Takers?
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Monday, December 31, 2012
Kind of an idea? (advanced only)
I really wanna write more...and I want to revisit an old character of mine, a thief-shapeshifter. Anyone interested in creating a plot and thread with me? You gotta be advanced and litate but you don't need to post every day. Keep romance to a minimum, and I don't care what gender you choose to play.
Broncos get top seed in AFC
Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh reacts to a play in the second half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Tom Uhlman)
Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh reacts to a play in the second half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Tom Uhlman)
Baltimore Ravens inside linebacker Ray Lewis sits on the bench in the second half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Tom Uhlman)
Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano acknowledges the fans after the Colts defeated the Houston Texans, 28-16, in an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano, left, talks to Houston Texans' Andre Johnson following an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012, in Indianapolis. The Colts won the game 28-16. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Houston Texans' Justin Forsett (28) watches from the bench late in the second half of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012, in Indianapolis. The Colts won the game 28-16. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Thanks to Houston's late-season slump, Denver and New England will have byes when the AFC playoffs begin next week.
The Texans fell from first to third in the conference Sunday when they lost 28-16 at Indianapolis, which welcomed back coach Chuck Pagano after nearly three months of treatments for leukemia.
AFC West champion Denver won its 11th straight game, 38-3 over Kansas City to secure the top seed. New England blanked Miami 28-0 for the second spot.
Minnesota edged Green Bay 37-34 to grab the final NFC wild card, sinking the Packers to the third seed. Those teams will meet again next week at Lambeau Field.
The other NFC matchup will have Seattle (11-5), which beat St. Louis 20-13, at either Washington or Dallas. Those teams met Sunday night for the NFC East crown.
Cincinnati (10-6) will be at Houston and Indianapolis (11-5) at Baltimore (10-6) in the AFC wild-card rounds.
Peyton Manning threw for three touchdowns as Denver (13-3) routed the Chiefs. New England (12-4) got the second seed despite having the same record as Houston because it beat the Texans, who lost three of their final four games.
Adrian Peterson had 199 yards against the Packers, finishing with 2,097 ? Dickerson's single-season rushing mark in 2,105. But it was rookie kicker Blair Walsh who won it with a 29-yard field goal as time expired.
"''Ultimately we got the 'W,'" Peterson said.
Baltimore Pro Bowl safety Ed Reed is looking forward to a reunion with Pagano. He wishes it would come a little later in the postseason.
"Chuck's like a dad to me," Reed said "He means a lot to me. I would have much rather seen them in the AFC championship game than the first game."
But Reed will see him next week at Baltimore.
The Ravens had a chance to move up to the AFC's third seed with a win and a New England loss. But Baltimore lost at Cincinnati as both teams played backups for much of the game.
Pagano coached the Ravens' secondary for three seasons and was promoted to coordinator last year. Players and coaches in Baltimore have kept in touch, offering encouragement as he fought through the cancer treatments.
"Going back to Baltimore, obviously there's some familiarity there," Pagano said. "We had four great years there as a family. It's a top-notch organization, you know, really good football club. It's a great challenge and they have a great team and they have great players all over the place."
The Colts were 2-14 last season and chose quarterback Andrew Luck with the top selection in the draft. Luck and offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, who stepped in as interim coach with Pagano sidelined, led the turnaround.
Next week, Pagano goes up against former boss John Harbaugh.
"I love his family, and he's one of my closest personal friends in coaching," Harbaugh said. "What he's been through is phenomenal, but we're all competitors so that gets set aside."
The defending Super Bowl champion Giants are out of contention. When Chicago beat Detroit 26-24, the Giants (9-7) were eliminated, even though they routed Philadelphia 42-7.
"It hurts," said Eli Manning. "Each year you want to make the playoffs to give yourself an opportunity to win a championship; 9-7 last year was good enough. It wasn't good enough this year and we knew it wouldn't be."
Minnesota's win eliminated Chicago, which the Vikings swept this season.
___
Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL
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Things To Consider When Homeschooling Your Child | Doc's
Many people decide to school they children at home because of inadequacies they see in modern public schools. But there are some downfalls to homeschooling that must also be avoided. You should read this article if you are considering homeschooling your children.
Planning your meals in advance will definitely help your schedule. Being prepared will let you to focus on teaching your child and not have to worry about what?s for dinner.
As a homeschool educator, don?t allow the educational guides and textbooks to limit the scope of your teaching. Your books and your curriculum should guide you in the right direction. Utilize them as aids to help illustrate your own well-crafted lessons to the children you teach. In the end, that is the true beauty of home-based education.
TIP! You can easily burn yourself out with chores on top of your homeschooling. Do not hesitate to recruit your partner in helping with the chores, and if you can afford it, hire help from the outside.
If you have very young toddlers as well as those in school, you have to ensure that the toddlers have activities too. Carefully select some toys, art supplies and activities to coordinate with the lessons your other children are learning. This will allow them to feel a part of the group.
Be cognizant of your budget for homeschooling. This will help you to allot resources efficiently, while reducing your expenses. You need to have separate accounts for each child. Remember to give a little wiggle room as expenses can change and errors can be made.
There are lots of new things to learn about homeschooling. You can go online and find groups for parents who school their children at home. They can offer valuable advice, tips and tricks that you can use in your own curriculum. Networking with other homeschoolers with the same goals and objectives as your own is a valuable resource.
TIP! You can be creative in the ways you allow your children to get together with others Public schools provide natural opportunities to socialize, and you must think outside the box to replicate that. Go on field trips with other homeschool groups.
Encourage independent learning. It?s appropriate to offer guidance, but the point is not for you to do the work. That responsibility should be left entirely to your child. They will know what they need to do if you outline it for them and give them timelines for completion. Independence is learned this way, as well as confidence in their abilities. They will also learn the impact of goofing off instead of focusing if free time is lost because of it.
See if you can?t team-up with other like minded parents in the area who are also homeschooling their kids. Your child can get a lot of good social interaction by being in a small group on a regular basis. You can also use this as an opportunity to leave your home.
Do a comparison list of your feelings regarding homeschooling and traditional schooling. If you felt your children were not receiving everything they needed at public school, this comparison can assist you in covering those missing items. You will have essentially created a checklist of things to concentrate on and things to avoid. Keep the list handy to allow yourself to reference it whenever necessary.
