List Management Online

In the United States, "bathroom" commonly means "a room containing a lavatory". In other countries this is usually called the "toilet" or alternatively "water closet" (WC), lavatory or "loo". The word "bathroom" is also used in the U.S. for a public toilet (the more formal U.S. term being "restroom").

The Roman attitudes towards bathing are well documented; they built large purpose-built thermal baths, marking not only an important social development, but also providing a public source of relaxation and rejuvenation. Here was a place where people could meet to discuss the matters of the day and enjoy entertainment. During this period there was a distinction between private and public baths, with many wealthy families having their own thermal baths in their houses. Despite this they still made use of the public baths, showing the value that they had as a public institution. The strength of the Roman Empire was telling in this respect; imports from throughout the world allowed the Roman citizens to enjoy ointments, incense, combs, and mirrors.

Toilet Partitions

WASHINGTON – Some conservative commentators seized on President Barack Obama's deep bow to Japan's Emperor Akihito over the weekend, accusing the U.S. commander in chief of groveling before a foreign leader.
So did he?
While it may have been an awkward moment, it wasn't without precedent. And it appeared to be well within protocol guidelines that the State Department issues for foreign service officers working in other countries.
U.S. presidents from both political parties have often been criticized for their attempts at culturally sensitive greetings to high-ranking foreigners.
Former President George W. Bush, a Republican, was mocked for holding Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah's hand, a traditional sign of friendship in the Middle East, as they strolled together in 2005.
In 1994, former Democratic President Bill Clinton was criticized for almost bowing to Akihito. The resulting image, The New York Times wrote, was of "an obsequent president and the emperor of Japan."
Former President Richard Nixon, a Republican, can be seen in a Life magazine photo from 1971 bowing to Akihito's father, Emperor Hirohito, who ruled when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941.
Obama's encounter with Akihito was a stumble because it mixed a bow with a handshake — something not normally done. And it wasn't the first time the president, a Democrat in office less than a year, has been criticized for his greeting of a foreign leader. Critics accused him of genuflecting to Saudi King Abdullah at a summit meeting of the leaders of the top 20 rich and developing nations earlier this year.
The current bow comes during a highly charged political moment in the United States. Conservatives are strongly opposing Obama's policies, especially his plan to overhaul the U.S. health care system, and they have seized on any perceived faux pas by Obama, carrying their message on talk radio and blogs.
An online video posted by the University of Connecticut College Republicans juxtaposed a series of upright handshakes between Akihito and other world leaders and Obama's low bow.
Andrew Malcolm, in a blog on the Los Angeles Times Web site, asked, "How low will the new American president go for the world's royalty?"
Obama's bow was compared with photos of former Vice President Dick Cheney giving Akihito a straight-backed handshake and Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who oversaw the post-World War II occupation of Japan, standing with his hands on his hips next to Hirohito.
State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters Monday that the bow was "a sign of respect to the emperor."
In an online State Department posting from 2007 titled "Protocol for the Modern Diplomat," envoys are advised to be aware of greeting rituals such as kisses, handshakes or bows and to follow a country's tradition. "Failure to abide with tradition may be interpreted as rudeness or a lack of respect for colleagues," it says. It's not clear whether the guidelines apply to the president.
John Park, a senior researcher at the U.S. Institute of Peace think tank, said it is a respectful tradition for visitors to bow to the emperor in a formal setting.
But, he said, "We're in an environment right now where everything is hypersensitive. Any type of move that you do, there will be some group that sees some sort of message within all that."
___
Associated Press writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON – As the prospect of double-digit unemployment looms, President Barack Obama on Monday sought to set expectations for the nation, saying job losses will likely roll on "for weeks and months to come" because hiring always lags behind in an economic rebound.
"We just are not where we need to be yet," Obama said as he met with a panel of economic advisers. "We've got a long way to go."
Unemployment hit a 26-year high of 9.8 percent in September. The next monthly reports come out Friday and could show it topping 10 percent.
Still, the economy is growing again. Reports out Monday show improvement in manufacturing, construction and contracts to buy homes.
Obama said that building a sustainable economy and getting people back to work remain his "administration's overriding focus." Obama helped push through a $787 billion economic stimulus package earlier this year, and he says the administration, Congress and the private sector must take more bold steps to help.
Obama spoke as he met with his Economic Recovery Advisory Board. The session was open to reporters and streamed live on the White House Web site.
Obama added that the U.S. must break out of a "debilitating gridlock on trade policy," by ending the false choice between a wide-open, freewheeling import policy or fearful, protectionist approach to trade. He called for a more balanced policy of letting the world know America will compete and trade fairly.
___
White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov

A cabinet is usually a box-shaped furniture, either standing alone as a piece of furniture or built into or attached to a wall (such as a medicine cabinet) typically made of wood but now often made of synthetic materials, and used for storage of miscellaneous items.

A cabinet intended for clothing storage is usually called a wardrobe or an armoire (or a closet if built-in). In previous centuries, such a cabinet was also known as a linen-press. In British usage, a wardrobe occasionally was referred to as an oakley, because of the oak wood used in its construction. In India, a cabinet is often referred to as an Almari.

Visit

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AFP) –
A suicide bomber targeted workers queuing for their salaries outside a Pakistani bank and hotel on Monday, killing 35 people as the United Nations pulled expatriate staff from the northwest.

The twin blows to Pakistan eclipsed the military's announcement that troops had captured a key Taliban-held town during a major offensive in the tribal belt and offered five million dollars for Taliban chiefs dead or alive.

Monday's attack, near army headquarters in Rawalpindi, turned a routine day into bloodshed for the second time in less than a week, showing the enormity of the threat that Al-Qaeda-linked militants pose in Pakistan.

The blast showered the area with human flesh, smeared blood on the ground and shattered the windows of a multi-storey block housing the bank and four-star Shalimar Hotel.

"Our building shook as if in an earthquake and when we came out there was smoke everywhere and body parts were thrown into our office," Raja Sher Ali, a marketing manager in a local company, told AFP. Related article: Pakistan posts massive rewards for Taliban leaders

A surge in violence left more than 300 people dead last month, when Pakistan began a major offensive against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in the tribal belt where US officials say Al-Qaeda are plotting attacks on the West.

On Monday evening two suicide bombers blew themselves up at a police checkpoint at the entrance to Lahore city, wounding seven people, a senior police official said.

"A car was stopped at the checkpost and the two suicide bombers in the car exploded themselves. We have found legs and a head," city police chief Pervez Rathor told reporters.

Rathor said the car was packed with a huge quantity of explosives and "could have caused a catastrophe" had it entered the city.

The deadly Rawalpindi bombing was also the work of a suicide bomber, police said, although rescue workers said the cause was still unclear.

"The suicide bomber came on a motorcycle and blew up close to people gathered to get salaries. We found parts of a suicide vest and some body parts of the suicide attacker," senior police official Aslam Tarin told reporters.

"Thirty-five were killed and more than 60 wounded," Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira told a news conference. Four security personnel were among the dead and nine others wounded, the military said. Scene: Bomb survivors recall bloodshed

The attack occurred near Pakistan's army headquarters, where 10 gunmen kept up a nearly 24-hour siege last month that left 23 people dead and deeply embarrassed the military.

Pakistan claimed more successes Monday in its US-endorsed fight against Islamist networks which have killed more than 2,420 people within the nuclear-armed Muslim nation since July 2007.

"Kanigurram is now under the complete control of security forces," Major General Athar Abbas told reporters, hailing what he called a "significant achievement" after two days of street battles in the South Waziristan town.

Commanders on the battlefield have described Kanigurram as a major TTP "operational centre" and base for Uzbek fighters.

But the United Nations announced it was pulling out non-essential international staff from northwest Pakistan, days after at least 118 people were slaughtered in a car bomb in its local capital Peshawar.

"They will be relocated. Immediately," Ishrat Rizvi, a UN spokeswoman, told AFP of the expatriate workers in the area. She could not immediately say how many staff the decision affected.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon raised the security level to "phase four" in the North West Frontier Province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

"The decision has been taken bearing in mind the intense security situation in the region," a UN statement said.

On October 5, five UN World Food Programme workers died when a suicide bomber walked into their Islamabad office and blew himself up. The TTP claimed responsibility.

