Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/192930820?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Tuesday, January 31, 2012
She?s Not What She Seems
Last week, Del Rey?s proper debut album, Born to Die, leaked online; it arrives in stores this week. I like the album better with each listen?the more time I spend in its company, the more I feel as though I?m approaching it on something like its own terms. The mood on ?Video Games? is one of elegant confusion. On paper, the song resembles an over-the moon love letter, with lines like ?Heaven is a place on earth with you,? and ?It?s all for you, everything I do? ?but that?s not the way it sounds. Strings, central to the album?s arrangements, swell sweetly, but the song?s dominant motif is a muted, desultory piano figure that suggests Cat Power at her broodiest. Del Rey?s delivery is somber and vaguely recriminatory, as though her boundless affections aren?t being sufficiently reciprocated by their object. The video is a m?lange of tones, too, alternating found footage of couples cavorting carefree with paparazzi video of Paz de la Huerta stumbling drunkenly. Del Rey herself appears in shots that seem both intimate (they?re naturally lit and haphazardly framed) and distant (her posture is stiff, her affect dead-eyed, her retro-Hollywood make-up laid on thick).
Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=fef0dfbabf8e249c5745b116408c77bb
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Monday, January 30, 2012
Candidate barred for English deficit vows appeal
YUMA, Arizona (AP) ? A city council candidate in Arizona who was barred from running because she doesn't speak English proficiently is vowing to appeal the judge's ruling.
Alejandrina Cabrera conceded in an interview with the Yuma Sun that she needs to improve her command of English. But the San Luis resident said the judge's decision that she doesn't satisfy a state law requiring elected officials to be proficient is unjust.
"He can't take away my constitutional rights, and if he takes away my rights, he takes away the rights of the community," Cabrera told The Sun's Spanish-language edition on Saturday.
Her language skills are adequate in a southwestern Arizona border city where Spanish is used as frequently as English, Cabrera said. She declined to give details of the appeal.
The case has brought national and international attention to the city after San Luis Mayor Juan Carlos Escamilla filed a court action last month asking for a determination on whether Cabrera had the English skills necessary to serve on the council.
State law requires elected officials to know English, but Cabrera's attorneys have argued the law does not define proficiency in the language.
An expert testified that in tests he administered to Cabrera, she did not demonstrate the level of proficiency needed to serve on the council. Yuma County Judge John Nelson said he also based his ruling on Cabrera's failure to respond correctly to questions posed to her.
Cabrera said, "the specialist is right that I have to continue (studying English), but I don't agree that my English is not satisfactory for (the council). I clearly have the ability to be a councilwoman here. I'm not (campaigning for) the White House.
"I know that many people know both languages, but the truth is that, whether we like or not, all the people speak Spanish. If you go the market, if you go to the post office, if you go to pay your water bill, nobody speaks to you in English," she said.
Cabrera was one of 10 candidates who had filed nominating petition signatures to run for four council seats in the March primary election. As her attorneys seek an appeal, Cabrera said she will keep campaigning for three other candidates with whom she was planning to run on a slate for the council seats.
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Friday, January 27, 2012
Gates injects $750M in troubled Global Fund
Bill Gates poses next to a cut out of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to promote the Global Fund's 10th anniversary at the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. Gates announced a US dollar 750 million contribution to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
Bill Gates poses next to a cut out of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to promote the Global Fund's 10th anniversary at the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. Gates announced a US dollar 750 million contribution to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
Bill Gates, co-chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, right, and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, coordinating minister for economy and minister of finance of Nigeria, left, attend a plenary session at the 42nd annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. The overarching theme of the meeting, which will take place from Jan. 25 to 29, is "The Great Transformation: Shaping New Models". (AP Photo/Keystone, Jean-Christophe Bott)
Bill Gates, co-chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, speaks during a plenary session at the 42nd annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. The overarching theme of the meeting, which will take place from Jan. 25 to 29, is "The Great Transformation: Shaping New Models". (AP Photo/Keystone, Jean-Christophe Bott)
DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) ? Bill Gates pledged $750 million on Thursday to fight three killer diseases and rescue a beleaguered health fund whose financial losses have cost it donor support.
The Microsoft founder said he is lending his "credibility" to the Geneva-based Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria by making the donation through a promissory note so the fund "can immediately use the money and save lives."
Gates' announcement at the World Economic Forum ? a magnet for the world's business and political elites who pushed for the fund's creation ? was part of an orchestrated attempt by the fund to galvanize donors on its 10th anniversary.
"These are tough economic times, but that is no excuse for cutting aid to the world's poorest," Gates told reporters.
He downplayed the $23 billion fund's reported losses of tens of millions of dollars to corruption, misuse and undocumented spending that were highlighted in Associated Press stories, and said it is "disappointing" to see how people have focused on a "small misuse of funds."
A donor backlash over AP reports about poor financial monitoring and the fund's losses uncovered by its own internal watchdog, the inspector general's office, prompted the organization last year to cancel more than $1 billion in planned new spending mainly to expand existing programs. The fund's executive director, Dr. Michel Kazatchkine, this week also announced his resignation.
"The internal checks and balances have worked in every case," Gates said. But, he added, "If you're going to do business in Africa, you're going to have some losses."
The public-private fund has helped change the fortunes of many of the world's poor through its prevention and treatment programs among 150 countries, Gates said.
The fund says it has provided antiretroviral treatment to 3.3 million people, detected and treated 8.2 million people with tuberculosis, and given 230 million bed nets to families to prevent malaria over its 10-year existence. It says it also has helped prevent 1.3 million pregnant women from passing on HIV to their babies, cared for 5.6 million orphans and kept 7.7 million others alive.
"It's a breathtaking achievement," U2 rock star Bono said in a compilation of fund supporters' statements from the fund Thursday.
A former Japanese prime minister, Naoto Kan, told the news conference that his nation has contributed $1.3 billion to the fund. Kan also said the fund's "transparency" must be maintained ? which includes auditors and investigators in the inspector general's office uncovering and publicizing its own losses ? as the fund goes through a series of reforms launched last year after the AP stories.
