Pegasus's Daily News, etc.

[the flying reindeer]

Raptor Month

Good evening from Tuxy and me
This is the 300th day of 2012 with 65 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 6"42 p.m., it's cloudy , temp 68ºF [Feels like 68ºF], winds SE @ 8 mph, humidity 65%, pressure 30.04 in and steady, dew point 56ºF, chance of precipitation 30%.

Today in History:
1774--the First Continental Congress adjourned in Philadelphia.
1776--Benjamin Franklin sets sail for France to negotiate and secure a formal alliance and treaty.
1854--Charles William Post, American manufacturer of breakfast cereals, was born; died 1914 at age 59.
1861--the Pony Express announced its closure.
1864--the notorious Confederate guerrilla leader William "Bloody Bill" Anderson was killed in Missouri in a Union ambush.
1881--the Earp brothers face off against the Clanton-McLaury gang in a legendary shootout at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Ariz.
1902--Elizabeth Cady Stanton, American social activist and leading figure of the early women's movement, died in her home.
1906--workers in St. Petersburg set up the first Russian soviet, or council.
1911--Mahalia Jackson, known as the queen of gospel singing, was born; died 1972 at age 60.
1916--Francois Mitterand, French president (1981-95), was born; died 1996 at age 79.
1917--Brazil declared war on Germany.
1919--Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, deposed Iranian Shah (1941-79), was born; died 1980 at age 60 of cancer.
1920--The Lord Mayor of Cork, Ireland, Terence McSwiney, died after a 2 1/2-month hunger strike in a British prison cell, demanding independence for Ireland.
1942, the U.S. carrier Hornet was damaged so extensively by Japanese war planes in the Battle of Santa Cruz that was abandoned.
1944--the battle of Leyte Gulf, largest air-naval clash in history, ended with a decisive US victory over the Japanese.
1947--Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State and former first lady, turns 65.
1958--the first commercial Boeing 707 flight is a transcontinental New York to Paris journey made by PanAm with a fuel stop in Gander, Newfoundland
1962--in one of the most dramatic verbal confrontations of the Cold War, UN Ambassador Adlai Stevenson asked his Soviet counterpart whether the USSR had placed missiles in Cuba..
1966--a fire breaks out on aircraft carrier USS Oriskany when a locker filled with night illumination magnesium flares burst into flame.
1972--national security adviser Henry Kissinger declared "peace is at hand" in Vietnam.
1979--South Korean Pres. Park Chung-hee was assassinated by the director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency.
1985--Whitney Houston earned her first #1 hit with "Saving All My Love For You"
1994--Prime Ministers Yitzhak Rabin of Israel and Abdel Salam Majali of Jordan signed a peace treaty in a ceremony attended by Pres. Clinton.
1998--Hurricane Mitch, the most deadly hurricane to hit the Western Hemisphere in more than 200 years, slams into Central America, killing thousands.
2001--six weeks after the worst terrorist attack on US soil, Pres. Bush signed the Patriot Act, giving law enforcement agencies expanded authority.
2002--a hostage siege by Chechen rebels at a Moscow theater ended with 129 of the 800-plus captives dead, most from a knockout gas used by Russian special forces who stormed the theater.
2003--Cedar Fire (a human-caused wildfire which burned out of control in Calif. due to Santa Ana winds) burned over 280 thousand acres and killed 15.
2005--the Chicago White Sox won their first World Series since 1917 by defeating the Houston Astros 1-0 in Game 4.
2006--Pres. Bush signed a bill authorizing construction of nearly 700 miles of fencing on the U.S. border with Mexico.
2008--a massive wave of job layoffs hit the US economy, with October's total of lost jobs expected to be around 200,000.

World News Capsules:

1. Bomber kills dozens of Afghan worshipers as holiday starts
....The bomber struck a mosque in northern Afghanistan on Friday morning just as prayers were ending, killing at least 45 people on the first day of the most important Muslim holiday of the year
2. Noted women's rights activist in Congo eludes gunmen
....The gunmen, whose bullets missed Dr. Denis Mukwege, the director of a hospital that treats victims of sexual violence, killed a security guard and threatened three children.
3. European Union gives rights award to convicted Iranians
....The European Union awarded its most prestigious human rights award on Friday to two imprisoned Iranians, the lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and the filmmaker Jafar Panahi.
4. Investigation of BBC host examines dropped cases
....Footage of the interview with Jimmy Savile surfaced as police officials said the number of people who said they were assaulted by him had grown to 300 from 200 in just the last week.
5. India's plague, trash, drowns its garden city durnig strike

....In Bangalore, the capital of India’s modern economy, ubiquitous garbage highlights the incompetence of governance and the dark side of the country’s rapid economic growth.
6. Dozens are killed in Myanmar as sectarian violence flares again
....A week of violence between Muslims and Buddhists has left at least 60 dead in Rakhine State, in western Myanmar, a local official said.
7. Pakistani activist, 15, recovering at 'encouraging speed,' father says

....Malala Yousafzai, shot in the head by the Taliban, was reunited with her family for the first time since she arrived in Britain for treatment.
8. Syrian protesters emerge amid clashes and bombing during a holiday cease-fire

....Protests emerged onto the streets across Syria on Friday as a temporary cease-fire marking the most important Muslim holiday of the year largely held at the start of its first day.
a. Winter's approach adds to crisis as Syrians continue to flee
....The population of registered war refugees in Syria’s neighboring countries is expected to nearly double by year’s end, to more than 700,000 people, just as the winter approaches.
9. Boxer-turned-politician shakes up Ukrainian elections
....Vitali Klitschko has injected an unpredictable element into a Parliamentary election widely seen as tilted in favor of the ruling party.

US News Capsules:
1. US cuts estimate of sugar intake of typical American

....The US Department of Agriculture has lowered the amount of sugar from nearly 100 pounds to around 80 pounds a person, in revising an estimate that it says is far from perfect.
2. Two siblings killled in New York City; nanny arrested

....A mother returned home to her Upper West Side apartment to find two of her children fatally stabbed in a bathtub by the family's nanny, the authorities said.
3. Spendng on Medicaid has slowed, survey finds
....Enrollment in the program grew only modestly as well, but that may change as millions of people are due to become eligible in 2014 under the new national health care law, a survey found.
4. He's got plenty to tell you, most of it self-loathing

....The punk band Titus Andronicus returns with a third album, “Local Business,” that’s full of Patrick Stickles’s whiny rasp and disgust with himself.
5. Forecasters predict East Coast landfall for storm
....Forecasters cautioned that it was too early to say where on the US coast Hurricane Sandy would strike or how intense the giant storm’s winds would be when it hit.
a. Aging satellite fleet may mean gaps in storm forecasts

....A year or more without crucial satellites could result in shaky forecasts about storms like Hurricane Sandy, which is expected to hit the Northeastern Seaboard early next week.
6. Sanitation problems seen at pharmacy tied to outbreak

....Federal inspectors reported mold, bacteria and dirty equipment at the company where the drug implicated in the national meningitis outbreak was made.
POLITICS:
1. Obama campaign endgame: grunt work and cold math

....The wave of passion that coursed through Pres. Obama's headquarters in 2008 has been replaced with a methodical approach to manufacturing the winning coalition - a more arduous task with no guarantee of success.
2. Michigan vote a test case on enshrining the rights of unions
....Unions in Michigan are asking voters to approve a referendum that would secure labor protections.
3. Followoing in a father's footsteps, but probably not into politics
....Tagg Romney says he has no interest in working in a Romney administration and no intention of carrying on the political tradition that began with his grandfather, George.
4. Bad luck and missteps make GOP's Senate climb steeper

....Once viewed as likely to win the Senate, Republicans have at times made their own path harder. Even before a second Republican Senate candidate tripped over incendiary comments about rape, GOP leaders in Washington knew that their once promising chances of winning control of the Senate had diminished.

Sports Headlines:
1. World Series: Giants escape dual with a victory

....The San Francisco Giants, behind a strong pitching performance by Madison Bumgarner and a lucky roll of a bunt in the 7th inning, beat the Tigers to take a 2-0 World Series lead.
2. NBA: Stern to pass ball, setting end datae on tenure
....David Stern's long, storied, occasionally polarizing tenure as NBA commissioner will come to a close on Feb. 1, 2014, exactly 30 years after it began.
3. NCAA: Some dietitians say college athletes are underfed
....NCAA rules permit only one team-provided meal per day, as well as snacks, and critics say that is not enough.
a. Idea to lower rim for women's basketball stirs talk

....Geno Auriemma, the coach of the UConn women’s basketball team, has suggested lowering the 10-foot rims to help generate more offense and attract more fans.

Thought for Today
"If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all."
--Noam Chomsky (b. 1928) American linguist and political writer

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[the flying reindeer]

National Cat Day
Good evening from Tuxy and me
This is the 303rd day of 2012 with 62 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 3:07 p.m., it's lightly raining , temp 46ºF [Feels like 46ºF], winds N @ 15 mph, humidity 100%, pressure 29.52 in and steady, dew point 46ºF, chance of precipitation 100%.

Today in History:
1618--Sir Walter Raleigh was beheaded under a sentence brought against him 15 years earlier for conspiracy against King James I.
1682--the founder of Pennsylvania, William Penn, landed at what is now Chester, Pa.
1777--John Hancock resigned as president of the First Continental Congress due to illness.
1858--the first store opened in the frontier town of Denver, Colo.
1863--the Battle of Wauhatchie concluded as Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's troops opened a supply line into Chattanooga, Tenn.
1897--Joseph Goebbels, Reich Minister of propaganda (1933-45) for Nazi Germany, was born; committed suicide 1945.
1901--Leon Czolgosz, Pres. McKinley's assassin, was executed in the electric chair at Auburn Prison in New York.
1923--the Republic of Turkey was proclaimed.
1929--the Stock market crashes when Black Tuesday hit Wall Street as investors trade 16,410,030 shares in a single day.
1940--the US began its first peacetime military draft.
1942--leading British clergymen and political figures held a public meeting to register their outrage over the persecution of Jews by Nazi Germany.
1948--a killer smog in Donora, Pa. claimed elderly victimsultimately killing 20 with thousands seriously ill.
1956--The Huntley-Brinkley Report premiered as NBC's nightly TV newscast.
1956--Israeli armed forces pushed into Egypt toward the Suez Canal, initiating the Suez Crisis.
1966--the National Organization for Women (NOW) was founded.
1967--the musical Hair opened off-Broadway.
1969--Judge ordered "Chicago Eight" black defendant Bobby Seale gagged and chained to his chair during his trial after he repeatedly shouted accusations and insults at the judge and prosecution and disrupted the court proceedings.
1969--the first connection on what would become the Internet was made when bits of data flowed between computers at UCLA and the Stanford Research Institute.
1971--guitarist Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers band died in a motorcycle accident.
1989--M25 (orbital motorway encircling Greater London, one of the longest city bypasses in the world) was officially opened by Margaret Thatcher.
1994--Francisco Duran from Colorado was arrested after he sprayed the White House with bullets from an assault rifle.
1998--Sen. John Glenn, D-Ohio, who in 1962 became the first astronaut to orbit the Earth, returned to space aboard the shuttle Discovery, becoming, at 77, the oldest person to travel in space.
1998--Hurricane Mitch, 2nd deadliest Atlantic hurricane in history, made landfall in Honduras.
2002--Ho Chi Minh City ITC Inferno, one of the deadliest peacetime disasters in Vietnam, was a fire in the ITC building that claimed 60 lives.
2003--digging through more than 164 feet of rock, rescuers liberated 11 of 13 Russian miners trapped underground for six days after a methane gas explosion.
2004--Osama bin Laden, in a videotaped statement, directly admitted for the first time that he had ordered the Sept. 11 attacks.
2004--European Union leaders signed the EU's first constitution.
2005--three explosions in New Delhi hit a bus and markets crowded with holiday shoppers, killing at least 65 people.
2005--a reported 102 people died in a train wreck in southern India, where heavy rains caused major flooding.
2006--due to pilot error, a Boeing 737 crashed near Nigeria's Abuja airport killing 96 of the 104 people aboard.
2006--17 instructors and two translators were gunned down at a British-run police academy at Basra, Iraq.
2007--a suicide bomber attacked a police brigade in Iraq, killing 29 people, including 26 police officers.
2008--the death toll from a 6.5-magnitude earthquake in Pakistan topped 200, with 100s hurt and more than 20,000 were left homeless.


World News Capsules:
1. When Afghans look to border with Pakistan, they don't see a fixed line
....An American envoy’s comments about the Durand Line, the contentious 1893 border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, have struck a raw nerve in Afghanistan.
2. Protests over chemical plant force Chinese officials to back down

....After three days of growing dissent, local officials promised to halt the plant's expansion, something skeptical activists attributed to the current political climate.
3. Ghana: a grant meant to curb infant mortality focuses on getting mothers to the hospital
....Rutted roads in rural Ghana are an obvious problem, but women and infants there often die partly because of prejudices against wives or newborns leaving the house.
4. Arrest of '70s rock star widens sexual abuse case tied to BBC
....The sexual abuse scandal surrounding the late television host Jimmy Savile widened after the British police arrested Paul Gadd, who performed as Gary Glitter, in connection with the case.
a. Former judge opens inquiry into Savile sex abuse case
....A former senior judge will investigate the “culture and practices” at the corporation behind the sexual abuse scandal surrounding the late television host Jimmy Savile
5. Greek editor is arrested after publishing a list of Swiss bank accounts
....Kostas Vaxevanis, the editor and owner of Hot Doc magazine, said the list contained the names of 2,000 Greeks who had possibly been evading taxes.
6. India reshuffles cabinet, as chance of early elections grows
....The changes were seen as an effort to shake off nearly a year of paralysis and address a host of corruption and nepotism charges
7. Indonesia terror raids net 11 suspects, state media reports

....The suspects, said to be part of a relatively new militant group, were planning attacks on several high-profile targets in the country, including the US Embassy in Jakarta.
8. US tries to coordinate anti-militant push in Mali
....Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived in Algeria as the US sought to coordinate support for an emerging international effort to push Islamic militants out of northern Mali
9. Attack on NIgerian church kills 8 and wounds dozens

....Though there was no claim of responsibility, the bombing at a Roman Catholic church in Kaduna was similar to others by the radical Islamist group Boko Haram.
10. Region's struggles seen in a Romanian scandal
....In Romania, an unsolved mystery around the arrest and apparent suicide attempt of a former prime minister seems to symbolize the entire country’s dysfunctional version of democracy.
11. Soccer arena rouses fans, and Russia, over its cost
....A high-level inquiry by auditors was ordered for a St. Petersburg construction project that has reached an estimate of $1.4 billion after a predicted $210 million cost.
12. Low voter turnout in Sicily suggests anger at pp;otoca; c;ass
....Fewer than half of eligible voters participated in regional elections, a signal of discontent with Italy’s political class after a series of scandals.
13. Attacks continue during failed holiday truce in Syria
....The declared four-day holiday truce in Syria ended on Monday much as it had begun — with airstrikes, artillery barrages and other firefights that made a mockery of the cease-fire.
a. Envoy to Syria meets with Russian foreign minister after truce unravels

....Reeling from his doomed cease-fire plan that disintegrated in hours, international envoy Lakhdar Brahimi met with Russia's Sergey Lavrov on what to do about the Syrian civil war.
14. Governing party claims victory in Ukraine elections

....The governing party of Pres. Yanukovich declared victory in Ukraine, but preliminary exit polls showed opposition parties making strong gains.
a. International observers denounce Ukrainian election
....A day after voting, outside monitors said an abuse of resources, media control and jailings had given the ruling party an unfair advantage.

US News Capsules:
1. Sharp warnings as Hurricane Sandy churns in

....Forecasters said Hurricane Sandy would bring "life-threatening" flooding to areas of the East Coast and officials warned of days of disruptions as the storm swirled toward some of the nation's most densely populated areas.
a. Panicked evacuations mix with nonchalance in Hurricane Sandy's path
....In New York City, with memories of last year's less-than-ferocious Hurricane Irene still fresh, some skeptical residents simply would not move.
b. Shallow waters and unusual path may worsen the surge
....Experts pointed to several factors that could combine to make the tidal surge from Hurricane Sandy particularly far-reaching and destructive.
c. The coast empties out as the storm moves in

....One by one, hotels were closed and storefronts were boarded up in Rehoboth Beach, Del., as Hurricane Sandy moved toward shore.
d. Brunt of business impact yet to come

....The effects of the storm were expected to be felt by the economy well after Hurricane Sandy comes and goes as consumers stay home and focus on cleanup and recovery.
2. A weak sport in HIV's armor raises hope for a vaccine
....Researchers announced that they had found a vulnerable spot on the virus’s outer shell that might present a good vaccine target.
3. Silos loom as death traps on American farms
....The US is producing more grain than ever, for food, feed, and commercial applications like ethanol. But as other farm work has gotten safer, gruesome grain bin accidents persist.
.4. Advertising relearned for mobile
....Advertising on devices like cellphones and tablets requires different approaches from advertising online, like taking advantage of the ability to track a consumer's location.
5. At Fox News, a liberal pundit finds the spotlight
....Sally Kohn, a former community organizer, is winning attention for her political commentary on the Fox News Channel.
6. Univision to start its first digital network
....On Monday, Univision will officially start its first digital network, UVideos, which will offer more than 1,500 hours of long-form programming and about 200 short clips a day free to users.
7. Police cut back, violent crime soars

....A 24-year-old mother shot to death this month is one of 71 homicides this year in Newark, NJ, where budget cuts led to police layoffs. As many cities have cut police, violent crime soared 18% nationwide last year.
8. ARTS: Movies try to escape cultural irrelevance

....Worried that films have lost their cultural cachet, Hollywood is pondering initiatives meant to restore the attachment films have to historical and cultural thinking in America.
a. Going beyond cultual kid stuff with a wary sense of adventure
....A judgment call for parents: When is it appropriate to introduce children to challenging cultural material - whether it is sexy or profane, creepy or violent, or simply adult and intense?
9. US Supreme Court rejects abortion-related appeal
....The court declined to review an abortion-related appeal, a sign the justices were not eager to jump into the contentious social issue.
POLITICS:
1. In middle of a messy election, a nightmare makes landfall

....Recounts, contested ballots, an Electoral College at odds with the popular vote: now adding to the campaigns' potential horrors, a freakish storm may warp an election two years in the making.
2. Storm roils campaign as Obama cancels appearance
....Pres. Obama returned to Washington and Mitt Romney canceled campaign events through Tuesday.
3, GOP tries to chip away at Democrats' edge in early voting
....Republicans are stepping up their efforts to narrow a Democratic advantage in early voting in key battlegrounds like Florida and Ohio.
4. Romney wants more responsibility for emergency management in states

....Mitt Romney's comments about the Federal Emergency Management Agency, made at a CNN Republican primary debate in June 2011, are receiving renewed attention Monday as Hurricane Sandy bears down on the East Coast.
5. Famous for gaffes, a candidate in Missouri learns to watch his words
....Todd Akin, the Republican candidate for Senate in Missouri, became known nationally for his gaffes, and now he is trying to convince voters at home that he is not an extremist.

Sports Headlines:
1. NFL: NY Giants hang on to victory, by a finger
....The Giants' 29-24 victory against Dallas came down to the final seconds when a touchdown reception by the Cowboys' Dez Bryant was overturned because his right hand touched out of bounds.
a. No longer flying under the radar

....With their 30-17 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, the Atlanta Falcons might have finally proved that they are serious Super Bowl contenders
2. WORLD SERIES: With a sweep, SF Giants are champions again

....San Francisco, seeking their 2nd World Series title in two years, completed the first World Series sweep since 2007 with a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers in 10 innings, giving the Giants their second title in three years.

Thought for Today
"The mind of a bigot is like the pupil of the eye. The more light you shine on it, the more it will contract."
--Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1841-1935), assoc.jusice, US Supreme Court

[the flying reindeer]

Happy National Candy Corn Day
Good evening from Tuxy and me
This is the 303rd day of 2012 with 62 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 5:07 p.m., it's cloudy , temp 49ºF [Feels like 49ºF], winds ESE @ 9 mph, humidity 69%, pressure 29.30 in and rising, dew point 36ºF, chance of precipitation 40%.

Today in History:
1340--in the Spanish-Muslim Wars, an army under Alfonso IV of Portugal heavily defeated the Moors under Abu Hamed at the battle of Salado.
1485--Henry Tudor (father of Henry VIII) was crowned enry VII, King of England.
1735--John Adams, the 2nd president of the US (1797-1801), was born in Braintree, Mass.; died 1826 at age 90.
1775--a 7-member naval committee was established by Congress and tasked with the acquisition, outfitting and manning of a naval fleet.
1811--Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility was published.
1817--Simon Bolivar established the independent government of Venezuela.
1863--George I of Greece, a Danish prince who was elected King by the Greek National Assembly, was crowned King of Greece.
1864--the city of Helena, Mont. was founded after miners discovered gold.
1885--Ezra Loomis Pound, poet and literary critic, was born; died 1972 at age 87.
1890--Oakland, Calif. enacted a law against opium, morphine, and cocaine.
1893--Chicago's World's Columbian Exposition closed that had introduced Americans to all kinds of technological wonders.
1894--Daniel M. Cooper of Rochester, New York patented the time clock into which timecards were inserted.
1915--Fred Friendly, the pioneering American broadcast journalist , was born; died 1998 at age 82,
1918--World War I: representatives of Great Britain and the Ottoman Empire signed an armistice treaty.
1938--Orson Welles caused a nationwide panic with his realistic broadcast of War of the Worlds, a realistic radio dramatization of a Martian invasion of Earth.
1941--Pres. Roosevelt approved Lend-Lease aid to the USSR.
1941--a U.S. destroyer, the Reuben James, was sunk by a German submarine.
1944--Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring premiered at the Library of Congress.
1953--George C. Marshall, who, as secretary of state following World War II, engineered a massive economic aid program for Europe, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
1953--Pres. Eisenhower approved the National Security Council 162/2 that made clear that the nuclear arsenal would be maintained and the connection between military spending and a sound American economy.
1961--the Soviet Union tested a hydrogen bomb.
1965--the US Marines repelled an attack near Da Nang, South Vietnam.
1973--the Bosphorous Bridge in Turkey was completed.
1974--Rumble in the Jungle: Muhammad Ali knocked out George Foreman in the 8th round in Kinshasa, Zaire, to regain his world heavyweight title.
1975--as dictator Francisco Franco was near death, Prince Juan Carlos assumed power in Spain.
1983--The Rev. Jesse Jackson announced plans to become the first African-American to mount a full-scale campaign for the Democratic Party presidential nomination.
1991--the first "Perfect" storm hit the North Atlantic, producing remarkably large waves along the New England and Canadian coasts.
1995--by a bare majority of 50.6% to 49.4%, Quebec voted to remain within the federation of Canada.
1997--a jury in Cambridge, Mass., convicted British au pair Louise Woodward of second-degree murder in the death of 8-month-old Matthew Eappen, later reduced to manslaughter.
2003--the death toll in the Southern California wildfire outbreak was set at 20 with 2,605 homes destroyed and 657,000 acres charred.
2004--Yasser Arafat's closest aides said the 75-year-old, long-time Palestinian leader had lost control of his mental faculties and couldn't communicate clearly.
2005--civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks became the first woman to lie in honor in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.
2005--Indian authorities sent army divers to look for people trapped in a derailed train near Veligonda, the result of massive flooding.
2005--an obscure radical Islamic group in India claimed responsibility for the bombings at two New Delhi markets and on a bus that killed more than 60 people and injured close to 200.
2006--Pakistan hit an Islamic school near the Afghan border, killing at least 80 suspected militants.
2008--the U.S. gross domestic product dropped 0.3%, the first decrease in the GDP in 17 years.
2008--Nine explosions in four towns in northern India killed at least 39 people and wounded more than 100, police said.

World News Capsules:
1. Afghans say presidential election date is set for April 2014
....Pres. Karzai took a step toward fulfilling his pledge to hold Afghanistan’s presidential election on time, as officials said that the vote had been officially set for April 5, 2014.
2. Citing violence, Bahrain bans all protests in new crackdown


....The government said that opposition activists had abused its tolerance for freedom of expression by allowing protests to turn violent.
3. Ex-envoy says US stirs China-Japan tensions
....Chen Jian, a former United Nations under secretary general, complained that Japan was being encouraged to take on security concerns, empowering the right wing in that country.
a. Protests over chemical plant force Chinese officials to back down
....After three days of growing dissent, local officials promised to halt the plant’s expansion, something skeptical activists attributed to the current political climate.
4. Wrangling over Europe's budget gets under way
....Hostilities are likely to be protracted as countries like Britain and Sweden call for deep cuts in the European Commission's proposed spending plan.
5. Behind the inscrutable mien, clues to Merkel's methods
....Hints of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s approach to leadership beyond Germany are sprinkled in a life that includes firsthand experience of how a failure of vision can undo a nation.
6. Greece moves quickly to put editor on trial
....A case surrounding the publication of a list of Greeks with Swiss bank accounts has raised questions about press freedom and Greece’s willingness to crack down on tax evasion.
7. Libya warnings were plentiul but unspecific
....Interviews suggest that though the State Department received many warnings about the deteriorating situation in Benghazi, none focused on the diplomatic compound that was attacked.
8. Villagers in Morocco drive out prositutes
....Some hail the crackdown in a village known for its sex trade as a victory for community activism; others fear the influence of fundamentalist Islam.
9. Qatar: Genocide in Syria

....Syria's government is waging "a war of extermination" against its own people, the emir of Qatar said , hours after a failed four-day ceasefire during a Muslim holiday left hundreds dead.
10. In Turkey, a break from the past plays out in the streets
....The divisions between secularists and the Islamist-leaning government were on display Monday during the holiday celebrating Turkey’s founding.

US News Capsules:
1. Storm barrels ashore, leavaing path of destruction

....The storm battered the mid-Atlantic region, its powerful gusts and storm surges causing once-in-a-generation flooding in New York city, coastal communities and knocking down trees and power lines.
a. Empty of gamblers and full of water, Atlantic City reels
....Even as the first samplings of the storm's ravages descended on the New Jersey coastline, a large portion of Atlantic City was already underwater.
b. Storm is expected to be less powerful, and less renching, as it moves inland
....The enormous storm is expected to become less monstrous, and less drenching, as it moves over land.
c. Distribution of billions in aid to storm victims will test FEMA
....FEMA has a troubled history of overseeing its aid program, which has been subject to chronic fraud and abuse.
2. Random House and Penguin merger creates global giant
....The deal between the media companies Bertelsmann, which owns Random House, and Pearson, which owns Penguin, might draw antitrust scrutiny.
3. SCIENCE: Killing the computer to save it

....Dr. Neumann, an 80-year-old computer scientist at SRI International, is leading an effort to redesign computers and software from a "clean slate" to make them more secure.
a. Scientists move closer to a lasting flu vaccine
....Thanks to a flurry of recent studies, flu experts foresee a time when seasonal flu shots are a thing of the past.
4. Farmers find path out of hardship in corn mazea
....Income from “agritainment” activities like corn mazes is helping a lot of farmers keep their farm.
5. Question for justices: do Aldo and Franky's noses always know?
....The Supreme Court plans to hear the cases of two drug-sniffing dogs amid a growing body of evidence suggesting that such dogs may not be infallible.
a. Challenge to wiretaps is heard by justices
....The Supreme Court heard a challenge to a federal law, enacted after the Sept. 11 attacks, that authorized intercepting international communications involving Americans.
6. Disney buying Lucasfilm for $4 billion

....Through the acquisition, which gives Disney a commanding position in the world of fantasy films, the company said that it would revive the “Star Wars” franchise.
POLITICS:
1. GOP turns fire on Obama pillar, the auto bailout
....Mitt Romney's latest attempt to win votes in Ohio, by criticizing aspects of the auto industry recovery, has provoked a backlash.
2. Storm pushes aside presidential politics, mostly
....Mitt Romney held a “storm-relief event” in Ohio, as both candidates confronted how best to campaign while cities coped with deaths and extensive flooding/
3. Looking presidential: the optics of leadership during a disaster

....As Sandy took aim at the East Coast, Pres. Obama discarded campaign events in Florida and Virginia to return to Washington and address the storm from the White House.

Thought for Today
"This would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it."
--John Adams (1735-1826), 2nd Pres. of the US and a Founding Father.

[the flying reindeer]

All Souls’ Day
Good evening from Tuxy and me
This is the 305th day of 2012 with 60 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 6:37 p.m., it's lightly raining , temp 37ºF [Feels like 30ºF], winds W @ 12 mph, humidity 75%, pressure 29.75 in and steady, dew point 30ºF, chance of precipitation 100%.

Today in History:
1755--Marie-Antoinette, French queen consort to Louis VXI, was born; beheaded 1793 at age 37.
1777--the USS Ranger, with a crew of 140 men under the command of John Paul Jones, leaves Portsmouth, N.H. to begin raids on British warships.
1783--Gen. Washington issued his farewell address to the Army near Princeton, N.J.
1861--controversial Union Gen. John C. Fremont was relieved of command in the Western Department and replaced by David Hunter.
1889--North Dakota and South Dakota became the 39th and 40th states.
1902--the 1st four-cylinder, gas-powered Locomobile —a $4,000, 12-horsepower Model C— was delivered to a buyer in New York City.
1917--British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour submitted a declaration of intent to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
1942--British launch Operation Supercharge with Gen. Bernard Montgomery breaking through German Gen. Rommel's defensive line at El Alamein, Egypt,
1947--the Hughes Flying Boat (or Spruce Goose) - the largest aircraft ever built - was piloted by designer Howard Hughes on its first and only flight.
1948--in the greatest upset in presidential election history, Pres. Truman defeatsed GOP challenger, NY Gov. Thomas Dewey, by just over two million popular votes.
1950--George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright (Pygmalion) and Nobel laureate, died from renal failure in Hertfordshire, England.
1959--Charles Van Doren admitted to a House subcommittee that he had the questions and answers in advance of his appearances on the TV game show Twenty-One.
1960--a landmark obscenity case over Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence ended in the acquittal of Penguin Books.
1963--South Vietnamese Pres. Ngo Dihn Diem was assassinated in a military coup.
1965--Norman Morrison (a Quaker) set himself on fire in front of the Pentagon in protest of the Vietnam War.
1976--former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter defeated GOP incumbent Gerald R. Ford, becoming the first US president from the Deep South since the Civil War.
1982-- a truck explodes in the Salang Tunnel in Afghanistan, killing an estimated 3,000 people, mostly Soviet soldiers.
1983--Pres. Reagan signed a bill establishing a federal holiday on the 3rd Monday of January in honor of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
1984--Velma Barfield, a serial murderer, was the first woman in the US to be executed by lethal injection.
1986 US hostage David Jacobsen was released in Beirut after 17 months in a trade for US arms sent to Iran.
1992--HIV-infected Earvin "Magic" Johnson retired from professional basketball "for good."
1992--legendary filmmaker (Laurel & Hardy/Our Gang comedies) Hal Roach died at age 100.
1993--a new series of wildfires swept along the Southern California coast, destroying more than 300 homes in the exclusive community of Malibu.
1996--Great Britain announced a plan to ban ownership of large-caliber handguns.
2003--at least 13 U.S. soldiers were killed and about 20 wounded in Iraq when a missile downed a helicopter carrying members of the 82nd Airborne Division near Fallujah.
2004--Pres. George W. Bush was elected to a second term in a close race with Democrat John Kerry.
2004--Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh, who received death threats because of his film about violence against Islamic women, was slain as he rode his bicycle through an Amsterdam park.
2006--the Rev. Ted Haggard resigned as president of the National Association of Evangelicals after a man said they had had sexual trysts together.
2007--rescuers worked in the southern Mexican state of Tabasco to help the estimated 300,000 people trapped in their homes by massive flooding.
2009--Afghanistan's election commission proclaimed Pres. Hamid Karzai the victor of the country's tumultuous ballot, canceling a planned runoff.
2010--Republicans won control of the House of Representatives, picking up 63 seats in midterm elections, and Republican governors outnumbered Democrats after gaining six states.
2010--Californians rejected a ballot measure that would have made their state the first to legalize marijuana for recreational use.

World News Capsules:
1. Grabs for power behind plan to shrink elite circle
....A proposal by Chinese leaders to downsize the powerful Politburo Standing Committee offers one of the clearest windows available into the intentions of the party.
a. UN rights official faults China on Tibetan suppression
....Navi Pillay, the UNs’ high commissioner for human rights, said China’s suppression of the rights of Tibetans had driven them to “desperate forms of protest” like self-immolation.
b. From toys to TV news, jittery Beijing clamps down
....China is imposing a blizzard of restrictions to ensure stability during a major leadership change, and its crackdown extends even to toys and the back seats of cabs.
2. A shield of celebrity let a BBC host escape legal scrutiny for decades

....Despite widespread suspicions about Jimmy Savile, police forces were unable to connect the dots, and his powerful connections made pursuing allegations against him unpalatable.
3. Leader ousted, nation is now a drug haven
....Guinea-Bissau, the West African country taken over by its military in April, now appears to be a place where drug trafficking is approved at the top, drug trade experts say.
4. Iranian hard-liners reject any talks with US
....Angry Iranians commemorated the taking of the American Embassy in Tehran in 1979, and a senior security official warned against any compromise with the “great Satan."
5. Petraeus's quieter style at CIA leaves void on Libya furor

....The Benghazi crisis has been the biggest challenge in the first civilian job held by David H. Petraeus, who has gotten high marks in a markedly different culture from that of the military.
6. Ever wonder what elephants would have to say?

....Researchers think that Koshik, who lives at a zoo in South Korea, started imitating human speech out of a need to socialize.
7. UN says Syria execution video shows apparent war crime
....A new video that seems to show Syrian rebels summarily executing a group of captured soldiers or militiamen could, if verified, represent evidence of a war crime, the UN said.
8. Turkish leader says he plans a trop to Gaza soon

....A visit by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan would antagonize the Palestinian Authority, Israel and the West.

US News Capsules:
1. Hurricand Sandy: Gasoline runs short, adding woes to storm recovery

....Four days after Hurricane Sandy, the effort to secure enough gas for the region moved to the forefront of recovery work. In New York, the Taxi Commission warned of a thinner fleet.
a. Estimate of economic losses now up to $50 billion

....Damages from Hurricane Sandy double a previous forecast, with economists warning that it could shave a half percentage point off the nation's economic growth.
b. Chelsea art galleries struggle to restore and reopen

....An hour in Chelsea last Saturday was a final look at what could become the old, pre-Sandy gallery scene.
c. Federal relief costs likely to be big, and contested
....States will almost certainly request billions in federal aid, which could stir concerns about fraud.
d. Patience wears thin as region cleans up, with toll rising

....Days after Hurricane Sandy, many in the New York area were coping with gas shortages, chilly homes that lacked power, lines for buses and food handouts and new word of lives lost - 97 in US, 166 total.
e. Cellphone users steaming at hit-or-miss service
....Four days after Hurricane Sandy, the major carriers — AT&T, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile USA and Sprint — were still rebuilding their networks in the hardest-hit areas,
f. Military to deliver fuel to storm region
....With lines at Northeast gas stations persisting, the government turned to the Pentagon for help and eased limits on foreign tankers.
2. As wolves' numbers rise, so does friction between guardians and hunters
....The first modern wolf-hunting season in Minnesota and Wisconsin is raising concerns among those who are trying to protect the animals.
3. Justices asked whether decision on deportation warnings applies retroactively
....The US Supreme Court heard arguments over whether a 2010 ruling, which stated that lawyers must warn their clients that deportation could follow a guilty plea, should apply retroactively.
4. Massachusetts man gets 17 years in terrorist plot
....Rezwan Ferdaus admitted to planning to blow up the Pentagon and the US Capitol using remote-controlled planes laden with explosives.
5. A promising drug with a flaw

(Walter Daumler with a photograph of his sister Doris Daumler, who was on Pradaxa and died in May)
....The anticlotting drug Pradaxa, on the market only two years, is growing in popularity for its ease of use, but has been associated with hemorrhaging, and it has no antidote to reverse its blood-thinning effects.
6. Military has not solved problem of sexual assault women say
....One sergeant’s account of abuse suggests that more than 20 years after Tailhook, the infamous 1991 scandal involving Navy fighter pilots, little has changed in the insular fighter pilot culture.
POLITICS
1. Bloomberg backs Obama, citing fallout from stomr
....Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, an independent, said climate change may have been a factor in Hurricane Sandy and he believed President Obama was the best candidate to tackle the issue.
2. Campaigns brace to sue for votes in crucial states
....Thousands of lawyers from both presidential campaigns will enter polling places next Tuesday with one central goal: tracking their opponents and, if need be, initiating legal action.
3. Economic data offers little change in dynamic between Obama and Romney
....Mitt Romney called the numbers “a sad reminder that the economy is at a virtual standstill,” but the White House cited the report as further evidence that the nation’s economy is recovering.
4. "I'm independent, not undecided"

....As he watched the debates, Bretton Holmes was irritated. It wasn't the candidates who were getting to him, it was hearing independent and undecided voters lumped together.

Sports Headlines:
1. After deays of pressure, marathon is off

....Lobbied by runners, politicians and the public after Hurricane Sandy, officials and organizers decided not to hold the New York City Marathon for the first time since 1970.
2. NHL: Citing logistics, NHL cancels Winter Classic
....The league’s signature event, this year a game between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs, was to be held at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Jan. 1.
3. Rescuing horses as industry bides its time

....Rescue groups are on the lookout for former racehorses that have landed at auctions and are en route to slaughterhouses in Canada and Mexico.
4. Spelman drops sports to turn focus on fitness
....Spelman College, facing money and logistical problems, is withdrawing from intercollegiate athletics and will focus on a wellness program to promote exercise and better nutrition.

Thought for Today
"The strength of a man's virtue should not be measured by his special exertions, but by his habitual acts."
--[/i]Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) French mathematician and philosopher


[/size][/color]

[the flying reindeer]

International Drum Month
Good evening from Tuxy and me
This is the 310th day of 2012 with 55 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 5:57 p.m., it's fair , temp 36ºF [Feels like 36ºF], winds N @ 3 mph, humidity 62%, pressure 30.04 in and rising, dew point 24ºF, chance of precipitation 0%.