Pakistan on Monday offered rewards worth five million dollars for information leading to the capture, dead or alive, of the country's Taliban warlord Hakimullah Mehsud and 18 lieutenants.

The country's army chief Ashfaq Kayani discussed matters of "mutual" and "professional interest" Monday in separate talks with General Sir David Richards, Britain's Chief of General Staff, and US General Stanley McChrystal, Commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, the military said.

NAIROBI, Kenya – The world's fastest man adopted the animal kingdom's fastest sprinter Monday, as Usain Bolt welcomed a new baby cheetah named Lightning Bolt into his life.
The Jamaican sprinter's sponsorship of the 3-month-old male cheetah is part of an effort to boost Kenyan conservation efforts of its famous wildlife, whose survival is threatened by trophy hunting, climate change and human encroachment.
The world record-holder in the 100 and 200 meters paid $13,700 to formally adopt the cub. He will also pay $3,000 a year to care for Lighting Bolt, who will be raised at an animal orphanage in Nairobi.
The money will go to the Kenya Wildlife Service, and some will be used to protect Kenya's endangered species, KWS director Julius Kipngetich said.
Bolt was joined on the trip by Colin Jackson, a former 110-meter hurdles Olympic champion, and Jochen Zeitz, the chief executive of athletic gear manufacturer Puma. Zietz made the visit to launch his charity's campaign to preserve ecosystems.
Jackson adopted a 2-year-old eland, the largest of the antelope species.
Bolt, who was on a four-day visit to Kenya, said Friday he was looking forward to seeing Kenya's diverse wildlife, but was scared of meeting lions.
He nearly ran away when asked Monday to pet a fully grown cheetah named Sharon for a photo shoot with Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga. Bolt had Zeitz stand in for him, until he saw that Sharon seemed harmless.
The world record holder appeared more comfortable later while handling his baby cheetah, which was the size of a fully grown domestic cat. He cradled the fuzzy-headed cub while feeding it bottled milk as cameramen snapped away.
When asked if he was afraid of cheetahs, Bolt said: "Yes, I was, but not anymore."
Lighting Bolt is among three cubs rescued by KWS officials after their mother abandoned them in a game park.

LONDON – On the surface, it looks like a polite tug of war between two of the world's great churches, each saying nice things about the other.
But the ramifications of the conflict between the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England are broad and not yet completely clear, with details of the Vatican's offer to help Anglicans convert still unpublished.
It is not yet known what part of the Anglicans' liturgy and rites will be incorporated into Catholic worship under the surprise offer made earlier this week in a bold bid by Pope Benedict XVI to capitalize on sharp divisions within the Anglican community over the proper role of women clergy and the acceptability of openly gay priests.
Nor is it evident how many Anglicans will seek to switch churches because of the pope's new policy. The Right Rev. John Broadhurst, the Bishop of Fulham, believes roughly 1,000 Church of England clergy will seek to join the Roman Catholic Church. He is chairman of Forward in Faith, a group of traditionalists opposed to the ordination of women.
He said this was not a direct result of the pope's new policy but a reflection of widespread unhappiness with liberal Church of England policies.
"There are 1,000 priests who are totally disenchanted with the position on women bishops, and if there is no provision for them, they will inevitably leave the Church of England," he said. "The Church of England is in a crisis because of its own internal policies and has been for a long time."
Others predict the exodus will be smaller.
Some changes are certain: it will, for example, be possible for married Anglican clergy to become Roman Catholic clergy under the new rules, a prospect that some believe may open the door, slowly, to the acceptance of married Catholic priests.
The Rev. Thomas Reese, a Vatican expert at Georgetown's Theological Center in Washington, predicted the Vatican announcement may have "significant and unforeseen consequences" for the Catholic Church.
"It may in fact provide the Catholic Church with a steady supply of married priests," he wrote.
Several commentators have suggested that the Catholic Church will be increasingly pressured into relaxing its own celibacy rule for priests because of the expected influx of married Anglican priests. For years, there have been calls for so-called "viri provati" or tested men to perform priestly functions to help relieve the priest shortage in the United States and much of the developing world.
The Vatican has always rejected those calls, saying the celibacy rule is not up for negotiation.
Cardinal William Levada acknowledged that the influx of married Anglican priests into the Catholic Church could create problems. But he said he didn't think the problem would be "insurmountable."
"It's a question of education, of the reasons for this kind of a disposition among our faithful," he told a press conference earlier this week. "And I think that experience has already shown us that if an explanation is given, that people understand that and accept it as an exception."
Part of the problem stems from the fact that, according to the new Vatican norms, Anglican seminarians will be trained alongside Catholic seminarians. It stands to reason that that the already difficult decision a Catholic seminarian must make to live a celibate life will be made even more difficult if his schoolmate is allowed to have a wife.
"I think for some people it seems to be a problem because as you know there have been many catholic priests who have left the priesthood to get married, and the question rises: 'If these former Anglicans can be married priests, what about us?'" Levada said.
But he said the two circumstances are completely different. The Vatican grants an exception to Anglican priests as a way of respecting that their calling to be Catholic happened to have occurred after they were married.
Already, some Catholic groups that have long advocated making celibacy optional for priests are seeing the new ruling as a lever to be used to force the Roman Catholic Church to liberalize its policies on married clergy.

"We're surprised and pleased to see Vatican flexibility in permitting married priests for Anglican converts, but we need the option of a married priesthood in the Latin rite of the Catholic Church too," said Christine Schenk, director of FutureChurch, an Ohio-based coalition that favors liberalization of Church rules.

Other group members predicted that Catholic seminarians who wish to marry will likely join the Anglican branch to take advantage of the new situation. They say acceptance of married priests is a vital step needed to help combat the shortage of priests, both in the United States and around the world.

The number of priests in the US has dropped from about 58,000 in 1965 to 40,000 today. The number of priests worldwide has declined slightly since 1970, during a time when the number of Catholics in the world has nearly doubled to an estimated 1.1. billion, according to figures compiled by the Center for Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University.

The shortage is caused not only by men leaving the priesthood, many in order to marry, but also by the difficulty of recruiting qualified candidates for the seminaries.

The surprise Vatican move, designed to make the Roman Catholic Church more attractive to Anglicans, seems to have caught senior Anglican officials flatfooted.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the spiritual leader of the global Anglican church, told followers in a letter that he only learned of the Vatican's plans at the very last minute.

He seemed uncomfortable at a press conference announcing the change, and has said he is waiting for details to see how it will be put in practice.

_____

Associated Press Writers Nicole Winfield and Victor L. Simpson in Rome, Rachel Zoll in New York and Rachel Leamon in London contributed to this report.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Rock band Bon Jovi announced plans Thursday for a new world tour that will swing by the new home of the New York Giants and Jets.
The two-year tour begins Feb. 19 in Seattle and includes a May 26 show at New Jersey's new $1.6 billion Meadowlands football stadium, which will be home to the New York Giants and Jets. It will feature 135 shows in 30 countries.
"It's a big world," lead singer Jon Bon Jovi said when asked about the length of the tour. "And we still make house calls."
Bon Jovi and lead guitarist Richie Sambora are New Jersey natives. They said being selected for the first concert at the new stadium holds special meaning for them because they've played Giants Stadium more than eight times and consider it home.
"Jon Bon Jovi is a New Jersey guy," Giants CEO John Mara said.
"He's a legend in New Jersey," Jets owner Robert "Woody" Johnson said.
Bon Jovi said going to a football game at Giants Stadium was a special event for him before the band, which formed in 1983, made it big. The Grammy winner grew up in Sayreville and is a Giants season ticketholder.
"I can't wait until there's a ballgame," Bon Jovi said.
The band announced the tour Thursday at an invitation-only performance for 5,000 fan club contest winners and construction workers in the parking lot of the new stadium.
A group of police officers watched the show from a highway overpass as the band worked through a set that included songs from its new album "The Circle" and hits like "You Give Love a Bad Name."
The band's "Lost Highway" album tour was the top grossing tour of 2008, according to Billboard Boxscore. It grossed $210.6 million and drew 2,157,675 fans.
Kim Cardino, 42, of Lindenhurst, N.Y., blew a kiss to the band's sport utility vehicle as it left the parking lot after the show.
"Just in case he's inside," Cardino said as her husband and three daughters looked on. "I love Bon Jovi. I wasn't close enough."