TIP! Be prepared to do research for topics you don?t know enough about. You can educate yourself by reading your child?s textbooks, researching things online, and even asking others.
The best teachers are honest with themselves about their shortcomings. A lot of people who homeschool want to skip topics they feel that they are weak with. This will affect your children?s education, so it?s not a good idea. If you?re feeling deficient in some areas in the main curriculum, try to hire a tutor or trade with another parent that homeschools.
Pick a room in the house that you want to teach your child. Allowing them complete freedom throughout the home can lead to many distractions. By having a designated classroom, you can help your child remain on task.
Homeschooled children may be getting a great education, but it takes effort to ensure they also get enough socialization. Organize play dates with families and friends who have children. Bring your children to the park so they can play with other kids. Find some sport teams, clubs and organizations for your child.
TIP! Homeschooling can offer a child a lot. There is a huge advantage to teaching at home, rather than sending your child to an often overcrowded and typically underfunded public learning facility.
You need to know all you can about homeschooling before you start out. Set a workable schedule and use teaching methods that work for your child?s learning style.
High schoolers who are homeschooled must focus on passing their GED tests. Address your child?s weak areas by having them take a mock GED and then tailoring your lessons to the subjects in which he does poorly. You will be able to work on any tough spots.
Do you have trouble teaching your children something? Try a different approach. Sometimes you need to teach them in a different manner, such as by seeing it happening, hearing it or even tasting something related. Children do not learn the same way, and when you try a different approach, learning may become easier.
TIP! An online blog is something that your child can benefit from significantly. You?re going to teach them to write anyway, and a blog is the perfect learning tool.
Sometimes home schooling is a tense situation for children and parents who are spending such a tremendous amount of time together. Focus on keeping school issues at school and home issues at home. If things happen to become particularly tense, you have the flexibility to take a break. You will both benefit from this.
Look into the homeschooling laws of your state. Different states have different guidelines regarding how you are expected to homeschool. You might have to do standardized testing, but some states won?t require it. Some states go so far as to expect parents to register as a school.
You can begin to see from this article that homeschooling is a viable option. Apply the tips you just read and prepare yourself before you start homeschooling your children. Remember that your goal is to provide your children with an excellent education.
TIP! Socialization is often a sticking point for homeschooling parents. However, the opportunity to socialize is still open to all homeschoolers.
There is plenty to learn about free lead system. Luckily for you, you have found the best wisdom in this article. Although there is more free lead system information you want to learn, this article should have answered some of your questions.
Source: http://www.empowernetwork.com/global/things-to-consider-when-homeschooling-your-child-2/
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Source: http://mapavon.posterous.com/things-to-consider-when-homeschooling-your-ch
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NBA game of the week: Lakers at Clippers
Clippers have won 16 straight, and the Lakers have won six of seven games.
LAKERS AT CLIPPERS, 7:30 p.m. Friday. TV: ESPN.
The Clippers don't own Los Angeles, but they have inquired about a season-long lease. The city's allegedly lesser NBA team also happens to be the one with the league's best winning percentage and a franchise-record 16-game winning streak. Meanwhile, the Lakers are happy to be back to .500 after two months filled with more turmoil than a Lifetime movie. They have won six of seven games, making their title hopes no longer seem quite so farfetched.
?Ben Bolch
Comments are filtered for language and registration is required. The Times makes no guarantee of comments' factual accuracy. Readers may report inappropriate comments by clicking the Report Abuse link next to a comment. Here are the full legal terms you agree to by using this comment form. ';
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Obama signs renewal of foreign surveillance law
WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama has signed into law a five-year extension of the U.S. government's authority to monitor the overseas activity of suspected foreign spies and terrorists.
The warrantless intercept program would have expired at the end of 2012 without the president's approval. The renewal bill won final passage in the Senate on Friday.
Known as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the law allows the government to monitor overseas phone calls and emails without obtaining a court order for each intercept.
The law does not apply to Americans. When Americans are targeted for surveillance, the government must get a warrant from a special 11-judge court of U.S. district judges appointed by the Supreme Court.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-signs-renewal-foreign-surveillance-law-224919293--politics.html
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Sunday, December 30, 2012
Death of India rape victim stirs anger, promises of action
NEW DELHI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A woman whose gang rape provoked protests and rare national debate about violence against women in India died from her injuries on Saturday, prompting promises of action from a government that has struggled to respond to public outrage.
The unidentified 23-year-old medical student suffered a brain injury and massive internal damage in the attack on December 16 and died in hospital in Singapore where she had been taken for treatment.
Protesters rallied peacefully in the capital New Delhi and other cities across India to keep the pressure on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government to get tougher on crimes against women. That was in contrast to the pitched battles protesters fought with police last weekend.
The six suspects held in connection with the attack on the student on a New Delhi bus were charged with murder following her death, police said. The maximum penalty for murder is death.
Authorities, worried about the reaction to the news of her death, deployed thousands of policemen, closed 10 metro stations and banned vehicles from some main roads in the heart of New Delhi, where demonstrators have converged since the attack to demand improved women's rights.
Despite efforts to cordon off the city centre, more than 1,000 people gathered at two locations. Some protesters shouted for justice, others for the death penalty for the rapists.
Most sex crimes in India go unreported, many offenders go unpunished, and the wheels of justice turn slowly, according to social activists who say that successive governments have done little to ensure the safety of women.
Political leaders vowed steps to correct "shameful social attitudes" towards women in the world's biggest democracy.
"The need of the hour is a dispassionate debate and inquiry into the critical changes that are required in societal attitudes," the prime minister said in a statement.
"I hope that the entire political class and civil society will set aside narrow sectional interests and agenda to help us all reach the end that we all desire - making India a demonstrably better and safer place for women to live in."
REPATRIATION
The woman, beaten, raped and thrown out of a moving bus, had been flown to Singapore in a critical condition by the Indian government on Thursday.
She and her male friend were returning home from the cinema, media reports say, when six men on the bus beat them with metal rods and repeatedly raped the woman. Media said a rod was used in the rape, causing internal injuries. The friend survived.
"She was courageous in fighting for her life for so long against the odds but the trauma to her body was too severe for her to overcome," Kelvin Loh, chief executive officer of the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore said in a statement announcing her death from multiple organ failure.
The Indian government has chartered an aircraft to fly her body back to India, along with family members, T.C.A. Raghavan, the Indian high commissioner to Singapore, told reporters.
