Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/155145107?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Monday, October 31, 2011
Health Insurance For The Unemployed - articles - What Is My ...
Facing unemployment is difficult for anyone. The fear of not having steady, reliable income and the difficulty in finding a new job are enough to bring even the strongest individual to tears. Lack of health insurance seems to just be the icing on the cake when it comes to this sort of situation, which can prove unbearably depressing at times.
Fortunately, there are options when it comes to health insurance coverage for anyone that finds themselves suddenly without employment. From state and federal programs to private insurance companies, most (but not all) people can find a policy that is both affordable and provides the needed coverage.
Individuals that have been previously insured by their previous employer should strongly consider requesting COBRA, at least until they locate another option. COBRA ( the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) must be legally offered to most employees upon the termination of their employment. There are, however, some stipulations that must be met to be eligible for COBRA, but for the most part, anyone who lost their job by no fault of their own can obtain coverage for both themselves and any dependents for 18 months. Some extenuating circumstances, such as in cases of disability, may allow for a maximum coverage period of 36 months.
While COBRA can certainly be helpful, it is often unaffordable. Since most jobs are lost without extensive notice, it is best to go ahead and enroll in COBRA as soon as possible, and then look around for other options. Most private health insurance companies look for continual coverage when providing a health insurance quote, making the extra expense of COBRA for a brief period of time worth the investment. COBRA coverage may be terminated at any point by the consumer without any penalty.
Visit your local state social services office and inquire about your options through them. Medicaid may be possible if certain requirements are met, including a maximum income requirement or disability. Do be aware that the process of determining eligibility for Medicaid can take up to three months, or even longer depending on the situation.
Contact a health insurance broker. These may be found online, or locally. Often car insurance brokers also offer their services to individuals seeking affordable health insurance as well. Essentially a health insurance broker obtains all of the necessary information from you, including some rather personal details that will be asked of you by private insurance companies anyways, and does the legwork for you.
The broker will request quotes from private health insurance companies that they believe will offer both reasonable premiums and adequate coverage. Once the quotes have been received, the broker will then weed out the policies that are simply too expensive or with too little coverage, and present you with the options. There is no charge to you. The premium is paid directly to the broker, who then forwards it to the insurance provider, and the broker is paid a certain amount for each policy. This is often the best choice for anyone looking for the best deal.
Casey Trillbar is the editor of the YourOnlineInsuranceAgent.com website which offers information, resources and online home, auto and health insurance quotes. For more information visit: http://youronlineinsuranceagent.com
Source: http://articles.whatismycomputerip.com/20427/health-insurance-for-the-unemployed.html
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JoePa gets record in 10-7 win against Illinois
Penn State defensive tackle Devon Still (71) sacks Illinois quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase (2) during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game in State College, Pa., on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Penn State defensive tackle Devon Still (71) sacks Illinois quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase (2) during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game in State College, Pa., on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Penn State quarterback Matt McGloin looks to pass against Illinois during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game in State College, Pa., Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
A worker shovels snow from the seats in preparation for an NCAA college football game between Penn State and Illinois at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pa., Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) ? In bright white letters against a blue background, the electronic sign boards around Beaver Stadium took note of another milestone for Joe Paterno long after the stands had cleared.
"Congratulations Coach Paterno," the signs read. "Winningest Coach In Division I College Football."
It took all 60 minutes on a snowy, sloppy Saturday in Happy Valley, but JoePa broke Eddie Robinson's record with victory No. 409 as No. 21 Penn State defeated Illinois 10-7.
The Nittany Lions (8-1, 5-0 Big Ten) overcame six fumbles ? losing two ? with Silas Redd's 3-yard touchdown run with 1:08 to go. Penn State's only touchdown came after Illinois corner Justin Green was whistled for pass interference while breaking up a fourth-down pass for Derek Moye in the end zone.
Illinois (6-3, 2-3) drove from its 17 to the Penn State 25 on the next drive, but Derek Dimke's 42-yard field goal attempt bounced off the right upright as time expired.
Even JoePa was nervous in the press box before Penn State's last drive. Paterno coached upstairs since he's still got a sore right leg, shoulder and pelvis following an accidental preseason hit.
"Did I have any doubts," he asked rhetorically with a chuckle. "Sure I had doubts ... but it worked out anyway."
In a common occurrence over his remarkable 46-year career, Paterno was feted again with a postgame ceremony. School president Graham Spanier and athletic director Tim Curley presented JoePa with a plaque that read, "Joe Paterno. Educator of Men. Winningest Coaach. Division One Football."
Among all coaches, Paterno now only trails John Gagliardi, still active at Division III St. John's, Minn., with 481 victories.
"It really is something I've very proud of, to be associated with Eddie Robinson," Paterno said in a brief postgame ceremony in the media room broadcast to fans still waiting in the stands 10 minutes later. "Something like this means a lot to me, an awful lot. But there's a lot of other people I've got to thank."
Start with Redd, the budding star who had a career-high 30 carries for 137 yards for Penn State, none bigger than his late TD run.
An early-season snowstorm had fans bundled up in winter parkas and hoodies. The offenses seemed to be frozen stiff.
After struggling most of the afternoon, quarterback Matt McGloin drove Penn State from their own 20 to the Illini 32 on three long completions before the pass interference call gave the Nittany Lions a second chance.
"I thought it was a good play myself," frustrated Illini coach Ron Zook said. "But obviously (the referee) thought ... I don't know, I didn't ask him."
Redd capitalized four plays later by barreling into the end zone, the crowd erupting in delight.
Jason Ford rushed for 100 yards on 24 carries but Illinois couldn't capitalize on a slew of Penn State mistakes in a defensive slugfest.
Illlinois outgained Penn State 286-209. After a quiet start, Illinois' pass rush turned up the heat in the second half, getting 2.5 sacks combined from standout ends Michael Buchanan and Whitney Mercilus.
Still, the Illini's offense wasn't much better than Penn State, but they got just got enough in the third quarter from scrambling quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase to scratch out a 10-yard touchdown pass to Spencer Harris for a 7-0 lead.
Illinois' defense held firm from there until Penn State's late TD drive.
Moye, back after missing two games because of a left foot injury, dropped a third-down pass to groans from the crowd on the winning drive. McGloin went for Moye on fourth down with 1:31 left, and the ball bounced off the receiver's hands in the end zone ? but there was contact and the interference penalty gave Penn State another chance.
Zook could only wince on the sideline as a once-quiet Penn State crowd burst back to life.
"They were just able to find their receivers. They weren't able to do that all game, we pretty much got them all game," Buchanan said. "As a D-line, we weren't able to get pressure on the quarterback that we wanted to. So it was pretty much on us."
