House passes $1T budget bill, avoids shutdown (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The House has passed a $1 trillion-plus catchall budget bill paying for day-to-day operations of 10 Cabinet departments and averting a government shutdown, while Senate talks on renewing a payroll tax cut and jobless benefits reached a critical phase.

The 296-121 vote to approve the spending measure represented a rare moment of bipartisanship in a polarized Capitol. The Senate's top Republican, meanwhile, raised the stakes in the showdown over the payroll tax cut, insisting he won't back a compromise extension unless the bill includes language aimed at forcing construction of a Canada-to-Texas pipeline.

As negotiations on the payroll tax bill proceeded Friday, Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said, "I will not be able to support the package that doesn't include the pipeline."

The GOP's pipeline demands added uncertainty to efforts by McConnell and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to quickly reach a deal on a bill renewing payroll tax cuts and jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed.

Negotiators on the payroll tax measure worked behind closed doors Friday in hopes of sealing agreement on how to pay for the measure. Simply extending the current 2 percentage point payroll tax cut would cost $120 billion, while extending unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless and preventing a cut in Medicare payment to physicians would add tens of billions of dollars more.

A House-passed version of the payroll tax bill would give President Barack Obama 60 days to decide whether to build the proposed, 1,700-mile Keystone XL pipeline.

Obama, with the support of congressional Democrats, has announced he will delay that decision until after next year's elections, citing a need to study the impact the pipeline would have on sensitive lands in Nebraska. Obama has threatened to reject a payroll tax bill if it includes language easing work on the pipeline.

The postponement would let Democrats avoid having to choose between two of the party's core constituencies: environmentalists who oppose Keystone and some unions who covet the jobs it would produce.

But McConnell and other Republicans say the project would create thousands of jobs. The company's developer, TransCanada, says it could produce up to 20,000 jobs, while critics say the figure would be fewer than 3,500, including less than 1,000 that would be permanent.

After passing the catchall spending bill House leaders sent their members home until Monday or later, planning to return when the Senate produces a payroll tax cut measure for the House to vote on.

The way was smoother for the compromise spending bill, which passed on a 296-121 vote. It would fund 10 Cabinet-level departments, such as the Pentagon and the Department of Education, and dozens of smaller agencies. It would finance everything from U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan to veterans' services, and from airport security inspections to Congress' own operations.

Reid and McConnell said that even if only the House had approved the spending bill by midnight Friday, the Obama administration agreed there would be no federal shutdown. For extra measure, the House also passed two stopgap spending bills, one to fund the government for a single day and the other for a week.

Agreement on the spending legislation was reached after Republicans agreed to drop language that would have blocked Obama from easing rules on people who visit and send money to relatives in Cuba. But a GOP provision will stay in the bill thwarting a 2007 law, passed during President George W. Bush's administration, on energy efficiency standards that critics argued would make it hard for people to purchase inexpensive incandescent light bulbs.

This year's 4.2 percent payroll tax rate will jump back to its normal 6.2 percent on Jan. 1 unless action is taken by Congress. Few lawmakers want to be blamed for a tax increase that would affect 160 million people.

Extended benefits for long-term jobless people will also expire Jan. 1 without congressional action.

That same day, a 27 percent cut in Medicare reimbursements to doctors would take effect unless lawmakers act, a reduction that could convince some doctors to stop treating Medicare patients.

Obama and congressional Democrats have proposed dropping next year's payroll tax rate to 3.1 percent, but an extension of this year's 4.2 percent rate seems likely to prevail. The payroll tax is the major source of financing for Social Security.

Obama also wants to leave in place the current maximum of 99 weeks of benefits for the long-term unemployed. A payroll tax cut bill approved by the House reduces that total by 20 weeks, which the administration says would cut off 3.3 million individuals. Democrats are hoping to soften if not reverse what's in the House version.

Even without the Keystone pipeline dispute, bargainers had still not reached agreement on how to extend a payroll tax cut through 2012, with major disagreements remaining over how to finance the package.

The spending bill advanced after Democrats blocked a series of GOP assaults on Environmental Protection Agency regulations, though the agency's budget absorbed a cut of more than 3 percent.

GOP leaders did succeed in delays in regulations of coal dust and eliminating federal funding of needle exchange programs.

