coastal residents fleeing, and threatening a dangerous mix of high winds and soaking rain. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Superstorm Sandy grounded more than 18,000 flights across the Northeast and the globe, and it will take days before travel gets back to normal.

According to the flight-tracking service FlightAware, more than 7,000 flights were canceled on Tuesday alone. Delays rippled across the U.S., affecting travelers in cities from San Francisco to Atlanta. Some passengers attempting to fly out of Europe and Asia also were stuck.

Authorities closed the three big New York airports because of the storm. New York has the nation's busiest airspace, so cancellations there can dramatically affect travel in other cities.

It was possible that John F. Kennedy airport would re-open for flights on Wednesday, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. It wasn't known when the LaGuardia and Newark, N.J. airports would reopen.

Flying began to resume at other airports. Delta restarted flying from Boston and Washington Dulles and Reagan on Tuesday. Airline spokesman Morgan Durrant said it would resume domestic flights from JFK on Wednesday.

Service was slowly returning to Philadelphia International Airport on Tuesday afternoon.

Hurricane Sandy converged with a cold-weather system and slammed into New Jersey on Monday evening with 80 mph winds. The monstrous hybrid of rain and high wind ? and even snow in some mountainous inland areas ? has killed more than three dozen people in the U.S.

Airlines anticipated the storm's impact and began canceling flights on Saturday. By Tuesday they had scrapped more than 18,000.

In years past, airlines would have operated many of those flights ? and left airplanes and crews stranded in the wrong cities when a blizzard or thunderstorm shut things down.

But airlines have gotten aggressive about canceling because it makes restarting flights easier.

"It's kind of like dominoes ? when one aircraft is out of place, it means the flight crew is out of place, and that has a ripple effect throughout the rest of the day," said Lance Sherry, who runs the Center for Air Transportation Systems Research at George Mason University.

The number of cancellations from Sandy was roughly on par with other major storms that airlines deal with. A major winter storm in early 2011 caused 14,000 cancellations over four days.

Airlines face a large task in getting things back to normal. Workers had to clear garbage and downed tree limbs from runways at JFK. Water was on the runway at LaGuardia, according to a letter from United CEO Jeff Smisek to workers. At one point, some airlines hoped to restart some New York flights by late Tuesday, but that idea went out the window right along with the travel plans of their passengers.

Flooded roads and closed subways will keep some workers from the airport. Reservations workers at other airports and at call centers are busy dealing with stranded passengers.

Some travelers hunkered down and waited, while others looked for a new way home.

Orbitz said car rates jumped 14 percent in New York from last week. Rates jumped even higher in Boston and Washington, including a 50 percent spike in Philadelphia.

Orbitz said hotel room rates rose 55 percent in Newark, where cancellations accelerated earlier than other New York-area airports. They rose 9 percent in one week in Washington, but fell 8 percent in Boston and New York City.

Some travelers figured they could do better the further away they got from the coast.

Wedding photographer Josh Saran was in Washington D.C. to shoot a Saturday wedding. His Southwest flight home to Seattle was canceled, so he rented a car and headed toward Columbus, Ohio. When snow closed the highway, he turned his rented Chevy Aveo toward Pittsburgh to catch a US Airways flight.

"I have a really loving and smart girlfriend in Seattle that sits in front of a computer and calls the airlines and sees where I can go," he said.

Airline reservations systems are so complex that one department might cancel a flight even while a reservations worker is trying to shift a traveler onto that same flight, said Joe Brancatelli, a travel expert who runs a newsletter for business travelers.

Travelers don't have any choice but to be patient, he said.

"Where are they gonna go? They hate United today, they go to Delta next week," he said. "Delta screws them, they go to American, and then it's a big circle."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-10-30-Superstorm-Airlines/id-214ac074d7d34ef9b51c1f1e20a26938

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Thursday, October 25, 2012

Coming changes in estate, gift taxes stir 'frenzy' | LifeHealthPro

CHICAGO (AP)?Taxes that are largely a concern of the very rich will soon affect far more people unless Congress steps in.

The impending drastic changes in the estate and gift tax laws are prompting a flurry of activity as 2013 draws near. Family members are making financial gifts, creating trusts and considering other tax-minded moves.

Financial advisors, and trust and estate attorneys have been flooded with requests for assistance in the final months before the record-high exemption for both taxes is scheduled to plunge to $1 million from $5.12 million on January 1.

If unaltered, the value of any estate in excess of $1 million will be subject to the estate tax, at a top rate of 55 percent next year, before passing to family or other heirs. Currently the top rate is 35 percent, starting at a level more than five times higher.

?There?s been a little bit of a frenzy all of a sudden,? says Janis Cowhey McDonagh, a principal with New York accounting firm Marcum LLP. ?People are saying ?Wait a minute, this is really going away. I need to do something before the end of the year.? ?

The concern may not stir sympathy among most middle-class Americans, but it?s a pressing issue for many in costly locations where it?s not unusual for household assets to surpass the million-dollar mark.

The new rates would affect roughly 55,000 estates next year, according to Congress? Joint Committee on Taxation, compared with fewer than 4,000 under current rates.

?If you live in a major city and you have a home and a vacation home, you can easily have more than $1 million in assets without being what's thought of as ?filthy rich,? ? says Martin Shenkman, an estate planning attorney in Paramus, N.J.

An example cited by Fidelity Investments underscores the impact of the potential change. A single person or married couple with an estate of $3 million could face a $945,000 federal estate tax bill next year. Under current law, that bill is zero.

Heightening the 11th-hour tax commotion are the near-identical drops in the lifetime gift tax exemption and the generation-skipping transfer tax. The latter is imposed on grandchildren or others who are 37-and-a-half years younger than you.

Wealthy families who are set up to pass along millions to their children and grandchildren are scrambling to give away or otherwise set aside huge chunks of their assets in the next two months. The aim is to lessen their future estate tax liability and spare their heirs much larger bills.

Both the gift and estate tax rates could be revised further after the November elections. President Barack Obama prefers an estate-tax exemption of $3.5 million and a top rate of 45 percent. Republican challenger Mitt Romney wants to eliminate the estate tax but retain the gift tax as is.

But congressional action would still be needed to enact any changes, which is why taxpayers with million-dollar estates are scurrying to make changes now.

Here are some of the key strategic moves that can be made, with the assistance of attorneys and advisers, to gain a tax advantage before the laws change:

Give away cash.