The body was taken from the hospital to a Hindu undertaker in Singapore and hours later, lying in a gold and yellow coffin selected by Indian diplomats, the body was driven in a hearse to the airport.
The plane took off from Singapore at 1630 GMT and was expected to reach New Delhi around 3 a.m. local time on Sunday (2130 GMT Saturday), the NDTV channel reported on its website citing the High Commissioner.
Hundreds of protesters took to the streets in the northern Indian city of Lucknow. In Hyderabad, in southern India, a group of women marched to demand severe punishment for the rapists. Protests were also held in the cities of Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai.
"For some reason, and I don't really know why, she got through to us," well-known columnist Nilanjana Roy wrote in a blog on Saturday.
"Our words shriveled in the face of what she'd been subjected to by the six men travelling on that bus, who spent an hour torturing and raping her, savagely beating up her male friend."
GENDER ISSUES
Sonia Gandhi, the powerful leader of the ruling Congress party, directly addressed the protesters in a rare broadcast on state television, saying that as a mother and a woman she understood their grievances.
"Your voice has been heard," Gandhi said. "It deepens our determination to battle the pervasive and the shameful social attitudes that allow men to rape and molest women with such impunity."
The attack has put gender issues centre stage in Indian politics. Issues such as rape, dowry-related deaths and female infanticide have rarely entered mainstream political discourse.
Analysts say the death of the woman dubbed "Amanat", an Urdu word meaning "treasure," by some Indian media could change that, although it is too early to say whether the protesters calling for government action to better safeguard women can sustain their momentum through to national elections due in 2014.
The outcry over the attack caught the government off-guard and it was slow to react. It took a week for Singh to make a statement on the attack, infuriating many protesters who saw it as a sign of a government insensitive to the plight of women.
The prime minister, an 80-year-old technocrat who speaks in a low monotone, has struggled to channel the popular outrage in his public statements and convince critics that his eight-year-old government will take steps to improve the safety of women.
"The Congress managers were ham-handed in their handling of the situation that arose after the brutal assault on the girl. The crowd management was poor," a lawmaker from Singh's ruling Congress party said on condition of anonymity.
Commentators and sociologists say the rape has tapped into a deep well of frustration many Indians feel over what they see as weak governance and poor leadership on social issues.
A global poll by the Thomson Reuters Foundation in June found that India was the worst place to be a woman because of high rates of infanticide, child marriage and slavery.
New Delhi has the highest number of sex crimes among India's major cities, with a rape reported on average every 18 hours, according to police figures. Government data show the number of reported rape cases in the country rose by nearly 17 percent between 2007 and 2011.
For a link to the poll, click http://www.trust.org/trustlaw/news/special-coverage/g20women/
(Additional reporting by Devidutta Tripathy, Satarupa Bhattacharjya, Diksha Madhok, Shashank Chouhan and Suchitra Mohanty in Delhi, Sharat Pradhan in Lucknow, Sujoy Dhar in Kolkata, Anupama Chandrasekaran in Chennai, Eveline Danubrata, Saeed Azhar, Edgar Su and Sanjeev Miglani in Singapore; Editing by Mark Bendeich, Robert Birsel and Alison Williams)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/india-gang-rape-victim-dies-singapore-hospital-002303027.html
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AUM Women's Basketball travels to Florida for New Year's tournament
After over two weeks off, the 20th-ranked Auburn Montgomery women's basketball team returns to action on December 30 against Madonna University. The game will be a part of the four-day Ave Maria University Holiday Classic in Ave Maria, Fla.
The Warhawks are looking to get back on track after dropping their last two games prior to the holidays. AUM is 10-2 thus far in 2012-13, including a 4-0 record in conference play.
"We're looking forward to getting back to playing," Head Coach Dan Davis said. "The players all seem refreshed after the break. We're ready to get a couple games under our belt as we prepare for the 14 games that we have left in the conference."
After returning to practice on the day after Christmas, AUM made the long journey to southern Florida yesterday, with a brief stop for practice at the University of Florida in Gainesville.
Their opponents on Saturday, Madonna, hail from Livonia, Mich. and are currently 6-5. The Crusaders' matchup against AUM will be their third game in three days at the tournament, which begins today and concludes on New Year's Eve. The two schools have never faced each other.
A total of six teams are participating in the tournament. AUM concludes the event on Dec. 31 against host school Ave Maria (5-4) before returning home next Friday to face Emmanuel. Ave Maria will be playing its fourth game in four days on New Year's Eve.
"We've got two quality opponents with winning records," Davis said. "Both are receiving votes in the NAIA Division II poll. We know that we've got some good tests down here, playing some teams we haven't played before and seeing some different brands of basketball."
The Warhawks are 4-0 in tournaments this year, sweeping both of their games at the Jimmy Faulkner Classic and Jack Souther Classic earlier in November. After this weekend, 14 of their last 15 regular season games will be Southern States Athletic Conference matchups.
Both games this weekend begin at 1 p.m. Ave Maria is planning to produce a free online video broadcast of the games at the following link: http://www.livestream.com/avemariaathletics.
Source:? AUM Sports Information Director
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Local Giving First – A look at Springfield, Illinois ... - Jarid's Log
By Jarid A. Brown, on December 30th, 2012
With fewer than 48 hours left in 2012, today is the ideal time to push charitable giving and volunteering to the top of your list of New Year resolutions and if you act quickly, the ideal time to earn a valuable tax deduction for 2012.
- The Hope Institute for Children and Families ? Since 1957, The Hope Institute for Children and Families has been creating hopeful futures for children with disabilities. Today, Hope provides the finest residential, educational and medical services for thousands of children and families battling autism and developmental disabilities. (Just a disclaimer, I am the Director of Online Interactions for Hope)
- American Cancer Society ? Relay for Life? ? The journey to end cancer starts with a single step. The American Cancer Society invites you to take that step with us by joining the global Relay For Life movement. When you walk to end cancer at a Relay event, it?s your opportunity to not only honor cancer survivors and remember loved ones lost, but also to raise awareness about what we can do to stay well from cancer and raise money to help fuel the world?s largest walk to end cancer.
- Animal Protective League ? For over 50 years, the Animal Protective League has been an advocate for animals in both Springfield and Sangamon County. APL operates a shelter for sick, injured, abused and abandoned dogs and cats as well as a low cost spay/neuter clinic.