War costs would be $115 billion, a $43 billion cut from the previous year.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111216/ap_on_go_co/us_congress_rdp

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Mexico says captured cartel leader had arsenal (AP)

MEXICO CITY ? Mexican authorities said Tuesday that an alleged founder of the Zetas drug cartel had an arsenal of 169 weapons when he was captured Monday, and may have been linked to the abduction of nine Mexican marines.

Navy spokesman Jose Luis Vergara said suspect Raul Lucio Hernandez Lechuga oversaw Zetas operations around the Gulf coast state of Veracruz, where nine marines disappeared earlier this year.

Vergara said a suspect was killed and a marine wounded in a firefight that erupted during Hernandez Lechuga's capture Monday in the Veracruz state city of Cordoba. The bust was the result of a yearlong intelligence operation, Vergara said.

Marines found 133 rifles, five grenade launchers, 29 grenades and 36 pistols at the scene of the raid near a highway. Marines also found bulletproof vests with the letter "Z", the zetas symbol, on the front.

Vergara said Hernandez Lechuga was one of Mexico's 37 most wanted drug traffickers, and that with his arrest, 22 of those 37 have either been killed or detained.

The Zetas have been linked to some of the apparent abductions of Mexican marines, but Vergara didn't say what specific evidence authorities had of Hernandez Lechuga's involvement in the cases.

The apparent abductions of Mexican navy personnel have been shrouded in mystery, with the navy previously acknowledging that three marines and a navy cadet were abducted by suspected drug cartel gunmen in August in Veracruz, the state's largest city.

Later that month, the navy said it had found four bodies in a pit on the outskirts of Veracruz city, and that the remains might be those of the missing marines, but it never publicly confirmed that was the case.

At a Tuesday news conference where Hernandez Lechuga and four alleged associates were paraded before the media, Vergara said a total of nine marines had disappeared, but didn't say whether any of them had been found.

Mexican drug cartels have kidnapped and killed military personnel before, but such incidents remain relatively rare.

Hernandez Lechuga was the leader of the Zetas in about 10 states, including Veracruz. The federal government had offered a reward of 15 million pesos, or about $1.2 million, for information leading to his arrest. Vergara said the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration was also offering a $1 million reward for Hernandez Lechuga, known by the nickname "Lucky."

The Zetas organization was formed by a small group of elite soldiers based in Tamaulipas state, across the border from Texas, who deserted to work for the Gulf drug cartel in the 1990s.

The Zetas split from their former allies in the Gulf cartel last year, setting off bloody fights throughout Mexico as they sought to expand south.

In Veracruz, the Zetas are believed to be locked in a bloody turf battle with groups allied with the Sinaloa cartel.

Also Tuesday, gunmen killed a town's deputy mayor and her bodyguard and wounded the town's police chief and his family while they were in the northern city of Chihuahua, authorities said.

Attackers opened fire on the two cars being used by the officials from the town of Gran Morelos, said the Chihuahua state prosecutors' spokesman, Carlos Gonzalez.

He said deputy mayor Idalia Ayala and her bodyguard died in one car. Police chief Miguel Gomez was in the second with his wife and two children, and all were wounded and taken to a hospital, Gonzalez said.

Gomez was named police chief after last month's arrest of Gran Morelos' top cop. Authorities said soldiers caught the police chief while he and police officers from the nearby town of Belisario Dominguez met with a boss for La Linea, a gang of hit men for the Juarez Cartel.

In neighboring Coahuila state, gunmen killed the director of the prison in the capital city of Saltillo, authorities said.

Serafin Pena Santos was ambushed Tuesday afternoon as he drove through a residential area of the northern city, state prosecutors said in a statement.

Prosecutors didn't give a motive in the killing, but said the assailants used automatic rifles, weapons commonly used by Mexico's drug traffickers.

___

Associated Press writers Ricardo Chavez in Ciudad Juarez and Oscar Villalba in Piedras Negras contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/latam/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111214/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_drug_war_mexico

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Union calls on BBC to fire Jeremy Clarkson

FILE - In this Sept. 6, 2011 file photo, TV host Jeremy Clarkson arrives for the GQ Men of the Year Awards in London. The British trade union UNISON demanded, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011, the BBC fire Clarkson after the opinionated TV presenter said striking public sector workers should be shot. On Wednesday, strikers participated in Britain's largest public sector walkout in 30 years. (AP Photo/Jonathan Short, file)

FILE - In this Sept. 6, 2011 file photo, TV host Jeremy Clarkson arrives for the GQ Men of the Year Awards in London. The British trade union UNISON demanded, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011, the BBC fire Clarkson after the opinionated TV presenter said striking public sector workers should be shot. On Wednesday, strikers participated in Britain's largest public sector walkout in 30 years. (AP Photo/Jonathan Short, file)

LONDON (AP) ? A British trade union is denouncing a low blow from the host of the popular TV show "Top Gear."