Today in History:
1665--the London Gazette, an official journal of record for the British government, and the oldest surviving journal, was first published.
1776--the Continental Congress chose Richard Bache to succeed his father-in-law, Benjamin Franklin, as postmaster general.
1805--the Lewis and Clark Expedition arrived at the Pacific Ocean.
1861--the Battle of Belmont, Mo.: Union forces under Gen. Grant overran a Confederate camp but are forced to flee when additional Confederate troops arriveed.
1867--Marie Curie, the Polish-born French physicist twice awarded the Nobel Prize for her work on radioactivity, was born.; died 1934 at age 66.
1874--the first cartoon by Thomas Nastdepicting the elephant as the symbol of the Republican Party was printed in Harper's Weekly.
1885--Canadian Pacific Railway was completed at a remote spot called Craigellachie in the mountains of British Columbia.
1893--the passage of a referendum made Colorado the first state to grant women the right to vote.
1907--Jesus Garcia Carcona, a Mexican railroad engineer, died by driving a burning train full of dynamite six kilometers away before it exploded.
1911--Marie Curie became the first multiple Nobel Prize winner when she was given the award for chemisty eight years after garnering the physics prize with her late husband, Pierre. (She remains the only woman with multiple Nobels and the only person to receive the award in two science categories.)
1916--suffragist Jeannette Rankin of Montana became the first woman elected to the US House of Representatives,
1917--Russia’s Bolshevik Revolution took place as forces led by Vladimir Lenin overthrew the provisional government of Alexander Kerensky.
1918--Billy Graham, evangelist, turns 94
1918--the Spanish flu pandemic spread to Western Samoa killing 7,542 (about 20% of the population) by the end of the year.
1929--the Museum of MOdern Art or MoMA opened in New YOrk City.
1940--Only four months after its completion, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Washington state, the 3rd longest suspension bridge in the world at the time, collapsed.
1944--Pres. Rranklin D. Roosevelt was reelected a record third time, defeating Thomas E. Dewey, governor of New York.
1952--CIA director & former US Army general officer, David Petraeus turns 60.
1957--the Gaither Report from a special committee appointed to review the nation's defense readiness, called for more US missiles and fallout shelters.
1962--Richard Nixon, who failed to become governor of California, held his so-called last press conference, telling reporters, "You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore."
1962--former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt died at age 78 in her Manhattan apartment.
1964--US intelligence asserted that the numbers of North Vietnamese in South Vietnam was growing.
1972--Pres. Richard M. Nixon was ee-elected president., defeating Democrat George McGovern.
1973--the US Congress over-rode Pres. Nixon's veto of the War Powers Act.
1980--actor Steve McQueen, the Hollywood "King of Cool," died at age 50 in Mexico, where he was undergoing an experimental treatment for cancer.
1983--a bomb exploded in the US Capitol, causing heavy damage just outside the Senate chamber
1985--Colombian troops ended a 27-hour siege of Bogota's Palace of Justice by 35 M-19 guerrillas with 11 Supreme Court judges among the 100 people killed.
1989--two African American firsts in politics - David Dinkins, becomes mayor of New York City and Douglas Wilder, the first elected African American state governor.
1989--"Night Stalker" Richard Ramirez was formally sentenced in Los Angeles to die in the gas chamber for 13 killings.
1991--basketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson announced his sudden retirement from the Los Angeles Lakers, after testing positive for HIV.
1998--House Speaker Newt Gingrich resigned following an election in which the Republican House majority shrunk to 12.
2000--George W. Bush was elected pUS resident over incumbent Democratic Vice Pres. Al Gore, though Gore won the popular vote .
2000--Hillary Rodham Clinton was elected to the U..Senate from New York, becoming the first first lady to win public office.
2001--U.S.-led jets resumed bombing in northern Afghanistan, targeting Taliban positions near the country's northeastern border with Tajikistan.
2004--in an overwhelming show of force, France put down a wave of anti-French violence in Ivory Coast, its former West African colony.
2005--Chilean police arrested former Peruvian Pres. Alberto Fujimori hours after he arrived in Santiago, on charges of corruption nd human rights abuses.
2006--Democrats regained control of the US House of Representatives and reclaimed Senate leadership in midterm elections. Keith Ellison, a Democrat from Minnesota, became the first Muslim elected to Congress.
2007--the space shuttle Discovery returned after a 15-day mission that included adding a "room" to the international space station.
2007--Georgian Pres. Mikheil Saakashvili imposed a state of emergency after days of protests by opposition parties who want him to resign.
2009--the Democratic-controlled House narrowly passed, 220-215, landmark health care legislation to expand coverage to tens of millions who lacked it and placed tough new restrictions on the insurance industry.

World News Capsules:
1. China welcomes Obama's win, but hopes for more balanced ties with the US
....Woven into the warm words from outgoing Pres. Hu Jintao was a warning that the US should be a more cooperative partner.
a. Facing protests, China's business investment grows
....The Chinese government has backtracked on building some new plants and appeared to be slowly shifting its focus toward a greater reliance on consumption.
2. What a man! What a suit!

....Britain's Daniel Craig returns as James Bond in Skyfall, a playful 007 movie with exotic locales, an island fortress and a fight on a moving train,
3. Greece prepares to vote on $23 billion in new cuts

....The new austerity measures, which include further cuts to pensions, civil service salaries and social benefits, are required to unlock $40 billion in rescue financing.
4. As dengue fever sweeps India, a slow response stirs experts' fears
....Health experts fear that government officials are not acknowledging the scope of a problem that threatens hundreds of millions of people, not just in India but around the world.
a. The Nehru-Gandhi dynasty
....For most of modern India’s history, being a member of the Nehru-Gandhi political family was enough to win votes and public confidence. But the clan’s mystique may be jeopardized by rapid change.
5. Netanyahu rushes to repair damage with Obama
....The results of Tuesday’s presidential election left many Israelis questioning whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had risked their collective relationship with Washington.
6. Putin ousts defense chief, longtime ally
....The firing of Anatoly E. Serdyukov, a longtime Putin ally, is one of the highest-level dismissals connected to a corruption case in recent memory in Russia.
7. 2012: The year of elections

....It's not just the U.S.: In a rare alignment of the electoral stars, Egypt, France, Mexico and more elected new leaders.

US News Capsules:
1, WhyNYC downtown needs diners now

....Restaurants in the blackout zone in southern Manhattan lost their perishables and the better part of a week's revenues, a big hit for businesses that get by on small margins, and for their workers. Hurricane Sandy is forcing New York's restaurateurs to rethink the way they operate.
2. In the South, a good year for farmers of peanuts
....In Georgia, where nearly half of the nation’s peanuts are grown, the annual fall harvest has yielded a record crop that farmers say tastes better than average.
3. Product questioins and threats of higher tax hit Apple shares

....Shares have dropped 20% since their September peak. Some investors may be selling in anticipation of higher capital gains taxes.
4. A school distanced from technology faces its intrusion

....As high-speed Internet and better cellphone reception reach a remote corner of Vermont where the Mountain School offers a semester on a farm for high school students, questions arise about regulating use.
5. US Marine Corps starts ad campaign to try to diversity officer ranks
....Recognizing that it lags the other branches of the military in female and minority officers, the Marines have started an effort to diversify.
6. Nor'easter rubs salt in the wounds from a hurricane

....A new storm brought more water, more wind and more worry to a region where frustration continued to run high from Hurricane Sandy, barely a week gone.
ELECTIONS:
1. Obama wins new term as electoral advantage holds

....Voters returned Pres. Obama to the White House, but he will face a Congress with the same divisions that marked his first term.
a, Question for the victor: How far do you push?

....The next battle for Pres. Obama is to decide what he wants to accomplish in a second term and how to go about it. To solve our problems, we have to understand we face a shared threat.
b. After hard-fought campaign, a victory for Obama
....Americans went to makeshift sites in East Coast communities devastated by Hurricane Sandy and traditional voting booths in schools, libraries and town halls across the rest of the country.
c. On Fox News, a mistrust of pro-Obama numbers lasts late into the night
....As Fox News's own polling showed an advantage for Mr. Obama late in the campaign, commentators on the network questioned whether the news organization had its numbers right. Fox News anchors appeared less than jubilant as other network anchors repeated the "too close to call" mantra early on.
d. Obama's other "cliff" is in foreign policy

....National security issues involving Syria, the Middle East and the US’ relationship with Russia and China are now clamoring for the president’s attention. Elsewhere, world leaders are vying for favor as Pres. Obama embarks on a second term with many major issues unresolved from the first.
2. Obama wins a clear victory, but balance of power is unchanged in Washington

....After $6 billion, two dozen presidential primary days, four general election debates and more TV ads than anyone could watch, the two parties essentially fought to a standstill.
3. Democrats grab US Senate seats in Massachusetts and Indiana
....The party also averted what was once considered a likely defeat in Missouri.
a. Warren defeats Brown in Massachusetts Senate contest
....With nearly three-fourths of voters in Massachusetts going to the polls, Elizabeth Warren, a darling of the left, won a hard-fought race for the Senate.
4, Murphy defeats McMahon after bitter US Senate race in Connecticut
....Christopher S. Murphy, a three-term congressman, won despite heavy spending and an advertising barrage by Linda E. McMahon, the former wrestling executive.
5. Partisans in Florida retreat to thier corners to wait out a cliffhanger
....The anticipated closeness of the presidential race did not deter Republican and Democratic political die-hards from heading into ballrooms and bars around the state to watch election returns.
6. Boehner strikes conciiatory tone in talk of fiscal cliff
....House Speaker John A. Boehner said he is ready to accept a budget deal that raises federal revenues if it is linked to an overhaul of entitlements and the tax code.
a. GOP factions grapple over meaning of loss
....There was no shortage of theories from inside and outside the party about where it fell short and what to do next.
7. Election results proves a victory for pollsters and other data devotees
....As some pundits were left eating crow, people who use mathematical models to make projections came out ahead.

Sports Headlines:
1. NBA: A player and a Nets tam, shaped to challene the Heat

....Gerald Wallace has the hustle, strength, grit and versatility to help mold the identity of the Nets and also lead the charge, with the help of a supporting cast, against Miami.
a. Wallace giving Knicks quality time and tips
....Rasheed Wallace, at 38 and coming out of retirement, has been a big surprise for the Knicks, who are 3-0 for the first time since 1999.
2. NFL: Study looks at bias in celebration penalty calls

....A study asked a group of participants to reward fictitious players for their behavior after a touchdown. The results showed a significant difference in fouls called on black players.
3. MLB: Mets and Bay agree to part ways

....Jason Bay, who was signed through the end of the 2013 season and had a $3 million buyout clause for 2014, had three hugely disappointing years with the Mets.
4. MARATHON: Hostility lingers over marathon cancellation
....The challenge for New York Road Runners is how to recover from last week's race cancellation without too much damage to its finances and reputation.

Thought for Today
"There is only one way to achieve happiness on this terrestrial ball,
And that is to have either a clear conscience or none at all."
--Ogden Nash (1902-1971) American poet

[the flying reindeer]

National Parents as Teachers Day
Good evening from Tuxy and me
This is the 311th day of 2012 with 54 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 3:28 p.m., it's fair , temp 41ºF [Feels like 33ºF], winds NW @ 16 mph, humidity 49%, pressure 30.03 in and falling, dew point 23ºF, chance of precipitation 0%.

Today in History:
1602--the Bodelian Library in Oxford England opens to the public.
1656--Edmond Halley, English astronomer (Halley'ed comet) and mathematician, was born; died 1742 at age 85
1775--Gen. Washington sought to make militias into a military by insisting that the officers behave with decorum and the enlisted men with deference to their officers.
1793--the Louvre in Paris, now containing one of the world's richest art collections, became a public museum after two centuries as a royal palace.
1793--Madame Roland, supporter of the French Revolution and a Girondist, was guillotined.
1837--Mount Holyoke Seminary in Massachusetts became the first U.S. college founded exclusively for women.
1864--Pres. Lincoln was re-elected for a 2nd term.
1887--gunslinger Doc Holliday died of tuberculosis.
1889--Montana became the 41st state.
1892--former Pres. Cleveland beat incumbent Benjamin Harrison, becoming the only president to win non-consecutive terms in the White House.
1895--German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen became the first person to observe X-rays.
1900--Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone With The Wind, was born.; died 1949 at age 48.
1917--one day after the revolution, Vladimir Lenin rose before the newly formed All-Russian Congress of Soviets to call for an immediate armistice with the Central Powers in World War I.
1923--Adolf Hitler launched the Beer Hall Putsch, his first attempt at seizing control of the German government.
1939--on the 16th anniversary of the Beer Hall Putsch, a bomb exploded just after Hitler finished giving a speech.
1942--World War II r- more than 400,000 Allied soldiers invaded North Africa.
1960--Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy defeated Vice President Richard M. Nixon for the presidency.
1966--Ronald Reagan was elected governor of California.
1971--the album Led Zeppelin IV, which included the song "Stairway to Heaven," was released.
1972--the premium cable TV network HBO made its debut with a showing of the movie Sometimes a Great Notion.
1974--Salt Lake City, Utah, resident Carol DaRonch narrowly escapes being abducted by serial killer Ted Bundy.
1982--a fire set by a prisoner in a Biloxi, Miss., jail killed 28 people.
1985--a judge overturned Rubin "Hurricane" Carter's conviction for a 1966 triple killing in a Patterson, N.J., bar, freeing the former boxer after 19 years in prison.
1987--a bomb planted by the Irish Republican Army exploded as crowds gathered in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, for a ceremony honoring Britain's war dead, killing 11 people.
1988--Vice Pres. George H.W. Bush won the presidential election, beating Democrat Michael Dukakis.
1991--the European Community imposed an economic embargo on Yugoslavia in an effort to halt the civil war.
1994--after 40 years, the Republican Party, led by Newt Gingrich, controlled both houses of Congress after the midterm elections.
1994--Salvatore "Sonny" Bono (of Sonny and Cher fame) was elected to the U.S. Congress.
1997--Chinese engineers diverted the Yangtze River to make way for the Three Gorges Dam.
2000--a statewide recount of presidential election ballots began in Florida.
2001--a top aide said Pres. Bush had "no plans" to meet with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat at the U.N.
2002--the UN Security Council unanimously approved a tough, new US-British sponsored resolution authorizing the return of weapons inspectors to Iraq .
2002--Pres. Bush assured a Muslim audience that the US' war was against a network of terrorists and not against the Islamic religion or Muslim civilization.
2003--Lady Louise Windsor , daughter of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, was born.
2003--a suicide bomb attack on an Arab residential compound in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, killed 18 and wounded 110.
2004--1000s of US troops attacked strongholds of Sunni insurgents in Fallujah, Iraq.
2005--French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin declared a state of emergency to quell the nation's worst rioting in decades.
2006--Pres. Bush introduced former CIA Director Robert Gates as his next secretary of defense, succeeding Donald Rumsfeld.
2007--34 coal miners were trapped underground by a methane gas leak in the southwestern Chinese province of Guizhou.
2010--an engine fire aboard the Carnival Splendor cruise ship left nearly 4,500 aboard without electricity during a three-day tow to San Diego.
2010--talk show host Conan O'Brien made his debut on TBS.

World News Capsules:
1. Afghan insurgent attacks leave 20 dead
....The deaths were the result of four violent episodes, the worst of them caused by a roadside bomb that exploded in Helmand Province as a pickup full of civilians passed by.
2. In crackdown, Bahrain revokes the citizenship of 31 people
....The government cited security concerns for its actions; the list included exiled political activists and former opposition members of Parliament.
3. Opening meeting, China's president warns of risks


....The weeklong Communist Party Congress is intended to cap a long transition from the current leadership of Hu Jintao to his presumed successor, Xi Jinping.
a. Long retired, ex-leader of China asserts sway over top posts
....Factions in the Chinese leadership had lacked a dominant elder statesman like Jiang Zemin to arbitrate disputes.
4. An inside view on documentary stories
....Mentoring and workshops have helped give local photographers, in Egypt and around the world, the time and resources to document their society's issues with the delicacy and insight that might go unnoticed by foreigners..
5. Obama victory brings Europe a sense of continuity and relief
....Pres. Obama’s victory is likely to resonate in some unusual ways across the Atlantic, where the role of government in a time of economic stress is equally divisive.
5. French cabinet advances gay marriage bill despite Conservatives' opposition
....The measure is expected to pass early next year despite some strong opposition and concerns about gay couples adopting children.
6. Ally of former Georgian leader faces criminal charges
....The charges against a former defense minister, as well as two current Defense Ministry officials, led some to fear a wave of reprisals against the defeated government.
7. New Archbishop of Canterbury chosen
....Justin Welby, the bishop of Durham and a former oil company executive, is likely to be named. A formal announcement is expected Friday.
8. Defections shake Greek coalition

....The three-party coalition of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras was licking its wounds, after the defections of several key members in a crucial vote on austerity measures.
9. 48 killed after earthquake rocks Guatemala

....The president said the earthquake, which could be felt as far as San Salvador and Mexico City, was the largest the country had experienced since 1976.
10. Laos breaks ground for controversial Mekong Dam
....Laos inaugurated the construction of a controversial dam on the Mekong River, despite comments from the country’s prime minister that the project was on hold.
11. Obama to visit Myanmar
....The visit, planned for just before Thanksgiving, will be the first by an American president and is part of a new policy of openness toward Myanmar.
12. Sri Lanka's parliament tries to impeach Chief Justice
....Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake is charged with misusing her position and failing to adequately declare her assets, among other accusations, in a case her supporters say is politically motivated.
13. Syrian president warns against foreign intervention in Syria

....Pres. al-Assad was quoted saying the price of an invasion by foreign powers would be “more than the world can afford.
a. Errant artillery fire from Syrian war hits Golan Heights again
....Stray mortar rounds and a tank shell caused no injuries or damage, but the United Nations has warned that such violence could jeopardize the cease-fire between Israel and Syria
14. Turkey considers defensive measures and deploying missiles near Syria

....The move would effectively create a no-fly zone that could help safeguard refugees and give rebel fighters a portion of Syrian territory without fear of crippling airstrikes by Syrian forces.

US News Capsules:
1. Back to work,Obama is greeted by looming fiscal crisis
....Pres. Obama moved quickly to open negotiations with Congressional Republican leaders while simultaneously preparing for significant cabinet changes.
a. An array of relationships for Obama to strengthen and redefine
....National security issues involving Syria, the Middle East and the United States’ relationship with Russia and China are now clamoring for President Obama’s attention.
b. On Wall Street, time to mend fences with Obama
....With the presidential election over, Wall Street titans who supported Mitt Romney now face the prospect of having to mend fences with the Obama administration.
c. For Obama, housing policy presents second-term headaches

....Pres. Obama’s economic team has said it wants the housing market to work without significant government support. But it has taken few steps to advance that idea.
2. HURRICANE SANDY: When the power came back, so did the crowds

....For four sleepy nights, in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the bars and shops that make downtown Manhattan a party and retail capital went dark, but when the lights came back, they were open practically within seconds.
a. Some stores struggle to reopen
....While Lower Manhattan was widely affected by the storm, a handful of stores were seriously damaged by flooding.
b. No politics as usual on party circuit

....On election night, anxiety ahead of the outcome and cleanup after Hurricane Sandy kept a lid on the revelry.
3. A president engaged in a great civil war

....Lincoln, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, is more a political thriller than a biopic, a civics lesson that is energetically staged and alive with moral energy, placing slavery at the center of the story.
4. ]u]Gunman in Giffords shooting sentenced to 7 life terms[/u]
[/img]
...The astronaut-husband of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords spoke at the sentencing hearing for Jared L. Loughner, as did other victims.
5. Fate of health law now clear, states rush to meet deadlines

....After years of political and legal threats kept Pres. Obama’s health care law in a state of uncertainty, his re-election all but assures it will survive. The next hurdle is making it work.
6. For Mormons, a cautious step toward mainstream acceptance

....The 2012 presidential campaign broke a barrier for Mormons across the US, transforming the way they see themselves and the way many Americans view their church.
7. Voters ease marijuana laws in two states, but legal questions remain
....Voters in two states approved making marijuana possession legal, but the states may now be on a collision course with the federal government.
8. With 'fiscal cliff' looming, Congress facing compromise or confrontation

....A day after an election that both parties agreed was a mandate to find compromise and avoid the so-called fiscal cliff, Democratic and Republican congressional leaders also continued to sharply disagree over the key issue of whether top tax rates should be raised to help resolve the looming crisis.
POLITICS:
1. Little to show for cash flood by big donors
....While record outside spending affected the election in innumerable ways, the prizes most sought by the emerging class of megadonors remained outside their grasp.
2. Senate races expose extent of Republicans' gender gap

....Going into the election, Republican candidates knew they faced obstacles with minorities and women, but candidates' comments on rape were not among them.
3. As electorate changes, fresh worry for GOP
....The demographic changes in the American electorate have left many Republicans, who have not won as many electoral votes as Pres. Obama did on Tuesday in 24 years, concerned about their future.
4. Triumphant Obama faces new foe in 'Second-term Curse'
....It is almost a truism that presidential second terms are less successful than first terms, especially domestically.

Sports Headlines:
1. NCAAFB: Alabama defense fears but one man

....Coach Nick Saban expects a lot from the Crimson Tide linemen and linebackers, and the last thing they want to do is disappoint him.
a. Falling out of bounds, and into the spotlight

....The sideline, and the end line, is the domain of football’s acrobats, its tightrope walkers and contortionists, where the fundamental art of catching a pass becomes a balance-beam routine.
2. MLB: Banged up, worn down, heading home

....After the Yankees’ fall from the playoffs, catcher Russell Martin lived in a daze with more questions than answers and a future unknown.
3. NBA: No Jumping to conclusions in the NBA
....Sportswriters seek meaning in the first week of basketball season, with the Knicks 3-0 and the Lakers 1-4.
a. After their fast start, Knicks have plenty of idle time

....The Knicks are 3-0 for the first time since 1999, but over the next 10 days, the team will be resting and practicing far more often than playing games.
c. Miami shows Nets they have a long way to go
....LeBron James had 20 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists in just 30 minutes as the Heat handed the Nets their worst loss of the season 103.73.

Thought for Today
"Not being able to govern events, I govern myself."
--[/i]Michel de Montaigne (1532-1592) French Renaissance scholar, philosopher, writer


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[Deleted]

Good evening to you...you always teach me things.

Have a pleasant night.

[the flying reindeer]

National Donor Sabbath, Nov 9-11
Good evening from Tuxy and me
This is the 312th day of 2012 with 53 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 5:43 p.m., it's cloudy , temp 46ºF [Feels like 46ºF], winds WSW @ 13 mph, humidity 63%, 30.13 in and steady, dew point 34ºF, chance of precipitation 20%.

Today in History:
1780--Gen. Thomas Sumter evaded then captured the wounded Maj. James Wemyss, second most hated man in the British army, in South Carolina.
1841--Edward VII of England (eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert) was born at Buckingham Palace
1862--Gen. Ambrose Burnside assumed command of the Union Army of the Potomac following the removal of George B. McClellan.
1872-- a warehouse fire in Boston destroyed hundreds of buildings and killed 14 people and led to new system of firefighting and prevention.
1875--Indian Inspector E.C. Watkins submitted a report stating that hundreds of Sioux and Cheyenne Indians associated with Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse were hostile.
1888--Mary Jane Kelly, the last known murder victim of Jack the Rippper, was murdered.
1901--Pres. Roosevelt established a naval base in the Philippines at Subic Bay, returned to the Philippines in 1992.
1907--the Cullinan Diamond was presented to King Edward VII of Greeat Britain on his birthday.
1908--on the first foreign trip by a US president, Theodore Roosevelt traveled to the construction site of the Panama.Canal.
1914--in the first ever wartime action by an Australian warship, the cruiser Sydney sank the German raider Emden in the Indian Ocean during World War I.
1918--Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm II announced that he would abdicate.
1923--in Munich, armed policeman and troops loyal to Germany's democratic government crushed the Nazi's Beer Hall Putsch.
1933--Pres. Roosevelt set up the Civil Works Administration as an emergency depression agency to provide jobs for the unemployed.
1934--Carl Sagan, the astronomer whose books and television show informed millions of Americans, was born; died in 1996 at age 62.
1935--United Mine Workers president John L. Lewis and other labor leaders formed the Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO).
1938--German Nazis launched Kristallnacht ("Night of the Broken Glass'), a campaign of terror against Jewish people and their homes and businesses.
1953--the US Supreme Court ruled major league baseball isn't within the scope of federal anti-trust laws.
1953--Dylan Thomas, Welsh Poet and playwright, died from an overdose of morphine.
1965--the Great Northeast Blackout: the biggest power failure in US history occurred as several states and parts of Canada were hit by a series of power failures lasting up to 13 1/2 hours.
1965--Roger Allen LaPorte, a 22-year-old member of the Catholic Worker movement and antiwar protestor, iset himself on fire in front of the UN headquarters in New York.
1967--Rolling Stone magazine was first published with John Lennon and the "How I Won the War" movie he starred in on the cover.
1970--the US Supreme Court refused to hear a challenge by the state of Massachusetts about the constitutionality of the Vietnam War by a 6-3 vote.
1970--former French genral and president Charles De Gaulle died at age 79.
1971--John Emil List, a Sunday school teacher and Boy Scout troop leader in Westfield, N.J., murdered his family and disappeared for 18 years when the story appeared on America's Most Wanted.
1976--the UN General Assembly approved 10 resolutions condemning apartheid in South Africa.
1984--the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington was completed by the addition of the Frederick Hart statue called "Three Servicemen."
1989--East German opened the Berlin Wall, allowing travel from East to West Berlin.
1995--Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat visited Israel for the first time to offer his personal condolences to the wife of slain Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
1997--the US Congress approved a new charter for the Food and Drug Administration that allowed the agency to streamline and speed up its procedures for approving new drugs.
2001--World Freedom Day was created to celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall.
2001--the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif fell to the northern alliance in the first major territorial advance for the rebels against the ruling Taliban.
2005--three suicide bombers carried out nearly simultaneous attacks on three U.S.-based hotels in Amman, Jordan, killing 60 victims and wounding hundreds.
2006--concessions by incumbent Republicans in Virginia and Montana gave the Democratic Party a majority in the US Senate in the midterm elections.
2011--Penn State fired longtime head football coach Joe Paterno and university president Graham Spanier over their handling of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse allegations.

World News Capsules:
1. On way out, China's leader offers praise for the status quo
....The departing Chinese leader, Hu Jintao, has made it clear that he has little interest in the bold changes that many Chinese now see as long overdue.
a. Huge state enterprises pose test in China's transition
....The politically connected state sector may threaten China’s economy and political stability, but it is unclear whether leaders will take action.
b. Amid self-immolations by Tibetans, silence from Chinese intellectuals
....While Tibetan rights advocates have long been inured to impassive officials, they are troubled by the lack of reaction from Chinese intellectuals and the liberal online commentariat..
2. Stirring the pot and striking fear in India
....Arvind Kejriwal has become an unlikely bomb thrower in Indian politics. His solution to corruption? The formation of a new political party, in time for national elections in 2014.
3. Iran fired on military drone in first such attack, US says
....Pentagon officials said that while a surveillance drone targeted in international airspace over the Persian Gulf last week was not hit, the incident prompted a strong protest to Tehran.
a. Iran, saying aircraft trespassed, confirms drone shooting episode

....Iran’s defense minister on Friday confirmed that Iranian warplanes had fired shots at an American drone last week but said they had taken the action after the unmanned aircraft had entered Iranian airspace.
4. Japan seeks tighter pact with US to confront China
....Japan’s defense minister said that he wants to update guidelines that govern how the two allies’ militaries would cooperate during a potential maritime clash with China.
5. Palestinians renew push for enhanced UN status
....The distribution of a draft resolution to all UN member states is the first practical act in an effort likely to pit the Palestinians against Israel.
6. At a Manila hospital, making mothers by the minute
....As a reproductive health bill advances in the Philippines, it is peak baby-delivery season, with women and their newborns are sleeping two to a bed at one Manila hospital.
7. Putin replaces top military leaders
....Pres.Vladimir V. Putin replaced the head of the Russian military’s general staff and a number of top generals.
a. Russian reporer's murder was mant as a message, investigator says
....The motive behind the 2006 murder of Anna Politkovskaya, a reporter who was an unstinting critic of the Kremlin, was to instill fear in journalists, a top criminal investigator said.
8. A microcosm of the new South Africa
....The South African township of Soweto - famed for its resistance to apartheid - captured the imagination of Per-Anders Pettersson when he covered South Africa's first democratic elections in 1994. Nearly twenty years later, its bustle still appeals.
9. Syrian refugee flow escalates sharply

....Eleven thousand Syrians have fled to neighboring countries in the last 24 hours — 9,000 of them into Turkey alone — because of the civil war, United Nations refugee agency officials said.
a. Missteps by rebels erode their support among Syrians
....The Syrian public is increasingly disgusted with the actions of some rebels, including poorly planned missions, senseless destruction, criminal behavior and the coldblooded killing of prisoners.

US News Capsules:
1. Petraeus steps down as CIA chief, saying he had an affair

....After an investigation into the possible compromise of a computer wound up uncovering an affair, David H. Petraeus, the director of the CIA, resigned, citing “extremely poor judgment” after 37 years of marriage. The highly decorated general had been expected to remain in Pres. Obama’s administration
2. With Obama re-elected, states scramble over health law
....After years of political and legal threats that kept Pres. Obama's health care law in a state of uncertainty, his re-election all but assures it will survive. The next hurdle is making it work.
3. Hurricane Sandy: Subways find magic on the way to a speedy recovery
....After the most devastating storm in the New York City transit system's history, most major lines were back in service within a week - quicker than almost anyone could have imagined.
4. Man held in shootings that terrorized Michigan town
....Police in Wixom, Mich., arrested a suspect they believe to be a highway gunman responsible for 24 attacks, which made residents of the Detroit suburb nervously eye each passing car for weeks.
5. A brand icon in need of some oversight

....Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia is struggling, and the lavish compensation for its founder, Martha Stewart, and her sway over the board may be part of the company’s problem.
6. In veterans' aid, growth pains
....Since 2001, more than 7,800 nonprofit groups have registered with the federal government to care for troops, veterans and their families.
a, The dogs of peace

....Many US war veterans are coming home with debilitating post-traumatic stress disorder. But thanks to service dogs, some vets are finding peace.
7. In view of a changing South, Court will revisit Voting Act

....The Supreme Court agreed to hear a challenge to the part of the act that requires some states with a history of discrimination in voting to get federal approval before making any changes to the way they hold elections.
8. Washington counties drop marijuana misdemeanor possession cases in light of vote

....The prosecutor's offices for two Washington counties - including the one that contains Seattle - announced today they will dismiss 175 misdemeanor marijuana possession charges, days after the state's voters legalized the drug.
POLITICS:
1. Colorado Democrats elect state's first gay speaker
....Moments after being elected speaker of the House, Mark Ferrandino vowed to reintroduce a bill to allow civil unions for gay couples that Republicans had blocked in the spring.
2. Debt ceiling complicates a tax shift
....Republican congressional leaders have made clear that the debt ceiling will be part of talks over the so-called fiscal cliff, with many members unwilling to raise the ceiling without a broader deal.
3. For Obama, housing policy presents 2nd-term headaches
....Pres. Obama's economic team has said it wants the housing market to work without significant government support, but it has taken few steps to advance that idea.
4. Obama and Boehner circle each othr on budget impasse
....Pres. Obama and the House speaker, John A. Boehner, circled each other warily, laying out competing approaches on the budget while professing pursuit of common ground.

Sports Headlines:
1. NBA: Lakers fire coach after 1-4 start

....The Lakers had title expectations in Coach Mike Brown’s second season after trading for center Dwight Howard and point guard Steve Nash.
a. Nets are caught between hype and a slow start
....The franchise received plenty of attention for moving to Brooklyn, but a subsequent 1-2 start, including a 30-point loss against the Heat, has not gone unnoticed.
2. NFL: Giants' fuzzy pal: Blue bear, blue bear, what do you see?

....One of the few constants in the Giants’ run to two Super Bowl titles in the past five years has been the presence of Little Bear, the offensive line’s prized stuffed animal.
a. Plenty of options for the Falcons
....The Saints may struggle to stop the Falcons' passing offense, which has become very dangerous as Matt Ryan has developed into a top-tier quarterback.
b. Colts on a roll? It's unreal
....The Colts are 6-3 and a great story, but there are significant obstacles ahead: The next game is at New England.
c. Jets bound for stadium that's known for noise
....Facing the Seahawks in Seattle, the Jets will be playing in what Rex Ryan considers “about as tough a venue as there is in the National Football League."
3. NHL: Union says wide gap remains as NHL talks continue
....The NHL and the players’ association met in New York for the 4th straight day as the talks between the two sides intensified on Day 55 of the lockout.
4. MLB: Baseball's new drug problem: fast-acting synthetic testosterone
....Baseball has a drug problem again and is engaged in discussions with the players' association regarding what to do about it. The very specific problem is the use of fast-acting synthetic testosterone, the primary performance-enhancing drug of choice among emboldened players (Ryan Braun, Melky Cabrera, Bartolo Colon and Yasmani Grandal) who believe they can avoid detection with dosages that are carefully timed and controlled.
a. Architects of success, from sshadows or spotlight
....Oakland General Manager Billy Beane is among the most popular general managers with reporters, Baltimore’s Dan Duquette the least. Each brought his team unexpected success in 2012.

Thought for Today
"Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what's right."
--Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University

[the flying reindeer]

Chicken Soup for the Soul Day

Good evening from Tuxy and me
This is the 315th day of 2012 with 50 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 8:19 p.m., it's mostly cloudy , temp 61ºF [Feels like 61ºF], winds S @ 16 mph, humidity 80%, pressure 30.00 in and falling, dew point 50ºF, chance of precipitation 90%.

Today in History:
1775--Upon hearing of England's rejection of the so-called Olive Branch Petition , Abigail Adams wrote to her husband, "Let us separate, they are unworthy to be our Brethren."
1793--Jean Sylvain Bailly, first mayor of Paris after the storming of the Bastille, was guillotined.
1799--the Leonids meteor shower, the first on record was observed by Andrew Ellicott Douglass, an early American astronomer, on a ship off the Florida coast.
1815--Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the pioneering American women's rights leader and social reformer, was born.; died 1902 at age 87
1817--Bahaullah, founder of the Bahai faith, was born.
1847--James Young Simpson, a British physician), became the first to use chloroform as an anaesthetic.
1864--the destruction of Atlanta begins when Union Gen. William T. Sherman ordered the business district of Atlanta, Ga, destroyed
1867--after more than a decade of ineffective military campaigns and infamous atrocities, the US reconsidered war with Plains Indians and initiated peace negotiations.
1918-- one day after an armistice, the Allied fleet passed through the Dardanelles that had been the site of a disastrous Allied naval operation.
1920--Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis was elected baseball's first commissioner.
1929--Grace Kelly, American actress and wie of Prince Ranier of Monaco, was born; died 1982 in an automobile accident.
1942--the naval Battle of Guadalcanal began with the US winning eventually a major victory over the Japanese.
1944--32 British Lancaster bombers attacked and sank the mighty German battleship Tirpitz.
1948--seven Japanese military and government officials, including Gen. Hideki Tojo, received death sentences from the international war crimes tribunal.
1954--Ellis Island, the gateway to America, shut it doors after processing more than 12 million immigrants since opening in 1892
1969--journalist Seymour Hersh broke the My Lai massacre charges by the US Army against 1st Lt. William Calley.
1979--Pres. Carter responded to a potential threat to national security by stopping the importation of petroleum from Iran.
1980--the U.S. planetary probe Voyager I flew within 77,000 miles of Saturn and sent back the first vivid photos of the planet..
1982--Yuri Andropov assumed power in the Soviet Union Following the death of Leonid Brezhnev.
1984--England's one pound note was replaced by a coin after more than 150 years of usage.
1985--Xavier Suarez was elected Miami's first Cuban-American mayor
1990--Crown Prince Akihito formally assumed the Chrysanthemum Throne as the 125th Emperor of Japan.
1997--Ramzi Yousef was found guilty of masterminding the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.
1999--Pres. Clinton signed a sweeping measure knocking down Depression-era barriers and allowing banks, investment firms and insurance companies to sell each other's products.
2001--an American Airlines flight out of John F. Kennedy (JFK) Airport crashed into a Queens neighborhood after takeoff, killing 265 people.
2004--Scott Peterson iwa convicted of murdering his wife Laci and their unborn son.
2007--Ira Levin , American novelist, playwright and songwriter best known for Rosemary's Baby and The Stepford Wives, died from a heart attack.
2009--US Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan was charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder in the Fort Hood, Tex., massacre.
2011--Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi finally resigned.
2011--The Arab League voted to suspend Syria over the country's bloody crackdown on protesters.