"The European debt crisis is shaking the world economy, which in turn seriously affects the fortunes of the Global Fund. But it doesn't mean the significance of the Global Fund is less," Kan said. "The corruption exists. It's regrettable, but that's reality."
Global Fund board Chairman Simon Bland said the fund is "transforming the way we do business" by streamlining the organization and will continue to "hold ourselves accountable" for what it spends.
"There will be no shying away from that transparency," Bland said.
Bland told AP he has hired the London accounting firm RSM Tenon Group to look into internal fund allegations that Kazatchkine, a French immunologist, improperly allocated several million dollars of fund money to benefit charity activities of France's first lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, and firms run by her close friend.
Bland said the firm has produced a confidential report that he intends to make public which lends little support to the allegations. France is the second-largest contributor to the fund behind the United States, and Bruni-Sarkozy serves as one of its ambassadors.
Kazatchkine, who has been at odds with the inspector general's office that has been uncovering the losses, resigned after the board decided to create a position of general manager to chart a new direction. The position was among a series of recommendations by a high-level panel created to address the problems raised in AP articles.
"I believe it is untenable that there are two heads in an organization and that's why I decided to leave," he told AP.
Kazatchkine said the Global Fund "can't be more transparent than we have been."
"We're by far the most transparent organization in development," he said at Davos. "Fighting corruption, yes, of course, and I have repeatedly said zero tolerance for corruption. Yet we also have to recognize that this business is not without risk. And risk, or the sense of risk, can also paralyze action."
___
Frank Jordans contributed to this report.
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Thursday, January 26, 2012
Gingrich slams Romney on immigration, Obama on taxes (Reuters)
MIAMI, Florida (Reuters) ? Republican Newt Gingrich, cranking up the campaign rhetoric, mocked White House rival Mitt Romney's plan for self-deportation of illegal immigrants as a "fantasy" on Wednesday and assailed President Barack Obama's tax ideas as "stupid."
Gingrich, who has surged in recent polls to pull into a virtual tie with Romney in Florida after beating him last week in South Carolina, poked fun at Romney during a forum sponsored by the Spanish-language network Univision.
He ridiculed Romney's statement on Monday that he would support "self-deportation" of illegal immigrants rather than force the government to round them up and send them home, a stance that has drawn criticism as unworkable.
"You have to live in a world of Swiss bank accounts and Cayman Island accounts and automatic, you know, $20 million a year income with no work to have some fantasy this far from reality," Gingrich said in a reference to Romney's fortune, revealed when he released his tax records earlier this week.
Romney has taken a tougher position on illegal immigration than Gingrich, including threatening to veto the Dream Act, a proposal that would allow some children of illegal immigrants a path to citizenship.
Momentum from a big win at the South Carolina primary election last week has propelled Gingrich into Florida, which holds its primary vote on January 21.
At an earlier campaign stop, Gingrich also criticized Obama's proposal in Tuesday's State of the Union speech to make those who earn at least $1 million a year pay a marginal tax rate of at least 30 percent.
Gingrich said in Coral Springs that he was expecting clarification from the White House because the proposal was "so stupid even they couldn't defend it."
And he took on House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat who had appeared to suggest this week that she had information from an ethics probe into Gingrich in the 1990s that would prevent him from becoming president.
"I think if she knows something, she ought to say it, and if she doesn't know something, she ought to quit saying it," Gingrich told Fox News on Wednesday. "But this is baloney."
LATINO VOTE
Immigration is a big issue in Florida, where 11 percent of registered Republican voters are Hispanic and many are of Cuban descent. The state's primary on Tuesday is the next battleground in the Republican race to pick a challenger to Obama and will be a crucial swing state in November's general election.
Gingrich, the former House speaker, has said he would work to pass a version of the Dream Act that would allow children of illegal immigrants a path to citizenship if they join the military.
"I am not for the whole Dream Act, but I am for the part that says if you are in the United States, even if your parents brought you illegally, if you are here, you have the same right to sign up in the military and earn citizenship," Gingrich said.
In a separate appearance at the Univision forum, Romney was told Gingrich had called him anti-immigration.
"It is very sad for a candidate to resort to that kind of epithet. It is just inappropriate," he said. "There are differences between candidates on important issues but we don't attack each other with those kind of terrible terms. I am not anti-immigrant. I am pro-immigrant."
"There were times when the president said if you send me this legislation, I will sign it. And I thought, well, aren't you the leader of the free world? Why don't you draft some legislation?" Romney said.
"Why don't you go out and say here's what I want, here's what needs to happen, come to the White House, let's sit down and hammer this out together," he said.
Both Romney and Gingrich courted Hispanics with their appearances at the Univision forum. Gingrich took a tough stance against Cuba, proposing a range of steps including covert operations and psychological warfare to end the Castro government.
DENIES HYPOCRISY OVER INFIDELITY
Gingrich said he would use the same tools against Cuba that were used against the former Soviet Union by former President Ronald Reagan and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
"They went at it psychologically, they went at it economically, they went at it diplomatically, they went at it with covert operations," he said. "You want to say to the entire younger generation of the dictatorship 'You have no future propping up the dictatorship. You have a wonderful future if you are willing to become a democracy.'"
Gingrich was asked at the forum about his marital troubles and whether it was hypocritical of him to lead the impeachment effort against President Bill Clinton in 1998 when Gingrich also was being unfaithful to his second wife.
"I didn't do the same thing. I have never lied under oath. I have never committed perjury. I have never been involved in a felony. He was," Gingrich said.
(Additional reporting by Steve Holland, Sam Youngman, Deborah Charles; Writing by John Whitesides; Editing by Eric Walsh)
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Video: Biotech Earnings Preview
A preview of what to expect from major biotech firms like Johnson & Johnson, Celgene and Amgen, with CNBC's Seema Mody.
Related Links:
Business & financial news headlines from msnbc.com
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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/46106453/
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Data And Privacy Rears Its Head At DLD
It's only day one of DLD, the annual TED-like conference in Munich thrown by German media giant Burda, and already we have a few misunderstandings brewing. Amid the furore surrounding the SOPA protests and lobbying form media companies, at the other end of the debate-spectrum, the European Commission, in the shape of EC vice-president Viviane Reding, has been looking at harmonising privacy and personal data in Europe.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/fipNtKy4A7M/
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Monday, January 23, 2012
Report: South Sudan sues Khartoum over oil
KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) ? South Sudan is suing Sudan for "looting" its oil and will no longer export crude through its northern neighbor's territory, a Sudanese daily reported Sunday, citing officials, in the latest spat between the two governments over the coveted resource in the newly independent southern nation.
