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Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Border staff, teachers join major UK strike (AP)
LONDON ? Airline passengers face chaos at immigration halls and school closures may force parents to take children with them to work Wednesday as Britain's biggest strike in decades threatens to wreak havoc.
Labor union leaders have warned that the strike may just be the start of a wave of disruption, with public workers opposing government plans to reform pensions, demands that they work longer before receiving a pension and contribute more money each month.
The unions claim as many as two million border agency workers, teachers, garbage collectors, firefighters and other public sector staff will join the 24-hour strike which begins shortly after midnight, plunging air travel and many basic services into disarray.
Many strikers will also be motivated by Britain's painful austerity measures, which on Tuesday saw the government extend a limit on public sector pay rises through 2014.
Airport operator BAA, which runs London's Heathrow airport, has warned that passengers could face 12-hour delays as immigration staff leave their posts. Education officials say nine out of 10 schools will close.
"For most people, the size of this strike will be unprecedented in their lifetime," said John Kelly, a professor of industrial relations at the Birkbeck University of London.
Kelly said that if around 1.5 million to 2 million workers join the strike it would be the largest one-day walkout since the early 1970s. If the numbers exceed that, it could match Britain's 1926 General Strike, he said.
Prime Minister David Cameron has implemented an 81 billion-pound ($126-billion) four-year program of public spending cuts, aiming to tackle debts he accuses the previous Labour Party government of racking up before the 2010 election.
The Office for Budget Responsibility ? Britain's national economic forecaster ? predicted Tuesday that 710,000 public sector jobs will be lost by 2017 under government spending cuts, higher than a previous estimate of 400,000.
"Not only is austerity hitting growth, the way it is being applied means unfairness is growing," said Dave Prentis, general secretary of UNISON, the country's largest trade union which represents about 1 million health, education and law enforcement staff.
"The government's cuts and austerity agenda is hitting women, the young, and making those who are less able to pay plug the deficit," he said.
Prentis has already warned that the strike could be followed by more industrial action in the new year ? particularly if no deal on pension reform is reached.
Ministers insist that Britain has no option but to reform its public pensions because people are living longer, and because the gap between contributions and pension payments could rise to 9 billion pounds per year by 2015.
Cameron insists that the deal being offered to public sector workers is fair and said his government wouldn't be swayed by the strike ? which ministers estimate will cost Britain as much as 500 million pounds ($770 million) in lost productivity.
"It is not going to achieve anything and it will be damaging to our economy," Cameron said Monday, during a visit to the northwestern English city of Manchester.
Education Secretary Michael Gove accused militant labor leaders of spoiling for a fight with the government ? evoking ex-Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher's battle with unions during the 1984-1985 miners' strike.
Gove said that some labor unions involved in the latest action had won the support of less than 50 percent of their members for the strike.
"They want scenes of industrial strife on our TV screens. They want to make economic recovery harder ? they want to provide a platform for confrontation just when we all need to pull together," Gove said Monday in a speech.
Kelly said that Wednesday's action will be large in scale because it is being limited to 24 hours. Many of the infamous disputes of the 1970s and 1980s were drawn out over weeks and months.
Ahead of the walkouts, Middle East carrier Etihad Airways and Greece's Aegean Airlines said they had already cancelled some flights into London scheduled for Wednesday. British Airways, Virgin Atlantic Airways and Cathay Pacific have all agreed to waive fees for passengers who want to rebook flights.
Gatwick Airport has warned travelers to be prepared for "significant disruption." Other parts of London's transportation network, including its subway, won't be affected.
Workers from across the public sector who are not planning to join the strike ? including some officials at Cameron's office ? are being drafted in to help staff immigration counters.
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Lions DT Suh appealing NFL's 2-game suspension (AP)
ALLEN PARK, Mich. ? Ndamukong Suh is going back to the NFL, this time hoping for some leniency.
The league suspended Detroit's All-Pro defensive tackle without pay for two games on Tuesday, punishing the second-year player for roughing up a Green Bay Packers offensive lineman after the whistle last week. Suh promptly appealed his suspension, hoping his stomp doesn't keep him away from his playoff-hopeful teammates when they need him most.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Suh's hearing will be with Art Shell, an appointed appeal officer who is paid by the league and NFLPA. As of late Tuesday afternoon, the hearing hadn't been scheduled, but the league has said it will expedite the procedure to give Suh and Lions an answer before Sunday's game at New Orleans.
If Suh doesn't win the appeal, he won't play against the Saints or in the Dec. 11 home game against Minnesota. He would return Dec. 12 ahead of a road game against Oakland.
Suh is barred from practice and the team's facility while suspended. He did not return messages left with his agent.
"As a player, you have to appeal it," said Detroit defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch, the team's union rep. "I'm sure the NFLPA will be on his side to make sure that he gets a fair hearing."
If the NFL turns rejects the appeal, Suh will be watching the Lions (7-4) scramble to keep up in the NFC wild-card race after what the league said was his fifth violation of on-field rules in his first two years in the NFL. And everyone saw the latest one.
Suh lifted up his right knee and forcibly stepped on Evan Dietrich-Smith's right arm during the third quarter of the Lions' 27-15 loss last Thursday in a nationally televised Thanksgiving Day game. Before the stomp seen from coast to coast, Suh shoved Dietrich-Smith's helmet toward the turf while separating himself from the Packers player on the ground.