World News Capsules:
1. To stem protests, China mandates 'social risk' reviews for big projects

....The government hopes to avoid the large and increasingly violent environmental protests of the last year, which halted several industrial projects.
a. Signs of wrangling in China over top military post

....The question of whether China’s departing president, Hu Jintao, will stay on as the top overseer of military affairs, or retire completely, remains unresolved.
b. China's banking leaders seek to calm concerns over loan quality
....Chinese officials tried to allay concerns that the country was allowing its banking system to grow at a reckless pace as a way to sustain short-term economic growth/
2. BBC chairman says network needs radical overhaul

....The BBC is in a "ghastly mess" after its bungled coverage of a decades-old sexual abuse scandal and requires a fundamental shake-up, the chairman of the BBC Trust said.
a. Turmoil spreads at BBC as two more executives step aside
....The crisis over the BBC’s reporting of a decades-old sexual abuse scandal deepened on Monday as two more senior executives withdrew at least temporarily from their jobs.
b. Radical preacher Abu Qatada wins appeal

....A British court ruled that the preacher known as Abu Qatada, who was convicted in absentia for his involvement in terrorist bombing plots in the late 1990s, cannot be deported from Britain to his native Jordan.
3. Blogger who died in prison was not tortured, Iran says
....An influential Iranian lawmaker said Sattar Beheshti, a blogger who died while in captivity, had not been tortured during interrogations, but called for further investigation
4. US fears Hezbollah operative held in Iraq may go free
....A senior Iraqi official has told the Obama administration that Iraq no longer has a legal basis to hold Ali Musa Daqduq, who has been accused of helping to kill American troops in Iraq.
5. In Mozambique, the burdens of progress
....As Mozambique receives huge international investments in mining and natural gas, some find jobs and new opportunities while others find displacement and despair
6. Evictions on the rise in Spain

....The number of Spanish families facing eviction continues to mount at a dizzying pace — hundreds a day, housing advocates say — and may spiral higher with Friday’s report that the unemployment rate has passed 25%.
7. As Syrian opposition unifies, new mayhem on Turkish and Israel borders

....Syria pulled both Turkey and Israel closer to its civil war on Monday, bombing a rebel-held Syrian village near the Turkish border and provoking Israeli tank commanders in Golan Heights.
a. With eye on aid, Syria opposition signs unity deal
....An umbrella group could pave the way for international diplomatic recognition and more foreign funds and military assistance.
b. Israel strikes at Syria again in response to mortar attacks

....For a second consecutive day, Israel confronted fire along its border with Syria as the Israeli army said it fired shells toward the source of a mortar shell, hitting Syrian artillery units.
8. Tunisia battles over pulpits, and revolt's legacy
....In the aftermath of Tunisia's revolution, a heated competition is on to redefine the nation religiously and politically

US News Capsules:
1. Officials say FBI knew of Petraeus affair in the summer

....FBI agents recognized the stakes of any investigation tied to David H. Petraeus, the C.I.A. director who resigned Friday, but were wary of exposing a private affair with no criminal or security implications.
a. Lawmakers question FBI handling of Petraeus affair
....Lawmakers expressed concern that the FBI investigation that led to the resignation of David H. Petraeus was conducted without the knowledge of the White House or Congress.
2. Cuomo to seek $30 billion in aid for storm relief
....Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's request would exceed the roughly $12 billion in FEMA disaster aid currently available in Washington without action from Congress, where there is likely to be strong opposition to additional spending.
3. Construction site offers fleeting glimpse of the Civil War past

....The construction of a courthouse in Fredericksburg, Va., had the unexpected effect of exposing an almost perfectly preserved scene from a ferocious 1862 battle.
4. Child's education, but parents' crushing loans
....Millions of parents who have taken out loans to pay for their children's college education make up a less visible generation in debt.
5. Not the standard textbook tales
....Showtime's 10-part documentary "Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States" focuses on the country's missteps over the decades.
6. Elmo puppeteer accused of underage relationship

....Kevin Clash, the puppeteer behind Elmo on "Sesame Street," has taken a leave of absence after a claim that he had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old boy. Mr. Clash has said the relationship started only after the person, now 23, was over the age of 18.
7. For one night at Fox, news tops agenda
....After it became clear that Pres. Obama had won re-election, Fox was confronted with a stark choice between advocacy and news. It chose news.
8. At 97, he has a book (or 2) left

....Herman Wouk, author of 1950s blockbusters like The Caine Mutiny and Marjorie Morningstar, returns with The Lawgiver, a novel made of text messages, e-mails and Skype transcripts
9. US to be world's top oil producer in 5 years, report says

....The International Energy Agency also said the US would be a net exporter by 2030, partly because of advances in unlocking reserves in shale rock.
10. Alzheimer's precursors evident in brain at early age
....A study of a large family with Alzheimer’s found that its precursors begin even earlier than previously thought, and that the brain may deteriorate in more ways than has been documented before.
POLITICS:
1. In debt talks, Obama is ready to go beyond Beltway

....Rather than hunker down in negotiations as he did in 2011, aides said, the president will try to rally the public for an accord that could set the tone for his second term.
2. Google or Gallup? Changes in voters' haits reshape polling world
....Whether polling firms conducted their surveys online or called cellphones made a big difference in predicting the election.
3. Uncounted votes in Arizona raise controversy
....The outcome of several races remained a mystery in Arizona as officials struggled to count a record number of early and provisional ballots.
4. Hard-nosed approach wins votes in South, but lacks broader appeal
....Politicians who have been winning in the mid- and Deep South are now discussing how their conservative platforms could be altered for a national electorate.

Sports Headlines:
1. NFL: Quarterbacks' concussions will shape rest of season

....Head injuries sustained by quarterbacks Jay Cutler, Michael Vick and Alex Smith could have unintended consequences in Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco.
2. NBA: The Lakers change direction and hire D'Antoni as coach


....The Lakers hired Mike D’Antoni as their coach Sunday night, spurning Phil Jackson, who faces daunting challenges in Los Angeles unlike those he faced in Phoenix and then with the Knicks in New York..
3. NHL: Contract issues emerge as final hurdle to NHL labor talks
....Owners and the union have drawn close to a deal that would end the lockout, but they remain far apart on when players can become free agents, among other contractual matters.
4. Tennis: Top-ranked Djokovic tops Federer to win ATP finals
....Novak Djokovic recovered from early breaks in both sets to beat Roger Federer 7-6 (6), 7-5 Monday in the championship match at the ATP finals.
5. Blind adventurer prepares to challenge Colorado River in a kayak

....Erik Weihenmayer, the first person without sight to summit Mount Everest, will next attempt to descend the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon in a kayak.
6. Armstrong cuts official ties with Livestrong charity

----Seeking to protect his cancer charity from more damage from his doping controversy, Lance Armstrong steps further away from Livestrong.

Thought for Today
"Hold a book in your hand and you're a pilgrim at the gates of a new city."
--Anne Michaels (b. 1958) Canadian poet and novelist.

[the flying reindeer]

10th Annual I Love to Write Day
Good evening from Tuxy and me
This is the 318th day of 2012 with 47 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 5:07 p.m., it's fair , temp 43ºF [Feels like 43ºF], winds E @ 3 mph, humidity 51%, pressure 30.32 in and steady, dew point 26ºF, chance of precipitation 0%.

Today in History:
1708--William Pitt the Elder, English statesman, was born; died 1778 at age 69.
1777--the Articles of Confederation adopted by the 2bd Continental Congress.
1806--Lt. Zebulon Pike spots an imposing mountain that looked "like a small blue cloud," later named Pike's Peak in his honor.
1864--Union Gen. William T. Sherman began his March to the Sea by torching the industrial section of Atlanta and pulling away from his supply lines.
1867--the first stock ticker was unveiled in New York City
1859--the final installment of Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities was published.
1887--Georgia O'Keeffe, one of America's foremost 20th-century painters, was born; died 1986 at age 98.
1889--After a 49-year reign, Pedro II, the second and last Brazil emperor was deposed in a military coup.
1891--Erwin Rommel, German field marshal, was born; committed suicide 1944 after participating in a plot against Hiler at age 52.
1906--Curtis LeMay, US Air Force general in command of the Strategic Air Force, was born; died 1990 at age 83.
1917--76-year-old Georges Clemenceau was named French prime minister for the 2nd time.
1920--the first assembly of the League of Nations was called to order in Geneva, Switzerland
1926--the National Broadcasting Co. debuted with a radio network of 24 stations.
1932--Petula Clark, English pop singing star ("Downtown"), turns age 80
1939--the cornerstone for the Jefferson Memorial was laid in Washington, DC.
1940--the first 75,000 men were called to armed forces duty under peacetime conscription.
1940--actor Sam Waterston (Law and Order) turns 72
1943--Heinrich Himmler gave the order that Gypsies and those of mixed Gypsy blood were to be put on "the same level as Jews and placed in concentration camps."
1956--Elvis Presley made his movie debut in Love Me Tender.
1957--in an interview with an American reporter, Nikita Khrushchev claimed that the Soviet Union had missile superiority and challengeed America to a missile "shooting match."
1959--a farmer, his wife and two of their children were found murdered in their home in Holcomb, Kan. – a crime that was the subject of Truman Capote's non-fiction novel In Cold Blood.
1965--at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, 28-year-old Craig Breedlove set a new land-speed record—600.601 miles per hour—in his car, the Spirit of America.
1966--Gen. Earle Wheeler, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, heckled at Brown University by 60 students protesting Vietnam.
1969--a quarter of a million protesters staged a peaceful demonstration in Washington, D.C., against the Vietnam War.
1977--Pres. Carter welcomed Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the shah of Iran to Washington, DC for a two day state visit.
1977--Peter Mark Matthew Phillips, son of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips, grandson of Queen Elizabeth II,, was born.
1984--Baby Fae, an infant who had received a baboon's heart to replace her own, died three weeks after the transplant.
1985--Great Britain and Ireland signed an accord giving Dublin an official consultative role in governing Northern Ireland.
1988--the Palestine National Council, the legislative body of the PLO, proclaimed the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
1989--tornadoes struck six Southern states, killing 17 people and injuring 463, causing at least $100 million in damage in Huntsville, Ala.
1993--a judge in Mineola, N.Y., sentenced Joey Buttafuoco to six months in jail for the statutory rape of Amy Fisher, who shot and wounded Buttafuoco's wife, Mary Jo.
2002--Hu Jintao replaced Jiang Zemin as China's Communist Party leader.
2005--the official death toll from Hurricane Katrina stood at 972 with more bodies found as Louisiana residents returned home more than a month after the search for victims had ended.
2007--Cyclone Sidr, with winds of more than 150 mph, slammed into Bangladesh, killing more than 3,400 people with tens of 1000s injured and 1 million homeless.
2007--most of the shots fired by the private US security firm Blackwater killing 17 civilians in Baghdad Sept. 16 were unwarranted, a preliminary FBI report said.
2011--100s of police officers in riot gear raided the Occupy Wall Street encampment in New York City, evicting hundreds of protesters and then demolishing the tent city.

World News Capsules:
1. Ending Congress, China presents new leadership headed by Xi Jinping

....The departing general secretary of the party, Hu Jintao, prepared to hand power to Xi Jinping, son of a revered revolutionary leader who was also an architect of China’s economic transformation.
a. A promise to tackle China's problems, but few hints of a shift in path

....Xi Jinping gave his first speech as general secretary of the Communist Party, impressing many Chinese by avoiding slogans but giving no indication as to whether he favors fundamental reforms. All members of China’s Politburo Standing Committee, the group of politicians who rule the country, have close connections with former leaders. The top two figures of the new administration were also part of the previous government.
2. Egypt torn between allies in Gaza and treaty with Israel
....Pres. Mohamed Morsi is having to reconcile his Islamist firebrand side with his desire as a newly elected leader for stability, revival and friendly relations with Israel’s Western allies..
3. Workers across Europe synchronize protests

....The breadth of the demonstrations, which affected scores of cities, reflected widespread unhappiness with worsening economic prospects in Europe
4. Crises at BBC brought rules, then a failure
....The corporation established elaborate procedures that placed more formal responsibility for delicate decisions in the hands not of individual managers, but of rigid hierarchies.
a. Former politician calls child sex abuse allegations 'rubbish'
....Lord Alistair McAlpine, who was wrongly implicated in child sexual abuse on a BBC program, said in an interview that he should have been called before the segment aired.
5. Hospital death in Ireland rnews fight over abortion
....A Hindu woman was reportedly denied a potentially lifesaving abortion while she was having a miscarriage and died.
6. Ferocious Israeli assault on Gaza kills a leader of Hamas

.....Israel hit at least 20 targets in aerial attacks that killed the military commander of Hamas, damaged Israel's fragile relations with Egypt and escalated the risks of a new war in the Middle East.
a. Casualties rise in Gaza battle; Hamas rockets target Tel Aviv

....As Hamas militants fired dozens of rockets and Israel intensified its attacks in response, neither side appeared ready to dial back the confrontation, despite outside pleas for restraint.
b. In Israeli border town, rubble and blood
....When a rocket crashed into a building in Kiryat Malachi, or City of Angels, on Thursday morning, it took the first Israeli casualties in this round of violence.
7. Protests over gas prices in Jordan turn deadly
....Opposition leaders scrambled to harness a spontaneous eruption of anger on the second day of demonstrations..
8. In Nairobi, Kenya, finding the beauty in African sales

....The SuzieBeauty counter at Junction Shopping Mall in Nairobi. The cosmetics line, which was introduced in January, is trying to capture some of the sales now going to imported brands. Local cosmetics companies are growing but they still struggle with expansion and the continent's sprawling informal trade system.
9. Myanmar university, awaiting Obama, patches over a long neglect
....Yangon University, which fell into disrepair during military rule, is being spruced up for Pres. Obama's visit on Nov. 19.
10. Lessons for US from a flood-prone land
....The Netherlands has been hailed for its ideas about protecting cities from flooding, but replicating its success would require a reshaping of American approaches.
11. Nigeria, on the fashion catwalk

....Lagos Fashion & Design Week showcases the work of the country's diverse community of designers.
12. A Pakistani lawyer takes on the army and pays in bruises
....Inam Ur Raheem, who has challenged the tenure of Pakistan’s supreme military commander, has entered perilous waters at a time when the military leadership’s longstanding grip on power is being tested.
12. Securing chemical arms in Syria a vast task, Pentagon says
....Any military effort to seize Syria’s stockpiles, the Pentagon said, would need upward of 75,000 troops — an estimate that stunned top administration officials.

US News Capsules:
1. We need to retreat from the beach
....We need an approach to our shorelines that takes account of rising sea levels, intensifying storms and continuing erosion.
2. Wal-Marat inquiry reflects alarm on corruption

....An inquiry is now looking at activities in Brazil, China and India, along with Mexico, Wal-Mart said. Its quarterly results showed lower-than-expected sales.
3. Adultery, an ancient crime that remains on many books
....In David H. Petraeus's state of residence, Virginia, as in 22 others, adultery remains a criminal act, a vestige of the way the law has tried to anchor sexual activity within marriage.
4. Panetta praises general linked to Petraeus scandal
....Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said "no one should leap to any conclusions" about Gen. John R. Allen, who is being investigated for e-mails he sent to a woman connected to the Petraeus affair.
a. Panetta orders review of ethics training for military officers
....The move comes amid a scandal that has ensnared Gen. John R. Allen, the NATO commander in Afghanistan, although officials said Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta had planned the review before the scandal broke.
5. Caffeinated drink cited in reports of 13 deaths
....A high-caffeine energy drink, 5-Hour Energy, has been cited as possibly being involved in 13 deaths, according to Food and Drug Administration records.
6. Colorado town, united by dying boy's plight, discovers baffling hoax

....The story of Alex Jordan, a football-loving 9-year-old with leukemia, inspired people in the mountain town of Gypsum. Now people are left to ask why.
7. ART: Relentless bidding, and record prices, for contemporary art at Christie's auction
....The auction brought in $412.2 million, the highest total ever for a contemporary art auction at Christie's, as collectors bid on the work of blue-chip artists for the second night in a row.
8. Novel about racial injustice wins National Book Award
....Louise Erdrich won the fiction award for her novel The Round House, while other awards were given for nonfiction, poetry, young people's literature and American letters.
a. How dead is the book business?
....The entire book industry may eventually become an arm of an infotainment giant.
9. Hip hop comes to men's wear

....20-something designers, bloggers, editors and stylists who grew up with rap music are bringing bravado to men's wear. Dao-Yi Chow says some think hip-hop is “still baggy jeans and big logos.”
10. Postal Service reports loss of $15 billion
....The loss, more than triple the deficit last year, includes a decline in revenue from mailing operations and accounting expenses related to the agency’s future retiree health benefits fund.
11. Alzheimer's tied to mutation harming immune response
....A mutation to a gene, TREM2, is suspected of interfering with the brain’s ability to prevent the buildup of toxic shards of a protein that accumulate in plaques on the brain.
12. A murder in the family

....With their father murdered and their mother dead of cancer, the Ammon twins, Greg and Alexa, try to make sense of their lives and a new documentary might help.
13. Terrorist attack on power grid could cause broad hardship, report says
....Terrorists could black out large segments of the United States for weeks or months by attacking the power grid and damaging components, a National Academy of Sciences report found
14. Curating a relief effort on the beach

....Klaus Biesenbach, director of the Museum of Modern Art P.S. 1, is committed to rebuilding the Rockaways after Hurricane Sandy.
POLITICS:
1. Obama details lines of battle in budget plan, and on Libya

....In his first news conference in eight months, President Obama signaled he would grapple with Republicans over tax rates and the handling of the attack on Americans in Benghazi.
2. GOP governors meet, amid whispers of 2016
....As Republicans examine how to recalibrate and regain their footing, they are moving forward without a clear national leader.
3. Gay vote proved a boon for Obama
....Pres. Obama and Mitt Romney won roughly an equal number of votes among straight voters, but the president carried the gay vote three to one.

Sports Headlines:
1. NCAAFB: Texas A&M hushes the Heisman hype over Manziel
....In an era of over-the-top Heisman Trophy campaigns, the Aggies are taking a different approach with the freshman quarterback sensation "Football" Johnny Manziel.
2. NFL: Jets' Tebow engulfed in a whirlwind
....Jets Coach Rex Ryan and the starting quarterback Mark Sanchez defended Tim Tebow, who has been criticized in a published report by unnamed teammates.
a. Roethlisberger hopes to return this year
....Ben Roethlisberger said he believed he could return this season despite spraining his right shoulder and sustaining what he called a dislocated rib in Monday night's overtime win against Kansas City.
3. MLB: Cabrera and Posey win baseball's MV: awards

....Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera was the first player to win the triple crown in 45 years, and San Francisco’s Buster Posey was the first catcher to win the National League batting title in 70 years.
4. Knicks battle perception that hot start is a mirage
....The Knicks’ 5-0 start has led many to question if they are for real. A game at San Antonio will begin to answer that. In his eighth N.B.A. season, J. R. Smith is averaging 18.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists, all higher than his career averages, in helping the Knicks to a 5-0 start.

Today's Headlines of Interest:
McCain skips Benghazi briefing, gets testy when questioned by CNN

Most of the Republican members of a Senate committee investigating the terrorist attack at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, skipped a classified briefing by administration officials on the incident Wednesday. The missing lawmakers included Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who at the time of the top-secret briefing held a press conference in the Capitol to call for the creation of a Watergate-type special Congressional committee to investigate how and why the attack took place. McCain, who has accused President Barack Obama of not telling the truth about the Benghazi attack, said that even though there are several committees involved in the probe, only a select committee could streamline the information flow and resolve the "many unanswered questions" about the tragedy.

When CNN approached McCain in a Capitol hallway Thursday morning, the senator refused to comment about why he missed the briefing, which was conducted by top diplomatic, military and counter-terrorism officials. Instead, McCain got testy when pressed to say why he wasn't there. "I have no comment about my schedule and I'm not going to comment on how I spend my time to the media," McCain said. When CNN noted that McCain had missed a key meeting on a subject the senator has been intensely upset about, McCain said, "I'm upset that you keep badgering me." While McCain refused to shed light on why he didn't show, his spokesman Brian Rogers emailed CNN a short time later with an explanation. He blamed it on a "scheduling error" but wouldn't provide any more detail. According to a Democratic aide on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, only three of the eight GOP members of the committee attended the two hour briefing that ran from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET. By contrast, seven of the nine Democratic members were there.

I saw the Wednesday interview with Sen. McCain when he tried to accuse the administration of a cover-up and complained of not being briefed on the Behghazi investigatioin. Not mentioning the fact that he was skipping the very briefing he was grousing about not receiving. The usualy hypocritical behavior of government officials.

Thought for Today
"The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness. "
--Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) Polish-born English author.

[the flying reindeer]

Sleep Comfort Month
Good evening from Tuxy and me
This is the 322nd day of 2012 with 43 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 3:07 p.m., it's fair , temp 47ºF [Feels like 47ºF], winds E @ 5 mph, humidity 56%, pressure 30.54 in and falling, dew point 32ºF, chance of precipitation 10%.

Today in History:
326--Old Saint Peter's Basilica was consecrated in Rome.
1307--William Tell, legendary hero of disputed historical authenticity, shot an apple off the head of his son.
1421--Zuiderzee (a shallow inlet of the North Sea) had one of its seawalls break flooding 72 villages in Holland and killing about 10,000 people.
1863--Pres. Lincoln traveled to Gettysburg.
1883--American and Canadian railroads began using four continental time zones to end the confusion of dealing with thousands of local times.
1886--Chester A. Arthur, the 21st president of the US, died in New York at age 56 from a cerebral hemmorage.
1905--Prince Karl of Iceland and Denmark was elected as King Haakon VII of Norway.
1916--Gen. Douglas Haig, commander of the British Expeditionary Force, called off the Battle of the Somme in France after nearly five months of mass slaughter.
1918--Latvia declares its independence from Russia .
1923--Alan B. Shepard, the first American astronaut to travel in space, was born in East Derry, N.H.; died 1998 at age 75.
1928--the first successful sound-synchronized animated cartoon, Walt Disney's "Steamboat Willie" starring Mickey Mouse, premiered in New York.
1929--Grand Banks earthquake, magnitude 7.2 in the Atlantic Ocean off the south coast of Newfoundland, snapped 12 submarine cables and led to a tsunami that killed 28 and left 10,000 homeless.
1936--Germany and Italy recognized the Spanish government of Francisco Franco.
1940--Hitler furious over Italy's debacle in Greece and met with Italian Foreeign Minister Galeazzo Ciano over Mussolini's disastrous invasion of Greece.
1947--Ballantyne's Department Store fire in New Zealand killed 41 (mostly employees) in New Zealand's worst fire ever.
1966--US Roman Catholic bishops did away with the rule against eating meat on Fridays.
1969--financier and diplomat Joseph P. Kennedy died in Hyannis Port, Mass., at age 81.
1976--Spain’s parliament approved a bill to establish a democracy after 37 years of dictatorship
1978--Peoples Temple founder Jim Jones led 100s of his followers in a mass murder-suicide at their agricultural commune in the South American nation of Guyana.
1985--"Calvin and Hobbes", a comic strip written and illustrated by Bill Watterson, made its debut.
1987--the US Congress issued its final report on the Iran-Contra scandal, saying Pres. Reagan bore "ultimate responsibility" for wrongdoing by his aides.
1987--King's Cross fire, a fire in a London subway station, killed 30 commuters and injures scores of others.
1988--Pres. Reagan signed legislation creating a Cabinet-level drug czar and providing the death penalty for drug traffickers who kill.
1991--Shiite Muslim kidnappers in Lebanon freed Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite after more than four years of captivity along with American educator Thomas M. Sutherland.
1996--Tony Silva, a world-renowned expert and outspoken protector of exotic birds, was sentenced to seven years in prison without parole for leading an illegal parrot smuggling operation.
1996--Volkswagen's "Dream Factory" opens in Resende, Brazil
2002--UN arms inspectors returned to Iraq after a four-year hiatus, calling on Saddam Hussein's government to cooperate with their search for weapons of mass destruction.
2003--the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled 4-3 that the state constitution guarantees gay couples the right to marry.

World News Capsules:
1. Fraud trial begins in multimillion-dolar Afghan bank scandal
....Nearly two dozen people, including the former chairman and the former chief executive of Kabul Bank, went on trial in the theft of millions of dollars.
a. More Taliban prisoners may be released
....The releases are expected to help bolster efforts by Afghanistan’s High Peace Council to start talks with the insurgents..
2. Family ties and hobnobbing trump merit at China helm
....Critics, including some Communist Party insiders, say China's process of selecting leaders produces a meritocracy of mediocrity.
3. Dozens killed, mostly children, in Egypt crash

....A train slammed into a school bus as it crossed tracks in a town south of Cairo, dragging the bus at least a half-mile, a witness said. All but two of the 50 dead were children.
4. France to let Syria Council establish ambassador
....Presi. François Hollande agreed to install an envoy just days after recognizing Syria’s newly formed opposition council.
5. For 60th year, Germany honors duty to pay holocaust victims

....The anniversary of the Luxembourg Agreement was observed in Berlin as the government reaffirmed its duty to continue paying reparations to Hitler’s victims.
6. Privatizing Greece, slowly but not surely
....As Greece redoubles its efforts to cut its debt and stoke its economy, privatization is viewed as a last hope for luring foreign cash. But the effort has been sputtering.
7. Alrady desperate, Haitian farmers are left hopeless after storm
....Haiti is slipping deeper into crisis, officials say, after the huge blow from Hurricane Sandy to the tiny nation still struggling to recover from the devastating earthquake of 2010.
8. Israel broadens its bombing in Gaza to include government sites

....Israel expanded its four-day assault on Gaza on Saturday to the civilian political infrastructure, leveling the headquarters of the Hamas prime minister and striking police and security buildings.
9. Even with a 'light footprint,' it's hard to sidestep the Middle East
....The war in Syria and other eruptions in the Middle East are testing an American policy approach that employs remote-control technology and at-a-distance diplomacy.
10. Obama's road to Myanmar is paved with new Asia intentions

....Pres. Obama is making his first overseas trip after the election to China's backyard as the US tries to increase its influence in the region.
a. In visit to Myanmar, Obama will see a nation that shaped his grandfather
....The president’s Kenyan grandfather, Hussein Onyango Obama, spent part of World War II in what was then called Burma as a cook for a British Army captain.
11. Palestine: Gaza violence is unabating as outsiders push for a truce

....Israel’s onslaught against the Gaza Strip continued for a 5th day with its deadliest strike so far, said to target a Palestinian militant tied to recent rocket attacks and likely to weigh on any discussion of a cease-fire.
a. Arms with a long reach help Hamas in Gaza
....Recent Israeli attacks have been aimed at cutting the supply chain of rockets that for the first time enable Hamas to strike as far as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
12. Russians look askance at antic-orruption drive even as new scandals arise
....Mushrooming scandals are unusual in Russia, given past reluctance to prosecute high-level officials, but as more pop up, some are wondering what has changed.

US News Capsules:
1. Diplomat on the rise, suddenly in turbulence

....Susan E. Rice, a blunt ambassador said to be a favored candidate for secretary of state, finds herself in the middle of a firestorm over the Benghazi attack.
2 Suit contests limits on online activities of sex offenders
....Under a new law passed by voters in California, sex offenders must inform the authorities of their e-mail addresses, user names and other Internet handles.
3. Counting the days till marijuana's legal
....With Colorado and Washington legalizing the recreational use of marijuana, the Seattle police are using a blog post called "Marijwhatnow" to inform residents.
4. As boom lures App creators, tough part is making a living

....App developers have turned cellphones and tablets into powerful tools, spawning a multibillion-dollar industry but making huge sacrifices in the process.
5. Gas boom country strives for economic afterglow

....Williamsport, Pa., and its surrounding area have made efforts to keep the benefits of the Marcellus Shale boom from evaporating in the event of a bust.
6. Parade truck in fatal train crash crossed tracks against signal, investigators say

....Federal officials said that the vehicle carrying veterans and their spouses in Midland, Tex., tried to cross the tracks seconds after the warning system was activated.
7. Body of one oil platform workers is found in Gulf

....The platform’s owner said crews would continue searching for the remaining man, who had been missing since Friday, when a fire that injured four others broke out.
POLITICS:
1. A search for 'common ground': Fiscal cliff negotiations begin

....Pres. Obama opened talks with congressional leaders about the so-called fiscal cliff, telling reporters that his hope is to find some "common ground." "My hope is that this will be the beginning of a fruitful process," he said. "Our challenge is to make sure that we can cooperate together."
2. Applause for the numbers machine
....In this election cycle, three groups deserve much admiration: people who run political polls, those who analyze the polls and those who figure out how to help campaigns connect with voters.
3. After Democrats gain across the country, Conservative voters wonder where they fit
....A blanket of baffled worry has descended on those who fear that traditional, rural and mostly white states are losing touch with an increasingly diverse and urban electorate.
4. Former aide to Giffords wins election to House
....The former chief of staff to Gabrielle Giffords, Ron Barber, had enough votes on Saturday to win the race for Arizona’s Second Congressional District.

Sports Headlines:
1. NCAAFB: A stunning one-two punch throws the BCS into chaos

....Minutes after No. 2 Kansas State was crushed by Baylor, No. 1 Oregon fell 14-17 in overtime to Stanford, leaving the Ducks' national titles all but vanished.
a. First loss leaves Kansas State with little hope
....Baylor struck again with another late-season upset, this time over No. 2 Kansas State with the win reshuffling the Bowl Championship Series picture.
b. UCLA clinches division by ending skid vs. Trojans
....A year after USC obliterated the Bruins, 50-0, UCLA clinched a spot in the Pacific-12 Conference title game with a 38-28 victory.
2. Sanchez and Jets end skid, changing the conversation, at least for now

....The Jets ended a three-game slide and improved to 4-6 with a pummeling of the Rams 27-13 behind a brilliant performance by Mark Sanchez and a defense that forced three turnovers.
a. NFL: NFL-ready rookie class is set to rewrite record book
....Led by a handful of well-prepared quarterbacks, rookies are having an unexpected impact in the NFL this season.
3. Knicks, with Felton driving offense, rebound against Pacers

....The Knicks topped the undermanned Pacers 88-78 in a mostly sluggish Sunday afternoon game at Madison Square Garden, bouncing back from their first loss of the season.
4. NHL: Inuit prospect skates the ice less traveled

....Skidmore College forward David Dupuis once dreamed of playing junior hockey in Quebec but was steered to a U.S. college by a former N.H.L. star.
a. NHL labor talks set to resume Monday
....Just over a week since the last set of failed negotiations, the NHL and the locked-out players union will return to the bargaining table Monday night.
5. GOLF: A golf club to divide them
....Victories with long putters by Ernie Els at the British Open and Guan Tianlang, 14, at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship have fueled debate over a possible ban.
6. NASCAR: Keselowski wins Sprint Cup championship

....Brad Keselowski stole the show at the season-opening Daytona 500 and ended the year under the biggest spotlight of them all Sunday by delivering Penske Racing its first Sprint Cup title.

Thought for Today
"Nothing ever becomes real till it is experienced -- even a proverb is no proverb to you till your life has illustrated it."
--John Keats (1795-1821) English poet

[the flying reindeer]

Pencil Day
Good evening from Tuxy and me
This is the 323rd day of 2012 with 42 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 5:27 p.m., it's fair, temp 49ºF [Feels like 49ºF], winds NE @ 3 mph, humidity 54%, pressure 30.31 in and falling, dew point 33ºF, chance of precipitation 10%.

Today in History:
1600--Charles I, King of England (1625-49), was born; beheaded by Parliament 1649 at age 48
1776--the Continental Congress pleaded for the states to send more soldiers to serve in the Continental Army.
1824-- a flood on the Neva River in Russia claimed an estimated 10,000 lives.
1863--Pres, Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address as he dedicated a national cemetery at the site of the Civil War battlefield in Pennsylvania.
1916--Goldwyn Pictures was formed by Samuel Goldfish with Edgar and Archibald Selwyn after which Goldfish legally changed his name to Goldwyn.
1917--Indira Gandhi, the former prime minister of India who served four terms over 15 years, was born in Allahabad; assassinated by her Sikh guard in 1984 at age 67.
1919--the US Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles
1919--Alan Young, comic actor (Mister Ed), turns 93.
1942--the Soviet Red Army under Gen/ Zhukov launched the great Soviet counteroffensive, Operation Uranua, that turned the tide against Nazi Germany in the Battle of Stalingrad.
1954--the first automatic toll collection machine went into service at the Union Toll Plaza on New Jersey's Garden State Parkway.
1955--National Review, a bi-weekly Conservative news magazine, was published for the first time.
1959--Ford Motor Co. announced it was halting production of the unpopular Edsel.
1967--a Catholic priest, Chaplain Charles Watters of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, received the Medal of Honor for among the paratroopers during intense fighting, giving encouragement and first aid to the wounded.
1969--Apollo 12 astronauts Charles "Pete" Conrad and Alan Bean made man's 2nd landing on the moon.
1971--Cambodians appeal to Saigon for help as the communist Khmer Rouge force and their North Vietnamese allies moved closer to its capital, Phnom Penh.
1976--Patty Hearst released on bail pending the appeal of her conviction for participating in a 1974 San Francisco bank robbery.
1977--Egyptian Pres. Anwar Sadat became the 1st Arab leader to visit Israel and sought a permanent peace settlement with Israel after secades of conflict.
1985--for the first time in eight years, Pres. Reagan and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev held their first summit meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.
1990--the pop duo Milli Vanilli was stripped of its Grammy Award after it was revealed that neither performer sang on the group's records.
1997--Bobbi McGaughey gave birth in Des Moines, Iowa to the first set of septuplets to survive infancy with all seven alive 10 years after.
1998--Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr laid out his evidence against Pres. Clinton before the House Judiciary Committee.
1998--Vincent Van Gogh's "Self-Portrait without beard" sold at auction for $71.5 million in New York City.
2001--Pres. Bush signed legislation to put airport baggage screeners on the federal payroll.
2006--the Wii, the Nintendo Co.'s game console, first went on sale.
2007--Amazon.com Inc. introduced the Kindle, an electronic book-reading device.

World News Capsules:
1. Freewheeling Afghan city of Herat fearful of US pullout

(In a dirty, bombed-out wasteland in the middle of Herat, 600-year-old minarets still stand, barely. Much of the city was destroyed during the war against the Soviet occupation.)
....A city that has modernized rapidly over the past 10 years now faces whispers of violence, tremors of economic downturn and calls by a local strongman to rearm against the Taliban. Residents of this prosperous city near the Iranian border fear a move backward as international forces and money depart.
a. Karzai orders Afghan takeover of prison at Bagram
....Pres. Karzai ordered Afghan forces to take control of the Bagram prison and accused American officials of violating a deal to hand over the facility, according to a statement issued Monday.
2. New Communnist Party chief in China denounces corruption
....The blunt remarks by Xi Jinping were made at a meeting of the Politburo, which announced a turnover of 15 members last week during the change in leadership.
3. Colombian rebels announce cease-fire during peace talks
....The rebel group FARC announced a unilateral cease-fire as guerrilla representatives met with government negotiators in Havana for peace talks aimed at ending a nearly 50-year war.
4. Congo rebels advancing on major city
....Fighting inched perilously close to Goma and UN forces turned to heavy aerial bombardments to stop a rebel advance.
a. Fighting breaks sstandoff between rebels and Congo forces
....Heavy shelling and gunfire on Monday broke a tense standoff between Congolese rebels on the outskirts of the eastern city of Goma and government soldiers backed by United Nations troops
5. Clouds lifting over Murdoch, he's out to buy again

....News Corporation delayed deals for more than a year as it dealt with a phone hacking scandal at one of its British publications.
a. Business sees risk of British exit from EU
....The leader of Britain's biggest business lobby issued a stark warning of the growing risk that the country would leave the European Union..
b. Church of England prepares for vote on female bishops
....While bishops and clerics are regarded as likely to endorse a compromise allowing traditionalist parishes to reject the authority of female bishops, the vote among lay members is less assured.
6. Anonymous declares 'cyberwar' on Israel

....The hacker collective claimed responsibility for taking down some sites and leaking passwords because of what it calls Israel's "barbaric" treatment of Palestinians.
a. Fear hits home in Israel

....While Israelis are protected by the Iron Dome missile interceptor system, there is still fear that one of the dozens of rockets fired from Hamas-controlled Gaza into Israel in recent days will strike nearby.
7. Iin an emerging Myanmar, vows of support from a visiting persident

....President Obama was greeted by tens of thousands of people lining the road from the airport - and by further promises of reform by the government — as he pledged financial assistance for a nation in transition.
8. Palestinians: Hamas gains favor in West Bank, at Palestinian Authority's expense

....Demonstrations in the West Bank show growing support for Hamas and contempt for the governing Palestinian Authority, which Washington considers the only partner for peace with Israel.
a. An outgunned Hamas tries to tap Islamists' growing clout

....As Israel and Hamas met separately with Egyptian officials for indirect talks about a truce in the ongoing Gaza fight, Hamas seemed to be trying to exert its sway over ideological allies in Egypt's government.
b. While trying to mediate, Egypt blames Israel for Gaza conflict

....A senior Egyptian official told foreign correspondents that the West was blaming the victims, which he said were the Palestinians.
c. Brigades that fire on Israel are shwoing a new discipline
....As many as 15,000 Qassam fighters are responsible for most of the rocket blitzes that have blanketed southern Israel in recent days, experts say.
d. Defining a target in the Gaza conflict
....Monday's Israeli attack on the Al Sharouk block, the second consecutive day that area was struck, continued to fuel the arguments about "pinpoint" targeting in the densely populated, urban Gaza Strip.
9. Spain seeks investment from Laatin America
....Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy used a weekend summit meeting to try to persuade Latin American leaders to invest more in his recession-hit country.
10. Islamist groups reject new Syrian opposition coalition

....The development underscored worries about the rising influence of religious fundamentalism amid the chaos of the bloody civil war in Syria.

US News Capsules:
1. Investors rush to beat threat of higher taxes
....With potential changes in the tax code set to take place on Jan. 1, investors and business owners have begun to protect their income before the end of the year.
2. Vetoing business as usual after the storm

....A flood barrier on the Thames, one of the ideas American experts are looking at in the wake of the destruction wrought by Hurricane Sandy. Fixing things in New York to avoid another hurricane catastrophe is a no-brainer. What’s standing in the way is democracy.
a. As coasts rebuild and US pays, repeatedly, the critics ask why
....Federal subsidies have allowed coastal communities to rebuild after storms, with little consideration of whether it makes sense to do so in disaster-prone areas.
b. Fear and anxiety amid move to raze damaged homes
....Many homeowners were confused by red-tag notices left on their doors, and concerned about the potential costs of demolition.
3. Ruling soon on isolation of inmates with HIV
....A federal judge in Alabama is to rule this week on a policy that keeps HIV-positive inmates segregated from the general prison population.
4. Muscular body image lures boys into gym, and obsession
....It is not just girls these days who are consumed by an unattainable body image. Many boys have begun to take unhealthy measures to reshape their bodies.
5. Protests baked by union get Wal-Mart's attention
....Wal-Mart has filed a complaint seeking to prevent a group known as OUR Walmart from staging protests against the company on Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year.
6. Solar companies seek ways to build an oasis of electricity

....While most solar panel systems are tied to the electrical grid and susceptible to widespread power failures, there are ways to tap solar energy when the grid goes down.
7. European countries seek more taxes from US multinational companies
....European governments are going after American companies, like Google and Amazon.com, that pay little or no taxes in Europe, despite generating billions of dollars in revenue on the continent.
POLITICS:
1. In Wyoming, Conservatives feeling left behind

....A blanket of baffled worry has descended on those who fear that traditional, rural and mostly white states are losing touch with an increasingly diverse and urban electorate.
2. Back on Hill, Ryan remains a fiscal force
....Rep. Paul D. Ryan has been tapped to help strike a deal to avoid big tax increases and spending cuts by the end of the year, and to bring along fellow Republicans.
3. Is secession bid more than cry of rage?

....Timothy Stanley says to dismiss the disgruntled conservatives who want to break from the country would be a mistake. Their anger is a significant sign of division in America.

Sports Headlines:
1. NFL: Patriots have lost Gronkowski, but not their firepower

....Although tight end Rob Gronkowski may miss the rest of the regular season with a broken arm, opponents — starting with the Jets — will probably struggle to stop New England.
a. Colts show their youth; Patriots show their best
....The Colts rookie Andrew Luck threw two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns as the Patriots won 59-24 and took a commanding lead in the A.F.C. East.
2. NBA: A box score filled with style points

....In argument over playing styles between the Knicks and the Pacers, the Knicks proved to have the winning formula with Tyson Chandler as their secret threat.
a. Blatche does all off bench as Nets win fifth straight
....Andray Blatche, the self-proclaimed Godfather of the Nets’ bench mob, has been quietly proving his critics wrong this season, but he took his reclamation to another level Sunday against the Kings
3. NCAAFB: Maryland and Rutgers will push Big 10 to fourteen
....Maryland switched to the Big Ten conference in search of financial stability, possibly igniting another wave of realignment as Rutgers is expected to follow suit Tuesday.
4. Horse Racing: An unorthodox jockey and predictable winner

....Ramon Dominguez, a Venezuelan who has found a lucrative home at New York racetracks, is about to lead riders in the US in earnings for the third consecutive year.