South Sudan Information Minister Marial Benjamin said the lawsuit was filed in "specialized international tribunals against Sudan and some companies" that bought the crude, the Al-Sahafa daily said. Benjamin did not provide additional details on the venue or when the lawsuit was filed.
The case is the latest development in a long-simmering fight between the two governments over the oil they share. Most of it lies within the borders of South Sudan, which achieved independence last July.
On Jan. 17, South Sudan Minister of Petroleum and Mining Stephen Dhieu Dau said Sudan is diverting about 120,000 barrels of oil pumped from the south daily, a move the northern government said stemmed from the unpaid transit fees for the oil carried in pipelines from the south to export terminals in its territory. The two sides have been unable to resolve the dispute.
South Sudan's Cabinet Affairs minister, Deng Alor, said that his country has halted pumping crude through Sudan and would begin building a pipeline across east Africa that would allow it to export its oil through Kenya. The project would take about a year, he told Al-Sahafa.
"Our economy will not be affected by this step," he said, adding that South Sudan had enough in cash reserves to sustain it for five years. Even if the economy was affected, it would be preferable to the "looting" taking place by Sudan, he was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
The Khartoum government downplayed the potential impact of the move by the south. Sudanese State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Amin Hassan Omar said that the oil currently held in pipelines would cover a considerable portion of the debts owed by the south.
The suspension of oil production is a "tactical move that will not last long," he told Al-Sahafa.
Associated PressCould CBS' Elementary Pilot Lead To Legal Issues Due To ...
published: 2012-01-21 14:35:52
I know I?m not alone in having groaned audibly at the news that CBS had given the green light to a pilot called Elementary, described as a modern day take on Sherlock Holmes, set in New York City. Those of us who have seen BBC One?s Sherlock, which airs on this side of the pond on PBS Masterpiece (and is available on Netflix) know that the concept is being done and extremely well, I might add.It needs to be said that I?m not opposed to remakes in general. As a TV fan, I don?t feel the need to ?choose sides? when it comes to the original British version of The Office and the U.S. version because, despite the similar concept, the shows are different enough that they are both funny and entertaining in their own ways. David Brent and Michael Scott, for example, are both hilarious and there are some personality similarities, but they are not the same men. Michael Scott is not an American David Brent. He?s Michael Scott. And David Brent is David Brent. It's not about better or worse, for me as a viewer. It's about different and funny, which applies to both characters and series. That said, an Americanized Sherlock Holmes would not be Sherlock Holmes. However, it?s possible (even probable) that the assumption that CBS' pilot intends to make Holmes American, is inaccurate. So we might need to put that argument aside for now.
From the reported description for the Elementary pilot, the ?pipe-smoking private eye? is ?now living in New York City.? It doesn?t say he?s American. It sounds like the idea of the series is not only to take Sherlock Holmes and put him into modern times, as BBC One?s Sherlock has already done, but also put him in New York, where his accent and British nature will surely be made to clash dramatically and maybe even comedically with New York?s Finest. In that respect, there is something intriguing, albeit gimmicky about the concept. But it still sounds like a remake that?s pretending not to be a remake.
That brings me to an article The Independent posted today, which quotes Sherlock executive producer Sue Vertue as saying that CBS approached them about doing a remake of their series ?a while back.? She went on to say...
At the time, they made great assurances about their integrity, so we have to assume that their modernised Sherlock Holmes doesn't resemble ours in any way, as that would be extremely worrying." She added: "We are very proud of our show and like any proud parent, will protect the interest and wellbeing of our offspring."
As well they should be. If CBS went to the series to talk to them about a remake, why does it sound like they're moving forward with something that's not being reported as a straight-up Sherlock remake? The situation sounds a bit tricky from a legal standpoint, considering Sherlock is also borrowing the character from classic literature. From what the Independent reports, it?s the concept of relocating the character to a modern setting, ?which may closely impinge on the BBC series, which has made laptops and text messaging an important element of its plots.? In other words, moving the character to the future is Sherlock?s thing and that could present legal issues for CBS.
Margaret Tofalides, a copyright specialist at law firm Manches, said: "The concept of a new Sherlock Holmes is unprotectable. But if the unusual elements of the BBC series ? the modern settings, characters, clothes, plots and distinctive visual style ? were closely reproduced in the CBS version, that could form the basis of a potential copyright claim."
This is just speculation here, but attempts to avoid stepping on Sherlock?s toes might present enough limitations on this series that CBS could decide to move away from the Sherlock character entirely. Banking on the popularity of the British series, which has trickled it?s way to the U.S. already, could prove to be an expensive endeavor. Then again, would it be a huge surprise of Elementary is scrapped, and some other procedural landed at the network, centering on a quick-minded, quirky British detective working in New York (possible name suggestion: Sherman Houses)? All kidding (kind of) aside, it?s interesting to know that an eye is being kept on CBS (pun only partially intended).
In the meantime, for those of you who are interested in seeing a great detective show, I highly recommend checking out Sherlock on Netflix or when it re-airs on PBS Masterpiece. ?The Blind Banker? (Episode 2 of Series 1) airs tomorrow night (Sunday, Jan. 22) at 10:00 p.m. ET on PBS Masterpiece.
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Friday, January 20, 2012
Slow response to East Africa hunger 'cost lives' (AP)
NAIROBI, Kenya ? Thousands of people, more than half of them children, died needlessly and millions of dollars were wasted because the international community did not respond to early warnings of an impending famine in East Africa, aid agencies said Wednesday, even as they warned of a new hunger crisis in West Africa.
Most rich donor nations waited until East Africa's crisis was in full swing before donating a substantial amount of money, said a report by Oxfam and Save the Children. A food shortage was predicted as early as August 2010, but most donors did not respond until famine was declared in parts of Somalia in July 2011.