- Central Illinois FoodBank ? Established in 1982 by a coalition of churches, distributes over 8 million pounds of food annually to over 150 food pantries, soup kitchens, residential programs and after-school programs in a 21 county region. Central Illinois Foodbank is a member of Feeding America, the nation?s largest domestic hunger relief organization, and is a United Way certified agency.
- Girls of the Run ? Girls on the Run is a program that helps girls (3rd-8th grade) take charge of their lives and define the future on their terms; teaching girls that there are no limits and no constraints to whom and what they can be ? and that there are so many opportunities to be remarkable. GotR incorporates running into their curriculum to inspire and motivate girls throughout the 10-week program, encourage lifelong health and fitness, and build confidence through accomplishment. To date, GotR has reached over 2,000 central Illinois girls.
- Habitat for Humanity of Sangamon County ? Habitat for Humanity develops working partnerships with local businesses, churches, community organizations and other individuals to build simple, decent and affordable housing for all people in need. Since its founding in 1989, Habitat for Humanity of Sangamon County has built over 85 houses in the local community (including builds in Pawnee, Glenarm, and Grandview as well as in Springfield) while providing shelter for more than 300 individuals.
- Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach ? Mission Outreach works with hospitals, clinics and medical manufacturers throughout the midwest to address the serious unmet medical needs of people in developing countries. The organization works to secure surplus medical equipment and supplies that are then shipped around to nations around the world.
- AFSP Out of the Darkness (Springfield Outreach) ? The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has been at the forefront of a wide range of suicide prevention initiatives ? each designed to reduce loss of life from suicide. AFSP are investing in groundbreaking research, new educational campaigns, innovative demonstration projects and critical policy work. And expanding its assistance to people whose lives have been affected by suicide, reaching out to offer support and offering opportunities to become involved in prevention.
- St. Johns Children?s Hospital ? Since 1985, St. John?s Children?s Hospital, in partnership with SIU School of Medicine, has been affiliated with Children?s Miracle Network Hospitals. St. John?s Children?s Hospital is a special place for children and their families, providing expert care, in a healing environment, designed to meet the unique needs of your child and family.
- St. Patrick Catholic School ? St. Patrick is a nonprofit mission school providing a learning environment open to children and families of all races and creeds within the community. We seek to give our students a variety of faith based learning experiences.
- Springfield Art Association (SAA) ? SAA promotes and supports the visual arts, provides art education opportunities for the greater Springfield area and preserves and interprets historic Edwards Place and the collections of the SAA. SAA provides the best experience for students of all ages to discover their creative side and develop an understanding of art.
- United Way of Central Illinois ? United Way of Central Illinois is the largest private funder of social service programs in Sangamon County. We provide funding for local programs aligned around education, food, shelter, healthcare and victim services. Our goal is to create long-lasting positive change in the lives of individuals and families by addressing their short and long term needs.
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Source: http://www.jaridslog.com/local-giving-first-a-look-at-springfield-illinois-charities
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Most expensive Pet Homes
The super-rich and celebrity pet owners who owns the rarest, enviable and most exotic pets, loves to splurge heavily to provide them all the luxury of the world, all in an effort to make them feel comfortable and well cared for. Some just loves to have an extravagant replica of their house, or the custom, modernist, one-off designer luxury doghouses for their lovable dogs to live in, while some get the hand-crafted luxury pet tree houses for their pets to use to feel more at home in their natural environment while enjoying the taste of realistic outdoor experience. Also, we have earlier told you about some exceptional celebrity splurges like Paris Hilton got her pets a luxurious pet mansion, a Thai jeweler splurged $4.2 million on a diamond tiara for his pampered poochie, besides the luxury pets that enjoyed luxuries worth of $154,710, and most expensive pet wedding in history that costed $250,000. Here, our edit of the most expensive pet homes further throws light on how much pet lovers can actually spend to confirm the comfortable and luxurious stay of their loved ones.
Most expensive Pet Homes
Hunger strike pressures Canada PM, aboriginal protests spread
OTTAWA (Reuters) - A Canadian aboriginal chief in the third week of a hunger strike is urging Prime Minister Stephen Harper to "open his heart" and meet with native leaders angered by his policies as small impromptu protests spread beyond Canada's borders.
Chief Theresa Spence from the remote northern Ontario community of Attawapiskat has been fasting since December 11 and has vowed to continue until Harper personally commits to the talks on a litany of complaints, including new legislation that she says will harm native lands.
"He's a person with a heart but he needs to open his heart. I'm sure he has faith in the Creator himself and for him to delay this, it's very disrespectful, I feel, to not even meet with us," she said in an interview in Ottawa.
Spence is at the center of an unprecedented Canadian aboriginal protest movement called "Idle No More" that began with four women in the province of Saskatchewan raising awareness about the Conservative government's budget bill, which was passed earlier this month.
The bill, which has also been heavily criticized by opposition politicians for its broad reach, scales back environmental protections for lakes and rivers and makes it easier to sell reserve lands.
Aided by Facebook and Twitter, their protest proliferated faster than anyone had imagined and is now drawing comparisons to the "Occupy Wall Street" movement.
"Flash mob" protests with traditional dancing and drumming have erupted in dozens of shopping malls across North America. There have been rallies, marches and highway blockades by aboriginal groups across Canada and supporters have emerged from as far away as New Zealand and the Middle East.
The campaign aims to draw attention to the dismal living conditions faced by many of the country's 1.2 million natives, including poverty, unsafe drinking water, inadequate housing, addiction and high suicide rates.
'I'M WILLING TO DIE'
Camped out in a traditional teepee within sight of Ottawa's Parliament buildings, Spence appeared weak and short of breath but resolute on Thursday, Day 17 of her hunger strike, staying warm by a wood stove as a snow storm raged outside.
To critics who question her strategy and say her demands are too vague, Spence replies that she has run out of patience.
"I know it's hard for people to understand what I'm doing but it's for this pain that's been going on too long with our people," she said, sitting on her makeshift bed and flanked by supporters.
Blankets hung from the inside walls of the teepee and a faint aroma of cedar rose from branches spread on the ground. Spence is consuming only water, fish broth and a medicinal tea.
"It has to stop and I'm willing to suffer until the meeting goes on. Even if I don't make it, people will continue my journey. Like I keep saying, I'm willing to die for the people of First Nations because the suffering is too much," Spence said.