Thought for Today
"You don't have to suffer to be a poet; adolescence is enough suffering for anyone. "
--John Ciardi (1916-1986) American author

[the flying reindeer]

Universal Children’s Week

Good evening from Tuxy and me
This is the 324th day of 2012 with 41 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 3:17 p.m., it's fair , temp 47ºF [Feels like 47ºF], winds calm, humidity 59%, pressure 30.12 in and steady, dew point 33ºF, chance of precipitation 10%.

Today in History:
1789--New Jersey became the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights.
1820--the American whaler Essex, from Nantucket, Mass., was attacked by an 80-ton sperm whale, inspiring Herman Melville's MOby Dick[/u.
1843--in Missouri, Blacksnake Hills trading post on the banks of the Missouri River was renamed St. Joseph
1864--Union Gen. William T. Sherman's March to the Sea continued toward central Georgia, destroying property and routing small militia units it its path.
1874--James M. Curley, American politician, mayor of Boston (1914-8, 1922-6, 1930-4, 1947-50) and governor of Massachusetts (1935-7), was born; died 1958 at age 83.
1910--revolution broke out in Mexico.
1910--the Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy died apparently of pneumonia.
1917--the British launched a surprise tank attack at Cambrai, France.
1923--Garrett Morgan patented three-position traffic signal.
1925--Robert F. Kennedy, the US Attorney General, US Senator (D-NY) was born; 1968 assassinated in California during his campaign for president.
1925--Queen Alexandra, consort to Edward VII of the United Kingdom, died at Sandringham after suffering a heart attack.
1942--Vice President Joe Biden turns 70
1945--24 high-ranking Nazis go on trial in Nuremberg, Germany, for atrocities committed during World War II.
1947--Princess Elizabeth, future Queen of the United Kingdom, married her distant cousin Philip Mountbatten, a dashing former prince of Greece and Denmark, at Westminster Abbey in London
1948--the American consul and his staff in Mukden, China, are made virtual hostages by communist forces in China.
1962--Pres. Kennedy issued Executive Order 11063, which mandated an end to discrimination in housing.
1966--the musical Cabaret, with music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, opened on Broadway.
1967--San Jose State College students demonstrated against the Dow Chemical Co., the maker of napalm.
1968--methane explosions rocked a West Virginia coal mine, killing 78, and had to be sealed with the bodies of the men still inside.
1969--the Nixon administration announced a halt to residential use of the pesticide DDT as part of a total phase-out.
1975--Spain's Gen. Francisco Franco died after nearly four decades of absolute rule.
1977--Egyptian Pres. Sadat became the first Arab leader to address Israel's parliament.
1982--the Cal football team won a last-second victory over Stanford when they complete five lateral passes around members of the Cardinals’ marching band on the field.
1985--the first version of Microsoft's Windows operating system, Windows 1.0, was released.
1992--Windsor Castle fire broke out in the Private Chapel and raged for 15 hours.
1995--Princess Diana admitted during an interview broadcast on BBC TV that she had been unfaithful to Prince Charles.
1998--the International Space Station's first pressurized module (Zarya) was launched.
2001--Department of Justice Building was renamed the Robert F. Kennedy building in honor of RFK's 76th birthday.
2003--eccentric but influential music producer Phil Spector was indicted for murder of actress Lana Clarkson.
2003--singer Michael Jackson was booked on suspicion of child molestation in Santa Barbara, Calif. (He was later acquited.)

World News Capsules:
1. Opium cultivation rose this year in Afghanistan, UN survey shows
....The trend is “alarming” despite an aggressive eradication effort by Afghan governors, United Nations officials said.
2. Powerful backer for China's new Manhattan

....The Yujiapu financial district, seen as a symbol of the nation’s growing economy, was financed by state-owned banks, but is also closely associated with a little-known local politician.
3. [u[Congo rebels seize provincial capital

....Rebel fighters overtook one of the biggest cities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, setting off riots and raising serious questions about the stability of Congo as a whole.
4. While trying to mediate, Egypt blames Israel for Gaza conflict
....A senior Egyptian official told foreign correspondents that the West was blaming the victims, which he said were the Palestinians.
5. Britain is latest power to recognize Syrian opposition coalition

....Britain joins France, Turkey and several Arab countries in backing the newly formed opposition coalition, which increases its international legitimacy.
6. Euro Zone ministers optimistic as they meet on Greece
....With euro zone finance ministers resuming talks on Greece's intractable debt in Brussels, the chairman of the Eurogroup declared that "Greece has delivered" after it adopted decrees to meet creditors' demands.
7. Clinton arrives in Israel as Egypt says truce in Gaza is close

....As attacks on both sides intensified, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, appearing beside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, said on Tuesday evening that she would be working to reach a deal.
a. In southern Israel, urban dwellers learn to sprint for bomb shelters
....In cities hit by Palestinian rockets, residents have retreated to designated spaces and know to run when air-raid sirens blare.
b. Obama steps back into a conflict he avoided
....After a futile effort on Middle East peace talks early in his tenure, President Obama has begun an effort that could shape relations with Israel, the Palestinians and Egypt.
8. Pakistan court orders blasphemy charges against Christian girl dropped

....The decision brings to an end a contentious case that had gripped the country and sown fear in its Christian minority population.
9. Palestine: Hoisting dead children, Gazans mourn family killed by Israeli strike

....A strike obliterated the Dalu family's two-story structure that had been home to 15 people in three generations. A spokeswoman for the Israel Defense Forces described the attack as an accident. As Israel conducted a new wave of strikes on Monday, Khaled Meshal, the Hamas leader, suggested that the Israeli mobilization on the border was a bluff on the part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.
10. A tsunami in Switzerland? Lake evidence says yes
....Researchers say a large deposit of sediment in Lake Geneva is evidence of a deadly tsunami from the sixth century caused by a rockfall, and it could happen again.

US News Capsules:
1. Tax talks raise bar for richest Americans
....The changes being discussed by the president and Congressional Republicans would take the biggest bite from the highest earners and a smaller share from those earning less than $500,000.
2. Easing of restraints in Cuba renews debate on US embargo
....A new argument is gaining currency, even among many Cubans who had stayed on the sidelines: that more assistance from Americans could speed up tentative moves toward capitalism.
3. EDUCATION: College of future could be cone one, come all

....Colleges are building global student bodies and trying to create models for massive open online courses, or MOOCs.
a. Immigrants to pay tuition at rate set for residents
....Massachusetts will provide an in-state discount at its public colleges for young people in the country illegally.
4. 4 California men accused of plotting to join terrorism groups
....The men sought to join Al Qaeda and the Taliban and travel to Afghanistan to kill American troops, federal authorities said.
5. American carriers are left behind in cargo program
....A program that subsidizes the shipment of United States military cargo was started as a way to boost American shipping, but it is dominated by overseas shipping giants.
6. Case pits technology-based police search against citizens' rights
....Constitutional lawyers are closely watching a case in which police officers pursuing a bank robber in Aurora, Colo., used a GPS device to set up a roadblock that detained innocent drivers.
7. Movies: Plenty of gods, but just one fellow passenger

....Life of Pi, directed by Ang Lee and based on the novel by Yann Martel, features a young man, a tiger and lots of talk about God.
8. Holding back floodwaters with a balloon

....Engineers financed by the Homeland Security Department are testing a huge inflatable plug to prevent flooding in transit tunnels.
POLITICS:
1. For tax pledge and its author, a test of time
....Some Congressional Republicans say they resent being hamstrung by a pledge created by the lobbyist Grover Norquist that they signed years ago, and some have defected.
2. Bernanke urges swift action of a fiscal accord
....The Federal Reserve chairman said that while the details of a Congressional agreement to avert a so-called fiscal cliff were important, so were speed and a general impression of a functional and cooperative legislative branch.
3. After Obama, Christie wants a GOP hug
....Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, who praised the president just before Election Day, is trying to tame the fury of fellow Republicans who feel he betrayed Mitt Romney.

Sports Headlines:
1. NCAAFB: After 489 wins, coach chooses retirement
....At 86, John Gagliardi is stepping down after 64 seasons as a college football coach, 60 of them at St. John's University in Collegeville, Minn.
a, Is a bigger Big Ten better:

.....In Maryland and Rutgers, the Big Ten added two schools that were successes at running up budget deficits.
b. Expanding eastward could dilute Big 10 brand
.... The main rationale bor addin two more teams to the Big 10 seems to be economic, and on that account the conference's decision may be questionable.
c. Tuck trying his hardest to avoid jinxing the Irish
...A former Notre Dame star, Justin Tuck of the NY Giants is keeping quiet about his alma mater’s chances of winning the national title
2. MLB: Blue Jays hire John Gibbons as manager again

....BToronto lue Jays President Paul Beeston couldn't believe it when he learned the Blue Jays had the chance to land three star players from the Miami Marlins last week. He was equally surprised when his general manager told him he wanted to hire John Gibbons to manage the Blue Jays again.
3. NFL: Patriots have lost Gronkowski, but not their firepower

....Although tight end Rob Gronkowski may miss the rest of the regular season with a broken arm, opponents — starting with the Jets — will probably struggle to stop New England.
4. Antidoping group proposing longer competition bans
....The president of the World Anti-Doping Agency said there was “overwhelming support” for a proposal to extend the competition ban for first doping offenses to four years from two.

Thought for Today
"By a very conservative estimate, a hundred million people have died at the hands of their own governments in this century.
Given that record, how bad could anarchy be?"
--Joseph Sobran (1946-2010) columnist

[the flying reindeer]

World Hello Day
Good evening from Tuxy and me
This is the 325th day of 2012 with 40 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 2:58 p.m., it's fair , temp 52ºF [Feels like 52ºF], winds S @ 3 mph, humidity 49%, pressure 30.19 in and steady, dew point 33ºF, chance of precipitation 10%.

Today in History:
1694--Francois Voltaire [a.k.a François-Marie Arouet], French Enlightenment philosopher, historian & writer, was born; died 1778 at age 83
1776--Gen. Washington ordered Gen. Charles Lee to bring his forces to New Jersey.
1783--French physician Jean-François Pilatre de Rozier and François Laurent, the marquis d' Arlandes, made the first untethered hot-air balloon flight, flying 5.5 miles over Paris.
1789--North Carolina became the 12th state to ratify the US Constitution.
1861--Judah Benjamin, a Jew in an otherwise Protestant cabinet, became the Confederate secretary of war.
1864--Pres. Lincoln allegedly wrote to Lydia Boby, a widow and mother of five men killed in the Civil War (the original letter has never been found).
1877--Thomas Edison announced his first great invention - the phonograph.
1916--the Britannic, sister ship to the Titanic, sank in the Aegean Sea, killing 30 people with pver 1,000 rescued.
1916-- with World War I in full swing, the popular Emperor Franz Josef of Austria died at the age of 86, after reigning for 66 years.
1920--Stan Musial, Baseball Hall of Famer, turns 92.
1922--Rebecca Ann Latimer Felton of Georgia was sworn in as the first woman to serve in the US Senate.
1927--the week-old Holland Tunnel, connecting New York City and Jersey City, appeared on the cover of Time.
1931--USC ended Notre Dame winning streak (since a loss in 1928 to USC) and won the national championship.
1934--teenaged Ella Fitzgerald decided to sing not dance and won Amateur Night at Harlem's Apollo Theater at the start of her illustrous careeer.
1938--Nazi forces occupied western Czechoslovakia and declared its people German citizens.
1941--Albert Speer, Nazi chief architect and minister for armaments and war production, asked for 30,000 Soviet POWs to use as slave laborers in a massive Berlin building program.
1953--Piltdown Man (fragments of a skull and jawbone collected in 1912 thought to be fossilised remains of an early human) was exposed as a hoax.
1964--New York’s Verrazano Narrows Bridge opened.
1967--Gen. Westmoreland, commander of US Military Assistance Command Vietnam, told the US media that the communists were losing.
1973--Pres. Nixon's attorney, J. Fred Buzhardt, revealed the existence of an 18 1/2-minute gap in one of the White House tape recordings related to Watergate.
1974--Birmingham pub blasts from IRA placed devices in two pubs packed with mainly teenage drinkers killed 19 injured 180.
1974--the US Congress passed the Freedom of Information Act over Pres. Ford's veto.
1975--a US Senate report charged that the US was involved in assassination plots against two foreign leaders (Fidel Castro and Patrice Lumumba of the Congo) and were heavily involved in at least three other plots in South Vietnam, Chile and the Dominican Republic.
1976--the movie Rocky, starring Sylvester Stallone, premierd in New York City.
1980--350 million people around the world tune in to television's popular primetime drama Dallas to find out who shot J.R. Ewing, the character fans loved to hate.
1980--a fire at the MGM Grand Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas killed 87 people.
1985--Jonathan Jay Pollard, a civilian US Navy intelligence analyst and Jewish American was arrested as an Israeli spy .
1986--National Security Council staff member Oliver North and his secretary, Fawn Hall, begin shredding documents that would have exposed their participation in the Iran-Contra Affair.
1989--the proceedings of Britain's House of Commons were televised live for the first time.
1991--the UN Security Council chose Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt to be secretary-general.
2000--the Florida Supreme Court granted Democrat Al Gore's request to keep the presidential election recount going.
2001--a 94-year-old Connecticut woman died of inhalation anthrax, the last of five people killed in the anthrax attacks.
2002--NATO invited seven former communist countries to join the alliance: Slovenia, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Bulgaria.
2004--the NBA suspended Indiana's Ron Artest for the rest of the season following a brawl in the stands during a game against the Detroit Pistons.
2005--General Motors Corp., the world's biggest carmaker, announced it was cutting its payroll by 30,000 and shutting nine major plants to stop a financial hemorrhage.
2007--officials announced the recall of more than a half-million pieces of Chinese-made children's jewelry contaminated with lead.
2007--University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists reported they had reprogrammed human skin cells to behave as embryonic stem cells.
2010--debt-struck Ireland applied for a massive EU-IMF loan to stem the flight of capital from its banks.
2011--Anne McCaffrey, American-born Irish writer best known for her Dragonriders of Pern series, died in her home in Ireland after suffering a stroke at age 85.

World News Capsules:
1. General Allen resumes command duty in Afghanistan
....Gen. John Allen, the top US and NATO commander of the war in Afghanistan, has returned to Kabul amid an investigated over correspondence with a woman linked to the David H. Petraeus scandal.
a. Afghan suicide bomber kills 3 near US Embassy

....The attack, deep in the main diplomatic neighborhood of Kabul, killed three security guards and wounded two civilians, according to police officials
2. Chinese boys' deaths in bin sparks outrage

....Eight Chinese officials have been fired or suspended after five boys died in a rubbish bin after suffocating on fumes from charcoal they burned to stay warm, according to state-run media.
3. Congo rebels, fresh from victory, vow to take capital

....Up until this week, many skeptics had dismissed the M23 rebels as a small-time militia with neither the resources nor the manpower to upend Congo, but now it seems they are rapidly gaining momentum.
4. Changes in Cuba create support for easing embargo
....New economic bonds between Cuba and the United States have formed, creating new challenges, new possibilities — and a more complicated debate over the 50-year-old American trade embargo.
5. Rift grows in French party over close leadership vote
....Former Prime Minister François Fillon, who had been declared a narrow loser in a leadership election for the Union for a Popular Movement, said that he had actually won.
6. Crisis in Church of England after rejection of female bishops
....The archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Rowan Williams, said the Anglican Church had lost credibility with the vote, and Prime Minister David Cameron urged the church to find a way to resolve church-state relations.
a. Thousands of kids face abuse in England

....Thousands of children in England have been sexually exploited by gangs or groups of men or are at high risk of sexual exploitation, according to a report released Wednesday.
7. India hangs the only surviving Mumbai attacker

....The surprise execution of Ajmal Kasab, a gunman in the 2008 attacks that left 166 people dead, was unlikely to derail improving ties, analysts in both India and Pakistan said.
a. A Mumbai student vents on Facebook, and the police come knocking
....A medical student in India complained on Facebook about the attention a political leader’s death was getting, and she and a friend were charged.
8. Benghazi security dreictor is assassinated, Libyan official says
....The death of the security official, Faraj Mohammed al-Drissi, is the latest in a series of mysterious killings that have raised fears about Libya’s precarious postwar security.
9. Mexican agencies clash over shooting of CIA employees
....Nearly three months after CIA officials were wounded when their embassy vehicle was shot up, divisions have emerged among the Mexican law enforcement agencies trying to determine the motive.
a. US and Mexico sign a deal on sharing the Colorado River
....The US and Mexico agreed to overhaul how water from the Colorado River, which serves 33 million people in both countries, will be shared and managed.
10. South Korean man given suspended sentence for twitter posts
....Park Jung-geun was accused of retweeting from an official North Korean Twitter account and charged under a law that bans “praising, encouraging or propagandizing” for the country.

US News Capsules:
1. Tech's new (geographical) frontier: 'Silicon Prairie'

....From Des Moines to Omaha to Kansas City — a region known more for its barns than its bandwidth — a start-up tech scene is blossoming.
2. Storm bared a lack of options for the homeless in New York

....This week, officials closed all evacuation centers but two on Staten Island. Now they plan to rely solely on hotels, even as they brace for new arrivals in winter.
3. Where Pilgrims landed, Thanksgiving is kept at table. not mall
....Some of the country's retailers said they would move up sales to Thanksgiving Day, but stores in some New England states, adhering to those states' "blue laws," will be closed Thursday.
4. 2nd act of a scandal: cue the superlawyers and the spinmasters
....The sex-and-e-mail affair that forced out the CIA director, David H. Petraeus, has now ripened to the image management stage.
5. An eccentric Texas millionaire is accused of abusing teenagers
....Stanley Marsh 3, the Amarillo, Tex., man behind the Cadillac Ranch, has been accused in lawsuit of sexually abusing teenage boys.
6. Insider inquiry incing closer to a billionaire

....For the first time, a case against a former SAC Capital Advisors employee directly involves Steven A. Cohen, the hedge fund's powerful founder.
7. Hopper expert questions how minister got an art trove
....The art historian Gail Levin says the Arthayer R. Sanborn Collection was acquired simply by carrying works out of the home of Edward Hopper's widow.
8. Judge approves Hostess Brands' plan to close down

....Judge Robert D. Drain of the Southern District of New York cited the need for a quick and orderly shuttering of the company to avoid letting its assets molder.
9. Administration defines benefits that must be offered under the health law
....The White House’s rules translate the broad promises of the 2010 law into detailed standards that can be enforced by state and federal officials, including those on pre-existing conditions.
10. South Carolina offers details of data theft and warns it could hapen elsewhere
....Gov. Nikki R. Haley said state officials had not done enough to stop computer hackers who recently stole millions of personal financial records from the state’s Department of Revenue.
POLITICS:
1. A chance to tackle inequality
...While lawmakers are debating the question of how much government we can afford, they have ignored the broader question of how much government we need.
2. Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., ill and facing inquiry, will resign

....Rep. Jackson Jr., who won re-election this month despite an extended illness, a long absence from Congress and reports of looming investigations, will leave office.
3. Members of the 112th Congress depart, taking their quirks along
....From Sen. Richard G. Lugar’s foreign policy expertise to Sen. Kent Conrad’s bichon frisé, the expiring Congress has left its mark in ways large, small and weird.
4. Republican concedes House race in Florida

....After nearly two weeks of wrangling, Representative Allen West ended his fight with his Democratic challenger, Patrick Murphy

Sports Headlines:
1. NFL: For the Lions, a rare feast amid decades of famine
....A commanding victory by the Lions over the Packers on Thanksgiving Day in 1962 left a feeling among some Detroit fans that anything was possible - a feeling that did not last long.
2. NBA: Fast start for Anthony and 8-1 start for Knicks
....Carmelo Anthony scored 29 points in 28 minutes, including 19 points in the first half, as the Knicks cruised to a 102-80 victory over the Hornets on Tuesday night.
a. With the Knicks, consider the Kidd factor
....When Jason Kidd joined his previous teams in Dallas, Phoenix, and New Jersey, the result was the same: the teams won a lot more.
b. For Thunder, Martin is a definite plus

....Kevin Martin, acquired from Houston in the James Harden trade, has done a fantastic job filling Harden's shoes and by some measures has outplayed him.
3. NCAAFB: Big 10 expansion may bring low payoff

....The Big Ten Conference is adding Maryland and Rutgers to its ranks. The main rationale seems to be economic, and on that account the conference’s decision may be questionable.


Today's Headlines of Interest:
US, Egypt announce cease-fire agreement by Israel and Hamas in Gaza crisis

The truce, announced in Cairo, is aimed at ending eight days of fighting that killed more than 140 Palestinians and five Israelis and began at 9 p.m. Cairo time (2 p.m. EST). “The United States welcomes the agreement today for the cease-fire in Gaza," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said at a news conference alongside Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr. "This is a critical moment for the region." Clinton went on to thank Egypt's Islamist Pres. Mohammed Morsi for his mediation efforts and pledged to work with partners in the region "to consolidate this progress, improve conditions for the people of Gaza, provide security for the people of Israel." Egypt is the "sponsor" of the cease-fire agreement.
Meanwhile, the head of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard has disclosed his country has given fighters in Gaza the ability to produce longer-range missiles on their own, without direct shipments. The comments, by Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari, quoted by the semi-official ISNA news agency, offer some of the clearest insights on Iran's weapons support for Hamas. Previously, Iran denied it directly supplied Hamas with the Fajr-5 rockets being fired at Israel in recent days.
In Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the agreement, adding that he had spoken with Pres. Obama and had agreed to fight together against "weapons of terror." Netanyahu paid tribute to US diplomacy and Morsi's leadership, but also to Israel's resolve and the armed forces.
According to the cease-fire agreement: Israel will stop attacks on Gaza by land, sea and air and stop incursions and targeted assassinations; Palestinian factions will stop hostilities from the Gaza Strip against Israel; Israel will ease the movement of people and goods at border-crossing areas.
I sincerely hope that the cease fire takes place and lasts. No one wins in this kind of conflict and you would thing in the 64 years since Israel was established in the Middle East, this simple truth would have been recognized by all sides to the conflict.

Thought for Today
"The highest compact we can make with our fellow is -- 'Let there be truth between us two forevermore.' "
--Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American transcendental philosopher & writer

[the flying reindeer]

Buy Nothing Day
Good evening from Tuxy and me
This is the 327th day of 2012 with 38 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 7:44 p.m., it's cloudy , temp 47ºF [Feels like 47ºF], winds W @ 10 mph, humidity 67%, pressure 29.69 in and rising, dew point 34ºF, chance of precipitation 50%.

Today in History:
912--Otto I, German king (936-73) and Holy Roman emperor (962-73), was born; died 973 at age 60.
1499--Flemish pretender, Perkin Warbeck, who invaded England in 1497 claiming to be the lost son of King Edward IV, was hanged for allegedly trying to escape from the Tower of London.
1859--the infamous Western outlaw outlaw Billy the Kid was born in a poor Irish neighborhood on New York City's East Side; killed 1881 at age 21.
1874--Far from the Madding Crowd, by Thomas Hardy, was published.
1876--William Marcy "Boss" Tweed, leader of New York City's corrupt Tammany Hall political organization was delivered to authorities in New York City after his capture in Spain.
1889--the jukebox made its debut, at the Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco.
1890--the independent Grand Duchy of Luxembourg was separated from the Netherlands.
1903--Colorado governor sends militia to Cripple Creek gold mines to crush the union of the Western Federation of Miners (WFM).
1903--tenor Enrico Caruso made his American debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, appearing in Rigoletto.
1936--the first issue of Life magazine was published, featuring a cover photo of the Fort Peck Dam by Margaret Bourke-White.
1940--Romania signed the Tripartite Pact, officially allying itself with Germany, Italy, and Japan.
1943--US forces seized control of the Tarawa and Makin atolls from the Japanese.
1945--World War II rationing ended in the United States on all foods except sugar.
1950--Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., turns 62.
1954--the Dow Jones industrial average finally surpassed it's pre-crash high - 25 years after Black Tuesday - closing at 382.74.
1959--Robert Stroud, the famous "Birdman of Alcatraz," was released from solitary confinement for the first time since 1916.
1963--Doctor Who premiered on BBC TV with the pilot "An Unearthly Child" starring William Hartnell as the First Doctor.
1970--Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird disclosed the details of the US raid on the North Vietnamese prison camp at Son Tay.
1971--the People's Republic of China was seated in the UN Security Council.
1972--secret peace talks in Paris between Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho, the North Vietnamese representative, reach an impasse.
1979--Thomas McMahon, a member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), was sentenced to life imprisonment for preparing and planting the bomb that killed Lord Louis Mountbatten and others.
1980--Irpinia in southern Italy was rocked by earthquake, killing more than 3,000 people during Sunday night mass, as many residents sat in churches that crumbled in the quake.
1981--Pres. Reagan giave the CIA the power to recruit and support a 500-man force of Nicaraguan rebels to conduct covert actions against the leftist Sandinista regime.
1984--Boston College’s short quarterback Doug Flutie threw a last-second 64-yard Hail Mary pass to beat the University of Miami 47-45 (and, incidentally the Heiwman Trophy)..
1990--Charlie and the Chocolate Factory creator Roald Dahl died at the age of 74 in Oxford, England. He also wronte TV scripts and screenplays, including You Only Live Twice (1967) and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968),
1992--the US lowered its flag over the last US base in the Philippines, ending nearly a century of military presence in its former colony.
1992--Country music legend Roy Acuff, who rode the "Wabash Cannonball" to fame and fortune, died of congestive heart failure at age 89.
1993--Pres. Clinton signed legislation repealing US sanctions against South Africa.
1996--Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961, hijaacked en route from Addis Ababa to Nairobi, crash landed in the Indian Ocan after running out of fuel.
2001--an Israeli helicopter fired two missiles at a van in the West Bank, killing Mahmoud Abu Hanoud, a leading member of the Islamic militant Hamas group.
2002--the Bush administration eased anti-pollution regulations that required older coal-fired refineries to upgrade facilities with modern clean air equipment in an effort to spur expanded construction of power plants.
2003--a total solar eclipse occurred over regions of the Antarctic continent.
2004--in a disputed Ukraine election, the day after opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko declared himself the winner election officials declared that the Kremlin-backed Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych was the real winner.
2005--Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was confirmed as the President of Liberia, becoming the first woman to lead an African country.
2006--former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko died in London three weeks after his alleged radiation poisoning, making a deathbed statement blaming Russian Pres. Putin.
2006--the last of 23 coal miners killed in an underground gas explosion at Ruda Slaska, Poland, was removed by rescue workers .
2007--MS Explorer. a cruise ship tracing the Antaractica route of Ernest Shacleton, hit a possible iceberg and sank near King George Island.
2011--Yemen's authoritarian Pres. Ali Abdullah Saleh agreed to step down amid a fierce uprising after 33 years in power.

World News Capsules:
1. Suicide bomber devastates a government center in Afghanistan
....The attack, which killed three people and wounded 90 others in Maidan Shahr, in Wardak Province, was the first such strike on that city, residents said.
2. Reopening an 18-year-old wound in Argentina

....Jewish leaders have been angered by moves to improve ties with Iran, accused of shielding people who prosecutors in Argentina say authorized a 1994 attack on a community center in Buenos Aires.
3. China detains former journalist who reported on deaths of 3 children
....Li Yuanlong, a former journalist, wrote about young boys who died in a trash bin after taking shelter there from the cold..
4. In new tack, Congo's army starts to fight

....After a string of victories by rebels who have faced little resistance, the army began a counterattack in an effort to recover some of the territory it has lost in eastern Congo. A battle raged for control of an eastern town in the Democratic Republic of Congo that rebels recently seized.
5. Citing deadlock, Egypt's leader seizes new power and plans Mubarak retrial
....With a constitutional assembly near collapse, Pres. Mohamed Morsi granted himself broad powers above any court and ordered the retrial of his predecessor, Hosni Mubarak.
a. Clashes break out after Morsi seizes new power in Egypt

....Protesters were said to have set fire to the offices of Pres. Morsi in several cities, as fighting broke out between his supporters and opponents.
6. Collapse of divisive budget talks poses new setback to European Union

....European Union leaders failed to reach agreement on a spending plan for their troubled bloc, calling off talks after most countries rejected cuts demanded by Britain and its allies.
7. Code found on pigeon baggles British cryptographers

....Britain’s code-breakers acknowledged that an encrypted message from World War II, found on the leg of a long-dead carrier pigeon, has thwarted all their efforts.
a. Times Co. chief executive testifies at closed-door inquiry on BBC scandal
....Mark Thompson, who is now president and chief executive of The New York Times Company, led the BBC when a contentious report on accusations of sexual abuse against a TV host was canceled
8. For Israel, Gaza conflict is test for an Iran confrontation
....One view is that Israel was using the Gaza battle to learn the missile capabilities of both Hamas and Islamic Jihad - the group with the closest ties to Iran - with intent to disrupt those links.
9. Life in Gaza's courtyards{ displays of pride and sacrifice
graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/11/24/world/middleeast/24gaza/24gaza-sfSpan.jpg[/img]
....The fatal shooting by Israeli soldiers of a Palestinian man did not fracture the cease-fire that ended eight days of fighting between Hamas and Israel. But it did showcase the confusion that remains over the deal.
10. As prison life deteriorates in Portugal, some stay
....Life inside Portugal's prisons has become intolerable, as budgets cuts render them overcrowded, short of necessities and rife with abuse - and that is the view of the prison guards.
11. UN panel criticizes Russia on human rights treaty
....In its scathing assessment, UN officials said they were seriously concerned about “numerous and consistent reports” of threats, reprisals and deaths of human rights defenders and journalists in Russia.
12. A candidate unexpectedly quits South Korea's presidential race
....Ahn Cheol-soo, a computer software mogul who was widely seen as a top contender for the presidency, threw his support behind a fellow liberal who has championed aggressive engagement with North Korea.
13. Spain: Catalan vote could be a first step toward self-rule
....An election in Catalonia on Sunday could help determine whether Spain's most powerful economic region eventually splits from the rest of the country.
14. Fighting across Syria leaves 151 dead

....One day after Syrian rebels accused government forces of a deadly bombing near a hospital in the besieged city of Aleppo, opposition groups said another 151 people had been killed in the fighting.
a. Rebel faction demands Islamic state
....Britain became the latest country to recognize Syria’s new opposition council as the nation’s rightful leader. But Islamist fighters in Aleppo, including some linked to Al Qaeda, say they reject “outside plans” and want an Islamic state.

US News Capsules:
1. Day to reflect after bearing storm's wrath
....Whether around dinner tables at home or alongside kindhearted strangers, storm victims gathered to celebrate Thanksgiving in steely defiance of life's disruptions.
2. Vignettes of Black Friday

....The Lede is checking out the mood of Black Friday shoppers as the economically critical holiday season kicks off. In Times Square, some had been anticipating a sale for months.
a. The shrewd shopper carries a Smartphone

....Apps for Black Friday shoppers are now loaded with planning tools, prices and directions to parking spots.
3. Effort to curb dangerous coolant flaters, sometimes at home


....Environmentally harmful HCFC-22 is being phased out, but common repairs to air conditioners keep the gas in circulation with little federal enforcement. Refrigerants inside air conditioners allow the machines to cool the air but also deplete the ozone layer and contribute to global warming.
4. A Kansas town seeks fame as a chapter in Lincoln's rise
....A publicity campaign in Lecompton, Kan., seeks national recognition of the tiny town's crucial role in the election of President Lincoln and in the Civil War.
5. Movies: A different magnitude of star

....In Lifetime’s Liz & Dick, about Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton’s tumultuous relationship, Lindsay Lohan, as Taylor, is mostly a reminder that star power may be a bygone thing.
a. A knife and a shower: Sounds Hitchcockian

....Hitchcock, starring Anthony Hopkins, is based on a book about the making of the horror classic Psycho.
b. Damaged souls, trying to heal, learning to survive

....In Rust and Bone,”a muscular melodrama from Jacques Audiard, a woman who loses her legs in a whale attack finds emotional healing through a relationship with a rough boxer.
c. Flimmakers still seek lessons from a case that rocked a city

....The documentary The Central Park Five is equal measures criminal investigation, cultural exhumation and a consideration of race in a presumptively postracial America.
6. Pepper spray used against TransCanada protesters in Texas

....Protesters at TransCanada’ s Keystone XL construction site in Texas were pepper-sprayed by local sheriff’s deputies.
7. Inquiry into Gulf dolphin killings intensifies
....The investigation of a series of mysterious killings of dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico is gaining momentum, with a federal agent in charge and the offer of a $30,000 reward.
8. Pathway to an Americn pope? Cardinal's elevation gives US clout t Vatican

....The red, or rather scarlet, carpet will be rolled in St. Peter's Basilica on Saturday for six new cardinals, including an American. Among the six cardinal-elects is James Harvey, an archbishop from Milwaukee who will become the 11th cardinal elector from the U.S., strengthening the country's position as the Vatican's second-largest voting bloc after Italy.
POLITICS:
1. As tallies confirm results of Arizona races, many call for a faster way to count
....The secretary of state insisted that the election system worked, but acknowledged that the counting process could be improved.
2. One-party control opens states to partisan push
....At least 37 states will soon be under single-party control, the most in six decades, raising the prospect that bold partisan agendas will flourish.
3, Jeb Bush in 2016? Not too early for chatter

....Republicans are looking for a candidate who can help the party become more inclusive without ceding conservative principles.
4. Seeking ways to raise taxes but leave tax rate as is

....Negotiators are floating a number of ideas that they hope will avoid a looming fiscal crisis and appease both Democrats and Republicans by raising taxes without increasing the top tax rate.
5. Voting Rights Act, the South on trial

....The Voting Rights Act says locales with histories of discrimination must get approval to change voting rules. As the high court prepares to revisit the act, Jeffrey Toobin writes that the question is: Has the South changed?.

Sports Headlines:
1. NFL: Humiliated in a New York minute

....On national television Thursday, the Jets were pummeled by the Patriots, a defeat that recalibrated how words like embarrassing and absurd are used to describe the franchise. Coach Rex Ryan said at his news conference on Friday that he still could not fathom how the Jets allowed the Patriots to score three touchdowns in a 52-second stretch the night before.
a. NFL re-examining 'harsh' replay rule immediately

(Justin Forsett's elbow was clearly down on his eventual 81-yard touchdown run)
....The rule allowed a botched call on a touchdown by the Houston Texans to stand because Detroit Coach Jim Schwartz improperly challenged the ruling in the Lions’ overtime loss on Thanksgiving.
2. NCAAFB: 'Huskers reach Big Ten title game

....On a cold and blustery afternoon with a spot in the Big Ten title game on the line, Rex Burkhead proved why he's so valuable to the Huskers. Burkhead scored the go-ahead touchdown in his return from a knee injury and No. 17 Nebraska beat Iowa 13-7 on Friday to claim the Legends Division's berth in the Big Ten championship game, a rmatch of their 30-27 win over the Wisconsin Badgers in late September.
a. In Oregon, civil rivalry but quirky one

....The Oregon vs. Oregon State rivalry is one of the oldest in college football, dating to 1894. But for the longest time, it lacked a central ingredient to any rivalry: something to win.
3. MLB: A lesson learned? For the Mets, maybe not
....The Mets owners, on the heels of the Bernard L. Madoff Ponzi scheme, sold a share of the team to Steven A. Cohen, a hedge fund manager whose operation was in the cross hairs of federal prosecutors.
4. Ownership change unlikely to alter YES's formula
....Fox Sports is expected to bring some of its programming to the YES Network as it starts a national sports network, but the channel will still be all about the Yankees.
5. NHL: A Ranger rolls up his sleeves and takes a big role in hurricane relief
....Because of the lockout, Brad Richards is not playing. Instead, he is bringing his quiet brand of leadership to the efforts to repair the damage from Hurricane Sandy.
a. NHL cancels All-Star Game, schedule through Dec. 14

....Stop me if you’ve heard this before — following another round of failed CBA negotiations, the NHL has canceled a slate of games and a marquee league event. This time, it’s all contests from Dec. 1-14 and the 2013 All-Star Game, which was to be played at Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Jan. 27

Thought for Today
"Lying is done with words and also with silence."
--[/i]Adrienne Rich (1929-2012) American poet, essayist and feminist

TGIF everybody!!
[/size][/color]

[the flying reindeer]

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
Good evening from Tuxy and me
This is the 329th day of 2012 with 36 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 2:34 p.m., it's partly cloudy , temp 34ºF [Feels like 26ºF], winds SW @ 10 mph, humidity 81%, pressure 29.81 in and falling, dew point 28ºF, chance of precipitation 30%.