The report, written by two prominent aid groups, even blamed aid agencies, saying they were too slow to scale up their response.
"We all bear responsibility for this dangerous delay that cost lives in East Africa and need to learn the lessons of the late response," said Oxfam head Barbara Stocking.
One Kenyan economist, though, said it would have been difficult to prevent the famine in south-central Somalia, which is mostly controlled by militants from al-Shabab, an insurgent group that has greatly limited the work that aid agencies can do in the region.
"I don't think the solution to famine is just sending money in good time," said economist James Shikwati. "It also needs policy changes. Look at Somalia. (Even) if you have all the money in your pocket and all the grain in your store, unless al-Shabab allows you to access their areas then people there are still going to starve."
Kenya and Ethiopia also suffered from the drought, but the famine hit hardest in areas of Somalia suffering from a toxic mixture of drought, war and high taxes levied by armed groups.
The aid agencies in the report said many donors wanted to first see proof that there was a humanitarian catastrophe. That caused a funding shortfall that delayed a large-scale response to the crisis by around six months.
Now, there are clear signs that there is an impending hunger crisis in West Africa, said Save the Children's head Justin Forsyth. The report said that a food crisis in the West African region known as the Sahel is being driven by drought and high food prices. The report says agencies should put into practice there what has been learned in the Somalia crisis.
A recent Save the Children assessment in Niger shows families in the worst-hit areas are already struggling with around one-third less food, money and fuel than is necessary to survive.
The report says the delays in East Africa caused thousands of deaths and increased costs for aid agencies. The British government estimates that between 50,000 and 100,000 people have died from the famine, mostly Somalis. Ethiopia and Kenya were also affected but aid agencies were able to work more easily there than in war-ravaged Somalia.
More than half of those who died are believed to be children. The U.N. says 250,000 Somalis are still at risk of starvation and more than 13 million people need aid.
"The earlier you respond, the more you get for your money," said Oxfam's regional spokesman Alun McDonald.
"We've done a lot of water trucking. It's the last resort," he said. "It's a very expensive and inefficient way of delivering water."
Friday will mark six months since the U.N. declared famine in Somalia.
"It's much more cost-effective to invest early on," he said, in things like dams, reservoirs, and boreholes.
Trucking just over a gallon (5 liters) of water per day per person to 80,000 people in Ethiopia costs more than $3 million for five months, the report said, compared to $900,000 to prepare water sources in the same area for an oncoming drought.
The report also said it costs three times as much to restock a herd in northern Kenya than to keep it alive through supplementary feeding.
"The world knows an emergency is coming but ignores it until confronted with TV pictures of desperately malnourished children," said Forsyth.
The World Food Program says that even though the worst of the crisis appears to be over, hundreds of thousands of people will still need food aid in coming months to survive, because their livestock have died and crops have not yet grown.
Earlier this week, food donated by Cargill, the Minnesota-based producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products, was delivered to communities in need in Kenya. Cargill donated 10,000 metric tons of rice to World Food Program USA to be distributed in the Horn of Africa.
The group said the donation ? the largest ever food donation to WFP USA ? would feed nearly 1 million people for a month.
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Thursday, January 19, 2012
Israel Faces Escalating Cyberwar
New submitter 9re9 writes "The NY Times describes what may be the beginning of an actual cyberwar between a pro-Palestinian group and Israeli companies, third edition by the editors of the old glory banner heritage? dictionary. copyright ? 2003 El Al and the Tel Aviv stock exchange. From the article: 'A hacker analyze himself as oxOmar, already red hot for posting the details of more than 20,000 Israeli credit cards, sent an overnight warning to Israel's Ynet news outlet that a group of pro-Palestinian cyberattackers called daydream planned to bring down the sites in the morning.' Though the article is skimpy on operose details, the group appears to have engaged merely in a DDOS attack. Hamas praised the attack as opening 'a new fight front against Israel.' Is this the first acknowledged cyberwar?"
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
More: - Continued here
Source: http://www.journalhome.com/WebDeveloper/260725/israel-faces-escalating-cyberwar.html
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Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Golden Globes seen by almost 17 million viewers
In this image released by NBC, host Ricky Gervais speaks during the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/NBC, Paul Drinkwater)
In this image released by NBC, host Ricky Gervais speaks during the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/NBC, Paul Drinkwater)
NEW YORK (AP) ? The Nielsen Co. says Sunday's Golden Globes ceremony was seen by 16.8 million TV viewers. It beat all network competition in its time period but dipped slightly from last year's audience for the film and TV awards show.
According to time zone-adjusted Nielsen "fast national" figures released Monday, the Globes finished within 1 percent of the 17 million viewers who tuned in to the 2011 broadcast.
Carried by NBC from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern time, the program aired live in every time zone. Some western markets also carried an encore telecast immediately following the live coverage.
British comedian-actor Ricky Gervais returned for his third go as host, lampooning many of the nominees, presenters and even the sponsoring Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
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Tuesday, January 17, 2012
HBT: Yankees won't spend much on DH
If the Yankees truly are thinking about Johnny Damon ? or Carlos Pena or anyone else ? to be their DH then they?re going to have to get him on the cheap. ?That?s because Jon Heyman reports that?the Yankees only have $1-$2 million to spend on a DH.
Well, they have more, but that?s what they?re willing to spend. Because they have a budget now.
I dunno. Andruw Jones against lefties, rotate A-Rod, Jeter, Teixeira or whoever else needs a rest against righties. That?ll work, right? Do they really need an old dude to come in and be a mostly full time DH? ?Pena would be nice, sure, but I just sorta feel like they can get by without such a beast.
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Monday, January 16, 2012
Russian military says spacecraft debris falls in ocean (Reuters)
MOSCOW (Reuters) ? Pieces of a failed Russian Mars probe plummeted into the Pacific Ocean far off the Chilean coast Sunday, Russian news agencies cited a military official as saying.
Debris from the Phobos-Grunt craft fell into the sea some 1,250 km (775 miles) west of the coastal island of Wellington, state-run RIA and Itar-Tass cited Aerospace Defense Forces spokesman Colonel Alexei Zolotukhin as saying.
The spacecraft never made it out of Earth's orbit after its November launch on a rare interplanetary mission for Russia's struggling space program.
