August 2009

China urges U.S. to halt surveillance near its shores (Reuters)

Posted Thu, 08/27/2009 - 05:25 by admin

BEIJING (Reuters) –
China called on the United States to reduce and eventually halt air and sea military surveillance close to its shores after a series of territorial disputes this year.

The request was made during a special session on maritime safety between the two countries' militaries on Wednesday and Thursday, Xinhua news agency said on Thursday, citing China's Defense Ministry.

Five times this year, Chinese vessels have confronted U.S. surveillance ships in Asian waters, the U.S. Defense Department said in May. China said the U.S. vessels had intruded its territory. There has since been a sixth incident.

"China believes the constant U.S. military air and sea surveillance and survey operations in China's exclusive economic zone had led to military confrontations between the two sides," the ministry said.

"The way to resolve China-U.S. maritime incidents is for the U.S. to change its surveillance and survey operations policies against China, decrease and eventually stop such operations."

Susan Stevenson, spokeswoman at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, confirmed the request.

"Our position has not changed," Stevenson said, citing a U.S. Undersecretary of Defense Michele Flournoy statement during a June visit to China that the U.S. "exercises its freedom of navigation while putting emphasis on taking care to avoid any unwanted incidents."

The United States maintains on principle that waters beyond 12 miles offshore are open to all shipping, while China holds that the U.S. should not trespass within its 200-mile exclusive economic zone.

In March, five Chinese vessels approached the USNS Impeccable in the South China Sea about 75 miles from Hainan Island in March, after hassling that ship, as well as the ocean surveillance ship Victorious in the Yellow Sea, in previous days.

In May, two Chinese fishing vessels confronted the Victorious again.

In June, a Chinese submarine collided with an underground sonar array being towed by the destroyer USS John McCain, near Subic Bay in the Philippines.

The most serious recent confrontation between China and the U.S. was in 2001, when a U.S. naval surveillance aircraft flying about 70 miles off Hainan collided with a Chinese fighter and was forced to land on Hainan Island.

(Editing by Nick Macfie)

Creditors back Michael Vick's bankruptcy plan (AP)

Posted Thu, 08/27/2009 - 05:19 by admin

RICHMOND, Va. – Creditors who are owed a total of more than $20 million have endorsed Michael Vick's plan to pay them back and emerge from bankruptcy, according to a court filing.
In balloting, secured and unsecured creditors overwhelmingly approved a reorganization plan by Vick, who is due in Newport News on Thursday to seek a judge's approval of the plan before returning to Philadelphia to make his debut with the Eagles in an NFL preseason game.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court appearance before Judge Frank Santoro will be the first since Vick was picked up by Philadelphia. His ability to repay the debt will be critical to Santoro's decision on the reorganization plan.
Creditors ranging from banks holding mortgages on Vick houses to his former team, the Atlanta Falcons, endorsed Vick's plan to repay them based on future earnings and the sales of assets, including houses, cars and investments. Debtors representing $132,743 rejected the plan.
The results of the voting were filed this week in the Newport News courtroom.
Vick was released from federal custody July 20 after serving 18 months of a 23-month sentence for his role in running a dogfighting ring. He signed a one-year, $1.6 million contract with the Eagles, who hold a $5.2 million option for a second season.
A payment plan outlined before Vick's signing with the Eagles would give creditors 10 percent of the first $750,000 a year Vick earns. He would be allowed to keep one house in Virginia, a luxury SUV and other possessions under the plan.
The creditors have previously signaled their support of Vick's repayment plan, though Santoro had expressed skepticism of Vick's ability to repay his debt before he was signed by the Eagles.
A lawyer representing one group of creditors on Wednesday called Vick's signing "a huge development in the case."
"I think the court is going to independently consider, as it must in every case whether you're a pipefitter or an NFL player or a GM, whether the plan is feasible," said Ross Reeves, attorney for a committee representing Vick's unsecured creditors.
"It's really whether or not Mike Vick can afford to pay and rehabilitate himself financially," Reeves said.
Vick is eligible to play the final two preseason games, but not in the regular season. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he would consider Vick for full reinstatement by no later than Week 6, in mid-October.
Vick's attorneys did not immediately return telephone and e-mail messages left by The Associated Press.
Besides his creditors, Vick ultimately will face legal bills approaching $2 million for his bankruptcy team.