Illinois' struggling offense couldn't get untracked again early, going scoreless in the first half for a third straight game. They wasted opportunities deep in Penn State territory following fumbles by Redd at his own 37 in the first half, and quarterback Rob Bolden at the 29 late in the second half.
On that drive, Illinois receiver Ryan Lankford made a pretty tiptoe catch along the sideline from backup quarterback Riley O'Toole for a 12-yard gain to the 12. The play was upheld by replay ? and fans in the student section showed their displeasure by tossing snowballs on the field.
The snowballs missed the players ? much like most of the passes Saturday. McGloin was 9 of 24 for 98 yards, while Bolden missed all four of his pass attempts, all in the second quarter.
Scheelhaase finished 9 of 16 for 63 yards, and ran 14 times for 89 yards.
After the game, Paterno had one last message to the frigid fans outside before they headed to the exits in relief.
"For all the fans out there, thanks for sitting through that today," Paterno said half-jokingly, "You've got to be nuts!"
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Sunday, October 30, 2011
9 Ways Top Brands Use Social Media for Better Customer Service (Mashable)
Rohit Bhargava is SVP of global digital strategy at Ogilvy, an award-winning marketing blogger and the best-selling author of Personality Not Included, a book about creating a more human brand. His is currently writing his second book called Likeonomics on how to be more believable. When an irate traveler tweeted about how he had arrived late to The Four Seasons in Palo Alto and been ?bumped? to an inferior room, the hotel saw it immediately and responded, promising to make it up to him. Turns out, the customer spends about 60 nights a year in Palo Alto for work, and promised in his next tweet to spend many of those nights at The Four Seasons.
[More from Mashable: Top 5 Tools to Better Time Your Tweets]
The brand has had several similar stories posted online by delighted customers, and they are exactly the kind of successes that justify the investment in social media for customer service (which, in turn, drives sales).
Oct. 27 was the first day of the Social Media for Customer Care Summit in New York, a gathering of some of the largest brands in the world focused on how social service can be leveraged more effectively. Nearly every brand was struggling with the same three big questions, which became discussion topics and hashtags in their own right:
[More from Mashable: Occupy Wall Street: Who Is Donating to Keep it Afloat? [STATS]]
- How can customer care better integrate with other functions across a company, like marketing? #integration
- How can an organization take the efforts of one or two pioneering individuals and employ it brand-wide? #scaling
- How can social media be used to mitigate negative posts or a brand crisis? #crisis
#Integration
1. Don't allow any one team to own social media. (KLM)
In April 2010, Dutch airline KLM was thrown into the jaws of social media head first thanks to the Icelandic ash cloud that covered Europe and grounded flights across the continent for nearly a week. Moving quickly, KLM earned credit by creating a rebooking tool for Facebook within 24 hours and created a "multi-functional" team across customer service, marketing, PR and operations. For the world's largest airline, this forced integration was just what they needed to build a highly sophisticated view that social media belongs belongs everywhere across the company. When they recently launched 24/7 support on Twitter and Facebook, they did it through a highly engaging ?Live Replies? campaign in which they responded to tweets with a small army of staff in an airplane hanger holding up signs.
2. Go through the experience to really get it. (Telus)
Canadian telecom brand Telus shared an important lesson about walking in someone else's shoes. For them, it meant bringing executives into the real ?down and dirty? conversations that customers were having with service reps on social media channels. As Carol Borghesi, senior vice president of the brand's Customer First initiative candidly shared, Telus was rated high on the Canadian list of companies with the ?worst customer service.? Social media is a key component of how they plan to be the first telecom in Canada to make it off that notorious list.
3. Help your customer service people feel like rock stars. (Zappos)
Of course, no conference about customer service would be complete without a great Zappos story, and Scott Klein and Marlene Kanagusuku from its customer loyalty team certainly delivered. A key thread in their presentation was how every employee is required to take four weeks of customer service training, and they are planning to cash in for the holiday season by bringing everyone from across the company in to man the phones and work with customers directly during that busiest time.
#Scaling
4. Get top-level buy-in through stories and data. (Citi)
unique point of view on how and why social media for customer service is a failure, and how brands can fix it. One of his main points was that you need to combine data with real powerful stories in order to actually make a change. As he shared, ?I?ve never met a CEO who wanted to create a bad customer experience.? Amen.
5. Find your ROI formula to justify your own existence. (Xbox)
Everyone has his own secret strategy for how to answer the big ROI question. But Xbox pulled back the curtain on her relatively simple formula:
Unique customers engaged with Xbox on Twitter x The percent of people who say they would have called instead of tweeting x Average cost per call = $$ saved in call center costs.
It?s not a perfect methodology, but it's all about finding the right lens through which to view data your company cares about.
6. Consider and leverage employees' personal passions. (Best Buy)
No discussion of scaling a social media for customer service effort would be complete without delving into the amazing work of Best Buy and its here.
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Thomas David DuBois: Why Doesn't Asia Have Religion?
Having spent the past 10 years writing and teaching on Asian religions, I now have something to confess:
Asia does not have religion.
"But what," you may ask, "about that college class I took on 'world religions?' We learned about Hinduism, Confucianism, Daoism and Shinto. Half the class was about Asia."
Between you and me, I hate that class. I hated it as a student, because I thought it didn't make sense. I hate it even more as a professor, because I know it doesn't make sense. Here's why.
Think about the religions the Western world knows best: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Whatever the differences that separate them, these three religions all share a great deal in common. Each one, for instance, is centered on a text -- a holy and inviolate scripture. For Jews, Christians and Muslims, the sacred text is never wrong -- although man's interpretation of it often is. Based on this knowledge, it would seem sensible to assume that religion and scripture are inseparable. But in fact, the central role of scripture, like much of what we assume about "religion" as a concept, is uniquely Western.
The same applies to the rules about how religion functions in society. What the West knows best is its own religious history, which was shaped in large part by the question of where Christianity should fit into politics. As we all know, European kings once claimed to rule by divine right, at least until the age of the great revolutions came along and banished organized religion from political life. But the declining political prominence of Western Christianity was more than just a battle between kings, popes and the awakened masses; it was also mirrored by a new understanding of religion itself, a sense that God resides, not in the church, but in the heart of and soul of the believer. True religious belief thus came to be seen as somethng very personal. This understanding shapes our idea that religion does not belong in the public sphere (some countries like France take this idea very seriously), but also means we do not accept the validity of religious conversion made at the point of a gun. The freedom of religious conscience has taken on a global currency, and is now portrayed as a basic human right. It is the standard used by the United Nations, and most of the world pays lip service to it in at least some form. Whatever the reality, religious freedom is enshrined in the constitutions of Cuba and North Korea. At least on paper, even Iran formally accepts the existence of certain religious minorities.
