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Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Republicans unveil government funding measure
President Barack Obama welcomes his new Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, right, as he speaks to members of the media at the start of a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, March 4, 2013. From left are, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Obama and Hagel. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
President Barack Obama welcomes his new Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, right, as he speaks to members of the media at the start of a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, March 4, 2013. From left are, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Obama and Hagel. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Republicans controlling the House moved Monday to give the Pentagon more money for military readiness while easing the pain felt by such agencies as the FBI and the Border Patrol from the across-the-board spending cuts that are just starting to take effect.
The effort is part of a huge spending measure that would fund day-to-day federal operations through September ? and head off a potential government shutdown later this month.
The measure would leave in place automatic cuts of 5 percent to domestic agencies and 7.8 percent to the Pentagon ordered by President Barack Obama Friday night after months of battling with Republicans over the budget. But the House Republicans' legislation would award the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments their detailed 2013 budgets while other agencies would be frozen at 2012 levels ? and then bear the across-the-board cuts.
The impact of the new cuts was proving slow to reach the broader public as Obama convened the first Cabinet meeting of his second term to discuss next steps.
The Pentagon did say it would furlough thousands of military school teachers around the world and close commissaries an extra day each week. And Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the spending cuts were causing delays in customs lines at airports including Los Angeles International and O'Hare International in Chicago.
Obama said he was continuing to seek out Republican partners to reach a deal to ease or head off the cuts, but there was no sign that a breakthrough was in the works to reverse them.
The new GOP funding measure is set to advance through the House on Wednesday. It's aimed at preventing a government shutdown when a six-month spending bill passed last September runs out March 27.
The latest measure would provide an increase for military operations and maintenance efforts as well as veterans' health programs but would put most the rest of the government on budget autopilot.
After accounting for the across-the-board cuts, domestic agencies would face reductions exceeding 5 percent when compared with last year. But Republicans would carve out a host of exemptions seeking to protect certain functions, including federal prisons and fire-fighting efforts in the West, and to provide new funding for embassy security and modernizing the U.S. nuclear arsenal. The FBI and the Border Patrol would be able to maintain current staffing levels and would not have to furlough employees.
The legislation would provide about $2 billion more than the current level to increase security at U.S. embassies and diplomatic missions worldwide. Last September, a terrorist attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
A project to repair the Capitol Dome in Washington could stay on track, and NASA would be protected from the harshest effects of the automatic cuts, known in Washington as a sequester.
The across-the-board cuts would carve $85 billion in spending from the government's $3.6 trillion budget for this year, concentrating the cuts in the approximately $1 trillion allocated to the day-to-day agency operating budgets set by Congress each year. Those so-called discretionary accounts received big boosts in the first two years of Obama's presidency when Democrats controlled Congress but have borne the brunt of the cuts approved as Obama and Republicans have grappled over the budget.
Both Democrats and Republicans for months have warned the cuts are draconian and would slow the growth of the economy and cost hundreds of thousands of jobs. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, for instance, says they would slow the economy by 0.6 percent and cost about 750,000 jobs.
Obama presided Monday over the first meeting of his new-look Cabinet in a sobering climate of fiscal belt-tightening, urging humane management of spending cuts for communities and families that are "going to be hurting."
"We can manage through it," the president told reporters. Obama and members of his Cabinet had been warning for weeks that the cuts would be painful, but the fact is they will be slow to take effect, with the first furloughs of government workers not due until next month. Cuts to many programs may go unnoticed entirely.
The White House budget office's 83-page sequestration order was released Friday evening, detailing the cuts to more than 1,000 separate government accounts, big and small. Cuts of 7.8 percent that are set to strike defense accounts include $5.2 billion for construction at Army bases. Other accounts are far smaller, like $32 million to operate and maintain the St. Lawrence Seaway.
Each agency is supposed to apportion the cuts equally to each "program, project and activity" within the broader accounts, which gives agency heads some flexibility since it's up to them to define what that means. And it's not clear what recourse others would have if they disagreed with an agency's choices.
"That leaves it pretty much to the administrators in the agency in which that account falls to determine how he's planning on applying it," said G. William Hoagland, a budget expert with the Bipartisan Policy Center. "I don't know that anybody's going to be held accountable if some administrator defines a project the way he wants to define it."