It might have hurt Suh's case when he sounded defiant during his postgame news conference, insisting he didn't intentionally step on his opponent. After the Lions criticized his conduct Friday, Suh issued an apology to his teammates, organization and fans ? not to Dietrich-Smith ? as some around the league said his latest outburst proved he was the NFL's dirtiest player.
"I'll let him speak for himself when he gets that opportunity, but I've had a lot of conversations with him the last two days and I think he is in a different spot," Lions coach Jim Schwartz said Tuesday. "I think his No. 1 thing is, he didn't want to be a distraction for the team. He wanted the team to be able to focus on the Saints and he wants to be accountable for his actions."
Earlier this season, the reigning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year requested a meeting with Commissioner Roger Goodell to discuss his play after he drew several penalties and another fine. Suh said he had a better understanding of the rules after that meeting four weeks ago. On Sunday, he called Goodell to apologize but that didn't appear to help.
Lions offensive linemen Dominic Raiola and Rob Sims refused to answer questions about Suh after Tuesday's practice. Vanden Bosch, though, believes everyone in the locker room supports Suh, who he spoke with on Tuesday.
"His biggest regret is the affect it had on the team," Vanden Bosch said. "It was an unfortunate situation. When you're on the field, a lot of things happen when you're playing with so much emotion in such a physical game. It's difficult to look at the grand scheme of things when you're in the heat of the moment.
"There's no question he'd like to have the moment back, but he's dealing with the repercussions of it and we are as well."
The Lions will have a roster exception during Suh's suspension, meaning they can sign someone to replace him or bolster some other spot on the team.
Dietrich-Smith wasn't available to reporters in Green Bay on Tuesday, but other Packers players heard of the suspension. Linebacker Desmond Bishop said Suh "probably deserved it."
"He did something wrong, suspended, he'll pay the fine or whatever and hopefully (he'll be) back and it'll change him a little bit from doing something like that," Bishop said.
Guard T.J. Lang said the team was moving forward and wasn't worried about Suh.
"Fortunately, we've never been in a situation like that," he said. "We just worry about ourselves and what we do as a group, and I think we have enough intelligence, definitely, as a team, and enough character, guys not doing any dumb things to put the team in jeopardy. That's for other teams to worry about."
Suh has already been fined three times for roughing up quarterbacks and another time for unsportsmanlike conduct. He leads the league with nine personal fouls since 2010, according to STATS LLC ? two more times than teammate Cliff Avril and three more than Philadelphia's Jason Babin, San Francisco's Dashon Goldson and Denver's D.J. Williams.
Suh grabbed Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton and threw him to the turf after he had gotten rid of the ball in a preseason game this year. He was docked twice last year for shoving Chicago's Jay Cutler high in the back and for twisting Cleveland's Jake Delhomme's face mask and slamming him to the ground. He also was fined $5,000 during Week 9 in the 2010 season for unsportsmanlike conduct.
He has been able to absorb the fines, making $40 million guaranteed with a chance to get paid as much as $68 million in his five-year contract he signed after Detroit drafted the former Nebraska star No. 2 overall in 2010.
Suh's reputation, though, has just taken a big hit and it will cost his team that is clinging to hopes of earning a spot in the playoffs for the first time since the 1999 season.
"Obviously, it hurts to lose any player for two games much less a player like Ndamukong Suh," Schwartz said. "But there's accountability for our actions and that's a situation where something happened after the whistle. We want to be as tough and physical and play as hard as we can between the snap and whistle, but anything that happens after that we put our team in a bad position and we have to pay the consequences for and that's the position we're in right now."
Suh can try to work on his image and channeling his passion, but he won't get off an unwanted list of players who have been suspended for on-field conduct during the Goodell era.
Most famously, Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth was suspended for five games in 2006 for swiping his cleats across the head of helmetless Dallas center Andre Gurode.
Dallas Cowboys safety Roy Williams was forced to miss a game in 2007 after his third illegal horse-collar tackle of that season. Tampa Bay's Elbert Mack had to sit out of a game during the 2008 season for a helmet-to-helmet blow, his second flagrant hit in three games. Eric Smith was suspended for a game that year for a helmet-to-helmet hit. Two years ago, Carolina's Dante Wesley missed a game for a hit to the head.
Vanden Bosch said he's not sure Suh's suspension was merited.
"There's not a lot of precedent," he said.
Decades ago, what Suh did was just part of the doing business on the field.
Not anymore.
"It's a different game, covered differently these days," said four-time Super Bowl winning linebacker Matt Millen, whose playing career started three decades ago with the Oakland Raiders. "What's deemed crazy now, wasn't crazy back in the day. Now more than ever, you have to keep your poise and control emotions when you feel like you have to retaliate. What you learn is, you don't have to get back at the guy right then and that you've got time to take care of field justice."
Hall of Fame defensive tackle "Mean" Joe Greene said he suspects Suh has learned a lesson.
"I hated for that to happen to him and I'm sure he does now, too," Greene said. "With time, he'll learn how to funnel his fire, but I hope he never loses that fire because he has to have it to play the position."
___
AP Sports Writer Chris Jenkins in Green Bay, Wis., and Pro Football Writer Barry Wilner in New York contributed to this report.
___
Follow Larry Lage on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/larrylage
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Castaways found after 33 days at sea
Two men from who were adrift in the Pacific Ocean have turned up on a tiny island 300 miles away, after 33 days at sea, reports say.
