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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/zJpADLw-MWw/story01.htm
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Saturday, December 31, 2011
Rene?s most-used iPhone and iPad apps of 2011
My most-used apps of 2011 are probably the built in iPhone and iPad Safari browser, Mail client, and anything and everything Siri can now easily and instantly manage for me like Reminders, Calendars, Alarms, etc. But that’s mundane, boring, and way too Spock for a list like...
Friday, December 30, 2011
Ukraine ex-PM Tymoshenko moved to remote prison (Reuters)
KIEV (Reuters) ? Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, sentenced to seven years in prison for abuse of office, has been moved to prison from a detention centre where she has been held since early August, the state penitentiary service said on Friday.
Tymoshenko's transfer to a remote location suggests she is unlikely to go free any time soon despite pressure from the European Union, which called her trial politically motivated. The EU put off the signing of a major trade and political agreement with Ukraine this month over the case.
Tymoshenko is the fiercest opponent of President Viktor Yanukovich, who narrowly beat her in a presidential run-off in February 2010.
She served as prime minister after helping to lead the 2004 "Orange Revolution" protests, which overturned an election victory for Yanukovich in his first bid for the presidency.
A court sentenced Tymoshenko to seven years in prison in October, saying she had exceeded her powers when forcing through a 2009 gas deal with Russia as prime minister. Tymoshenko denies wrongdoing. She lost an appeal against the verdict a week ago.
"Tymoshenko has been moved to a prison in the Kharkiv region," the state penitentiary service said in a statement.
The prison is located about 500 kilometers (300 miles) away from the capital Kiev where Tymoshenko had been in detention and where her supporters held regular rallies.
The European Union, which had planned to initial agreements on political association and free trade with Ukraine at a summit this month, put off the signing and cited Tymoshenko's case as an example of selective justice in the former Soviet republic.
"The EU reiterates its concern about the risks of politically-motivated justice in Ukraine, of which the Tymoshenko trial is the most striking example," a spokesman for EU Foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said on Friday.
"Given the strong international concern already surrounding this case, we call on the authorities to ensure that decisions on the detention conditions of Mrs Tymoshenko are taken transparently and in line with relevant international standards. The EU is urgently seeking further clarification from the Ukrainian authorities."
Yanukovich has refused to intervene and the parliament, dominated by his supporters, has turned down several proposals to remove her offence from the criminal code.
On Friday, Yanukovich issued a decree cancelling Freedom Day celebrations on November 22, a holiday introduced in 2005 to mark the "Orange Revolution" anniversary, provoking angry reaction from Tymoshenko's Batkivshchyna party.
It said in a statement that moving Tymoshenko to a prison and cancelling the holiday on the same day was "an act of final, cynical and public destruction of the ideals of democracy, freedom and independence."
Tymoshenko's lawyers say she hopes the European Court for Human Rights, where she has filed a case against Ukraine, will exonerate her. The court said this month it would fast-track the case.
Tymoshenko, 51, has been suffering from back pains in the last few weeks and cannot walk, according to her lawyers who have said she should not be moved from the detention centre on health grounds.
But the penitentiary service said she was fit to move.
"Before departure, Tymoshenko was examined by doctors who stated that her health allowed her to be moved," it said, adding that Tymoshenko travelled in a "comfortable" van.
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom in Brussels; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Peter Graff)
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Let?s Start Paying College Athletes
[unable to retrieve full-text content]
Source: internal.du.nytimes.com --- Friday, December 30, 2011
How to end the corrupt, contrived sentimentality of big-time College sports. ...
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/magazine/lets-start-paying-college-athletes.html
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Thursday, December 29, 2011
epaomanipur: #EPAO 4 UG cadres, one foreigner arrested: Troops of 27Assam Rifles of 9 Sector under HQ IGAR S in an... http://t.co/1n4I7QdU #MANIPUR
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#EPAO 4 UG cadres, one foreigner arrested: Troops of 27Assam Rifles of 9 Sector under HQ IGAR S in an... bit.ly/sx7kVx #MANIPUR 
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This Nerdy Instrument is Part Atari Console Part Guitar [Video]
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Wednesday, December 28, 2011
No Push on iPhone 4 (IOS 5.0.1)
Hi,
?
I have an iPhone 4 and an iCloud account, and the Push feature doesn't work.
?
Description
I have an iPhone 4 with IOS 5.0.1 and Push feature doesn't work, here are two examples:
- when I receive an e-mail on my iCloud account, the push feature works with my iPad and my MacBook Pro but not with my iPhone. With the iPhone, the only way to me "notified" of a new e-mail is to open mail and wait for synchronisation...
- when I set to on the "Find my iPhone" feature, the iPhone appears in the "iCloud > Find my Mac" feature, but it is never localized.
?
Test
After reading internet forums, I have tried to restore my iPhone as a "new iPhone" and I was really surprised to discover that the Push feature worked pretty well. Congratulations !!! 
... But, after a few minutes I discovered the "new iPhone settings" second effect : no more sms/message history, no more app organization 
... For the settings, I can spend a while to put everything in order, but I'm not really ready to loose all my sms.
?
Issue
I'm not speciallised on iPhone, but IT is my job and I guess that I have a kind of "ID" issue and my iPhone is not clearly recorded to Apple servers. Can I pick the "ID" of the new backup to "copy" it in the old one ?
In any case, I would like to not have to choose between "sms/message history" and "push feature".
Thanks for your help and merry Christmas. 
?
Jerome
?
?
Settings
- iPhone: 4 (iPhone 3G migrated to iPhone for one year)
- IOS: 5.0.1
- Baseband: 04.11.08
- iCloud account: migration from MobileMe
Source: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3597903
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In swing Ohio, Gingrich gaining the "not-Romneys" (AP)
WEST CHESTER, Ohio ? For "Anybody but Romney" Republicans in a key conservative region of Ohio, Newt Gingrich has been picking up support as an alternative to the former Massachusetts governor.
The former House speaker has moved to the top in recent polling in Ohio, just as Republican presidential candidates prepare for the Jan. 3 caucuses in Iowa, followed closely by the New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries. Ohio's presidential primary is scheduled for March 6, one of the biggest prizes for Republicans among about a dozen states voting on "Super Tuesday."