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Cardinals begin pre-conclave meetings amid scandal
VATICAN CITY (AP) ? Cardinals from around the world gathered Monday inside the Vatican for their first round of meetings before the conclave to elect the next pope, amid scandals inside and out of the Vatican and the continued reverberations of Benedict XVI's decision to retire.
Cardinals were treated like rock stars as they entered the Vatican on Monday morning, with television crews swarming around the red-capped churchmen and their handlers pushing their way through the crowds.
"A Latin American Pope is possible, everything is possible!" said Portuguese Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins as he entered.
The core agenda item is to set the date for the conclave and set in place procedures to prepare for it, including closing the Sistine Chapel to visitors and getting the Vatican hotel cleared out and de-bugged, lest anyone try to listen in on the secret conversations of the cardinals.
But a date may not be agreed upon Monday as the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, has said the date won't be finalized until all cardinals have arrived in Rome.
The first day of discussion was again rocked by revelations of scandal, with Scottish Cardinal Keith O'Brien admitting that he had engaged in sexual misconduct not befitting a priest, archbishop or cardinal.
O'Brien last week resigned as archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh and said he wouldn't participate in the conclave after four men came forward with allegations that he had acted inappropriately with them ? the first time a cardinal has stayed away from a conclave because of personal scandal.
Separately, the Vatican is still reeling from the fallout of the scandal over leaked papal documents, and the investigation by three cardinals into who was behind it.
Italian news reports have been rife with unsourced reports about the contents of the cardinals' dossier. Even if the reports are false, as the Vatican maintains, the leaks themselves confirmed a fairly high level of dysfunction within the Vatican bureaucracy, with intrigues, turf battles and allegations of corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the highest levels of the church hierarchy.
In one of his last audiences before resigning, Benedict met with the three cardinals who prepared the report and decided that their dossier would remain secret. But he gave them the go-ahead to answer cardinals' questions about its contents.
Another topic facing the cardinals is the reason they're here in the first place: Benedict's resignation and its implications. His decision to end 600 years of tradition and retire rather than stay on the job until death has completely altered the concept of the papacy, and cardinals haven't shied from weighing in about the implications for the next pope.
___
Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cardinals-begin-pre-conclave-meetings-amid-scandal-085445606.html
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Sydney becomes more appealing destination for business events ...
New South Wales has had one of its most successful business events years ever, hosting 91 events worth almost $220 million to the State?s economy, Minister for Tourism and Major Events, George Souris, announced today.
?I am particularly buoyed to see that regional areas of NSW are also major beneficiaries of business events last year and I am encouraged by Business Events Sydney (BESydney) reporting that NSW?s regions were enjoying increased opportunities for hosting national and international business delegates.
Business Events Sydney is a not-for-profit, independent proprietary company.
?The NSW Government is committed to expanding the benefits of business events to the regions by enacting a recommendation of the Visitor Economy Taskforce which will see the development this year of an integrated Regional Conferencing Strategy led by Destination NSW and Business Events Sydney.
?Destinations such as the Hunter Valley, Blue Mountains and Wollongong have traditionally been key markets for incentive and reward trips, but the growing sophistication of regional facilities and the cultivation of specalised knowledge hubs are making these destinations more and more appealing to the conference and association market.
?Whether it?s rural health in Newcastle, organic horticulture at Bathurst or fisheries at Port Stephens, association clients embrace the opportunity to take visiting delegates to the coal face to engage and collaborate at regional research centres and knowledge hubs and undertake technical tours of these specialty areas,? Mr Souris said.
Mr Souris pointed out that last year saw 60,237 delegates come to Sydney for a total of 244,453 delegate days, many visiting regional areas and spending time there?and this year is looking even more promising.
?2013 has only just begun, but already BESydney has secured a strong line-up of events for the city, drawing thousands of visitors that are keen to experience one of the world?s most unforgettable destinations first hand.
?So far, 64 events will attract more than 50,000 business visitors to NSW with an estimated economic impact of $167.1 million to the State.? ?
?Among the secured events for 2013 is the LG Group?s annual incentive program, which will be held in Sydney for the third time. 930 selected LG staff from Korea will travel to Sydney in waves of 50 ? 70 delegates at a time to enjoy a fun-filled itinerary, including visits to the Blue Mountains, sand boarding in Port Stephens and, of course, tours of Sydney?s famous landmarks.
