Blunt tours KC baseball museum

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - 2012 will be a big year for Kansas City with the Major League Baseball All-Star game coming to town.

But a Missouri senator doesn't want all the attention to be focused on Kauffman Stadium.

Roy Blunt Friday stopped by the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

He?s hoping the all-star game will bring more visitors to the museum.

"I really think that this hidden treasure can find its moment as part of the All-Star game. We need to have the commissioner here. We need to have people from Major League Baseball here,? said Blunt.

Blunt also talked politics, calling for the state senate to pass a budget soon.

He said a budget hasn't been passed for almost one-thousand days.

Copyright 2011 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Source: http://www.nbcactionnews.com/dpp/news/local_news/sen-roy-blunt-friday-hopes-all-star-game-will-bring-more-visitors-to-negro-leagues-baseball-museum

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US to Iran:?Oil disruption 'will not be tolerated'

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates ??

The U.S. Navy's 5th fleet Wednesday warned Iran that any disruption of traffic flowing through the vital Strait of Hormuz oil route "will not be tolerated."

The warning came after Iran's navy chief Habibollah Sayyari told Iran's English language Press TV that "closing the Strait of Hormuz for Iran's armed forces is really easy ... or as Iranians say it will be easier than drinking a glass of water."

"But right now, we don't need to shut it as we have the Sea of Oman under control and we can control the transit," said Sayyari, who is leading 10 days of exercises in the Strait. His reference to control was unclear.

In response, 5th Fleet spokeswoman Lt. Rebecca Rebarich said, "Anyone who threatens to disrupt freedom of navigation in an international strait is clearly outside the community of nations; any disruption will not be tolerated."?

The U.S. Navy is "always ready to counter malevolent actions to ensure freedom of navigation," she said.

Rebarich declined to say whether the U.S. force had adjusted its presence or readiness in the Gulf in response to Iran's comments, but said the Navy "maintains a robust presence in the region to deter or counter destabilizing activities, while safeguarding the region's vital links to the international community."

At the Pentagon, Press Secretary George Little also said that Iranian interference with passage of vessels through the strategic waterway "will not be tolerated," NBC News reported.

Little said that blocking naval traffic through the Strait represents "an important issue for security and stability in the region," and called the Strait "an economic lifeline."

Iran's fears
Sayyari's warning underline Iranian concern that the West is about to impose new sanctions that could target Tehran's vital oil industry and exports.

Western nations are growing increasingly impatient with Iran over its nuclear program. The U.S. and its allies have accused Iran of using its civilian nuclear program as a cover to develop nuclear weapons. Iran has denied the charges, saying its program is geared toward generating electricity and producing medical radioisotopes to treat cancer patients.

The U.S. Congress has passed a bill banning dealings with the Iran Central Bank, and President Barack Obama has said he will sign it despite his misgivings. Critics warn it could impose hardships on U.S. allies and drive up oil prices.

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The bill could impose penalties on foreign firms that do business with Iran's central bank. European and Asian nations import Iranian oil and use its central bank for the transactions.

Iran is the world's fourth-largest oil producer, with an output of about 4 million barrels of oil a day. It relies on oil exports for about 80 percent of its public revenues.

Iran has adopted an aggressive military posture in recent months in response to increasing threats from the U.S. and Israel that they may take military action to stop Iran's nuclear program.

Iran's navy is in the midst of a 10-day drill in international waters near the strategic oil route. The exercises began Saturday and involve submarines, missile drills, torpedoes and drones. The war games cover a 1,250-mile (2,000-kilometer) stretch of sea off the Strait of Hormuz, northern parts of the Indian Ocean and into the Gulf of Aden near the entrance to the Red Sea as a show of strength and could bring Iranian ships into proximity with U.S. Navy vessels in the area.

Iranian media are describing how Iran could move to close the strait, saying the country would use a combination of warships, submarines, speed boats, anti-ship cruise missiles, torpedoes, surface-to-sea missiles and drones to stop ships from sailing through the narrow waterway.

Iran's navy claims it has sonar-evading submarines designed for shallow waters of the Persian Gulf, enabling it to hit passing enemy vessels.

The Fifth Fleet consists of 20-plus ships supported by combat aircraft, with 15,000 people afloat and another 1,000 ashore.

A closure of the strait could temporarily cut off some oil supplies and force shippers to take longer, more expensive routes that would drive oil prices higher. It also potentially opens the door for a military confrontation that would further rattle global oil markets.

Iran claimed a victory this month when it captured an American surveillance drone almost intact. It went public with its possession of the RQ-170 Sentinel to trumpet the downing as a feat of Iran's military in a complicated technological and intelligence battle with the U.S.

American officials have said that U.S. intelligence assessments indicate the drone malfunctioned.

About the Strait of Hormuz:

Location: The most important oil transit channel in the world is a narrow bend of water separating Oman and Iran. It connects the biggest Gulf oil producers, such as Saudi Arabia, with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. At its narrowest point, the strait is only 21 miles across and consists of 2-mile-wide navigable channels for inbound and outbound shipping and a 2-mile-wide buffer zone.

Oil shipments

• Flows through the Strait in 2009 were roughly 33 percent of all seaborne traded oil (40 percent in 2008), or 17 percent of oil traded worldwide, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
• Some 15.5 million barrels passed through in 2009, according to the U.S. EIA. U.S. warships patrol the area to ensure the safe passage.
• The bulk of the oil exported through the Strait of Hormuz travels to Asia, the United States and Western Europe. About three-quarters of Japan's oil imports and about 50 percent of China's pass through this strait.
• An additional 2 million barrels of oil products, including fuel oil, are exported through the passage daily, as well as liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Other shipments: Merchant ships carrying grain, iron ore, sugar, perishables and containers full of finished goods also pass through the strategic sea corridor en route to Gulf countries and ports such as Dubai.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45805706/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/

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Southern Maine Community College professor receives national award

SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine ? A professor at Southern Maine Community College has been awarded the 2011 Teaching Excellence Award from the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges.

Florence Chambers, who came to the South Portland campus in 2001, is one of six instructors nationwide to receive the award. She tells The Portland Press Herald that teaching has always been her passion.

The newspaper says the association presents the award every two years to math instructors at two-year colleges who display excellence in the classroom, superior professional development and outstanding leadership qualities.

Source: http://bangordailynews.com/2011/12/28/news/portland/southern-maine-community-college-professor-receives-national-award/

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Means of Communications throughout Kenya | Africa & the Middle ...