The fact is that the Western idea of religion did not reach Asia until very recently. When it did, the concept was so foreign that many Asian languages had to invent a new word for it (specifically for making diplomatic treaties with the Western powers who insisted on a clause protecting "religious freedom"). This puts Asia's own traditions into a strange bind. Even now, we face the problem in deciding just what to call the ideas of Confucius or the Buddha. Calling them "religions" clearly doesn't work, because Asian traditions look and behave so differently from what we know in the West.
Daoists, for example, don't have a Bible. In the entire canon of Daoist scripture, there is nothing that compares to the central role occupied by the sacred books of Western religion. Shinto has no scriptural tradition at all. Historically, East Asia has had far less religious conflict than the West, not because Asian religions are inherently any more peaceful, but rather because they have a very different concept of religious membership. In Western religions, affiliation is absolute: you cannot be a hyphenated Muslim-Jew, or a Christian-Hindu. Asian religions, in contrast, treat religious membership in more fluid terms. Everyone in China is to some degree influenced by Confucian ethics, but nobody would call himself a "Confucian." Trying to fit Asian beliefs into Western categories produces the classic square peg-round hole scenario.
As always, one needs travel no further than "The Simpsons" for a good example. When Lisa's quest for religious identity (driven by her dissatisfaction with the fictitious Presbylutheran congregation) led her to embrace Buddhism, she promptly shouted the epiphany, "I'm a Buddhist!" out her bedroom window. In doing so, she was actually echoing a classic Christian metaphor of religious belonging -- the lightning-bolt conversion of Paul of Tarsus. Lisa may have been a Buddhist, but she became one in a very Christian way.
This is not merely a cartoon dilemma (pun very much intended). Our understanding of what religion is, what it should look like, and what role it should play in society all have real world ramifications. When political figures like Michele Bachmann cynically promise to outlaw shariah, they are doing more than merely repeating the mistaken assertion that the United States is foundationally a Christian nation, they are also making a broader statement about what constitutes legitimate religion. Such ideas may play well with American voters, but they compromise our ability to understand the world outside our borders, and tangibly harm our image abroad.
Perhaps the greatest irony of all is that many of those who reject religion themselves rely on this same limited definition. Religion is in no way inimical to science. Certain interpreters of Christianity may reject evolution and global warming. That is unfortunate, but it is neither representative nor exclusive. Pig-headedness is not unique to Christianity, or even to religion. Just like the anti-Islamic screed emerging from the political right, dumping everything we dislike about Christianity into a single bucket we call "religion" serves only to muddy the waters.
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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thomas-david-dubois/does-asia-have-religion_b_1031869.html
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ICC hunt for Gaddafi son poses dilemma for Niger (Reuters)
NIAMEY/BEIJING (Reuters) ? The prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC) said on Sunday he has "substantial evidence" that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, now on the run, had helped hire mercenaries to attack Libyan civilians protesting against his father's rule.
Saif al-Islam may be heading for Niger, which could upset Libya's new rulers and its own pro-Gaddafi Tuareg nomads if it hands him over to the ICC in line with its treaty obligations.
"We have a witness who explained how Saif was involved with the planning of the attacks against civilians, including in particular the hiring of core mercenaries from different countries and the transport of them, and also the financial aspects he was covering," ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo told Reuters during a visit to Beijing.
Saif al-Islam, 39, is desperately seeking to avoid the fate of his father, Muammar Gaddafi, who was beaten, abused and shot after forces of Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) captured him on October 20 after the fall of his home town Sirte.
The NTC is likely to want to try Saif al-Islam itself, but the fugitive Libyan has been in indirect contact with the ICC over a possible surrender, though he may also harbor hopes that mercenaries can spirit him to a friendly African country.
Neighboring Niger has vowed to honor its ICC commitments, but knows that handing over Saif al-Islam could spark unrest in Saharan areas where his father, feted by many desert-dwellers as a hero, nurtured past Tuareg revolts against the capital.
Moreno-Campo said the ICC had witnesses to testify against Saif al-Islam, whom he said he had met a few years ago -- when Saif had backed ICC efforts to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir over alleged genocide and other crimes in Darfur.
"So we have substantial evidence to prove the case, but of course Saif is still (presumed) innocent, and (will) have to go to court and the judge will decide," he said.
Moreno-Ocampo said he would brief the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday about the court's work in Libya.
The Hague-based court has warned Saif al-Islam that it could order a mid-air interception if he tried to flee by plane from his unidentified Sahara desert hideout for a safe haven.
"We received through an informal intermediary some questions from Saif apparently about the legal system -- what happens to him if he appears before the judges, can he be sent to Libya, what happens if he's convicted, what happens if he's acquitted," said Moreno-Ocampo.
NO NEGOTIATIONS
"We are not in any negotiations with Saif," he said, adding that the ICC would not later force him to return to Libya provided another country is willing to receive him after he is either acquitted or is convicted and has served his sentence.
Before a popular uprising imperiled his father's grip on Libya, Saif al-Islam had cast himself as an enlightened supporter of reform at home and across the Arab world. But then he swore to crush opponents of his father's 42-year rule.
Asked about Saif al-Islam's metamorphosis, Moreno-Ocampo said: "After all these years, nothing surprises me."
Niger has not commented on statements by local northern leaders that Saif al-Islam was probably on its side of the mountains straddling its porous border with Algeria and Mali.
An official for the remote northern Agadez region, through which another fugitive Gaddafi son, Saadi, has passed, said on Saturday it had hosted security talks with U.S. officials.
The official, who requested anonymity, spoke of escape plans by Saif al-Islam and former Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi, both wanted by the ICC for war crimes.
"Senussi is being extricated from Mali toward a country that is a non-signatory to the (ICC) convention. I am certain that they will both (Senussi and Saif al-Islam) be extricated by plane, one from Mali, the other from Niger," he said.
A member of parliament from northern Mali, Ibrahim Assaleh Ag Mohamed, denied Senussi was in his country and said neither he nor Saif al-Islam would be accepted if they tried to enter.
Niger, like Mali, has signed the ICC's statute, but handing over Saif al-Islam would annoy northerners who feel remote from the capital Niamey and have long espoused Gaddafi's vision of a cross-border Saharan people.
"We are ready to hide him wherever needed," Mouddour Barka, a resident of Agadez town, told Reuters, adding that if Niger authorities handed him over: "We are ready to go out onto the streets and they will have us to deal with".
The Gaddafis befriended desert tribes in Niger, Mali and other poor former French colonies in West Africa. Gaddafi, a self-styled "king of kings", lavished funds on other African nations.
The ICC accuses Saif al-Islam of hiring mercenaries to carry out a plan, worked out with his father and Senussi, to kill unarmed protesters inspired by Arab uprisings elsewhere.
Algeria, which took in Saif al-Islam's mother, sister, brother Hannibal and half-brother Mohammed, is not a signatory to the treaty that set up the ICC. Nor is Sudan or Zimbabwe.