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The men, aged 53 and 26, went missing more than a month ago from Kiribati, an island nation made up of 32 widely-dispersed atolls in the central tropical Pacific.
They eventually made landfall on Friday on the atoll of Namdrik, part of the Marshall Islands, where they were picked up by U.S. coastguards based in Hawaii.
Medical checks found the men in weakened but reasonable condition.
Giff Johnson, editor of the Marshall Islands Journal, told ABC's Radio Australia Pacific Beat program: "As odd as it may seem, the Marshall Islands hosts Kiribas drifters quite frequently."
?Let's just say that people from Kiribati are very hardy individuals,? he added. "They get lost in a little tiny boat, and somehow they manage to persevere, like these two guys who were found in Namdrik, it's an amazing thing."
It was not immediately clear if the pair were among the region?s many fishermen, or where exactly in Kiribati they had started their journey. Namdrik Atoll, sometimes known as Namorik Atoll, is approximately 300 miles north of Kiribati?s main island, Tarawa.
They were reported missing on Oct. 22.
Marshall Islands Sea Patrol adviser Lieutenant Commander George McKenzie told AFP the men were in "reasonable" condition after their ordeal.
"The boat had been reported missing and at the time a three-day air and sea search was undertaken, controlled by US Coast Guard in Honolulu, in coordination with officials in Kiribati," he said.
Lt. McKenzie said arrangements were being made to take the men to the Marshall Island's capital Majuro and then home to Kiribati.
However, their repatriation could be delayed by another travel hiccup: the aircraft that flies once a week from Namdrik to Majuro is currently grounded due to maintenance, ABC said.
The Marshall Islands, colonized by Germany then handed to Japan, was occupied and administered by the U.S. until 1986.
? 2011 msnbc.com Reprints
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45463928/ns/world_news-asia_pacific/
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Steelers defense holds on for 13-9 win over Chiefs
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Mewelde Moore (21) fumbles into the end zone while being tackled by Kansas City Chiefs outside linebacker Tamba Hali (91) during the first half of an NFL football game in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Mewelde Moore (21) fumbles into the end zone while being tackled by Kansas City Chiefs outside linebacker Tamba Hali (91) during the first half of an NFL football game in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Dwayne Bowe (82) catches a pass from quarterback Tyler Palko during the first half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Kansas City Chiefs running back Jackie Battle (26) is tackled by Pittsburgh Steelers strong safety Troy Polamalu (43) during the first half of an NFL football game in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011. Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Dwayne Bowe (82) blocks on the play. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)
Kansas City Chiefs offensive tackle Steve Maneri (68) trips over Pittsburgh Steelers strong safety Troy Polamalu (43) during the first half of an NFL football game in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011. Polamalu left the game after his head banged into Maneri's knee during the collision. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Weslye Saunders (82) looks to keep his feet in bounds while scoring a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) ? Ben Roethlisberger joked that the broken thumb on his throwing hand was "still attached" Sunday night. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin thought the injury was a non-issue, and perhaps it was given the way the former Pro Bowl quarterback played.
One thing is certain: The Chiefs sure wish it had been a bigger problem.
Roethlisberger threw a short touchdown pass to Weslye Saunders in the first half, and the Steelers took advantage of four turnovers by Chiefs quarterback Tyler Palko in a 13-9 victory that allowed them to keep pace with Baltimore atop the loaded AFC North.
"They're a good football team, good defense," Roethlisberger said. "It's tough because it's a mixed feeling type of thing: You're happy to get the win, but you're disappointed the way the offense played. I think that's what team's all about. The defense stepped up huge today."
Roethlisberger finished 21 of 31 for 193 yards and an interception for the Steelers (8-3), whose defense lost All-Pro safety Troy Polamalu to a head injury in the first quarter yet still managed to keep the bumbling Chiefs (4-7) from scoring a touchdown.
Kansas City has reached the end zone only once since beating San Diego on Oct. 31.
The Chiefs nearly did on their final possession, marching across midfield to the 37. That's when Palko dropped back and looked for Dwayne Bowe, but his throw was high and behind him, and Keenan Lewis hauled in the interception with 29 seconds left to seal the win.
"I just read the quarterback. I knew I had help underneath, so I could stay back and protect deep," Lewis said. "When the ball came out of the quarterback's hand, I saw that Bowe had already made his move. That's when I knew I could make a play."
Palko, making his second consecutive start in place of the injured Matt Cassel, also fumbled a snap and threw interceptions to Ike Taylor and Ryan Mundy on consecutive passes in the first half.
Palko fared little better than he did last week against New England, when he tossed three picks in his first NFL start. He finished 18 of 28 for 167 yards in what was likely his last chance.
The Chiefs claimed former Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton off waivers Wednesday with the intention of having him compete with Palko for the starting job. Orton didn't arrive in town until Friday, though, and he was inactive Sunday night after participating in only one practice.
"He'll have a much better chance this week to compete," Chiefs coach Todd Haley said, "and like I said, Tyler is the starter, but whatever position we say, if someone gives us a better chance to win, that's the guideline we generally follow."
Kansas City led 3-0 in the second quarter when Palko's first interception, which Taylor returned to the Chiefs 8, resulted in a 21-yard field goal by the Steelers' Shaun Suisham.
The second pick was returned by Mundy, who had taken over at safety for Polamalu, to the Kansas City 24. The defense appeared to hold Pittsburgh when Tamba Hali sacked Roethlisberger on third-and-7, but safety Jon McGraw was called for defensive holding to give the Steelers a first down.