Travelling to Kenya In late January 2012-can anyone tell me whether or not in the Sarova Shaba, Sarova Lion Hill lodge and Sarova Mara tent camps there are wireless options or other options to contact home? We are not bringing a cell phone or Ipad and want to be able to call or contact family. How much would a cheap unlocked phone cost at the airport to have for a week and does it make sense to even bother? Thanks!

Source: http://www.fodors.com/community/africa-the-middle-east/means-of-communications-throughout-kenya.cfm

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Jamie Dupree's Washington Insider: Only Romney & Paul on Virginia Ballot

By Jamie Dupree

Officials in the Commonwealth of Virginia have announced that only Mitt Romney and Ron Paul qualified for the Super Tuesday ballot, dealing a setback to the campaigns of both Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich.

Backers of both Perry and Gringrich submitted more than the 10,000 signatures needed, but not all were judged to be valid by Virginia elections officials.

?Only a failed system excludes four out of the six major candidates seeking access to the ballot," said Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond, referring to the fact that Michele Bachmann, Jon Huntsman and Rick Santorum also won't be on the Virginia ballot. ?

"Voters deserve the right to vote for any top contender, especially leading candidates," Hammond said in a Saturday morning statement.

While Hammond vowed to wage a write-in campaign, this news was clearly a victory for Mitt Romney's campaign, at least for now.

But what if Romney stumbles early? Then the Old Dominion could truly be up for grabs in early March.

About Jamie Dupree

Jamie Dupree is the Radio News Director of the Washington Bureau of the Cox Media Group and writes the Washington Insider blog.

Connect with Jamie Dupree on:TwitterFacebook

Send Jamie Dupree an email.

Source: http://www.wsbradio.com/weblogs/jamie-dupree/2011/dec/24/only-romney-paul-virginia-ballot/

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'Anonymous' hackers target US security think tank

LONDON?? The loose-knit hacking movement "Anonymous" claimed Sunday to have stolen thousands of credit card numbers and other personal information belonging to clients of U.S.-based security think tank Stratfor. One hacker said the goal was to pilfer funds from individuals' accounts to give away as Christmas donations, and some victims confirmed unauthorized transactions linked to their credit cards.

Anonymous boasted of stealing Stratfor's confidential client list, which includes entities ranging from Apple to the U.S. Air Force to the Miami Police Department, and mining it for more than 4,000 credit card numbers, passwords and home addresses.

"Not so private and secret anymore?" the group taunted in a message on Twitter, promising that the attack on Stratfor was just the beginning of a Christmas-inspired assault on a long list of targets.

Anonymous said the client list it posted was a small slice of the 200 gigabytes worth of plunder it stole from Stratfor and promised more leaks. It said it was able to get the credit details in part because Stratfor didn't bother encrypting them ? an easy-to-avoid blunder which, if true, would be a major embarrassment for any security-related company.

Austin, Texas-based Stratfor provides political, economic and military analysis to help clients reduce risk, according to a description on its YouTube page. It charges subscribers for its reports and analysis, delivered through the web, emails and videos.

Lt. Col. John Dorrian, public affairs officer for the Air Force, said that "for obvious reasons" the Air Force doesn't discuss specific vulnerabilities, threats or responses to them.

"The Air Force will continue to monitor the situation and, as always, take appropriate action as necessary to protect Air Force networks and information," he said in an email.

Miami Police Department spokesman Sgt. Freddie Cruz Jr. said that he could not confirm that the agency was a client of Stratfor, and he said he had not received any information about a security breach involving the police department.

It soon became clear that proprietary information about the companies and government agencies that subscribe to Stratfor's newsletters did not appear to be at any significant risk, and that the main threat was posed to individual employees.

Hours after publishing what it claimed was Stratfor's client list, Anonymous tweeted a link to encrypted files online with the names, addresses and account details.

"Not as many as you expected? Worry not, fellow pirates and robin hoods. These are just the "A"s," read a message posted online that encouraged readers to download a file of the hacked information.

It also linked to images online that it suggested were receipts for charitable donations made by the group manipulating the credit card data it stole.

"Thank you! Defense Intelligence Agency," read the text above one image that appeared to show a transaction summary indicating that an agency employee's information was used to donate $250 to a non-profit.

One receipt ? to the American Red Cross ? had Allen Barr's name on it.

Barr, of Austin, Texas, recently retired from the Texas Department of Banking and said he discovered last Friday that a total of $700 had been spent from his account. Barr, who has spent more than a decade dealing with cybercrime at banks, said five transactions were made in total.

"It was all charities, the Red Cross, CARE, Save the Children. So when the credit card company called my wife she wasn't sure whether I was just donating," said Barr, who wasn't aware until a reporter with the AP called that his information had been compromised when Stratfor's computers were hacked.

"It made me feel terrible. It made my wife feel terrible. We had to close the account."

Stratfor said in an email to members that it had suspended its servers and email after learning that its website had been hacked.

"We have reason to believe that the names of our corporate subscribers have been posted on other web sites," said the email, passed on to The Associated Press by subscribers. "We are diligently investigating the extent to which subscriber information may have been obtained."

The email, signed by Stratfor Chief Executive George Friedman, said the company is "working closely with law enforcement to identify who is behind the breach."

"Stratfor's relationship with its members and, in particular, the confidentiality of their subscriber information, are very important to Stratfor and me," Friedman wrote.

Repeated calls to Stratfor went unanswered Sunday and an answering machine thanked callers for contacting the "No. 1 source for global intelligence." Stratfor's website was down, with a banner saying "site is currently undergoing maintenance."

Wishing everyone a "Merry LulzXMas" ? a nod to its spinoff hacking group Lulz Security ? Anonymous also posted a link on Twitter to a site containing the email, phone number and credit number of a U.S. Homeland Security employee.

The employee, Cody Sultenfuss, said he had no warning before his details were posted.

"They took money I did not have," he told the AP in a series of emails, which did not specify the amount taken. "I think 'Why me?' I am not rich."

One member of the hacking group, who uses the handle AnonymousAbu on Twitter, claimed that more than 90,000 credit cards from law enforcement, the intelligence community and journalists ? "corporate/exec accounts of people like Fox" news ? had been hacked and used to "steal a million dollars" and make donations.

It was impossible to verify where credit card details were used. Fox News was not on the excerpted list of Stratfor members posted online, but other media organizations including MSNBC and Al-Jazeera English appeared in the file.

Anonymous warned it has "enough targets lined up to extend the fun fun fun of LulzXmas through the entire next week."