(Additional reporting by Barry Malone in Tripoli, Samia Nakhoul in London, Ibrahim Diallo in Agadez; Editing by Alistair Lyon)
Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111030/wl_nm/us_libya
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Saturday, October 29, 2011
The Monitor's weekly news quiz for Oct. 24-28, 2011
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St. Paul's Cathedral to reopen Friday (AP)
LONDON ? St. Paul's Cathedral says it will reopen Friday, a week after is shut its doors because of an anti-capitalist protest camp outside.
Spokeswoman Hannah Talbot says the church will open for prayer and worship with the Eucharist service at 1230 p.m. (1130GMT, 7:30 a.m. EDT). It will reopen to tourists on Saturday.
Protesters have been camped outside the building since Oct. 15. Days later, cathedral officials shut the building to the public, saying the campsite was a health and safety hazard.
On Wednesday Dean Graeme Knowles said the cathedral hoped to reopen following changes to the layout of tents.
Church officials still want the protesters to leave, but they are refusing to go.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
LONDON (AP) ? The senior St. Paul's Cathedral priest who welcomed anti-capitalist demonstrators to camp outside the London landmark resigned Thursday, saying he feared moves to evict the protesters could end in violence.
Canon Chancellor Giles Fraser said on Twitter that "it is with great regret and sadness that I have handed in my notice at St. Paul's Cathedral."
He told The Guardian newspaper that he had resigned because he believed cathedral officials had "set on a course of action that could mean there will be violence in the name of the church."
Fraser's departure reveals divisions among cathedral clergy over how to handle the protest on their doorstep. Dean of St. Paul's Graeme Knowles confirmed Fraser had stepped down, saying officials were disappointed that he "is not able to continue to his work ... during these challenging days."
Protesters have been camped outside the building since Oct. 15. When police tried to move them the next day, Fraser said the demonstrators were welcome to stay and asked police officers to move instead.
He later issued a statement stressing that "the Christian gospel is profoundly committed to the needs of the poor and the dispossessed. Financial justice is a gospel imperative."
Days later, cathedral officials shut the building to the public, saying the campsite was a health and safety hazard. It was the first time the 300-year-old church, one of London's best-known buildings, had closed since World War II.
Cathedral officials, and the bishop of London, have since asked the demonstrators to leave, but they are refusing to go.
Knowles said Wednesday the cathedral was considering all its options in response to the protest ? including legal action.
But in a victory for the protesters, he said the cathedral hoped to reopen Friday following changes to the layout of tents.
In a statement, the Occupy London protesters called Fraser a "man of great personal integrity."
The protesters said Fraser had "ensured that St. Paul's could be a sanctuary for us and that no violence could take place against peaceful protesters with a legitimate cause challenging and tackling social and economic injustice in London, the U.K. and beyond."
Similar camps have sprung up across the United States and around the world since activists took over a plaza near New York's Wall Street last month to protest corporate greed and social inequality. Many have withered or been dismantled, sometimes by force.
The local governing authority for St. Paul's, the City of London Corporation, says it is taking legal advice on the best way to evict the protesters ? but that could be a long process, complicated by the tangled ownership of the medieval patch of London on which the cathedral stands.
The protesters say they will fight eviction and have hired high-profile lawyer John Cooper, who has said he will defend the group for free.
Fraser, 46, a high-profile and liberal Anglican clergyman, was appointed chancellor of the cathedral in 2009.
The role involves overseeing the work of the St. Paul's Institute, which "seeks to bring Christian ethics to bear on our understanding of finance and economics."
The cathedral and the protest tent city lie within London's traditional financial center, which is called the City.
Fraser, a former Vicar of Putney in south London whose father came from a prominent London Jewish family, is well known through his newspaper and magazine columns and frequent appearances on BBC radio.
He has criticized the effects of the government's austerity measures.
"Should the church get stuck into the mucky world of politics? How ridiculous, of course it should," he wrote in the Guardian in June, going on to quote the late Brazilian bishop Helder Camara: "When I give to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor, they call me a communist."
____
Associated Press writer Robert Barr contributed to this report.
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Europe crafts debt deal that pleases markets (AP)
BRUSSELS ? The excruciating work of inking a deal to contain their two-year debt crisis over, European leaders turned Thursday to a potentially more difficult task: implementing the agreement that asks banks to take on bigger losses on Greece's debts and hopes to boost the region's arsenal against market turmoil.
World stock markets surged Thursday on the news that the leaders had clinched a deal that everyone hopes will prevent the crisis from pushing Europe and much of the developed world back into recession and keep the currency union from unraveling. But analysts were more cautious, noting that the deal remains vague and its success hangs on the details.
In the pre-dawn hours of Thursday, after the deal was unveiled, leaders claimed victory, but by evening, they were cautioning that their work has only begun.
"I think that yesterday we found a good overall package for the next stage, but I think that we still have many more stages to go," German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters in Berlin.
Part of that work began Thursday when French President Nicolas Sarkozy called his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao and pledged to cooperate to revive global growth. There was no word on whether Beijing might contribute to Europe's bailout fund.
The fund's chief executive is due to visit Beijing on Friday to talk to potential investors. Beijing has expressed sympathy for the 27-nation European Union, its biggest trading partner, but has yet to commit any cash.
The strategy unveiled after 10 hours of negotiations focused on three key points. These included a significant reduction in Greece's debts, a shoring up of the continent's banks, partially so they could sustain deeper losses on Greek bonds, and a reinforcement of a European bailout fund so it can serve as a euro1 trillion ($1.39 trillion) firewall to prevent larger economies like Italy and Spain from being dragged into the crisis.
After several missed opportunities, hashing out a plan was a success for the 17-nation eurozone, but the strategy's effectiveness will depend on the details, which will have to be finalized in the coming weeks.
"The finer details still appear somewhat sketchy ... but the prospect of a contagion and a disorderly default appear to have been put to one side for the time being," said Michael Hewson, market analyst at CMC Markets. "The only concern is that this post-deal euphoria could well leave investors with a nasty hangover when they start to look at the fine print and realize that this solution could well be another sticking plaster."
President Barack Obama, who had been increasingly pressuring Europe to get its act together in recent weeks, welcomed the plan ? but pointedly noted that the U.S. was looking forward to its "full development and rapid implementation."
The most difficult piece of the puzzle proved to be Greece, whose debts the leaders vowed to bring down to 120 percent of its GDP by 2020. Under current conditions, they would have ballooned to 180 percent.
To achieve that massive reduction, private creditors like banks will be asked to accept 50 percent losses on the bonds they hold. The Institute of International Finance, which has been negotiating on behalf of the banks, said it was committed to working out an agreement based on that "haircut," but the challenge now will be to ensure that all private bondholders fall in line.