Mitt Romney hasn't excited some of the party's staunchest conservatives for reasons that include his past support of abortion rights and enactment of a Massachusetts health care plan that's often compared to President Barack Obama's overhaul.
Some conservatives had flirted with supporting Herman Cain, drawn to his business background and unconventional campaign style. But Cain suspended his campaign this month following allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior and a longtime extramarital affair. Cain's decision and Gingrich's performance in nationally televised debates helped some make up their minds.
"He's sold me," said Dan Keith, 61, of Hamilton. Keith and his wife, Pat, said they are convinced that Gingrich has the experience and savvy to be strong against Obama. "I can't see anybody else coming onto the scene that we would go to."
The Keiths said they were undecided when first interviewed three months ago.
"I think before, people liked the other candidates because they were an alternative to Romney. But I'm hearing more people who like Gingrich as Gingrich," said Bill Langdon, co-owner of the Grand Ole Pub, a popular gathering spot for Republican partisans in West Chester. Langdon had been interested in Cain, but doubted whether Cain could win the presidential nomination.
Gingrich is now his choice. "He's the guy they think can go toe-to-toe with the president," Langdon said.
Sandra Arno, of nearby Springdale, turned out for Cain's visit to West Chester in November and liked what she heard. She was deciding between him and Gingrich before Cain stopped campaigning, and most recently was leaning toward the former speaker.
"I think they're both very intelligent, and I think Newt will be good as the candidate," Arno said.
Republican-dominated suburbs like this one ? home of House Speaker John Boehner ? just north of Cincinnati provide a stronghold of votes in a state that no GOP nominee has ever reached the White House without winning. Their enthusiastic turnout to vote for George W. Bush by 2-to-1 margins in 2004 is credited with delivering Ohio to clinch his re-election. It's important for the Republican nominee to be able to attract big numbers in GOP-oriented suburban and rural regions to offset Democratic urban bastions led by Cleveland.
A series of Quinnipiac University polls tracked Gingrich's rise in Ohio from low single-digits to 36 percent between September and early December. Cain had fallen to 7 percent after leading the pack at 28 percent in October. The sexual harassment allegations against Cain surfaced in late October.
Lori Viars, a conservative activist and anti-abortion leader in Lebanon, predicted that a Romney nomination would keep some Christian evangelicals on the sidelines in November because of concern about his previous positions on issues, led by abortion. Some in her crowd ? Viars is among them ? might also hesitate over Gingrich's personal history, which includes two divorces and acknowledged marital infidelity.
"Newt makes a lot of sense," Viars said. "But everyone makes mistakes, and he certainly is right on a lot of issues."
Several of those who have come around to Gingrich say they're not put off by his personal past.
"Would I want him as marriage counselor? No," said Keith. "But that's not what we're electing."
Keith's wife thinks Gingrich's candidacy is on firmer ground because he's already undergone years of scrutiny.
"They've already raked him over the coals pretty good," Pat Keith said.
Other Republican activists say it's still too soon to pick a candidate in a state where there has been little campaigning, and with the GOP field likely to be smaller by the time of Ohio's primary in March.
This region of Ohio is home to some of the nation's first tea party groups, and a number of activists are loyal to Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who has attracted a band of followers with libertarian-minded calls to bring home U.S. troops and keep the government out of personal decisions.
Cincinnati tea party leader Mike Wilson, though, is "watching and waiting."
Wilson's favorite candidate was Tim Pawlenty, the former Minnesota governor who dropped out in August. Wilson doesn't share the worry about Romney becoming the nominee. He also said a respectable Iowa finish by Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann or Texas Gov. Rick Perry could give either of those conservative favorites some traction heading into the contests that follow.
Wilson said Romney can defeat Obama and would work with a Republican-controlled House, should it stay in GOP hands.
"I think we know who the ultimate opponent is ? Barack Obama," Wilson said. "With John Boehner as speaker, I think Romney will sign a lot of Republican legislation over the next four years."
___
Follow Dan Sewell on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/dansewell
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Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Keith R Norton, 92, Tampa, Florida
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First Arab monitors arrive in Syria: source (Reuters)
CAIRO (Reuters) ? The first group of Arab monitors arrived in Syria on Monday to assess whether Damascus is adhering to a plan to end a nine-month crackdown on protests against President Bashar al-Assad's rule, a member of the Arab delegation in Damascus said.
"They arrived at about 8 p.m.," said the source, who was speaking by telephone from Damascus after meeting the monitors at the airport.
Fifty monitors and 10 officials from the Arab League secretariat were flying on a private Egyptian airplane, a Cairo airport source said before the aircraft took off. The observer mission will eventually include about 150 people, League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby told Reuters last week.
The head of observer mission, Sudanese General Mustafa al-Dabi, arrived in Damascus on Saturday. He went to Syria shortly after an advance team of Arab League officials went to Syria to arrange terms and logistics for the mission.
(Reporting by Patrick Werr; Editing by Matthew Jones)
Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111226/wl_nm/us_syria
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Monday, December 26, 2011
Iraq PM chides Sunni sections pushing for autonomy (AP)
BAGHDAD ? Iraq's prime minister warned Saturday that efforts to create an autonomous Sunni region within Iraq would divide the country and lead to "rivers of blood."
His comments came as a government crisis has strained ties between two main Muslim sects, Sunnis and Shiites, to the breaking point.
Nouri al-Maliki, the Shiite prime minister, is engaged in a showdown with the top Sunni political leader in the country. His government has issued an arrest warrant for Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi for what al-Hashemi says are trumped-up charges that he ran hit squads against government officials.
Since al-Maliki formed his government last December, minority Sunnis have been complaining of being marginalized by the Shiite-led government, prompting some Sunni provinces to call for turning into an autonomous region similar to the northern Kurdish region.
As an autonomous region, they would be able to conduct their own security affairs and have more independence in attracting investment. While the regions would still be part of Iraq, it would weaken Baghdad's control. Many worry that it would be the first step to breaking up the country along sectarian lines.
The calls have been repeatedly rejected by al-Maliki.
On Saturday, al-Maliki renewed his rejection to forming regions on a "sectarian basis," saying it would lead to "dividing Iraq and to rivers of blood."