For the time being, taxpayers can gift as much as $5.12 million during their lifetimes without paying taxes. That total is above and beyond the $13,000 annual gift-tax exemption that many taxpayers are aware of. That exclusion allows you to make an unlimited number of gifts of up to $13,000 each year without incurring any taxes.

But gifts much larger than that will be needed between now and year-end to make a difference in estate and tax planning.

At the extreme wealthy end, McDonagh says one couple she's advising wrote separate checks for $5 million to their adult children recently. It?s money the children would have inherited anyway, and now will be tax-free.

People who aren?t quite so affluent can benefit from smaller but still substantial gifts. Many parents make large loans to their children to buy a home or for some other purpose. Calling it a simple cash gift, or forgiving a previous loan, can shrink the estate tax bill.

Put it in a trust.

A fear of giving away too much and ending up short-handed later in future years has caused ?gifting paralysis? among many well-off people who could benefit, says estate planning attorney Todd Angkatavanich, a partner at Withers Bergman LLP in New Haven, Conn. That procrastination has turned into a late-year rush to action.

Those who are still reluctant to make outright gifts to beneficiaries may wish to consider transferring assets into trusts, which can give the donor more of a say in how they are distributed. A trust is an arrangement in which an individual turns over property or assets to a trustee to hold for beneficiaries, generally with tax savings in mind.

Among the many, often-complex options: An irrevocable trust can benefit children and grandchildren. One type, a grantor retained annuity trust or GRAT, provides for annual payments to the donor for a fixed period of time before the assets go to the beneficiary as a tax-free gift.

A spousal lifetime access trust sets assets aside for a surviving spouse that can still be accessed if needed, with limitations. And a self-settled trust makes the person who created it the beneficiary, but the money is controlled by an independent trustee.

?Locking up some money in a trust is a great asset protection tool,? ?says Shenkman.

Give away a home.

A real estate investor in her 50s, another of McDonagh?s clients, gave her Manhattan apartment outright to her daughter and now rents it back. A good pension, solid income and relatively low valuation of $400,000 gave her client the confidence to make the move in order to save on future estate and gift taxes, McDonagh says.

Giving a primary residence or vacation home to a child often is done through a qualified personal residence trust, or QPERT. The trust is irrevocable but specifies that you can maintain use of the property for a certain number of years. The property is then valued at a discount because heirs don?t get immediate use.

Retaining the right to live in the house makes it a ?have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too? scenario for those who have expensive homes but are concerned about leaving themselves with too few resources, says Jim Cody, director of estate and trust services for investment advisory firm Harris myCFO in Palo Alto, Calif.

A wild card to consider in the year-end tax scramble: State laws on estate taxes differ from federal ones. Twenty-two states have either an estate tax, an inheritance tax, or both. It?s another reason why anyone trying to take advantage of current federal laws should seek help from an expert.

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Secrecy surrounds Ukrainian president's home

In this photo taken Friday, June 24, 2011, during a tour organized by the Ukrainian Presidential press-service, President Viktor Yanukovych, right, talks to journalists he's invited to see his official residence called Mezhygirya, outside Kiev, Ukraine. But his critics point to strong evidence he actually lives in a different more luxurious building. (AP Photo/Mykhailo Markiv, Presidential Press Service)

In this photo taken Friday, June 24, 2011, during a tour organized by the Ukrainian Presidential press-service, President Viktor Yanukovych, right, talks to journalists he invited to see his official residence called Mezhygirya, outside Kiev, Ukraine. When Ukraine's president opened up his home to TV cameras, he presented a cozy place with a small office just big enough for his grandchildren to play in. But his critics point to strong evidence he actually lives in very different digs: a luxurious, marble-columned mansion with a golf course, a helipad and even an ostrich enclosure. (AP Photo/Mykhailo Markiv, Presidential Press Service)

In this photo taken Friday, June 24, 2011, during a tour organized by the Ukrainian Presidential press-service, President Viktor Yanukovych, right, walks with journalists he invited to see his official residence called Mezhygirya, outside Kiev, Ukraine. When Ukraine's president opened up his home to TV cameras, he presented a cozy place with a small office just big enough for his grandchildren to play in. But his critics point to strong evidence he actually lives in very different digs: a luxurious, marble-columned mansion with a golf course, a helipad and even an ostrich enclosure. (AP Photo/Mykhailo Markiv, Presidential Press Service)

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) ? When Ukraine's president opened up his home to TV cameras, he presented a cozy place with a small office just big enough for his grandchildren to play in. But his critics point to strong evidence he actually lives in very different digs: a luxurious, marble-columned mansion with a golf course, a helipad and even an ostrich enclosure.

The reported grandeur is becoming a campaign issue in a country quickly getting fed up with widespread corruption. Critics call Viktor Yanukovych's home an emblem of the secrecy and arrogance that defines his presidency, painting him as a leader who basks in splendor while his main political opponent, former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, is locked up in prison on charges the West has called politically motivated.

Yanukovych has refused to answer questions about the house or the vast park where it sits, once darkly suggesting that an investigative journalist back off. An opposition activist looking for answers broke into the property James Bond-style, scaling the walls with a tow rope. She was detained, but still managed to salvage photographs of a golf course and glitzy buildings, describing an opulent palace guarded by heavy security.

Political commentator Vitaly Portnikov, who has compared Yanukovych's government to a "mafia" jeopardizing Ukraine's desire for greater integration with the European Union, cited Yanukovych's clandestine residence as an example of the corruption and lack of transparency unacceptable in the West.

"Viktor Yanukovych's main goal is not to be the president of Ukraine but to be the No. 1 oligarch in Ukraine," said Portnikov. "He fought for power ... specifically in order to consolidate in his hands a huge amount of resources and property, in order to make his family the first family in the country."

The two main opposition parties are likely to gain ground in Sunday's parliamentary election. But with the pro-Western opposition's charismatic leader in jail and a lack of unity among government critics, the president's Party of Regions is expected to retain its majority in Parliament.

Yanukovych, who returned to power in 2010 after a period out of office, maintains a strong core of support, especially in the Russian-leaning east and south of the country, claiming credit for bringing stability after years of paralyzing political infighting and economic free-fall.

But his democracy and reform record is poor. TV channels, the main source of information for Ukrainians, are controlled by tycoons loyal to the government and they give little airtime to the opposition. Investors complain of being stripped of their companies through unfair legal action brought by government-friendly businessmen. And Ukrainians are angry over perks and unfair treatment for VIPs: Officials and their friends routinely run red lights or avoid traffic by driving the wrong way. In one case that sparked national protests, two of three suspects in the brutal gang rape and murder of a teenage girl were initially released ? because of their connections to local officials, activists say.