Three plays later, Roethlisberger found Saunders in the back of the end zone.
"He was kind of one of the last options," Roethlisberger said. "I saw Wes coming in the back of the end zone, he's kind of a big target, so I just kind of threw it up to him."
Ryan Succop added a 49-yard field goal later in the second quarter for Kansas City, his second of the game, but Suisham answered with his own 49-yarder on the final play of the first half.
Succop added a 40-yard field goal with 6:11 left in the fourth quarter.
Polamalu left the game in the first quarter when he tackled 290-pound Chiefs offensive tackle Steve Maneri, who had caught a pass in the flat after lining up in the backfield.
The reigning Defensive Player of the Year's head hit Maneri's knee and he crumpled to the turf, where he lay while trainers came out to check on him. Polamalu was a bit wobbly when he stood up and Tomlin said after the game that he was experiencing "concussion-like symptoms."
Roethlisberger showed little evidence of the broken thumb that caused him to be somewhat limited in practice, hitting 10 different receivers. He got some help from Rashard Mendenhall, who ran for 57 yards, and a defense that kept giving the Pittsburgh offense prime field position.
The Steelers squandered a promising opportunity in the first quarter, driving inside the Chiefs 10-yard line. But backup running back Mewelde Moore had the ball poked out by Chiefs linebacker Tamba Hali and it was recovered by Javier Arenas in the end zone for a touchback.
Kansas City gave the ball right back when Palko fumbled the snap moments later.
Pittsburgh also had a decent drive end midway through the scoreless third when Roethlisberger underthrew Antonio Brown down the sideline. Kansas City safety Travis Daniels swooped in to make the interception, but the Chiefs' bumbling offense couldn't capitalize.
That wound up being the story of the game.
"We're excited about winning ? and winning on the road ? and making the necessary plays," Tomlin said. "We produced turnovers tonight, and that was big for us."
Notes: Kansas native Martina McBride sang the national anthem. Modern Family's Eric Stonestreet, who attended Kansas State, threw the ceremonial first pass. ... Steelers C Maurkice Pouncey left in the first half with an illness. ... The Chiefs finished with 252 yards of total offense.
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PFT: Jets unimpressed by Johnson mocking Burress
APAt some point, those of us who have been skeptical that an NFL team can win consistently while running the Tim Tebow offense are going to have to acknowledge that the Broncos are, in fact, winning consistently while running the Tim Tebow offense.
The Broncos? 16-13 overtime victory today in San Diego means they?re now 5-1 since handing the starting quarterback job to Tebow, after starting the season 1-4 with Kyle Orton starting and Tebow on the bench.
Obviously, the Broncos? defense deserves an enormous amount of credit for what Denver has done. In the five wins with Tebow at quarterback, the Broncos? defense has allowed 15, 24, 10, 13 and 13 points.
But we also need to acknowledge that Tebow deserves some of the credit for the fact that the opposition isn?t scoring many points. Tebow had another turnover-free game today, and the ball-control offense that the Broncos run with Tebow at the helm makes life easier for their defense.
Bottom line, the Broncos? defense is playing the way it?s supposed to play, Tebow is playing the way he?s supposed to play, and Broncos coach John Fox and his staff have done a fantastic job of formulating game plans that work for the talent he has.
Today in San Diego, Tebow went 9-for-18 for 143 yards: Not exactly stellar passing numbers, but completing half his passes is progress for Tebow, and he had no interceptions to go with his one touchdown pass. More importantly, Tebow ran a whopping 22 times, and while he only picked up 67 yards on the ground, he was efficient and effective when he needed to be.
Can the Broncos really keep winning with a quarterback who goes 9-for-18 and calls it a good passing day? It?s starting to look that way. The Broncos are the Raiders? biggest threat in the AFC West, and Tebow might just take this team to the playoffs.
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Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Video: Is it OK to use spray butter?
In this segment of Joy?s Diet S.O.S., TODAY contributor Joy Bauer answers viewer questions regarding nutrition, such as how to boost energy in the afternoon and whether or not to use spray butter on vegetables.
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Campaign under way to save zombie movie chapel (AP)
EVANS CITY, Pa. ? Horror movie fans are trying to save a southwestern Pennsylvania cemetery chapel featured in several scenes of the cult classic "Night of the Living Dead."
A sound engineer who worked on the 1968 George Romero film is trying to raise $50,000 to repair the chapel at Evans City Cemetery.
The cemetery association had planned to tear down boarded-up building but delayed those plans to see if Gary Streiner can come up with the money.
Cemetery association President Ron Volz tells the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette the building will have to come down if the fundraising effort falls short. Streiner has raised about $7,000 so far.
Streiner says he hopes the chapel could be used as a movie museum or rented out for events, like zombie-themed weddings.
___
Online:
http://www.fixthechapel.com
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Fewer babies get chicken pox when kids are vaccinated (Reuters)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) ? Even though babies under one year old are too young to get the chicken pox vaccine, far fewer of them got the itchy rash after the U.S. started routinely vaccinating older children in 1995, according to a new study.
Researchers said that infants are now largely protected against chicken pox if their older siblings and daycare peers have been vaccinated, due to "herd immunity" -- the idea that if enough people are immune to a disease, it won't be able to spread.
"It is a measure of the success of the (vaccination) program and the fact that we should encourage all parents to fully vaccinate their children," said Dr. Eugene Shapiro, who studies infectious diseases in kids at the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven.