"I can't reject this issue (forming regions) since it is allowed by the constitution," he told representatives from Sunni Salahuddin province, one of three Sunni-dominated provinces which has seen calls for more autonomy. Diyala and Anbar provinces have also seen cries for more autonomy.
"But doing it now means dividing Iraq on a sectarian basis while our country is unified," he said.
Tensions between minority Sunnis and Shiites have skyrocketed in recent days, laying bare an underlying mistrust that has never really gone away, despite years of effort to overcome it. Minority Sunnis fear the Shiite majority is squeezing them out of any political say, and Shiites suspect Sunnis of links to insurgency and terrorism.
Iraq's anti-American Shiite cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, launched an initiative Saturday calling for peaceful coexistence among all Iraqis after the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country. The last soldiers left Dec. 18.
Al-Sadr, whose militiamen were blamed for sectarian killings during the worst years of Iraq's violence, is seeking to assert his political weight Iraq after the U.S. pullout.
Al-Sadr's proposal comes just two days after a terrifying wave of Baghdad bombings killed 69 people and wounded nearly 200. The bombs tore through mostly Shiite neighborhoods of the Iraqi capital, evoking fears the country could descend into a new round of sectarian violence.
Al-Sadr's associates handed out to the media a 14-point "peace code" proposal written by the radical cleric. It warns against spilling Iraqi blood and urges respect for all religions, sects and ethnic groups.
Al-Sadr's aide Salah al-Obeidi described the code as an attempt "to preserve the unity of the country and save it from fighting."
It remained too early to say how much traction al-Sadr's proposal could gain among Iraqis or the country' top leadership.
Also Saturday, two policemen were killed and two other people were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded in Hawija, 150 miles (240 kilometers) north of Baghdad, said Kirkuk police commander Brig. Gen. Sarhad Qadir.
___
Associated Press writer Qassim Abdul-Zahra contributed to this report.
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Thousands attend funerals for Syrian bomb victims
DAMASCUS, Syria?? Thousands of mourners carrying Syrian flags and pictures of the dead took part in a mass funeral Saturday for 44 people killed in twin suicide bombings that targeted intelligence agency compounds in Damascus.
The government of President Bashar Assad said a preliminary investigation pointed to al-Qaida and that the bloodshed and destruction in the capital bolstered its argument that terrorists, rather than true reform-seekers, were behind the anti-government revolt.
The opposition, meanwhile, grew fearful that the regime was taking advantage of the distraction caused by the bombings to move in military reinforcements and prepare for a massive assault on key activist areas in central Syria. Shelling in the city of Homs on Saturday killed at least three people in the Baba Amr district and set several homes and shops ablaze, activists said.
"We believe this is in preparation for a large-scale attack," said Bassam Ishak, secretary-general of the Syrian National Council opposition group.
In Damascus, mourners carried coffins draped in the red, white and black Syrian flags into the eighth-century Omayyad Mosque, where they were placed on the ground for prayers.
"Martyr after martyr, we want nobody but Assad," they shouted in support of the embattled Syrian president.
The government linked Friday's bombings to the uprising against Assad's autocratic rule. They were the first suicide bombings since the unrest began in mid-March, adding new and ominous dimensions to a conflict that has already brought the country to the brink of civil war.
Striking just moments apart, the attackers used powerful car bombs to target the heavily guarded compounds. The explosions shook the capital, which has been relatively untouched by the uprising, and left mutilated and torn bodies amid rubble, twisted debris and burned cars.
Besides the dead, 166 people were wounded.
The opposition has questioned the government's account and hinted the regime itself could have been behind the attacks, noting they came a day after the arrival of an advance team of Arab League observers investigating Assad's bloody crackdown of the popular revolt.
Ishak said he feared the bombings "were orchestrated to distract attention from a massive assault today in Homs."
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He said his group reported the information they got from Homs to the Arab League and urged the monitors to head to Homs. "The regime is keeping them in their hotels and delaying their departure for Homs," he told The Associated Press on the phone from Amman, Jordan.
An Arab League statement from its Cairo headquarters on Saturday said Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby condemned the attacks in Damascus but also expressed particular concern for Homs.
"The secretary-general expresses concern over reports that violent acts are on the rise in Homs city and calls for an immediate cessation of such acts," the statement said, warning that the violence will affect the success of the fuller observer mission set to arrive in Damascus Monday.
The government has long contended that the turmoil in Syria this year is not an uprising by reform-seekers but the work of terrorists and foreign-backed armed gangs.
Sheik Said al-Bouti, a prominent pro-Assad clergyman in Damascus, blamed the opposition squarely for the attacks.
"This gift has been sent to us by Burhan Ghalioun and his friends," he said in his funeral sermon Saturday, referring to the head of the Paris-based Syrian National Council.
Women dressed in black wailed Saturday during the funeral procession, which was aired by state-run Syrian TV. Some blamed the emir of Qatar, seen by supporters of Assad as leading the campaign against the regime.
"Those terrorists are funded by the emir of Qatar to kill innocent people, but they won't succeed," cried Fawakeh Shaqiri, 56, who was dressed in black and carrying a Syrian flag.
All the coffins Saturday held the names of the bombing victims, except for six coffins carrying the remains of people who had not been identified.
Syrian officials said a suicide attacker detonated his explosives-laden car as he waited behind a vehicle driven by a retired general who was trying to enter a military intelligence building in Damascus' upscale Kfar Sousa district Friday morning. About a minute later, a second attacker blew up his SUV at the gate of the General Intelligence Agency, the officials said.
Government officials took the Arab League observers to the scene of the explosions and said it supported their accounts of who was behind the violence.
"I wonder, have the covers been removed from the eyes of the Arab League representatives so that they can see who is the real killer and who is the victim?" al-Bouti asked.
The United Nations says more than 5,000 people have been killed since March, when the uprising began and the regime responded by deploying tanks and troops to crush protests across Syria.
In addition to the deaths in Baba Amr Saturday, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the bodies of four people were found dumped on the streets in Houla, also in Homs province. They showed signs of torture on their bodies, it said.
A fifth person was still alive but in critical condition, according to the group.
They had been detained a day earlier by security forces and pro-government thugs.
"The Observatory calls on the Arab League observers to go immediately to the city of Houla to document this flagrant violation of human rights," the group said in a statement.