Often benches are simply called after the place they are used, regardless whether this implies a specific design Garden benches are very similar to public park benches set outdoors, but the former offer usually only two or three -, the latter mostly up to five persons sitting places. Picnic tables, or catering buffet tables have long benches as well as a table. These tables may have table legs which are collapsible, in order to expedite transport and storage. Church pews inside places of worship are equipped with an additional kneeling bench.

Various types of benches are specifically designed for and/or named after specific uses, such as a Bench (weight training) is used for fitness exercises, such as the bench press which is named after its use of a bench a Communion bench is not used as a seat Piano benches offer usually one person seating and are height adjustable. a spanking bench, such as a caning bench, is specifically designed for a spankee to lie upon, possibly strapped down, while submitting to paining of the posterior Swing seats are independently movable, suspended benches, used for play or as a relaxing porch swing. a courting bench (or kissing bench, or tête-à-tête): a two-seater with the seats pointing in opposite directions, thus almost facing each other. A friendship bench in a school playground is where a child can go when they want someone to talk to. The bench in a courtroom, behind which the judge is seated.

http://www.gardenbenches.net/tables.aspx

Some of the first Internet-only commercial radio stations emerged in 1995. NetRadio "was one of the Internet's original Webcasters," eventually "streaming more than 100 channels including both music and spoken material." Nonetheless, NetRadio Corporation ceased operations in 2001.

On May 1, 2007, the United States Copyright Royalty Board approved a rate increase in the royalties payable to performers of recorded works broadcast on the internet. This was the result of a two year proceeding, with dozens of witnesses and hundreds of documents from over twenty different parties, including large and small webcasters, NPR, college stations, and SoundExchange. The CRB was privy to private financial records and business models of the webcasters, and after reviewing the evidence and testimony, issued their decision on May 1, 2007 (which is currently under appeal). If enforced, this decision will undermine the business models of many Internet radio stations, which had previously relied on the rate of $0.000768 per song that had been unchanged from 1998-2005. These rules were scheduled to go into effect on May 1, 2007, with the first due date being July 15, 2007, and apply retroactively to January 1, 2006.

Internet Radio

MOSCOW (Reuters Life!) –
Animated U.S. television show "Family Guy" has spoofed Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin by lampooning him as a macho spymaster who entraps enemy spooks and lights cigarettes with a Kalashnikov rifle.

The subversive award-winning show, which has featured bestiality, incest and stars Brian the talking dog, centers around one-year-old Stewie who speaks in a faux upper class English accent and abhors his middle class American parents.

The third episode of its eighth season, "Spies Reminiscent of Us" premiered on October 11 on U.S. television channel Fox, and features Stewie and Brian on an adventure in Russia, where passersby are large, hat-wearing bears pedaling unicycles.

Police, clad in dark trenchcoats and fur caps with red stars, accuse Stewie and Brian of being American spies and whisk them off to see the Putin character, who is brooding in an office underneath portraits of Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin and Soviet dictator Josef Stalin on his walls.

Putin horrifies the duo, along with Hollywood actors Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd, whose animated characters are voiced by the real-life stars, by pointing a Kalashnikov at them and transforming chained sticks into a coat hanger just like the Nazi baddy in the film "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

But it all turns out to be in jest.

In a clear pun on Putin's name, Stewie asks between guffaws: "He was puttin' us on, right?"

The episode, which also shows Stewie turning into the ubiquitous Russian nesting doll, has sprung up on several popular Russian media sites and was praised by viewers for its humor value.

Putin's spokesman could not be reached for comment.

Called "The Griffins" in Russian after Stewie's surname, "Family Guy" is produced by the U.S. Fox Broadcasting Company, which also produces popular cartoon series The Simpsons.

A cartoon Putin has also appeared on TV show "South Park," produced by The Comedy Channel.

In 2003, Harry Potter's house-elf Dobby caused a stir in the Russian press when comparisons were made between Putin, then president, and the miniature pale creature with flappy ears and large green eyes.

(Reporting by Amie Ferris-Rotman, editing by Paul Casciato)

CHARLOTTE (Reuters) –
Bank of America Corp posted its second quarterly loss in less than a year as it suffered from consumer credit losses.

The nation's largest bank reported a net loss of $1 billion, or 26 cents per share, for third quarter, compared with net income of $1.18 billion, or 15 cents per share, in the same period last year at the height of the financial crisis.

Bank of America's latest quarterly results come as U.S. consumers, who compromise roughly 60 percent of the bank's loan portfolio -- from home mortgages to credit cards -- are showing signs of continued weakness and an inability to repay debt.

The bank's Merrill Lynch unit made a positive contribution in the latest quarter. Bank of America said the unit boosted its overall results.

Bank of America shares fell 3.6 percent to $17.45 in premarket trading.

The shares rose 29 percent during third quarter, keeping pacing with the broader KBW Banks Index. But the shares are down 23 percent over the past 12 months.

(Reporting by Joe Rauch; editing by John Wallace)

http://www.ahealthybabynaturally.com/

Additionally some parents prefer the use of pacifiers to the child sucking their thumbs.

In basic English usage, an infant is defined as a human child at the youngest stage of life, specifically before they can walk and generally before the age of one (see also child and adolescent).

WASHINGTON – Pushing past years of "red flags," investigators at the Securities and Exchange Commission bungled their probes of Bernard Madoff so badly that his multibillion-dollar fraud not only flourished but he used the exams to suck in new investors, an agency watchdog declared Wednesday.
The report by the SEC inspector general found no smoking gun of corruption in the agency's conduct toward the disgraced financier. Instead it painted a grim picture of an agency hobbled by incompetence — failing to pursue the most obvious leads — that cleared the way for Madoff to continue what could be the biggest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history for more than a decade.
One of the most striking points in the report is that the investigations actually may have made things worse.
"Madoff proactively informed potential investors that the SEC had examined his operations" and found nothing amiss, it says. The fact that three SEC inspections and two investigations failed to detect the fraud gave credibility to Madoff's operations and encouraged more people to give him their money.
The report by inspector general David Kotz found no evidence of improper ties between agency officials and Madoff, nor of senior SEC officials trying to influence the agency's probes of his business. Speculation had raged in December, when Madoff confessed to the scheme, that the financier's influence and ties to the SEC as a prominent Wall Street figure had prompted agency officials to pull their punches in investigations of his business.
The SEC enforcement staff "almost immediately caught (him) in lies and misrepresentations but failed to follow up on inconsistencies" and rejected whistleblowers' offers to provide additional evidence, the report says.
"The fact that for 16 years (the SEC) had on blinders and earmuffs is mind-numbing," said Jacob Frenkel, a former SEC enforcement attorney and federal prosecutor now in private law practice.
Four high-ranking SEC officials who were lambasted over the Madoff affair at a congressional hearing in February — including the enforcement director and the head of the inspections office — have left the agency.
SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro, appointed by President Barack Obama, took the helm in January. Enforcement efforts have been strengthened, and the agency has started a number of initiatives meant to protect investors in the wake of the financial crisis, officials say.
Madoff, who pleaded guilty in March, has begun serving a 150-year sentence in federal prison in North Carolina for a pyramid scheme that destroyed thousands of people's life savings, wrecked charities and gave the financial system yet another big jolt. The legions of investors who lost money included Hollywood celebrities, ordinary people and famous names in business and sports — as well as big hedge funds, international banks and charitable foundations worldwide.
Revelations in December of the SEC's failure to uncover Madoff's massive scheme over more than a decade touched off one of the most painful scandals in the agency's 75-year history.
The inspector general plans to issue separate audits that will include recommendations for changes in the agency's enforcement and inspection operations.
His report "makes clear that the agency missed numerous opportunities to discover the fraud," new chairman Schapiro said in a statement. "It is a failure that we continue to regret, and one that has led us to reform in many ways how we regulate markets and protect investors."
Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, said the panel has scheduled a hearing for Sept. 10 on Kotz's report, at which the inspector general is expected to testify. The testimony will "guide us as we continue our work on a bill to modernize financial regulations," Dodd said.
Between June 1992 and last December, the SEC received six "substantive complaints that raised significant red flags" regarding Madoff's operations. But "a thorough and competent investigation or examination was never performed," the Kotz's report says.
For example, Harry Markopolos, a fraud investigator who had worked in the securities industry, brought his allegations to the SEC about improprieties in Madoff's business starting in 2000 after determining there was no way Madoff could have been making the consistent returns he claimed. Markopolos and his investigators raised 29 specific warnings regarding Madoff's operations to SEC staff members in Boston, New York and Washington.
The agency also received complaints from a number of other sources, all containing specific information that called for a thorough examination of Madoff's business, the report says.
Many of the SEC staff members who conducted the investigations were "inexperienced," according to the report.