It said the 50 percent cut equals a contribution of euro100 billion ($139 billion) to a second rescue for Greece, although the eurozone promised to spend some euro30 billion ($42 billion) on guaranteeing the remaining value of the new bonds.
The full program is expected to be finalized by early December and investors are supposed to swap their bonds in January, at which point Greece is likely to become the first euro country ever to be rated at default on its debt.
"We can claim that a new day has come for Greece, and not only for Greece but also for Europe," said Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, whose country's troubles touched off the crisis two years ago. "A burden from the past has gone, so that we can start a new era of development."
Not all Greeks were convinced. Prominent left-wing deputy Dimitris Papadimoulis said the agreement would doom Greeks to a deeper recession.
"The deal puts Greece in a eurozone quarantine," he said. "We are now locked in a system of continuous austerity, haphazard privatization, and continuous supervision by our creditors."
He also noted an inherent conflict of interest in the plan.
"Those who monitor us do not have our interests in mind. Their priority is that we pay back our loans," Papadimoulis said.
Since May 2010, Greece has been surviving on rescue loans worth euro110 billion ($150 billion) from the 17 countries that use the euro and the International Monetary Fund since it can't afford to borrow money directly from markets.
In July, those creditors agreed to extend another euro109 billion ? but that plan was widely panned as insufficient.
Now, in addition to euro30 billion in bond guarantees, the eurozone leaders and IMF said they will give Greece euro100 billion ($139 billion) in new loans.
With the banks being asked to shoulder more of the burden, though, there were concerns they needed more money in their rainy-day funds to cushion their losses. So European leaders have asked them to raise euro106 billion ($148 billion) by June.
The last piece in the complicated plan was to increase the firepower of the continent's bailout fund to ensure that other countries with troubled economies ? like Italy and Spain ? don't get dragged into the crisis. The third- and fourth-largest economies of the eurozone are too large to be bailed out like the smaller euro nations Greece, Portugal and Ireland have already been.
To that end, the euro440 billion ($610 billion) European Financial Stability Facility will be used to insure part of the potential losses on the debt of wobbly eurozone countries like Italy and Spain, rendering its firepower equivalent to around euro1 trillion ($1.39 trillion).
That should make those countries' bonds more attractive investments and thus lower borrowing costs for their governments.
In addition to acting as a direct insurer of bond issues, the EFSF insurance scheme is also supposed to entice big institutional investors to contribute to a special fund that could be used to buy government bonds but also to help states recapitalize weak banks.
Such outside help may be necessary for Italy and Spain, whose banks were facing some of the biggest capital shortfalls.
On the markets, European trading was buoyant from the outset Thursday on the news. Britain's FTSE climbed 2.9 percent to 5,712. Germany's DAX jumped 4.9 percent to 6,311 and France's CAC-40 gained 5.5 percent to 3,344. Shares in Asia posted solid gains earlier in the day.
___
Sarah DiLorenzo reported from Paris. Greg Keller and Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Juergen Baetz, David Rising and Geir Moulson in Berlin, Raf Casert, Don Melvin and Robert Wielaard in Brussels and Julie Pace in Washington contributed.
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Friday, October 28, 2011
Giant Lego Man may soon be released from custody
SARASOTA, Florida (AP) ? The 100-pound, 8-foot-tall mysterious Lego man that was found on a Florida beach may soon be sprung from a holding room.
Sarasota County Sheriff Tom Knight said Thursday that Lego-man could be freed from the shed where he's been kept for two days.
The giant Lego appeared on Siesta Key beach Tuesday morning. "No Real Than You Are" was written on its shirt, along with "Ego Leonard" and the number 8. Local newspapers report the name "Ego Leonard" is the name of a Netherlands artist, but it wasn't immediately clear who was behind the work. The story of the Lego man has gotten worldwide attention.
Knight says the Lego man is being well kept and hopes the giant fiberglass man can be placed on display somewhere in the community.
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PFT: Vick says Eagles ignore Rob Ryan's talk
APWe?re evaluating the ?state of the season? when every team hits their bye week.
We?ve already looked at the Bears and Raiders this week. Now up: The maddening Bucs.
Yungry, with emphasis on young
The Bucs entered this year with the youngest roster in football. While they have solidified their 10-6 record from a year ago in some ways, their incredible inconsistency speaks to their youth.
The Bucs have impressive home wins over Atlanta and New Orleans. They also have stinkbombs like the blowout loss in San Francisco and the lackluster effort in London against the Bears.
Sometimes the two sides of the Bucs come out in the same game, like the comeback win in Minnesota. You never know what you are going to get out of this 4-3 team. ?They can play a tight game with anyone, whether its the Saints or Colts.
Freeman?s foibles
No player symbolizes the up and down Bucs season more than quarterback Josh Freeman. He?s forcing too many passes, and starting games slowly. He?s throwing shorter passes and more interceptions. ?(His ten picks lead the league.)
Part of the issue is certainly Tampa?s receiver crew: Mike Williams, Preston Parker, Arrelious Benn, and Kellen Winslow don?t get a ton of separation. ?The bigger issue has been Freeman?s decision making.
Promising young defense
The Bucs envisioned their young defensive line leading the team. ?They are on their way. Rookie Adrian Clayborn is a keeper. Gerald McCoy was showing signs of improvement before he was hurt. ?Michael Bennett has quietly played well and rookie linebacker Mason Foster has seamlessly replaced Barrett Ruud.
Struggling secondary
The Bucs can be attacked through the air. Aqib Talib hasn?t had a great season. The same is true for cornerbacks E.J. Biggers and Ronde Barber. ?The Bucs don?t rank in the top 20 in points scored or allowed. They are 28th in yards allowed. ?They are -1 in turnovers. ?How is this team 4-3?
Tough schedule ahead
Six of Tampa?s final nine games are on the road. That starts with a huge road game in New Orleans, then a home game against the Texans before heading to Green Bay. ?It?s easy to see them 5-5 after ten weeks. The Bucs probably need to win in New Orleans for a realistic chance at winning the division.
The division schedule ends with road games in Carolina and Atlanta. Tampa has work to do before that finale truly matters.
This looks like a growing year for the Bucs, with 8-8 more likely than a playoff appearance.
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Angry Birds to ride Russian rockets into space, follow iPads bound for bored cosmonauts
Filed under: Tablet PCs
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Thursday, October 27, 2011
Netflix shares tank amid backlash and defections
NEW YORK (AP) ? Netflix shares plunged 35 percent Tuesday after the one-time Wall Street favorite revealed a massive departure of subscribers angered by price increases and other questionable changes at rental service that was created to make entertainment a snap.
Netflix revealed late Monday that it ended September with 23.8 million U.S. subscribers. That's down about 800,000 from June and worse than what the company had hinted at before. In September, the company predicted it will lose about 600,000 U.S. customers.
And it may get worse. Netflix said it expects more defections in coming months.