Yanukovych's home is in Mezhygirya park, 140 hectares (345 acres) of forested hills situated along the Dnipro River, some 25 kilometers (15 miles) north of Kiev, the capital. Founded decades ago on the ashes of an Orthodox Christian monastery, the park included a government residence for top Communist Party bosses like Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, and is off limits to the public.

Through a series of controversial government acts, Yanukovych was able to privatize a modest house on a 1.8-hectare (4.4-acre) plot of land inside the park. After that, two firms were allowed to lease the park from the government for 49 years. They demolished most of the Soviet-era buildings, including the government residence, and began construction of new houses and sports clubs.

Yanukovych has refused to say who is behind the two firms, but his critics have no doubts.

Mezhygirya is "a symbol of the president's inappropriate desire for luxury, the unknown source of his wealth and the desire to hide it all behind dummy firms," said Serhiy Leshchenko, a journalist with the Ukrainska Pravda news site whose investigation has linked the two firms to Yanukovych and his family.

Seeking to counter criticism, Yanukovych invited six trusted journalists to Mezhygirya in the summer of 2011 and gave them a tour of his official house. He led the men into his bedroom, where an Orthodox Christian icon stood on a bedside table, and then his small office, where he lets his grandchildren play while he works. He also showed them a fireplace in the living room he said he had to abandon because a family of owls had settled inside.

But ownership documents for the two firms uncovered by Leshchenko link them to Yanukovych and his allies and bolster claims that he controls the entire estate. Aerial photos taken by the Korrespondent weekly magazine show that the property appears to be one entity, complete with a giant mansion, fruit and vegetable greenhouses and an array of sports facilities. Journalists who have tried to get into the park or even a nearby village have been stopped by government security agents.

Investigative journalist Tetyana Chernovil scaled the 5-meter (16.5-foot) fence with a rope and a wooden plank, spending about three hours inside before getting caught by security guards with barking dogs. She was able to see the ostriches and photograph the golf club, a large barge made of rare red wood and plated with gold, and other buildings, before being released after several hours of questioning.

Chernovil, who is running for parliament on the opposition ticket, questions the source of all this luxury given that Yanukovych's official annual salary is about $115,000 a year. She is infuriated at the lavish spending in a country where some rural schools still have no indoor plumbing.

When "small kids are forced to run to the toilet outside in the winter, how can a president allow himself to . build these helicopter pads, which only he needs, which no one else uses?," she asked.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-10-24-Ukraine-President's%20Mansion/id-1456563eb91f4c979454eb3f896d1d2c

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The diet-proof holiday meal: Seven ways to stay on track this season

ScienceDaily (Oct. 24, 2012) ? Holiday dinners are filled with heaping dishes of comfort foods, fattening favorites and savory treats. It is no wonder these meals often leave us feeling stuffed with guilt and holiday remorse.

Patricia Nicholas, a registered dietitian at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, says you can avoid this psychological turmoil by adding "new favorites" to the traditional dishes. "Healthy meals can be festive as well and hopefully, you have been making healthy changes to your diet all year."

Michelle Morgan, a registered dietitian at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, says, "Stay in tune with your hunger during holiday meals. If you feel satiated and comfortable -- stop eating!"

The following is the holiday feast survival guide -- a road map of sorts to keep you and your diet from straying too far this year.

? Re-think your appetizers. Incorporate healthier pre-meal snack options. Swap the bread bowl for whole-wheat pita with a low-fat bean dip!

? Add some color to your holiday dinner spread with a bowl of fruit or a vegetable salad.

? Choose smaller portions. You can still taste all the foods in your holiday spread without overeating. Remember, an occasional indulgence will not destroy your weight-loss attempts, and if you don't love something don't eat it.

? The only thing that should be stuffed during the holidays is the turkey! Just because there is more food sitting around, does not mean you need to eat more. A forkful of pie will do less damage than a whole piece.

? No need for second helpings; have a calorie-free chat instead. The holidays are a great time to engage in conversation with your loved ones -- and this will not add inches to your waistline. Just be sure to move the conversation away from the food!

? Don't skip meals prior to a holiday party or dinner. You are less likely to overeat if you have eaten well throughout the day.

? Don't allow holiday activity to slow down your exercise program. Bundle up and take a walk after your holiday meal -- this not only can prevent you from overeating and picking at leftovers, but is also a great way to burn off some of the extra calories you may have consumed.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, via Newswise.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/nutrition/~3/7WItr4UR0wc/121024175242.htm

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For North Dakota Pets, We Need a YES! on Measure 5! | ASPCA Blog

Guest blog post from Jessica Johnson, Grassroots Advocacy Manager for ASPCA Government Relations.

North Dakota is one of only two states that still classify even the most malicious acts of animal cruelty as weak misdemeanors. For years the state legislature has refused to take action, so the citizens of North Dakota took the matter into their own hands and gathered more than 25,000 signatures?almost double the amount needed?to put Measure 5 on the ballot this Election Day.

If passed, Measure 5 will protect pets by making extreme cruelty to dogs, cats and horses a class C felony.

Having grown up in northern Minnesota, I feel at home in the Midwest. That?s why I was shocked and horrified to hear this week that a woman in Wisconsin was arrested for deliberately torturing, poisoning, and killing her boyfriend?s dog. There is some relief in the fact that the Wisconsin woman will be charged with felonies and faces five or more years in prison. But if this dog had been tortured and killed in North Dakota, the abuser would get only a slap on the wrist.

I want nothing more than to see Measure 5 passed into law by North Dakota?s voters on November 6?that?s why I?m digging my winter boots and sweaters out of the closet and heading to Bismarck to work on the YES! on Measure 5 campaign!

Please call, email, and text your friends and family in North Dakota and ask them to vote YES! on Measure 5. And if you or someone you know are in North Dakota and want to join me and other volunteers in our efforts to get out the YES! on Measure 5 vote, please email me at grassroots@aspca.org. Let?s do this for the animals!

Source: http://blog.aspca.org/content/north-dakota-pets-we-need-yes-measure-5

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Obama, Romney Reaffirm Support for Israel in Final Debate

In the third and final head-to-head debate of the United States presidential election the Republican and Democratic candidates each attempted to out-support the other in dealing with Israel.

Both sides of the "debate" were in agreement on Israel

President Barack Obama has stated time and again that the United States has a ?rock solid? commitment to the security and integrity of Israel. His Republican opponent has built his entire foreign policy credential on steadfast support of Israel.