It cites examinations of Madoff's business done in 2004 and 2005 by the agency's inspections office. In both exams, the staff "made the surprising discovery" that Madoff's mysterious investment business was making far more money than his well-known wholesale brokerage operation. "However, no one identified this revelation as a cause for concern," the report says.

Even more surprising, the two exams were being conducted in different SEC offices without either location being aware of the other's action. It was Madoff himself who told one of the inspection teams that he'd already given the information they sought to the other team, according to the report.

Madoff himself, who was once chairman of the Nasdaq Stock Market and had sat on SEC advisory committees, had boasted of his ties to the agency.

The inspector general's investigation found no evidence, though, that any SEC staff who worked on the exams or investigations of Madoff's business had financial or other improper connections with him that influenced the probes.

Nor did Kotz find evidence that the relationship between a former SEC attorney and assistant inspections director, Eric Swanson, and Madoff's niece, Shana, who married in 2007, influenced the exams. Swanson was part of a team that examined Madoff's securities brokerage operation in 1999 and 2004. Neither review resulted in any action against Madoff.

The SEC's inspections office has said it has strict rules prohibiting employees from participating in cases involving firms where they have a personal interest.

The disclosure in December of the agency's failure in the Madoff affair, coming after the financial crisis struck last fall, buttressed the mounting criticism from lawmakers and investor advocates that Wall Street and regulators in Washington had grown too close.

Christopher Cox, then the SEC chairman, responded by delivering a stunning rebuke to his own career staff, blaming them for the failure to uncover Madoff's wrongdoing.

Cox's critics said targeting the staff was his attempt to salvage his own reputation, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., suggested that Cox bore at least some of the responsibility for what went wrong.

"The SEC's utter failure to follow up aggressively on detailed and specific information about Madoff's fraud is further evidence of a culture of deference toward the Wall Street elite at the SEC," Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, a senior member of the Senate Finance and Judiciary committees and a longtime agency critic, said Wednesday. "Until that culture is transformed, the SEC will not be the tough cop-on-the-beat that the public needs."

A bench is a piece of furniture, which mostly offers several persons seating. As a rule, benches are made of wood, but one can also find stone benches and benches made of synthetic materials. Many benches have arm rests. In public areas, benches are often donated by persons or associations, which may then be indicated on it, e.g. by a small copper plaque.

Often benches are simply called after the place they are used, regardless whether this implies a specific design Garden benches are very similar to public park benches set outdoors, but the former offer usually only two or three -, the latter mostly up to five persons sitting places. Picnic tables, or catering buffet tables have long benches as well as a table. These tables may have table legs which are collapsible, in order to expedite transport and storage. Church pews inside places of worship are equipped with an additional kneeling bench.

Park Benches

WASHINGTON – People familiar with a record legal settlement to be announced Wednesday say that Pfizer Inc., the world's largest drugmaker, will pay $2.3 billion in connection with illegal drug promotions.
The U.S. Justice Department plans a news conference later in the day to announce the terms of the deal. The people discussed the announcement on condition of anonymity because the court filings in the case were still under seal.
In financial filings made in January, the company indicated it would pay $2.3 billion over allegations it had marketed the pain reliever Bextra and possibly other products for medical conditions different than their approved use.
Justice Department officials declined to comment.

Click Here

Although cholesterol is essential for life, high levels in circulation are associated with atherosclerosis. Cholesterol can be ingested in the diet, recycled within the body through reabsorption of bile in the digestive tract, and produced de novo. For a person of about 150 pounds (68 kg), typical total body cholesterol content is about 35 g, typical daily dietary intake is 200–300 mg in the United States and societies with similar dietary patterns and 1 g per day is synthesized de novo.

The name cholesterol originates from the Greek chole- (bile) and stereos (solid), and the chemical suffix -ol for an alcohol, as François Poulletier de la Salle first identified cholesterol in solid form in gallstones, in 1769. However, it was only in 1815 that chemist Eugène Chevreul named the compound "cholesterine".

WASHINGTON – Worker productivity grew at the fastest pace in nearly six years in the spring while labor costs fell by the most in nine years, as companies slashed costs to survive the recession.
The Labor Department says productivity, the amount of output per hour of work, rose at an annual rate of 6.6 percent in the April-June quarter, the largest advance since the summer of 2003. Economists expected an increase of 6.4 percent, matching the government's initial estimate last month.
Labor costs fell at an annual rate of 5.9 percent. That's the largest drop since the second quarter of 2000, and slightly bigger than the 5.8 percent decline estimated a month ago.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
NEW YORK (AP) — New signs of economic recovery keep emerging, but with the American consumer still hamstrung by flat wages and job losses, it's unclear those signs will last.
Reports Tuesday showed the U.S. manufacturing sector grew in August for the first time in 19 months. A gauge of future home sales surged in July to its highest point in more than two years. And auto sales — boosted by the Cash for Clunkers program — appeared in August to have marked their first year-over-year monthly gain since October 2007.
On Wednesday, government data is expected to show that orders to U.S. factories likely posted another increase in July, providing further evidence that the U.S. economy is on the mend. Factory orders likely rose 2.2 percent in July after a 0.4 percent gain in June, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters.
The government also will revise its estimates on durable goods in Wednesday's report and include a look at orders for nondurable goods, items such as energy products, food and chemicals.
And the Labor Department is slated to release its revised estimate for productivity and a revised figure for unit labor costs.
Productivity, the amount of output per hour of work, is expected to have surged to an annual rate of 6.4 percent in the April-June quarter, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters. That would be the biggest quarterly increase in almost six years and represent no change from the government's initial estimate. Labor costs also are expected to have fallen at an annual rate of 5.8 percent.
Productivity is the single biggest factor determining living standards. Increases can help boost living standards because it means companies can pay their workers more with those wage increases financed by rising output. But struggling companies have been shoring up their bottom lines, not hiring more workers or paying them higher wages. At that means hopes for a sustained recovery remain clouded by a big concern: consumer spending, which fuels about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity.
Americans fearful of job losses or who are still searching for work aren't borrowing and spending enough to nourish a lasting rebound. That raises the vexing question of who will buy all the goods that manufacturers are producing?
Skepticism about a recovery contributed to a nasty tumble on Wall Street Tuesday, following a monthslong rally. All the major averages fell about 2 percent, with the Dow Jones industrials sliding 185 points, as concerns grew about the fragility of the banking industry and the global economy.
Stock market analysts noted that the manufacturing and housing gains were boosted by temporary government stimulus steps, including the Cash for Clunkers program, which has since expired. The clunkers program helped lift sales at Ford, Toyota and Honda in August, though Chrysler Group LLC and General Motors Co. withstood another month of falling sales.
"People reviewed the numbers and said this type of demand is just not sustainable," said Tom di Galoma, head of U.S. rates trading at Guggenheim Capital Markets LLC.
At the same time, the National Association of Realtors said its seasonally adjusted index of sales contracts signed in July for previously occupied homes rose 3.2 percent to 97.6. It was the sixth straight increase and 12 percent above the same month last year.
U.S. construction spending dipped in July as weakness in nonresidential building and government projects offset the best showing for home building in 10 months.
At the moment, manufacturers may be the economy's strongest pocket of strength. Yet even that might prove short-lived if demand doesn't pick up, analysts said.

The better-than-expected report from the Institute for Supply Management showed the highest number for its manufacturing index since June 2007. New customer orders jumped to a level not seen since late 2004.

"Manufacturing will continue to expand," said Daniel Meckstroth, chief economist for the Manufacturers Alliance, a trade group. But he said capital investment likely will slip because plants have too much excess capacity.

"You're going to see ups and downs," Meckstroth said.

Most manufacturers are simply restocking depleted stockpiles of goods — a process that will run its course within six months, said Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at MFR Research.