The exodus began after the company raised its prices by as much as 60 percent in July and split up its streaming and DVD rental services. Its website was flooded by comments from angry customers. Many people also canceled service, especially on the DVD-by-mail side. The company is betting that its future is in streaming video, and CEO Reed Hastings has said he expects Netflix's DVD subscriptions to steadily decline, much like what has happened to AOL Inc.'s dial-up Internet service.
But Netflix bungled a spin off its DVD-by-mail service, giving it the name Qwikster and creating separate accounts for people who wanted both DVDs and movie streaming. By doing so, the company created what many perceived to be a more complicated rental process at a company that began its meteoric rise with a new, easier way of searching for and finding entertainment effortlessly.
Netflix shares tumbled $41.34 to $77.50 in late morning trading Tuesday. The stock is down from more than $300 just 3 ? months ago. The last time the stock was trading so low was in April 2010, but that was during an extraordinarily steep ascent, after the company nearly erased the omnipresent blue and yellow storefronts of Blockbuster.
The revelations from Netflix prompted a downgrade to "Neutral" from "Buy" from Citi Investment Research analyst Mark Mahaney on Tuesday, who also slashed his target price on the stock to $95 from $220. The analyst called the price increase and the abandoned plan to separate Netflix's DVD business two "major execution errors."
Netflix Inc. did report better-than-expected financial results for the third quarter, but that was drowned out by the din of subscriber cancellations, expense controls and a one-time tax benefit, said Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter.
Pachter cut his target price to $82.50 from $110 on Netflix's stock and kept his rating at "Neutral."
Los Gatos, Calif.-based Netflix said it does not comment on stock movement or analyst reports.
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Kelly Clarkson: 'I've never been in love'
Kelly Clarkson has said her career as a superstar singer has gotten in the way of her romantic life.
?Obviously it?s really hard to date when I?m on four different continents in a week,? the powerhouse vocalist told USA Today. ?Even if I do meet a great guy, I ain?t ever gonna see him. There?s only so much you can do with Skype!?
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While she?s been the voice of many breakup songs ? most famously ?Since You?ve Been Gone? ? she admitted she?s a little behind in the romance department.
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'Sister Wives' welcome baby No. 17
And baby makes 22! According to People, Kody Brown and wife No. 4, Robyn, welcomed a baby boy on Wednesday morning. The child is the first for the couple, but is the 17th in the plural family.
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'Sister Wives' welcome baby No. 17
?I?ve never been in love,? Kelly said. ?I?ve never experienced certain things, and I think that?s because I have this side of me that is shut off. Because I haven?t found anybody yet to open to that I feel like, ?OK, you?re worth breaking down that wall for.? I?ve never found that.?
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Jennifer Hudson, Jordin Sparks, Kelly Clarkson & More At ?VH1 Divas? 2009
Still, the superstar does hope to get married one day ? and she told the newspaper she?d like to wed in her late 30s (she?s 29 now).
TODAY exclusive: Listen to Kelly Clarkson's new song
?Statistically, if you wait that long, you?re not going to get divorced,? she said.
Story: Kelly Clarkson: Dating is like being on ?American Idol?Beyond romance, Kelly ? currently riding high atop the success of her latest single, ?Mr. Know It All? ? explained how she?s managed to avoid the trap many successful stars have fallen into.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Since She?s Been Gone: Catching Up With Kelly Clarkson
?I have no controversy,? she told the paper. ?You don?t see me in rehab, or you don?t see me coming out with my hey-haw showing. There?s not much to report. So when anything little is reported, it?s like ?Oh, my God, she wasn?t wearing makeup!??
Copyright 2011 by NBC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45028289/ns/today-entertainment/
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Time Warner Cable 3Q net income slips 1 percent (AP)
NEW YORK ? The nation's second-largest cable company, Time Warner Cable, says its third-quarter earnings slipped 1 percent even as its revenue rose.
Time Warner Cable Inc. said Thursday that its net income fell to $356 million, or $1.08 per share. That's down from $360 million, or $1 per share, in the same period a year earlier.
Revenue grew 4 percent to $4.91 billion from $4.73 billion.
Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting earnings of $1.13 per share on revenue of $4.95 billion.
Time Warner Cable says its residential services revenue climbed 2 percent to $4.3 billion. Business services revenue jumped 35 percent to $387 million. A growth in the number of high-speed data subscribers helped boost results.
Advertising revenue fell 3 percent to $216 million.
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Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Inflatable Interface Lets You Literally Poke Your Friends [Video]
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Another Tibetan monk sets himself on fire in China (AP)
BEIJING ? A British human rights group says another Tibetan Buddhist monk has set himself on fire in a protest against Chinese rule over the Himalayan region in the 10th self-immolation this year.
The monk set himself ablaze early Tuesday outside a Tibetan monastery in southwestern Sichuan province's Ganzi prefecture, the London-based Free Tibet group said in a statement.
The group said it was unable to confirm the monk's age or name. It was unsure of his condition and whereabouts.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said Wednesday that the ministry had noted reports about the alleged incident, but was unable to confirm it had happened.
The ministry has condemned the immolations and accuses Tibet's exiled Buddhist leader, the Dalai Lama, and his supporters of encouraging them. Jiang reiterated the government stance, telling reporters at a regular press briefing that "inciting people to kill themselves in such a cruel manner is a violent and terrorist activity."
At least nine Tibetans in their late teens and 20s have self-immolated since March, with five or more of them dying from their injuries. All but one of those occurred in Aba, a town in Sichuan near Tibet that has been the site of a series of protests.
Most of those protests have been led by monks who are fiercely loyal to the Dalai Lama, who fled the Himalayan region in 1959 amid an abortive anti-Beijing uprising and is reviled by China's communist government.
The self-declared Tibetan government-in-exile has described the self-immolations as tragic acts and called for the international community to urge Beijing to open a dialogue on its policies in Tibet and traditionally Tibetan regions of western China.
A woman who answered the phone at the Ganzi Public Security Bureau said she was unaware of the incident and hung up the phone.
A man reached by telephone at the Ganzi Monastery said "I don't know, I'm sorry," when asked about the alleged immolation and hung up.
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Video: John Edwards walks daughter Cate down aisle
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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/45014278#45014278
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Obama to press Hu on yuan at November summits: Treasury (Reuters)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? President Barack Obama will press Chinese President Hu Jintao for faster action to revalue China's currency in a series of international summits in November, a top U.S. Treasury official said on Tuesday.
The upcoming leader meetings of the Group of 20 countries, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and the East Asian summit give Obama "an opportunity to continue to press this issue with President Hu," U.S. Treasury Under Secretary Lael Brainard told a congressional panel at a hearing.
"So we want to give those processes a chance to move forward," Brainard said, explaining why the Treasury Department had delayed a semi-annual report due on October 15 on the currency practices of major trading partners.