The group has previously claimed responsibility for attacks on companies such as Visa, MasterCard and PayPal, as well as others in the music industry and the Church of Scientology.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45787767/ns/technology_and_science-security/

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Rudolph's red nose has nothing on his eyes

The reindeer of Christmas myth must meet high expectations this time of year ? not just hauling heavy loads of gifts over long distances ? but also helping navigate from the tundra to the rest of the world.

And even though most real reindeer never pull sleighs through snowy nights, new research suggests that their eyes would be far better suited to the task than Santa's are. Unlike people, the study found, reindeer can see ultraviolet light ? which probably allows them to detect food and predators in a mostly white environment.

The study makes reindeer the first large mammal known to have UV vision. And it raises questions about how animals that are highly specialized to their environments will adapt as their environments change.

PHOTOS: Reindeer Help Christmas Trees Grow

"Reindeer are mammals and what we find may be related to humans," said Karl-Arne Stokkan, an Arctic biologist at the University of Troms? in Norway. "In the view of potential climate change, we have also realized that reindeer may be an important 'signal-animal' because of their strong adaptation to an environment believed to suffer the biggest changes."

Many animals are able to see or respond to ultraviolet light, including some birds, rodents, fish, bees and bats. But UV light is invisible to the human eye and with enough exposure, can even cause damage. Most dangerous are bright, snowy and icy conditions at high elevations or high latitudes, where lots of UV intensity and reflectivity can cause snow blindness in human eyes.

Since reindeer live in the Arctic, where levels of ultraviolet light are at their highest in proportion to other wavelengths, Stokkan and colleagues wondered if the animals might have evolved a way to deal with a world full of ultraviolet radiation. In a lab experiment with LED lights, the researchers first showed that UV light passed right through the reindeer's cornea and lens into its retina, they reported in the Journal of Experimental Biology.

In human eyes, the lens instead acts as a UV filter, said Marty Banks, a vision scientist at the University of California, Berkeley. That prevents ultraviolet light from reaching the retina, where it can cause damage.

Next, the researchers used anesthetized reindeer to demonstrate that cells in the retina responded electrically to UV signals. Similar tests on other kinds of deer have previously come up negative, Stokkan said.

Ultraviolet vision may be a specialized adaptation to life in the snowy Arctic, the researchers hypothesize. Reindeer eat lichen, which absorb UV light, and they try to avoid being eaten by wolves, whose fur also absorbs the UV spectrum. Being able to see ultraviolet wavelengths, then, may give the animals the ability to see contrasts, helping them find food and avoid predators when surrounded by reflective snow and ice.

PHOTOS: Oh Christmas Tree!: A History in Photos

UV vision might also help reindeer distinguish subtle contours in what might look like a flat landscape of snow, which would help them navigate safely.

The animal kingdom contains a wide variety of designs for eyes and visual systems that can be wildly different form how humans see, Banks said. But research on animal eyes often helps scientists better understand the ways that vision works in people.

Work on chickens, for example, has led to a theory that the growing use of computers, books and cell phones might explain a rapid rise in nearsightedness over the past 60 years or so. Researchers have also recently discovered a new kind of ultraviolet light-sensing receptor in many animals that seems to play a role in regulating circadian rhythms.

Figuring out how reindeer manage to let ultraviolet rays into their eyes without going blind might end up having applications for mountaineers and others.

"How does a reindeer get away with it and not have the health consequences that we have if we're exposed to a lot of UV light?" Banks said. "For humans, the sum total of UV light exposure over a lifetime is predictive of a lot of bad things that we don't want to have. That might help us understand how to protect people more."

? 2011 Discovery Channel

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45782905/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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Jesus Creed ? Christmas for Pets

From USAToday:

The season of giving inevitably prompts pet lovers (53% of dog owners and 38% of cat owners) to gift their animals, often lavishly, says a survey by the American Pet Products Association.

Are some people over-the-top ? in an unhealthy way ? about their animals? Probably, says Waco, Texas, psychologist Julia Becker. But the number, she believes, is extremely small.

There may be a problem if a person:

-Perpetually neglects other relationships to give excessive time and attention to pets.

-Uses pets as an excuse to get out of doing other activities.

The most common issue:

People who insist on taking badly behaved or ill-trained pets to inappropriate places where they?re not welcome. But that?s not generally a sign of mania; that?s self-absorption, probably evident in non-pet-related actions. ?It?s always unfortunate when people aren?t respectful of others,? says Becker, especially when it might fuel negative stereotypes about pet owners.

It also prompts the question: Is there something, well, weird about that?

According to a?Kelton Research survey commissioned by Milo?s Kitchen pet treats:

?81% regard their pets as full members of the family.

?58% call themselves their pets? ?mommy? or ?daddy.?

?77% buy pets birthday gifts.

?More than half say they talk about pets more than politics or sex.

Well, grinches, here?s what mental health professionals have to say about all this pet-loving goofiness: The blatant puppy love much of America is displaying does not spell the end of society as we know it, and the pet-obsessed are not pathetically off-kilter humans in need of intense therapy.

Source: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jesuscreed/2011/12/23/christmas-for-pets/

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Time to Forget

Image: Photoillustration by Aaron Goodman

I sat at a piano in a sun-filled modern church. The audience?other young pianists and their parents?watched as I played the first eight notes of a piece by composer Edvard Grieg. At the ninth note, I froze. I tried again: da dee dee dee, da-da dee dee. Silence. On the third try, chords tumbled from my fingers, and the piece flowed from there.

That event at age 14 was scarring, and I soon stopped taking piano lessons. Two years ago, however, I revisited that dormant memory as the band I joined much later prepared for its public debut. Too bad I?m a terrible performer, I thought gloomily.

But as this month?s special report makes clear, recalling a memory also reshapes it. Memories are not preserved behind air locks in some squishy cellular vault. Rather they resemble clouds swirling in the currents. Change the conditions in which you remember, and the reminiscence twists accordingly, as journalist Ingfei Chen writes in ?A Feeling for the Past.? In the mutable landscape of memory, a sharp mind must also delete thoughts selectively. Scientific American Mind?s Ingrid Wickelgren explains why in ?Trying to Forget.? If letting things go is a struggle, the nuclear option?a pill to blot out the past?may soon offer respite, writes journalist Adam Piore in ?Totaling Recall.?

Experiments on memory reveal how slippery our sense of truth can be. Stephen L. Macknik and Susana Martinez-Conde, experts on visual illusions, show how researchers exploit our error-ridden models of reality in ?Mind-Warping Visions.? For a light take on our all-too-human inconsistencies, turn to ?The Partnership Paradox,? by NPR?s Joe Palca and Flora Lichtman. You will learn why your beloved?s once alluring traits now seem so singularly annoying.