During their final presidential debate the two men exchanged anecdotes and examples of how supportive they have been and will continue to be.

President Obama recalled his trip to Israel in 2008 and the airtight nature of intelligence cooperation between the Israeli and American intelligence communities. The president spoke of upcoming joint-exercises that will be the largest such demonstration of military cooperation ever held by the two nations.

President Obama discussed his phone call with Egyptian President Muhammad Morsi, during which he outlined a clear red line for American support of Egypt?s fledgling democracy. The Muslim Brotherhood must unflinchingly maintain the peace agreement signed in 1979 by Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin.

President Obama stated that his administration gauges its interests and involvement in Syria from an Israeli-centered viewpoint. The Obama administration?s support of rebel groups during the conflict, and potential support for whatever government emerges from the conflict, will hinge on a commitment to look after Israeli concerns. The desires of the Syrian people would only be met after guaranteeing a favorable situation for Tel Aviv.

Mr. Romney, to his credit, largely spent the evening agreeing with President Obama?s current policies and stated goals. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has endorsed the former governor?s presidential bid. Mr. Romney promised that his close friendship with Prime Minister Netanyahu would create even tighter bonds between Washington and Tel Aviv ? not to be outdone, vice-President Joe Biden has spoken many times of his close friendship with ?Bibi? going back several decades.

Mr. Romney, rather than differing with the current administration, is convinced that he will simply do things ?better? and faster. His promise to America was that if Israel should decide to attack Iran he would be the first to know and fall in line behind them.

When the two men discussed Israel not a single word was uttered regarding the plight of Palestinians or the threat that Israel presents to its neighbors.

In the media coverage of the event not a single major American news agency discussed the siege conditions in Gaza or the West Bank. There was no mention of the nearly two hundred illegal settlements, the theft of resources, or the harassment and killing of civilians by members of the Israeli military or settler groups.

President Obama certainly expressed a clearer understanding of the diplomatic conditions and political situations in the Middle East and North Africa than his opponent, but both men remain ardent supports of Israel. The United States remains committed to continuing its unwavering backing of Tel Aviv.

Washington should be expected to continue delivering billions of dollars each year to the Israeli military and government as they tighten their grip over occupied Palestine.

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Source: http://www.imemc.org/article/64447

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Monday, October 22, 2012

Final Presidential Debate 2012, Thread Three, the Wrap-Up (Little green footballs)

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Anxious Turks suspect US plot is behind Syria's implosion

Locals in eastern Turkey, bearing the brunt of the fallout from Turkey's involvement in Syria, believe Ankara is merely a pawn in US plans to foment conflict in the region.

By Emiko Jozuka,?Contributor / October 20, 2012

In an empty coffee house in Antakya, local tradesman Ahmet Sari's face?crumples in anger as he speaks about Syria.

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?What's happening in Syria is all part of America's great project to?reshape the borders of the Middle East.? America and its allies don't?care about bringing democracy to the Syrian people.? Look at what?happened to Iraq!? he fumes. ?The imperialist countries are only after oil and mineral resources.?

Nineteen months into Syria's conflict, resentment of Ankara and anti-US sentiment simmer in Antakya, which lies just over the border with Syria. The province is grappling with an?ailing trade and tourism sector and an influx of refugees and rebel fighters. Locals blame the Turkish government for dragging them into the conflict by backing the Syrian opposition and aligning Turkey with the opposition's Western allies.?

The current administration's "zero problems?with neighbors" foreign policy, which stood strong for several years, now rings hollow as Turkey's diplomatic ties with Syria and its ally Iran sour due to Ankara's support for the rebels.?And many say that all of these problems can be traced back to the US, who they are convinced got involved with, and perhaps even fomented, the Syrian unrest to loosen up regional powers' grip on oil, enlisting Turkey as a pawn in the process.?It had little to do with support for democracy, they believe.

Stirring up the 'beehive'

The beliefs stem in part from a bold Bush administration political proposal that has faded into obscurity in the West, but remains lodged in the minds of many here. Known as the Greater Middle East Initiative, it was formally introduced by then-US Secretary of State Condoleezza?Rice in 2006 at a conference in Tel Aviv. Her references to?"the birth pangs of a New Middle East" and the unveiling there of a new map of the region featuring a "Free Kurdistan" are still remembered with resentment.?

Even with a new administration in the White House that has sought to distance itself from the previous administration's Middle East policies, many in the region are suspicious of US motives and don't believe that the various uprisings began as indigenous, people-driven movements, independent of any US involvement.??

Refik?Eryilmaz, a Turkish parliamentarian from Antakya with the opposition Republican People's Party, says that Western superpowers are trying to incite a sectarian conflict between?Sunnis and Shiites so that countries in the region fragment along?ethno-religious lines, becoming weaker in the process.

Syria is predominantly Sunni, but President Bashar al-Assad is an Alawite, a Shiite offshoot, as is most of his government.

"The access to oil will be made easier when people in?these regions are divided and fighting amongst themselves. Both the?US and Israel want to weaken Iran and strengthen their own position in?the Middle East.? But to do this, first they must weaken Syria and?replace the current government with someone who supports them instead?of Iran," says?Mr. Eryilmaz.

This suspicion ? that outside intervention is stirring up sectarian strife in Syria ? is a view shared by many in Antakya, Turkey's most ethno-religiously diverse province.?

Although Nihat Yenmis,?president of the Alevi Cultural Foundation (AKAD) in Iskenderun, is convinced that sectarian violence will not seep into Turkey, he laments the plight of Syrian civilians, caught up in the cross-fire of a conflict that he interprets as planned and stoked by outside intervention.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/A9TzoExAg8U/Anxious-Turks-suspect-US-plot-is-behind-Syria-s-implosion

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Sunday, October 21, 2012

M@h*(pOet)?ica ? Scott Helmes

#StorySaturday is a Guest Blog weekend experiment in which we invite people to write about science in a different, unusual format ? fiction, science fiction, lablit, personal story, fable, fairy tale, poetry, or comic strip. We hope you like it.

=========================

A poem that fully demonstrates the value of a poem?s including mathematics.is Scott Helmes?s ?Non-additive postulations.? It consists of ten equations full of Greek symbols, square root signs, and terms like ?noosphere / RBF.? Their over-all subject, it seems to me, is sex. Probably the most accessible (and my favorite) of them is the one just quoted (which I posted in my first entry to this blog and now will try to make sense of, as I then said I would).