The UNISON union on Thursday demanded the BBC fire Jeremy Clarkson after the opinionated TV presenter said striking public sector workers should be shot.

Clarkson apologized Thursday afternoon, saying he had not meant anyone to take him seriously when he said strikers who had participated in Britain's largest public sector walkout in 30 years on Wednesday should be executed "in front of their families."

"I'd have them all shot," Clarkson said on BBC television's "One Show" on Wednesday. "I mean, how dare they go on strike when they've got these gilt-edged pensions that are going to be guaranteed while the rest of us have to work for a living?"

The BBC apologized for the remarks Thursday and said it had received around 4,700 complaints.

And Clarkson said he was sorry ? sort of.

"I didn't for a moment intend these remarks to be taken seriously ? as I believe is clear if they're seen in context," he said. "If the BBC and I have caused any offense, I'm quite happy to apologize for it alongside them."

UNISON, which represents more than 1 million public sector workers, said Clarkson should be fired immediately. It said it was seeking legal advice and considering referring the comments to police.

The union's general secretary, Dave Prentis, said Clarkson's comments "were totally outrageous, and they cannot be tolerated."

The furor even drew a response from Prime Minister David Cameron, who branded the comments "silly."

"It was obviously a silly thing to say and I am sure he didn't mean that," Cameron ? a friend of Clarkson ? told ITV television.

The BBC in the past has fielded complaints over irreverent quips by Clarkson, one of the hosts of the popular car show, which is broadcast in more than 100 countries.

Clarkson's jokey machismo and gibes about environmentalists, cyclists and the perceived forces of political correctness are part of the show's formula for success, but have landed "Top Gear" in trouble before.

The BBC fielded complaints after Clarkson made a joke linking truck drivers with prostitute murders and when he described former Prime Minister Gordon Brown as a "one-eyed Scottish idiot."

Earlier this year the BBC apologized to Mexico's ambassador after Clarkson and his co-hosts described Mexicans as lazy and oafish.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2011-12-01-EU-Britain-Jeremy-Clarkson/id-4109c891bddc42eda8344c161941b7cb

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MAKS: Drug-free prevention of dementia decline

ScienceDaily (Nov. 30, 2011) ? There are many different causes of dementia and, although its progression can be fast or slow, it is always degenerative. Symptoms of dementia include confusion, loss of memory, and problems with speech and understanding. It can be upsetting for both the affected person and their relatives and carers. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Medicine shows that a regime of behavioral and mental exercises was able to halt the progression of dementia.

Researchers led by Prof. Graessel, from Friedrich-Alexander-Universit?t Erlangen, included in their study patients with dementia from five nursing homes in Bavaria. After random selection, half the patients were included on the year-long MAKS 'intervention' consisting of two hours of group therapy, six days a week. In addition all patients maintained their normal treatment and regular activities provided by the nursing home.

The MAKS system consists of motor stimulation(M), including games such as bowling, croquet, and balancing exercises; cognitive stimulation (K), in the form of individual and group puzzles; and practicing 'daily living' activities (A), including preparing snacks, gardening and crafts. The therapy session began with a ten minute introduction, which the researchers termed a 'spiritual element' (S), where the participants discussed topics like 'happiness', or sang a song or hymn.

After 12 months of therapy the MAKS group maintained their level on the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS) and, even more importantly maintained their ability to carry out activities of daily living, while the control group all showed a decrease in cognitive and functional ability.

Prof. Graessel explained, "While we observed a better result for patients with mild to moderate dementia, the result of MAKS therapy on ADAS (cognitive function) was at least as good as treatment with cholinesterase inhibitors. Additionally we found that the effect on the patients' ability to perform daily living tasks (as measured by the Erlanger Test of Daily Living (E-ADL)) was twice as high as achieved by medication. This means that MAKS therapy is able to extend the quality of, and participation in, life for people with dementia within a nursing home environment. We are currently in the process of extending these preliminary results to see if this prevention of dementia decline can be maintained over a longer time period."