Beyond that, it's hard to say how much the U.S. manufacturing sector can expand as long as credit for consumers and businesses remains tight. If loans remain out of reach for many, shoppers and companies can't spend and grow.

Apart from the boost from the clunkers program, "we feel that the headwinds for consumer spending remain too brisk to expect much help on this front," Shapiro said.

The ISM, a trade group of purchasing executives, said its manufacturing index rose to 52.9 in August, from 48.9 in July. That was its first reading above 50, which indicates expansion, since January 2008. The index has been trending lower since a peak reading this decade of 61.4, in May 2004.

The index, based on a survey of the group's members, includes such factors as new orders, production, employment, inventories and prices. New orders jumped nearly 10 percentage points to 64.9 in August — their highest point since December 2004.

President Barack Obama said the manufacturing gains mean companies are starting to invest and produce more. "It is a sign that we're on the path to economic recovery," he said.

"The underpinnings for manufacturing in this country are solid," agreed Neil Dutta, U.S. economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch — but noted that's mostly due to the Asian consumer, not the U.S. shopper. A weaker dollar helped exports grow for the second straight month, after shrinking for nine.

WASHINGTON – The number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for jobless benefits dropped last week, and the number of people remaining on the rolls also fell, evidence that layoffs have eased.
Still, both figures remain above levels associated with a healthy economy, and analysts expect the unemployment rate to keep rising.
The Labor Department said Thursday that first-time unemployment claims fell to a seasonally-adjusted 570,000, down from an upwardly revised figure of 580,000 the previous week. Analysts expected a slightly larger drop to 565,000, according to Thomson Reuters.
The tally of those continuing to claim benefits dropped to 6.13 million from 6.25 million in the previous week, the lowest level since early April. The figures on continuing claims lag initial claims by a week.
Economists closely watch initial claims, which are considered a gauge of layoffs and an indication of companies' willingness to hire new workers.
While the figures are volatile, first-time claims have trended downward in recent months. Initial claims topped 600,000 for most of this year, until falling below that level in early July.
The four-week average of claims, which smooths out fluctuations, fell by 4,750 to 566,250 last week. That's about 90,000 below its peak for the current recession, in early April.
The weekly figures remain far above the roughly 325,000 that analysts say is consistent with a healthy economy. New claims last fell below 300,000 in early 2007.
Job losses have slowed recently. The department said earlier this month that companies cut 247,000 jobs in July, a large amount but still the smallest number in almost a year.
The unemployment rate dipped to 9.4 percent in July from 9.5 percent, its first drop in 15 months. But Obama economic adviser Christina Romer predicted Tuesday that unemployment could reach 10 percent this year and average 9.8 percent next year.
The recession, which began in December 2007 and is the worst since World War II, has eliminated a net total of 6.7 million jobs.
And when federal emergency programs are included, the total number of jobless benefit recipients was 9.19 million people in the week that ended Aug. 8. That was up from 9.18 million in the previous week. Congress has added up to 53 extra weeks of benefits on top of the 26 typically provided by the states.
The large number of people remaining on the rolls is an indication that unemployed workers are having a hard time finding new jobs.
More job cuts were announced this week. Columbus, Ind.-based Cummins Filtration, a division of diesel engine manufacturer Cummins Inc., said it will eliminate about 400 jobs through next March as it shifts production of filter assemblies to a Mexican plant.
Among the states, Michigan reported the largest increase in initial claims, with 4,068, which it attributed to layoffs in the auto industry. The state data lags the initial claims data by one week.
Pennsylvania, Florida, Puerto Rico and Missouri had the next largest increases.
California reported the largest decrease in claims of 6,286, which it attributed to fewer layoffs in the service industries. Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin and Ohio had the next largest drops.

HYANNIS PORT, Massachusetts (Reuters) –
Family members of U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy gathered on Thursday for a private mass at the seaside home where the 77-year-old towering figure in Democratic politics died two days ago.

As Boston prepared for three more days of tributes to the patriarch of one of America's most famous political dynasties, state officials took up the question of how quickly they could replace the state's senior senator, who had brain cancer.

Governor Deval Patrick told the Boston Globe that he wanted to honor Kennedy's wish to change state laws to allow him to name an interim senator to hold the post during the approximately five-month period until an election can be held.

Patrick and fellow Democratic lawmakers including Massachusetts Senator John Kerry have said that filling Kennedy's seat quickly will be vitally important as Congress works on overhauling the U.S. healthcare system.

Throughout his 47 years in the Senate, Kennedy advocated healthcare reform, which has become a key initiative of U.S. President Barack Obama. Kennedy's death leaves the Democrats one vote shy of the 60-member super-majority they need to override any attempted Republic filibusters.

SANCTUARY IN TRAGEDY

Police blocked off roads leading to the Cape Cod compound where the Kennedys have time and again gathered to endure tragedies that included the assassinations of two brothers, President John Kennedy and Senator Robert Kennedy, and the death of the late president's son in a plane crash a decade ago.

At midday, Kennedy's body will be driven to the presidential library of his late brother, after taking a winding route past Boston landmarks including Faneuil Hall and the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, a park named after his mother.

Crowds of mourners began to form at the library early on Thursday morning, local media reported.

The body will remain at the library, whose centerpiece is a soaring glass atrium overlooking Boston Harbor, until Saturday, when his funeral will be held a Boston church. Obama, who got a major boost in his race for the White House when Kennedy endorsed him, is expected to speak.

The body then will be flown to Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington, for burial near the graves of his brothers, John and Robert.

Born the last child of a family of nine and the youngest of four brothers, Kennedy joined the Senate in 1962, taking the seat previously held by his brother John.

While he was initially considered a lightweight elected largely because of his family's wealth and famous name, Kennedy recovered from a series of personal tragedies and scandals to become known as an expert dealmaker who read the rhythms of legislative life better than almost anyone else.

"Senator Kennedy was the real deal -- an authentic, principled and giving public servant who pushed us to work for things yet to be," Boston mayor Thomas Menino said on Wednesday.

"Boston has never had a greater champion. Massachusetts has never known a more relentless fighter for economic and social justice. America has never witnessed a more influential and productive legislator," Menino said.

(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; writing by Scott Malone in Boston; editing by Vicki Allen)

WASHINGTON – Government data this week showed that consumers and businesses went on a big-ticket spending spree in July, sending home, car and equipment sales soaring by the largest amount in years. On Thursday, the Labor Department's report on weekly jobless claims will indicate whether that improved confidence about the economy is boosting the job market.
Wall Street economists expect the number of first-time unemployment benefit claims will fall to 565,000 from 576,000. That would reverse two weeks of increases, which had heightened analysts' concerns about the availability of jobs.
The government on Thursday also will provide an updated estimate of the nation's gross domestic product, the broadest measure of U.S. economic activity. Analysts expect the report will show that the economy shrank 1.5 percent in the April-to-June quarter, a bit worse than last month's estimate of a 1 percent drop.
Still, either number is an improvement over the 6.4 percent plunge the economy experienced in the first quarter, the worst in nearly three decades.
On Wednesday, reports showed that new home sales jumped almost 10 percent from June, while orders for long-lasting goods like appliances, planes and computers rose nearly 5 percent in July, the third increase in the past four months.
"It looks like we've hit bottom and we're now slowly trying to dig our way out," said Nigel Gault, chief U.S. economist at IHS Global Insight.
Still, it remains unclear whether the growth can be sustained. Though the increases in housing sales and manufacturing last month were dramatic, they came from extraordinarily low levels and were fueled by temporary government programs like Cash for Clunkers and tax credits for home sales.
Most economists now agree the recession that began in December 2007 has ended or is ending. Some say the economy is poised to grow strongly in the July-September quarter, but will probably show weaker growth after government stimulus spending tapers off.
Sales of new homes surged to a seasonally adjusted pace of 433,000 in July from 395,000 in June, the Commerce Department said, providing another sign the housing market is bouncing back from the historic bottom reached early this year. Driven by falling prices, the fourth-straight monthly increase was greater than expected. Sales haven't risen so dramatically since February 2005.
While sales are still off nearly 70 percent from the frenzied peak four years ago, they are still up more than 30 percent from the bottom in January — a big relief after a long and painful decline.
"We can stop worrying about the housing market and start playing closer attention to other issues, such as when credit will start flowing more freely," Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisors, wrote in a note to clients.
The improved outlook could help further boost the economy. As home sales rise, builders will gradually need to hire more workers to pour foundations and pave roads, reversing the trend that saw 1.4 million industry jobs shed since the recession began.
"These are crucial elements of a sustainable recovery," David Resler, chief economist at Nomura Securities, wrote in a research note.
Construction job losses have slowed recently, with 76,000 lost in July, about half January's level.
Much like Cash for Clunkers, homebuyers are rushing to take advantage of a federal tax credit that covers 10 percent of the home price, or up to $8,000, for first-time owners. Home sales must be completed by the end of November for buyers to qualify.
And there are many deals to be had: The median sales price of $210,100 was 11.5 percent lower than levels a year ago, but still up from March's low of $205,100.
Builders and real estate agents fear that the end of the tax credit could reverse the upward trend. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., has introduced legislation to extend it for another year, raise it to $15,000 and make it available to all buyers.
If that doesn't happen, Isakson said in an interview, "the little improvement we have from awful to terrible will go away and it will go back to awful again."