This equation at first seems strange, to say the least. But once one begins mathematizing, interesting things happen. First, ?rudders? divided by ?udders? becomes a simple ?r.? This being the first letter of ?relationship,? the sole term on the left, it brings one quickly and vividly to the ?relationship? that shares that word with ?r.? And one begins whirling into thoughts of the complexity of human love, with its tension of leadership (?rudders?) versus nurture (?udders?) that is at the heart of all relationships? being, or ?are-ness.?

The square root of ?alphawakes? over ?oscillations? is tougher to make sense of. According to the logic of the poem so far worked out, it should equal ?elationships? (which it?s wonderful to believe that some relationships would have!) Mathematically, this means the quantity ?alphawakes? over ?oscillations? squared should equal ?elationships? squared.

If we want to get anywhere with this, poetic intuition must take over from mathematical reasoning (or the strange cousin of it I?ve been using). First, we must explicate ?alphawakes.? If we let the ?wakes? part of it stand for both the opposite of going to sleep and for something associated with funerals, and have the right background in literature, we can grant it the rich ambience it has in the title of Joyce?s Finnegans Wake. Moreover, with ships of sorts involved, ?wake? has yet another meaning with at least a little metaphorical aptness.

Finally, the ?alpha? part of the word strongly brings to mind (as my friend Stephen-Paul Martin noted when reading an earlier version of this analysis) the ?alphawaves? of the dream-state, and the ?goddess? of that state, and of Intuition in general, Joyce?s Anna Livia Plurabelle (ALPha). The ?alph? injects a bold sense of firstness into the meld, too.

I?m a little foggy as to how ?oscillations? fit into it. It seems to me they would tend, by their division into the alphawakes, to reduce the latter?s bounciness?perhaps to tone down the frivolity of the relationships it is contributing to the meaning of.

In any event, the equation stirs varied images and ideas into the mind, which for me is a main function of poetry, and art. Its mathematical formulation not only serves vivifyingly and freshly to condense its message but to provide an almost absurdly
rational background structure to a subject about as beyond rationality as there is, the human male/female ?relationship.? But here with another point of view on works like ?relationships? (my name for it) is Scott Helmes his own self, in the afterword he wrote to Non-Additive Postulations and the Square Root of Other Poems, the book ?relationships? was in?and my press published:

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, I had been reading a number of books relating to communication and inter-disciplinary approaches to education, such titles as Two Cultures and a Second Look (C P. Snow), Cybernetics or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine (Norbert Weiner) and The Medium is the Message (Marshall McLuhan) stand out. One afternoon, it occurred to me that mathematical symbols and instructions represented a separate independent language and wouldn?t it be interesting to combine this language with the spoken and written English language. Not ever having written a poem previously, I then proceeded to compose/write about 15 poems dealing with mathematical ideas. Some of the works contained just written words and some contained a combination of mathematical symbols? and words. Wiener?s book was probably the most influential, serving as inspiration as it contained mathematical equations which described communication.

What struck me about mathematics as a language was that the symbols are ?translanguage.? For example, a Russian and English mathematician, neither knowing the other?s spoken language, could converse for days about mathematical issues using the symbols. When the poems were first written, their visual appearance did not appear as striking as I thought they might have seemed in concept; maybe because I had taken physics, acoustics and other engineering courses as part of my college requirements. There was an ?understanding? of them at least visually.

From this, and my own intuitive response to his poems, it seems to me their main function is to suggest the something beyond mundane reality as words wrenched (almost entirely) free of their denotations into nexuses of connotations by their equational re-contextualization rather than used with mathematical symbols in mathematical operations to poetically express old beauty from a new angle.

Ordinarily, I?d strike the preceding paragraph as pretentious, incoherent and dopey, but I?m choosing to leave it as is. I think it a good example of how a critic finding himself in a kind of art as yet rarely if ever effectively written about can have valuable things to say (as I believe I do), but fail to do anything but repel the intelligent reader, or at least make him shake his head in dismay, when he tries to use words to express those valuable things. (Although, alas, many critics will depend, successfully, on texts like the above to dazzle their readers!)

Okay, now for what I hope will be a better try. Like Duchamp putting a urinal into a museum, shearing it of its normal denotations so its attributes as a sculpture became visible (not that Duchamp seems to have realized that?s what he was doing), Helmes puts his poem into mathematical equations to minimize its ordinary denotations and release its connotations. It is equally true that he detaches the math in his works from their technical concerns to allow them . . . to have fun.

He is not concerned that a reader find the kind of story in what he does that I did, although I?m sure if that happens, it?s fine with him. He mainly wants to take his readers on mathematical adventures pure mathematics will never open into, adventures that are also verbal adventures no linguexpressive poems (i.e., poems that are linguistically expressive only) can open into.

In any case, here is the full set of ?non-additive postulate? the poem I dealt with is from:

Notice what ?relationships? equals in his second equation. Does that help you with it in the third equation? I think it rather contradicts what I said about relationships, which I thought positive! I?ll leave it to better mathematicians than I to decide. All I can say is that the concept of a ?blueberryohio? even if not taken to the ?tenth power,? makes being with these things worthwhile! And what about the multiplication of ?recognition? by ?without??

I hope in a later entry here to return to these sorts of works by Scott, with improved ideas about them thanks to the world-wide discussion these remarks of mine on them will surely ignite. (Sorry, I don?t believe in emoticons, so you?ll have to guess whether or not I?m being sarcastic here.) Right now, however, I?m going to turn to something recent of Scott?s mathematical poetry in color!

Malevich Today

I am proud to state that I commissioned this! ?Do something in color for me,? was my command. So, to construct the above, he turned to the work Kasimir Malevich (1878-1935), the inventor of a kind of visimagery (i.e., my idiosyncratic term for ?visual art,? you may recall) known as suprematism around a century ago, and considered (with Piet Mondrian) the most important pioneer of geometric non-representational art. Below is a detail from an early work of his called, ?Supreme.?

Supreme

I would describe Scott?s work first of all as a variation on a mathematical proof: a surrealization of such proofs that presents us with two equations we are to take as true, and told that from them the final equation follows. That final equation seems to me a wry squaring of the circle. In any case it gives us something quite fascinating to think about, those of us, that is, with the right short circuits in our brains: the question of just what a flat circle divided by a circle facing us would equal. Visually. Mathematically, I?m sure there are trig tricks, or vector manipulations, or the like, that would take care of the matter. Obviously, because computer programs can use math to re-orient images. But thinking only about a simple arithmetical fraction like this one, what might happen strikes me as rather profound.