Many lawmakers believe the Obama administration should formally label China a currency manipulator in that report, but it has not done that in five previous reports.
She said the summits would be done by mid-November, clearing the way for Treasury to issue the report then.
(Reporting by Doug Palmer; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Panetta slams N. Korea for 'reckless' behavior
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan?? U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Monday lashed out at North Korea for "reckless and provocative" acts and criticized China for a secretive expansion of its military power.
Panetta, who arrived at this U.S. air base on the second leg of a weeklong Asia tour, spoke out about North Korea and China in an opinion piece published Monday by Japan's Yomiyuri newspaper before his arrival.
He wrote that Washington and Tokyo share common challenges in the Asia-Pacific.
"These include North Korea, which continues to engage in reckless and provocative behavior and is developing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, which pose a threat not just to Japan but to the entire region," he wrote.
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Panetta's strong language comes as U.S. and North Korean officials gather in Geneva for talks that Washington says are aimed at determining whether Pyongyang is serious about returning to nuclear disarmament talks.
Slideshow: Journey into North Korea (on this page)Japan also worries about North Korea and is one of five countries that have jointly tried to persuade the North Koreans to cap and reverse their nuclear arms program. The other four are the U.S., China, Russia and South Korea.
'Troubling lack of transparency'
Panetta is on his first trip to Asia since taking over the Pentagon's top job in July, and has been assuring allies in the region that the U.S. military will maintain a strong posture in the Pacific despite looming defense spending cuts at home.
Panetta also criticized China.
Slideshow: The dance of two giants (on this page)"China is rapidly modernizing its military," he wrote in Monday's opinion piece, "but with a troubling lack of transparency, coupled with increasingly assertive activity in the East and South China Seas."
He wrote that Japan and the U.S. would work together to "encourage China to play a responsible role in the international community."
Tokyo's ties with Beijing deteriorated last year following a flare-up near disputed East China Sea islets.
Questions about a potential decline in U.S. military power in the Pacific due to America's fiscal woes come as China's military invests heavily in new technologies, including its aircraft carrier program, stealth fighter jet and an anti-ship ballistic missile.
In comments to U.S. troops in Italy this month, Panetta cited concerns about China as one reason the U.S. military presence in the Pacific was so critical.
"In the Pacific, we're concerned about China. The most important thing we can do is to project our force into the Pacific," Panetta said.
Slideshow: Daily life in North Korea (on this page)"To have our carriers there, to have our fleet there, to be able to make very clear to China that we are going to protect international rights to be able to move across the oceans freely."
A day earlier, in Bali, Indonesia, Panetta offered more positive remarks about China. He told reporters that Beijing deserved praise for a relatively mild response to a $5.8 billion U.S. arms sale to Taiwan announced in September.
Panetta is not visiting China on this trip.
Marine base relocation
In Tokyo, Panetta was expected to press Japanese leaders to move ahead with long-delayed plans to relocate the Marines' Futenma air base to a less populated area of Okinawa island ? reluctant host to around half of the 50,000 U.S. forces stationed in Japan.
The Futenma relocation is part of a broader realignment of U.S. forces that would shift some 8,000 troops to the Pacific island of Guam.
"It's very important that Japan proceed with obviously moving forward with Futenma, getting the appropriate permits that are required," he told reporters in Indonesia on Sunday.
Japan's government wants to submit to Okinawa by year-end an environmental impact assessment needed before the governor of Okinawa can sign off on the base transfer. But there is no guarantee that the governor will agree to the relocation plan even once that happens.
"It's been going on a long period of time. It's important now to move forward," Panetta said.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45013169/ns/world_news-asia_pacific/
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Winfrey interviews Ralph Lauren live in NYC (AP)
NEW YORK ? When Ralph Lauren sat down for a little chat Monday night with Oprah Winfrey, they picked up a discussion they started on TV back in the spring, when the fashion designer helped close out Winfrey's long-running talk show with an exclusive peek inside his Colorado estate.
But this time, their talk about Lauren's life, career and commitment to cancer causes was at Lincoln Center in front of a sold-out crowd of arts patrons and a celebrity guest that included Michael J Fox, Brian Williams, Diane von Furstenberg, Anna Wintour, Martha Stewart and Naomi Watts.
The conversation raised more than $7 million for Lauren's cancer care center in East Harlem, along with the Lincoln Center.
In a pre-show interview Lauren said he wanted to do this because he believes in the causes.
"I've been doing what I'm doing a long time, and I'm here to give back what I can," he said.
He said he can't remember first time he met Winfrey but spent a long time with her when she first launched her magazine. That formed a connection.
"I once found myself talking to Oprah in my car for an hour," he said. "Whenever I see her it's like I just saw her. That's a real connection."
But Winfrey, who wore a red portrait collar gown, told the audience it took 25 years for her to get the interview with Lauren at his Colorado ranch.
She said Lauren "designed the fabric of America the way we know it."
Monday's multimedia presentation was produced by Tony Award winner Darren Bagert. It ended with a fashion show of Lauren's spring collection.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg had declared Monday as The Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention Day.
___
Samantha Critchell tweets fashion at http://twitter.com/ap_fashion
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Monday, October 24, 2011
Transitional leader declares Libyan liberation
A man reacts while viewing the bodies of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, background, his ex-defense minister Abu Bakr Younis and his son, Muatassim Gadhafi, foreground, in a commercial freezer at a shopping center in Misrata, Libya, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011. Libya's new leaders will declare liberation on Sunday, officials said, a move that will start the clock for elections after months of bloodshed that culminated in the death of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. (AP Photo/David Sperry)
A man reacts while viewing the bodies of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, background, his ex-defense minister Abu Bakr Younis and his son, Muatassim Gadhafi, foreground, in a commercial freezer at a shopping center in Misrata, Libya, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011. Libya's new leaders will declare liberation on Sunday, officials said, a move that will start the clock for elections after months of bloodshed that culminated in the death of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. (AP Photo/David Sperry)
Libyan revolutionary fighters returning from Sirte are welcomed at Al Guwarsha gate in Benghazi, Libya, Saturday Oct. 22, 2011. Libya's new leaders will declare liberation on Sunday, officials said, a move that will start the clock for elections after months of bloodshed that culminated in the death of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
Libyan women and children welcome revolutionary fighters returning from Sirte at Al Guwarsha gate in Benghazi, Libya, Saturday Oct. 22, 2011. Libya's new leaders will declare liberation on Sunday, officials said, a move that will start the clock for elections after months of bloodshed that culminated in the death of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
A man photographs the body of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi on a mattress in a commercial freezer at a shopping center in Misrata, Libya, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011. A military spokesman says Libya's transitional government will declare liberation on Sunday after months of bloodshed that culminated in the death of longtime leader Gadhafi. (AP Photo/David Sperry)
Libyan women walk past a graffiti reading: "The greatest Crazy of the World" in Tripoli, Libya, Friday Oct. 21, 2011. The death Thursday of Gadhafi, two months after he was driven from power and into hiding, decisively buries the nearly 42-year regime that had turned the oil-rich country into an international pariah and his own personal fiefdom. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) ? Libya's transitional leader declared his country's liberation Sunday after an 8-month civil war and set out plans for the future with an Islamist tone. The announcement was clouded, however, by international pressure to explain how ousted dictator Moammar Gadhafi had been captured alive days earlier, then ended up dead from a gunshot to his head shortly afterward.