It was not immediately clear whether all the parts of the craft that did not burn up in the atmosphere had fallen in the same area.
RIA cited an unnamed source in a separate Russian military branch as saying ballistics experts calculated that debris could have fallen anywhere in a broad area centred on Brazil.
Russia's space agency Roskosmos had said debris from its doomed 14-ton craft, which included 11 tons of toxic rocket fuel, might fall in the Atlantic Ocean about midway between Brazil and West Africa.
Roskosmos and the military could not be reached for comment.
Due to constant changes in the upper atmosphere, which is strongly influenced by solar activity, the exact time and place of the probe's return had been unknown.
The $165-million spacecraft, designed to retrieve soil samples from the Martian moon Phobos, was meant to be Russia's first successful interplanetary mission in over two decades.
But it became stuck in orbit after a botched launch on November 9, and had since been slowly losing altitude due to gravity's pull.
SPACE JUNK
Experts said the falling space junk posed little risk, with the probe's aluminium fuel tank expected to burn up high in the atmosphere.
"If anyone gets to see it, it will be a fabulous show. I don't think there has been an explosion of such a large volume of fuel in space history," Igor Marinin, editor of a space journal published by Roskosmos, said earlier Sunday.
Some 20 to 30 small pieces of debris with a total weight of 200 kg (440 lb) could hit Earth, Roskosmos said, adding that a tiny radioactive cargo of Cobalt-57 was too small to cause harm.
One component likely to survive re-entry was a small return capsule specifically designed to crash-land back on Earth in 2014, mission scientist Alexander Zakharov said.
"This is the capsule that was meant to bring back samples from Phobos, it's disappointing," Zakharov said. "We're hoping Roskosmos will approve a new craft to accomplish this mission."
Phobos-Grunt was one of five botched launches last year that marred celebrations of the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's pioneering first human space flight and hurt Moscow's pride.
In an apparent attempt to deflect blame, Russia's space agency chief hinted last week that foreign sabotage might be the reason.
"I don't want to blame anyone, but there are very powerful means to interfere with spacecraft today whose use cannot be ruled out," Vladimir Popovkin told the daily Izvestia.
Stargazers watching for reentry included the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordinating Committee, an offshoot of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.
Under a U.N. space convention, Russia could be liable to pay compensation for any harm caused by bits of falling spacecraft.
In 1981, the Soviet Union paid Canada $3 million for the cost of cleaning up radioactive debris scattered in the crash of a Soviet nuclear-powered reconnaissance satellite, Kosmos 954.
When NASA's defunct Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite fell out of orbit in September, it showered debris into the Pacific Ocean. Germany's Rosat X-ray telescope re-entered a month later over the Bay of Bengal.
(Additional reporting by Steve Gutterman; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Taiwan president in early lead in re-election bid (AP)
TAIPEI, Taiwan ? Incumbent Ma Ying-jeou held a strong lead in Taiwan's presidential election Saturday, as voters appeared drawn to his vision of better relations with China over his main challenger's attempts to galvanize resentment over growing income inequality.
With about half of the votes counted, Ma had 52.3 percent of the vote, with Tsai Ying-wen of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party at 44.9 percent, according to ETTV and other television stations.
A third candidate, James Soong, a former heavyweight in Ma's Nationalist Party, had just 2.9 percent of the vote.
Ma, a 61-year-old former justice minister and mayor of the capital, Taipei, has staked his re-election on his success in tying Taiwan's high-tech economy ever closer to China's lucrative markets, while Tsai has attempted to galvanize resentment over growing income inequality.
Tsai, 55, who has a doctorate from the London School of Economics, shows no signs that she would undo the economic aspects of Ma's China policies, though she charges that they have helped spawn economic inequality in Taiwan. She has also accused Ma of undermining Taiwan's de facto independence in exchange for benefits from the mainland ? a claim that resonates strongly with her party's pro-independence base.
While Tsai says she wants to continue economic cooperation with China, a win for her would put Beijing in the uncomfortable position of maintaining such ties while still registering its displeasure with the DPP's pro-independence stance.
Eighteen million Taiwanese were eligible to vote in Saturday's polls, and about 80 percent of them were believed to have voted. The polls closed Saturday afternoon and results were expected that night.
Legislative elections being held at the same time are likely to see Ma's Nationalists retain a majority in the 113-seat house, although with a diminished margin.
Ma and Tsai have been crisscrossing the island for weeks in a hard-hitting campaign, offering their competing visions for Taiwan's future.
Ma's signature achievement has been the completion of a China trade deal in June 2010 that lowered tariffs on hundreds of goods. While most of Taiwan's $124 billion worth of exports to China last year were electronic goods such as television displays and cellphone chips, there was also a big upsurge in agricultural sales from southern Taiwan, long a stronghold of Tsai's party.
Taipei bank manager Frank Chang said he voted for Ma because of his efforts to improve ties with Beijing.
"China is a major economic power with the world's biggest demand for goods," he said. "As a small island, Taiwan cannot isolate itself from the mainland and still maintain a viable economy."
Taiwan, one of Asia's economic successes for decades and now a center of high-tech development, has turned in a mixed performance under Ma. Unemployment has fallen in the past two years after reaching a high of 6.16 percent in 2009, and preliminary growth figures for 2011 were a respectable 4.5 percent. But housing prices in urban areas have skyrocketed and the income gap has widened, as large companies that invested in the China trade have profited handsomely from new opportunities.
Taipei office worker Chen Yen-fen said she voted for Tsai because she appeared to be a capable leader.
"A change of government will help resolve the widening gap between the rich and poor and many other problems," she said.
In the closing days of the campaign Tsai moved toward the center, promising to open a channel to China to offer assurances that she has no intention of embracing the pro-independence policies of Ma's predecessor, the DPP's Chen Shui-bian. Chen's policies infuriated Beijing, and caused great consternation in the U.S., Taiwan's most important security partner.
Ma has been buoyed by the arrival of an estimated 300,000 China-based Taiwanese businesspeople, most of whom are expected to vote for the president. Many Taiwanese businesses on the mainland are big Ma backers and have encouraged their workers to support him.