Of course, that?s only me?but it?s still important because one of the principal things poetry is good for is nudging an engagent of a specimen of it into thoughts and ideas that seem to him profound, however ditzy they may seem to others. One might even go from my simple wonder into the larger wonder at the magic of exactly what it is mathematically that allows computer software to manipulate images.

While still on the final equation of Scott?s set, the question of how the yellow of the outward-facing circle and the grey of the flat circle will affect what they equal, and why what they equal should be black? Does the fact that the yellow circle has to go through a black division-denoting line have anything to do with it? Silly, yes?but a reminder that details count in poetry!

Much in the ?proof? is left out?no doubt to be considered standard knowledge for poetimeticians, such as the value of ?A.?

Another thought, inspired by the title of the piece, ?Malevich Today?: that Scott?s piece offers us an escape from cut&dry math the way suprematism offers an escape from cut&dry realistic painting?which gives our pleasure in the latter a chance to revive.

The last piece by Scott I want to treat here is another one in color, done some time ago, after I?d shown him some of my long division pieces:

Mathemaku Divided by Grumman

This is almost entirely a visimage (visual image)?but the barely noticeable infiltration of what I call the ?dividend shed? (there doesn?t seem to be a formal name for it, unless it?s the ?guzzinto sign? my friend Sid Glaser told me he knew it as?because it tells us what a divisor ?goes into?), and the even less-noticeable infiltration of the decimal point. So aside from being a wonderful collage with enough triumphs of design to keep us in the thing for days combined with intriguing ever-deepening narratives beginning and ending, we have these two alien features problematizing it. The dot may be the more important of them, but it requires the dividend shed to assert its identity as a decimal point. As such, it decisively mathematicizes the top line of images, transforming it into a sequence of ever diminishing importances, a blank, or zero, amount of tenths being one of them, it would seem.

Granting this, what are we to make of the rectangle with what seems to be an umbrella in it outside the quotient, and the rectangles directly under the divisor, which is the rectangle with the clock in it? Why is the first term in the dividend blank? Against, it would seem we have a surrealization of a mathematical event, in this case, a long division.

Always trying to find what I call a unifying principle in a work of art, I am now going (for now) to abandon my attempt to interpret it as an actual long division the way those of my pieces like it mostly are (see below), for something more subtle. Is it perhaps a fairly formal arrangement of a moment, or perhaps several years, into which Mathematics has stolen in an attempt to find out what makes it tick (and it does tick in a lovely serene way)?to perform something I suddenly see as almost a surgical operation. Some of the arrangement?s magic is becoming susceptible to the reasoning mind the two mathematical elements represent?the sequence ordering itself, and some of the rectangles easing the situation by leaving the main scene, others perhaps finding where a multiplication has set them . . .

What about the alternative idea of the dividend shed as a ray of sunlight?

Do I know what I?m talking about? A little bit, I believe. Mainly, I?m letting my mind drift in the slow currents of the collage?with the hope that I will encourage others to have similar fun not worrying about properly solving the work as a problem, but let themselves be carried away by their mathematical brains, their visual comprehension and poetic story-telling ability into lazy ?para-solutions? of it, or solutions apart but associating with whatever correct solution there is, if any.

Next, here is my ?Long Division Poem for Scott Helmes,? which was inspired by his many adventures in collage:

Long Division for Scott Helmes

I?ve used up my interpretive skills on Scott?s works, so can?t say much about this right now. Know, however, that it is absolutely correct! Oh, also let me inform you that Aurora was the ancient Romans? goddess of the dawn. I should also confess that this may be unfinished. I?m not sure its quotient is entirely right. . . .

Finally, to demonstrate that Scott isn?t the only one doing artworks that are fascinatingly not mathematical and mathematical at the same time, as well as much else in divers arts and sciences, here?s ?function,? by Carlyle Baker:

Function

You want an explanation? You gotta be kidding! Seriously, I plan to say something brilliantly insightful about it in my next installment, which will be about circles! Study up on them until then!

Previously in this series:

M@h*(pOet)?ica
M@h*(pOet)?ica: Summerthings
M@h*(pOet)?ica?Louis Zukofsky?s Integral

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Box-office activity slows for 'Paranormal,' Perry

This film image released by Paramount Pictures shows Kathryn Newton in a scene from "Paranormal Activity 4." (AP Photo/Paramount Pictures)

Scary movie fans are still into "Paranormal Activity," though the horror franchise looks as though it's starting to run out of steam at the box office.

Paramount's "Paranormal Activity 4" debuted at No. 1 with $30.2 million, a big drop from the $40 million and $50 million opening weekends of the last two installments, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Perpetual hit maker Tyler Perry failed to find an audience for his new persona as an ace crime solver. Summit Entertainment's "Alex Cross," starring Perry as author James Patterson's brilliant criminal profiler, was a dud, opening at No. 5 with $11.8 million.

Perry has written, directed and starred in a string of hits featuring his sassy grandma Madea, which mostly have had opening weekends two and three times bigger than that of "Alex Cross." Fans didn't buy into Perry as the title character, who goes up against a diabolical serial killer.

"He's become so identified and so successful with the Madea franchise that when he steps outside of that, it doesn't necessarily follow that the audience is going along with him," said Paul Dergarabedian, an analyst for box-office tracker Hollywood.com. "It's fun for him to stretch out a little bit, but it didn't really pay off."

Ben Affleck's Iran hostage tale "Argo" held up well in its second weekend, remaining at No. 2 with $16.6 million, dropping just 15 percent from its debut. Big studio releases often drop 50 percent or more in subsequent weekends, but "Argo" has proven a hit with critics and audiences alike, earning Academy Awards buzz and strong word of mouth that should give it a long run at theaters.

Affleck, who also directed "Argo," plays a CIA specialist who concocts a wild plan to rescue six Americans hiding in Tehran after the 1979 takeover of the U.S. embassy there.

Released by Warner Bros., "Argo" raised its domestic total to $43.2 million.

Liam Neeson's action sequel "Taken 2," which had been No. 1 the previous two weekends, slipped to fourth place with $13.4 million, lifting the 20th Century Fox release's domestic haul to $106 million.

Adam Sandler's animated hit "Hotel Transylvania," from Sony Pictures, also held up well at No. 3 with $13.5 million, pushing its domestic earnings to $119 million.

While domestic revenues were way down for the fourth "Paranormal Activity" flick, the franchise remains a big moneymaker for distributor Paramount. "Paranormal Activity 4" was produced on a tiny budget of $5 million, continuing the franchise's trend of turning minimal investments into tidy profits.