___
Karam reported from Beirut. AP writer Dale Gavlak in Amman, Jordan, contributed to this report.
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/45782216/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/
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Sunday, December 25, 2011
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Doc_0: We could sell everything and only be .012% in debt! Yay! RT @SenMikeLee: As of today, total US debt to GDP is 100.012%: http://t.co/f1VM1swO
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We could sell everything and only be .012% in debt! Yay! RT @SenMikeLee: As of today, total US debt to GDP is 100.012%: ow.ly/87Rv1 
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Saturday, December 24, 2011
Video: Boehner cuts a deal
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India urged to promote interest-free banking system
By P. K. ABDUL GHAFOUR | ARAB NEWS
JEDDAH: A senior leader of the ruling Congress Party of India has emphasized the need to introduce an interest-free Islamic banking and financial system in the country in order to improve the economic condition of its poor through microfinance and mobilize funds required for the country's infrastructure projects.
"If we are able to make Islamic finance available it would bring great benefits for our country and people," said M. M. Hassan, who is also a former state minister of overseas Indians' affairs.
?The Kerala government intends to make use of Islamic finance for infrastructure and industrial development in the state,? he said.
Hassan said his party, under the leadership of Chief Minister Oomen Chandy, would work for promoting Islamic finance in the state and press on the central government and Reserve Bank to get approval for the purpose. The previous LDF government in the state had taken the initiative to establish an Islamic finance company, with state-owned Kerala State Industrial Development Corp. (KSIDC) contributing 28 percent of the capital.
Hassan also spoke about his Janasree Sustainable Development Mission, a non-banking financial institution, to fund small and medium enterprises (SMEs) of its members.
?We are thinking of making use of Islamic finance for this venture. The availability of interest-free loans would be a big blessing for common people,? he added.
Janasree Microfinance has won approval from the Reserve Bank to operate as non-banking finance firm with a capital of 50 million rupees mobilized from 200,000 shareholders. It will provide microfinance services to small-scale projects including agriculture and industries. "I think our company can operate in accordance with Islamic banking principles,? he added.
The Jeddah Chapter of the Indian Forum for Interest Free Banking (IFIB) recently submitted a memorandum to State Minister for Overseas Indians' Affairs K. C. Joseph in the presence of Hassan, conveying the feelings of 2 million Indian expatriates working in Saudi Arabia to take a better decision on investment of their hard-earned money in financial institutions of their choice.
The memorandum was presented by V.K. Abdul Aziz, director of Al-Hayat International School, and O. P. K. Kutty, regional financial controller of AA Turki Group, both are members of IFIB. They also presented a copy of the memorandum to Hassan.
The memorandum, addressing Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Reserve Bank of India Governor Subba Rao, Minister for Overseas Indians' Affairs Vayalar Ravi, and the general manager, State Bank of India, Jeddah Branch, requested that a notification may be published in the Official Gazette of India to include interest-free banking as a form of business and advise the Reserve Bank to issue necessary instructions to all banks to introduce interest-free banking or open interest-free banking windows.
Speaking to Arab News, Kutty said: ?Being a pluralistic society India should welcome the interest-free finance system as it would benefit the country's poor a lot.?
He called for changing Reserve Bank regulations to make Islamic finance available on a wide scale.
?The Islamic financial system can operate as a parallel system in the country,? Kutty said, adding that it would help attract funds from NRIs working in the Gulf.
He urged Indian authorities to take quick steps to make use of these huge funds.
Source: http://arabnews.com/economy/article552204.ece
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Friday, December 23, 2011
Romney ignores Gingrich's taunts on ads, tax spat (AP)
BETHLEHEM, N.H. ? Mitt Romney, seemingly happy with how the Republican presidential campaign is playing out, is not explaining or apologizing for TV attack ads paid for by his allies that have damaged his chief rival's political standing 12 days before the Iowa caucuses.
Whether he's the true front-runner or not, Romney is acting like one. He refuses to be dragged into debates about the campaign's tone, high-stakes brinkmanship in Congress over a payroll tax dispute ? or into a one-on-one debate sought by Newt Gingrich.
The former Massachusetts governor on Thursday shrugged off Gingrich's complaints about the ads and Romney's reluctance to weigh in on the political standoff over extending payroll tax cuts, which lawmakers late in the day appeared to be resolving just in time to head off a hit on workers' paychecks Jan. 1.
Gingrich, the former House speaker, has repeatedly called on Romney to face him before cameras and defend the ads, which are largely financed by a heavily bankrolled group friendly to Romney.
"We've had many occasions to debate together, and we'll have more, I presume quite a few more, before this is finished," Romney told The Associated Press. "But I'm not going to narrow this down to a two-person race while there are still a number of other candidates that are viable."
Some party insiders expect a strong showing in the lead-off Iowa caucuses Jan. 3 by libertarian-leaning Rep. Ron Paul of Texas. But they generally see Gingrich, a prominent GOP figure for more than 30 years, as having the best chance to compete with Romney for weeks or months.
Gingrich and Romney planned to campaign through Friday, underscoring the stakes for both candidates even as the pace by the crowded field began to lighten for Christmas weekend. The barrage of ads, though, kept up in Iowa and New Hampshire.
In a sign of his late organizing start, Gingrich spent Thursday in Virginia, scrambling to secure the 10,000 voter signatures he needs to get on the state's March 6 primary ballot. It cost him a precious day of campaigning in Iowa and in New Hampshire, which holds its primary Jan. 10.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry has been by far the heaviest spender in Iowa. However, his campaign this week gave 30-day termination notices to all political consultants in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Aides said the campaign was moving toward fiscal discipline as it prepares for a long multistate strategy.
But even in states that vote early, political consultants rarely receive such notices. Some are usually retained with an eye toward the general election, or sent to other states.
Gingrich renewed his call for Romney to condemn or defend ads sponsored in Iowa by a so-called super PAC. It's run by Romney supporters who are legally barred from coordinating with the official campaign.
Romney, interviewed during his bus tour of New Hampshire, didn't take the bait.
"Could I come out and speak about ads, generally, and speak about positive ads and negative ads?" Romney asked. "Of course, that's available to everybody. But I'm not in any way coordinating the ads or the approach that's taken by the super PAC."