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Keflezighi wins Olympic trial
From left to right, Ryan Hall, Abdi Abdirahman and Meb Keflezighi compete during the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
From left to right, Ryan Hall, Abdi Abdirahman and Meb Keflezighi compete during the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
From left to right, Dathan Ritzenhein, Ryan Hall, Mohamed Trafeh, Abdi Abdirahman and Meb Keflezighi run through a turn during the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
HOUSTON (AP) ? Meb Keflezighi won the U.S. Olympic men's marathon trial on Saturday to qualify for his third Games. Ryan Hall and Abdi Abdirahman finished second and third to also make the team that will represent the U.S. in London.
Keflezighi covered the course in a personal-best 2 hours, 9 minutes and 8 seconds. The 36-year-old Keflezighi will return to the Olympics after winning silver in the 2004 marathon in Athens.
The 29-year-old Hall won the 2008 marathon trial in a record 2:09.02. He was back in one of his favorite cities to run, where he won the 2007 U.S. Half Marathon championship in an American record time of 59:43.
The 33-year-old Abdirahman will compete in his fourth Olympics. He qualified in the 10,000 meters in the previous three Games.
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Saturday, January 14, 2012
Republicans hope for "yes" on Keystone, prepare for "no" (Reuters)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? Congressional Republicans who are urging President Barack Obama to approve the Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL oil pipeline have signaled they will not give up on the issue if the White House says no.
After delaying the project, Obama has been compelled by Congress to decide by February 21 on whether to approve the project that would sharply boost the flow of oil from Canada'a oil sands.
Early work has begun on legislation that could make Obama take yet another look at the stalled pipeline should the project be rejected in February, Republican aides told Reuters.
The language could be included in legislation that will be needed to extend a payroll tax cut that expires on February 29.
TransCanada Corp's oil sands pipeline has put Obama in a political bind at the start of what is expected to be a difficult re-election campaign, and has become a useful tool for Republicans seeking to portray Obama as dithering on a project that they believe would create 20,000 jobs.
Environmental groups, an important part of Obama's political
base, have made defeating the line a top priority. They are concerned about the carbon emissions that come from processing the oil sands, and they argue the project will create fewer than 5,000 jobs.
The White House in November delayed its decision on Keystone to find a new route around environmentally sensitive lands in the Nebraska portion of its route. This effectively punted the decision beyond the November U.S. presidential election.
Republicans struck back by inserting language in the December payroll tax cut bill that gave Obama 60 days to grant a permit for the project or explain why it was not in the national interest.
Republicans hope that rising gasoline prices will increase pressure on the White House as the United States pushes for more sanctions on Iran to discourage countries from buying its oil.
Richard Lugar, top Republican on the Senate Foreign Affairs committee and lead sponsor of the Keystone bill, said it does not make sense to slow an oil pipeline from a reliable supplier such as Canada.
"Even if in the future we do not ourselves consume all the Canadian oil imported, having that crude in the U.S. system would give us tremendous flexibility to deal with supply shortages caused by conflict, political manipulation, terrorism, or natural disaster," Lugar said in a January 6 letter to Obama.
CONTINGENCY PLANS
North Dakota Senator John Hoeven, a Republican who helped draft the Keystone language in the current bill, is already working on new legislation in the event the president turns down the pipeline, said an aide, Ryan Bernstein.
A Senate Republican leadership aide said that if Obama refuses to certify the Keystone project by the February 21 deadline, Republicans likely would insist on a new extension, possibly another 60-day deadline.
That would leave a decision on the job-creating project at Obama's doorstep in late April, just as his presidential re-election bid intensifies.
"I suspect we'll want some level of clarity on which way they're (the Obama administration) leaning" on Keystone in the upcoming payroll tax negotiations, another senior Senate Republican aide said.
But the aide said it was too early to say what mechanism might be used to ratchet up the pressure on Obama if he does not fully grant the permit during this 60-day period.
'ANY AND ALL LEGISLATIVE OPTIONS' IN PLAY
A spokesman for House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner did not want to comment on whether House Republicans would seek to include a new Keystone deadline in the next payroll tax cut bill.
The White House and State Department have laid some ground for saying no, said Lee Terry, a Republican congressman from Nebraska who is a prominent advocate for Keystone on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
In December, the administration said imposing the 60-day deadline could violate environmental laws, effectively ruling out a permit.
A majority of voters support the pipeline, Rasmussen poll results from late December show, and most labor unions support it too. Saying "no" to the pipeline could turn it into an election issue, Terry said in an interview.
Obama could try to appease both sides by agreeing to the line conditionally, declaring the project is in the national interest, but making a permit contingent on further study of routes through Nebraska.
But Terry said he believes Republicans will consider "any and all legislative options" if the pipeline is delayed further, including but not limited to making it part of the next payroll tax package.
"Right now, I think everything is on the table," he said.
(Editing by Vicki Allen)
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Friday, January 13, 2012
Mixed News on Tough-to-Treat Lung Cancer (HealthDay)
TUESDAY, Jan. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Dutch researchers report disappointing results from an early clinical trial of the drug Nexavar (sorafenib) in fighting a tough-to-treat form of lung cancer.
But, in better news, an experimental drug known as ganetespib showed promise in laboratory and animal experiments.
The results of both studies were to be presented Tuesday at an American Association for Cancer Research/International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer meeting in San Diego.
In recent years, researchers have made some headway in finding treatments to combat lung cancer, which often doesn't respond well to chemotherapy, explained Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society.
Those treatments include drugs such as crizotinib (Xalkori) and erlotinib (Tarceva), which are most effective in tumors that contain certain genetic mutations.
However, those drugs tend to not work well in people with tumors that contain a particular type of mutation in the KRAS gene. KRAS is the most common molecular mutation, present in about 25 percent of people with non-small cell lung cancers such as adenocarcinoma, particularly smokers, said Dr. Paul Bunn, a professor of lung cancer research at the University of Colorado and executive director of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer.
"The patients who have this mutation have a somewhat worse prognosis than patients who don't have this mutation, and have worse outcomes with chemotherapy," Bunn said. "Most drugs produce a shrinkage of the tumor in less than 10 percent of KRAS patients."