Hurricanes trying to get work done early (AP)

Posted Thu, 08/27/2009 - 04:31 by admin

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Miami coach Randy Shannon walked around a corner toward the practice field, immediately slipping into darkness.
Football practice at Miami got a new twist early Thursday, with the first scheduled 5:45 a.m. workout of the season.
The way Shannon sees it, early morning practices are advantageous in several ways. There's no scheduling conflicts with classes at that hour, and it minimizes the chance of workouts being interrupted by storms — a common event on steamy South Florida afternoons.
It's not a short-term experiment, either: Plans call for the early workouts to continue the rest of the season. The first wave of players hit the field at 5:28 a.m.; the first air horn blew at 5:42 a.m., indicating the official start of the session.

Skepticism over 'breakthrough' Middle East peace plan (The Christian Science Monitor)

Posted Wed, 08/26/2009 - 23:27 by admin

Paris –
A report by the Guardian newspaper that Israel is close to a White House Middle East peace deal – linking a partial freeze on Israeli settlements to sweeping sanctions on Iran – has captured diplomatic attention in Europe, though some details are being met with skepticism.
Most experts doubt the Obama team is ready to fuse the two crucial policies, particularly in the aftermath of Iranian elections.
Yet with French president Nicolas Sarkozy today suggesting “reinforced sanctions” on Iran if Tehran’s nuclear policy does not change by a Sept. 20 UN summit, and expressing support for a Palestinian state and immediate freeze on settlements – the White House may have a partner in Middle East dealmaking. Under Sarkozy, France has taken an ever tougher line against Iran’s nuclear and missile policy – partly to close the earlier gap with the Americans over Iraq, and partly because France and other European nations have crept closer to Israel.
Yet with authority in Tehran now in flux, European diplomats say, it is far too early to pose clear sanctions policies since their outcome could in the end hurt moderates and others seeking reform.
"Sanctions are not part of any headlines in the US, France, and Britain, right now," says François Heisbourg, author of "Iran, The Choice of Arms" and adviser at the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris. "We don't know who is in charge in Iran. We don't know who has a brief to do what. We don't know consequences. It's difficult to do diplomacy when you don't know who is affected by your policy.
"But the French support sanctions, as an alternative to bombing. As Voltaire said, it's a terrible idea, but what's the alternative?"
If anything, the French position on Iran's missile and nuclear ambitions has become tougher than the American one – though not widely advertised.
"It is hard for France to have a more hard-line position than the US, since that puts France in the target line of Tehran," says Clément Therme, an Iranian expert at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. "The French position is weak on Iran and will follow any move from the Obama administration, I'm sure of that. The British are in the same position as the French. But there is no unity in the EU on Iran. Without the Americans competing there, everyone has interests."
Sarkozy, in an annual talk to the gathered French ambassadors, had sharp words for Iran, saying the same leaders that claimed its recent elections were honest and fair are also those who say its nuclear program is peaceful. “Who can believe them?” he asked.