Spence was in the headlines last year when a severe housing crisis in her community forced people to live in tents in temperatures of minus 40 Fahrenheit (minus 40 Celsius).
The Canadian government suggested taxpayer funds were being squandered and appointed an outside adviser to oversee the town's finances, a move seen as insensitive and later rejected by the courts.
Harper met with native leaders in January but Spence says he had his own agenda and that this time the aboriginal leaders want to bring their issues to the table.
"Why are they so afraid to meet with us?" she said.
Harper's office declined to comment. A spokesman for Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan said the minister has tried repeatedly to reach Chief Spence with no success.
"We will continue trying to engage the chief and other First Nation leaders to discuss how we can build on the progress we have made since 2006," said the spokesman, Jason MacDonald.
MacDonald said Ottawa had built and renovated schools and homes, invested in safe drinking water, introduced legislation to protect the rights of women on reserves and settled over 80 land claims.
Harper also formally apologized in 2008 on behalf of Canada for having in the past forced 150,000 aboriginal children into residential schools, where many were abused.
SIMILAR TO 'OCCUPY' MOVEMENT?
Meanwhile, with the help of social media the Idle No More movement has taken on a life of its own in much the same way the first "Occupy Wall Street" camp gave birth to a multitude of "occupy" protests with no specific demand or leadership.
Events listed on the group's Web site for Friday include rallies in Los Angeles and London, where protesters plan to present Queen Elizabeth with a letter.
But organizers say they've lost track. Their initial Facebook page has 33,000 members and the Twitter hash tag was mentioned 40,000 times in a single day at its peak on December 21.
"This has spread in ways that we wouldn't even have imagined," said Sheelah McLean, an instructor at the University of Saskatchewan who was one of the four women who originally coined the "Idle No More" slogan.
"I don't think the hash tag is the most important thing that has happened," she said.
"What this movement is supposed to do is build consciousness about the inequalities so that everyone is outraged about what is happening here in Canada. Every Canadian should be outraged."
(Editing by Jeffrey Hodgson and Vicki Allen)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hunger-strike-pressures-canada-pm-aboriginal-protests-spread-151457991.html
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Mount a 7-Inch Tablet in your Car for Better Music, Navigation
He wanted to make a mount that didn't replace any of the car's innards (so he could resell it later on), so he ended up using InstaMorph and a few painted lumber connecting straps. He took out the factory stereo and velcroed the mount on the top and bottom before putting it back in, so some disassembly will be necessary. But, the final product looks pretty great, so it's worth the work (and, of course, be sure to use hands-free devices to keep you safe on the road). Hit the link to see the full project.
Nexus 7 Custom Dash Mount | Cheskitech via Reddit
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Myanmar Muslims recall Buddhist assault
SIN THET MAW, Myanmar (AP) ? Stranded beside their decrepit flotilla of wooden boats, on a muddy beach far from home, the Muslim refugees tell story after terrifying story of their exodus from a once-peaceful town on Myanmar's western coast.
They were attacked one quiet evening, they say, by Buddhist mobs determined to expel them from the island port of Kyaukphyu.
There were chaotic clashes and gruesome killings, and a wave of arson strikes so intense that flames eventually engulfed their entire neighborhood.
In the end, all they could do was run.
So they piled into 70 or 80 fishing boats ? some 4,000 souls in all ? and fled into the sea. In those final moments, many caught one last dizzying glimpse of the town they grew up in ? of a sky darkened by smoke billowing from a horizon of burning homes, of beaches filled with seething Buddhist throngs who had spent the day pelting their departing boats with slingshot-fired iron darts.
The Oct. 24 exodus was part of a wave of violence that has shaken western Myanmar twice in the last six months. But what began with a series of skirmishes that pitted ethnic Rakhine Buddhists against Rohingya, a Muslim minority, appears to have evolved into something far more disturbing: a region-wide effort by Buddhists to drive Muslims out with such ferocious shows of hatred that they could never return.
Although many Rohingya have lived here for generations, they are widely seen as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and most are denied citizenship. Similar mass expulsions have happened twice before under the country's former army rulers. But the fact that they are occurring again now, during Myanmar's much-praised transition to democratic rule, is particularly troubling.
Both reformist President Thein Sein and Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, have condemned the violence. Yet neither has defended the Rohingya, even though Muslims account for roughly two-thirds of the 200 dead, 95 percent of the 115,000 displaced and 90 percent of the homes destroyed so far, according to government statistics.
Kyaukphyu was significant because those expelled from there included another Muslim minority, the Kaman, whose right to citizenship is recognized. That they too were targeted raises fears the conflict is spreading to Myanmar's wider 4 percent Muslim minority.
For Myanmar, also called Burma, the town symbolizes the country's hopes of scoring a piece of the Asian economic surge. China is building a deep-water port and an oil pipeline terminal there.
"We never thought this could happen to us," said Kyaw Thein, a 48-year-old Kaman who fled Kyaukphyu and is now a refugee in the island village of Sin Thet Maw.
"We don't feel safe anymore, even here," he said. "Who says we won't be attacked again?"
___
The unrest in Rakhine state was triggered by the rape and murder of a Buddhist woman in late May, allegedly by three Rohingya men. But the crisis stems from something that goes back much further: a dispute over when Muslims first settled here, and who among them qualifies for citizenship.
Buddhists say the Muslims are foreigners who came to seize land and spread the Islamic faith. Muslims say they settled here long ago, legally, and suffer widespread discrimination. The issue has been exacerbated by exploding population growth and what rights groups say is open racism against the darker-skinned Rohingya, who have South Asian roots.
The Kaman, numbering perhaps only in the tens of thousands, are said to be descended from archers who once guarded a Mughal king. The Rohingya number at least 800,000 by U.N. estimates, and they have long been unwanted here.
In 1977, Myanmar's military rulers, together with residents and local authorities, drove 200,000 Rohingya into Bangladesh, where 12,000 starved to death and most of the rest were forced back to Myanmar by the Bangladeshi government. A similar horror played out in 1991, when Myanmar's army drove out 250,000 Rohingya.
After the June violence, prominent Buddhist monks issued written warnings against doing business with the Rohingya, or even speaking to them. Rohingya were kept away from schools, markets, even hospitals. Security forces restricted their movement, particularly around their refugee camps. International groups were threatened for providing aid.
Then, in October, there were demonstrations against plans by the 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference to establish a liaison office in the state capital, Sittwe. One such march, in Kyaukphyu, brought out thousands.