Some builders are already seeing sales dip.

At A.F. Sterling Homes in Tucson, Ariz., sales fell in July because the builder said it couldn't guarantee the homes could be finished in time to qualify, said Randy Agron, the company's vice president.

"The real estate market is really a fragile thing," he said. "It's not the right time to take (the tax credit) away."

There were 271,000 new homes for sale at the end of July, down more than 3 percent from May. At the current sales pace, that represents 7.5 months of supply, which means builders have scaled back construction to the point where supply and demand are coming into balance.

A similar trend is happening in other industries across the economy.

Orders for transportation equipment, including cars, car parts and airplanes rose more than 18 percent, helping to drive the durable goods data.

A huge jump in aircraft orders accounted for most of that gain. Also, auto production improved last month as General Motors and Chrysler reopened many plants that were shut in May and June while the companies restructured and emerged from bankruptcy protection.

__

Associated Press Writer Christopher S. Rugaber contributed to this report from Washington. AP Real Estate Writer Alex Veiga contributed reporting from Los Angeles.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) –
Sleep deprivation, "insult slaps," water dousing and "walling," or slamming a detainee's head against a wall, were techniques used by CIA interrogators to break high-value detainees, according to an agency memo.

The memo, sent to the U.S. Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel on December 30, 2004, was released on Monday under a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by Amnesty International USA and the American Civil Liberties Union.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday named a special prosecutor to probe Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) prisoner abuse cases.

His decision, which promises political headaches for President Barack Obama, came after the Justice Department's ethics watchdog recommended considering prosecution of CIA employees or contractors for interrogations in Iraq and Afghanistan that went beyond approved limits.

"The goal of interrogation is to create a state of learned helplessness and dependence conducive to the collection of intelligence," the memo, outlining procedures for handling captured al Qaeda leaders sent to CIA "black site" prisons, said.

The document, first reported by The Washington Post, said prior to an interrogation session, detainees may be stripped and held in a "vertical shackling position" to begin sleep deprivation.

Once the interrogation begins, the "insult slap" on the face may be used when the interrogator needs to immediately correct the detainee, the memo said.

The document said "walling" was one of the most effective interrogation techniques for wearing down detainees physically.

"An HVD (high-value detainee) may be walled one time (one impact with the wall) to make a point or 20 to 30 times consecutively when the interrogator requires a more significant response to a question," the document said.

Interrogations at CIA prisons occurred in special cells outfitted on one side with a plywood wall to prevent severe head injuries, The Washington Post reported.

The paper said agency spokesman George Little noted that the interrogation program operated under guidelines approved by top legal officials of the Bush administration.

"This program, which always constituted a fraction of the CIA's counterterrorism efforts, is over," Little was quoted as saying.

CIA officials have also noted that harsh techniques were reserved for a small group of top-level terrorism suspects believed to be knowledgeable about the September 11, 2001, attacks, the Post said.

Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney criticized Obama's ability to handle national security after the special prosecutor was appointed.

Cheney, who has emerged as a vocal defender of Bush administration policies since leaving the White House, said the intelligence obtained from harsh interrogation techniques had saved lives.

"The people involved deserve our gratitude. They do not deserve to be the targets of political investigations or prosecutions," he said in a statement.

(Editing by Nick Macfie)

A new web site claims to give the odds on you dying next year, or
for whatever period you select, based on a few simple questions.

The site, DeathRiskRankings.com,
is the brainchild of researchers and students at Carnegie Mellon
University. It provides answers based on publicly available data from
the United States and Europe, comparing mortality risks by gender, age,
cause of death and geographic region. Put your info in, and it produces
the probable causes of your demise and provides insight on the timing
of that unfortunate event.

The site can compare such things as the odds of death next year by
breast cancer for, say, a 54-year-old Pennsylvania woman or her
counterpart in the United Kingdom.

Of course the results produced by the web site speak to groups of
people and cannot predict with accuracy when you might actually kick the bucket. The timing of your own end is based on many uncharted factors, from heredity to lifestyle to untimely accidents.

But noodling around with the interface can be enlightening, if not frightening.

"It turns out that the British woman has a 33 percent higher risk of
breast cancer death. But for lung/throat cancer, the results are almost
reversed, and the Pennsylvania woman has a 29 percent higher risk,"
explained Paul Fischbeck, site developer and professor of social and
decision sciences and engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon.

"Most Americans don't have a particularly good understanding of their own mortality risks,
let alone ranking of their relevant risks," said David Gerard, a former
professor at Carnegie Mellon who is now an associate professor of
economics at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis.

The researchers found that beyond infancy, the risk of dying increases annually at an exponential rate.

A 20-year-old U.S. woman has a 1 in 2,000 (or 0.05 percent) chance
of dying in the next year, for example. By age 40, the risk is three
times greater; by age 60, it is 16 times greater; and by age 80, it is
100 times greater (around 1 in 20 or 5 percent).

"The risks are higher, but still not that bad," Gerard said. "At 80,
the average U.S. woman still has a 95 percent chance of making it to
her 81st birthday."

Other results for queries about dying within the year:

For every age group, men have a much higher annual death risk than
women. For 20-year-olds, the risk is 2.5 to three times greater for
men. Men are much more prone to accidents, homicides and suicides, and
the risk of dying from heart disease is always higher for men than
women, peaking in the 50s when men are 2.5 times at greater risk of
dying.

Women's cancer risks are higher than men's in their 30s and 40s.

For heart disease and cancer, U.S. blacks have a much higher death
risk than U.S. whites. Overall, blacks in their 30s and 40s are twice
as likely to die within the year as their white counterparts. Only for
suicides, do whites consistently exceed blacks, where whites typically
have two to three times greater chances of dying.

For 20-year-old males, 80 percent of their death risks are from
accidents, homicides and suicides. By age 50, however, these causes
make up less than 10 percent and heart disease is No. 1, accounting for
more than 30 percent of all deaths.

Obesity-related death risks
are much higher in the United States than in Europe. For example, the
annual diabetes death risk in the United States is three times that
found in northern Europe for 60 year olds.

Fischbeck and Gerard hope the site will add information to the U.S. healtchcare debate.

"We believe that this tool, which allows anyone to assess their own
risk of dying and to compare their risks with counterparts in the
United States and Europe, could help inform the public and
constructively engage them in the debate," Fischbeck said.

10 Easy Paths to Self Destruction
Human Lifespans Nearly Constant for 2,000 Years
Health Care Debate Based on Lack of Logic
Original Story: Death Calculator Predicts Your Odds of Kicking the BucketLiveScience.com chronicles the daily advances and innovations made in science and technology. We take on the misconceptions that often pop up around scientific discoveries and deliver short, provocative explanations with a certain wit and style. Check out our science videos, Trivia & Quizzes and Top 10s. Join our community to debate hot-button issues like stem cells, climate change and evolution. You can also sign up for free newsletters, register for RSS feeds and get cool gadgets at the LiveScience Store.

WASHINGTON (AFP) –
Amazon, Microsoft and Yahoo! joined an alliance opposing the legal settlement which would allow Google to digitize and sell millions of books in a move the Internet giant dismissed as "sour grapes."

The three technology heavyweights are among the members of a coalition called the Open Book Alliance which expressed concern about "serious legal, competitive, and policy issues" surrounding Google's book scanning project.