Gingrich scoffed at the explanation, saying Romney could easily condemn the ads without breaking campaign finance laws.
"It tells you a lot about Gov. Romney," Gingrich told reporters in Richmond, Va. "I'm happy to go all over Iowa and point out that he doesn't mind hiding out behind millions of dollars of negative ads, but he doesn't want to defend them. The ads are false."
Ads showing in Iowa accuse Gingrich of supporting amnesty for illegal immigrants, and remind voters of his 1998 ethics problems in Congress, which involved his paying a $300,000 penalty. More subtle ads tout Romney's 42-year marriage, an indirect swipe at Gingrich's two messy divorces.
Gingrich said some ads dealing with abortion are inaccurate. Iowans will not reward "falsehoods by millionaires," he said.
Despite such remarks, Gingrich has vowed to stay positive. It's a decision partly driven by his inability to match Romney, Paul and Texas Gov. Rick Perry with heavy ad buys.
Some prominent Republicans came to Romney's defense. Former New Hampshire Gov. John H. Sununu, a Romney supporter, said he's getting tired of Gingrich's "whining."
And former President George H.W. Bush told the Houston Chronicle that Romney is the best choice for president. "I like Perry, but he doesn't seem to be going anywhere," Bush said.
Romney also dissociated himself anew from the debate in Washington over a proposed two-month extension of a cut in payroll taxes.
"I really don't think it's productive for me to describe which of all of the compromises within the sausage-making process is my favorite compromise position," Romney said, refusing to go "deep in the weeds."
Gingrich responded: "If you're a candidate for president and you're not prepared to talk about the hottest issue right now which affects every single working American ? there's a concept called leadership. And people sometimes think that I'm too aggressive, but at least I lead."
"I think there's a timidity of calculation," Gingrich said. "I suspect some candidates have had consultants say `Oh, don't take any risks.'"
Afterward, House Speaker John Boehner, in a retreat from the position Gingrich favored, announced that he expects to pass a new bill by Christmas to renew the tax break and federal unemployment benefits for two months while congressional negotiators work toward the yearlong extension House Republicans had been holding out for.
Some of Gingrich's and Romney's rivals rolled through Iowa on long bus tours. Rep. Michele Bachmann, stretched thin as she tries to visit all 99 counties, planned 10 visits Thursday before taking a brief break for Christmas. With her voice failing, she relied on supporters to make the case for her as she walked around diners and restaurants, whispering greetings to her fans in rural Iowa.
She was shouted down at the popular Hamburg Inn in Iowa City, with protesters blasting her conservative position on gay rights, health care and taxes.
"You're not wanted here. So go, just go," they chanted.
Perry stopped at two meet-and-greets with Iowa caucus-goers, many of whom remain undecided. He also attended a town hall-style meeting near Des Moines before returning to Texas for the holidays. While Perry has struggled to regain his one-time, front-runner mantle, his ads have blanketed Iowa and helped paint him as a conservative alternative to Romney and Gingrich.
Perry's campaign has spent $4.4 million on TV ads in Iowa ? twice as much as any other candidate there ? and $234,000 in New Hampshire. The super PAC behind Perry, Make Us Great Again, has spent an additional $200,000 on Iowa TV this week, bringing its total to more than $1.65 million.
Paul is also spending heavily in Iowa. His campaign spent about $500,000 on Iowa TV this week, bringing its total to about $2.2 million. The Romney-friendly super PAC, Restore Our Future, has spent almost $2.8 million in Iowa, largely on ads hitting Gingrich.
Gingrich aimed his sharpest barbs Thursday at President Barack Obama. He blamed the president for the impasse over the payroll tax, said a two-month extension made no sense and commented that the political squabbling makes the U.S. look "like Italy on a bad day."
___
Associated Press writers Steve Peoples in Bethlehem, N.H., and Philip Elliott in Iowa contributed to this report. Babington reported from Richmond, Va.
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Boehner: House leaders accept Senate tax terms (AP)
WASHINGTON ? Their isolation complete, House Republicans on Thursday caved to demands by President Barack Obama, congressional Democrats and fellow Republicans for a short-term renewal of payroll tax cuts for all workers.
After days of wrangling that even House Speaker John Boehner acknowledged "may not have been politically the smartest thing in the world," the Ohio Republican abruptly changed course and dropped demands for immediate holiday season talks with the Senate. The breakthrough probably spares workers a hit in their paychecks that would have kicked in Jan. 1.
Boehner said he expects both House and Senate to pass a new bill by Sunday that would renew the tax break while congressional negotiators work out a longer-term measure that would also extend jobless benefits for millions of Americans and prevent doctors from absorbing a big cut in Medicare payments.
The developments were a clear win for Obama. The payroll tax cut was the centerpiece of his three-month campaign-style drive for jobs legislation.
"Because of this agreement, every working American will keep his or her tax cut - about $1,000 for the average family," Obama said in a statement. "That's about $40 in every paycheck. And when Congress returns, I urge them to keep working to reach an agreement that will extend this tax cut and unemployment insurance for all of 2012 without drama or delay."
The House and Senate could approve the legislation as early as Friday by voice votes.
The GOP retreat ends a tense standoff in which Boehner's House Republicans came under great pressure to agree to the short-term extension passed by the Senate on Saturday. The speaker was open to the idea, But rank and file Republicans revolted and the House instead insisted on immediate talks.
Just hours before he announced the breakthrough, Boehner had made the case for a year-long extension.
But the top Republican in the Senate, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, instead urged the House to accept the outlines of the Senate legislation. Resolve was crumbling among tea party-backed Republicans, too.
"I don't think that my constituents should have a tax increase because of Washington's dysfunction," said freshman Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis.
"An `all or nothing' attitude is not what my constituents need now," Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark., wrote in a letter to Boehner. "We are now in a position...that requires Republicans to not only demand a willingness to compromise, but to offer it as well."
On a conference call, Boehner informed his colleagues that it was time to yield.
"He said there comes a time when you've got to move on, and this is the time," said Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., paraphrasing Boehner's comments during the conference call, which he said lasted only three or four minutes. "I'm making my decision right now."
The rapid-fire developments underscored the urgency of the search for resolution when Americans deeply disapprove of Congress and are struggling to make it in an economy slowly recovering from recession. Politics also played a significant role: The standoff put Republican presidential candidates in an awkward position less than two weeks before the Iowa caucuses that begin the nomination process, on the cusp of the 2012 elections.