If there is a resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, French officials confirm that they are eager to host the talks. Russia, as the Guardian reported, is also keen to host any such talks.
Skepticism in EuropeIn Europe, deep skepticism exists that Israelis and Palestinians are politically or psychologically ready to find serious common cause – either on the ground, or between Prime Minister Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Yet Monday's story in the London-based Guardian outlining a breakthrough by President Obama in forging Israeli-Palestinian talks was widely translated and reprinted on the continent. It claims Israel's cooperation with Mr. Obama is based on gaining tough oil and gas sanctions against Iran, which allows the Israeli leader to sell the idea at home under the oft-stated formula that Iran is an "existential threat" to Israel, whereas settlements are not.
On Tuesday, after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was "more optimistic" about the Middle East peace process, but said that Israeli settlements remained an obstacle. Sarkozy told French ambassadors, similarly, that while Israel is a friend, “the truth is, there can be no peace while settlements continue.” Netanyahu also met with US envoy George Mitchell in London, and will head to Berlin for a meeting Thursday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
US stuck on settlementsMideast expert Robert Malley of the International Crisis Group in Washington, among others, doubts a clear linkage between Iran and Israel in the current Obama plans, feeling that the Guardian and other news reports were simply "amalgamating" evidence that is inconclusive.
"Netanyahu can use Iranian sanctions to sell this, but I don't think that Israel and Iran are yet factually related in the White House. These are still parallel matters.
"The question marks [on an Israeli-Palestinian deal] are as sharp as ever, we aren't anywhere near the heart of the matter," Mr. Malley says. "But the Obama people were getting stuck on settlements. It wasn't working so it looks like they decided to pivot, declare victory, and try to move as far as possible."
One Harvard University scholar reached by phone in Israel, who spent the summer in Gaza and Hebron, argues that a US-brokered deal that does not adequately challenge Israel's domination of Palestinians on the ground, in the wake of the Gaza bombing, will not satisfy the Palestinian need. The scholar asks: "How can anyone in their right mind consider 'a partial freeze on settlements' a fair exchange for potentially destroying the Iranian economy?"

Editor’s note: Since the story was first published, Nicolas Sarkozy commented on France’s policy toward sanctions on Iran. Those comments have been added.

Karzai widens lead in Afghan vote count (AP)

Posted Wed, 08/26/2009 - 17:51 by admin

KABUL – President Hamid Karzai has extended his lead over his top challenger in Afghanistan's presidential election under the latest vote results released, but remains short of the 50 percent he needs to avoid a two-man runoff.
Afghan election officials are slowly releasing results from last week's presidential election, and final certified results will not be ready until at least mid-September, after dozens of serious complaints of fraud have been investigated.
Low voter turnout and the fraud allegations have cast a pall over the vote, seen as critical to efforts to stabilize the country, which is wracked by Taliban insurgents and doubts over its fragile democracy. Top challenger Abdullah Abdullah has accused Karzai of widespread rigging, including ballot stuffing and voter intimidation, claims Karzai's camp has denied.
The latest returns released Wednesday boost Karzai's standing to 44.8 percent. Abdullah, a former foreign minister, now has 35.1 percent. The count is based on returns from 17 percent of polling stations nationwide, meaning the results could still change dramatically. Tuesday's returns had Abdullah trailing Karzai by just 3 percent.
Although millions of Afghans voted Aug. 20, apathy and fear of militant attacks meant turnout was lower than in the nation's first direct presidential election in 2004 that was swept by Karzai.
This summer has been Afghanistan's most violent since the 2001 U.S. invasion. President Barack Obama ordered an additional 21,000 troops to the country this year, in part to help secure the elections. But violence has continued to rise.
NATO said two U.S. troops died Wednesday in two separate attacks, keeping August on pace to be the deadliest month of the war for the U.S. military. The two deaths bring to 43 the number of U.S. troops killed this month. Last month was the deadliest of the war, when 44 U.S. troops died.
Late Wednesday, a rocket exploded in the main southern city of Kandahar, causing no casualties but setting a wood shop on fire, police said.
The attack occurred a day after a huge bombing in Kandahar killed at least 43 people and wounded 65. The Tuesday night attack, which destroyed dozens of buildings, took place in a district that includes U.N. facilities and an Afghan intelligence office. Rescue workers were still pulling injured people from the ruins on Wednesday.
An Afghan employee of the International Committee of the Red Cross was among the dead.
Most of the victims were ordinary Afghan civilians, like Mohammad Masoom, 26, a tailor whose shop was near the blast site. His father,Mohammad Yusuf,discovered his son's body at hospital and condemned the "cruel people" behind the bombing. His other son was wounded in the blast.
"They killed my son, and so many innocent people. I don't know what these people want," Yusuf said, weeping.
The Interior Ministry said the blast was from remote-controlled explosives planted in a truck, although local officials had said earlier a cluster of five vehicle bombs caused the blast.
The Taliban on Wednesday denied any responsibility for the attack in Kandahar — the Islamist movement's spiritual home. It often denies involvement in attacks that kill civilians.
"We are denying responsibility, and condemn this attack in which innocent civilians were killed," Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi wrote in a text message sent to an Associated Press reporter.
Interior Minister Hanif Atmar said Afghan security forces, supported by NATO troops, would conduct a search operation and try to have suspects in custody within 72 hours.
Kandahar lies in a swath of southern Afghanistan dominated by Pashtuns, the country's largest ethnic group from which the Taliban derives its support and recruits.
But it is also a crucial electoral battleground, particularly for Karzai, who as a Pashtun and a Kandahar native, is expected to perform well there.