In a statement, the alliance said its members, which include the San Francisco-based non-profit the Internet Archive, publishers and library associations, will counter the Google book settlement "in its current form."

Google reached a class action settlement in October of last year with the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers to a copyright infringement suit they filed against the Internet powerhouse in 2005.

Under the settlement, Google agreed to pay 125 million dollars to resolve outstanding claims and establish an independent "Book Rights Registry," which will provide revenue from sales and advertising to authors and publishers who agree to digitize their books.

Alliance co-chairs Peter Brantley and Gary Reback said in a blog post on a website created by the coalition, openbookalliance.org, that the settlement "creates an unprecedented monopoly and price fixing cartel."

"Just as Gutenberg?s invention of the printing press more than 700 years ago ushered in a new era of knowledge sharing, the mass digitization of books promises to once again revolutionize how we read and discover books.

"But a digital library controlled by a single company and small group of colluding publishers would inevitably lead to higher prices and subpar service for consumers, libraries, scholars, and students," they said.

"Public interest demands that any mass book digitization and distribution effort be undertaken in the open, grounded in sound public policy, and mindful of the need to promote long-term benefits for consumers rather than those of a few commercial interests," they added.

Brantley is a director of the Internet Archive, which maintains a digital library of websites and has its own book scanning project, while Rebak is an anti-trust lawyer in Silicon Valley who ironically helped persuade the Justice Department to file its anti-trust case against Microsoft in the 1990s.

Google, whose book project is already facing anti-trust scrutiny from the US Justice Department, a court review and privacy concerns, dismissed the move by the coalition.

"This sounds like the Sour Grapes Alliance," it said in a statement. "The Google Books settlement is injecting more competition into the digital books space, so it?s understandable why our competitors might fight hard to prevent more competition."

Other members of the alliance include the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses, the New York Library Association, Small Press Distribution and the Special Libraries Association.

The settlement still needs the approval of a US District Court judge, who is to hold a "fairness hearing" on the deal in New York on October 7.

Microsoft, which entered into a 10-year Web search partnership with Yahoo! last month that set the stage for a joint offensive against Google, also had a project to create a vast digital library but shut it down in May of last year.

Online retail giant Amazon is a major player in the electronic book sector through its popular e-reader, the Kindle.

Google announced, meanwhile, it was making over one million public domain books available for free in ePub format, an open industry standard for electronic books, in addition to the current PDF versions.

"We founded Google Books on the premise that anyone, anywhere, anytime should have the tools to explore the great works of history and culture," Google said in a blog post.

"This feature takes us one step closer towards realizing that goal by helping support open standards that enable people to access these books in more places, on more devices and through more applications," it said.

NEW YORK – Visitors to the World Trade Center site can now watch live video of the construction at ground zero.
A nearby exhibit opened Wednesday. The 9/11 Memorial Preview Site is housed in old camera shop on Vesey (VEH'-see) Street, near Broadway.
Free of charge, the 3,000-square-foot space features models and renderings of the memorial design. It includes twin reflecting pools with cascading waterfalls where the towers stood, surrounded by the names of the nearly 3,000 victims.
Visitors can also record their 9/11 stories at a booth there.
The memorial to the 2001 terrorist attacks won't open to the public for at least two years.
The National September 11 Memorial & Museum will cover 8 of the 16 acres of the trade center site.
____
On the Net:
National September 11 Memorial & Museum: http://www.national911memorial.org

DETROIT (Billboard) –
Brendon Urie and Spencer Smith, former members of Panic! At the Disco, are anything but panicked as they prepare for life after a schism that cut the band in half.

The two severed ties amicably in July with guitarist Ryan Ross and bassist Jon Walker, who have started a new group called the Young Veins.

"Luckily it didn't end badly," frontman Urie told Billboard.com. "We all understand we wanted to do different things and were just pulling each other's strings in different directions. I think we were very fortunate that we're all still very good friends and were able to come to this amicable agreement."

Now Urie and drummer Smith, who are finishing up a run opening for Blink-182 with some hired hands, are plotting their next move. They have a new single out, a song called "New Perspective" -- which Urie wrote about nine months ago after waking from "an intense, really lucid dream" -- that was recorded for the soundtrack to the film "Jennifer's Body."

Urie said he and Smith have about 10 other songs ready to consider for Panic's third album. "Some stuff sounds like Frank Sinatra," Urie said, "and some stuff sounds ... kind of like the Who, and some stuff is just rock, and it's a lot of fun to play. We really want to spend a lot of time writing and just messing around with ideas in the studio."

They'd like to record the album this fall and have it out "by the beginning of next year, February or something." Blink-182 bassist Mark Hoppus has agreed to produce at least one track.

"There's always a bit of nerves that come with expectations and new situations," Urie said. "But, really, Spencer and I are just trying to get back to where we used to be, and we're looking forward to doing more tours and writing new songs and meeting new people and having all these new experiences.

"The future should be exciting, you know? It shouldn't be a nerve-wracking experience."

(Editing by Sheri Linden at Reuters)

TRIPOLI, Libya – The only man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing returned home Thursday to a cheering crowd after his release from a Scottish prison — an outrage to many relatives of the 270 people who perished when Pan Am Flight 103 exploded.
President Barack Obama said the Scottish decision to free terminally ill Abdel Baset al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds was a mistake and said he should be under house arrest. Obama warned Libya not to give him a hero's welcome.
Despite the warning, thousands of young men were on hand at a Tripoli airport where al-Megrahi's plane touched down. Some threw flower petals as he stepped from the plane. He wore a a dark suit and a burgundy tie and appeared visibly tired.
He was accompanied by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's son, Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, who was dressed in a traditional white robe and golden embroidered vest. The son pledged last year to bring al-Megrahi home and raised his hand victoriously to the crowd as he exited the plane. They then sped off in a convoy of white sedans.
International photographers and camera crews — along with most Libyan broadcast media — were barred from filming the arrival at the airport, which decades ago had been part of a U.S. air base.
Al-Megrahi's release disgusted many victims' relatives.
"You get that lump in your throat and you feel like you're going to throw up," said Norma Maslowski, of Haddonfield, New Jersey, whose 30-year-old daughter, Diane, died in the attack.
"This isn't about compassionate release. This is part of give-Gadhafi-what-he-wants-so-we-can-have-the-oil," said Susan Cohen, of Cape May Court House, New Jersey. Her 20-year-old daughter, Theodora, was killed.
At home, al-Megrahi, 57, is seen as an innocent scapegoat the West used to turn this African nation into a pariah. At the airport, some wore T-shirts with his picture and waved Libyan and miniature blue-and-white Scottish flags. Libyan songs blared in the background.
"It's a great day for us," 24-year-old Abdel-Aal Mansour said. "He belongs here, at home."
Moammar Gadhafi lobbied hard for the return of al-Megrahi, an issue which took on an added sense of urgency when al-Megrahi was diagnosed with prostate cancer last year. He was recently given only months to live.
The former Libyan intelligence officer was convicted in 2001 of taking part in the bombing on Dec. 21, 1988, and sentenced to life in prison for Britain's deadliest terrorist attack. The airliner exploded over Scotland and all 259 people aboard and 11 on the ground died when it crashed into the town of Lockerbie.
Al-Megrahi's conviction was largely based on the testimony of a shopkeeper who identified him as having bought a man's shirt in his store in Malta. Scraps of the garment were later found wrapped around a timing device discovered in the wreckage of the airliner. Critics of al-Megrahi's conviction question the reliability of the store owner's evidence.
He was sentenced to serve a minimum of 27 years in a Scottish prison. But a 2007 review of his case found grounds for an appeal, and many in Britain believe he is innocent. He served only eight years.
Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said although al-Megrahi had not shown compassion to his victims — many of whom were American college students flying home to New York for Christmas — MacAskill was motivated by Scottish values to show mercy.
"Some hurts can never heal, some scars can never fade," MacAskill said. "Those who have been bereaved cannot be expected to forget, let alone forgive ... However, Mr. al-Megrahi now faces a sentence imposed by a higher power."
He added that he had ruled out sending the bomber back to Libya under a prisoner-transfer agreement, saying the U.S. victims had been given assurances that al-Megrahi would serve out his sentence in Scotland.
"I don't understand how the Scots can show compassion," said Kara Weipz, of Mount Laurel, New Jersey. Her 20-year-old brother Richard Monetti was on board the doomed flight. "I don't show compassion for someone who showed no remorse."