?Wollongong and the Illawarra have also reaped the benefits of the Government?s efforts, together with BE Sydney and Destination NSW. Wollongong played host to the 15th International Conference on Advances in Materials and Processing Technologies (AMPT) for 300 delegates in September 2012 and will host 400 delegates for the IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics in July 2013.
?The intellectual capital of the award-winning University of Wollongong has helped to attract a diverse array of leading business events and that momentum is set to continue.
?The Hunter Valley is another destination to benefit with the Perfect China Leadership Seminar bringing more than 3,000 delegates to the region in July adding millions of dollars to the local economy.
?Many of the regions of NSW have their own unique products, expert suppliers and natural assets to offer the business events market. BESydney and Destination NSW will develop strategies to enrich and enhance the opportunities for regional business, institutes and universities to tap into the business event market. The future for business events in Sydney and NSW is bright,? Mr Souris said.
Mr Souris congratulated BE Sydney for its success in helping to continue to attract a record number business events to NSW.
Lyn Lewis-Smith, CEO of BESydney, said last year?s success could be attributed to BESydney?s expert team and long-term client relationships.
?Critical to this success is the dynamic business environment and innovative researchers based in our State,? she said.
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Cdn papal contender: church could be positive example on handling abuse scandals
VATICAN CITY - The Canadian cardinal considered one of the top choices for the papacy says he thinks the Catholic church's handling of its sex abuse scandals can be held up as a positive example.
In an interview with CBC television Marc Cardinal Ouellet defended the church, saying it had to bear a great deal of public scrutiny when stories of abuse came to light.
"But it is not a Catholic problem; it is a human problem," he said.
"Most of the abuse occurred in families in very general in society, and my hope is what was done by the Catholic Church, which is not yet perfect, but could be also of example for others in society. And I hope it will create an atmosphere in the whole society for respect of youth, for creating, you know, a safe environment everywhere you know in sports environments and others."
Ouellet added that the issue of abuse within the church was still one that had to be dealt with very carefully, but he said he was satisfied with the practices of monitoring members of the clergy which were are currently in place.
Quebec-born Ouellet has come under fire in the past from critics who said he remained silent on the issue of sexual abuse by priests in his home province.
In the interview which aired Monday night, Ouellet said the church has learned from its mistakes and has "apologized many times" for cases of abuse that have hurt its reputation.
"Everything that was bad, you know is so regretful," he said.
When asked if the church had apologized enough, Ouellet mused aloud, "so I think?enough? Who knows?"
Ouellet is being touted as a possible candidate to succeed Pope Benedict, who announced his resignation last month citing a lack of strength to do the job.
The 68-year-old Canadian serves as head of the powerful Congregation for Bishops, which vets bishop nominations worldwide.
He has created controversy in the past with his conservative views.
The former Archbishop of Quebec City drew considerable criticism when he ignored the wishes of many of his priests and banned the practice of general absolution ? a type of mass-forgiveness ceremony that allowed Catholics to avoid the discomfort of the confessional.
The practice, dismissed by purists as a shortcut, was favoured by many priests because it often boosted attendance.
Ouellet is also remembered in Quebec for anti-abortion remarks he made in 2010, which provoked angry reactions from women's rights activists and a number of politicians.
The cardinal had told media that abortion was unjustifiable, even in cases of rape.
Ouellet has also spoken out against gay marriage, calling it "a big crisis, not only a moral crisis, but an anthropological one. We don't know what it means to be a human being anymore.''
Pre-conclave meetings began Monday at the Vatican, at which cardinals organize the election of the next pope, discuss the problems of the church and get to know one another before voting.
No date has been set yet for the conclave and one may not be decided on officially for a few more days.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cdn-papal-contender-church-could-positive-example-handling-025802992.html
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Monday, March 4, 2013
AP PHOTOS: A look at past Iditarod sled dog races
AP PHOTOS: A look at past Iditarod sled dog races
By The Associated PressBy The Associated Press, Associated Press?