The rally spooked the Muslims who are roughly 6,000 of the town's 25,000 people. Rumors spread of an imminent new wave of arson attacks. Captains anchored their boats close to shore. One Muslim woman, Yeak Thai Ma, said some local officials began telling Muslims, "this place is no longer for you."
___
On Oct. 21, western Myanmar was hit with its second major spasm of violence. Within days, it had spread to nine of Rakhine state's 17 townships.
Unlike the June unrest, which had displaced 24,000 Rakhine and 28,000 Rohingya in the first week ? the vast majority of the 35,000 refugees this time were Muslim, and 97 percent of property losses were Rohingya, compared with 78 percent in June, according to government statistics.
Human Rights Watch says anti-Muslim assaults were organized by Rakhine groups, at times with support from security forces and local government officials. The government denies the charges.
There were indications the violence was coordinated; on a single day, three major Muslim neighborhoods came under attack.
One of them, the village of Yin Thei in Mrauk-U township, was overrun Oct. 23 by thousands of Rakhine armed with swords and spears. They slaughtered dozens of people who were buried in mass graves, according to Human Rights Watch. Satellite images of the village show almost nothing left but ashes.
The same day, farther south, several hundred Rakhine descended on Pauktaw by boat and forced the entire Rohingya population to flee, the rights group said. An AP team that traveled there confirmed two seaside Muslim neighborhoods were charred along with a mosque that was apparently finished off with sledgehammers.
That night, it was Kyaukphyu's turn.
___
Hla Win, a 23-year-old mother of two, was eating a dinner of fish curry and rice with her family when she heard shouting outside. It was 7 p.m., and the attacks had begun on East Pikesake district, where most of Kyaukphyu's Muslim fishing community lives.
Her husband, a 26-year-old fisherman named Maung Lay, joined a group of men struggling to douse flames leaping from a mosque with plastic buckets of water. Security forces posted nearby ordered them to move back, and one opened fire, killing Maung Lay, according to several witnesses.
Rare amateur video of that night, seen by The Associated Press, shows Buddhist mobs armed with long sticks or spears and hurling jars of burning gasoline toward homes swamped in bright orange flames as men shout in the darkness: "Throw! Throw!" and "Watch out!"
In another clip, attackers can be seen flinging firebombs over a wall into more burning houses. They crouch behind rectangular shields of corrugated iron sheeting which are being pelted with rocks, presumably by Muslims defending themselves.
As the night wore on, the adversaries wrapped bandannas around their foreheads ? red for Buddhists, white for Muslims.
It is not clear what effort, if any, was made to stop the arson attacks. The video shows armed security forces walking among large crowds of Buddhists as fires burn, doing nothing to halt them.
In one scene, a policeman or soldier orders a Muslim mob to back away as fires burn on one side of the road, or else "we will shoot you." A young Muslim man surges forward and fires a projectile from a slingshot. Gunshots ring out and the crowd retreats.
A police chief in Kyaukphyu, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the subject, said more than 100 police deployed in those first few hours along with soldiers and firefighters. But they came under attack by Muslims, making it impossible to extinguish the blazes before the homes were destroyed.
When the violence tapered off around 2 a.m., 69 homes had been wrecked, the police chief said.
That night, hundreds of Kaman and Rohingya took refuge offshore, on Muslim-owned boats.
Few, if any, slept.
Shortly after dawn, it all began again.
___
As the sun rose, Kyaw Thein, who made his living painting homes and offices, tried to return to his own home to gather clothes, blankets and any valuables he could carry.
But his house was already ablaze, and he retreated back to the boat. On the beach, Rakhine mobs were gathering.
He began to run.
Seconds later, someone plunged a machete into his upper right back. When he turned to see who, he was shocked: it was a Buddhist fisherman he had considered a friend.
"We all asked the same question," said Kyaw Thein, who is nursing a gaping wound. "How could the people we know do this to us?'"
The police chief said the Rakhine crowds swelled dramatically that morning as some 20,000 poured in from neighboring villages.
Soon, the situation was out of control.
As the fires spread, more and more Muslims sought refuge on the boats. Some sailed away, but a low tide stranded others for hours.
Witnesses interviewed by The Associated Press said the two sides faced off along the beach, mostly at a distance, shouting insults. One Muslim man said security forces posted on the shore fired in the air to push back a Rakhine mob, but there were too many to stop. Other mobs surged forward, and clashes ensued.
Tears streaming down her cheeks, Hla Hla Yee, a 36-year-old Rohingya woman, said a Rakhine mob on the beach hacked up her son. She watched from a boat as they held up his remains. Other witnesses corroborated her account.
Investigations conducted by Human Rights Watch found that local security forces killed ethnic Kaman Muslims while soldiers stood by.
Atrocities were committed by Muslims too. Matthew Smith, of Human Rights Watch, said they had attacked and in some cases killed Rakhine civilians before fleeing. One Muslim man confessed to holding a severed head aloft from one of the boats, Smith said.
By the time it was over, more than 4,000 Muslims had fled on ships so packed there wasn't enough room to lie down. Another 1,700 moved to a makeshift camp outside town.
Police say 867 homes were destroyed ? almost all of them Muslim.
The official casualty toll was nine Muslims dead, and two Rakhine.
___
When the first refugees from Kyaukphyu arrived in Sin Thet Maw, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) away, they were met with two very different reactions. Rohingya villagers opened their homes to them; the Rakhine ignored them.
The village, like many in Rakhine state, had already been split along sectarian lines even before violence first broke out in June. Its Buddhist inhabitants lived separated from the Rohingya by a long, wide field that cuts a neat line between the two. The communities traded used to trade, but all interaction ceased in June.
A Rakhine named Said Thar Tun Maung, a local government administrator on the island, said 200 Buddhists, mostly women and children, fled when the refugees arrived, fearing they would be overwhelmed. He said he had not spoken to any of Muslims and did not care about the ordeal that brought them here.
Within days, the refugee population rose even more as another flotilla that had initially landed in the state capital, Sittwe, joined them.
Many of the displaced fled wearing only the clothes they wore. Now they sleep on a windy beach under white U.N. tarps and tents held up by bamboo sticks. They live off their savings, U.N. handouts of rice and beans, and shellfish they catch in the shallows.
They have no schools to send their children to, and say authorities don't let them fish. They worry about maintaining the vital fleet of dilapidated fishing boats on which their future depends; they have few tools to repair them.