As for my botched recital, I no longer dodge the memory as if rotting vegetables were flying at my face. The problem, I now believe, was not stage stupor but my lousy practice record at the time. By rewriting that old memory to underscore effort rather than incapability, I shifted my sense of self?and my hopes for the future.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=85901412031044bf7946346ee14bf909

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iPhone Registers Good Sales in UK, Android OS Going Strong

Latest data from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, a leading research organisation focusing on consumer knowledge and insights on consumer products, shows that Apple has increased its share of the UK smartphone market to 30.9 per cent in the past 12 weeks of sales. Its share in the same period last year was 21.4 per cent.

ComTech releases these figures after tracking purchase, source of purchase, mobile phone bills/airtime and phone usage.

Apple iPhone looks like the preferred item this Christmas among Britons. ?However, consumers in Germany and France are not adding an iPhone to their Christmas shopping list.

"In Great Britain, the US and Australia, Apple's new iPhone continues to fly off the shelf in the run up the Christmas, reversing the share losses seen during much of 2011.? However, this trend is far from universal, with sales in Germany and France somewhat underwhelming.? In fact, in Germany, Android achieved a dominant underwhelming.? In fact, in Germany, Android achieved a dominant 61% share of smartphone sales in the latest 12 weeks, with the Samsung Galaxy S II the top selling handset," says Dominic Sunnebo, global consumer insight director. ??

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The UK's smartphone market is highly competitive, sales have gone up by 71.5 per cent in the past 12 weeks. This means 47.3 per cent of the British population now owns a smartphone.?

Different brands are luring consumers to push their sales and increase their market shares.

Android, Google's operating system, has the highest market share in the UK (almost 50 per cent). The second and third top competitors are BlackBerry (22.5 per cent) and Apple (18.5 per cent).

Across Europe, Android is the number one market leader, but the handset manufacturers are fighting out to push their sales. ?Android is used by Samsung, HTC and host of other brands.

Due to their attractive price range, HTC smartphones are the most popular Android devices in the UK. ?HTC has maintained a market share of 44.8 per cent of Android sales in the past 12 weeks.

Samsung is catching up with sales of Galaxy SII and Ace handsets. Sony Ericsson handset is squeezed in the competition with sales dropping to 8.5 per cent between September- October this year. Last year, during the same period, its share was 20.5 per cent.

"Typically Christmas gifting in the mobile market doesn't really get started until December.? Last year just under a third of all phones bought were given as presents and this figure rose to 46 per cent in December 2010.? Blackberry handsets were the most popular, making up 40 per cent of the smartphones bought as gifts last December.? We think this trend will be repeated in 2011. In fact, 55 per cent of Blackberrys sold this November were bought as gifts," says Sunnebo.

The study also notes that the smartphone competition is getting stronger in fast-growing economies like Brazil.

Source: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/271916/20111223/iphone-registers-good-sales-uk-android-os.htm

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Thousands sign up for new Russian protest (Reuters)

MOSCOW (Reuters) ? More than 40,000 Russians have signed up online to protest in Moscow on Saturday against a disputed election, dismissing Kremlin promises of political change.

The rally follows protests by tens of thousands of people across Russia on December 10 and is intended to pile pressure on Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who has responded with only minor concessions and seems confident of winning a presidential poll in March.

Bringing together liberals, nationalists, anarchists, environmentalists and urban youth, protest organizers have settled on a list of 19 speakers that includes former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny, rock singer Yuri Shevchuk and writer Boris Akunin.

An online vote was held on what slogans to put on 2,000 balloons at the rally. "You don't represent us!" was the most popular, followed by "You swindled us!" and "We will not stop!"

"I am absolutely sure that up to 1 million people are ready to take part in such rallies ... I see the people's mood," said Navalny, who coined the phrase "the party of swindlers and thieves" to describe Putin's ruling United Russia party.

"They stole about 1 million votes. And that's only in Moscow. I think that these people are completely dissatisfied with what happened and are ready to defend their rights, including going out on to the streets," he told Reuters.

The opposition has rejected conciliatory efforts by Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev, saying they have ignored its key demand for a rerun of the December 4 parliamentary poll, which handed a slim majority to the ruling United Russia party.

The opposition says United Russia benefited from widespread voting irregularities and international monitors said the vote was slanted in the ruling party's favour.

Medvedev promised on Thursday to relax the Kremlin's grip on power, including measures to restore the election of regional governors and to allow half the seats in the State Duma lower house of parliament to be directly elected in the regions.

On Friday, he sent for parliamentary approval laws to reduce the number of signatures a party needs to launch a presidential candidate and to simplify the process for parties to compete in elections. They are due to go into effect on January 1, 2013.

But opposition leaders said the moves were too little, too late by a leader who has carried out few of his reform promises since he succeeded Putin as president, who was barred by the constitution from a third successive term.

"Medvedev promised us so much ... Now should we not go anywhere? Really? Should we sit quietly and wait until they are fulfilled?" organizers asked on their Twitter feed, @WakeUpR.

"FOREIGN POWERS" BLAMED

The protesters have permission to stage a rally of 50,000 on Moscow's Sakharov Avenue after their first and second requests for sites near the Kremlin were rejected.

Police, who hardly intervened in the protests two weeks ago, said they would allow protesters to bring thermos flasks, with weather forecasters predicting the coldest day of winter so far.

But most people aged between 16 and 18, some of the most active people on Facebook and other social networking sites, will not be able to attend after schools changed the timetable for a citywide mathematics exam.

On Friday, the protest's Facebook site had almost 44,000 people who had pledged to attend the rally, and 9,468 maybes.

Gorbachev said he regretted supporting Putin when he took power from Boris Yeltsin more than ten years ago. "I feel ashamed," he told Novaya Gazeta liberal daily on Friday.

Putin's popularity has declined since he and Medvedev announced plans in September to swap jobs next year, a decision which many Russians said showed a disregard for democracy.

Putin, 59, has suggested that many of those taking part in the biggest protests since he came to power 12 years ago had been paid to turn out. He has accused the United States of stirring the protests and foreign powers for funding them - a theory that has spread across pro-Putin websites.

The Kremlin's chief political strategist, Vladislav Surkov, suggested the demonstrators were following a script.

"(Protesters) are acting by the book, following ... new revolutionary methods," said Surkov.

Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, warned Russians not to be corrupted by social networking sites. He told RIA news agency that the information on them made Russians "especially vulnerable to manipulation."