"If all children got vaccinated, then the small proportion who are still developing chicken pox would become even smaller, and so the risk to these infants who aren't yet vaccinated would be even lower," added Shapiro, who wasn't involved in the new study.
Sixteen years ago, the U.S. began a program to vaccinate all kids against chicken pox -- which usually just leaves them itchy for a few days but can cause serious complications, especially in pregnant women and babies.
Having chicken pox as a kid also increases the risk that someone will get shingles, which is caused by the same virus, when they're older.
Now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all kids between 12 months and 12 years of age -- and older kids and adults who haven't yet been vaccinated or had chicken pox -- should get two doses of the vaccine, and many states require that kids be immunized before starting school.
Babies aren't vaccinated because many acquire some of their mom's immune defenses against chicken pox, and the vaccine won't work until those have faded with age. The vaccine's safety also hasn't been tested in infants.
Researchers from the CDC tracked the number of chicken pox cases in babies under one year old from the start of the vaccination program through 2008 in two communities in Los Angeles County and West Philadelphia, including more than 600,000 people.
They found that as the number of one-, two- and three-year-olds vaccinated against chicken pox increased, the number of cases in babies fell -- from 16 out of every 1,000 infants in 1995 to fewer than two in every 1,000 by 2008.
All in all, the number of new infections in the youngest age group dropped almost 90 percent during the study, researchers reported in Pediatrics on Monday.
"During the pre-vaccine era...infants were at big risk of severe disease," said Adriana Lopez, from the CDC, who worked on the study.
The finding, she told Reuters Health, "shows that the impact of this vaccination program has been great, in terms of not only decreasing disease in those who have been vaccinated, but protecting those who can't get vaccinated."
"It makes sense, it's not surprising," Shapiro told Reuters Health. "The point is that the incidence of chicken pox has gone down dramatically."
Even in infants who are too young to get the vaccine, he added, "If there's less chicken pox around, if you're susceptible, you're less likely to become exposed."
Shapiro said that parents should still take the proper precautions, including going to see their pediatrician, if their baby is exposed to someone who has chicken pox. In some cases, doctors can give those infants a high dose of antibodies targeted at the chicken pox virus to prevent them from getting sick.
Lopez added that moms and dads shouldn't get complacent about vaccinating just because chicken pox is much less common that it used to be.
"We still see disease circulating," she said. "Even though the number of cases has continued to go down, it's still important to have those who can get vaccinated, get vaccinated."
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/vaKYIH Pediatrics, online November 28, 2011.
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Caps fire Boudreau, hire Hunter as coach (AP)
ARLINGTON, Va. ? Tuned out by his players, coach Bruce Boudreau was fired by the Washington Capitals on Monday after winning 200 games faster than any coach in modern NHL history but stumbling regularly in the playoffs despite a talent-laden lineup featuring two-time league MVP Alex Ovechkin.
Boudreau was replaced by former Capitals captain Dale Hunter, who was greeted by loud cheers from more than 100 fans when he skated onto the ice at Monday's practice. Hunter, never before a coach in the NHL, will make his debut behind the bench Tuesday night when Washington hosts the St. Louis Blues to begin a three-game homestand.
"This was simply a case of the players were no longer responding to Bruce. When you see that, as much as you don't want to make a change, you have to make a change," general manager George McPhee said.
"Bruce came in here and emptied the tank. He gave it everything he could and did a really good job, but the tank was empty," McPhee added. "When that happens, you get a new coach, where the tank is full and see if it makes a difference."
Hired four years ago on Thanksgiving Day, Boudreau went 201-88-40 in the regular season but 17-20 in the playoffs ? exiting in the first or second round each time. This season he tried a new approach, emphasizing accountability and the willingness to bench his star players ? team captain Ovechkin included ? as punishment for subpar performances.
The Capitals started 7-0 ? a franchise record for consecutive wins to begin a season ? but have since slumped badly. They have dropped six of their past eight games, including a 5-1 loss Saturday night to a Buffalo Sabres team missing nine regular players.
Ovechkin has only one goal in the last eight games.
"I don't think this has anything to do with Alex Ovechkin," said McPhee, noting that the team's highest-paid player will remain its captain. "I think it's got everything to do with this team not playing well."
The 51-year-old Hunter played for the Capitals from 1987-99, the last five seasons as captain, and is one of four players to have his jersey number retired by the franchise. A banner with Hunter wearing his red No. 32 hangs on a wall behind one end of the ice where the Capitals practice. He stood in a nearby corner of the rink for one part of Monday's session.
"Obviously Dale was an intelligent player. He had talent and he was tough," McPhee said. "And he was downright mean sometimes."
Hunter played 19 NHL seasons and is the only player in league history with 1,000 points and 3,000 penalty minutes. His career total of 3,563 penalty minutes ranks second all-time.
Hunter has coached the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League for 11 seasons, compiling a 451-189-23-24 record. He became the fastest coach in OHL history to reach 300 and 400 career wins. Like Boudreau, who was promoted from Washington's minor league affiliate in the AHL to replace Glen Hanlon, Hunter is getting his first NHL coaching job in Washington.
"Coaching's coaching, and he's been coaching at a good level and at a high level," McPhee said. "The same questions were asked of Bruce when he came here, and he had an outstanding record."