As al-Megrahi's white van rolled down street outside Greenock Prison on his way to the airport in Glasgow, Scotland, some men on the roadside made obscene gestures. He later appeared on the airport tarmac dressed in a white tracksuit and baseball cap.

In a statement following his release, al-Megrahi stood by his insistence that he was wrongfully convicted.

"I say in the clearest possible terms, which I hope every person in every land will hear — all of this I have had to endure for something that I did not do," he said.

He also said he believed the truth behind the Lockerbie bombing may now never be known.

"I had most to gain and nothing to lose about the whole truth coming out — until my diagnosis of cancer," he said, referring to an appeal that he dropped in order to be freed. "To those victims' relatives who can bear to hear me say this, they continue to have my sincere sympathy for the unimaginable loss that they have suffered."

Gadhafi engineered a rapprochement with his former critics following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He renounced terrorism, dismantled Libya's secret nuclear program, accepted his government's responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing and paid compensation to the victims' families.

Western energy companies — including Britain's BP PLC — have moved into Libya in an effort to tap the country's vast oil and gas wealth.

Briton Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora died on Flight 103, welcomed the Libyan's release, saying many questions remained about what led to the bomb that exploded in the cargo hold.

"I think he should be able to go straight home to his family and spend his last days there," Swire told the BBC. "I don't believe for a moment this man was involved in the way he was found to be involved."

Among the Lockerbie victims was John Mulroy, the AP's director of international communication, who died along with five members of his family.

____

Associated Press Writers Geoff Mulvihill in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, Shawn Marsh in Trenton, New Jersey, Meera Selva in London, Matthew Lee in Washington, Jessica M. Pasko in Albany, New York, and Jim Hannah in Dayton, Ohio, contributed to this report.

WHAT HAPPENED?: A quarterly report released Thursday by the Mortgage Bankers Association found that more than 13 percent of American homeowners with a mortgage have fallen behind on their payments or are in foreclosure.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?: It's another new record, and an indication that the foreclosure crisis is still getting worse as layoffs continue to soar.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE ECONOMY?: Foreclosures won't stop rising until around six months after layoffs peak. And economists don't expect unemployment, now at 9.4 percent, to crest until this winter at the earliest.

TOKYO – Panasonic Corp. has signed on "Titanic" director James Cameron and his upcoming film in an advertising blitz for its TVs equipped with 3-D technology, both sides said Friday.
The deal between the major Japanese electronics maker and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.'s "Avatar" — the first major Hollywood 3-D release that's not animation — comes as competition heats up in flat-panel TVs that show three-dimensional images, or stereoscopic vision.
To watch 3-D TVs, viewers must wear special glasses that block vision in one eye and then the other as the TVs switch rapidly between images for each eye to create an illusion of depth.
Panasonic is planning to start selling 3-D TVs next year. Rivals, including Sony Corp., which has its own movie division, and Samsung Electronics Co. of South Korea have shown prototypes and may offer similar products.
The problem is the scarcity of content to view in 3-D. Skeptics say a number of Blu-ray discs of appealing 3-D movies must come out for 3-D TVs to catch on.
Several animation films are already being shown in theaters in 3-D, but "Avatar," set for release Dec. 18, will be the first major non-animation film debuting worldwide in both 2-D and 3-D.
"I believe 3-D is how we will experience movies, gaming and computing in the near future. 3-D is not something you watch. It's a reality you feel you could step into," Cameron said on video.
Panasonic is hoping its collaboration with Cameron will give it an edge in brand image as a 3-D leader as well as in obtaining suggestions for technological improvements for home TVs, said General Manager Masayuki Kozuka.
"We want to get global interest rolling," he told The Associated Press. "For people to want to watch 3-D at home, the movie has to be a blockbuster."
Panasonic plans to have several trailer-vans driving around in the U.S. and Europe next month with large-screen 3-D TVs inside showing "Avatar." In Japan, footage from "Avatar" — a science-fiction "Pocahontas"-like romance set in a futuristic jungle inhabited by creatures evocative of Cameron's "Aliens" — will appear in ads for 3-D TVs.
Details on the 3-D Blu-ray release of "Avatar" for TVs have not been set.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – A new role, another new name for Chad Ochocinco.
Cincinnati's emergency kicker and international soccer fan booted the decisive extra point late in the first half and the Bengals beat the sloppy New England Patriots 7-6 on Thursday night.
" 'Esteban' Ochocinco is back, the most interesting footballer in the world," Ochocinco said. "Everyone has to remember, I've always said that soccer is my No. 1 sport. I think Ronaldinho would be proud of me right now."
Ochocinco practices kicking but had never done it in a preseason or regular-season game in his eight years with the Bengals, the first seven as Chad Johnson. But when Shayne Graham's groin felt sore in pregame warmups, coach Marvin Lewis decided to rest the team's franchise player and see what Ochocinco could do.
He did very well.
After the game, Ochocinco pulled out his PDA and displayed a photo of him with soccer star David Beckham.
"Soccer's my first love, Kicking's easy ... like riding a bike," he said. "I can kick them from 50, 60 yards, left or right hash mark. ... I kicked all through high school."
The Bengals career leader in catches and yards receiving powered the ball through the uprights, a task that can be tough if not done regularly.
"It's not easy," said Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker, who kicked a field goal and extra point on the same field for Miami in a 27-10 loss to New England on Oct. 10, 2004. "To kick that is something, and he got real good height on it."
By that time, Tom Brady was done for the night and backups Kevin O'Connell and Brian Hoyer couldn't bring the Patriots back in a scoreless second half. But Brady already had shown that he could take a hit after surgery that followed a season-ending left knee injury in last year's opener.
He was knocked down twice on his 13 snaps, one week after remaining upright on all 24 of his snaps in a 27-25 win at Philadelphia, and got up quickly both times.
Keith Rivers tossed Brady softly after the NFL's 2007 MVP threw incomplete on his third snap and landed on his back.
"I didn't notice whether it bothered him," Rivers said. "It just felt like a normal hit."
On the first play of his second and last series, Brady was flattened by left end Robert Geathers, who easily got around right tackle Nick Kaczur and dumped Brady on his left side.
"The good thing is he got up. He got hit good," running back Fred Taylor said. "He's tough."
Cincinnati scored on J.T. O'Sullivan's 24-yard pass to Chris Henry with 1:55 left in the half between field goals of 32 and 41 yards by New England's Stephen Gostkowski.
Then Ochocinco trotted onto the field and lined up behind holder Kevin Huber. The snap, hold and kick all worked as planned.
"Nothing surprises me," O'Sullivan said. "All joking aside, he still kicked the ball through the uprights and it ended up winning the game. Some people might think it's funny, but it's important."

Late in the game, the Patriots drove to a first down at the Bengals 12, but Cincinnati's Marvin White recovered BenJarvus Green-Ellis' fumble with 3:43 to play

"We were pretty sloppy in every area of the game," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said.

O'Sullivan started while Carson Palmer sat out with a right ankle injury suffered in a 17-7 loss to New Orleans in the Bengals exhibition opener. Palmer doesn't expect to miss the regular-season opener and could return before then.

"Last week we played a finesse team and this week we showed we could compete against a power team," Lewis said. "That's mature. I thought we had a good response."

Brady proved for the second straight week that his knee injury is behind him although some of his passes were off target, including an overthrow of Welker in the end zone.

Brady went 4-for-8 for 57 yards, including a 32-yard gain on which Welker ran most of the way. He was more productive in the opening 27-25 win at Philadelphia when he threw two scoring passes to Chris Baker.

But Brady was watching from the sideline and could do nothing to overcame Ochocinco's kick that was the winning point.

"He reminded me of that," Lewis said with a smile.

Notes: O'Sullivan completed 10 of 13 passes for 141 yards. Jordan Palmer, Carson's younger brother, also played and went 2-for-7 for 45 yards. ... Taylor and Welker played for the first time this exhibition season. ... Besides Welker, the only non-kicker to make an extra point at Gillette Stadium was the Patriots Doug Flutie, who converted a drop kick for an extra point on Jan. 1, 2006.