The government has yet to help, or even ask how it can.
Most of all, the refugees wonder what they'll do next. Some talk of making new lives for themselves in Sin Thet Maw. Others hope they can emigrate ? a dim prospect since few countries will take them.
One thing is sure, though.
"We can never go back to Kyaukphyu," said Kyaw Thein. "After what happened ... it will never be the same."
___
Associated Press Writer Yadana Htun contributed to this report.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/myanmar-muslims-recall-buddhist-assault-132321147.html
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Saturday, December 29, 2012
Attackers in India rape case to face murder charge
A police hearse leaves Mount Elizabeth Hospital on Saturday Dec. 29, 2012 in Singapore. A young Indian woman who was gang-raped and severely beaten on a bus in New Delhi died Saturday at the hospital, after her horrific ordeal galvanized Indians to demand greater protection from sexual violence that impacts thousands of women daily, in homes, streets and public transport, but which often goes unreported. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
A police hearse leaves Mount Elizabeth Hospital on Saturday Dec. 29, 2012 in Singapore. A young Indian woman who was gang-raped and severely beaten on a bus in New Delhi died Saturday at the hospital, after her horrific ordeal galvanized Indians to demand greater protection from sexual violence that impacts thousands of women daily, in homes, streets and public transport, but which often goes unreported. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
Indian High Commissioner to Singapore, T.C.A. Raghavan speaks to reporters about the death of a young Indian woman who was gang raped, at Mount Elizabeth Hospital late on Saturday Dec. 29, 2012 in Singapore. The woman who was gang-raped and severely beaten on a bus in New Delhi died Saturday at the hospital, after her horrific ordeal galvanized Indians to demand greater protection from sexual violence that impacts thousands of women daily, in homes, streets and public transport, but which often goes unreported. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
FILE - In this Dec. 26, 2012 file photo, Indians participate in a candle light vigil to seek a quick recovery of the young victim of the recent brutal gang-rape in a bus in New Delhi, India. A statement by Singapore?s Mount Elizabeth hospital, where the 23-year-old victim was being treated, said she died Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das, File)
A hospital employee walks at Mount Elizabeth Hospital on Saturday Dec. 29, 2012 in Singapore. A young Indian woman who was gang-raped and severely beaten on a bus in New Delhi died Saturday at the hospital, after her horrific ordeal galvanized Indians to demand greater protection from sexual violence that impacts thousands of women daily, in homes, streets and public transport, but which often goes unreported. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
Ambulances are parked outside the accident and emergency entrance at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore, late Friday Dec. 28, 2012. After 10 days at a New Delhi hospital, the victim of a gang-rape in New Delhi was flown to Singapore on Thursday for treatment at the Mount Elizabeth hospital. The young woman's condition had "taken a turn for the worse" and her vital signs had deteriorated with indications of severe organ failure, said Dr. Kelvin Loh, the chief executive officer of Singapore's Mount Elizabeth hospital. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
NEW DELHI (AP) ? Indian police charged six men with murder on Saturday, adding to accusations that they beat and gang-raped a woman on a New Delhi bus nearly two weeks ago in a case that shocked the country.
The murder charges were laid after the woman died earlier Saturday in a Singapore hospital where she has been flown for treatment.
New Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said the six face the death penalty if convicted, in case that has triggered protests across India for greater protection for women from sexual violence, and raised questions about lax attitudes by police toward sexual crimes.
The tragedy has forced India to confront the reality that sexually assaulted women are often blamed for the crime, forcing them to keep quiet and discouraging them from reporting it to authorities for fear of exposing their families to ridicule. Police often refuse to accept complaints from those who are courageous enough to report the rapes, and the rare prosecutions that reach courts drag on for years.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he was aware of the emotions the attack has stirred, adding it was up to all Indians to ensure that the young woman's death will not have been in vain.
The victim "passed away peacefully" early Saturday at Mount Elizabeth hospital in Singapore with her family and officials of the Indian Embassy by her side, Dr. Kevin Loh, the chief executive of the hospital, said in a statement.
After 10 days at a hospital in New Delhi, the Indian capital, the woman was brought Thursday to Mount Elizabeth, which specializes in multi-organ transplants. Loh said the woman had been in extremely critical condition since Thursday, and by late Friday her condition had taken a turn for the worse, with her vital signs deteriorating.
"Despite all efforts by a team of eight specialists in Mount Elizabeth hospital to keep her stable, her condition continued to deteriorate over these two days," Loh said.
The woman and a male friend, who have not been identified, were on a bus in New Delhi after watching a film on the evening of Dec. 16 when they were attacked by six men who raped her. The men beat the couple and inserted an iron rod into the woman's body, resulting in severe organ damage. Both were then stripped and thrown off the bus, according to police.
As news of the victim's death reached New Delhi, hundreds of policemen sealed off the high-security India Gate area, where the seat of India's government is located, in anticipation of more protests.
The area is home to the president's palace, the prime minister's office and key defense, external affairs and home ministries, and has been the scene of battles between protesters and police for days after the attack.
Police were allowing people to assemble at the Jantar Mantar and Ramlila grounds, the main areas allotted for protests in New Delhi, Bhagat said.
Mourners gathered at Jantar Mantar to express their grief and demand stronger protection for women and the death penalty for rape, which is now punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. Women face daily harassment across India, ranging from catcalls on the streets, groping and touching in public transport to rape.
They put a wreath studded with white flowers on the road, lit a candle and sat around it in a silent tribute to the young woman. Members of a theatre group nearby played small tambourine and sang songs urging the society to wake up and end discrimination against women.
Dipali, a working woman who uses one name, said the rape victim deserved justice. "I hope it never happens again to any girl," she said.
Dozens of students of Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi marched silently to the bus stop from where the rape victim and her friend had boarded the bus on Dec. 16. They carried placards reading "She is not with us but her story must awaken us."
Sonia Gandhi, the governing Congress party chief, assured the protesters in a statement that the rape victim's death "deepens our determination to battle the pervasive, the shameful social attitudes and mindset that allow men to rape and molest women and girls with such an impunity."
The protesters heckled Sheila Dikshit, the top elected leader of New Delhi state, when she came to express her sympathy with them and forced her to leave the protest venue. They blamed her for the deteriorating law and order situation in the Indian capital.
Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said the woman's death was a sobering reminder of the widespread sexual violence in India.