Boudreau turned around a moribund franchise when he was hired in 2007, leading the Capitals to the first of four consecutive Southeast Division titles and winning the league's coach of the year award in 2008. Nicknamed "Gabby" for his gift of gab, he bought an offensive philosophy that meshed well with Ovechkin and the team's other "young guns" such as Alexander Semin and Mike Green, but he was never able to get Washington deep into the playoffs.
Boudreau had the team adopt a more defensive mindset during a losing streak last season, but it failed to pay dividends in the spring. The Capitals were swept by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round of the postseason.
Boudreau's assistant coaches ? Dean Evason, Bob Woods and Blaine Forsythe ? will remain in their posts under Hunter.
McPhee said he began talking to Hunter a week ago about the possibility of returning to the Capitals. On Monday morning at 6:15 a.m., McPhee met with Boudreau and delivered the news. Now the team hopes its play will improve.
"Sometimes it's like having the same teacher for five years. How would you have liked to do that in high school? It's hard sometimes," McPhee said. "So you make the change and hope that a new voice and a new way of doing things and a new focus gets the best out of these players."
___
AP Sports Writer Joseph White contributed to this report.
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Analysis: U.S., Pakistani co-dependence may prevent rupture (Reuters)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? Pakistan and the United States depend on one another too much to allow the deaths of two dozen Pakistani soldiers in a clash with NATO forces on Saturday to cause a definitive rupture.
But the incident, the latest in a series of embarrassments this year to bedevil the relationship between two ostensible allies, will only aggravate the mistrust between the countries and will require quick diplomatic work to contain.
Analysts and Western officials who track the relationship said a speedy, thorough investigation to find out what happened, establish responsibility and make amends is vital, though any reconciliation may be harder to achieve if NATO forces conclude that the Pakistani side started the fight.
"They still have a great deal of co-dependence. The United States needs Pakistan until it wraps up kinetic operations in Afghanistan," said Shuja Nawaz, an authority on the Pakistani military at the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington.
"Pakistan, of course, is still fairly heavily dependent on U.S. financial and military support," he added. "But the way things have been going this past year, it's one event after another."
NATO helicopters and fighter jets based in Afghanistan attacked two Pakistan military outposts on Saturday, killing 24 Pakistani soldiers in what Islamabad called an unprovoked assault.
A Western official and a senior Afghan security official on Sunday said that NATO and Afghan forces came under fire from across the border with Pakistan before NATO aircraft attacked the Pakistani forces.
EXTREMELY MURKY
An early test of how much the U.S.-Pakistani relationship has been hurt may come from how well, or poorly, the sides cooperate with one another and with the Afghan authorities to establish precisely what happened on the border.
The key questions include who fired first and from where; why NATO and Pakistani forces appear to have been unable to communicate so as to prevent the Pakistani deaths; and whether NATO helicopters knew they had entered Pakistani territory.
"All of this is extremely murky and needs to be investigated," said an Obama administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"Our goal today is ... that the investigation gets mounted in a way that is confidence-building on all sides," the official added.
Pakistan shut down NATO supply routes into Afghanistan -- used to send in nearly half of the alliance's land shipments -- in retaliation for the incident, the worst such attack since Islamabad uneasily allied itself with Washington following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
The NATO attack was the latest perceived provocation by the United States, which infuriated Pakistan's powerful military with a unilateral U.S. special forces raid that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in May.
That raid also cost Pakistan much goodwill among U.S. politicians who questioned why the United States provides so much military and economic assistance -- CRS report -- to a country where bin Laden lived with impunity.
Ties have been strained by a series of events over the past 15 months, including a September 30, 2010 incident in which NATO forces killed two Pakistani service personnel, leading Pakistan to cut off NATO's vital ground supply route for 10 days.
On January 27, a CIA contractor killed two Pakistani men he said were trying to rob him in Lahore, undermining ties between the U.S. and Pakistani intelligence services.
An in September, the then top U.S. military officer accused Pakistani intelligence of backing violence against U.S. targets including a September 13 attack on the U.S. embassy in Kabul.
Former chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen, said Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) had supported militants known as the Haqqani network, which he described as a "veritable arm" of the ISI.
LAST STRAW?
"Is this the last straw? (I) hope not. I believe both governments also hope not," said retired Ambassador Teresita Schaffer, a fellow at the Brookings Institution who served as a U.S. diplomat in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
While there have been suggestions Pakistan could seek to improve its ties to China as a strategic counterweight to the United States, analysts dismissed this idea.
Islamabad receives significant amounts of military hardware from Beijing and their armed forces are close but Schaffer said the United States is a source of two things Beijing does not provide: top-flight weaponry and extensive cash assistance.
Even if there is no radical rupture, things are unlikely to improve quickly.
"The U.S.-Pakistan relationship appears destined to lurch from crisis to crisis unless and until the two sides can reach some kind of understanding on the way forward in Afghanistan," said Lisa Curtis of the Heritage Foundation think tank.
With NATO planning to intensify its operations in Eastern Afghanistan next year to try to cut off insurgent routes from Pakistan, Curtis said "the situation is likely to get worse before it gets better."
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Monday, November 28, 2011
Egypt's military under pressure from protests, US (AP)
CAIRO ? The U.S. increased pressure Friday on Egypt's military rulers to hand over power to civilian leaders, and the generals turned to a Mubarak-era politician to head a new government in a move that failed to satisfy the more than 100,000 protesters who jammed Tahrir Square in the biggest rally yet this week.