"For us, the focus is always, what are these movies made for and how profitable are they? Within Paramount, it's a colossal success," said Don Harris, the studio's head of distribution. "A $5 million movie that has an opening weekend of over $30 million, it's really kind of irrelevant what No. 2 or No. 3 did. The movies really stand on their own."

Overseas, "Paranormal Activity 4" had a good start with $26.5 million in 33 countries, giving it a worldwide total of $56.7 million.

In limited release, Fox Searchlight's acclaimed drama "The Sessions" did solid business, opening with $121,005 in four theaters in New York City and Los Angeles, for a healthy average of $30,251 a cinema. By comparison, "Paranormal Activity 4" averaged $8,851 in 3,412 theaters.

"The Sessions" stars John Hawkes and Helen Hunt in the true-life story of a man, paralyzed by polio and stuck in an iron lung most of his life, who hires a sexual surrogate so he can lose his virginity. The film expands to more cities over the next month.

While "Paranormal Activity 4" fell short of the franchise's third installment, which opened over the same weekend last year, overall Hollywood revenues continued to rise after a late-summer slump.

Strong holdovers such as "Argo," ''Hotel Transylvania" and "Taken 2" made the difference, with domestic business totaling $131 million, up 8 percent from the same weekend a year ago, according to Hollywood.com. Revenues were up for the fourth-straight weekend.

"Last year, the box office was so top-heavy with 'Paranormal Activity 3,' and the rest of the films really underperformed," Dergarabedian said. "This year, we have a much more balanced lineup."

Estimated ticket sales are for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. "Paranormal Activity 4," $30.2 million ($26.5 million international).

2. "Argo," $16.6 million ($1.2 million international).

3. "Hotel Transylvania," $13.5 million ($14.5 million international).

4. "Taken 2," $13.4 million ($23.6 million international).

5. "Alex Cross," $11.8 million.

6. "Sinister," $9 million ($2.3 million international).

7. "Here Comes the Boom," $8.5 million.

8. "Pitch Perfect," $7 million ($320,000 international).

9. "Frankenweenie," $4.4 million ($4.1 million international).

10. "Looper," $4.2 million ($5.6 million international).

___

Estimated weekend ticket sales at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada) for films distributed overseas by Hollywood studios, according to Rentrak:

1. "Paranormal Activity 4," $26.5 million.

2. "Taken 2," $23.6 million.

3. "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted," $14.9 million.

4. "Hotel Transylvania," $14.5 million.

5. "The Impossible," $8.7 million.

6. "Asterix et Obelix: Au Service de Sa Majeste," $8.1 million.

7. "Ted," $8 million.

8. "Looper," $5.6 million.

9. "Perfect Number," $4.1 million.

10 (tie). "Frankenweenie," $4.1 million.

10 (tie). "Masquerade," $4.1 million.

___

Online:

http://www.hollywood.com

http://www.rentrak.com

___

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 AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

Associated Press

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Saturday, October 20, 2012

Health and Fitness ? Weight Loss Secrets ? 17085th Edition | Health ...

Being active makes a person healthy and strong. It is not just for people who have a weight problem but for everyone who likes to stay fit.

There is a lot a person can do such jog or walk every morning, play basketball or any other sport with friends but if a person wants to have muscles and look lean, then one can sign up and workout in a gym.

People workout for 3 reasons;

The first is that the person is overweight and the only way to lose those extra pounds will be to reduce ones calorie intake and at the same time workout in the gym.

The second is that the person is underweight and the only way to add extra pounds is to have more calories in ones diet and workout.

The third is just for fun and to keep that person in shape.

The best exercise plan should have cardiovascular and weight training exercises. This helps burn calories and increase the muscle to fat ratio that will increase ones metabolism and gain or lose weight.

Just like taking any medicine, one should first consult the doctor before undergoing any form of exercise.

Here are some benefits of exercising;

1. It is the easiest way to maintain and improve ones health from a variety of diseases and premature death.

2. Studies have shown that it makes a person feels happier and increases ones self esteem preventing one from falling into depression or anxiety.

3. An active lifestyle makes a person live longer than a person who doesn?t.

Working out for someone who has not done it before should be done gradually. Endurance will not be built in a day and doing it repeatedly will surely be beneficial to the person.

It is advisable to workout regularly with a reasonable diet.

A person can consult with a dietitian or a health professional to really help plan a good diet program. It starts by evaluating the lifestyle and the health of the patient before any program can be made.

Afterwards, this is thoroughly discussed and recommended to the person which usually consists of an eating plan and an exercise program that does not require the use of supplements or one to purchase any expensive fitness equipment.

A good diet should have food from all the food groups.

This is made up by 2 things. The first is carbohydrates. The food that a person consumes should have vitamins, minerals and fiber. A lot of this can come from oats, rice, potatoes and cereals. The best still come from vegetables and fruits since these have phytochemicals, enzymes and micronutrients that are essential for a healthy diet.

The second is fat which can come from mono and poly saturated food sources rather than animal fats. Since fat contains more than double the number of calories in food, this should be taken in small quantities to gain or lose weight.

Another way to stay healthy is to give up some vices. Most people smoke and drink. Smoking has been proven to cause lung cancer and other diseases as well complications for women giving birth. Excessive drinking has also shown to do the same.

For people who don?t smoke, it is best to stay away from people who do since studies have shown that nonsmokers are also at risk of developing cancer due to secondary smoke inhalation.

John Seeley is free lance writer Who writes about health, the environment and development, issues he cares deeply about. For specific tips, old and new, to help women and men meet the current perception of our societal definition of beauty and masculinity. Visit http://www.GetHealthyBody.com

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LG tells the story behind QSlide multitasking, won't be mad if you tweet at the same time (video)

LG's been stepping up its mobile game recently, with the Optimus G being the firm's clearest display of podium-position ambitions yet. And just like its regional neighbors, it's getting in on the "explaining-ideas-behind-concepts" video action. In this clip we see senior research engineer, Sebastian Hochan Song, explain the inspiration and process behind the new phone's QSlide multitasking function. Again, like its fellow Korean nationals, nature and the real world play a heavy part in the idea process. Head past the break if you want to see LG's thoughts about pushing Android multitasking forward, and keep an eagle eye out for one of our very own editors' quick cameo appearance.