Gadhafi's death in circumstances that are still unclear, and the gruesome spectacle of his body laid out as a trophy in a commercial freezer and on public view, are testing the new Libyan leaders' commitment to the rule of law. Even at the ceremony to declare liberation, two speakers in positions of authority essentially said Gadhafi got what he deserved.
But transitional government leader Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, who made the keynote speech, did not mention the events surrounding Gadhafi's end and called on his people to eschew hatred.
"You should only embrace honesty, patience, and mercy," Abdul-Jalil told the crowd at the declaration ceremony in the eastern city of Benghazi, the birthplace of the uprising against Gadhafi. He urged Libyans to reconcile their differences.
And he laid out a vision for the post-Gadhafi future with an Islamist tint, saying Islamic Sharia law would be the "basic source" of legislation and existing laws that contradict the teachings of Islam would be nullified. In a gesture that showed his own piety, he urged Libyans not to express their joy by firing guns in the air, but rather to chant "Allahu Akbar," or God is Great. He then stepped aside from the podium and knelt to offer a brief prayer of thanks.
Using Sharia as the main source of legislation is stipulated in the constitution of neighboring Egypt. Still, Egyptian laws remain largely secular as Sharia does not cover all aspects of modern day life.
The uprising against Gadhafi erupted in February as part of anti-government revolts spreading across the Middle East. Neighboring Tunisia, which put the so-called Arab Spring in motion with mass protests nearly a year ago, has taken the biggest step on the path to democracy, voting for a new assembly Sunday in its first truly free elections. Egypt, which has struggled with continued unrest, is next with parliamentary elections slated for November.
Libya's struggle has been the bloodiest so far in the region. Mass protests quickly turned into a civil war that killed thousands and paralyzed the country for the past eight months. Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte was the last loyalist stronghold to fall last week, but Gadhafi's son and one-time heir apparent, Seif al-Islam, apparently escaped with some of his supporters.
Abdul-Jalil paid tribute to the Gulf Cooperation Council, a six-nation alliance led by Saudi Arabia, the Arab League and the European Union. NATO, which aided the anti-Gadhafi fighters with airstrikes, performed its task with "efficiency and professionalism," he added.
President Barack Obama congratulated Libyans on the declaration.
"After four decades of brutal dictatorship and eight months of deadly conflict, the Libyan people can now celebrate their freedom and the beginning of a new era of promise," he said.
But just hours before that statement, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Britain's new defense secretary, Philip Hammond, said a full investigation into Gadhafi's death is necessary.
Hammond said the Libyan revolutionaries' image had been "a little bit stained" by Gadhafi's death, Hammond adding that the new government "will want to get to the bottom of it in a way that rebuilds and cleanses that reputation."
"It's certainly not the way we do things," Hammond told BBC television. "We would have liked to see Col. Gadhafi going on trial to answer for his misdeeds."
Clinton told NBC's "Meet the Press" that she backs a proposal that the United Nations investigate Gadhafi's death and that Libya's National Transitional Council look into the circumstances, too.
An autopsy confirmed that Gadhafi died from a gunshot to the head, Libya's chief pathologist, Dr. Othman al-Zintani, said. However, the pathologist said he would not disclose further details or elaborate on Gadhafi's final moments, saying he would first deliver a full report to the attorney general.
Libya's acting prime minister, Mahmoud Jibril, said he would not oppose an investigation, but cited an official reporting saying a wounded Gadhafi was killed in crossfire following his capture. Addressing the celebrations around Gadhafi's body, Jibril told the BBC in an interview on Sunday: "You have to appreciate the agony that people went through for 42 years."
The 69-year-old Gadhafi was captured wounded, but alive Thursday in his hometown of Sirte, the last city to fall to revolutionary forces. Bloody images of Gadhafi being taunted and beaten by his captors have raised questions about whether he was deliberately executed.
Gadhafi's body has been on public display in a commercial freezer in a shopping center in the port city of Misrata, which suffered from a bloody siege by regime forces that instilled a virulent hatred for the dictator in Misrata's residents.
People have lined up for days to view the body, which was laid out on a mattress on the freezer floor. The bodies of Gadhafi's son Muatassim and his ex-defense minister Abu Bakr Younis also were put on display, and people wearing surgical masks have filed past, snapping photos of the bodies.
The New York-based group Human Rights Watch, which viewed the bodies, said video footage, photos and other information it obtained "indicate that they might have been executed after being detained."
"Finding out how they died matters," said Sarah Leah Whitson of Human Rights Watch. "It will set the tone for whether the new Libya will be ruled by law or by summary violence."
The Syrian-based Al-Rai TV station, which has served as a mouthpiece for the Gadhafi clan, said the dictator's wife, Safiya, also demanded an investigation.
The vast majority of Libyans seemed unconcerned about the circumstances of the hated leader's death, but rather was relieved the country's ruler of 42 years was gone, clearing the way for a new beginning.
"If he (Gadhafi) was taken to court, this would create more chaos, and would encourage his supporters," said Salah Zlitni, 31, who owns a pizza parlor in downtown Tripoli. "Now it's over."
The long-awaited declaration of liberation starts the clock on Libya's transition to democracy. The transitional leadership has said it would declare a new interim government within a month of liberation and elections for a constitutional assembly within eight months, to be followed by votes for a parliament and president within a year.
At the ceremony in Benghazi, Abdul-Jalil outlined several changes to align with Islamic law.
"This revolution was looked after by God to achieve victory," he said.
Abdul-Jalil said new banks would be set up to follow the Islamic banking system, which bans charging interest as a practice deemed usury. For the time being, he said interest would be canceled from any personal loans already taken out at less than 10,000 Libyan dinars (about $7,500).
He also announced the annulment of an existing family law that limits the number of wives Libyans can take, contradicting the provision in the Muslim holy book, the Quran, that allows men up to four wives.
And he urged Libyans to hand back money or property taken during the civil war.
Abdul-Jalil thanked those who fought and fell in the fight against Gadhafi's forces.
"They are somewhere better than here, with God," he said.
___
Associated Press writers Jamal Halaby in Southern Shuneh, Jordan and Raphael G. Satter in London contributed to this report.
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