He said political change alone could not transform society, it could only happen with a "metamorphosis of the soul."

(Additional reporting by Thomas Grove; writing by Elizabeth Piper; editing by Timothy Heritage and Andrew Roche)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/russia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111223/wl_nm/us_russia

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Wulff apologises for personal finance faux pas - The Local

Hoping to stem questions of impropriety, German President Christian Wulff on Thursday fired his long-time spokesman and apologised for not being open about his personal finances.

"It wasn't forthright and I'm sorry about it," Wulff said in a televised address from his official residence in Berlin. "I have the need to address this matter. It's about trust in me and my office."

Wulff reiterated his earlier statement that he should have revealed more to the Lower Saxony parliament about the extent of his financial relationship with a businessman. Last week, it emerged that he had taken a ?500,000 loan in 2008 from the wife of businessman Egon Geerkens while state premier yet failing to tell the parliament about it.

"I realise how this might be perceived," he said.

But he denied that business relationships had influenced him during his term as Lower Saxon premier between 2003 and 2010 or as president, the largely ceremonial post he's had since last year.

"I say clearly: I never afforded anyone preferential treatment with my public office," Wulff said. "I ask for the continuing trust of citizens."

Anger intensified this week when it emerged that another businessman Carsten Maschmeyer paid to promote a book by the Christian Democrat Wulff in 2008 while running for re-election in Lower Saxony. Maschmeyer has denied that Wulff may have known of his involvement.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has so far pledged her complete support to the president. But some German politicians have already begun calls for him to resign.

Though there have been suggestions that Wulff broke the law in his business dealings, prosecutors said Thursday that there was no proof of criminal wrongdoing.

The president's former spokesman Olaf Glaeseker has been replaced by a deputy for the time being, according to the president's office.

The Local/DPA/DAPD/mdm

Source: http://www.thelocal.de/politics/20111222-39689.html

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NKorea media dubs young Kim 'outstanding leader'

In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, North Koreans gather in front of the statue of the country's founder Kim Il Sung at Mansu Hill in Pyongyang, North Korea, to pay their respects to their leader Kim Jong Il, son of Kim Il Sung, on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011. Kim Jong Il died on Saturday, Dec. 17, North Korean state media announced Monday. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Zhang Li) NO SALES

In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, North Koreans gather in front of the statue of the country's founder Kim Il Sung at Mansu Hill in Pyongyang, North Korea, to pay their respects to their leader Kim Jong Il, son of Kim Il Sung, on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011. Kim Jong Il died on Saturday, Dec. 17, North Korean state media announced Monday. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Zhang Li) NO SALES

In this image made from KRT television, Kim Jong Un grimaces in front of the body of his father and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang, North Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011. North Korea's anointed heir Kim Jong Un led a solemn procession of mourners Tuesday to the glass coffin of his father and longtime ruler, a strong indication that a smooth leadership transition was under way in the country known for secrecy and unpredictability. (AP Photo/KRT) TV OUT NORTH KOREA OUT

In this photo released by the Korean Central News Agency and distributed in Tokyo by the Korea News Service, senior North Korean officials visit the Kumsusan Memorial Palace to pay their respects to their leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang, North Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011. Kim died on Saturday, Dec. 17, North Korean state media announced Monday. (AP Photo/Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service) JAPAN OUT UNTIL 14 DAYS AFTER THE DAY OF TRANSMISSION

In this photo released by the Korean Central News Agency and distributed in Tokyo by the Korea News Service, North Korean military personnel cry as they visit the Kumsusan Memorial Palace to pay their respects to their leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang, North Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011. Kim died on Saturday, Dec. 17, North Korean state media announced Monday. (AP Photo/Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service) JAPAN OUT UNTIL 14 DAYS AFTER THE DAY OF TRANSMISSION

In this photo released by the Korean Central News Agency and distributed in Tokyo by the Korea News Service Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011, the body of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is laid in the Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang, North Korea. Kim died on Saturday, Dec. 17, North Korean state media announced Monday. (AP Photo/Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service) JAPAN OUT UNTIL 14 DAYS AFTER THE DAY OF TRANSMISSION

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) ? The handover of power in North Korea to Kim Jong Il's young son appeared to be going smoothly Thursday, with official media calling him the "outstanding leader" and no outward unrest in the capital or troop movements along its borders.

Foreign governments have focused intense scrutiny on North Korea since Kim's death was announced Monday because of concerns over his untested heir's rise in a country with a nuclear program, 1.2-million strong military and a history of deep animosity toward its neighbors.

But the capital remained a scene of mourning ? not protest ? on Thursday. U.S. and South Korean military officials said there had been no unusual military movements by the North Koreans in recent days.

"This appears to be a relatively smooth transition on the peninsula, and we hope it stays that way," Pentagon spokesman George Little said in Washington, adding that there has been no increase in force protection levels for U.S. troops in South Korea.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak sought to assure Pyongyang that his country was "not hostile," despite putting its front-line troops on alert since Kim's death was announced.

South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Yoon Won-sik said North Korea's military isn't showing any particular movement and that the South's troops are operating normally despite the alert.

In a clear signal to North Korea's people and the outside world, the North's main newspaper Rodong Sinmun in a lengthy editorial urged the country to "rally, rally and rally behind great comrade Kim Jong Un and faithfully uphold his leadership."

It called him "the outstanding leader of our party, military and people and a great successor."

Ratcheting up the personality cult it builds around the Kim family, North Korea claimed that Kim Jong Il's death generated a series of spectacular natural phenomena, creating a mysterious glow atop a revered mountain, cracking a sheet of ice on a lake with a loud roar and inspiring a crane to circle a statue of the nation's founder before perching in a tree and drooping its head in sorrow.

Dramatic scenes of mourning in the capital have continued nearly nonstop since Monday's announcement of Kim's death, which the government says happened two days earlier when he suffered a massive heart attack while on a train.

On Thursday, a long line of North Koreans filed past the body of Kim Jong Il, which lay in state in the Kumsusan Memorial Palace. With a military band playing a funeral dirge and a flag flying at half staff above the palace, mourners in black suits slowly circled Kim's glass coffin, Kim's head and shoulders bathed in a spotlight, a red cloth pulled tight around his body.

Outside powers, including the United States, Japan and South Korea, are watching with keen interest to see how the transition proceeds.

Communication between the United States and North Korea still appears open as the North continues its official 11-day mourning period. This is in sharp contrast to the confusion that followed the death of North Korean founder Kim Il Sung in 1994 and an indication that discussions may resume after the mourning period on food aid and efforts to rid North Korea of its nuclear arms programs.