Continue reading LG tells the story behind QSlide multitasking, won't be mad if you tweet at the same time (video)

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CIA found militant links a day after Libya attack

FILE - In this Sept. 13, 2012 file photo, a Libyan man investigates the inside of the U.S. Consulate, after an attack that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens on the night of Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012, in Benghazi, Libya. U.S. officials tell The Associated Press that the CIA station chief in Libya reported to Washington within 24 hours of last month?s deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate that there was evidence it was carried out by militants, not a mob upset about an American-made, anti-Muslim movie. It is unclear whether anyone outside the CIA saw the cable at that point or how high up in the CIA the information went. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hannon, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The CIA station chief in Libya reported to Washington within 24 hours of last month's deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate that there was evidence it was carried out by militants, not a spontaneous mob upset about an American-made video ridiculing Islam's Prophet Muhammad, U.S. officials have told The Associated Press.

It is unclear who, if anyone, saw the cable outside the CIA at that point and how high up in the agency the information went. The Obama administration maintained publicly for a week that the attack on the diplomatic mission in Benghazi that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans was a result of the mobs that staged less-deadly protests across the Muslim world around the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks on the U.S.

Those statements have become highly charged political fodder as the presidential election approaches. A Republican-led House committee questioned State Department officials for hours about what GOP lawmakers said was lax security at the consulate, given the growth of extremist Islamic militants in North Africa.

And in their debate on Tuesday, President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney argued over when Obama first said it was a terror attack. In his Rose Garden address the morning after the killings, Obama said, "No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for."

But Republicans say he was speaking generally and didn't specifically call the Benghazi attack a terror attack until weeks later, with the president and other key members of his administration referring at first to the anti-Muslim movie circulating on the Internet as a precipitating event.

Now congressional intelligence committees are demanding documents to show what the spy agencies knew and when, before, during and after the attacks.

The White House now says the attack probably was carried out by an al Qaida-linked group, with no public demonstration beforehand. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton blamed the "fog of war" for the early conflicting accounts.

The officials who told the AP about the CIA cable spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to release such information publicly.

Congressional aides say they expect to get the documents by the end of this week to build a timeline of what the intelligence community knew and compare that to what the White House was telling the public about the attack. That could give Romney ammunition to use in his foreign policy debate with Obama on Monday night.

The two U.S. officials said the CIA station chief in Libya compiled intelligence reports from eyewitnesses within 24 hours of the assault on the consulate that indicated militants launched the violence, using the pretext of demonstrations against U.S. facilities in Egypt against the film to cover their intent. The report from the station chief was written late Wednesday, Sept. 12, and reached intelligence agencies in Washington the next day, intelligence officials said.

Yet, on Saturday of that week, briefing points sent by the CIA to Congress said "demonstrations in Benghazi were spontaneously inspired by the protests at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and evolved into a direct assault."

The briefing points, obtained by the AP, added: "There are indications that extremists participated in the violent demonstrations" but did not mention eyewitness accounts that blamed militants alone.

Such raw intelligence reports by the CIA on the ground would normally be sent first to analysts at the headquarters in Langley, Va., for vetting and comparing against other intelligence derived from eavesdropping drones and satellite images. Only then would such intelligence generally be shared with the White House and later, Congress, a process that can take hours, or days if the intelligence is coming from only one or two sources who may or may not be trusted.

U.S. intelligence officials say in this case the delay was due in part to the time it took to analyze various conflicting accounts. One official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to discuss the incident publicly, explained that "it was clear a group of people gathered that evening" in Benghazi, but that the early question was "whether extremists took over a crowd or they were the crowd," and it took until the following week to figure that out.

But that explanation has been met with concern in Congress, from both political parties.

"I think what happened was the director of intelligence, who is a very good individual, put out some speaking points on the initial intelligence assessment," said Senate intelligence committee chair Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., in an interview with local news channel CBS 5 in California this week. "I think that was possibly a mistake."

"The early sense from the intelligence community differs from what we are hearing now," Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said. "It ended up being pretty far afield, so we want to figure out why ... though we don't want to deter the intelligence community from sharing their best first impressions" after such events in the future.

"The intelligence briefings we got a week to 10 days after were consistent with what the administration was saying," said Rep. William Thornberry, R-Texas, a member of the House Intelligence and Armed Services committees. Thornberry would not confirm the existence of the early CIA report but voiced skepticism over how sure intelligence officials, including CIA Director David Petraeus, seemed of their original account when they briefed lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

"How could they be so certain immediately after such events, I just don't know," he said. "That raises suspicions that there was political motivation."

National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor declined comment. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not respond to requests for comment.

Two officials who witnessed Petraeus' closed-door testimony to lawmakers in the week after the attack said that during questioning he acknowledged that there were some intelligence analysts who disagreed with the conclusion that a mob angry over the video had initiated the violence. But those officials said Petraeus did not mention the CIA's early eyewitness reports. He did warn legislators that the account could change as more intelligence was uncovered, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the hearing was closed.

Beyond the question of what was known immediately after the attack, it's also proving difficult to pinpoint those who set the fire that apparently killed Stevens and his communications aide or launched the mortars that killed two ex-Navy SEALs who were working as contract security guards at a fallback location. That delay is prompting lawmakers to question whether the intelligence community has the resources it needs to investigate this attack in particular or to wage the larger fight against al-Qaida in Libya or across Africa.

Intelligence officials say the leading suspected culprit is a local Benghazi militia, Ansar al-Shariah. The group denies responsibility for the attack but is known to have ties to a leading African terror group, al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb. Some of its leaders and fighters were spotted by Libyan locals at the consulate during the violence, and intelligence intercepts show the militants were in contact with AQIM militants before and after the attack, one U.S. intelligence official said.

But U.S. intelligence has not been able to match those reported sightings with the faces of attackers caught on security camera recordings during the attack, since many U.S. intelligence agents were pulled out of Benghazi in the aftermath of the violence, the two U.S. intelligence officials said.

Nor have they found proof to back up their suspicion that the attack was preplanned, as indicated by the military-style tactics the attackers used, setting up a perimeter of roadblocks around the consulate and the backup compounds, then attacking the main entrance to distract, while sending a larger force to assault the rear.

Clear-cut answers may prove elusive because such an attack is not hard to bring about relatively swiftly with little preplanning or coordination in a post-revolutionary country awash with weapons, where the government is so new it still relies on armed militants to keep the peace. Plus, the location of U.S. diplomat enclaves is an open secret for the locals.

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Follow Kimberly Dozier on Twitter: http://twitter.com/KimberlyDozier

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-10-19-US-Libya/id-80f59bb3e84f4e57846da10f66a7c083

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