Today in History:
1120--White Ship tragedy claimed the life of William Adelin , the only legitimate son of Henry I of England.
1177--Baldwin IV of Jerusalem and Raynald of Chatillon defeated Saladin at the Battle of Montgisard.
1471--seige of Granada , the last Moorish stronghold in Spain, began.
1542--in the battle of Solway Moss the English army defeated the Scots.
1703--Great Storm of 1703 (greatest windstorm ever recorded in the southern part of Great Britain) reachesdits peak intensity.
1758--Great Britain captured Fort Duquesne (Pittsburgh) from the French.
1783--the British evacuated New York City, their last military position in the US, during the Revolutionary War.
1835--Andrew Carnegie, the industrialist and philanthropist who led the expansion of the American steel industry, was born; died 1919 at age 83.
1839--a cyclone slammed India with high winds and a 40 foot storm surge, destroying the port city of Coringa (never to be entirely rebuilt).
1863--Union Gen. Grant broke the siege of Chattanooga by routing the Confederates under Gen.l Braxton Bragg at the battle off Missionary Ridge.
1876--the U.S. Army retaliated for the Little Bighorn massacre by destroying the village of Cheyenne living with Chief Dull Knife on the headwaters of the Powder River.
1884--J.B. Meyenberg, of St. Louis, Mio. patented evaporated milk.
1918--two weeks after an armistice ended World War I in Europe, Col. Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, the German commander in East Africa, surrendered.
1940--football great Tom Harmon's uniform, number 98, was retired by athletic officials at the University of Michigan (father of NCIS's Mark Harmon).
1940 Joe Gibbs, Hall of Fame football coach, and Percy Sledge, R&B singer, both turns 72 today.
1941--Pres. Roosevelt informed his Cabinet. "We are likely to be attacked next Monday, for the Japs are notorious for attacking without warning," which was passed on the commanders in the Pacific.
1944--at age 87, the first commissioner of baseball, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis died after serving as czar of baseball for 24 years.
1947--movie studio executives agreed to blacklist the "Hollywood 10", who were jailed a day earlier for contempt of Congress for failing to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities Committee.
1949--"Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" hit the music charts, becoming THE musical hit for the Christmas season.
1950--the so-called "storm of the century" (including record amounts of snow in parts of the Appalachian Mountains) hit eastern US,, killing hundreds and causing millions of dollars in damages.
1952--The Mousetrap,, a murder-mystery written by Agatha Christie, opened and became the longest continuously running play in history, with more than 10 million people to date attending its more than 20,000 performances in London's West End.
1963--Pres. Kennedy was buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.
1966--Upton Sinclair, Pulitzer prize-winning American author best known for his 1906 muckraking novel The Jungle, died.
1970--world-renowned Japanese writer Yukio Mishima committed suicide after failing to win public support for his often extreme political beliefs.
1973--Greek Pres. George Papadopoulos was ousted in a bloodless military coup.
1980--Sugar Ray Leonard took his welterweight title back when his opponent, reigning champ Roberto Duran, waved his arms and walked away from the fight in the eighth round.saying "No más, no más."
1986--the Iran-Contra affair erupted as Pres. Reagan and Attorney Gen. Edwin Meese revealed that profits from secret arms sales to Iran had been diverted to Nicaraguan rebels.
1990--after a storm on Thanksgiving Day, Washington state's historic floating Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge broke apart and sank to the bottom of Lake Washington.
1992--the Czechoslovakian Parliament voted to dissolve the country at the end of the year into separate Czech and Slovak states.
1999--the UN General Assembly passed a resolution designating November 25 the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
1999 --ix-year-old Cuban refugee Elian Gonzalez was rescued by a pair of sport fishermen off the coast of Florida.
2001--100s of US Marines arrived in Afghanistan near the southern city of Kandahar in the first major entry of ground troops there in the war on terrorism.
2002--warrants were issued in Los Angeles for the arrest of two former Roman Catholic priests on molestation charges, some dating to the 1950s.
2002--Pres. Bush signed legislation creating the Department of Homeland Security.
2003--the US Senate gave approval to Medicare legislation combining a new prescription drug benefit with measures to control costs before the baby boom generation reaches retirement age.
2003--Yemen arrested Mohammed Hamdi al-Ahdal, a top al-Qaida member suspected of masterminding the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole and the 2002 bombing of a French oil tanker off Yemen's coast.
2004--nine people, including three federal agents, were found dead at two locations near Mexico's resort town of Cancun, all believed slain by drug traffickers.
2006--Israel and the Palestinians agreed to a cease-fire to end a five-month Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip and the firing of rockets by Palestinian militants into the Jewish state.
2008--NFL quarterback Michael Vick pleaded guilty to a Virginia dogfighting charge and received a three-year suspended sentence.

World News Capsules:
1. Student killed in melee at Afghan university
....A fight erupted on the campus of Kabul University when Sunni Muslim students tried to prevent their Shiite counterparts from observing a religious holiday.
2. At least 112 dead in Bangladesh fire, ovvicial says

....An official says firefighters have recovered 112 bodies after a fire raced through a multistory garment factory just outside Dhaka, the capital.
3. Swalllowing rain forest, cities surge in Amazon

....The torrid expansion of rain forest cities is alarming scientists, as an array of new industrial projects transforms the Amazon into Brazil’s fastest-growing region.
4. For the first time, China lands jet on aircraft carrier

....China announced a first on Sunday. It landed a fighter jet on the deck of an aircraft carrier built using an abandoned Soviet hull, though it may be years before the ship is fully operational.
5. Congo rebels ignore appeal to quit attack
....Ignoring the demands of regional leaders, M23 rebels continued advancing on government-held territory.
6. Egyptian judges challenge Morsi over new power

....Judges rebelled against an edict by Pres. Mohamed Morsi exempting his decrees from judicial review, calling for a judges' strike as protesters took to the streets for a second day.
7. There's no Indian heir there
....Rahul Gandhi would seem to be the heir apparent in India, but Indians seem indifferent at best to the scion of prime ministers.
a. Cellphones reshape prostitution in India, and complicate efforts to prevent AIDS
....One result of the spread of cellphones in India is that more prostitutes have become independent of brothels, a development that has made AIDS prevention harder.
8. Stirring up stodgy Italy with his political style
....Matteo Renzi, the mayor of Florence, has been traversing Italy delivering rousing speeches, as he competes in a primary to decide who will lead Italy’s center-left Democratic Party.
9. Roadside bomb kills at least 7 in Pakistan

....Militants targeted a procession of Shiite Muslims in a small town near a restive tribal region as the government struggled to control sectarian violence.
10. Palestine: On this, 2 sides agree: fighting hardened positions
....The eight days of fighting between Hamas and Israel have left more than 160 people dead, and have dimmed hopes for reviving an already-moribund peace process.
a. Hamas claim complicates talk of truce with Israel

....Confusion continued over the status of cease-fire talks between Hamas and Israel as the Hamas prime minister announced progress regarding restrictions on movement, which the Israeli prime minister’s office denied.
b. A fragile cease-fire achieved by leaving thorny issues unresolved
....American officials assert that they have helped lay a foundation for progress in Gaza, but that careful attention is required in the days and weeks ahead.
11. Selling a 'hot spot' to the Beau Monde
....A billionaire developer is building a luxury resort town-within-a-town at Andermatt, Switzerland, an ambitious project that allows foreigners to buy property without restrictions.
12. Cold ravages Syria refugees as aid falters
....Because of a lack of funds or access, hundreds of thousands face the onslaught of winter with inadequate shelter, senior government officials and relief organizations said.

US News Capsules:
1. Let the month of sugar plums begin

....New York City Ballet began its annual season of George Balanchine’s “Nutcracker” with three performances in two days.
2. US election speeded move to codify policy on drones
....An internal debate in Washington concerns when unmanned strikes are justified and whether they should be a last resort or a more flexible tool.
3. California cove blessed with nature's beauty reels from its stench

....In La Jolla Cove, art galleries and coffee shops meet a stretch of unspoiled cliffs and Pacific Ocean, but the smell that emanates from bird feces on the rocks has become a growing problem.
4. Antigay crime remains steady in Washington despite work of special unit
....Critics say that a unit trained to respond to hate crimes has languished and that distributing its duties throughout the department has proved ineffective.
5. Consensus eludes courts in searches of cellphones

....Judges and lawmakers across the country are wrangling over whether and when law enforcement authorities can search suspects’ cellphones without a warrant, and interpretations range widely.
6. Chasing early sales, retailers undercut Black Friday

....Sales on the day after Thanksgiving fell from those a year earlier, after stores started their “doorbuster” promotions early in the week and opened for business on Thursday evening.
7. Hatching ideas and companies, by the dozens at MIT
....Dr. Robert Langer’s lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is on the front lines of turning discoveries into drugs and drug delivery systems.
8. No Powerball winner sends jackpot to record $425 million


....No one hit the jackpot in the latest Powerball drawing, pushing the next prize of $425 million into the history books.
9. Cholesterol drug recalled over glass concerns.
....Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Inc. says it is calling back bottles of its 10-, 20- and 40-milligram tablets of atorvastatin calcium, the generic version of the widely prescribed anti-cholesterol drug Lipitor. A total of 41 lots of 90- and 500-count bottles are subject to the recall, the company said.
POLITICS:
1. States want to have say during talks over federal budge
....With their states still recovering from the recession, governors say they fear that talks in Washington to avert the so-called fiscal cliff will actually lead to deep cuts.
2. The Senate's long slide to gridlock
....The Senate — the legislative body designed as the saucer to cool the House’s tempestuous teacup — has become a deep freeze, but filibuster reform could have a thawing effect.
3. Top GOP lawmakers call for highter tax revenues

....Republican lawmakers are increasingly abandoning Grover Norquist’s no-taxes pledge and declaring a willingness to raise tax revenues as part of a deal to avoid the severe austerity measures set to take effect in January. Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) called for raising revenues by scaling back tax deductions and credits.

Sports Headlines:
1. NFL: Giants rookie is still figuring out how to attain his lofty goals

....While David Wilson, the Giants’ first-round draft choice, has contributed on kick returns, he is working on developing as a running back.
a. Giants' design for desperation: heave into end zone, jump, exhale
....The Giants faithfully (and a bit comically) practice a play called the Flood Tip - Coach Tom Coughlin's version of the last-second heave to the end zone.
b. 49ers take odd spin on quarterback controversy
....A good quarterback controversy has at least five stages. The 49ers did something remarkably efficient and fan-friendly this past week. They squeezed the five stages into five days.
c. [More NFL teams use statisticians, but league acceptance is not mode/u]
....Teams are turning to advanced statistics that can show the probability of success of plays and players, provide real-time analysis, and even suggest practice regimens after injuries..
2. NBA: With eye on Nets, Knicks make quick work of Pistons 121-109

....The Knicks treated the game against Detroit as a warm-up for Monday’s matchup with Brooklyn, hitting 51.5% from beyond the arc to score a season-high in points and end a two-game skid.
a. A point guard for the Nets to ponder
....The Portland rookie Damian Lillard, drafted with a pick that was acquired from the Nets, is the latest quality point guard to come out of Oakland, Calif.
3. NCAAF: Anxiety turns to ecstasy for the Irish

....When the season started, many pundits tabbed USC as the top team. Instead, Notre Dame entered Saturday’s game undefeated, and left that way 22-13, too, en route to the national title game in January.
a. Beating their rival 26-21, Buckeyes finish unbeaten, untied and unfulfilled
....After defeating Michigan, Ohio State was suddenly hit with the realization that its season was over at 12-0 because of N.C.A.A. sanctions.
b. Turnovers cost Florida State against Gators
....Mike Gillislee ran for two touchdowns, and No. 6 Florida scored 24 straight points in the fourth quarter to beat Florida State 37-26.
4. NHL: For players and fans, a return to the NHL game, even if it's only for one night

....Operation Hat Trick, a charity game to benefit families affected by Hurricane Sandy, was the main draw, but with Donald Fehr present, pregame questions turned to the stalled labor talks.
5. Canadian Football: Canada's big game goes beyond super

....The Toronto Argonauts host the Calgary Stampeders on Sunday in the 100th Grey Cup, a football game that in Canada is almost as significant as all the wars the country has fought in.

Thought for Today
"Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do."
..Pope John XXIII (1881-1963), Roman Catholic pontiff and one of the most popular Popes of all times (1958-63)

[the flying reindeer]

Shopping Reminder Day

Good evening from Tuxy and me
This is the 330th day of 2012 with 35 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 6:56 p.m., it's cloudy , temp 36ºF [Feels like 31ºF], winds WSW @ 6 mph, humidity 62%, pressure 30.16 in and falling, dew point 24ºF, chance of precipitation 30%.

Today in History:
1789--a day of thanksgiving was set aside by Pres. Washington to observe the adoption of the US Constitution.
1825--the first college social fraternity, Kappa Alpha, was formed at Union College in Schenectady, N.Y.
1832--public streetcar service began in New York City.
1862--the Alice in Wonderland manuscript was sent as a Christmas present by Oxford mathematician Charles Lutwidge Dodgson to 10-year-old Alice Liddell.
1863--Gen. George Meade and the Army of the Potomac began the Mine Run valley campaign against Gen. Robert E. Lee after months of inaction following the battle of Gettysburg.
1872--the Great Diamond Hoax, one of the most notorious mining swindles of the time, was exposed with an article in the San Francisco Evening Bulletin.
1898--a powerful early winter storm batters the New England coast, killing at least 450 people in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
1916--T.E. Lawrence, a junior member of the British government's Arab Bureau, publishes a report analyzing the revolt led by the Arab leader Sherif Hussein against the Ottoman Empire.
1922--British archaeologists Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon became the first to enter King Tutankhamen's tomb in more than 3,000 years.
1931--the first U.S. "cloverleaf" interchange in the US appeared on the cover of the Engineering News-Record.
1933--vigilantes in California lynch Thomas Thurmond and John Holmes, suspects in the kidnapping and murder of the 22-year-old son of a local storeowner.
1940--the half million Jews of Warsaw, Poland, were forced by the Nazis to live within a walled ghetto.
1941--Pres. Roosevelt signed a bill officially establishing the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.
1941--Adm. Chuichi Nagumo led the Japanese First Air Fleet toward Pearl Harbor, with the understanding that should "negotiations with the US reach a successful conclusion, the task force will immediately put about and return to the homeland."
1942--Pres. Roosevelt ordered nationwide gasoline rationing, beginning December 1
1942--the movie Casablanca, starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, premiered in New York.
1949--India adopted a constitution as a republic within the British Commonwealth.
1950--the Chinese counterattacks in Korea changed the nature of war, putting an end to any thoughts for a quick or conclusive US victory.
1973--Pres. Nixon's personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, told a federal court that she'd accidentally caused part of the 18 1/2-minute gap in a key Watergate tape.
1975--a federal jury found Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a follower of Charles Manson, guilty of trying to assassinate Pres. Ford.
1992--Queen Elizabeth II volunteered to start paying taxes on her personal income, and take her children off the public payroll.
2000--Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris certified Republican George W. Bush the winner over Democrat Al Gore in the state's presidential balloting by 537 votes.
2008--terrorists launched commando-style attacks on two luxury hotels, a Jewish center and a crowded train station in Mumbai, India, killing 166 people.
2009--an investigation ordered by Ireland's government found that Roman Catholic Church leaders in Dublin had spent decades sheltering child-abusing priests from the law and that most fellow clerics turned a blind eye.
2010--Somali-born Mohamed Osman Mohamud was arrested by federal agents, accused of planning to detonate a van of explosives during the Christmas tree lighting ceremony.

World News Capsules:
1. US shaping scope of force in Afghanistan after 2014
....Military planners are drawing up broad outlines of a force that would remain in Afghanistan after 2014, including a small counterterrorism unit with an eye toward Al Qaeda, senior officials said.
a. For private security guards in Kabul, hazardous duty
....The private security guards in Kabul serve as the first line of defense against bombings and bullets meant for Westerners and high-profile Afghan government officials.
2. Fatal fire in Bangladesh highlights the dangers facing garment workers
....At least 111 bodies were recovered from a garment factory fire, and scores of injured were taken to hospitals with burns and smoke inhalation injuries.
a. Garment workers stage angry protest after fire
....1000s of workers demanded justice after at least 112 people died over the weekend in a blaze at a factory in Bangladesh.
3. Oil royalties bill ignites protest and divides parts of Brazil
....The legislation, aimed at shifting big portions of royalties from petroleum-rich states along Brazil’s coast, would deal a blow to Rio de Janeiro, the host of the 2014 World Cup.
4. China's leadership change puts pair ahead of their peers for 2017
....A new generation of Communist Party leaders has barely taken over in China and maneuvering has begun to position their putative successors, known as the sixth generation, to key posts.
5. Congo slips into chaos again as rebels gain
....In the past week the rebels have been unstoppable, seizing a provincial capital and eviscerating a chaotic Congolese Army.
a. Deep wounds of past produce new violence in Cong

....Despite money spent on peacekeepers, recent legislation and diplomatic capital, the country has descended into chaos in recent weeks.
6, Pressure grows on Egyptian leader after judicial decree
....Pres. Mohamed Morsi defended his decree, but his justice minister urged a retreat following a plunge in the country's stock market and the threat of more street protests.
a. Semming retreat by Egypt leader on new powers

....Pres. Morsi appeared to backtrack from a sweeping decree that raised his edicts above any judicial review. It was not clear whether the opposition would accept his position.
b. Talks begin in Cairo on steps after Gaza cease-fire
....Egyptian and Israeli officials began talks in Cairo on the cease-fire understandings with Hamas, but the process remained opaque.
7. Beer lovers fear an unequal tax bite in wine country

.....The French government’s plan to increase the beer tax by 160% has upset brewers, beer drinkers and bar owners, who ask why the proposal does not affect winemakers.
a. French center-right party declaires Sarkozy protégé as leader
....Jean-François Copé, a right-leaning protégé of former president Nicolas Sarkozy, was confirmed as the party’s new chief, staring down a last-minute legal challenge from his centrist rival, François Fillon.
8. German inferno kills 14 at site employing disabled
....The police were not able to immediately confirm a report by the local news media that an explosion in a storeroom on the top floor of the facility in Titisee-Neustadt had caused the fire.
9. Greek prosecutors to review video of threat by extremist
....A video showed the spokesman of the right-wing party Golden Dawn threatening the lives of anti-fascist protesters.
a. European finance minister and IMF reach agreement on Greek bailout terms
....The agreement means euro zone ministers have unlocked loan installments for Greece that total $56.7 billion.
10. Israeli defense minister says he is leaving politics

....Ehud Barak, a former prime minister, announced that he would soon “leave political life,” furthering the disarray in Israel’s center-left bloc just weeks before elections there.
11. Italy's center-left heads for a runoff i leadership
....Nationwide primaries to choose the leader of Italy’s center-left Democratic Party in elections next spring have ended without a clear winner, setting the stage for a run-off.
12. Cautiously, Japan raises military profile as China rises
....Japan’s quiet resolve to edge past its longstanding reluctance and become more of a regional player comes as the US and China are staking their own claims to power in Asia.
a. Hopes of home fade among Japan's displaced
....With the slow pace of cleanup efforts, residents of Okuma, a town evacuated in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi disaster, have become pessimistic about ever living there again.
13. Toxic cough syrup kills 16 Pakistanis
....The dead were between 20 and 45 years old, and a homicide investigation was opened involving the factory that made the syrup.
a. Journalist in Pakistan eludes bomb
....A bomb was found under the car of Hamid Mir, who hosts one of Pakistan’s most-watched political talk shows.
14. Crowding and austerity strain Portugal's prisons
....Government spending cuts and rising crime rates in Portugal have added dangerous new burdens to a system that guards and prisoners alike warn is already stretched beyond its limits.
15. In Spain, Catalonia goes own way from its leader
....The decision to call a vote two years ahead of schedule backfired for Artur Mas, the president of Catalonia, who was apparently punished by voters for trying to shift the debate away from his unpopular austerity measures.
16. Rebels claim they seized air bases abd a dan in Syria
....Fresh from declaring they seized an airport and an air defense base, Syrian rebels on Monday said they overran a hydroelectric dam in the country’s north, adding to a string of tactical successes.
17. Venezuelan judge who angered Chavez syas she was raped while in prison
....In a new book, Judge María Lourdes Afiuni gives her first public account of an allegation from 2010. The government said she was making it up for political purposes.

US News Capsules:
1. Spreading the world about shared music, in a sticky fashion

....HoMedics, a marketer of health and wellness products, is introducing its HMDX wireless speakers with an ad shot in Brooklyn that features a food fight of sorts.
2. Courts divided over searches of celllphones
....Judges and lawmakers across the country are wrangling over whether and when law enforcement authorities can search suspects' cellphones without a warrant, and interpretations range widely.
3. After dozens of deaths, inquiry into bed rails
....A woman whose mother died after getting her neck caught in rails on her bed catches the attention of the Consumer Product Safety Commission with a letter.
4. With ban on drilling practice, town lands in thick of dispute

....Longmont's ban on hydraulic fracturing has inspired other cities to push for similar prohibitions. But it has also set the city head-to-head with oil companies and the state of Colorado.
5. Oprah at a crossroads
....Trying to bolster her media empire, Oprah Winfrey has been seeking to attract younger audiences to her magazine, which has experienced a decline in advertising revenue since her talk show ended.
6. ART: What's in the running for an Oscar this year?

....Pundits have “Argo,” “Lincoln,” “Les Misérables” and “Silver Linings Playbook” as early favorites.
a. When Pop Art's wink turned moody

...."Sinister Pop," an exhibition at the Whitney Museum in New York, draws links between the consumerism of early 1960s Pop Art and the counterculture sentiment in Pop that soon followed.
7. At 'Sesame Street,' a void in a close-knit troupe
....Kevin Clash, the puppeteer behind Elmo, was a leader on the PBS show, and his resignation because of sex accusations (proved false) affected more than the Muppet he brought to life for more than two decades.
8. Fierce debt puts pensions at risk in Puerto Rico

(Officials are selling the main San Juan airport and other public assets to raise cash and pay down debt)
....Officials try to raise money by selling assets and restructuring bonds. They have even been pitching Puerto Rico as a tax haven for hedge funds.
9. A vacant lot offers refugees a taste of home

....A plan to revitalize a 15-acre vacant lot in the heart of Phoenix has offered refugees a place to grow their own produce.
10. After drought, reducing water flow could hurt Mississippi river transport
....An annual process meant to maintain irrigation systems may affect the shipment of $7 billion in agricultural and other projects.
11. Astronaut selected for longest US voyage

....Capt. Scott Kelly will embark on a one-year mission with cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko to explore the effects of living in space. Kelly is Gabrielle Giffords' brother-in-law.
12. Justices consider definitionof supervisor in job discrimination case

...The Supreme Court also cleared the way for further challenges to aspects of the health care law and rejected an appeal concerning the insanity defense.
POLITICS:
1. Foreign policy's bipartisan trio becomes Republican duo
....With the retirement of Senator Joseph I. Lieberman in January, John McCain and Lindsey Graham will lose the veneer of bipartisanship that helped their policy goals.
2. GOP resistance to anti-tax pledge weakening

....More and more, conservative Republicans in Congress are breaking from a pledge they signed years earlier against any kind of tax increase or additional tax revenue..

Sports Headlines:
1. NFL: In division races, parity takes a holiday, for now

....With five games to go in the regular season, no division is tied and the leaders of five of the eight divisions have at least a three-game cushion3
a. Manning and the Broncos roll 17-9 to sixth straight win
....Peyton Manning threw for 285 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Chiefs, giving him his 149th victory as a starting quarterback, the second most in NFL history.
b. A superfan's final cry: Q-U-I-T, Quit! Quit! Quit!
....The Jets superfan known as Fireman Ed announced Sunday that he was hanging up his helmet, but the team is expected to finish out the season anyway.
c. Giants bask in return of their offense, and the rescue of a falling fan

....The Giants reflected on their resurgent passing game and powerful ground attack against the Packers, but it was Martellus Bennett who capped the night by catching a falling fan from the stands. Giants Coach Tom Coughlin’s attention to detail and his consistency tend to make Jets Coach Rex Ryan’s words and actions all the more curious and sloppy.
2. NBA: A nascent rivalry for the fans, too

....A new intracity battle is under way as New York’s Nets and Knicks face off.
a. Knicks sideline Kidd with injury after saying little
....About 30 minutes before tip-off, the Nets, not the Knicks, explained that Jason Kidd would not play because of back spasms. The Knicks’ reluctance to share lineup changes before games is not uncommon.
3. NHL: Federal mediators will oversee negotiations on lockout

....Seeking to break a stalemate in their labor talks on the 72nd day of a lockout, the NHL and the players’ association agreed to accept mediation.
4. NCAAF: Figing season claims Auburn's Chizik, two years from championship
....The parade of discarded college football coaches includes Gene Chizik of Auburn, Colorado’s Jon Embree, North Carolina State’s Tom O’Brien, Boston College’s Frank Spaziani and Danny Hope of Purdue.

[ Thought for Today
"So, let us not be blind to our differences - but let us also direct attention to our common interests and to the means by which those differences can be resolved."
..John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) 35th President of the US.

[the flying reindeer]

Electric Guitar Day
Good evening from Tuxy and me
This is the 331st day of 2012 with 34 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 6:17 p.m., it's cloudy , temp 35ºF [Feels like 29ºF], winds NNW @ 7 mph, humidity 54%, pressure 30.23 in and steady, dew point 20ºF, chance of precipitation 20%.

Today in History:
1095--Pope Urban II initiated the 1st Crusade, calling all Christians to war against Muslims in order to reclaim the Holy Land, with a cry of "Deus vult!" or "God wills it!'.
1703--an unusual storm system with hurricane strength winds finally dissipated over England, killing over 10,000 people. 100s of Royal Navy ships were lost to the storm, the worst in Britain's history.
1746--foudning father, landowner, politician and merchant Robert "The Chancellor" Livingstone was born on the family seat, Clermont, on the Hudson River in upstate New York; died 1813 at age 66.
1786--Robert Burns decided not to emigrate to Jamaica as he had planned, and headed for Edinburgh instead.
1863--Confederate cavalry raider John Hunt Morgan escaped from the Ohio Penitentiary and fled to the South.
1874--Chaim Weizmann, Zionist pioneer and 1st president of Israel, was born; died 1952 at age 77.
1868--Lit Col. George Armstrong Custer led a massacre of a band of peaceful Cheyenne living with Chief Black Kettle on Washita River.
1901--the Army War College was established in Washington, D.C.
1910--New York City's Pennsylvania Station opened.
1914--German commander Paul von Hindenburg celebrated his army's successful campaign against Russian forces in the Polish city of Warsaw.
1924--the 1st Macy's Day Thanksgiving Parade was held in New York City.
1934--Baby Face Nelson, a US bank robber, died in a shootout with the FBI.
1940--Gen. Ion Antonescu's Iron Guard executed more than 60 aides of the exiled Romanian king, including Nicolae Iorga, a former minister and acclaimed historian.
1942 The French navy at Toulon scuttled its ships and submarines to keep them out of the hands of the Nazis.
1953--playwright and Nobel laureate Eugene O'Neill died at age 65.
1954--Alger Hiss released from prison after 44 months, still procliaiming his innocence from sping for the Soviet Union.
1957--Caroline Kennedy, daughter of Pres. Kennedy, turns 55.
1957--Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru mafr an impassioned speech for nuclear disarmament in New Delhi.
1965--Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings scored his 600th goal against the Montreal Canadiens, the first player to reach that total.
1965--the Pentagon calls for troop increase from 120,000 to 400,000 men in Vietnam.
1970--Pope Paul VI, visiting the Philippines, was slightly wounded at the Manila airport by a dagger-wielding Bolivian painter disguised as a priest.
1973--the Senate voted 92-3 to confirm Gerald R. Ford as vice president, succeeding Spiro T. Agnew, who’d resigned.
1975--Ross McWhirter, Guinness Book of Records co-founder and editor, was shot dead outside his North London home by the IRA.
1978--Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk were murdred by former Board of Supervisors member Dan White at City Hall in San Francisco, Calif.
1985--the British House of Commons approved the Anglo-Irish accord, giving Dublin a consultative role in the governing of British-ruled Northern Ireland.
2002--UN specialists began a new round of weapons inspections in Iraq.
2005--the first partial face transplant took place in Amiens, France on then 38 year-old Isabelle Dinoire after her Labrador dog, Tania, accidentally mauled her
2007--Indy 500 champ Hélio Castroneves won TV's Dancing with the Stars
2008--Iraq's parliament approved a pact requiring all US troops to be out of the country by Jan. 1, 2012.
2009--golfer Tiger Woods crashed his SUV outside his Florida mansion, sparking widespread attention to reports of marital infidelity.

World News Capsules:
1. Audit says Kabul Bank began as 'Ponzi scheme'
....The report asserts that Afghanistan's largest financial institution existed primarily to allow a narrow clique tied to Pres. Karzai's government to siphon riches from depositors.
2. Something missing in Chinese newspaper's entirely accurate summary of Onion report

....The Chinese Communist Party's newspaper reported, accurately, that The Onion has named North Korea's Leader the Sexiest Man Alive. The word satire was notably absent from the report.
3. Rebel leaders in Congo sending mixed signals on pullout from Goma

....The list of conditions, like releasing political prisoners and investigating the murders of opposition supporters, was long and unrealistic and meant that an immediate pullout seemed unlikely.
4. Egyptian president's hedging on decree fails to stop protest


....Swarming Cairo's Tahrir Square and waving flgas, 1000s protested the Egyptian president’s attempt to assert broad new powers, despite his apparent backtracking the night before.
a. Talks begin in Cairo on steps after Gaza cease-fire
....Egyptian and Israeli officials began negotiations, but the process remained opaque.
5. France says it will vote in favor of Palestinians' UN bid
....The support from France is the most significant boost to date for the Palestinians’ hopes to be granted nonmember observer status, which comes with greater international recognition.
6. Ex-Foreign Minister heads party to oppose Netanyahu
....Tzipi Livni, Israel’s centrist former foreign minister, returned to politics after a six-month hiatus, heading a new party.
7. Italian government faces test as steel plant says ruling would force it to close
....Thousands of workers stormed the Ilva plant, in the southern city of Taranto, after the company halted production and said that a court ruling warned of serious environmental problems.
8. Mexico shifts focus from drug war to economy
....In a meeting with Pres. Obama, Enrique Peña Nieto, the Mexican president-elect, plans to highlight a more prosperous Mexico where high-skilled jobs are plentiful.
a. Third attempt kills former Mexican mayor

....Investigators are not ruling out any possible motives in the killing of Maria Santos Gorrostieta, said the Mexican state's deputy attorney general.
9. North Korea may be planning rocket test, satellite operator says
....North Korea has stepped up what could be preparations to launch a new rocket from its Sohae Space Launch Station in defiance of a UN ban.
10. Arafat's body is exhumed for poison tests

....The remains of Yasir Arafat were exhumed as part of an investigation into whether the Palestinian leader was poisoned eight years ago.
11. Russian martial arts fighter convicted in killing
....Rasul Mirzayev was convicted of killing Ivan Agafonov, a 19-year-old Russian student, outside a trendy nightclub in the capital in August 2011.
12. Civilians killed in Syrian strike on olive press, rebels say
....Syrian rebels accused the authorities of launching an airstrike outside the northern city of Idlib on Tuesday, killing at least 20 people as they waited to have their olives turned into oil.
13. Tibetan protesters injured in crackdown; self-immolations continue
....At least five Tibetans have set fire to themselves in recent days, and at least 20 Tibetan students were injured after security forces cracked down on a large protest in western China.

US News Capsules:
1. Learning to accept, and master, a $110,000 mechanical arm
....War veterans who have lost their upper limbs have found that replicating their complex actions with robotic arms can be excruciatingly difficult.
a. Servicewomen file suit over direct combat ban
....Four military servicewomen, who all served tours in Afghanistan or Iraq, filed a federal lawsuit seeking to end the Pentagon’s ban on women serving in direct combat jobs.
2. Educator aided others at cheating, US charges
....Prosecutors are investigating an educator who they say ran a test cheating ring in three Southern states for individuals who wanted to pass standardized teacher certification exams.
3. A struggling CNN Worldwide is said to be drawn to Jeffrey Zucker

....If he is named, Jeffrey Zucker, the former chief executive of NBCUniversal, is likely to face an identity crisis at a channel with many competing visions.
4. California finds economic gloom starting to lift
....After nearly five years of brutal economic decline, government retrenchment and a widespread loss of confidence in its future, California is showing the first signs of a rebound.
5. SCIENCE: Thinking clearly about personality disorders

....A new proposal to clarify diagnoses of recognized personality disorders and better integrate them into clinical practice, to extend and improve treatment, is meeting resistance.
a. Between rock of ages and a hard place
....By allowing that evolution is a theory, scientists would hand fundamentalists the fig leaf they need to insist, at least among themselves, that the Bible is the literal, not metaphorical, truth.
b. Undisclosed finding by Mars Rover fuels intrigue
....A hint of exciting data soon to be announced has set off a flurry of speculation, testament to the enduring fascination that Mars exerts.
c. Looking to cities, in search of global warming's silver lining
....Cities, whose conditions can mimic what life may be like in the temperate zone of a heated planet, offer insight into how rising levels of heat and emissions could provide some benefits.
6. Gay 'conversion therapy' faces test in courts

....The method, which claims to help men overcome unwanted same-sex attractions, is the focus of two lawsuits in New Jersey and California.
7. Post-Sandy: Power out, but bills are same

....The Long Island Power Authority is assuring outraged customers that their latest electric bills with normal monthly charges are no mistake, despite some being in the dark for days or weeks after Superstorm Sandy.
POLITICS:
1. Efforts to curb social spending face resistance
....Republicans insist that changes to major entitlement programs be on the table in deficit talks, but Democrats have given no indication that they are willing to consider the policy changes.
2. GOP senators not satisfied as Rice concedes error on Libya
....The ambassador to the UN, Susan E. Rice, said that she incorrectly described the attack on the American mission in Libya but said she based her statement on the available intelligence.
3. For Latino groups, grass-roots efforts paid off in higher number of voters
....The high turnout for Pres. Obama among Latinos was partly due to a civic campaign generated by Hispanic tTV and grass-roots groups that urged viewers to register and vote.
4. Fiscal cliff debate shifts to campaign-style tactkcs

....It helped get him re-elected, so Pres. Obama is again employing campaign-style tactics to increase pressure on congressional Republicans to compromise to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff.

Sports Headlines:
1. Marvin Miller, union leader who changed baseball, dies at age 95

....By building the Major League Baseball Players Association into a force that revolutionized the game, Mr. Miller became one of the most influential figures in the sport’s history. Fay Vincent, a former baseball commissioner, described Marvin Miller as a brilliant leader who improved collective bargaining agreements and fought for free agency for players.
a. Grudges had likely role in Hall's snubs of Miller
....Marvin Miller, the former union leader, recognized that as long as baseball executives were judging him, the odds of his election in Cooperstown were slim.
2. MLB: Hall of Fame voters confront the steroid era and its questions

....The 2012 Hall of Fame ballot includes a collection of some of the most prominent performers in recent baseball history. A decade ago, all would have been locks for Cooperstown. Not now.
3. NBA: More than a murmur, not yet a roar

....When Brooklyn fans can be heard at a Knicks-Nets game at Madison Square Garden, then we will know their team has arrived citywide.

Thought for Today
"When truth is divided, errors multiply."
-- \Eli Siegel (1902-1978) poet and critic

[the flying reindeer]

National Model Railroad Month
Good evening from Tuxy and me
This is the day333rd of 2012 with 32 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 6:18 p.m., it's partly cloudy , temp 42ºF [Feels like 35ºF], winds WSW @ 14 mph, humidity 41%, pressure 30.18 in and rising, dew point 20ºF, chance of precipitation 30%.

Today in History:
1781--The Zong Slave Ship Massacre was the mass-killing of African slaves because the ship had taken on more slaves than it could safely transport.
1890--the US Navy won the first Army-Navy football game 24-0 at West Point, N.Y.
1922--Howard Carter opened the tomb of Egyptian Pharoah Tutankhamun to the public
1924--Italian composer Giacomo Puccini died in Brussels.
1927--Vince Scully, Los Angeles Dodger sportscaster, turns 85.
1929--US Navy Lt. Cmdr. Richard Byrd and three crewmen became the first people to fly over the South Pole.
1944--Alfred Blalock and Vivien Thomas performed the 1st successful operation to correct Blue Baby Syndrome, a congenital heart malformation.
1947--the UN General Assembly passed a resolution calling for the partitioning of Palestine between Arabs and Jews.
1952--Pres.-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower kept his campaign promise to visit Korea to assess the conflict.
1961--Enos the chimp was launched from Cape Canaveral aboard the Mercury-Atlas 5 spacecraft, which orbited Earth twice before returning.
1963--Trans-Canada Airlines Flight 831 crashed several minutes after takeoff in poor weather killing all 118 people on board.
1963--Pres. Johnson named a commission headed by Chief Justice Earl Warren to investigate the assassination of Pres. Kennedy.
1972--Pong (first generation video game) was released by Nolan Bushnell in Andy Capp's Tavern in Sunnyvale, Calif.
1986--movie icon Cary Grant died of a stroke at the age of 82.
1988--Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev told a landmark Supreme Soviet session that the country's system of government needed radical change.
1989--in response to a growing pro-democracy movement in Czechoslovakia, the Communist-run parliament ended the party's 40-year monopoly on power.
1990--the UN Security Council voted 12-2 to authorize military action if Iraq did not withdraw its troops from Kuwait and release all foreign hostages by Jan. 15, 1991.
1991--a dust storm in Coalinga, Calif., triggered a massive pileup by more than 250 vehicles on Interstate 5, killing 15 people and injuring more than 100.
1992--Blacks killed four whites and wounded 17 more in an unusual attack at a South African golf club.
1996--a UN court sentenced Bosnian Serb army soldier Drazen Erdemovic to 10 years in prison for his role in the massacre of 1,200 Muslims - the first international war crimes sentence since World War II.
1999--Protestant and Catholic adversaries formed a Northern Ireland government.
2001--George Harrison, 58, lead guitarist and spiritual anchor of the Beatles, died of cancer.
2003--Iraqi insurgents killed seven members of Spain's National Intelligence Center and two Japanese diplomats in a series of attacks apparently aimed at non-American foreigners.
2003--plans by the European Union's "big three" -- Britain, France and Germany -- to give the EU a military planning arm, independent of NATO, won backing from the rest of the bloc.
2005--Louisiana's Department of Health and Hospitals reported 1,086 bodies were recovered in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
2005--a Vatican policy paper said men who recognize homosexuality as a "transitory problem" can be allowed to pursue ordination to become Roman Catholic priests.

World News Capsules:
1, Egypt rushes to vote on new constitution
....Analysts say the document is hastily drafted and ill-defined, but members of the constitutional assembly acted after facing a looming court ruling and an escalating political crisis.
2. Condemning British Press, report urges a new regulator

....An inquiry triggered by the phone hacking scandal found “significant and reckless disregard for accuracy” by the press and said a regulator should be underpinned by law.
3. Bombings in Iraq kill at least 48
....Attacks across the country left 32 dead in Hilla and killed 16 more in Karbala, Falluja, Mosul and Baghdad.
4. US and Israel look to limit impact of UN vote on Palestinian Authority
....Anticipating approval of the resolution, Western diplomats have pushed for a Palestinian commitment not to seek membership in the International Criminal Court.
a. Israel seizes 2 Gaza boats near new offshore limits
....Despite an Israeli concession to permit fishing up to six nautical miles from shore, forces detained a Palestinian fisherman as his crew tried to venture farther into the Mediterranean Sea.
5. Myanmar uses fire bombs to break up mine protest
....The action was the largest crackdown on protesters since the civilian government of President Thein Sein came to power 20 months ago, and analysts say it could hurt the popularity of the president.
6. Top North Korean defense official replaced, South Korea says
....Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s leader, has replaced his defense minister with a hard-line general as part of his attempt to fill the army leadership with a new generation of officers loyal to him, officials said.
7. Prominent Taliban commander said to have been wounded in Pakistan bombing
....Maulvi Nazir was wounded in a suicide attack that killed six other people on Thursday, Pakistani officials said.
8. UN Assembly, in blow to US, elevates status of Palestine

....More than 130 countries voted to recognize Palestine as a nonmember observer state, a stinging defeat for Israel and the US and a boost for Pres/ Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority.
a. After vote, Palestinians and Israel search for the next step
....Even after Palestine gained recognition as a nonmember state at the United Nations, the two countries seemed stuck in the same stalemate.
b. Hamas chief revives talk of reuniting with PLO
....The move could help heal the political split between Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and Fatah, the party that controls the PLO and the West Bank.
9. Demographpic shifts redefine what it means to be Korean

(Assemblywoman Jasmine Lee of South Korea attended a joint wedding for 20 multicultural couples in Seoul.)
....An influx of migrants has South Korea, where textbooks once urged pride in being of “one-blood” and “ethnically homogeneous,” facing the prospect of becoming a multiethnic society.
10. [uj]US weighs bolder effort to intervene in Syria's conflict[/u]

....The Obama administration, hoping that the war in Syria has reached a turning point, is considering more aggressive action there, including providing arms to some opposition fighters. The shift is the most immediate decision facing the Obama administration as it weighs how to end the government of Bashar al-Assad and stop the violence consuming Syria.
a. In Syria, Internet and main airport shut down
....Internet access disappeared across the country on Thursday, and the largest commercial airport in the capital was shut because of fighting nearby, government opponents said.