The State Department said it wasn't expecting any meeting with the North Koreans this week, and little contact before the mourning period ends Dec. 29.

"We want to be respectful of the period of mourning, but the ball's in North Korea's court," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters. "We are also appreciative that this is not a moment in Pyongyang where we're likely to have fresh instructions until after the mourning period."

South Korea sent its nuclear envoy to China on Thursday for talks on ways to restart international negotiations to rid North Korea of its nuclear programs.

Despite the signs that North Korea is consolidating power behind Kim Jong Un, fears of instability remain high.

Chinese boatmen along a river separating North Korea and China told The Associated Press that North Korean police have ordered them to stop giving rides to tourists, saying they will fire on the boats if they see anyone with cameras.

Kim Jong Un only entered the public view last year and remains a mystery to most of the world.

South Korea's intelligence agency has told Parliament members that an ad hoc committee in which Kim Jong Un is a vice chairman is expected to handle key state affairs before he formally becomes the country's leader.

The agency predicts Kim Jong Un's aunt Kim Kyong Hui, a key Workers' Party official, and Jang Song Thaek, her husband and a vice chairman of the powerful National Defense Commission, will play larger roles supporting the heir, according to a lawmaker who spoke to the AP.

___

Reporting from Pyongyang by Associated Press Television News senior video journalist Rafael Wober. AP writers Foster Klug, Hyung-jin Kim, Sam Kim and Eric Talmadge in Seoul, South Korea, Lolita Baldor in Washington, and Korea bureau chief Jean H. Lee contributed to this story.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-12-22-AS-Kim-Jong-Il/id-ac984cb274404f668b8f1914981854e5

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FCC approves AT&T's $1.9b purchase of Qualcomm's 700MHz spectrum (update)

Christmas has come early to the execs at AT&T, who are likely celebrating the FCC's 3-1 approval to purchase Qualcomm's block of the 700MHz spectrum for $1.9 billion. The news comes as a bittersweet victory for Ma Bell, whose efforts to acquire T-Mobile turned sour earlier this year. Qualcomm's block of the airwaves, once used to facilitate FLO TV, now sits unused. Once the acquisition is complete, AT&T will use the new share of spectrum to increase download capacity for its burgeoning LTE network.

For the FCC's part, it has approved the deal with only a few stipulations: AT&T will be required to satisfy interference requirements and must offer data roaming to its competitors on the spectrum. That's not to suggest everyone's pleased, however. Rural cellular providers asked that, as part of the deal, AT&T must ensure that its LTE network is interoperable with the bands used by smaller networks. Sadly, the FCC has denied this request, ostensibly limiting the little guy from receiving Ma Bell's hand-me-downs.

Update: AT&T has gone ahead and released a wee bit of celebratory PR, which we're including after the break. Most importantly, it expects to wrap up the finer details in the next few days.

Continue reading FCC approves AT&T's $1.9b purchase of Qualcomm's 700MHz spectrum (update)

FCC approves AT&T's $1.9b purchase of Qualcomm's 700MHz spectrum (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Dec 2011 21:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/6OeiZufsNXQ/

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Engadget Mobile Podcast 117 - 12.17.2011

Looks like Ice Cream Sandwich is on everyone's Christmas list as of this week. Everyone except RIM, who will probably be lucky to get a few lumps of used charcoal, some lint, and spare change in their stockings. The Engadget Mobile Podcasters are, of course, holding out for Prada phones.

Hosts: Myriam Joire (tnkgrl), Brad Molen, Joseph Volpe
Guest: Ian Hardy
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Music: Tycho - Coastal Brake (Ghostly International)

00:02:24 - Galaxy Nexus for Verizon LTE unboxing and speed test (video)
00:09:00 - Verizon to begin selling Galaxy Nexus tomorrow for $300
00:16:00 - RIM reports Q3 2011 earnings: $5.2b revenue, $265m net income and 14.1 million handsets shipped
00:29:14 - RIM: BlackBerry 10 smartphones won't arrive until end of 2012
00:43:29 - Microsoft replaces Andy Lees as Windows Phone head (updated)
00:45:37 - Nokia Lumia 710 official on T-Mobile: HSPA+ 14.4, 3.7-inch ClearBlack display, available January 11th for $49 on contract
00:53:55 - Meizu MX review
00:59:00 - Prada phone by LG 3.0 hands-on (video)
01:07:10 - Huawei Honor gets Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade, feels honored
01:07:20 - TouchWizzed Ice Cream Sandwich leaks for Samsung Galaxy S II (video)
01:18:37 - Senator Al Franken gets answers regarding CarrierIQ, still not satisfied
01:22:00 - CarrierIQ execs meet with FTC and FCC officials to address privacy concerns (update)
01:24:20 - AT&T, Sprint and C Spire halt suits over T-Mobile acquisition, wireless competition to die another day
01:26:00 - Dish Network surfaces as possible Plan B for T-Mobile if AT&T merger falls through
01:28:40 - Listener questions



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Filed under: Podcasts

Engadget Mobile Podcast 117 - 12.17.2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Dec 2011 20:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/17/engadget-mobile-podcast-117-12-17-2011/

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AP-GfK Poll: Obama re-election odds roughly 50-50 (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Entering 2012, President Barack Obama's re-election prospects are essentially a 50-50 proposition, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll. It found that most Americans say the president deserves to be voted out of office even though they have concerns about the Republican alternatives.

Obama's overall standing in the poll suggests he could be in jeopardy of losing re-election even as the survey showed that public's outlook on the economy appears to be improving. For the first time since spring, more people said the economy got better in the past month than said it got worse. The president's approval rating on unemployment shifted upward ? from 40 percent in October to 45 percent in the latest poll ? as the jobless rate fell to 8.6 percent last month, its lowest level since March 2009.

But Obama's approval rating on his handling of the economy overall remains stagnant: Thirty-nine percent approve and 60 percent disapprove.

Heading into his re-election campaign, the president faces a conflicted public. It does not support his steering of the economy, the most dominant issue for Americans, or his overhaul of health care, one of his signature accomplishments, but it also is grappling with whether to replace him with Republican contenders Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich.

The poll found Americans were evenly divided over whether they expect Obama to be re-elected next year.

For the first time, the poll found that a majority of adults, 52 percent, said Obama should be voted out of office while 43 percent said he deserves another term. The numbers mark a reversal since last May, when 53 percent said Obama should be re-elected while 43 percent said he didn't deserve four more years.