In competing news conferences and statements earlier, all sides sought to avoid blame should taxes go up Jan. 1, just as Americans begin paying holiday bills. House Republicans in particular were facing fire from GOP establishment figures incensed that they would risk losing the tax cut issue to Democrats at the dawn of the presidential and congressional election year.
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Thursday, December 22, 2011
U.S. removes Baidu from "notorious markets" list (Reuters)
SHANGHAI (Reuters) ? The United States has removed Baidu Inc, China's largest search engine, from its list of notorious markets for piracy in a nod to the firm's efforts to clean up its music offerings.
Baidu, which has been on the notorious markets list for years, in July inked an agreement with top music studios to distribute licensed songs through its mp3 search service, ending a legal dispute over accusations the company encouraged piracy.
However, Alibaba Group's Taobao unit made it on the United States Trade Representative's November notorious markets list for offering a wide range of copyright infringing products.
"Several commentators reported that pirated and counterfeit goods continue to be widely available on China-based Taobao. While stakeholders report that Taobao continues to make significant efforts to address the problem, they recognize that much remains to be done," USTR said in its report on Tuesday.
The report also cited two Chinese music websites, Sogou Mp3 and Gougou as providing "deep linking" services to copyrighted music. Four of the 15 listed physical notorious markets for piracy are located in China, USTR said.
(Reporting by Melanie Lee; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
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Monday, December 19, 2011
Congress moves to restrict aid to Egypt, Pakistan (AP)
WASHINGTON ? Congress would impose restrictions on aid to Egypt, Pakistan and the Palestinian Authority in a $53.3 billion bill that avoids the deep cuts in foreign assistance and State Department funding that Republicans had pursued this year.
The legislation is part of a sweeping, $1 trillion-plus year-end spending package that provides money for 10 Cabinet agencies through September. The House passed the measure on Friday and the Senate is expected to vote sometime this weekend.
Foreign aid amounts to just 1 percent of the federal budget, but lawmakers intent on cutting the deficit, especially conservative tea party Republicans, have clamored for significant reductions in spending overseas. Democrats and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton pressed to spare the accounts.
The legislation would provide $53.3 billion for foreign assistance and the State Department ? $42.1 billion for the base budget and $11.2 billion for the Overseas Contingency Operations account. That account pays for the State Department's role in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other expenses. Lawmakers shifted costs for security and economic assistance, funds for the State Department and for the U.S. Agency for International Development into the account, increasing the amount from $7.6 billion to $11.2 billion.
Still, the base budget is some $6 billion less than the current level and $8.7 billion below what President Barack Obama sought for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. The bill does provide $3.1 billion in security assistance for ally Israel.
"In a difficult economic and political climate, this bill meets our national security needs and global responsibilities while implementing tough restrictions and requirements on recipients of U.S. assistance," said Rep. Nita Lowey of New York, the top Democrat on the Appropriations subcommittee that oversees foreign aid.
Reflecting concerns about uncertainty within the Egyptian government, the bill would block release of $1.3 billion in security assistance to Cairo and $250 million in economic assistance until the secretary of state makes several assurances to Congress. She must certify that Egypt is abiding by a 1979 peace treaty with Israel and that military rulers are supporting the transition to civilian government with free and fair elections and "implementing policies to protect freedom of expression, association and religion and due process of law."
The military took over in Egypt after longtime President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in a popular revolt in February. On Friday, Egypt held its second round of parliamentary elections.
The legislation freezes aid to Pakistan until the secretary can certify that Islamabad is cooperating on counterterrorism, including taking steps to prevent terrorist groups such as the Haqqani network from operating in the country. The aid amount was unspecified in the legislation as Congress gave the Obama administration flexibility to figure out the funds.
A separate defense bill would hold back $700 million for Pakistan until the defense secretary provides Congress a report on how Islamabad is countering the threat of improvised explosive devices.
The bill continues the existing restrictions on aid to the Palestinian Authority, requiring the secretary to certify that it is committed to a peaceful co-existence with Israel and is taking appropriate steps to combat terrorism. Economic assistance for the Palestinians is in jeopardy if they pursue statehood recognition in the United Nations over the objections of the United States and Israel, which wants to resume talks.
The amount was not spelled out, again leaving it to the administration to sort out.
The restrictions carry a waiver for national security.
In a victory for congressional Democrats and the Obama administration, the bill dropped a House-backed ban on federal money for international family planning groups that either offer abortions or provide abortion information, counseling or referrals.
The policy has bounced in and out of law for the past quarter century since Republican President Ronald Reagan first adopted it 1984. Democrat Bill Clinton ended the ban in 1993, but Republican George W. Bush re-instituted it in 2001 as one of his first acts in office. Within days of his inauguration, Obama reversed the policy.
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Sunday, December 18, 2011
High school game: Runaway cart at Cowboys Stadium
Spring Dekaney head coach Willie Amendola is upended as an out of control cart runs several bystanders over on the Cowboys Stadium field after Spring Dekaney defeated Cibolo Steele 34-14 during the Class 5A Divison II state championships high school football game on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011, in Arlington, Texas. Two people were taken off the field by stretcher. (AP Photo/The Courier, Patric Schneider)
Spring Dekaney head coach Willie Amendola is upended as an out of control cart runs several bystanders over on the Cowboys Stadium field after Spring Dekaney defeated Cibolo Steele 34-14 during the Class 5A Divison II state championships high school football game on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011, in Arlington, Texas. Two people were taken off the field by stretcher. (AP Photo/The Courier, Patric Schneider)
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) ? A runaway electric cart raced unmanned from an end zone to midfield at Cowboys Stadium and plowed into several people after a high school championship game Saturday night, bowling over the winning head coach and several others.
An emergency medical technician who declined identification told The Associated Press that one man who was conscious and talking was taken to a hospital with an apparent leg injury. The Arlington medical technician said he had no further information on the man's condition but several others hit or grazed by the cart were checked out by emergency workers as they sprawled stunned on the field.
Separately, a Texas sports league official said a male staffer also was injured, not seriously, when the cart raced across field in a matter of seconds during onfield celebrations after the Texas 5A Division II football championship game. That official also declined identification.