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Journal Reference:

  1. Elmar Graessel, Renate Stemmer, Birgit Eichenseer, Sabine Pickel, Carolin Donath, Johannes Kornhuber, Katharina Luttenberger. Non-pharmacological, multicomponent group therapy in patients with degenerative dementia: a 12-month randomised, controlled trial. BMC Medicine, 2011; (in press) [link]

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/TlWcUYnGyfw/111130202601.htm

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Smoke Bellew by Jack London

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Movie Scores: How the critics rated the new movies (AP)

A silent film has critics shouting their praises in its opening weekend. The black-and-white "The Artist" was the best-reviewed new movie of the crowded Thanksgiving holiday.

French director Michel Hazanavicius' nearly wordless homage to the end of silent pictures stars Jean Dujardin as an actor who sees his career dwindle as the talkies become popular. AP Entertainment Writer Jake Coyle gave the movie three stars out of four, calling it "a loving, irresistibly charming ode to a long-ago movie era that not only summons the dormant conventions of silent moviemaking, but makes them dance again."

Another tribute to classic cinema, Martin Scorsese's "Hugo," was also earning strong reviews. Scorsese's first film in 3-D, the family friendly adventure stars Asa Butterfield as an orphan who secretly lives inside the walls of a 1930s Paris train station and keeps all the clocks running on time. AP Movie Critic Christy Lemire gave the film three stars, saying: "Scorsese doesn't just tinker with this newfangled technology, he embraces it fully. This is the most dazzling use of 3-D yet ? more so than the vaunted `Avatar.'"

Families could also enjoy "The Muppets," which reunites Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear and the gang for their first movie in over a decade. Jason Segel co-wrote the script and stars as a human who helps the Muppets get back together to restore their old theater. AP Movie Writer David Germain wrote: "From start to finish, the movie is a healthy, dizzy dose of childlike bliss, the songs campy but catchy, the humor corny but clever, the cast ? both human and Muppet ? one of the most lovable gangs you'll ever spend time with at the pictures." He gave it three stars out of four.

Here's a look at how these movies and others fared on the top review websites as of Friday afternoon. Each score is the percentage of positive reviews for the film:

? "The Artist": Metacritic, 87; Movie Review Intelligence, 90.9; Rotten Tomatoes, 97. Average: 91.6

? "Hugo": Metacritic, 85; Movie Review Intelligence, 81.2; Rotten Tomatoes, 97. Average: 87.7.

? "The Muppets": Metacritic, 76; Movie Review Intelligence, 78.8; Rotten Tomatoes, 97. Average: 83.9.

? "Arthur Christmas": Metacritic, 68; Movie Review Intelligence, 76.6; Rotten Tomatoes, 91. Average: 78.5.

? "A Dangerous Method": Metacritic, 74; Movie Review Intelligence, 74; Rotten Tomatoes, 80. Average: 76.

? "My Week With Marilyn": Metacritic, 66; Movie Review Intelligence, 68.1; Rotten Tomatoes, 82. Average: 72.

___

Online:

http://www.metacritic.com/

http://moviereviewintelligence.com/

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111125/ap_en_ot/us_movie_scores

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Gun issue represents tough politics for Obama (AP)

WASHINGTON ? They are fuzzy about some issues but the Republican presidential candidates leave little doubt about where they stand on gun rights.

Rick Perry and Rick Santorum go pheasant hunting and give interviews before heading out. Newt Gingrich and Herman Cain speak to the National Rifle Association convention. Michele Bachmann tells People magazine she wants to teach her daughters how to shoot because women need to be able to protect themselves. Mitt Romney, after backing some gun control measures in Massachusetts, now presents himself as a strong Second Amendment supporter.

President Barack Obama, on the other hand, is virtually silent on the issue.

He has hardly addressed it since a couple months after the January assassination attempt on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Ariz., when he promised to develop new steps on gun safety in response. He still has failed to do so, even as Tucson survivors came to Capitol Hill last week to push for action to close loopholes in the background check system.

Democrats have learned the hard way that embracing gun control can be terrible politics, and the 2012 presidential election is shaping up to underscore just how delicate the issue can be. With the election likely to be decided largely by states where hunting is a popular pastime, like Missouri, Ohio or Pennsylvania, candidates of both parties want to win over gun owners, not alienate them.