While a smaller, even earlier trial showed sorafenib might be that drug, the latest findings were not impressive. This larger trial by researchers in the Netherlands involving 57 patients with non-small cell lung cancer who had already failed chemotherapy and who had the KRAS mutation showed the median progression-free survival was just 2.3 months. Overall survival was about five months.
"They were undoubtedly hoping that progression-free survival would be longer, maybe four or five months, and overall survival would be six or eight months," Bunn said. "The results were not encouraging. Their basic conclusion is that we should find something better for these patients, and not spend a lot of time on a big randomized trial to show it has a teeny effect or no effect."
In addition, sorafenib was not compared to other drugs, or even to no treatment, Lichtenfeld said, so there is no way of gauging if the 2.3 months represents a true benefit above and beyond what patients would experience otherwise.
A second study done on non-small cell cancer cells and mice with the KRAS mutation showed more promise, experts said.
In it, researchers tested the drug ganetespib, which inhibits the Hsp90 protein. When combined with other cancer drugs, ganetespib seems to affect multiple other proteins present in the cancer cell that help the cancer cell thrive, Lichtenfeld said.
"The presence of this protein [Hsp90] really directs or impacts many proteins within the cancer cell that are necessary for it to survive," Lichtenfeld said. "If you can block that protein's effect, you then have other proteins that are blocked, and by blocking them you could shut down the cancer cell and severely impact the cell and its growth patterns. That is interesting and exciting from a laboratory point of view."
However, Lichtenfeld noted, "the problem we always face is translating what we see in the laboratory to clinical medicine. There are so many times we have promising and exciting findings in the laboratory that don't translate into patients, but occasionally they do."
The next step will be larger trials involving cancer patients, Bunn said.
"I would say this other approach is more promising than the sorafenib, and certainly worthy of additional studies, but not ready for clinical primetime," Bunn said.
Non-small cell lung cancer is the most common type of lung cancer. Non-small cell cancers include squamous cell and adenocarcinomas.
"The big picture is we are learning about these mutations that tell us something about lung cancer, which has in some cases given us targets to guide us to use certain drugs because we know they have a higher chance of being effective," Lichtenfeld said.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States for men and women, killing an estimated 157,000 people this year, according to the American Cancer Society.
Experts note that research presented at meetings has not been subjected to the same type of rigorous scrutiny given to research published in peer-reviewed medical journals.
More information
The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more on lung cancer.
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Thursday, January 12, 2012
Video: Sports Agent Steinberg Files Bankruptcy
The man who inspired the hit movie "Jerry McGuire" is now filing for Chapter 11. CNBC's Darren Rovell has the story.
Related Links:
Business & financial news headlines from msnbc.com
Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/45975946/
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Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Levitan surprised at acceptance of gay characters
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) ? One of the biggest surprises for the creator of "Modern Family" is how Cameron and Mitchell, the gay parents who are among the show's lead characters, are accepted by the audience.
Steven Levitan said Tuesday that it's not just America: The Emmy-winning comedy is shown around the world, including in Vatican City. He said it's unusual for him to hear any objections to Mitchell and Cameron, portrayed by actors Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet.
He said at a news conference that it's easy for people to object to gay parents in concept.
"When you make it personal and show the people have good hearts and are extremely committed, loving parents, it's hard not to love them," he said. "I'm pleasantly surprised with the world's reaction to that particular part of our modern family."
Levitan said he and his staff impose a lot of pressure on themselves to keep standards up, even though creative ups and downs are almost unavoidable for long-running TV series.
"We don't want to be accused of getting soft or resting on our laurels," he said. "That keeps us on our toes or awake at night."
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Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Hillary Scott?s Custom Wedding Gown: All the Details!
Joe Buissink
When Hillary Scott started planning the details of her wedding to now-husband Chris Tyrrell, she immediately turned to one of the best names in the bridal gown business: Vera Wang. The Lady Antebellum singer approached the designer about a custom dress, and what resulted was a one-of-a-kind creation that left the bride aglow.
?Hillary was joyous, over the moon,? Wang tells PEOPLE. ?And [she was] actually very enchanted with the thought of a hand-pieced, hand-engineered lace mermaid wedding gown.? In fact, the strapless dress featured all-over lace underlay, a layered tulle skirt with horsehair banding and a hand-cut corded lace applique with hand-applied crystal-and-pearl beading.
Courtesy Vera Wang
?While the dress was very tailored, the lace work was extremely feminine,? Wang explains.
Scott finished her look with an embroidered, cathedral-length mantilla veil with hand-cut Chantilly lace applique. ?[She was] a contemporary vision of a traditional bride,? Wang says proudly.
Scott and Tyrrell tied the knot in upstate New York on Saturday, surrounded by family and close friends. Soon after the nuptials, the couple posted a video to Lady Antebellum?s official website, announcing their status as husband and wife. ?We?re so excited to be starting our life together,? Scott says, ?and we just had to let you in on the exciting news.? Tell us: What do you think of Scott?s gown?
?Kate Hogan
THEY SAID ?YES!? STARS? HOLIDAY ENGAGEMENTS
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/people/stylewatch/offtherack/~3/2KjmEKjC6pA/
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Monday, January 9, 2012
Stuart Claude Beyerl, 87, Fort Myers, Florida
Stuart was born on May 21, 1924 and passed away on Thursday, January 5, 2012.
Stuart was a resident of Fort Myers, Florida at the time of his passing.
He then graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Engineering from Union College in Schenectady, NY.
He served in the United States Navy (Pacific Fleet) in World War II.
He was preceded in death by his wife Theresa.
Funeral services will be held at Cypress Lake United Methodist Church, 8570 Cypress Lake Drive, Ft. Myers, FL on Sunday, January 8, 2012 at 1:00 PM.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Lee Memorial Health System Foundation, P.O. Box 2218, Fort Myers, FL 33902.
Source: http://nbc2.tributes.com/show/Stuart-Claude-Beyerl-93058451
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Saturday, January 7, 2012
How poor maternal diet can increase risk of diabetes: New mechanism discovered
ScienceDaily (Jan. 6, 2012) ? Researchers funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council have shown one way in which poor nutrition in the womb can put a person at greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes and other age-related diseases in later life. This finding could lead to new ways of identifying people who are at a higher risk of developing these diseases and might open up targets for treatment.