The cart toppled Spring Dekaney coach Willie Amendola, who was being interviewed near the Cowboys midfield star, along with several others clustered about him moments after Dekaney had beaten Cibolo Steele 34-14. Hundreds of people were scattered about the field or were in the stands at the time.
Broadcast footage showed a stunned Amendola falling backwards into the cart's passenger seat as it continued rolling. He appeared to try unsuccesfully to gain control of the cart, spinning the steering wheel with his left hand, before rolling out onto the artificial turf. As he tumbled out, a pursuing field worker hopped aboard and stopped the cart quickly.
"We have a disturbance down the field. Apparently one of the carts on the field got loose and I think there have been some folks injured in this. Oh my! That's like a runaway cart there. And it finally took someone to stop it," a shaken announcer is heard commenting on air as the cart rolled and then stopped. "That's a scary thing."
Others were seen on the ground afterward as emergency personnel rushed up, including one man sprawled motionless while someone cradled his head. Nearby, others helped a visibly stunned man to his feet.
It was unclear why or how the cart began moving under its own power. Stadium workers were picking up fluorescent orange sideline yard markers and pylons in one of the end zones after the game when the cart unexpectedly took off.
During its race across the field, the cart appeared to roll over the legs of some of those onfield. Afterward, televised broadcasts showed Amendola conducting another interview with a small streak of blood on his left forearm.
An Arlington police dispatcher as well as a spokeswoman for Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital, where at least one injured person was reported taken, told AP they had no information to release early Sunday.
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Arabs may take Syria peace plan to United Nations (Reuters)
BEIRUT (Reuters) ? Arab states may take their proposals for ending Syria's crackdown on protests to the U.N. Security Council next week unless Damascus agrees to implement the initiative, Qatar's foreign minister said on Saturday.
Expressing frustration that Syria had not carried out the plan, six weeks after it was first agreed, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani said the window for an Arab solution to the crisis was closing.
"If this matter is not solved in the weeks ahead, or couple of months, it will no longer be in Arab control," he told journalists after an Arab ministerial committee meeting in Qatar. "That is what we told the Syrians from the beginning."
Arab ministers would vote on Wednesday on whether to ask the Security Council to approve the initiative. "I believe that December 21 will be decisive, and we hope that the brothers in Syria will sign (the deal) before this date," Sheikh Hamad said.
Syria has conditionally approved a plan to send monitors to oversee implementation of the November 2 Arab League initiative, which calls on Assad to withdraw the army from urban areas, release political prisoners and hold talks with opponents.
But Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby said Damascus was objecting to the League's call for protection of Syrian civilians, saying members of the security forces were also being killed in the turmoil.
The United Nations says Assad's crackdown on the protests, inspired by uprisings across the Arab world this year, has killed more than 5,000 people. Authorities blame armed gangs for the violence and say 1,100 soldiers and police have been killed.
The Arab League suspended Syria and declared economic sanctions against Damascus over its failure to implement the initiative, joining the United States, European Union and neighbouring Turkey who have also imposed sanctions.
Long-time Syrian ally and arms supplier Russia took a step closer to the Western position on Thursday when it presented a surprise draft resolution at the United Nations which stepped up its criticism of the bloodshed in Syria.
Sheikh Hamad said that, in response to Moscow's move, the Arab League would meet on Wednesday to decide whether "to ask the Security Council to adopt the Arab initiative and Arab resolutions instead of resolutions from other states."
"We are not talking about military action but we will ask the Security Council to adopt the Arab initiative," Sheikh Hamad said, adding Syria should take heed of events in the Arab world where three leaders have been overthrown this year.
"Procrastination and banking on things quieting down or being controlled by security methods will not work," he said.
Any referral of the Arab plan to the United Nations would be likely to anger Damascus, which has accused unnamed Arab countries of trying to set the stage for foreign intervention.
GROWING INSURGENCY
The unrest is the most serious challenge to the 11-year rule of Assad, 46, whose family is from the minority Alawite sect - an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam - and has dominated majority Sunni Muslim Syria since 1970.
An armed insurgency has begun to eclipse civilian protests, raising fears Syria could descend into civil war.
Two days ago army deserters killed 27 soldiers and security personnel in the southern province of Deraa, an activist group said. On Saturday, activists said, at least 10 people were killed, most of them in Deraa in clashes between security forces and army rebels.
A delegation from Shi'ite-led Iraq, which opposed the Arab League sanctions and fears unrest in Syria will spill across the border and upset its own delicate sectarian balance, stopped in Damascus on Saturday before travelling on to Cairo.
Assad met the Iraqi delegation, which included National Security Adviser Faleh al-Fayad, and "affirmed that Syria dealt positively with all proposals submitted to it," the official news agency SANA reported.
"The delegation will present details of the Iraqi initiative to League officials on solving the Syrian crisis after positive discussions which we had with President Bashar al-Assad during our visit to Syria," a member of the team said on arrival in the Egyptian capital, the Arab League headquarters.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's media adviser, Ali al-Moussawi, earlier told Reuters in Baghdad that the meeting in Damascus was "very good."
The main exile opposition Syrian National Council was meeting in Tunisia on the first anniversary of the self-immolation of a jobless Tunisian graduate Mohamed Bouazizi, the incident that set off a wave of revolts around the Arab world.
Syrian protesters have expressed growing frustration that the Arab League, which surprised many when it suspended Syria and subsequently announced sanctions against Damascus, has since then extended the deadline for Syrian compliance several times.
Hundreds of thousands demonstrated on Friday, according to the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, under the slogan of "The Arab League is killing us."