The demonstrators rejected the appointment of Kamal el-Ganzouri as prime minister, breaking into chants of "Illegitimate! Illegitimate!" and setting up a showdown between the two sides only three days before key parliamentary elections.
The size of the rally and the resilience of protesters in the face of the violence used by security forces in this week's deadly street battles have won back for the movement much of the strength it projected during the 18-day uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak in February.
Showing the sort of resolve from the earliest days of the Arab Spring, the protesters say they will not leave the iconic square until the military rulers led by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi step down and a civilian presidential council is formed to run the country until a new leader is elected.
"They stole our January revolution because we did not agree on who should represent us," said activist Sedeeqah Abu Seadah. "We shouted 'erhal' (leave) but did not shout the name of the person we want."
The military's appointment of el-Ganzouri, its apology for the death of protesters and a series of partial concessions in the past two days suggest that the generals are struggling to overcome the most serious challenge to their nine-month rule, with fewer options now available to them.
Significantly adding to their predicament, the Obama administration brought its position on the crisis in Egypt closer to the protesters' demands, urging the military to fully empower the next interim civilian government.
"We believe that Egypt's transition to democracy must continue, with elections proceeding expeditiously, and all necessary measures taken to ensure security and prevent intimidation," the White House said in a statement.
"Most importantly, we believe that the full transfer of power to a civilian government must take place in a just and inclusive manner that responds to the legitimate aspirations of the Egyptian people, as soon as possible," it said.
The adjustment in the Obama administration's approach is significant because the Egyptian military, the nation's most powerful institution, has in the past 30 years forged close relations with successive U.S. administrations, receiving $1.3 billion annually in aid. It followed the public U.S. endorsement of the military's original timetable for the transfer of power by late 2012 or early 2013.
The choice of el-Ganzouri, who served as prime minister under Mubarak between 1996 and 1999, deepened the anger of the protesters, already seething over the military's perceived reluctance to dismantle the legacy of the ousted president's 29-year rule.
Hundreds of protesters moved from Tahrir Square and began a sit-in outside the headquarters of the Cabinet, a few blocks away, vowing to prevent el-Ganzouri from entering. "The military council must go," the crowd chanted, "Military men must not rule."
The protest movement launched an attempt to unify its demands and present an alternative to el-Ganzouri. Twenty-four protest groups, including two political parties, announced they were creating their own "national salvation" government. They said it would be headed by a presidential council led by Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei with deputies from across the political spectrum to which they demanded the military hand over power.
"El-Ganzouri is over and done with. We want young people to take charge of the country," said Hamdi Arban, a 50-year-old lawyer in Tahrir Square. "We will stay here and we won't get our rights except from here," he said.
Basma el-Husseini, who directs a cultural center and was also in Tahrir, dismissed the 78-year-old el-Ganzouri as a man with little energy to keep up with the multitude of challenges facing Egypt. "They (the generals) don't get the power of the people. All they are doing now is play for time to make people fed up."
Addressing a televised news conference, el-Ganzouri said the military has given him greater powers than his predecessor, Essam Sharaf, who was installed by the military months ago and has been criticized as a mere facade for the council of generals.
El-Ganzouri insisted he wouldn't have accepted the job if he believed Tantawi had any intention of staying in power.
"The powers given to me exceed any similar mandates," he said. "I will take full authority so I'm able to serve my country."
But el-Ganzouri appeared uncomfortable, grasping for words and repeatedly pausing as he spoke, giving rambling answers when pressed whether he could form a government that will satisfy the public when many prominent figures have shunned joining the new administration.
The military inadvertently sparked the ongoing unrest by pushing plans for a political "guardianship" role for itself and immunity from civilian oversight even after a new parliament is seated and a new president is elected.
The last straw came when the military ordered the use of force against a small protest in Tahrir Square last weekend and then launched a failed, joint army-police raid to evacuate a larger crowd. Nearly 40 protesters have died in the past week.
The latest crisis has overshadowed Monday's start of Egypt's first parliamentary elections since Mubarak was replaced by Tantawi. The vote, which the generals say will be held on schedule despite the unrest, is now seen by many activists and protesters to be serving the military's efforts to project an image of itself as the nation's saviors and true democrats.
The next parliament is expected to be dominated by Islamists, whose political groups have decided to boycott the ongoing protests to keep from doing anything that could derail the election. However, the outcome of the vote is likely to be seen as flawed given the growing unrest and the suspension by many candidates of their campaigns in solidarity with the protesters.
The Social Democrats, a political party born out of the January-February uprising, said Friday that it has suspended its election campaign, arguing that the vote would not be fair given the tension caused by the unrest, which it blamed on the military.
Supporters of the military staged a rival demonstration Friday across town from Tahrir, but only several thousand people turned out. They waved identical, brand new Egyptian flags that prompted activists to post on social network sites their suspicion that the demonstration may have been staged by the military.
State television, whose coverage of the crisis shows a clear, pro-military bias, gave prominence to the supporters of the generals and hosted commentators discrediting the Tahrir protesters as irresponsible youths and violent football hooligans.
Friday's protest in Tahrir was dubbed by organizers as "The Last Chance Million-Man Protest." Swelling crowds chanted, "Leave! Leave!" and "The people want to bring down the field marshal!"
ElBaradei was mobbed by hundreds of supporters as he arrived in the square and took part in Friday prayers, leaving shortly afterward.
"He is here to support the revolutionaries," said protester Ahmed Awad, 35. "He came to see for himself the tragedy caused by the military."