The team, from the University of Cambridge and the Medical Research Council (MRC) Toxicology Unit at the University of Leicester, publish their findings on January 6 in the journal Cell Death and Differentiation.
The research shows that, in both rats and humans, individuals who experience a poor diet in the womb are less able to store fats correctly in later life. Storing fats in the right areas of the body is important because otherwise they can accumulate in places like the liver and muscle where they are more likely to lead to disease.
Professor Anne Willis of the MRC Toxicology Unit at the University of Leicester explains "One of the ways that our bodies cope with a rich modern western diet is by storing excess calories in fat cells. When these cells aren't able to absorb the excess then fats get deposited in other places, like the liver, where they are much more dangerous and can lead to type 2 diabetes."
The team found that this process is controlled by a molecule called miR-483-3p. They found that miR-483-3p was produced at higher levels in individuals who had experienced a poor diet in their mother's wombs than those who were better nourished.
When pregnant rats were fed low protein diets their offspring had higher levels of miR-483-3p. This led to them developing smaller fat cells and left them less able to store fats in adulthood. These rats were less likely to get fat when fed a high calorie diet but were at a higher risk of developing diabetes. Rats are known to be a good model for studying human dietary diseases and the team also found that miR-483-3p was present in elevated levels in a group of people who were born with a low birth weight.
Dr Susan Ozanne, a British Heart Foundation Senior Fellow, who led the work at the University of Cambridge, adds "It has been known for a while that your mother's diet during pregnancy plays an important role in your adult health, but the mechanisms in the body that underlie this aren't well understood. We have shown in detail how one mechanism links poor maternal diet to diabetes and other diseases that develop as we age."
Dr Ozanne and Professor Willis and their team found that miR-483-3p works by suppressing a protein called GDF3. When they studied a group of adult humans who were born with a low birth weight, they found that GDF3 protein was present at around only thirty percent of the levels found in people born at a normal weight.
Professor Willis, Director of the MRC Toxicology Unit, adds "Improving people's diets and encouraging exercise is clearly the best way to combat the epidemic of diabetes and diet-related disease which is sweeping through our society. However some people are at particular risk of these diseases, despite not looking visibly overweight. This research will hopefully allow us to help these people to take precautionary steps to reduce their likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes."
Professor Douglas Kell, Chief Executive of BBSRC said "People are continuing to live ever longer and healthier lives thanks to improvements in nutrition and healthcare. However modern diets and lifestyles are posing new challenges to which our bodies sometimes seem poorly adapted -- and this has caused unforeseen health problems.
"If we are to remain healthy throughout our lives and into old age it is vital that scientists work to understand our fundamental biology in the context of social and environmental changes. By identifying a mechanism that links maternal diet to diabetes this research has made an important contribution to the fight against a growing epidemic of metabolic diseases."
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- D Ferland-McCollough, D S Fernandez-Twinn, I G Cannell, H David, M Warner, A A Vaag, J Bork-Jensen, C Br?ns, T W Gant, A E Willis, K Siddle, M Bushell, S E Ozanne. Programming of adipose tissue miR-483-3p and GDF-3 expression by maternal diet in type 2 diabetes. Cell Death and Differentiation, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/cdd.2011.183
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://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120106110540.htm
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Fitch downgrades Hungary to junk status (AP)
BUDAPEST, Hungary ? Fitch downgraded Hungary's credit rating to junk status on Friday, citing a standoff between the government and international lenders like the IMF and the European Union over possible rescue loans.
Fitch kept a negative outlook on Hungary, indicating a more than a 50 percent chance for another downgrade on the Central European nation of 10 million people within the next two years. The move followed similar action from Moody's and Standards & Poor's.
Hungary's shaky finances have been battered this entire week. Its currency, the forint, fell to all-time lows during two consecutive days and the government suffered through a rough bond auction Thursday in which the interest rates it had to paid to borrow jumped more than 2 percentage points in just a few weeks.
Investors are deeply unsure about the government's economic policies and whether it can agree upon a rescue loan with the International Monetary Fund.
Fitch Ratings' decision to cut Hungary's credit rating one notch, to BB+ from BBB-, was triggered partly "by further unorthodox economic policies which are undermining investor confidence and complicating the agreement of a new IMF-EU deal," said Matteo Napolitano, Director in Fitch's Sovereign Group.
Hungary late last year requested financial aid from the EU and the IMF. But the two institutions broke off preliminary negotiations in December amid concerns over new laws that hurt the independence of Hungary's central bank.
"Even if a (loan) agreement were to be reached, doubts would remain over whether the Hungarian government could submit to its strict conditionality, given its track record of policy unpredictability," Fitch said.
Government spokesman Andras Giro-Szasz said the downgrade was "surprising" considering statements from Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Tamas Fellegi, Hungary's chief financial negotiator, confirming the country's intention to soon reach an agreement with international creditors and affirming its support for the independence of the central bank.
Earlier Friday, Orban met with National Bank of Hungary President Andras Simor and the government's top economic officials. Orban dismissed market speculation that his conservative government was planning to raid central bank reserves to prop up the state budget and said it would do everything it can to support the central bank's efforts to stabilize the economy.
On Friday, the forint strengthened to around 215 per euro after falling as low as 224 per euro on Thursday.
Despite government pledges, investors are wary of government policies that boost budget revenues without unpopular austerity measures ? such as windfall taxes on banks, telecommunications firms and others. They are also unnerved by Hungary's new constitution and new laws that have centralized political power and eroded democratic checks and balances.
Hungary has also been deeply affected by the eurozone's debt crisis ? nearly 80 percent of its exports go to EU countries. Its domestic consumption has been weakened by high levels of household debt, including many mortgages held in soaring Swiss francs.
Many experts see the country falling back into a recession this year, though not as deeply as the 6.7 percent contraction in 2009.
Hungary was given a bailout of euro20 billion ($26 billion) in 2008 after the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers. Yet Orban, whose Fidesz party gained a two-thirds majority in parliament in April 2010 elections, chose to end the deal so IMF would not oversee Hungary's economic policy.
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