Obama's overall job approval stands at a new low, with 44 percent approving and 54 percent disapproving. The president's standing among independents is worse: Thirty-eight percent approve while 59 percent disapprove. Among Democrats, the president holds steady with an approval rating of 78 percent while only 12 percent of Republicans approve of the job he's doing.

"I think he's doing the best he can. The problem is the Congress won't help at all," said Rosario Navarro, a Democrat and a 44-year-old truck driver from Fresno, Calif., who voted for Obama in 2008 and intends to support him again.

Robin Dein, a 54-year-old homemaker from Villanova, Pa., who is an independent, said she supported Republican John McCain in 2008 and has not been impressed with Obama's economic policies. She intends to support Romney if he wins the GOP nomination.

Obama, she said, "spent the first part of his presidency blaming Bush for everything, not that he was innocent, and now his way of solving anything is by spending more money."

Despite the soft level of support, many are uncertain whether a Republican president would be a better choice. Asked whom they would support next November, 47 percent of adults favored Obama and 46 percent Romney, the former Massachusetts governor. Against Gingrich, the president holds a solid advantage, receiving 51 percent compared with 42 percent for the former House speaker.

The potential matchups paint a better picture for the president among independents. Obama receives 45 percent of nonaligned adults compared with 41 percent for Romney. Against Gingrich, Obama holds a wide lead among independents, with 54 percent supporting the president and 31 percent backing the former Georgia congressman.

Another piece of good news for Obama: People generally like him personally. Obama's personal favorability rating held steady at 53 percent, with 46 percent viewing him unfavorably. About three-quarters called him likable.

The economy remains a source of pessimism, though the poll suggests the first positive movement in public opinion on the economy in months. One in five said the economy improved in the last month, double the share saying so in October. Still most expect it to stay the same or get worse.

"I suppose you could make some sort of argument that it's getting better, but I'm not sure I even see that," said independent voter John Bailey, a 61-year-old education consultant from East Jordan, Mich. "I think it's bad and it's gotten worse under (Obama's) policies. At best, it's going to stay bad."

Despite the high rate of joblessness, the poll found some optimism on the economy. Although 80 percent described the economy as "poor," respondents describing it "very poor" fell from 43 percent in October to 34 percent in the latest poll, the lowest since May. Twenty percent said the economy got better in the past month while 37 percent said they expected the economy to improve next year.

Yet plenty of warning signs remain for Obama. Only 26 percent said the United States is headed in the right direction while 70 percent said the country was moving in the wrong direction.

The president won a substantial number of female voters in 2008 yet there does not appear to be a significant tilt toward Obama among women now. The poll found 44 percent of women say Obama deserves a second term, down from 51 percent in October, while 43 percent of men say the president should be re-elected.

About two-thirds of white voters without college degrees say Obama should be a one-term president, while 33 percent of those voters say he should get another four years. Among white voters with a college degree, 57 percent said Obama should be voted out of office.

The poll found unpopularity for last year's health care overhaul. About half of the respondents oppose the health care law and support for it dipped to 29 percent from 36 percent in June. Just 15 percent said the federal government should have the power to require all Americans to buy health insurance.

Even among Democrats, the health care law has tepid support. Fifty percent of Democrats supported the health care law, compared with 59 percent of Democrats last June. Only about a quarter of independents back the law.

The president has taken a more populist tone in his handling of the economy, arguing that the wealthy should pay more in taxes to help pay for the extension of a payroll tax cut that would provide about $1,000 in tax cuts to a family earning about $50,000 a year. Among those with annual household incomes of $50,000 or less, Obama's approval rating on unemployment climbed to 53 percent from 43 percent in October.

The Associated Press-GfK Poll was conducted Dec. 8-12 by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications. It involved landline and cellphone interviews with 1,000 adults nationwide and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

___

Associated Press writer Stacy A. Anderson and News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius contributed to this report.

___

Online:

http://www.ap-gfkpoll.com

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111216/ap_on_el_pr/us_ap_poll_obama

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Mars and the Moon Dance in Tonight's Night Sky (SPACE.com)

If you're out during the very late evening hours tonight (Dec. 16), check out the eastern sky just before midnight.?

There you'll see a waning gibbous moon less than a day before it arrives at last quarter (half) phase. Hovering well off to its left and at a slightly higher altitude above the horizon is a rather conspicuous "star," shining with a fiery tint, which is the planet Mars.?

The apparent distance between the moon and Mars is relatively wide, measuring approximately 8 degrees (your clenched fist held at arm's length measures about 10 degrees). Although they are not particularly close, Mars calls attention to itself, in part, due to its color as well as its brightness. The sky map of Mars and the moon here shows how they appear together in the night sky.

The moon, of course, is much closer to Earth than Mars and appears to cycle around the sky against the background stars rather quickly over a span of about 29.5-days. It will, in fact, be passing Mars again in about a month, on the evening of Jan. 13. [Photos: Our Changing Moon]

But between now and then Mars is going to become far more prominent in our sky.

Between tonight and its next encounter with the moon in mid-January, Mars will appear to travel part of the distance from the star Regulus in the constellation Leo to Spica in Virgo; it will pass from Leo into Virgo in mid-January.

Currently, Mars rises around 11 p.m. local time. But by Jan. 13, it will be coming up before 9:45 p.m.

The planet is highest in the south at dawn's first light: an orange-yellow gem that's brightening weekly. From now until its next rendezvous with the moon in mid-January, Mars will flame up, nearly doubling in brightness from its current magnitude of +0.5 (which rivals the ruddy star Betelgeuse in Orion) to a dazzling -0.1 (equaling the similarly hued star Arcturus in Bootes).?

This brightening results from the planet's rapidly decreasing distance from Earth, from 1.174 to 0.926 times the span from the Earth to the sun (109 million to 86 million miles). Each day, Mars moves, on average, about 852,000 miles closer to us.?

The Martian polar cap should be fully emerged from its winter cloud cover by mid-January, and likely will be a prominent bright spot on the disk's northern limb.

Although Mars is moving Earthward in December, you'll still need a steady atmosphere at dawn and at least a medium-size telescope to glimpse any surface features on the little ocher globe.

But don't be pessimistic. The Martian disk will grow 21 percent larger during the next four weeks and the polar cap should be fully emerged from its winter cloud cover by mid-January, likely providing a prominent bright spot on the disk's northern limb. Bottom line: It will soon be time to start turning telescopes toward the Red Planet!

Mars will arrive at opposition to the sun on March 3 and will be closest to Earth two days later. In the meantime, enjoy its rather wide encounter with the moon late tonight.

Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for The New York Times and other publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for News 12 Westchester, New York.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/space/20111216/sc_space/marsandthemoondanceintonightsnightsky

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Nicole Scherzinger Booed During 'X Factor' Elimination

In this week's elimination episode of The X Factor, the Top 4 contestants -- Melanie Amaro, Marcus Canty, Josh Krajcik, and Chris Rene -- could not be saved by the judges any more; the decision was solely based on viewers' votes. So which three acts will go through to the finals round?

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/marcus-canty-voted-x-factor/1-a-411571?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Amarcus-canty-voted-x-factor-411571

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Military marks end to nearly nine bloody years in Iraq (Reuters)

BAGHDAD (Reuters) ? U.S. forces formally ended almost nine years of war in Iraq on Thursday with a modest flag-lowering ceremony in Baghdad, while to the north flickering violence highlighted ethnic and sectarian strains threatening the country in years ahead.

"After a lot of blood spilled by Iraqis and Americans, the mission of an Iraq that could govern and secure itself has become real," Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said at the ceremony at Baghdad's still heavily-fortified airport.

Almost 4,500 U.S. soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqis lost their lives in the war that began with a "Shock and Awe" campaign of missiles pounding Baghdad and descended into sectarian strife and a surge in U.S. troop numbers.

U.S. soldiers lowered the flag of American forces in Iraq and slipped it into a camouflage-colored sleeve in a brief outdoor ceremony, symbolically ending the most unpopular U.S. military venture since the Vietnam War of the 1960s and 70s.

The remaining 4,000 American troops will leave by the end of the year.

Toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is dead, executed in 2006, and the worst sectarian violence has, at least for now, passed. But Iraq still struggles with insurgents, a fragile power-sharing government and an oil-reliant economy plagued by power shortages and corruption.

"Iraq will be tested in the days ahead, by terrorism, by those who would seek to divide, by economic and social issues," Panetta told the rows of assembled U.S. soldiers and embassy officials at the ceremony. "Challenges remain, but the United States will be there to stand by the Iraqi people."

In Falluja, the former heartland of an al Qaeda insurgency that suffered some of the most vicious fighting in the war, several thousand Iraqis celebrated the withdrawal on Wednesday, some burning U.S. flags and waving pictures of dead relatives.

Falluja became more than any other Iraqi city a symbol for the brutality of the war after the 2003 invasion.

Ali al-Falluji's building lies with its ceiling collapsed, debris scattered across a Falluja roadside just as the Iraqi businessman left it in 2004 when U.S. bombs punctured its roof. "This scene must remain like it is as a testimony to the brutality of the Americans," said Falluji.

It took two U.S. incursions into Falluja in 2004, and weeks of devastating house-to-house fighting, to subdue the city.

"I feel how my son Ibrahim grieves. He was injured in his head by a U.S. bullet in April 2004 and it paralyzed him," said Mudhafer Ali, a Falluja retiree. "The Americans have left, but they left us for our sorrow, pains and destroyed the future."

Elsewhere, around 2,500 mainly Shi'ite Muslim residents of the northern territory of Diyala protested in front of the provincial council building for a second day against a move to declare autonomy from mainly Sunni Muslim Salahuddin province.

Police used batons and water cannon to disperse demonstrators who tried to storm the council headquarters, witnesses said. Some protesters climbed to the roof of the building and raised green and black Shi'ite flags.

Some parts of Diyala are territories disputed between the minority Kurds in the north and the Arab, Shi'ite-led government in Baghdad. The long-standing row over land, oil and power could trigger further conflict in Iraq after American troops depart.

Iraq's neighbors will watch how Baghdad tackles its sectarian and ethnic division without the U.S. military. Events there could be influenced by conflict in neighboring Syria that has taken on a sectarian hue in recent weeks.

U.S. President Barack Obama, who made an election promise in 2008 to bring troops home from Iraq, told Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki that Washington will remain a loyal partner after the last troops roll across the Kuwaiti border.

"WE NEED TO BE SAFE"

Iraq's Shi'ite leadership presents the withdrawal as a new start for the country's sovereignty, but many Iraqis question which direction the nation will take without U.S. troops.

"I am happy they are leaving. This is my country and they should leave," said Samer Saad, a soccer coach. "But I am worried because we need to be safe. We are worried because all the militias will start to come back."

Some like Saad fear more sectarian strife or an al Qaeda return to the cities.

Violence has ebbed since the bloodier days of sectarian slaughter when suicide bombers and hit squads claimed hundreds of victims a day at times as the country descended into tit-for-tat killings between the Sunni and Shi'ite communities.

In 2006 alone, 17,800 Iraqi military and civilians were killed in violence.

Iraqi security forces are generally seen as capable of containing the remaining Sunni Islamist insurgency and the rival Shi'ite militias that U.S. officials say are backed by Iran.

But attacks now target local government offices and security forces in an attempt to show the authorities are not in control.

Saddam Hussein's fall opened the way for the Shi'ite majority community to take positions of power after decades of oppression under his Sunni-run Baath party.

Even the power-sharing in Maliki's government is hamstrung, with coalition parties split along sectarian lines, squabbling over laws and government posts.

Sunnis fear they will be marginalized or even face creeping Shi'ite-led authoritarian rule under Maliki. A recent crackdown on former members of the Baath party has fuelled those fears.

Iraq's Shi'ite leadership frets that the crisis in nearby Syria could eventually bring a hardline Sunni leadership to power in Damascus, worsening Iraq's own sectarian tensions.

"WAS IT WORTH IT?"

U.S. troops were supposed to stay on as part of a deal to train the Iraqi armed forces but talks about immunity from prosecution for American soldiers fell apart.

Memories of U.S. abuses, arrests and killings still haunt many Iraqis and the question of legal protection from prosecution looked too sensitive to push through parliament.

At the height of the war, 170,000 American soldiers occupied more than 500 bases across Iraq.

Only around 150 U.S. soldiers will remain after December 31, attached to the huge U.S. Embassy near the Tigris River. Civilian contractors will take on the task of training Iraqi forces on U.S. military hardware.

Every day trucks with troops trundle in convoys across the border into Kuwait.

"Was it worth it? I am sure it was. When we first came in here, the Iraqi people seemed like they were happy to see us," said Sgt 1st Class Lon Bennish, packing up recently at a U.S. base and finishing the last of three deployments in Iraq.

"I hope we are leaving behind a country that says 'Hey, we are better off now than we were before.'"

(Editing by David Stamp)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111215/ts_nm/us_iraq_withdrawal

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