US News Capsules:
1. In Colorado, no playbook for new marijuana law

....In the uncertain weeks following the state’s vote to legalize small amounts of marijuana, how authorities handle minor drug cases depends less on the law than on location.
2. Costliest jet, years in making, sees the enemy budget cuts

....The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, still plagued by technological troubles, will ultimately cost taxpayers $396 billion if the Pentagon sticks to its plan.
3. Medicare is faulted on shift to electronic records
....A sharply critical report says the agency has not put in place safeguards against fraud and abuse in encouraging the switch to electronic medical records.
4. MOVIES: Pitt slays them, though not so softly

....Brad Pitt talks about his new film, his Chanel ad and his prospects for marriage at the premiere for his latest film, Killing Them Softly.
5. Evolving toward ecstasy

....“Matisse: In Search of True Painting,” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is one of the most thrillingly instructive exhibitions about this painter, or painting in general, that you may ever see.
6. Investor is bullish on clean technology.

....Seen as somewhat of a visionary, Vinod Khosla, a billionaire investor, has been pouring money into clean energy start-ups even after taking a hit on investments in biofuel companies.
7. SANDY: Post-storm cost may force many from coast life
....Insurance premiums will increase as standards for rebuilding become stricter and costlier, posing a serious threat to low- and middle-income enclaves.
8. Fight over ferry on Lake Michigan prompts questions on definition of earmrks
....Language in a Coast Guard reauthorization bill would protect the S.S. Badger, which operates on Lake Michigan. But does that consideration constitute an earmark?
9. On closest planet to the sun, NASA finds lots of ice
....New findings from the [/i]Messenger spacecraft indicate that the planet’s poles are home to large quantities of frozen water.
10. Another shooting may test Florida law
....After a dispute in Jacksonville turns fatal, Florida’s law about the use of deadly force in self-defense is likely to face renewed scrutiny.
POLITICS:
1. Big issues are lost in focus on Libya talking points
....The parsing of four sentences, rather than important questions about the Benghazi killings, could decide the fate of a leading candidate for secretary of state, Susan E. Rice.
2. Resistance on method for curbing filibuster
....Sen. Harry Reid (D.-Nev.) knew he would anger Republicans when he threatened to change the rules of the Senate to make it harder for the minority to gum up legislation.
3. Obama tilts tax debate away from spending cuts
....Pres. Obama said that he hoped to resolve a fiscal impasse before Christmas, but lawmakers should not wait to preserve current rates for income under $250,000.

Sports Headlines:
1. NCAAF: Georgia defense follows Saban cue
....Alabama Coach Nick Saban and Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, a former Saban assistnat, each use the same maxim when explaining their vision of football: “Big people beat up little people.”.
a. Firing a coach, at a price, with little evidence the move pays off
....University administrators appear willing to pay coaches of struggling college football teams huge sums of money to go away and make room for new hires.
2. NBA: Rondo suspended 2 games: Garnett and Wallace are fined


....The Celtics guard Rajon Rondo was suspended for starting a shoving match with the Nets’ Kris Humphries that escalated into a melee with other players, including Kevin Garnett and Gerald Wallace.
a. 35-year-old rookie gives Felton a break and the Knicks a boost.
....Pablo Prigioni, the oldest rookie in the N.B.A. at age 35, came off the bench to score 11 points, which tied his season-high and handed out 7 assists, as the Knicks beat the Bucks.
3. Mediators walk out as NHL and union stay far apart
....The lack of progress between the league and the players union caused federal mediators to exit negotiations and forced leaders to search for new strategies.

Today's Headlines of Interest:

Electrician facing foreclosure collects $1 million Powerball prize

Larry Chandler, 34, of Highland, Ind. was one of the first people through the door at the Indianapolis lottery headquarters Thursday morning after discovering he was one of the big winners in the $587.5 million drawing. Chandler says he played his own numbers and matched every one except the Powerball. His girlfriend's daughter said that he had been living with them because his own home was in foreclosure. His immediate plans for the money include helping out his mom, starting a college fund for his daughter and taking his girlfriend to Red Lobster .
A second million-dollar ticket was purchased in Vincennes, Ind., but it has yet to be claimed, and two other million-dollar tickets were purchased in Central Illinois. Two tickets, purchased in Arizona and Missouri, matched all six numbers and the winners will split the more than half a billion-dollar jackpot. Congrats to all five winners. Now the first thing to do is get a tax adviser and a financial planner.

Thought for Today
"If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts he shall end in certainties. "
--Sir Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St. Alban(1561-1626) English statesman, philosopher, scientist & author
[/size][/color]

[the flying reindeer]

Vegan Month
Good evening from Tuxy and me
This is the 334th day of 2012 with 31 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 7:36 p.m., it's cloudy , temp 26ºF [Feels like 23ºF], winds NE @ 5 mph, humidity 85%, pressure 30.35 in and rising, dew point 23ºF, chance of precipitation 50%.

Today in History:
1667--Jonathan Swift, Anglo-Irish author and satirist (Gulliver's Travels) , was born; died 1745 at age 77.
1718--Charles XII, King of Sweden was killed by a shot in the head during the battle of Fredriksten.
1731--a series of earthquakes struck China. More than 100,000 people died.
1782--the United States and Britain signed preliminary peace articles in Paris, ending the Revolutionary War.
1804--Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase went on trial, accused of political bias. (He was acquitted by the Senate.)
1835--author Mark Twain was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in Florida, Mo.; died 1910 at age 74.
1864--the once proud Confederate Army of Tennessee suffered a devastating defeat after its commander, Gen. John Bell Hood, ordered a frontal assault on strong Union positions around Franklin, Tenn.
1874--Sir Winston Churchill, the British statesman, orator and author who served as prime minister during World War II, was born.; died 1965 at age 90.
1886--the Folies Bergère in Paris introduced an elaborate revue featuring women in sensational costumes and dancing the can can.
1900--Oscar Wilde , Irish playwright, poet and author, died of cerebral meningitis in France .
1917--Richard Von Kuhlmann, the German foreign minister, deliver a speech applauding the recent rise to power in Russia of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin and his radical socialist Bolshevik Party.
1930--G. Gordon Liddy, lleader of the Watergate burglars and ultra-conservative radio talk show host, turns 82.
1934--the Flying Scotsman becomes the first steam locomotive to be officially recorded at 100 mph.
1939--the Russo-Finnish War began when the USSR attacked Finland and the Red Army crossed the border with 465,000 men and 1,000 aircraft.
1950--Pres. Truman refuses to rule out the use of atomic weapons to achieve peace in Korea.
1962--U Thant of Burma was elected secretary-general of the UN, succeeding the late Dag Hammarskjold.
1965--Ralph Nadar's groundbreaking expose Unsafe at Any Speed hit bookstores.
1965--Defense secretary Robert McNamara warned Pres. Johnson that the Communists were gaining strength in South Vietnam.
1966--the former British colony of Barbados became independent.
1967--Minnesota's Sen. Eugene McCarthy, an opponent of the Vietnam Conflict, announced his intention to enter the Democratic presidential primarys.
1967--the Republic of South Yemen gained independence from the United Kingdom.
1975--Israel pulled its forces out of a 93-mile-long corridor along the Gulf of Suez as part of an interim peace agreement with Egypt.
1979--the album The Wall by Pink Floyd was released.
1981--the UStes and USSR opened talks to reduce intermediate-range nuclear forces.
1982--Michael Jackson's Thriller, the best-selling album of all time, was released by Epic Records.
1989--Aileen Wuornos, "America's First Female Serial Killer," killed her first of seven victims, Richard Mallory, a storeowner in Palm Harbor, Fla.
1993-- Pres. Clinton signed the Brady handgun-control bill into law., requiring a prospective handgun buyer to wait five business days while the authorities check on his or her background.
1993--authorities in California arrested Richard Allen Davis, who confessed to abducting and killing 12 year-old Polly Klaas of Petaluma.
1994-/img]-the Achille Lauro cruise ship with a checkered history that included deaths and terrorism caught fire and sank in the seas near Somalia.
1995--Pres. Clinton became the first US chief executive to visit Northern Ireland.
1999--the opening of a 135-nation trade gathering in Seattle was disrupted by at least 40,000 demonstrators, some of whom clashed with police.
2004--software engineer from Salt Lake City and Jeopardy contestant Ken Jennings's record winning streak of 74 straight games and $2.5 million ended.
2010--Pentagon leaders called for scrapping the 17-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" ban after releasing a survey about the prospect of openly gay troops.

World News Capsules:
1. Brazil registers nemic growth, surprising economists
....Gross domestic product rose only 0.6% in the 3rd quarter in Brazil, recently viewed as the rising star among Latin America’s economies.
2. Chinese delegation said to meet with North Korean leader
....The meeting, reported by North Korean state media, came amid signs that Pyongyang is stepping up its nuclear and long-range missile programs.
3. Dire scene in Congolese city as rebels prepare to leave

....Human rights groups said that the rebels who captured Goma last week were now going on an assassination campaign as they prepared to leave, creating a vortex of crime and confusion.
4. Approval of draft constitution spurs large Cairo protest

....Angered by Pres. Morsi’s hurried effort to pass Egypt’s new constitution, protesters massed in Tahrir Square for the second time in a week.
5. German lawmakers back latest round of aid for Greece
....The lower house of Germany’s Parliament easily approved a deal struck by European finance ministers and international lenders.
6/ Giving new life to vultures to restore a human ritual of death
....The Parsi community of Mumbai, India is awaiting approval on a plan to grow the vulture population and thereby revive a centuries-old death ritual.
7. Israel pushing controversial settlemens after UN vote

....A move toward building housing in a contentious area, coming immediately after the Palestinians won observer state status in the UN, was widely seen as retaliatory. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government has announced settlements at inopportune moments ever since Pres. Obama took office in 2009.
a. Israel's antimissile system attracts potential buyers
....Iron Dome's most salient feature, according to American experts now examining after-action reports from Gaza, may well be its software.
8. Japan's space agency says rocket information ws stolen by computer virus
....The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said that the virus in a computer at its Tsukuba Space Center northeast of Tokyo was found to be secretly collecting data and sending it outside the agency.
9. Ethnic hatred tears apart a region of Myanmar

....In western Myanmar, clashes have left at least 167 people dead and 100,000 people homeless, most of them Muslims.
10. Nepal's political leaders given more time to agree on government
....A spokesman for Pres. Ram Baran Yadav of Nepal said the political parties were committed to having a conclusion next week on how elections should be conducted.
11. UK withholds Rwanda aid over Congo rebels

....Britain halts aid to Rwanda over charges it is backing M23 rebels who are waging war with government forces in neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo.
12. South Korea's top prosecutor resigns amid scandals and infighting
....The resignation was quickly accepted by President Lee Myung-bak, who urged the nation’s prosecutors to undertake “self-reflection.”
13. Syrian refugees attacked by 'armed groups,' UN says

....The UN refugee agency said that armed groups are attacking Syrian civilians as they try to flee to Jordan to escape the conflict in their country.
a. Syria rebels challenge Assad in skies

....inside Syria rebels are beginning to use the weapons they've seized to good effect -- and are beginning to challenge the government's dominance of the skies.

US News Capsules:
1. Solar industry borrows a page, and a party, from Tupperware

....Solar parties, like Tupperware parties, are being used by solar companies to sell their products to neighbors of homeowners who have installed the arrays.
2. Under one roof, building for extended families
....Multigenerational living, a throwback to the past, is a growing trend in the struggling economy, and major homebuilders are designing flexible layouts.
3. End of the line for an oyster farm
....Interior Secretary Ken Salazar ended a longstanding dispute that pitted wilderness advocates against supporters of a Northern California oyster farm on National Seashore land.
4. Sales at nation's retailers fell short of expectations in November
....Major chains including Macy's, Nordstrom, Kohl's and Target said their sales declined in November, which included the important Black Friday kickoff of the holiday shopping season.
5. Bursting with science, some of it unsettling

....The Perot Museum of Nature and Science, with 180,000 square feet of space and 11 exhibition halls, opens in Dallas.
6. Complaints aside, most face lower tax burden than in 1980
....Most Americans in 2010 paid far less in total taxes - federal, state and local - than they would have paid 30 years ago.
7. Aid changes raise issue of diversity at colleges

....Wesleyan and other highly selective colleges are changing their financial aid formulas, raising concerns about how campus diversity — both economic and racial — might be affected.
8. US Supreme Court to look at a ene issue
....The Supreme Court announced on Friday that it would decide whether human genes may be patented, setting out to tackle the legal question if isolated genes are “human-made inventions” or “products of nature.”
8. Lady Liberty is just fine; her island is battered
....Most of Liberty Island was underwater during the storm, but the water never reached the statue’s base.
9. Strike shuts down Los Angeles and Long Beach ports
....A strike dragged into its fourth day as 600 clerical workers walked off the job at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and colleagues from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union refused to cross picket lines.
10. Attack at Wyoming college roves fatal

....The police said it appears that a faculty member of Capser College, a Wyoming community college. was killed during class, that a female victim was killed off campus and that the attacker committed suicide.
11. Powerball winners claim half of record prize

...."I think we're going to have a pretty good Christmas," Cindy Hill joked Friday, just minutes after a Missouri lottery official announced that Hill and her family (husband Mark, 3 adult sons andan adopted 6-year-old daughter) had won half of the record $587.5 million Powerball jackpot. Trex Mart, where the winning ticket was bought, will received $50,000.
12. Train with toxic cargo crashes into creek

....A bridge collapsed in the West Deptford area of New Jersey Friday, sending several train cars carrying toxic chemicals crashing into a creek below, the US Coast Guard said..
POLITICS:
1. Chamber competes to be heard in the fiscal debate
....For the Chamber of Commerce, long the leading business voice in Washington, negotiations over the nation's debt will be a test of whether it can retain its influence.
2. House votes to ease restrictions on visas
....The House of Representatives voted Fto ease visa restrictions for a limited pool of foreign workers, previewing a fight over how far Congress should go in changing the country’s immigration laws.
a. Pelosi backs limiting oversight of debt ceiling
...House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi endorsed a proposal by the Obama administration that would require Congress to cede most of its authority over the debt ceiling.
3. Senate votes to curb indefinite detention
....Senators voted to prohibit the government from imprisoning American citizens and green card holders apprehended in the US in indefinite detention without trial.

Sports Headlines:
1. Twenty-five years of schmoozing
....Steve Somers, who hosts a nightly call-in show on WFAN, is funny, even irreverent, about sports, and for many listeners that is part of the appeal.
2. NCAAF: After lowest point, Murray nears peak

....Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray rebounded from a crushing loss and news of his father’s cancer to lead the Bulldogs to the SEC title game against Alabama on Saturday.
a. For-profit university's shift to Division I stokes debate
....Grand Canyon University, a for-profit institution in Phoenix, announced this week that it would join the Western Athletic Conference, becoming the first school of its kind to compete at the highest level of N.C.A.A. athletics.
3. NBA: Spurs coach puts his team first, much to commissioner's chagrin

....Though Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich has rested his big three before, he is too smart not to have anticipated the league commissioner David Stern’s reaction this time as he fines the team $250,000.
a. NY Knicks expect Kidd back next week
....Guard Jason Kidd has been out with back spasms but may play Wednesday night at Charlotte, or shortly thereafter.
b. Among the pushes and shoves, a possible shift in power
....The Celtics have dominated the Atlantic Division for the last half decade, but with the Nets on the rise, that could be coming to an end.
4. NFL: 2 castoff running backs get new chance on NY Giants

....A broken figula in his leg sustained by the Giants’ Andre Brown has given Ryan Torain, formerly of the Redskins, and Kregg Lumpkin, an ex-Seahawk, the chance to revive their careers.
5. MLB: Wright signs 9-year deal with NY Mets

....The Mets had already exercised their $16 million option on David Wright, a six-time All-Star, for 2013. The new deal replaces that option year and will run through 2020.
5. NCAA Hockey: Want a real rivalry? Try Bowdoin-Colby
....Friday and Saturday mark the 199th and 200th meeting between Colby and Bowdoin in a rivalry that dates back 90 years.
a. Study shows possible brain damage caused by subconcussive blows
....A hockey concussion study published Friday in the journal Neurosurgical Focus includes in its findings an intriguing element — possible radiological evidence of brain trauma caused by subconcussive blows.
6. A program that builds both team and family
....Wearing uniforms financed by The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund, seventh-grade boys from the Dunlevy Milbank Children’s Center played with pride in Pennsylvania.

Thought for Today
"It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit."
--Harry S Truman (1884-1972) 33rd US president

[the flying reindeer]

International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
Good evening from Tuxy and me
This is the 336th day of 2012 with 29 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 3:37 p.m., it's lightly raining , temp 46ºF [Feels like 39ºF], winds SSW @ 7 mph, humidity 87%, pressure 29.96 in and steady, dew point 43ºF, chance of precipitation 70%.

Today in History:
1254--Manfred, King of Sicily, defeated the papal armies at the battle of Foggia thereby retaining his kingdom.
1547--Hernando Cortes, Spanish conqueror of Mexico, died.
1777--Lydia Darragh, a Philadelphia housewife/nurse overheard British plans for a surprise attack on Gen. Washington.s army the next day.
1793--fleeing his debtors, 21-year-old Samuel Taylor Coleridge enlists in the Light Dragoons, an English cavalry unit.
1804--Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself a Napoleon I, the first Frenchman to hold the title of emperor in a thousand years. Then he crowned Josephine as his Empress.
1805--Napoleon defeated Russia and Austria at the battle of Austerlitz., known as the "Battle of the Three Emperors,"
1814--Donatien Alphonse François, the Marquis de Sade, French aristocrat, revolutionary politician, philosopher and writer, died.
1823--in his State of the Union address, Pres. Monroe outlined his doctrine opposing European expansion in the Western Hemisphere.
1845--in his first annual address to Congress, Pres. James K. Polk belligerently reasserted the Monroe Doctrine and called for aggressive American expansion into the West.
1848--Franz Joseph of Austria became Emperor of Astro-Hungary.
1850--in Charles Town, Va., militant abolitionist John Brown was hanged on charges of treason, murder and insurrection.
1852--the Second French Empire was proclaimed with Napoleon III as emperor.
1859--Georges Seurat, French painter, was born; died 1891 at age 31.
1901--King Camp Gillette patented the first safety razor with a double-edged disposable blade.
1917--a formal ceasefire is proclaimed throughout the battle zone between the Bolshevik Russians and the Central Powers.
1923--Maria Callas, the legendary American soprano opera singer, was born; died 1977 at age 53.
1927--the Model A Ford was introduced as the successor to the Model T. for the price of $395.
1939--Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., turns 73 years .
1942--Italian-born Nobel Prize-winning physicist Enrico Fermi produced the first controlled nuclear chain reaction in his laboratory beneath Stagg Field at the University of Chicago.
1954--the US Senate voted to condemn Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, R Wis., for "conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute" related to his controversial methods of investigating suspected communists.
1959--the Malpasset Dam collapsed in France, killing 412 and devastating the city of Frejus that dated back to Caesar's time.
1961--Fidel Castro declared himself a Marxist-Leninist, sealing a bitter Cold War animosity between Cuba and the US.
1962--Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield (D-Mont.) claimed that the $2 billion the US had poured into Vietnam during the previous seven years had accomplished nothing.
1963--South Vietnamese leaders ordered a temporary halt to the strategic hamlet program.
1969 The Boeing 747 jumbo jet debuted.
1972--The Temptations earned their final #1 hit with "Papa Was A Rolling Stone."
1975--Ohio State running back Archie Griffin won his second consecutive Heisman Trophy.
1980--four American churchwomen were raped, murdered and buried in El Salvador. (Five national guardsmen were later convicted of murder.)
1982--doctors at the University of Utah Medical Center performed the first implant of a permanent artificial heart in a human., Barney Clark, who lived 112 days with the device.
1990--Chancellor Helmut Kohl's center-right coalition easily won the first free all-German elections since 1932.
1990--American composer Aaron Copland died at age 90.
1993--Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar was shot to death by security forces in Medellin.
1997--childhood friends Ben Affleck and Matt Damon's movie Good Will Hunting debuted in Los Angeles. (They earned an Oscar for Best Screenplay.)
1999--a power-sharing cabinet of Protestants and Catholics sat down together for the first time in Northern Ireland.
2001--Enron filed for Chapter 11 protection in one of the largest corporate bankruptcies in U.S. history.
2002--Toyota's first hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles arrive in California.
2010--the US House voted to censure Rep. Charles Rangel, D-NY, for financial and fundraising misconduct.

World News Capsules:
1. Taliban bombers attack air base in Afghanistan

....The Taliban attacked a coalition airfield in eastern Afghanistan, detonating three car bombs and starting a two-hour battle that killed nine insurgents, four guards and at least four civilians.
a. With help, Afghan survivor of 'honor killing' inches back

....The story of Gul Meena, who was accused of adultery and struck by an ax 15 times by her brother, is also the story of a society struggling with shifting attitudes about women.
2.John McAfee plays hide-and-seek in Belize
....Sought by the police in Belize as a “person of interest” in the investigation of a neighbor’s murder, the tech legend John McAfee has moved his noisy life underground.
3. What's killing Brazil's police?
....In many Latin American cities, poorly paid police officers often live cheek by jowl with criminals. When violence erupts, low-level officers are easy targets.
4. Alarm as China issues rules for disputed area
....The decision to allow interceptions of ships in the South China Sea is raising concerns that disputes with Southeast Asian countries will escalate.
5. Rebels pull out of strategic city in Congo

....The M23 rebel group pulled 100s of soldiers out of Goma, but many of the city’s residents said they feared the return of the government’s forces, who have a reputation for lawless behavior.
6. Amid Egypt's duel on democracy, Morsi calls for vote
....Pres. Mohamed Morsi, whose recent tone and actions have reminded critics of his autocratic predecessor, set a referendum on a new constitution for Dec. 15.
a. Egyptian court postones ruling on constitutional assembly

....Egyptian police officers stood guard outside Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court, while supporters of Pres. Morsi protested near the entrance of the building. The court accused a crowd of Islamists of blocking judges from entering the courthouse.
7. Head of Tehran's cybercrimes unit is fired over death of blogger
....The dismissal of the commander, Gen. Saeed Shokrian, follows investigations by Iranian officials into the unexplained death of a blogger who criticized Iran’s financial contributions to Hezbollah.
8. Dividing the West Bank, and deepening a rift
....Construction on E1, in West Bank territory that Israel captured in the 1967 war, would connect the large Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim to Jerusalem.
9. Tunnel collapses outside Tokyo, and 7 are feared dead

....At least seven people were feared dead after falling concrete pinned them in their vehicles and started a fire in the tunnel.
10. North Korea says it will attempt to tst another long-range rocket

....North Korea said that it would try to launch another long-range rocket later this month, a move that is likely to heighten already strained tensions with Washington and its allies.
11. Abbas calls for Palestinian unity after 'birth certificate' for Palestinian state

....Standing before throngs of cheering supporters, Palestinian Authority Pres. Abbas called for an end to the division among Palestinians in the wake of the United Nations upgrading the authority's status.
12. In panicky Russia, it's official, end of the world is not near
....As rumors of an impending apocalypse, prompted by the Mayan calendar, stir anxiety in Russia, the government has stepped in to encourage calm.
13. Flow of arms to Syria through Iraq persists, to US dismay

....Iraqi airspace has emerged as a main supply route for weapons from Iran, which has an enormous stake in Syria, at a time when Pres. al-Assad is under increasing pressure from rebel fighters.
a. In Damascus, tense anticipation of strongest push yet by rebels
....Clashes in the suburbs of Syria’s capital were accompanied by reports that Pres. al-Assad was readying loyal divisions to defend the heart of his power.
b. Syrian children face fight for food
[http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/121202080409-children-fight-for-food-in-aleppo-00001605-c1-main.jpg/img]
....Inside an embattled Syrian city, children are found scraping the bottom of pots for scraps and eating burnt food as neighborhood volunteers are swamped by hungry kids.
14. Economic frustration simmers again in Tunisia
....Since Presi. Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali was ousted in January 2011, the unemployment rate in Tunisia has risen to 18% from 13%, meaning some 750,000 people are out of work.

US News Capsules:
1. As companies seek tax deals, governments pay high price

....States, cities and counties are giving up more than $80 billion a year to attract or keep companies and the jobs they provide. But officials and governments rarely track how many jobs follow, and many do not know the value of all their awards.
2. Nun uses music to convey spirited message against the Vatican's rebuke
....A song by Sister Kathy Sherman, written in response to the Vatican's rebuke of the main association of American nuns, has become an anthem.
3. Effort to secure order crimps commerce along it
....An imposing wall of corrugated steel disconnects main streets, businesses, shared histories and binational family ties along the Mexican border in Arizona.
4. Utah hunters criticize market apprach to licenses and conservation
....More than any state in the West, Utah has expanded hunting opportunities for the well-to-do and has begun to diminish them for those seeking permits directly from the state.
5. Mortgage catch pushes widows into foreclosure

....Just as the housing market is recovering, a growing group of homeowners - widows over 50 whose husbands held the mortgage - are losing their homes to foreclosure.
6. ARTS: Rebound, as demure as ever

....Shania Twain, opening a residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, revisited the over-the-top glitter of her arena tours of the late ’90s and early 2000s, though in a more controlled format.
a. With Bill Murray, just take the trip

....Bill Murray, the free-form actor who's starring as Franklin D. Roosevelt in the coming film Hyde Park on Hudson, takes an interviewer on an adventure.
b. Middle-Earth wizard's not-so-silent partner

....Fran Walsh has won 3 Oscars and has co-written 12 of Peter Jackson's movies, but has remained largely outside of the spotlight associated with The Hobbit.
c. Chekhov melancholy, never so welcome

....The New York City stages have recently been crowded with productions of Chekhov.
7. Missouri bishop's conviction leaves clergy divided
....Many priests in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph have lost confidence in Bishop Robert W. Finn since he was convicted for not reporting a pedophile under his supervision.
8. Series of storms lashes Northern California
....A third storm is expected in the region Sunday, with warnings issued for heavy rain, snow, high winds and floods from San Francisco Bay to the Oregon border.
9. In Wyoming shooting, girlfriend of teacher slain by son also killed
....A man shot his father in the head on Friday with a bow and arrow in front of a class at a Wyoming community college not long after fatally stabbing his father’s girlfriend at their home a couple of miles away.
10. Two dead in accident at Miami airport

....A bus hit an overpass as it was heading into the arrivals section on Saturday morning, killing two people and critically injuring three others on board.
POLITICS:
1. Aide to Obama faces a big test in fiscal talks
....Quiet, religious and fiercely meticulous, Pres. Obama's chief of staff, Jacob J. Lew, may be the most unassuming power broker in Washington.
2. Geithner draws line in sand on taxes

....The Obama administration will entertain any Republican plans to avoid a fiscal cliff at year's end, but Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says the Bush-era tax cuts for top incomes must go.
a. Negotiators leading talks on fiscal crisis defend stands
....Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and House Speaker John A. Boehner each blamed the other side for the lack of movement toward resolving the fiscal impasse.
b. Boehner 'flabbergasted' at iscal cliff proposal

....House Speaker John Boehner painted a bleak picture Sunday when talking about fiscal cliff negotiations between the White House and Republicans.

Sports Headlines:
1, NFL: Chiefs linebacker commits murder at home and suicide at stadium

....Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher shot and killed his girlfriend, then drove to the team's headquarters and took his own life, the police said.
a. NY Jets' ugly 7-0 win comes with Mark Sanchez on sideline

....On his first drive after taking over for Mark Sanchez in the third quarter, Greg McElroy revitalized a stagnant offense by throwing a touchdown pass, one of the few highlights in a dismal game.
b. Drug of focus is at center of suspensions
....According to N.F.L. figures, there have been 21 suspensions this calendar year because of failed tests for performance-enhancing drugs, including amphetamines like Adderall.
2. NCAAF: Alabama (12-1) hopes thrilling title is prelude to ultimate prize

....When the final seconds ticked off an instant classic Saturday, No. 2 Alabama celebrated, rather wildly, its SEC championship win over No. 3 Georgia that earned it a spot in the BCS title game, opposite No. 1 Notre Dame.
a. With 539 yards rushing, Badgers reach Rose Bowl
....With a 70-31 rout of No. 14 Nebraska in the Big Ten title game, Wisconsin became the first team to reach the Rose Bowl with five losses.
b. South Florida fires Skip Holtz (son of ESPN's Lou Holtz) after three seasons

....South Florida has fired coach Skip Holtz after the worst season in team history, finishing 16-21 in three seasons, including a 3-9 finish this season. The firing comes a year after Holtz was given a contract extension through 2017.
3. NBA: NY Knicks, 7-0 at home, dispatch Phoenix Suns with ease

....The Knicks, led by 34 points from Carmelo Anthony, made their 108-99 victory against Phoenix look routine, much like the rest of their games at Madison Square Garden this season.
4. NCAABK: At SMU, Brown makes splashy return to college coaching
....Larry Brown, 71, has reinvigorated a Southern Methodist University basketball program that has had only one winning season since 2003.
a. R.I.P. Rick Majerus, College basketball coach, dies at age 64

....Rick Majerus. a colorful, intelligent man with a multitude of quirks and warts. ended Saint Louis’s 12-year NCAA tournament drought last season and had only one losing season in 25 years with four schools.
5. MLS: Galaxy repeat as champions in Beckham's MLS finale
....David Beckham’s six years with the Los Angeles Galaxy will most likely be best remembered for the attention he brought to the team and Major League Soccer. But he also brought the team championships.

Thought for Today
"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature.... Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. "
--Helen Keller (1880-1968) deaf-blind author, political activist, and lecturer

[the flying reindeer]

International Day of Persons with Disabilities
Good evening from Tuxy and me
This is the 337th day of 2012 with 28 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 6:37 p.m., it's fair , temp 45ºF [Feels like 45ºF], winds SSE @ 3 mph, humidity 82%, pressure 30.18 in and rising, dew point 40ºF, chance of precipitation 10%.

World News Capsules:
1. Colombian military attacks rebel camps, killing 20

....Colombian military combat planes opened fire on hidden rebel camps over the weekend, killing at least 20 members of the country's largest guerrilla group just days after negotiators finished a round of peace talk.
a. Colombia: Displaced residents grapple with hurdles of going home
....The government has made bringing people back to rural towns a priority, but logistics and fears of violence have complicated matters.
2. Egyptian court postpones ruling on Constitutional Assembly
....Judges delayed their much-awaited decision and accused a crowd of Islamists of intimidating them, but what actually took place at the courthouse is a matter of dispute.
3. France's floating generation
....As youth unemployment hits 22 percent, many young people cannot find jobs that get them on the path to being tax-paying, property-owning adults.
4. Royal baby a 'delight,' especially to Britain's tabloids

....Few people could be more excited about the news from the duke and duchess of Cambridge than the editors of the newspapers and magazines that cover the royal family.
a. UK backers of Europe want business to speak up
....Those who favor the European Union are frustrated by the silence of business on the E.U.'s commercial benefits, when, in private, company bosses are outspoken about the risks of withdrawal.
5. Israel building plan prompts diplomatic protest by 5 nations

....An unusually sharp diplomatic step by Britain, France, Spain, Sweden and Denmark reflected growing frustration abroad with Israel’s policies on the Palestinian issue.
6. New leader of center-left in Iraly talks of changes
....Pier Luigi Bersani punctuated his first day as the point man for Italy's center-left parties by vowing that he would lead the coalition to victory in next year's national elections.
7. Malaysia urged to protect domestic workers
....A case involving the mistreatment of more than 100 migrant workers, mostly Indonesians, drew condemnation from the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
8. Palestine: Collaboration in Gaza leads to grisly fate
....Recent vigilante-style killings of seven Palestinians suspected of providing intelligence to Israel highlighted the pathetic plight of collaborators.
9. Typhoon Bopha grows stronger as it draws close to Philippines
....The Philippines waited in darkness late Monday for the arrival of a menacing typhoon that grew even stronger as it closed in, heightening fears that it could be even worse than a 2011 storm that killed more than 1,200 people.
10. Swiss banking giant UBS is reported to be near a deal on rate rigging
....Banking giant UBS is expected to pay American and British fines of more than $450 million to settle claims that it reported false rates to increase its profit, according to officials briefed on the matter.
11. US warns Syria against using chemical weapons

....Amid signs of activity at some of Syria’s chemical weapons sites, the Obama administration called the use of such weapons “a red line for the United States.”
a. Syria moves its chemical weapons, and US and allies cautiously take note
....The US and several allies warned Pres. al-Assad that he would be "held accountable" if his forces used chemical weapons against the rebels.
b. Terror on Syria's frontlines

....In Aleppo, residents' homes are the frontlines in Syria's civil war. And for the children there, gunfire is so frequent it has become background noise. One girl tells CNN's Arwa Damon that she hardly notices anymore..
12. NATO plans missile defenses for Turkey

....NATO is expected to approve a plan to deploy American, German and Dutch Patriot missile-defense batteries under the alliance’s control to buttress Turkey against potential attack from Syria.
13. Follow the Pope on Twitter. He follows no one

....The Vatican announced that Pope Benedict XVI would begin posting messages on Twitter next week under the handle @pontifex, a term for pope that means bridge-builder in Latin.

US News Capsules:
1. Lines blur as Texas gives industries a bonanza
....Texas offers more incentives to attract business than any other state, but questions remain about who benefits more, the companies or the people of Texas.
2. Vietnam veterans, discharged under cloud, file suit saying trauma was cause
....A suit against the armed forces argues that many Vietnam veterans had post-traumatic stress disorder when they were issued other-than-honorable discharges.
3. A Georgia Main Street paved in red carpet
....No town has been better than Senoia, Ga., in taking advantage of the state's tax incentives for filmmakers, and its biggest claim to fame is the hit show The Walking Dead.
4. Some analysts doubt dire predictions on tax increase fallout
....Judging from tax changes in the past, some economists see a mostly mild effect on markets if tax rates on dividends and capital gains rise at the end of the year, as the White House has proposed.
5. DVR use one factor in networks' low ratings
....CBS, ABC and Fox have all had decreases in ratings, explained partly by the shift toward delayed viewing and partly by a generally weak slate of new shows.
6. Capturing the vibes of the past right now

Ballet Hispanico performed three premieres at the Apollo Theater, including “A Vueltas con los Ochenta.” The dance reflects the mood of Spain in the 1980s, not long after the death of Francisco Franco.
7. Generic drug makers see a drought ahead

....More than 40 brand-name drugs lost patents this year, but generic drug makers have been scrambling to make up revenue next year when far fewer patents expire.
8. Michigan town woos Hollywood, but ends up with a bit part

....A film studio built on the ruins of an automobile plant was intended to bring jobs to Pontiac, Mich., but did not lead to job creation and economic improvement and happy endings there do not usually come Hollywood-style.
9. Spate of harsh weather in New England sifts sentiment on trees
....After a period of violent weather, the region’s sugar maples, birches and oaks are as much a source of terror as they are of pride.
10. Two charged in death of Coast Guard member

....Two Mexican nationals were charged in the death of Chief Petty Officer Terrell Horne, who was killed on Sunday in an encounter with smuggling suspects off the California coast.
11. Fake lottery winner may be Facebook's most shared image

....No, some guy named Daniels on Facebook didn't win the Powerball lottery. And, no, he's not really giving anyone $1 million of his winnings. But that didn't stop a doctored photo claiming just that from becoming possibly the most-shared image in the site's history
POLITICS:
1. White House says 'no' to GOP fiscal cliff plan

....Pres. Obama has emerged as a different kind of negotiator in the past week or two, frustrating Republicans on the other side of the bargaining table. House Speaker Boehner called the GOP plan "credible," but the Obama administration said it didn't demand enough from wealthy taxpayers.
2. Initial deficit cuts are sticking point in negotiations
....The White House and Congress cannot seem to agree on the first measures that would replace the automatic spending cuts and tax increases that make up the “fiscal cliff."

Sports Headlines:
1. Study bolsters link between routine hits and brain disease
....Researchers found evidence of long-term degeneration in the brains of athletes, including John Mackey and Derek Boogaard, military veterans and others.
2. NFL: There is no playbook for what the Chiefs face

....The league has offered counseling in the wake of Jovan Belcher’s crime and death, but the Chiefs will probably turn for help to the people they know and trust already: the doctors, trainers and chaplains who are regularly around the team.
a. After player's suicide, coach and communities are left asking why
....Two days later, Kansas City Chiefs Coach Romeo Crennel and others are still wondering what could have driven Jovan Belcher to fatally shoot his girlfriend before taking his own life.
b. Few labels can accurately define Lions' Johnson
....During his rookie season, Detroit wide receiver Calvin Johnson was nicknamed Megatron, an evil character from the Transformers, but the moniker doesn’t quite fit his vast powers on the football field.
3. MLB: A-Rod to have surgery on left hip
....The Yankees’ third baseman will soon undergo surgery on his left hip, which will most likely keep him sidelined until June.
a. With half an ear, the Mets listen to suitors for Dickey
....The Mets, at baseball’s winter meetings in Nashville, have listened to offers for R. A. Dickey, their Cy Young Award-winning knuckleballer.
4. NHL: New faces at the negotiating table
....Gary Bettman, the NHL commissioner, and Donald Fehr, the union’s executive director, will not participate in the next meeting, on Tuesday, as the sides try a new tack.

Thought for Today
"Good habits result from resisting temptation. "
--Ancient Proverb.

[the flying reindeer]

Hi Neighbor Month
Good evening from Tuxy and me
This is the 338th day of 2012 with 27 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 4:31 p.m., it's cloudy , temp 67ºF [Feels like 67ºF], winds S @ 9 mph, humidity 49%, pressure 29.91 in and steady, dew point 47ºF, chance of precipitation 70%.