Fireworks lit the sky in the evening and a large banner was strung over a side street called Mohammed Mahmoud, where most of the fighting occurred, declaring that it would be renamed "Eyes of the Revolution Street," in honor of the hundreds of protesters who suffered eye injuries as a result of tear gas used by police.
About 500 protesters camped out in front of the Cabinet office, vowing to remain to prevent el-Ganzouri's government from entering the building.
Thousands of pro-democracy protesters also rallied in other cities, including at least 10,000 in Alexandria and smaller crowds in Luxor and Assiut in southern Egypt.
The military has rejected calls to immediately step down, saying its claim to power is supported by the warm welcome given to troops who took over the streets from the discredited police early in the anti-Mubarak uprising as well as an overwhelming endorsement for constitutional amendments they proposed in a March referendum.
Tantawi has offered another referendum on whether his military council should step down immediately.
Such a vote, activists say, would be divisive and likely open the door for a deal between the military and political groups, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood. Egypt's largest and best organized group, the Brotherhood is notorious for its opportunism and thirst for power. It was empowered after the fall of Mubarak, regaining legitimacy after spending nearly 60 years as an outlawed group.
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Sunday, November 27, 2011
Italy's borrowing rates soar, batter stock markets (AP)
MILAN ? Italy's borrowing rates skyrocketed during bond auctions Friday, battering stock markets in Europe as the continent's escalating debt crisis laid siege to the eurozone's third-largest economy.
The auction results are another sign that Italy's new technocratic government under economist Mario Monti faces a battle to convince investors it has a strategy to cut down the country's euro1.9 trillion ($2.6 trillion) debt. They are also likely to fuel calls for the European Central Bank to use its firepower to cool down a debt crisis that's rapidly getting worse.
"Mario Monti has failed so far to impress bond markets he has the power and authority to do what is required," said Louise Cooper, markets analyst at BGC Partners. "I don't rate his chances either."
Driving the markets fears is the knowledge that Italy is too big for Europe to bail out, like it has done with smaller nations Greece, Portugal and Ireland. Given the size of its debts ? Italy must refinance $300 billion next year alone ? the government has to continually tap investors for money. But when borrowing rates get too high, it fuels a potentially devastating debt spiral.
Friday's auctions indicated that investors see Italian debt as increasingly risky. The country had to pay an average yield of 7.814 percent to raise euro2 billion ($2.7 billion) in two-year bills ? sharply higher than the 4.628 percent it paid in the previous auction in October. And even raising euro8 billion ($10.7 billion) for six months proved exorbitantly expensive. The yield for this auction spiked to 6.504 percent, nearly double the 3.535 percent rate in October.
Following the grim auction news, Italy's borrowing rates in the markets shot higher, with the ten-year yield spiking 0.34 percentage point to 7.30 percent ? above the 7 percent threshold that forced other nations into bailouts.
Italy was not the only country in the 17-nation eurozone in experiencing a disappointing auction this week. Even Germany ? the region's strongest economy and the main funder of eurozone bailouts ? suffered a shock Wednesday when it failed to raise all the money it sought, its worst auction result in decades. Spain too saw its borrowing rates ratchet sharply higher even after a landslide election victory for the conservative Popular Party, which has made getting Spain's borrowing levels down its top priority.
Monti, who replaced Silvio Berlusconi as Italy's leader earlier this month, has pledged to quickly implement new austerity measures followed by deeper reforms. He spent much of his first week in office meeting with European Union officials and the leaders of France and Germany laying out his plans.
During the meetings, Monti emphasized his intention to balance the budget by 2013 and to introduce "fair but incisive" structural reforms," his office said in a statement following a Cabinet meeting Friday.
Monti also has pledged to reform the pension system, re-impose a tax on homes annulled by Berlusconi's government, reduce tax evasion, streamline civil court proceedings, get more women and youths into the work force and cut political costs.
EU monetary affairs commissioner Olli Rehn told the Italian Parliament that "full and effective implementation will be key."
He urged a "clear and ambitious roadmap for reform and an ambitious timeline" and expressed particular concern about low employment among Italian youth.
"Over the longer term, productivity will depend on a well-educated labor force," Rehn said. "I am particularly concerned about high unemployment, which is a tremendous waste of talent that Europe simply cannot afford."
Rehn was in Rome to monitor Italy's compliance with promises to liberalize its labor market, reduce the bloated public sector and sell off some state assets.
There were also signs that contagion over Europe's debt crisis was moving eastward. Moody's downgraded Hungary's sovereign debt to junk status ? from Baa3 to Ba1 with a negative outlook ? a decision Hungary hotly criticized. Hungary is not a member of the eurozone, but trades with many eurozone members.
This week's developments have ratcheted up the pressure on the European Central Bank to step up its bond purchases in the markets, though Germany remains adamantly opposed. The current program is designed to support bond prices in the markets, thereby keeping a lid on the borrowing rates.
So far, the ECB has been buying limited amounts of bonds and has to sell an equivalent amount of assets. The ECB said Monday it bought bonds worth only euro4.5 billion last week, down from euro9.5 billion a week earlier.
Potentially, the ECB has unlimited financial firepower through its ability to print money and many countries in the eurozone, including France, want the bank to act more decisively to solve the debt crisis.
However, Germany finds the idea of monetizing debts unappealing, warning that it lets the more profligate countries off the hook for their bad practices.
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