For Republicans, that means emphasizing their pro-gun credentials. But for Obama and the Democrats, the approach is trickier.

Obama's history in support of strict gun control measures prior to becoming president makes it difficult for him to claim he's a Second Amendment champion, even though he signed a bill allowing people to take loaded guns into national parks. At the same time, he's apparently decided that his record backing gun safety is nothing to boast of, either, perhaps because of the power of the gun lobby and their opposition to anything smacking of gun control.

The result is that while Republicans are more than happy to talk up their support for gun rights, Obama may barely be heard from on the issue at all.

"Gun control is a fight that the administration is not willing to pick. They're not likely to win it," said Harry Wilson, author of a book on gun politics and director of the Institute for Policy and Opinion Research at Roanoke College in Virginia. "They certainly would not win it in Congress, and it's not likely to be a winner at the polls. ... It comes down to one pretty simple word: Politics."

Administration officials say they are working to develop the gun safety measures promised after the Giffords shooting, and they say have taken steps to improve the background check system. White House spokesman Matt Lehrich says the White House goal is to "protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens while keeping guns out of the hands of those who shouldn't have them under existing law."

But when it comes to guns and politics, Democrats haven't forgotten what happened in 1994. That year, President Bill Clinton was pushing for passage of a landmark crime bill featuring a ban on assault weapons, and then-House Speaker Thomas Foley, D-Wash., twisted Democrats' arms to get it through the House. Come November, Democrats suffered widespread election losses and lost control of the House and the Senate. Foley was among those defeated, and Clinton and others credited the NRA's campaigning with a big role in the outcome. And when the assault weapons ban came up for congressional reauthorization in 2004, it failed.

Given that history, the NRA expects to see Obama treading carefully on guns through 2012.

"It's bad politics to be on the wrong side of the Second Amendment at election time," said Wayne LaPierre, NRA executive vice president. "They're trying to fog the issue through the 2012 election and deceive gun owners into thinking he's something he's not, which is pro-Second Amendment."

For gun control advocates, it adds up to frustration with Obama and the Democrats. The group Mayors Against Illegal Guns argues that polling shows voters support certain gun safety measures like stronger background checks ? although a recent Gallup poll also finds more support for enforcing current laws than for passing new ones.

"Good policy here is good politics," said John Feinblatt, an adviser to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is a co-chair of the mayors' group. "Unfortunately, for too long the administration has bought the conventional wisdom" that gun control is bad politics.

But the NRA outspends gun-control groups by wide margins, and analysts say that when it comes time to vote, the gun issue is more likely to motivate gun rights activists than gun control supporters.

Since becoming president, Obama has been extremely cautious on the issue. In his 2004 Senate race, for example, Obama said it was a "scandal" that then-President George W. Bush didn't force renewal of the assault weapons ban. But Obama himself has done nothing to promote that issue since becoming president.

Obama's commitment to act on gun safety may also be complicated by an unrelated controversy over a Justice Department program aimed at stanching gun trafficking into Mexico. The government lost track of numerous weapons in connection with the program.

Obama has vowed to figure out what went wrong with the operation and make sure it's corrected, but with Republicans seizing on the issue to attack the White House, the politics around taking action on guns hasn't gotten any easier.

So for now, supporters who hoped to see Obama adopt a stronger stance on guns and act in the wake of the Giffords shooting look like they're going to be disappointed. "We haven't given up hope," said Dennis Henigan, acting president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, "but our impatience is growing with each passing day."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111124/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_guns

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Growing up Geek: Chris Pirillo

Welcome to Growing Up Geek, an ongoing feature where we take a look back at our youth and tell stories of growing up to be the nerds that we are. Today, we have a special guest: internet entrepreneur, tech support blogger, media personality and geek, Chris Pirillo

Before I begin, let me just say: I'm not a slave to your mental delusions of who you think I am.

I have to get that out of the way largely because I've been "doing things" publicly for so long that some people have already formed opinions about me and what they believe I stand for. That's their problem, not mine.

I don't know if there was ever a specific moment I found myself attracted to electronic objects? I certainly recall playing with my cousin's Merlin and watching with wonder as my brother fiddled with his Alphie. I was certainly mesmerized by calculators, but that didn't lead me to develop advanced math skills.

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