Today in History:
963--Holy Roman Emperor Otto deposed Pope John XII for dishonorable conduct and for plotting an armed conspiracy.
1154--Nicolas Breakspear, the first and only Englishman to be elected pope, was crowned as Adrian IV.
1214--William the Lion, King of Scotland, died and was succeeded by his son Alexander II.
1334--Pope John XXII, pope from 1316, died. The second Avignon pope, he improved church administration and upheld papal authority against Emperor Louis IV.
1783--Gen. Washington said farewell to his officers at Fraunces Tavern in New York.
1791--Britain's Observer, the oldest Sunday newspaper in the world, was first published.
1816--James Monroe of Virginia was elected the 5th president of the United States.
1829--Britain abolished the practice of "suttee" in India ( the widow burning herself to death on her husband's funeral pyre).
1849--Crazy Horse, American Indian chief, was born; died 1877 at age 27.
1872--the sailing vessel Mary Celeste was found adrift and abandoned off the Azores with the fate of the 10 people aboard never determined.
1892--Francisco Franco, the Spanish dictator who overthrew the democratic republic and headed an authoritarian regime in Spain for 36 years, was born; died 1975 at age 83.
1918--Pres. Wilson set sail for France to attend the Versailles peace conference.
1918--the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was proclaimed with Alexander I as prince regent.
1933--Tobacco Road, a play based on a book by Erskine Caldwell, premiered at New York's Masque Theatre and ran for eight years and 3,182 shows.
1942--Pres. Roosevelt ordered liquidation of the Works Progress Administration, created during the Great Depression.
1942--US bombers struck the Italian mainland for the first time.
1945--the US Senate approved America's participation in the United Nations.
1947--Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire premiered in New York.
1965--the US launched Gemini VII into space for a link-up with Gemini VI.
1971--McGurk's Bar in Dublin, Ireland was bombed, killing at least 10 including a 13 year-old boy and a woman.
1971--India joined East Pakistan (Bangladesh) in its war for independence from West Pakistan.
1978--Dianne Feinstein became San Francisco's first woman mayor when she replaced George Moscone, who had been assassinated.
1980--the rock group Led Zeppelin announced it was disbanding after the death of drummer John Bonham.
1980--the bodies of four American nuns slain in El Salvador two days earlier were unearthed. (Five national guardsmen were later convicted of murder.)
1984--the discovery of a Bronze Age shipwreck off Turkey's southern coast dating from the time of Pharaoh Tutankhamen in Egypt was announced by the National Geographic Society.
1991--Associated Press correspondent Terry Anderson, the longest-held Western hostage in Lebanon, was released after nearly seven years in captivity.
1992--Pres. Bush ordered US troops into Somalia.
1993--the Angolan government and its UNITA guerrilla foes formally adopted terms for a truce to end a conflict killing an estimated 1,000 people a day.
1995--officials of the United Auto Workers union called an end to a largely unsuccessful 17-month strike against Caterpillar in Peoria, Ill.
1995--the first NATO troops landed in the Balkans to begin setting up a peace mission.
1999--Crown Prince Philippe of Belgium (Duke of Brabant) married Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz, daughter of a Walloon Belgian noble family.
2001--the US froze the financial assets of organizations allegedly linked to the terrorist group Hamas.
2002--a Roman Catholic priest was indicted on seven counts in a seven-month investigation of sex abuse allegations in the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland.
2003--an especially virulent strain of the flu hit the US, mostly in the West at first, with Colorado reporting more than 6,300 cases with the deaths of five children.
2004--Colombia extradited to the US the most notorious drug cartel kingpin in its custody, Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, a co-founder of the notorious Cali cartel.
2005--New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin urged Hurricane Katrina evacuees to return.
2005--the remains of at least 20 people were found in a grave in east Lebanon near a former Syrian-run prison where many Lebanese detainees were held.
2006--John Bolton resigned as US United Nations ambassador.
2007--a Washington report said the pending US election was dashing balanced-budget hopes as Congress worked to please voters instead of making tough fiscal choices.
2007--Six students were killed and four others were hurt when a bomb went off at an Islamic school in Pakistan's Balochistan Province.

World News Capsules:
1. Dispute flares over energy in South China Sea
....China and two of its neighbors, Vietnam and India, are fighting over energy exploration in the waterway, a signal that Beijing plans to continue its hard line over the area.
2. Police crack down on Egyptian protest against constitution

....Huge protests in Cairo dealt a blow to the legitimacy of the new charter, which goes before voters in a referendum scheduled for Dec. 15.
3. Merkel opens campaign for a 3rd term
....Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany appears to be at the height of her powers. But her coalition government is unpopular, and she may need to recalibrate party alliances ahead of the vote next year.
4. Cameron urges editors to act quickly on regulation
....Prime Minister David Cameron told Britain’s top newspaper editors that “the clock is ticking” on their pledge to adopt a new system of press regulation of their own devising.
5. In land of bailouts, Greek madam rescues local soccer team

....Soula Alevridou’s gift of about $1,300, in part to buy pink training outfits, has caused an uproar as officials debate the appropriateness of having a brothel owner step in.
6. US Navy denies Iran's claim to have captured drone

....If the seizure is confirmed, it would indicate a spike in tension between the US and Iran in the skies over the Persian Gulf.
a. Iranian rights advocate ends hunger strike
....The imprisoned advocate, Nasrin Sotoudeh, ended her hunger strike after judicial authorities agreed to lift a travel ban imposed on her 12-year-old daughter, her husband said.
7. For Iraq, year ends the way it began, with guns drawn
....Almost a year after the US military left Iraq, Baghdad is in crisis mode again, with its army in a standoff with Kurdish security forces in a disputed area near Kirkuk.
8. American commander details al-Qaida's strength in Mali
....An al-Qaida affiliate is operating terrorist training camps in northern Mali and using momentum there to recruit across sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and Europe, Gen. Carter F. Ham said
9. Pakistan reels with violence against Shiites
....More than 100 Hazaras have been killed by Sunni extremist gunmen this year, many in broad daylight.
10. Obama calls on Russia to renew weapons pact
....Moscow has threatened to cancel the two-decade-old nuclear disarmament program, which has helped rid the former Soviet Union of thousands of nuclear weapon.
11. Syria school attack said to kill dozens amid heavy fighting

....The government blamed opposition fighters for a mortar attack that killed at least 29 people at a school, as fighting between Syrian forces and rebels intensified in suburbs near Damascus.
a. Assad suffering reversals in fighting and diplomacy
....As the battle for the Syrian capital worsened, a Turkish official said that Russia had agreed to try a new approach to persuade Pres. al-Assad to relinquish power.

US News Capsules:
1. EPA rule complicates runoff case for justices
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. sounded frustrated over an Environmental Protection Agency regulation issued Friday that addressed the heart of an environmental group's lawsuit against loggers.
2. More dads buy the toys, so Barbie, and stores, get makeovers
....Toy makers are seizing on a marketplace shift that has more fathers making buying decisions as girls are increasingly encouraged to play with toys that develop math and science skills.
3. SCIENCE: Mars Rover discovery revealed

....After all the speculation about the discovery by the Curiosity rover, scientists played down the finding, saying that it was too early to say what they found in a pinch of sand.
a. For 2nd opinion, consult a computer?

....Computer programs offer a backup for doctors facing tricky symptoms, but are still far from replacing a skilled diagnostician.
b. With carbon dioxide emissions at record high, worries on how t slow warming
....Emissions continue to grow so rapidly that an international goal of limiting the warming of the planet to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit is becoming unattainable, researchers said.
4. Bid to preserve Manhattan Project sites in a park stirs debate
....Advocates are urging Congress to approve a plan to create a national park encompassing the remaining sites involved in the Manhattan Project.
5. Resisted for blocking the view, dunes prove they blunt storms
....Dunes protected several communities from catastrophic damage during Hurricane Sandy, while Long Beach, N.Y., which built no dunes, suffered $200 million in losses.
6. Professor who learns from peasants

....The political scientist James C. Scott reprises the themes of his earlier work in Two Cheers for Anarchism. He also loves to raise animals on his Connecticut farm.
7. To stop climate change, students aim at college portfolios

....Students are demanding that university endowment funds rid themselves of coal, oil and gas stocks in hopes of bringing climate change onto the national political
8. Military trains a new generation of munitions experts
....An academy in Florida has quietly produced a group of service members in extraordinarily high demand in the wake of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars: explosive ordnance disposal techs.
9. Justices broaden the baasis for damages over floods
....The Supreme Court found that flooding did not have to be permanent for Arkansas to seek federal compensation over dam releases.
POLITICS:
1. Republicans make counteroffer on fiscal talks
....The Republican deficit reduction proposal is far heavier on spending cuts but embraces $800 billion in new taxes over 10 years.
a. Initial deficit cuts are sticking point in negotiations
....The White House and Congress cannot seem to agree on the first measures that would replace the automatic spending cuts and tax increases that make up the "fiscal cliff."
b. In tax fight, Republicans seeking fallback position
....With Pres. Obama insisting on higher tax rates for the rich and winning public support for the idea, Congressional Republicans find themselves in a difficult political spot.
2. Dole appeara, but GOP rejects a disabilities treaty
....Despite Bob Dole’s wishes, Republicans voted against a treaty that would ban discrimination against people with disabilities, fearing it would infringe on American sovereignty.

Sports Headlines:
1. NFL: A tight loss and a tighter race
....The NY Giants, who had appeared to snap out of their second-half slump, took a step back with a 17-16 loss in Washington that cut their division lead to a game.
a. McElroy makes the most of his moment
....Greg McElroy, the Jets' third-string quarterback, has used his time on the practice field and in the film room to prepare for the kind of opportunity that befell him Sunday against the Cardinals.
b. Pro football makes a play for India

....The Elite Football League of India, a curious venture aimed at introducing the American sport to South Asia, has a low level of play but a large potential audience.
c. It's almost unfair: Andrew Luck and the Colts
....You're not supposed to be able to replace a Hall of Fame quarterback with another star. But Andrew Luck is making it look easy.
2. MLB: NY Mets listen to offers for their Cy Young Award winner
....The Mets, at baseball’s winter meetings in Nashville, have listened to offers for R. A. Dickey, their Cy Young Award-winning knuckleballer.
3. NBA: Story of NY Knicks success begins at home
....Under Mike Woodson, both as the interim coach last season and as the permanent coach now, the Knicks have gone 18-1 in regular-season games at Madison Square Garden.
a. Brooklyn Nets' early success earns Johnson Coach of the Month honor
....With a 11-4 record in November, Nets Coach Avery Johnson was selected as the Eastern Conference coach of the month
4. India's Olympic committee is suspended by the OIC
....The International Olympic Committee has suspended the Indian Olympic Association for chronic violations of their charter, creating one of the most embarrassing episodes in Indian sports history.

[ Thought for Today
"A laugh, to be joyous, must flow from a joyous heart, for without kindness, there can be no true joy”
--Thomas Caralyle (1795-1881) Scottish historian and essayist

[the flying reindeer]

National Sacher Torte Day

Good evening from Tuxy and me
This is the 339th day of 2012 with 26 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 4:49 p.m., it's cloudy , temp 33ºF [Feels like 25ºF], winds WNW @ 10 mph, humidity 65%, pressure 30.20 in and rising, dew point 23ºF, chance of precipitation 50%.

Today in History:
1766--the London auctioneering firm Christie's held their first sale.
1776--the first scholastic fraternity in America, Phi Beta Kappa, was organized at the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va.
1782--Martin Van Buren, the 8th U.S. president and the first to be born after the country was formed, was born in Kinderhook, N.Y.
1791--composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died in Vienna at age 35.
1792--Pres. Washington was re-elected and John Adams was re-elected vice president.
1792--the trial of France's King Louis XVI began.
1831--former Pres. John Quincy Adams took his seat as a member of the US House of Representatives.
1832--Pres. Andrew Jackson was re-elected for a second term.
1848--Pres. Polk triggered the Gold Rush of '49 by confirming that gold had been discovered in California.
1873--Thomas Piper, the sexton at the Warren Avenue Baptist Churcht, known as he Boston Belfry Murderer. killed his first victim. Bridget Landregan.
1876--a fire at the Brooklyn Theater in New York kills nearly 300 people and injured hundreds more.
1876--the Stillson wrench, the first practical pipe wrench, was patented by D.C. Stillson of Somerville, Mass.
1901--movie producer Walt Disney was born in Chicago.
1904--the Russian fleet was almost totally destroyed by the Japanese at Port Arthur.
1908--the University of Pittsburgh Panthers were the first to use numbers on their football uniforms.
1915--the siege of British-occupied Kut, Mesopotamia began.
1933--21st Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified, thus repealing the 18th Amendment which had outlawed alcohol .
1934--author Joan Didion turns 78
1941--the US aircraft carrier Lexington headed to Midway
1945--five US Navy Avenger torpedo-bombers disappeared on a routine flight in the area of the Atlantic known as the Bermuda Triangle.
1955--the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merged to form the AFL-CIO.
1955--blacks declared a boycott of city buses in Montgomery, Ala., demanding seating on an equal basis with whites.
1964--Capt. Roger Donlon of Saugerties, New York, was awarded
the first Medal of Honor for action in Vietnam.
awarded 1970--last segment of the Dan Ryan Expressway opened in Chicago.
1977--Egypt broke off relations with Syria, Libya, Algeria, Iraq and South Yemen, all opponents of its peace moves with Israel.
1978 --the USSR and Afghanistan signed a "friendship treaty."
1988--televangelist Jim Bakker was indicted on federal fraud and conspiracy charges.
1991--British media magnate Robert Maxwell disappeared while on his yacht off the Canary Islands.
1994--Republicans chose Newt Gingrich to be the first GOP speaker of the House in four decades.
1995--Spanish Foreign Minister Javier Solana was formally appointed secretary-general of NATO, the first Spaniard to lead the Western alliance.
1996--Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan questioned whether the stock market was overvalued due to the "irrational exuberance" og investors.
2002--US Senate Republican leader Trent Lott praised Strom Thurmond's pro-segregation 1948 presidential campaign. with the ensuing uproar leading to his resignation fhis Senate leadership role.
2006--New York became the first city in the nation to ban artery-clogging trans fats at restaurants.
2007--the Westroads Mall Shooting occurred at the Von Maur department store in Omaha, Neb. when 19-year-old Robert Hawkins killrf nine people.
2008--a judge in Las Vegas sentenced OJ Simpson to 33 years in prison (with eligibility for parole after nine) for an armed robbery at a hotel room.

World News Capsules:
1. Asian cities' air quality getting worse, experts say
....Pollution levels in 70% of the cities examined were found to exceed even the most lenient of several targets recommended by the World Health Organization.
2. Three suppliers for Wal-Mart made goods in Bangladeshi factory where 112 died in fire
....Documents indicate that three separate apparel companies were using the factory during the past year to supply goods to Wal-Mart and its Sam’s Club subsidiary.
3. In Brazil, dozens of police officers arrested, accused of taking bribes
....Brazilian authorities arrested dozens of police officers, accusing them of taking bribes from drug traffickers. in Rio de Janeiro state to turn a blind eye on criminal activity.
4. How crash cover-up altered China's succession
....The effort to suppress news of a deadly Ferrari crash, insiders now reveal, hastened departing president Hu Jintao's decline and spurred the ascent of China's new leader, Xi Jinping.
a. New Chinese leader meets military nuclear officers
....Xi Jinping praised the unit that oversees the land-based ballistic and cruise missiles of China’s nuclear force, in the latest indication that he is moving quickly to solidify control of the military.
5. 1000s of Egyptians protest plan for charter

....Riot police fired brief rounds of tear gas, but then retreated behind the presidential palace walls, apparently to avoid further clashes.
a. Clashes in Cairo after Morsi supporters attack palace sit-in
....Supporters of Egypt’s president attacked protesters camped outside the gates of the presidential palace in Cairo, according to journalists and activists who witnessed the raid.
6. British hospital confirms prank call to duchess's ward

....The hospital treating the duchess Kate admitted it was victimized by a call in which information on the Duchess of Cambridge’s condition was given to a Radio DJ impersonating Queen Elizabeth II.
7. For Greece, oligarchs remain obstacle to growth
....A handful of wealthy families, politicians and the news media — often owned by magnates — are partly to blame for the country’s economic woes.
8. Trying to close orphanages were many aren't orphans
....The Haitian government has started a campaign to try to keep parents from sending their children away simply because they feel they cannot afford to support them.
9. Indian official starts pulling up corruption's roots in Mumbai

....Minister Prithviraj Chavan has forced real estate developers to pay fees they have long avoided and pushed to make the building permit system more transparent, offering hope to frustrated residents.
10.
Weapons sent to Libyan rebels with US approval fell into Islamist hands
....The Obama administration secretly gave its blessing to arms shipments to Libyan rebels from Qatar, but US officials grew alarmed at evidence that Qatar was turning some of the weapons over to militants.
11. Bomb attack kills 3 at base in Pakistan
....Suicide bombers in an explosives-laden car killed two soldiers in the volatile South Waziristan tribal region, according to a senior security official in Peshawar.
12. Typhoon kills 100s in Philippines

.....Rescuers sought to reach isolated villages after a typhoon struck the region, killing at least 270 people.
13. Syrian family hides in underground 'prison'

....The cold chamber that shields a family from shelling looks more like a dungeon than a home. But this is where the Kurdiye family has been hiding from Syrian bombardment for months.
a. Clinton expresses support for new Syrian opposition coalition
....Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s remarks in Brussels appeared aimed at contributing momentum to the new group to allow it to transform into a viable political force.
b. How rape shreds Syria's social fabric

....Rape and the shame of being raped is being used as a weapon in Syria, destroying women's lives, and those of their families and communities.

US News Capsules:
1. For PC virus victims, pay or else

....Ransomware — when a virus freezes a user’s computer and criminals demand money to unlock it — has become a lucrative online scheme.
2. Rhode Island judge has stake in pension case outcome
....A dispute over whether a judge can rule impartially on pension cuts is being closely watched as a test of whether, and how, states and cities can cut such benefits.
3. For young Latino readers, an image is missing

....Educators say grade-school students develop reading skills better when they are engaged by books full of characters with whom they can identify. For Hispanic children, that's hard to find.
4. Clashing rulings complicate path of gay 'Conversion Therapy' law
....Two contradictory judicial rulings suggest that a California ban on a treatment for minors could be embroiled in the courts for months.
5. Coating on buffered aspirin may hide its heart-protective effects
....The coating, meant to protect the stomach, interfered with the way the drug entered the body, arguing against the notion that some people are "aspirin resistant," a study found.
6. Unionizing the bottom of the pay scale
....Labor unions in America are adopting unusual tactics, hoping to raise the floor for wages and working conditions in the ultracompetitive economy of the 21st century.
7. To stop climate change, students aim at college portfolios
....Students are demanding that university endowment funds rid themselves of coal, oil and gas stocks in hopes of bringing climate change onto the national political agenda.
8. Custody case in Scotland goes before US justices
....The Supreme Court struggled to decide whether it was capable of doing anything to affect the outcome of the case involving an American Army sergeant and a British citizen.
9. Federal plan calls for overhauling secrecy policies
....An advisory panel report reflects a view, widely held by current and former national security officials, that far too much information is classified.
POLITICS:
1. In tax fight, GOP seeks a position to fall back on
....With Pres. Obama winning public support for higher tax rates on the rich, Congressional Republicans find themselves in a difficult political spot and are quietly beginning the search for a way out.
2. Stalled farm bill is pushed as dificit-reduction measure
....A stalled farm bill that reshapes nutrition and agriculture programs could contribute billions of dollars in savings, they say.
3. FISCAL CLIFF: The rich will pay more taxes, Boehner says
....Taxes on the wealthy are going up, House Speaker John Boehner conceded in challenging Pres. Obama to sit down with him to hammer out a deal for avoiding the fiscal cliff.
a. GOP senator backs tax rate hike on wealthy

....In a significant development in the fiscal cliff standoff, Republican Sen. Tom Coburn, a leading deficit hawk, said he would support higher tax rates on wealthier Americans as part of a broader deal with Pres. Obama and congressional Democrats to avoid the crisis.


Sports Headlines:
1. NBA: Lakers waiting on Nash and harmony

....Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant and the rest of the Lakers have not yet figured out the rewards of Mike D’Antoni’s offense with Steve Nash sidelined by injury.
a. The Bobcats were the worst, but much has changed
....The Charlotte Bobcats, who will host the Knicks tonight, have used every tool available to distance themselves from last season’s 7-59 finish.
2. MLB: Dickey appears on "Daily Show" as Mets discuss his fate

....Without money to pursue big-name free agents, the Mets could trade R.A. Dickey, who told Jon Stewart on “The Daily Show” that he wants to stay in New York.
a. 'World Series of Bust' for Nationals
....In Davey Johnson’s quest to lead the Washington Nationals to a championship in his last season as a manager, the team has added the veteran pitcher Dan Haren to its already loaded rotation.
3. NHL: Suddenly signs of optimism abound in NHL talks
....Team owners and the players union exchanged proposals as negotiations accelerated Wednesday night.

Today's Headlines of Interest:

How will royal couple react to pregnancy prank?
The fact that anyone managed to phone through to the Duchess of Cambridge's private nurse is a major breach of privacy, whether it was a joke or not. It is a major wake-up call for hospital staff and a reminder, as if it were needed, that they have one of the biggest stars in the world in their care. There should have been systems in place to confirm the identity of incoming callers. Those taking calls shouldn't be revealing private medical information without confirming who they are talking to. Hospitals need to be experts in patient confidentiality -- and this particular one is more used than most to dealing with high profile figures. The King Edward VII is now "reviewing its telephone protocols."
William wants to make sure his wife doesn't suffer the same kind of media intrusion that his mother did -- and he may see this latest hospital prank as crossing the line. We are talking about a sick mother in the early stages of pregnancy who was forced into an early announcement of the news. Her nurse revealed private medical information to a radio station which then chose to broadcast it. The broadcaster, 2Day FM, "sincerely apologized" and wished Catherine all the best. We will see whether the palace chooses to send another warning message to the media as we enter a year's worth of royal baby news. And let's not hear any nonsense about the public's right to know.

Thought for Today
"Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time."
Steven Wright (b. 1955) American comedian, actor and writer

[the flying reindeer]

71st ANNIVERSARY OF PEARL HARBOR

December 7th in History

43 B.C--Marcus Tullius died. Known as Cicero, a Roman writer, statesman and Rome's greatest orator.
1732-[http://www.kathrynrblake.com/images/153_Royal_Opera_House_I_in_London_opens_1732_12-07.jpg/img]-the Royal Opera House had its opening in Covent Garden.
1787--Delaware became the first state to ratify the US Constitution.
1796--electors chose Vice Pres. John Adams to be the 2nd president of the US.
1815 - Michel Ney, the most famous of Napoleon's marshals, was executed by firing squad for treason.
1836--Martin Van Buren was elected the 8th president of the United States.
1842--the New York Philharmonic Orchestra gave its first concert, performing Beethoven work.
1863--R.W. Sears, American merchant and founder of Sears, Roebuck retail company, was born; died 1914 at age 50.
1873--Willa Cather, the American novelist famous for her descriptions of life on the American frontier, was born; died 1947 at age 73.
1889--Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera The Gondoliers premiered in London.
1909--Leo Baekeland patented the process for making Bakelite, giving birth to the modern plastics industry.
1916--Herbert Asquith resigned as British Prime Minister and was replaced by David Lloyd George, the war secretary, with a commitment to wage all-out war on Germany.
1925--Five-time Olympic gold medalist and future movie Tarzan Johnny Weissmuller set a world record in 150-yard free-style swimming.
1931--Pres. Hoover refused to see a group of "hunger marchers" at the White House.
1941--Japanese warplanes attacked the home base of the US Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor, an act that led to America’s entry into World War II.
1953--David Ben Gurion, who had been prime minister of Israel since its foundation, resigned.
1963--videotaped instant replay was used for the first time in a live sports telecast during the Army-Navy football game on CBS.
1965--Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras of the Greek Church formally annulled the excommunication pronounced on the Church of Rome in 1054.
1971--Libya announced the nationalization of British Petroleum's assets.
1972--the last US moon mission was launched as Apollo 17 blasted off from Cape Canaveral.
1982--Charlie Brooks Jr., a US prisoner on death row, was executed by injection for the first time, in Huntsville, Tex.
1986--The speaker of Iran's parliament said his country would help free more U.S. hostages in Lebanon in exchange for more U.S. arms.
1987--Mikhail Gorbachev arrived in Washington, the first Soviet leader to officially visit the United States since 1973.
1988--an earthquake in northern Armenia claimed an estimated 25,000 lives.
1992--the destruction of a 16th-century mosque by militant Hindus touched off five days of violence across India that left more than 1,100 people dead.
1993--astronauts aboard the space shuttle Endeavor fixed the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope.
1993--a gunman opened fire on a Long Island Rail Road commuter train, killing six people and wounding 17. (Colin Ferguson was later sentenced to a minimum of 200 years in prison.)
1995--a 746-pound probe from the Galileo spacecraft hurtled into Jupiter's atmosphere, sending back data to the mothership before it was destroyed.
1995--a two-week strike by hundreds of thousands of French public-sector workers protesting planned cuts in welfare spending spread to cities throughout France.
2001--the Labor Department announced the loss of nearly 1 million jobs over the previous three months.
2001--Taliban forces abandoned their last bastion in Afghanistan, fleeing the southern city of Kandahar.
2002--Iraq denied it had weapons of mass destruction in a declaration to the UN.
2004--Hamid Karzai was sworn in as Afghanistan's first popularly elected president.
2005--US air marshals killed a man who said he had a bomb aboard an American Airlines plane at Miami International Airport. No bomb was found and authorities said the man's wife told them he was mentally ill and hadn't taken his medication.
2007--the Bush administration and mortgage lenders agreed to freeze rates for up to five years for people up to date on subprime loans due for sharp increases.
2007--the South Korean coast guard struggled to contain the largest ever oil spill in Korea following a collision between a barge and an oil tanker that spilled 10,000 tons of oil into coastal waters.
2011--ousted Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison for corruption.


Thought for Today:
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."
--Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) 16th US president

[the flying reindeer]

Happy Chanukah/Hanukkah

Good evening from Tuxy and me
This is the 343rd day of 2012 with 22 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 3:07 p.m., it's cloudy , temp 38ºF [Feels like 34ºF], winds variable @ 5 mph, humidity 70%, pressure 30.15 in and falling, dew point 29ºF, chance of precipitation 1%.

Today in History:
1608--Puritan poet and scholar John Milton was born in London; died 1674 at age 65.
1775--the Virginia and North Carolina militias defeated those serving John Murray, earl of Dunmore and governor of Virginia, at Great Bridge outside Norfolk, ending British royal control of Virginia.
1792--the first formal cremation of a human body in America took place near Charleston, SC.
1835--the newly created Texan Army captured San Antonio in its war for independence from Mexico.
1854--the poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, was published in England.
1868--W.E. Gladstone became British prime minister for the first of his four terms.
1907--Christmas seals went on sale for the first time, at the Wilmington, Del., post office, the proceeds going to fight tuberculosis.
1916--actor Kirk Douglas turns 96 years old.
1917--Turkish troops surrendered Jerusalem to British troops led by Viscount Allenby.
1920--the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to US President Woodrow Wilson.
1921--General Motors engineers discovered that leaded gas reduced "knock" in auto engines.
1926--the US Golf Association legalized steel-shaft golf lubs.
1940--the British 8th Army launched a major offensive in North Africa against Italians in Sidi Barrani in Egypt.
1941--China declared war on Japan, Germany and Italy.
1948--the UN General Assembly approved the Convention on Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
1950--Harry Gold, confessed go-between British scientist Klaus Fuchs and Soviet agents, went to prison for his role in atomic bomb espionage.
1952--the London Fog cleared after 4 days during which London transport was brought to a standstill.
1958--in Indianapolis, retired Boston candy manufacturer Robert H. W. Welch, Jr., established the John Birch Society, a right-wing organization dedicated to fighting what it perceived to be the extensive infiltration of communism into US society.
1962--Arizona's Petrified Forest National Park was established.
1965-- the New York Times reported that the US bombing campaign neither destabilized North Vietnam's economy nor appreciably reduced the flow of its forces into South Vietnam.
1965--the TV debut of the comic strip "Peanuts" gang, in A Charlie Brown Christmas, was on this date.
1971--the Vietnam peace talks in Paris broke down.
1972--"I Am Woman" by Helen Reddy topped the US pop charts.
1973--in London, Keith Moon, Rod Stewart and Roger Daltry opened the rock opera, Tommy.
1973--after Vice Pres. Spiro T. Agnew resigned, House Speaker Gerald Ford became the country’s first, appointed Vice President. 1985--former Argentine president Jorge Videla and his fellow junta member, Adm. Emilio Massera, were sentenced to life imprisonment for their part in the "dirty war" against left-wing guerrillas in which up to 9,000 people disappeared.
1987--the first riots of the Palestinian intifada began one day after an Israeli truck crash in the Jabalya refugee district of Gaza, killed four and wounded 10 Palestinian workers.
1990--Solidarity's Lech Walesa was elected president of Poland.
1992--1,800 US Marines arrived in Mogadishu, Somalia, to spearhead a multinational force aimed at restoring order in the conflict-ridden country.
1992, Britain’s Prince Charles and Princess Diana announced their separation.
1993--the US Air Force destroyed the first of 500 Minuteman II missile silos marked for elimination under an arms control treaty.
2000--the US Supreme Court ordered a temporary halt in the Florida presidential vote count.
2002--United Airlines filed the biggest bankruptcy in aviation history after losing $4 billion in the previous two years.
2004--Canada's Supreme Court ruled that gay marriage was constitutional.
2006--arson was suspected in a Moscow clinic fire that killed 45 women trapped in the inferno by metal bars across the windows. 2008--Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested on suspicion of scheming to sell Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat for cash or a job for himself in the new administration. (Blagojevich was convicted of lying to the FBI; he awaits re-trial on 23 other charges.)

World News Capsules:
1. For Afghan officials, facing prospect of death is in the job description
....Afghan government officials do not worry so much about the wrath of constituents as about being assassinated by the Taliban.
a. Karzai implicates Pakistan in suicide bombing that hurt Afghan spy chief
....The Afghan president says that the suicide bomber who staged the attack came from Pakistan, with the help of a sophisticated foreign intelligence service.
2. Cuban agriculture struggles under creaky infrastructure and yields a meager crop
....Although the government has liberalized many aspects of agriculture and more Cubans are farming, because of waste, poor management, policy constraints and other problems, many are actually seeing less food at new private markets.
3. Backing off added powers, Egypt's leader presses vote
....Pres. Mohamed Morsi rescinded most of a temporary order elevating his authority, but did not postpone a referendum on a draft constitution, a critical opposition demand.
4. Racetrack drugs put Europe off US horse meat
....European officials have warned Mexican and Canadian slaughterhouses that the meat of American racehorses may be too toxic to eat safely because of repeated drug injections.
5. After radio prank, hospital chairman condemns Australian network
....After two Australian radio hosts, as a prank, called the London hospital where Kate Middleton was being treated, a nurse who fell victim to the hoax was found dead.
6. In Guatemala, a family, for a few days a year

....Hundreds of children have been stranded in orphanages for years as authorities there weigh whether to approve their adoptions by families in the United States. Amy and Rob Carr of Reno, Nev., are among the 4,000 Americans who found themselves stuck in limbo when Guatemala shut down its . international adoption program in 2008.
7. Italy's prime minister to qit after losing party support

....Prime Minister Mario Monti announced his plans after his scandal-ridden predecessor, Silvio Berlusconi, said he would run again.
8. A fringe politician moves to Japan's national stage
....Shintaro Ishihara, a novelist turned political firebrand, has emerged as a contender for prime minister and promises to restore Japan's battered national pride.
Land routes blocked, Mexican smuggling rises sharply on California coast
....As security along the Mexican border has tightened, the waters off Southern California have been teeming with smugglers, as drug cartels seek new avenues to move illicit cargo into the US.
9. North Korea cites rocket problems
....Referencing technical issues, North Korea said that it might have to postpone a rocket launching planned for as early as Monday.
10. In Pakistan, US dronestrike kills a senior al-Qaida commander

....The militant, Abdel Rehman al-Hussainan, died in a missile attack on a house in North Waziristan, along the border with Afghanistan.
11. Leader celbrates founding of Hamas with defiant speech

....Hamas's political leader vowed to build an Islamic Palestinian state on all the land of Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
12. Russia announces barriers on imports of US meat
....The move was seen by some analysts as retaliation for American legislation punishing Russian officials linked to human rights violations.
13. Rumblings for change in Sudan's governing party
....Younger members representing the Islamist core of the National Congress Party are pushing an agenda of fighting corruption and expanding dialogue with the opposition.
14. Syria rebels tied to al-Qaida play key role in war

....The US faces a challenge, as some of the best fighters in an uprising that it wants to support belong to a group that it considers a terrorist organization.
a. Fear of fighting haunts a once-tranquil Damascus
....Through decades of political repression, the Syrian capital has maintained a sense of peace, but nearby fighting has rattled residents, making them afraid to leave their neighborhoods.
15. Chávez says his cancer has returned and names his successor, Nicolas Maduro

....Doctors found malignant cells during tests in Cuba, Pres. Hugo Chávez of Venezuela said, adding that his vice president would succeed him if his health worsened.

US News Capsules:
1. Worry tempers joy over gay marriage's moment in court

....Supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage discussed the possible outcomes of the Supreme Court's decision to hear two cases relating to the issue.
2. Breathing life, and art, into a downtrodden neighborhood

....Once a forlorn slab in one of Miami's roughest sections, the Wynwood community is being transformed into a destination for art and culture by the people who helped reshape SoHo and South Beach.
3. A vault for taking charage of your online life

....Michael Fertik, the founder and chief executive of Reputation.com, at its offices in Redwood City, Calif., where he has amassed a database of information collected on millions of consumers. He is building a business around helping people store personal data about themselves as a way to manage their online reputations.
4. Yo, Adrian! I'm singin'
....A stage musical based on the 1976 movie Rocky has proved a hit in Hamburg, Germany. Now its producers hope to bring it to Broadway.
5. Well-worn sound, with unrelenting swagger

....What is a Rolling Stones show in 2012? At the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Saturday it was slapping guitar from Keith Richards and irrepressible stamina from Mick Jagger.
6. 'Famous' wolf is killed outside Yellowstone
....A wolf known as 832F to researchers was the alpha female of Yellowstone National Park’s highly visible Lamar Canyon pack, and some wildlife watchers referred to her as a “rock star."
7. Billion-dollar flop: Air Force stumbles on software plan
....An effort to modernize a logistics management system is canceled after six years and a cost of more than $1 billion.
8. Florida tackling python problem with hunting contest

....Burmese pythons have been threatening Florida's ecosystem for years, so the state is turning to the public for help in the form of a hunting contest to cull the population.
POLITICS:
1. Tax arithmetic shows top rate is just a starter
....Despite hints that President Obama and House Speaker John A. Boehner might compromise on the tax rate paid by top earners, a host of other tax questions could still derail a fiscal deal.
2. Changing affliation again, former governnor of Florida becomes a Democrat
....Charlie Crist, who was elected governor of Florida as a Republican, then ran unsuccessfully for the US Senate as an independent, announced the move via Twitter.
3. New taxes to take effect to fund health care law
....As part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the new levies, which take effect in January, include an increase in the payroll tax on wages and a tax on investment income.
4. Clinton's countless choices inge on one: 2016
....With her tenure as Secretary of State coming to an end, Hillary Rodham Clinton appears to be a figure of nearly limitless possibility, but her next few years could ultimately be defined by her plans for the 2016 election.
5. IMF chief: US economy will stop growing without a deal

....Christine Lagarde says a temporary fix to avoid the fiscal cliff would be insufficient and would lead the markets to "react very quickly ... really taking a hit."

Sports Headlines:
1. Boxing: Pacquiao stunned in 6th round

....Juan Manuel Marquez knocked out Manny Pacquiao at the end of the sixth round of their nontitle welterweight bout, beating him for the first time in his fourth attempt.
2. NCAAF: Manziel, in his 1st season, achieves a Heisman first


....Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel beat out Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o and Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein for college football's most prestigious award.
a. Army batters Navy, but bid to end streak slips from its grasp
....Army, which has the No. 1 rushing offense in the Football Bowl Subdivision, fell for the 11th straight year to Navy 17-13 despite amassing 370 yards on the ground.
3. Knicks fall apart vs. Bulls' defense

....The loss in Chicago ended a five-game winning streak for the Knicks, who were inefficient on offense and played their second straight game without Carmelo Anthony.
a. After two contenders rebuild, the Thunder lok stronger
....After both teams went through substantial off-season makeovers, it’s the Thunder who have taken a step forward while the Lakers have struggled to find chemistry this season.
4. NFL: Jets, with limited game plan for Sanchez, win second staight 17-10

....A week after pulling him from a game, Rex Ryan gave the ball to Mark Sanchez, but installed a safe, protect-the-ball-first plan that focused on the run.
5. MLB: Dodgers are said to land Greinke
....The Los Angeles Dodgers reached a record contract Saturday with starting pitcher Zack Greinke, agreeing to a six-year, $147 million deal.

Thought for Today
"What we hope ever to do with ease we may learn first to do with diligence."
--Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), English lexicographer and author in Lives of the Poets

[the flying reindeer]

Ding-a-Ling Day
Good evening from Tuxy and me
This is the 346 day of 2012 with 19 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 3:08 p.m., it's mostly cloudy , temp 41ºF [Feels like 36ºF], winds W @ 8 mph, humidity 51%, pressure 30.32 in and steady, dew point 24ºF, chance of precipitation 10%.