?FILE - Iditarod front-runner Dallas Seavey makes his final drive toward Nome, Alaska, during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on March 13, 2012. (AP Photo/Anchorage Daily News, Marc Lester, File)
FILE - Iditarod front-runner Dallas Seavey makes his final drive toward Nome, Alaska, during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on March 13, 2012. (AP Photo/Anchorage Daily News, Marc Lester, File)
FILE - Rick Swenson leads his team the final few yards at the conclusion of the ninth annual Iditarod Sled Dog Race in Nome, Alaska, March 19, 1981. The Eureka musher won the race for the third time, covering the 969 miles from Settlers Bay, near Anchorage, to Nome in 12 days, 8 hours, 45 minutes and 2 seconds. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Last year?s winner and veteran dog musher Susan Butcher pulls into this checkpoint in the heat of the day in McGrath, Alaska, March 12, 1987. (AP Photo/Rob Stapleton, File)
FILE - Bruce Johnson of Atlin, B.C., Canada, takes a nap in the heat of the day at Nikolai checkpoint along the Iditarod trail in Alaska, March 12, 1987. (AP Photo/Rob Stapleton, File)
FILE - The aurora borealis, or northern lights, fill the sky above the Takotna, Alaska checkpoint during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Wednesday, March 9, 2011. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen, File)
The world's most famous sled dog race, the Iditarod, kicks off Saturday with an 11-mile-long trot through Anchorage, Alaska's largest city. The race consists of a grueling 1,000-mile trek through unpredictable wilderness to the old gold rush town of Nome on Alaska's western coast. Whoever reaches Nome first wins a new truck and a cash prize of $50,400. The rest of the $600,000 purse will be split between the next 29 mushers to cross the finish line. The iconic race, however, seems to be about more than a monetary prize for most involved: a competition of human versus wild.
Here's a gallery of pictures looking back at more than 30 years of "The Last Great Race."
Associated PressPeople, Places and Companies: Alaska
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Humans kill nearly 100 million sharks each year, say conservationists
Shark populations have declined rapidly, driven largely by demand for shark fins, a delicacy in many Asian countries.
A great white shark in captivity swims Monterey Bay Aquarium's 'Outer Bay' exhibit in 2005. Great white sharks off the coast of California are set to enjoy greater protection, as state officials consider whether to add the predator to California's list of endangered species.
Vern Fisher/Monterey County Herald/AP/File
EnlargeProtection measures have failed to stop around 100 million sharks being fished every year and a third of all shark species are now threatened with extinction, conservationists say.
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Many are caught for their fins, a delicacy in Asian soup. The fins are sliced off and the animals are often dumped alive overboard to die of suffocation or eaten by other predators.
Protection for endangered sharks may have lagged because they are relatively unloved compared to animals such as pandas or lions, even though they usually kill fewer than 10 people a year worldwide.
An estimated 97 million sharks, or 1.41 million tonnes, were caught in 2010 compared to 100 million in 2000, according to a study in the journal Marine Policy, the first to estimate the number of sharks killed annually.
"We are now the predators. Humans have mounted an unrelenting assault on sharks and their numbers are crashing throughout the world's oceans," said Elizabeth Wilson, manager of global shark conservation at The Pew Charitable Trusts.
A meeting of 170 nations in Bangkok from March 3 to 14 will consider limits on trade in hammerhead sharks, oceanic whitetip sharks and porbeagle sharks to curb over-fishing. Great white sharks, whale sharks and basking sharks already have protection.
"More has to be done. Some species are really hanging on by a thread," said Boris Worm, a marine biologist at Dalhousie University in Canada, who was lead author of the study with other experts in Canada and the United States.
Demand in Asia for shark fins, a delicacy in soup, is a main driver of catches that also target meat, liver oil and cartilage.
The small fall in catches from 2000 to 2010 may be an encouraging sign of steps to outlaw finning by the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia in the past decade, Worm said. And China plans to phase out shark fin soup in official banquets.
But it may be a sign that sharks are getting harder to find because there are fewer in the oceans, he told Reuters.
Unloved fish
Sharks killed seven people worldwide in unprovoked attacks in 2012, down from 13 in 2011 but above the average for 2001 to 2010 of 4.4, according to the International Shark Attack File compiled by the University of Florida.
On Wednesday, a New Zealand man was attacked and killed by a great white shark.
Friday's study estimated that between 6.4 and 7.9 percent of the world's sharks are caught every year, depleting numbers since sharks grow slowly, have few offspring and numbers can only rebound at about 4.9 percent a year.
Pew urged delegates at the Bangkok meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species to agree more protection for sharks and rays.
Worldwide there are about 500 species of shark, ranging from the dwarf shark that can fit in the palm of a hand to the whale shark, the largest fish in the oceans that can grow up to 12 metres (40 feet), the length of a bus.
A third of those species risk being wiped out, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
(Reporting By Alister Doyle; Editing by Tom Pfeiffer)
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