"The outrage now should lead to law reform that criminalizes all forms of sexual assault, strengthens mechanisms for implementation and accountability, so that the victims are not blamed and humiliated," Ganguly said.
Prime Minister Singh said he understood the angry reaction to the attack and that he hoped all Indians would work together to make appropriate changes.
"These are perfectly understandable reactions from a young India and an India that genuinely desires change," Singh said in a statement Saturday. "It would be a true homage to her memory if we are able to channel these emotions and energies into a constructive course of action."
Mamta Sharma, head of the state-run National Commission for Women, said the "time has come for strict laws" to stop violence against women. "The society has to change its mindset to end crimes against women," she said.
Indian attitudes toward rape are so entrenched that even politicians and opinion makers have often suggested that women should not go out at night or wear clothes that might be seen provocative.
Separately, authorities in Punjab state took action Thursday when an 18-year-old woman killed herself by drinking poison a month after she told police she was gang-raped.
State authorities suspended one police officer and fired two others on accusations they delayed investigating and taking action in the case. The three accused in the rape were arrested only on Thursday night, a month after the crime was reported.
"This is a very sensitive crime, I have taken it very seriously," said Paramjit Singh Gill, a top police officer in the city of Patiala.
The Press Trust of India reported that the woman was raped Nov. 13 and reported the attack to police Nov. 27. But police harassed the girl, asked her embarrassing questions and took no action against the accused, PTI reported, citing police sources.
___
Associated Press writers Heather Tan and Faris Mokhtar in Singapore and Ravi Nessman in New Delhi contributed to this report.
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Spain does not need European help for now says PM
MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said on Friday that Spain did not need to tap for now the European Central Bank's bond-buying program for troubled euro zone governments but did not rule out asking for aid in the future.
Rajoy has faced pressure from Spain's international partners -- including the European Commission, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) -- to seek a European Union bailout. He has resisted so far, helped by an easing of the euro zone debt crisis.
"We are not thinking of asking the European Central Bank to intervene and buy bonds in the secondary market," he said at a news conference in Madrid. "But we can't rule it out in the future."
Rajoy has been able to delay a rescue because the ECB's pledge to intervene in the market and support Spanish bond prices has brought down Spain's borrowing costs since the summer.
He praised the ECB's move on Friday.
"I think it has been a very significant decision. It has had a calming effect on the markets," he said.
But Rajoy's delaying tactics are risky at a time when the Spanish economy is contracting sharply, with 25 percent unemployment. Some market commentators believe Spain's finances could spiral into chaos if it is forced to seek a bailout due to a sudden deterioration in bond markets.
Spain's country risk, the premium bondholders demand to buy Spanish 10-year benchmark bonds over German benchmarks, was around 400 basis points on Friday, well off highs of above 600 in July.
Rajoy warned Spaniards of a tough year ahead, especially the first half, but said he hoped to see some improvement in the second half of 2013.
(Reporting by Sonya Dowsett and Clare Kane; Editing by Roger Atwood)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/spains-pm-says-does-not-rule-asking-european-131704101--finance.html
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Asian stocks up ahead of US 'fiscal cliff' talks
A woman walks by an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012. Asian markets have risen amid optimism that Japan?s new leaders will stimulate its sluggish economy. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
A woman walks by an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012. Asian markets have risen amid optimism that Japan?s new leaders will stimulate its sluggish economy. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
People walk by an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012. Asian markets have risen amid optimism that Japan?s new leaders will stimulate its sluggish economy. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
A businessman walks by an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012. Asian markets have risen amid optimism that Japan?s new leaders will stimulate its sluggish economy. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
BANGKOK (AP) ? Asian stock markets rose Friday, hours before President Barack Obama and key lawmakers were to meet at the White House to try to hammer out an 11th-hour budget compromise to avert the so-called fiscal cliff.
Lawmakers have until Monday night to reach a deal before hundreds of billions of dollars in automatic tax increases and deep cuts to government spending kick in. Such a drastic reshuffling of money could throw the U.S. into another recession, economists have warned.
However, failure to avoid the fiscal cliff doesn't necessarily mean tax increases and spending cuts would become permanent, since the new Congress could pass legislation canceling them retroactively after it begins its work next year.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index marched higher, hitting its highest level since March 20, 2011. The Tokyo benchmark rose 1 percent to 10,428.36. Export shares posted big gains as the country's currency continued to recoil against the dollar. Mazda Motor Corp. jumped 4.2 percent and Isuzu Motors Ltd. surged 4.3 percent. Nintendo Co. advanced 3.4 percent.
Investors have been cheering newly named Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his calls for more public works spending to reinvigorate the economy. He also wants the Bank of Japan to raise its inflation target from 1 to 2 percent to drag the country out of two decades of deflation, or steadily declining prices that have deadened economic activity.
But Francis Lun, managing director of Lyncean Holdings in Hong Kong, said he was skeptical that the new government's roadmap would prove effective in the long run.
"He will increase the deficit, print more money and try to spend out of the recession. If you print or borrow money, you give the economy a sense of false hope," he said. "It's like taking opium. You feel good but eventually you have to come down."
Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose less than 0.1 percent to 22,637.91, while South Korea's Kospi added 0.6 percent to 1,999. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.5 percent to 4,671.30.
"The fiscal cliff seems to have lost its negative influence on global markets," said Lun. "Even if it falls into the fiscal cliff, you will only reduce the deficit by about $100 billion. In Chinese terms, it's like trying to douse a fire with a cup of water. They should do what Europe has done and try to impose austerity."
Markets got some lift from optimistic data out of the U.S. on Thursday and a statement from the German finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, who said in an interview that the worst of the debt crisis in the 17 European Union countries that use the euro appears to be over.
In the U.S., the average number of people seeking unemployment benefits over the past month fell to the lowest level since March 2008, a sign that the job market is healing.
Worries over U.S. budget negotiations sent Wall Street slightly lower on Thursday. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.1 percent to 13,096.31. The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 0.1 percent to 1,418.10, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 0.1 percent to 2,985.91.
Benchmark oil for February delivery rose 41 cents to $91.28 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 11 cents to finish at $90.87 per barrel.
In currencies, the euro fell slightly to $1.3239 from $1.3240 late Thursday in New York. The dollar gained to 86.45 yen from 86.02 yen.
___
Follow Pamela Sampson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pamelasampson.
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