Today in History:
1408--Order of the Dragon (Chivalric Order) was established by Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor and the King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia.
1745--John Jay, statesman and the first chief justice of the Supreme Court, was born in New York City; died 1829 at age 83.
1787--Pennsylvania became the second state to ratify the Constitution
1870--Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina took his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, becoming the first black congressman.
1897 --The Katzenjammer Kids," the pioneering comic strip by Rudolph Dirks, debuted in the New York Journal
1901--Guglielmo Marconi succeeded in sending the first radio transmission across the Atlantic Ocean.
1911--George V of the United Kingdom and his wife Mary of Teck were crowned Emperor and Empress of India.
1913--two years after it was stolen, Leonardo da Vinci's The Mona Lisa was recovered inside Italian waiter Vincenzo Peruggia's hotel room in Florence, Italy.
1917--Father Edward J. Flanagan , age 31, established Boys Town for troubled and neglected boys in Omaha, Neb.
1917--Over 500 French soldiers killed in train accident in Modane, France.
1925--the first motel, the Motel Inn, opened, in San Luis Obispo, Calif
1937--the neutral US gunboat Panay sunk by Japanese during the battle for Nanking in the Sino-Japanese War.
1947 --te United Mine Workers union withdrew from the American Federation of Labor.
1963--a vinyl long-playing record called John Fitzgerald Kennedy: A Memorial Album set a record for album sales., selling 4 million copies in the first six days of its release.
1963--Kenya gained its independence from Britain.
1969--a 1,350-man contingent from the Army of the Philippines, departed South Vietnam.
1970--"Tears Of A Clown" gave Smokey Robinson & The Miracles their first #1 pop hit, finally.
1975--Sara Jane Moore pleaded guilty to trying to kill Pres. Ford.
1980--American oil tycoon Armand Hammer paid $5,126,000 at auction for a notebook containing writings by Leonardo da Vinci.
1985--the crash of an Arrow Air DC-8 military charter on takeoff from Gander, Newfoundland, killed all 256 aboard, including 248 U.S. soldiers.
1988--the Clapham Junction rail collision resulted in the deaths of 35 people.
1989--Leona Helmsley, the Queen of Mean, received a 4-year prison sentence, 750 hours of community service, and a $7.1 million tax fraud fine.
1990--15 people were killed and more than 260 injured in a pileup of vehicles on a foggy Tennessee highway.
1991--the Russian parliament ratified a commonwealth treaty linking the three strongest Soviet republics as the Russian Federation in the nation's most profound change since the 1917 revolution.
1992--Princess Anne, the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II, became the first divorced royal in the inner circle to remarry when she wed Cmdr. Timothy Laurence.
1997--Michael Carneal, age 14, was indicted as an adult on three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder for the shooting of his classmates at Heath High School in West Paducah, Ky.
1998--the House Judiciary Committee approved a 4th article of impeachment against Pres. Clinton and submitted the case to the full House.
2000--General Motors announced the phase-out of the Oldsmobile.
2002--North Korea announced it would reactivate a nuclear reactor idle since 1994.
2002--the European Union invited 10 nations, including Poland and Hungary, to join its ranks in 2004.
2003--armed men attacked military police near the Ivory Coast's national television station in Abidjan, leaving at least 19 people dead.
2003--Keiko, the killer whale made famous by the Free Willy movies, died in a Norwegian fjord.
2004--seeking to head off a potential trade war with the US and the European Union, China announced it would place tariffs on textile imports.
2006--a Baghdad suicide bomber, luring the unemployed to his truck with promises of work, killed at least 60 people and injured 220 others.
2006--more than 1,000 federal agents raided Swift meatpacking plants in six states, arresting more than 1,200 undocumented workers in a 10-month probe into identity theft by illegal immigrants.
2007--nearly 30 people were killed and 150 wounded when three car bombs exploded in the southern Iraqi city of Amara.
2009--Houston became the largest U.S. city to elect an openly gay mayor, with voters handing a solid victory to City Controller Annise Parker.

World News Capsules:
1. Where war still echoes, recalling earlier battles

....The Jihad Museum honors Afghans who fought the Soviets in the 1970s and 1980s, a bloody time in the nation’s history that some believe is likely to repeat itself.
a. Panetta visits Afghanistan to discuss troop levels
....Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan to discuss future deployment plans with Gen. John R. Allen, the top American commander
2. Bosnian Serb intel chief sentenced for Srebrenica massacre

....Zdravko Tolimir, a former senior commander, was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the killings of thousands of prisoners in 1995.
3. Chinese court sentences 3 Uighurs to death
....The three men, and a fourth who received a life sentence, were convicted of trying to blow up a commercial airliner in June.
a. China reportedly strips Shanghai bishop of his title
....While not unexpected, the revocation by the Chinese Catholic Bishops Council is likely to aggravate tensions between Beijing and the Vatican.
b. China woos overseas companies, looking for deals
....With the government's encouragement, Chinese companies have begun what is expected to be a large number of overseas acquisitions.
4. Egypt's opposition urges vote against draft constitution

....After a prolonged debate, Egypt’s main opposition coalition urged followers to vote against an Islamist-backed charter rather than boycott it.
a. Cairo court sentences man to 3 years for insulting religion
....An avowed atheist, Albert Saber was initially accused of circulating links to an offensive online video lampooning the Prophet Mohamed that set off protests in September.
5. Court seizes assets of Greek oligarch
....The ruling by an Athens court upheld an appeal filed by the shareholders in a bank that the oligarch, Lavrentis Lavrentiadis, once controlled.
6. Israeli minister vents anger at Europe
....Now effectively the prime minister’s No. 2, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman invoked the Nazi era in castigating European leaders over support for the Palestinians.
7. That crush at Kosovo's business door? The return of US heroes[//u]
....The competing business dealings of former high ranking US officials in Kosovo may present a special ethical quandary.
8. North Koreans launch rocket in defiant act

....Washington and its allies have said they think North Korea's rocket program has less to do with putting a satellite into orbit than with developing a vehicle for a nuclear warhead.
9. Syria fires scud missiles at insurgents, US says

....Forces loyal to Presi. al-Assad fired the Soviet-era missiles in recent days, officials in the Obama administration said, in a significant escalation of the nearly two-year-old war.
a. US will grant recognition to Syrian rebels, Pres. Obama says

....Declaring Syria's opposition as its legitimate representative, marks a new phase of engagement for Pres. Obama in a nearly two-year bloody struggle.
b. Armenians fleeing anew as Syria erupts in battle
....Their ancestors fled the Ottoman genocide nearly a century ago, and now Armenians who live in Syria are fleeing that country and settling, at least temporarily, in Armenia.

US News Capsules:
1. Police: shooter acted alone in 'heinous, horrible' crime

....Cops say Jacob Tyler Roberts, 22, opened fire at a mall near Portland, Oregon, killing Cindy Ann Yuille, 54, and Steven Forsyth, 45, before shooting himself.
2. For Vegas weddings, a date with a built-in reminder
....Thousands of couples are expected to declare their everlasting love in Las Vegas on Wednesday, 12/12/12 - the last such triple-date likely to occur in their lifetimes
3. For lesser crimes, rethinking life behind bars
....Many scholars say mandatory sentencing policies in the US lock up nonviolent, low-level offenders for too long and are no longer a cost-effective way to reduce crime.
4. Officials announce pact on jail in Louisiana
....An agreement was reached to overhaul a troubled prison in the same Louisiana parish as New Orleans, but financing for the agreement has remained unresolved.
5. Thomas Hart Benton masterwork goes to Met
...."America Today," which depicts life just before the Great Depression, will go on display when the Met takes over the Whitney's Marcel Breuer building on Madison Avenue.
6. Fed to hold rates down until jobless rate is below 6.5%

....The Federal Reserve said it would maintain short-term interest rates near zero, even after it stops buying bonds, for as long as the unemployment rate remains above its target.
7. Climate change threatens ski industry with bare slopes

....As temperatures rise, analysts predict that scores of the nation’s ski centers, especially those at lower elevations and latitudes, will eventually vanish.
POLITICS:
1. Limits on unions pass in Michigan, once a union mainstay

....Sweeping legislation signed by Gov. Rick Snyder will vastly reduce the power of organized labor in a state that was a symbol of union clout for decades.
2. Unlikely backers in a battle over taxes
....As pressure builds to find a compromise for the fiscal impasse in Washington, some of America's leading executives have dropped opposition to tax increases on the wealthiest.
3. Warren is nominated for Senate baning committee

....A noted consumer advocate, Elizabeth Warren had harsh words for Wall Street throughout her campaign for Senate, and she is expected to support tougher controls on the industry.
4. As fiscal talks heat up, questions no whether Boehner cn get the votes

....As a potential year-end fiscal crisis nears, White House officials have begun to wonder whether Speaker John A. Boehner can garner enough Republican votes to push through a deficit-reduction plan

Sports Headlines:
1. NBA: Anthony has 45, and kidd's 3-pointer wins it
....While Carmelo Anthony dominated the evening, Jason Kidd made his presence felt as the Knicks rallied from a 16-point deficit to beat the Nets in Brooklyn.
2. NFL: Tagliabue lifts suspensions but not blame i bounty case

....In overturning the punishment by his successor Roger Goodell, the former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue blamed the New Orleans Saints organization.
3. MLB: Yankees are set to add Youkills, symbol of rivalry

....Kevin Youkilis, a former Red Sox player, agreed to a one-year, $12-million deal with the Yankees to replace Alex Rodriguez at third base while he recovers from hip surgery
4. NCAAF: When a winning record trumps a checkered past
....Bobby Petrino, hired as the coach at Western Kentucky, has had his share of troubles, including an affair with an Arkansas staff member. Can coaches get away with anything as long as they win?
5. 'NHL: Dysfunctional' business model puts the NHL in peril, experts say
....The damage done by the third lockout under Commissioner Gary Bettman is likely to affect the league well into the future.

Thought for Today
"Advertising may be described as the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it."
--Stephen Leacock (1869-1944) Canadian humorist

[the flying reindeer]

Go Caroling Day
Good evening from Tuxy and me
This is the 360th day of 2012 with 15 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 7:17 p.m., it's cloudy , temp 38ºF [Feels like 29ºF], winds SSE @ 15 mph, humidity 53%, pressure 29.76 in and falling, dew point 22ºF, chance of precipitation 100%.

Today in History:
1783--Virginia ceded the western Ohio Valley territory to the federal government.
1790--the first successful cotton mill in the US began operating at Pawtucket, R.I.
1803--the Louisiana Purchase was completed France to the US during ceremonies in New Orleans.
1812--Sacagawea, the young Indian woman who guided the Lewis and Clark Expedition, died.
1836--Pres. Jackson submitted a treaty he negotiated with the Ioway, Sacs, Sioux, Fox, Otoe and Omaha tribes of the Missouri territory.
1862--Confederate rebels raid ed the Union supply depot at Holly Springs, Miss.
1864--Confederate forces evacuated Savannah, Ga., as Union Gen. William T. Sherman conoketed his "March to the Sea."
1879--Thomas Edison privately demonstrated his incandescent light at Menlo Park, N.J.
1881--Branch Rickey, the American baseball executive famous for creating the farm team system and hiring the first black players, was born; died 1965 at age 83,
1914--World War I: the first Battle of Champagne began.
1941--as the new commander in chief of the German army, Adolf Hitler informed Gen. Franz Halder that there will be no retreating from the Russian front near Moscow.
1946--The Frank Capra film It's A Wonderful Life had a preview showing for charity at New York City's Globe Theatre.
1946--French colonial troops cracked down on Vietnamese Communist rebels.
1955--Cardiff was declared to be the capital city of Wales.
1956--the Montgomery, Ala. public bus boycott in reaction to the Dec. 1, 1955, arrest of Rosa Parks, officially ended.
1957--rock-and-roll star Elvis Presley received his draft notice for the United States Army
1963--the Berlin Wall was opened for the first time to West Berliners for one-day visits to relatives in the Eastern sector for the holidays.
1968--John Steinbeck, Pulitzer-Prize winning author (The Grapes of Wrath)) died in New York City from heart failure.
1973--Luis Carrero Blanco, Prime Minister of Spain, was assassinated with a car bomb.
1976--Chicago Mayor and political boss, Richard J. Daley died at age 74.
1987--a leat 1,749 people died in the Philippines when a passenger ferry was struck by an oil tanker and sank, the century's worst peacetime maritime disaster.
1989--the US sent troops into Panama to topple the government of Manuel Noriega.
1990--Eduard Shevardnadze abruptly resigned as Soviet foreign minister, warning against a dictatorship of hard-liners.
1991--Philippines prosecutors filed nine counts of graft against former first lady Imelda Marcos, charging she used bogus front companies to bilk millions of dollars from the nation.
1993--Serbian Pres. Slobodan Milosevic's governing Socialist Party claimed victory in parliamentary elections.
1995--160 people were killed when an American Airlines 757 crashed into a mountain shortly before it was scheduled to land in Cali, Colombia.
1995--Buckingham Palace confirmed that Queen Elizabeth II had sent letters to her son, Prince Charles, and his estranged wife, Princess Diana, urging them to seek a divorce as quickly as possible.
4995--NATO assumed peacekeeping duties in Bosnia.
1996--guerrillas in Peru took an estimated 380 hostages at the Japanese ambassador's residence.
1998--Iraqi Pres. Saddam Hussein declared that the four-night US-British bombing campaign of his country was a victory for Iraq over the "enemies of God and humanity."
1998--a Houston woman gave birth to seven more babies after delivering the first infant 12 days earlier. They were the only known set of octuplets to be born alive in the United States. The smallest baby died a week later.
1999--Macau reverted to Chinese rule.
1999--the Vermont Supreme Court ruled that homosexual couples are entitled to the same benefits and protections as wedded couples.
2002--Trent Lott (R-Miss.) resigned as Senate Republican leader two weeks after igniting a political firestorm with racially charged remarks.
2004--the UN said sub-Saharan Africa, ravaged by drought, civil strife and swarms of crop-devouring locusts, faced a worsening food crisis.
2005--New York City transit workers began a three-day strike.
2005--a judge in Harrisburg, Pa., ruled the concept of "intelligent design" cannot be taught in Pennsylvania public high school science classes.
2006--US Army Gen. John Abizaid, the head of the US Central Command and the main military architect of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, submitted his letter of resignation.
2006--Sudan's Darfur conflict was reported spreading to Chad with untold numbers of ethnic killings and more than 90,000 Chadians fleeing their villages.
2007--Elizabeth II of the united Kingdom became the oldest reigning British Monarch

World News Capsules:
1. Chatter of Doomsday makes Beijing nervous

....Security officials in China have been rounding up members of the Church of Almighty God, a renegade Christian group whose adherents believe in doomsday predictions that the world will end.
2. Egypt's chief prosecutor retracts his resignation
....The move was the latest bizarre turn in a complicated three-way struggle among the new Islamist president, the institutions of the old government and the president’s opposition in the streets.
3. Hollande uses softer tone on delicate visit to Algeria
....Pres. François Hollande of France sought to strike a more nuanced and conciliatory tone with the former French colony but stopped short of issuing the apology Algiers has long called for.
4. German health care attracts foreign patients
....Germany is known as a way station for treatment of wounded American soldiers, but it is also popular with wealthy and prominent patients from the Middle East, Russia and beyond.
5. BBC's leaders faulted as lax in handling sex abuse crisis
....An exhaustive report strongly criticized the decisions that prompted the BBC to cancel a broadcast in 2011 that would have exposed decades of sexual abuse by Jimmy Savile.
a. Family sentenced to prison in England over forced labor
....A court found that members of an Irish family enticed mentally ill, alcoholic and homeless men to work for as little as $8 a day
6. Israel defies allies in move to bolster settlements
....Brushing aside a growing chorus of international opposition, Israel pushed ahead with aggressive new settlement building in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
7. UN vote planned on Mali security
....A UN Security Council resolution would approve the deployment of a multinational African force in Mali to help retake the northern part of the country from Islamist militias.
8. Female vaccination workers, essential in Pakistan, become prey

....One of Pakistan’s most crucial public health campaigns has been plunged into crisis after militants killed nine volunteers over the course of a three-day polio vaccination drive.
9. Putin defends position on Syria and chastise US on Libya

....Pres. Vladimir Putin reiterated Russia’s opposition to military intervention in Syria and suggested that the US’ role in toppling Col. Qaddafi ultimately led to the Benghazi catastrophe.
a. Putin evasive on support of US adotion ban
....Pres. Putin skirted the question of whether he would support a ban on adoptions of Russian children by American citizens.
10. Ex-dictator's daughter elected president as South Korea rejects sharp change
....The election of Park Geun-hye, the first woman to win the post in a deeply patriarchal part of Asia, ensures the extension of staunchly pro-American governance in the country. She called for national reconciliation and met with foreign envoys.
11. Syria fires more scud missiles at rebels, US says
.... American officials, who have been monitoring Syrian military actions via aerial surveillance, said there was no indication that the missiles were armed with chemical weapons.

US News Capsules:
1. 4 are out at State Dept. after scathing report on Benghazi attack

....Four State Department officials were removed from their posts on Wednesday after an independent panel criticized the "grossly inadequate" security at a diplomatic compound in Libya.
2. ART: When the future became now

....“Inventing Abstraction: 1910-1925,” a dizzying, magisterial cornucopia at the Museum of Modern Art, captures some of the original thrill and terror of the creation of abstract art.
3. Capturing America, fact by fact
....The 2013 Statistical Abstract of the United States reveals a moving picture of how the nation has been changing, through subjects as diverse as pet preferences and student loan debt.
4. A helium shortage leads to fewer balloons in the sky
....A global helium shortage that many say is the worst in decades has affected party stores, holiday parades and even MRI manufacturers.
5. Mormon women set out to take a stand, in pants
....An event on Sunday called "Wear Pants to Church" used attire as a way to draw attention to gender inequalities, but not before generating a backlash and even death threats.
6. US to sell stake in GM in 16 months as bailout winds down
....The Treasury Department said that it plans to sell off its entire stake in General Motors.
7. Newtown massacre changes plans at movie and TV studios
....The shooting in Newtown, Conn., has prompted soul searching in the entertainment capital, where many of those who support gun control also make their livings selling violent images.
8. Use of death sentneces continues to fall in US
....Thirty-six years after the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty, its use is waning; new data show 80 death sentences were handed down in 2012, about a third of the total in 2000.
9. Exchange sale reflects new realities of trading

....The takeover of the New York Stock Exchange’s owner illustrates starkly how trading in commodities and derivatives has become much more lucrative than trading in corporate shares
POLITICS:
1. At Benghazi hearing, State Dept. concedes errors
....State Department officials promised to quickly carry out recommendations to beef up security for the foreign service and urged Congress to provide more money to protect diplomats.
2. Gaps in FBI data undercut background checks for guns

....Significant gaps in the FBI’s database of criminal and mental health records allow thousands of people to buy firearms every year who should be barred from doing so.
a. NRA leader, facing challenge in wake of shooting, rareily shies from fight
....As the first news conference held by the group since the tragedy nears, its leader, David Keene, is expected to vigorously battle efforts to restrict gun rights.
b. Lessons in politics and fine print in assault weapons ban of '90s
....After a 1989 schoolyard shooting, it took five years of legislative slogging to pass a federal assault weapons ban. But the price of passage was a host of compromises.
c. Many owners say semiautomatic weapons are just another hobby
....Owners of AR-15 style rifles dismissed the argument that a federal ban on their firearms would lessen gun violence.
d. Religious leaders push congregants on gun control, sensing a watershed moment
....The campaign will start Friday with an event at the Washington National Cathedral marking the Connecticut shootings a week before.
3. GOP leader in House pull tax bill, citing lack of votes

....The decision was a major setback for Speaker John A. Boehner, who pushed his “Plan B” proposal to keep lower tax rates in place for most Americans in the absence of a fiscal deal

Sports Headlines:
1. NBA: Knicks demonstrate 100-86 distance to Brroklyn
....Carmelo Anthony scored 31 points after missing two games because of a sprained left ankle as the Knicks won for the 10th time in 12 games, while the Nets lost their third straight game.
a. Savior of Knicks now presents only problems
....Amar’e Stoudemire gave the Knicks instant respectability when he signed with them in 2010. But this season, they have become an elite team in his absence.
2. NFL: A stickler for order finds chaos as usual

....Giants coach Tom Coughlin is known for his intensity, but as his teams tend to have midseason slides, a potential downside of that type of leadership is increased emotional fatigue among players.
3. NCAAF: Former Wisconsin coach climbs back into hot seat
....After Wisconsin's coach left to become Arkansas's coach, the athletic director Barry Alvarez took over the Rose Bowl-bound Badgers on a short-term basis.
4. NHL: moves closer to canceling season
....The N.H.L. scratched another two weeks’ worth of games, through Jan. 14, and the league’s deputy commissioner said the point of no return was “sometime in mid-January

Thought for Today
"You cannot acquire experience by making experiments. You cannot create experience. You must undergo it."
--Albert Camus (1913-1960) French author

[the flying reindeer]

Yule
(A religious festival observed by the Northern European peoples, later being absorbed into and equated with the Christian festival of Christmas. The earliest references to Yule are by way of indigenous Germanic month names (Ærra Jéola (Before Yule) or Jiuli and Æftera Jéola (After Yule). Scholars have connected the celebration to the Wild Hunt, the god Odin and the pagan Anglo-Saxon Modranicht.)
Good evening from Tuxy and me
This is the 351st day of 2012 with 14 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 3:07 p.m., it's lightly snowing , temp 35ºF [Feels like 28ºF], winds SW @ 9 mph, humidity 82%, pressure 29.17 in and steady, dew point 30ºF, chance of precipitation 70%.

Today in History:
1620--Pilgrims aboard the [/i]Mayflower went ashore for the first time at present-day Plymouth, Mass.
1799--poet William Wordsworth moved into Dove Cottage in England's Lake District.
1866--Indians in northern Wyoming ambushed Lt Col William Fetterman and eighty soldiers.
1879--Soviet dictator Josef Stalin was born Josef Dzhugashvili in Gori, Georgia; died 1953 at age 73.
1898--scientists Pierre and Marie Curie discovered the radioactive element radium.
1913--he first crossword puzzle was published, in the New York World.
1915--Sir William Robertson was appointed chief of the English Imperial General Staff during World War I.
1937--the Disney animated feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs had its world premiere in Los Angeles.
1940--F. Scott Fitzgerald, American novelist, short story writer, screen writer, died from heart failure.
1945--"Old Blood and Guts" Gen. Patton, commander of the US 3rd Army, died at age 60 from injuries suffered not in battle but in a freak car accident.
1948--Ireland became an independent republic.
1958--Charles de Gaulle was elected the first president of France's Fifth Republic.
1967--The Graduate opened in New York; making the Alfa Romeo Duetto Spider famous.
1968--Apollo 8 was launched on a mission to orbit the moon.
1969--Thailand announcds plans to withdraw its troops from Vietnam.
1971--the UN Security Council chose Kurt Waldheim to succeed U Thant as secretary-general.
1972--the Defense Department announced that eight B-52 bombers and several fighter-bombers were lost since the commencement of Operation Linebacker II in Vietnam.
1975--in Vienna, Austria, Carlos the Jackal attacked an oil ministers meeting OPEC headquarters with German and Arab terrorists, killing three and taking 63 hostages.
1978--police in Des Plaines, Ill., arrested John W. Gacy Jr. and began unearthing the remains of 33 men and boys he was later convicted of murdering.
1985--Harry Chapin earned a #1 hit with "Cat's In The Cradle"
1988--Pan Am Flight 103 from London to New York exploded in midair over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew members aboard, as well as 11 Lockerbie residents.
1991--eleven of the 12 former Soviet republics proclaimed the birth of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
1994--more than 40 people were injured when an incendiary device exploded on a crowded subway in New York's lower Manhattan.
1995--Bethlehem passed from Israeli to Palestinian control.
1996--after two years of denials, House Speaker Newt Gingrich admitted violating House ethics rules.
1998--the shaky coalition of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu collapsed when Israel's parliament voted 81-30 to dissolve the government.
2001--Australian actor Russell Crowe starred in the movie A Beautiful Mind
2002--Pres. Bush set in motion the first US smallpox vaccination program in three decades, fearing terrorists might use the virus as a biological weapon.
2004--Pres. Bush's approval rating slipped 6% to 49%, making Bush the first incumbent president to have an approval rating less than 50% one month after winning re-election.
2005--the US Senate unanimously passed a $445 million defense appropriations bill that included a provision against torture.
2006--four US Marines were charged with murder in the deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians in a 2005 assault in the town of Haditha.
2007--Pakistani officials said a suicide bomber's assassination attempt on a former official killed at least 50 people and hurt 80 others in a crowded mosque in the city of Lahore.

World News Capsules:
1. Doomsday fizzles, but many hail a new era

....A ceremony on Friday marking the end of a 5,125-year cycle in the Mayan calendar at Tikal, the ancient Mayan city in northern Guatemala. The date — 12-21-12 — inspired an Internet-fueled misreading of a Mayan calendar that led many to believe the end of the world would arrive.
2. Resounding victory in Indian vote nedges polarizing fugyre closer to a larger race
....Narendra Modi inched closer to becoming the leading political challenger to India's dominant Gandhi family by winning a resounding re-election as chief minister.
3. Affest of minister's bodyguards prompts protests in Iraq
....Ten bodyguards to Rafe al-Essawi, the finance minister and a top Sunni politician, were arrested on terrorism charges, threatening to further hinder Iraq’s halting process of sectarian reconciliation.
4. Monti resigns as premier of Italy, but may run again
....Prime Minister Mario Monti has emerged as a centrist force in a political landscape that had been divided between two other factions.
5. Fighting kills dozens in Kenya

....About 40 people, many of them children, were killed and scores of others were seriously injured on Friday in renewed tribal attacks along the coastal Tana River delta, Kenyan police officials said.
6. Islamists cited in abduction of French engineer in Nigeria
....Those responsible for the man’s kidnapping were believed to be linked to Al Qaida’s North African affiliate or other radical Islamist groups in northern Mali, French officials said.
7. North Korea says it has detained an American citizen
....North Korea said said that it had charged an American citizen with committing “hostile acts against the republic,” a crime punishable by years in prison.
8. Girl shot by Taliban asks that college not bear her name
....Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani activist who was shot by a Taliban gunman, has asked that a decision to name a college after her be reversed, citing safety concerns.
9. Palestinian premier calls for boycott of Israeli goods
....Israel's refusal this month to transfer tax revenue to the West Bank has undermined the Palestinian Authority's already dire finances, the prime minister, Salam Fayyad, said.
10. Putin edges farther away from Syrian leader
....In Brussels for a summit meting, Pres. Putin of Russia said his country wants “a democratic regime in Syria based on the expression of the people’s will.”
a, Russian parliament given final approval in US adoption ban

....The legislation is an attempt to retaliate against the US for a new human rights law, but American officials urged Russia not to play politics with the lives of orphans..
11. Syria unleashes cluster bombs on town, punishing civilians

....Cluster bombs are impossible to use precisely, and the victims of such attacks describe them as collective punishment against populations that side with the rebels.
12. Commercial Buddhism in Thailand
....Buddhism has been a way of life in Thailand for centuries, but inside the most popular temples is a trend that critics call “fast-food Buddhism.”

US News Capsules:
1. Obama names Kerry to follow Clinton as Secretary of State

....“In a sense, John’s entire life has prepared him for this role,” Pres. Obama said, nominating Senator John Kerry to succeed Hillary Rodham Clinton.
2. Marijuana, not yet legal for Californians, might as well be
.....Marijuana can be smelled in suburban backyards in neighborhoods from Hollywood to Topanga Canyon as dusk falls - what in other places is known as the cocktail hour.
3. NRA leader, facing challenge in wake of shooting, rarely shies from fight

....As the first news conference held by the group since the tragedy nears, its leader, David Keene, as expected, vigorously battled efforts to restrict gun rights.
4. A reminder of what Midwest winters are about
....Snow, absent for so long in much of the Midwest that people seemed to have forgotten all about it, returned with a fury.
5. Retailers try to adapt to device-hopping shoppers

....Online merchants are trying to figure out how to tie together the several methods a customer may use on the way to buying something.
6. Gunman kills 3 in Central Pennsylvania
....A man fatally shot three people Friday morning before being killed by the police, including a woman who was hanging Christmas decorations inside a church,
POLITICS:
1. Boehner cancels tax vote in face of GOP revolt
....Speaker John A. Boehner abruptly halted efforts to pass fallback legislation to prevent a fiscal crisis after conservative Republicans refused to allow taxes to rise even on the most affluent.
2. Even in disarray, GOP has power to constrain Obama
....On guns, taxes and cabinet choices, many Republicans say they should hold fast because they, too, won elections last month.
3. Open Massachusetts seat could give path to Brown
....Sen. John Kerry’s nomination to be secretary of state sets the stage for a comeback by Sen. Scott P. Brown of Massachusetts, a Republican, who lost his seat last month to Elizabeth Warren.

Sports Headlines:
1. A rising hockey star with NBA DNA

....Seth Jones, the son of a former professional basketball player, could become the NHL's first African-American star defenseman, with his strong skating and puck-handling skills.
a. NHL players give authorization to dissolve union.
....The NHL Players' Association voted overwhelmingly in favor of giving its executive board the power to file a disclaimer of interest and effectively dissolve the union, the latest step in the increasingly damaging 97-day lockout.
2. NBA: Knicks tried, failed to trade Stoudemire

....When the Knicks cleared out their roster to acquire Carmelo Anthony, they voluntarily accepted the complications that come with integrating two high-usage, offense-first stars who operate from similar spaces on the floor.
3. NCAABK: Known for faith as well as his play, a top recruit, picks Duke, not BYU

....Jabari Parker is a 6-foot-8 senior at Simeon Career Academy whose exceptional post moves and jump shot are perhaps exceeded by his biography: an African-American Mormon in urban Chicago.
Thought for Today
"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it."
--George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950) Irish playwright


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[the flying reindeer]

Natonal Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month
Good evening from Tuxy and me
This is the 356th day of 2012 with 9 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 6:07 p.m., it's partly cloudy , temp 32ºF [Feels like 20ºF], winds W @ 20 mph, humidity 55%, pressure 29.77 in and rising, dew point 18ºF, chance of precipitation 80%.

Today in History:
640--the Saracens under Amrou conquered Alexandria, having invaded Egypt two years earlier.
1696--James Oglethorpe, English founder of the British colony of Georgia, was born; died 1785 at age 88.
1715--James Stuart, the "Old Pretender" and claimant to the British throne, landed at Peterhead from exile in France to start a rebellion.
1772--Moravian missionaries begin construction of the first schoolhouse west of the Allegheny Mountains, at Schoenbrunn, Pennsylvania.
1783--George Washington resigned his military commission.
1785--the American Continental Navy fleet was organized, consisting of two frigates, two brigs and three schooners.
1807--the US Embargo Act took effect, banning trade with Britain, France and the rest of the world, aimed to force Britain and France to stop harassing American trade.
1808--Beethoven's Fifth Symphony had its world premiere.
1850--the Hawaiian Post Office established.
1858--opera composer Giacomo Puccini was born in Lucca, Italy; died 1924 at age 65.
1864--Union Gen. William T. Sherman sent a message to Pres. Lincoln from Georgia, saying, "I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah."
1894--in New York City, the United States Golf Association was formed.
1894--French army officer Alfred Dreyfus was convicted of treason in a court-martial that triggered worldwide charges of anti-Semitism.
1917--peace negotiations opened between the new Russian government and Germany at Brest-Litovsk.
1937--the Lincoln Tunnel (connecting Weehawken, NJ with the Manhattan borough of NYC) was opened to traffic with a $.50 charge per passenger car.
1941--British Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrived in Washington, D.C., for a wartime conference with Pres. Roosevelt.
1943--Beatrix Potter, English author and illustrator best known for her Peter Rabbit series, died in Castle Cottage, Swarey England.
1944--during the Battle of the Bulge, Germany demanded the surrender of American troops at Bastogne, Belgium; Brigadier Gen. Anthony C. McAuliffe reportedly replied: "Nuts!"
1956--Colo, the first gorilla to be born in captivity arrived into the world at the Columbus Zoo in Ohio.
1963--Lakonia, an ocean liner cruise ship, caught fire resulting in the deaths of 128 people - 95 passengers and 33 crew.
1972--5,000 people died when a series of earthquakes left the Nicaraguan capital of Managua in ruins.
1984--in New YOrk, Bernhard Goetz shot four black youths on a Manhattan subway, claiming they were about to rob him.
1986--political dissident and Nobel laureate Andrei Sakharov and his wife, Yelena Bonner, were allowed to return to Moscow after seven years of internal exile.
1989--Brandenburg Gate was re-opened thus ending the division between East and West Germany.
1989--Romanian Pres. Nicolae Ceausescu, the last hard-line communist holdout against East Bloc reforms, fell from power.
1989--Samuel Beckett, Irish dramatist and poet, died at age 83 in Paris, France most likely from emphysema.
1990--Lech Walesa took the oath of office as Poland's first popularly elected president.
1992--all 158 people aboard a Libyan Boeing 727 died when the jetliner crashed, apparently following an in-flight collision with a military plane.
1994--Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi resigned after seven months in office, following corruption charges against him.
1997--members of a pro-government militia attacked the village of Chenalh, Mexico, killing 45 people, including a number of children.
2001--Richard C. Reid, a passenger on an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami, tried to ignite explosives in his shoes, but was subdued by flight attendants and fellow passengers.
2005--astronomers announced the discovery of two more rings encircling the planet Uranus.
2005--Wal-Mart was ordered to pay more than 100,000 California employees $172 million for depriving them of breaks to eat.
2006--rape charges against three former members of the Duke University lacrosse team were dropped after the alleged victim said she couldn't be sure she had been raped.
2007--the US Air Force reported finding major structural flaws in eight models of its F-15 fighter jets.
2010--Pres. Obama signed a law allowing gays for the first time in history to serve openly in America's military.

World News Capsules:
1. Taliban in talks hint at softer line, but suspicion of their sincerity lingers
....The Taliban’s senior leadership has expressed that the group would be willing to operate as a mainstream Afghan political faction, but with the Taliban there are always questions.
2. As charter nears passage, Egyptians face new fights

....An Islamist-backed constitution appeared headed for approval, propelling deeply split political factions into a new phase in the battle over Egypt’s future.
a. Support for Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood erodes in an Islamist bastion
....Residents complain about the government's confusing economic policies, its near-monopoly on power and the use of force against opponents.
3. Clashes break out in India at a protest over a rape case

....Protesters in New Delhi demanded justice and better policing after the rape of a 23-year-old medical student.
4. A divide over prayer at a sacred site in Israel

....After years of legislative and legal fights, the movement for equal access for people to pray as they wish at the Western Wall has become a rallying cause for liberal Jews.
5. Italian quits post, but can't be counted out
....Whether he runs in early elections or not, Prime Minister Mario Monti has already radically shifted Italy's political landscape.
6. Russia says it won't play role in ousting Syria's leader
....Comments by Russia’s foreign minister came after recent signals that his country sees the military balance shifting in Syria, but still strongly opposes international intervention.
7. In ravaged Syria, beach town may be loyalists' last resort
....The resort town of Tartus is seen as a possible place for Alawites, including Pres. Assad, to establish a rump state if his government falls.
8. Tunisian dictator's possessions to be sold at public auction
....Cars, jewelry, carpets and other assets that once belonged to the deposed president of Tunisia, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, will be auctioned at a monthlong sale and exhibition.
9. Boston priest to lead oversight of sexual abuse claims at Vatican
....Pope Benedict XVI named a priest from Boston, the epicenter of the sexual abuse crisis in the US, as the Vatican’s new sex crimes prosecutor

US News Capsules:
1. Varied paths toward healing for sites of terrorized schools
....Officials in Newtown, Conn., are not ready to think about the future of Sandy Hook Elementary, but some lessons may come from what has happened to other terror scenes.
2. Acting CIA chief critical of film Zero Dark Thirty[/u].

....Michael J. Morell said the movie exaggerates the role of coercive interrogations in producing clues to the whereabouts of Osama Bin Laden.
3. Dangerous abscesses add to tainted drug's threat
....The contaminated drug that caused a nationwide meningitis outbreak has created a second, growing wave of serious spinal infections.
a. Drugs aim to make several types of cancer self-destruct
....Three pharmaceutical firms are trying to restore a mechanism that normally tells cells to die if their DNA is badly damaged, an approach that might work against half of all cancers.
4. NRA envisions 'a good guy with a gun' in every school

....After a weeklong silence, the National Rifle Association implicated violent video games, the news media and lax law enforcement - not guns - in a rash of mass shootings.
a. Shop owners report rise in firearm sales as buyers fear possible ne laws
....With gun-control legislation getting more serious discussion after the mass shooting in Connecticut, some dealers report they've run out of some models as consumers stock up on weapons and ammunition.
b. Walking the tightrope on mental health coverage
....While many people with health insurance also have mental health coverage, some are reluctant to use it - or can't find a practitioner who will accept it.
c. NRA call to guard schools is criticized as too simplistic
....Teachers, parents and police reacted to a National Rifle Association proposal for armed security, some concerned about school culture and others worried about who might get shot.
d. A bleak procession of funerals for shooting victims ends in Newtown

....The burial of Josephine Grace Gay brought an end to services that began not long after Adam Lanza killed 20 children and 6 adults at a Connecticut elementary school.
e. Intense alienation can be an incubator for violence
....Homicide is a predominantly urban form of lawlessness, but research shows mass murders happen more often in smaller communities.
5. For poor, leap to college often ends in a hard fall

....Low-income students have long trailed affluent peers in school performance, but from grade-school tests to college completion, the gaps are widening.
6. Cats at Hemingway Museum draw tourists, and a legal battle
....The charms of the 45 celebrated six-toed cats at the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum in Key West, Fla., have proved powerless against federal regulators.
7. Pest control in the sky, courtesy of a raptor
....In a twist on the ancient sport of falconry, more companies are employing hawks and falcons to keep birds like sea gulls and pigeons away from areas where they aren’t welcome.
8. Study finds flaws in pipeline leak detection systems
....The forthcoming federal report found that members of the general public are more likely to identify oil and gas spills than the pipeline companies’ leak detection systems.
POLITICS:
1. Obama presses stripped-down plan to limit tax increase

....Pres. Obama, conceding that a "grand bargain" for deficit reduction with Speaker John A. Boehner is unlikely, called for Congress to approve a more modest measure by year's end.
2. Events recall a more bipartisan era, and highlight gridlock of today

....A political opposition that is still bitter about Pres. Obama's victory remains unwilling to compromise on social policy, economics or foreign affairs.
a. How party of budget restraint shifted to 'No New Taxes,' ever
....Some Republicans fear that the party’s commitment to prevent tax increases more and more is coming at the expense of those other, older kinds of fiscal responsibility.

Sports Headlines:
1. NBA: From behind, Knicks chase refs

....Friday’s loss to the Chicago Bulls was the best and most recent example of how a frustrated Knicks team can lose its composure and then struggle for the rest of the game.
a. Paul is cornerstone of Clippers' revival, and not just on court
....One unofficial, uncredited member of the committee that remade the Los Angeles Clippers is point guard Chris Paul.
2. WTA: Being considered the next Serena is a compliment and a detriment

....As 16-year-old Taylor Townsend gets ready to turn professional, she is drawing comparisons to Serena Williams — including unflattering references to her body type.
3. NFL: Giants' poor run defense slows pass rush to a stumble

....The NY Giants’ defensive line is supposed to be part of the team’s bedrock, but it is not doing the job on first and second downs

[ Thought for Today
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
--[/i]George Orwell (1903-1950) English author


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