(Additional reporting by Waleed Ibrahim in Baghdad and Sami Aboudi in Dubai; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111217/wl_nm/us_syria
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Saturday, December 17, 2011
Historic visit to Libya by Pentagon chief Panetta
U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, center right, with U.S. Ambassador to Libya Gene Crets, center left, and Gen. Carter Ham, Commander U.S. Africa Command, third from left, places a wreath at the grave site of 13 U.S. Navy sailors during a ceremony at the Protestant Cemetery in Tripoli, Libya, Saturday, Dec., 17, 2011. Panetta visited the grave site of the sailors, who where killed on the USS Intrepid in 1804. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, center right, with U.S. Ambassador to Libya Gene Crets, center left, and Gen. Carter Ham, Commander U.S. Africa Command, third from left, places a wreath at the grave site of 13 U.S. Navy sailors during a ceremony at the Protestant Cemetery in Tripoli, Libya, Saturday, Dec., 17, 2011. Panetta visited the grave site of the sailors, who where killed on the USS Intrepid in 1804. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Libyan Prime Minister Abd al-Rheem Al-Keeb greet one another during their joint news conference in Tripoli, Libya, Saturday, Dec., 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, second from left, leaves the grave site of 13 U.S. Navy sailors at the Protestant Cemetery in Tripoli, Libya, after participating in a wreath laying ceremony Saturday, Dec., 17, 2011. Panetta visited the grave site of the sailors, who where killed on the USS Intrepid in 1804. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, center, leaves his challenge coin on the grave stone during the wreath laying ceremony with U.S. Ambassador to Libya Gene Crets, obscured third from left, and Gen. Carter Ham, second from left, Commander U.S. Africa Command, at grave site of 13 U.S. Navy sailors at the Protestant Cemetery in Tripoli, Libya, Saturday, Dec., 17, 2011. Panetta visited the grave site of the sailors, who where killed on the USS Intrepid in 1804. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, Pool)
U.S. Sec. of Defense Leon Panetta, left, is presented with a gift during his meeting with Libyan Minister of Defense Usama al-Jwayli, right, in Tripoli, Libya, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, Pool)
TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) ? U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said "the torch of freedom" has passed to the Libyan people and he pledged during a historic visit Saturday to Tripoli that the United States will do all it can to help the country move toward democracy.
But he and his Libyan hosts acknowledged the threat of Islamic militants gaining ground in this period of political uncertainty following the ouster and death of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
Panetta and Libyan leaders identified challenges for the government now forming, including how to gain control of the militias that overthrew Gadhafi during an eight-month civil war.
"This will be a long and difficult transition, but I have confidence that you will succeed in realizing the dream of a representative government," Panetta said during a news conference with Prime Minister Abdurrahim el-Keib.
"The torch of freedom that has passed throughout the centuries and now passes from nation to nation in the Middle East and North Africa burns brightly here in Libya. May it light your way to a future of peace, prosperity and freedom," Panetta said.
While his visit was brief, Panetta made history as the first U.S. Pentagon chief to set foot on Libyan soil.
He evoked U.S. history, too, with a visit to the cemetery presumed to hold remains of U.S. sailors killed in Tripoli harbor in 1804. Their deaths were memorialized in the famous "shores of Tripoli" line in the Marine Corps hymn.
Both Panetta and al-Keeb expressed confidence that the fledgling government will be able to reach out to the militias and bring them together.
"We know how serious this issue is," said al-Keeb, "We realize it is not matter of saying 'OK, put down your arms, go back to work or do what you want to do.' We realize that there are lots of things that we need to be organized."
More broadly, Panetta said the revolts across the region represent a quest for sovereignty by the people, but they will all involve different approaches and challenges.
During meetings with the Libyan leaders, Panetta expressed concern about al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb militants gaining a foothold amid the chaos of an unfolding democracy. But they told him that the Libyan people will reject the terrorist group, said a senior defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions were private.
Panetta's motorcade from the airport into the city provided views of the nation's violent past and future promise ? lush orange groves, carcasses of bombed buildings and charred and graffiti-covered compound once occupied by Gadhafi. Flying from rooftops were the green, black and red flags, adorned with a star and a crescent, belonging to the new government.
At one point, amid the graffiti splashed across the walls of Gadhafi's former compound was a short comment in English: "Thanx US/UK."
The visit also put the man who has led much of the U.S. terrorism fight over the past several years at the scene of one of the first American wars on terror, more than two centuries ago.
Panetta went to what historians believe is the gravesite of as many as 13 U.S. sailors killed in 1804, when the Navy ship Intrepid exploded while slipping into Tripoli harbor to attack pirate ships that had captured an American frigate.
As the story goes, governments along the Barbary coast had turned to state-sponsored piracy to raise money, attacking and taking over merchant ships, enslaving their crews and stealing their bounties. Unwilling to pay fees to protect its ships, the U.S. sent the Navy frigate Philadelphia to the region but it ran aground just off Tripoli and was captured.
President Thomas Jefferson sent a team to get the Philadelphia back or destroy it. Under cover of darkness, the Intrepid sailed into the harbor, killed about 25 pirates and burned the Philadelphia.
A few months later, Jefferson sent the Intrepid back to destroy as many of the pirate ships as possible. The plan was to pack the ketch with explosives, sail into the harbor and blow her up.
The 13 sailors never got to their destination. The ship exploded prematurely killing all aboard and the next day bodies washed ashore. They were buried outside Tripoli, but in 1949 the remains were moved to The Protestant Cemetery by the Libyan government.
On Saturday, Panetta walked into the small walled cemetery and slowly made his way to a corner where five large but simple white gravestones mark the graves of the American sailors. Markers on four of the stones read, "Here lies an American sailor who gave his life in the explosion of the United States Ship Intrepid in Tripoli Harbour, Sept. 4, 1804."
Panetta placed a wreath at the site and, after a moment of silence, placed one of his U.S. secretary of defense souvenir coins on top of one of the stones.
New life was breathed into the long-ago tale by Congress this year. Lawmakers, prodded by descendants of the sailors, added provisions to the defense bill ordering the Pentagon to study the feasibility of exhuming the bodies and bringing them home to America.
In a statement, Panetta said the recent effort to restore the cemetery is "a symbol of the values we share."
Officials said that Panetta made no specific offers of assistance to the Libyan leaders, and he told reporters that there was no discussion of providing military equipment or weapons.
"They have to determine what their needs are and what kind of assistance is required," he said. "And whatever they need, the United States will be happy to respond."
Ahead of Panetta's visit, the Obama administration announced it had lifted penalties that were imposed on Libya in February to choke off Gadhafi's financial resources while his government was using violence to suppress peaceful protests.
The U.S. at the time blocked some $37 billion in Libyan assets, and a White House statement said Friday's action "unfreezes all government and central bank funds within U.S. jurisdiction, with limited exceptions."
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