The presidential returns announced Wednesday are based on partial results from 28 of the 34 provinces, but few votes have been counted from Kandahar and no votes from neighboring Helmand province, two areas that would boost Karzai's totals.

Ramazan Bashardost — a candidate likely to come in third in the election — stood up at Wednesday's news conference and told officials they were breaking the law by announcing results before the Electoral Complaints Commission carries out its work.

The head of the Independent Election Commission, Daoud Ali Najafi, said all procedures were in accordance with the law, which stipulates that final "certified" results cannot be released until the complaints commission finishes its work.

The complaints commission has received more than 1,400 complaints, more than 150 of which could affect the vote's outcome, said spokeswoman Nellika Little.

___

Associated Press reporter Noor Khan in Kandahar contributed to this report.

Diabetic Supplies

Posted Wed, 08/26/2009 - 17:06 by admin

Diabetes develops due to a diminished production of insulin (in type 1) or resistance to its effects (in type 2 and gestational). Both lead to hyperglycaemia, which largely causes the acute signs of diabetes: excessive urine production, resulting compensatory thirst and increased fluid intake, blurred vision, unexplained weight loss, lethargy, and changes in energy metabolism. Monogenic forms, e.g. MODY, constitute 1-5 % of all cases.

Even though it may be transient, untreated gestational diabetes can damage the health of the fetus or mother. Risks to the baby include macrosomia (high birth weight), congenital cardiac and central nervous system anomalies, and skeletal muscle malformations. Increased fetal insulin may inhibit fetal surfactant production and cause respiratory distress syndrome. Hyperbilirubinemia may result from red blood cell destruction.

Diabetic Supplies

Eduardo's deception helps Arsenal beat Celtic (AFP)

Posted Wed, 08/26/2009 - 16:42 by admin

LONDON (AFP) –
Arsenal moved into the Champions League group stages in controversial fashion as Eduardo's dive helped secure a 3-1 victory over Celtic in Wednesday's play-off second leg.

Arsene Wenger's team went through 5-1 on aggregate after outclassing the Scots for the second time in the tie, but they needed a moment of deception from Eduardo to end Celtic's hopes.

The Croatia striker won and converted a first half penalty when he exaggerated his fall as Celtic keeper Artur Boruc came out to make a save.

In truth, Arsenal were always in control and second half goals from Emmanuel Eboue and Andrey Arshavin rubbed salt into Celtic's wounds as the Premier League team comfortably secured their place in Thursday's group stage draw.

Wenger said: "Having seen it again on television it doesn't look to be a penalty but we were likely to score the first goal and we always looked in control of the game.

"I believe it was not a penalty but I'm not sure if the keeper touched him. Eduardo might be a bit cautious because of the injury that he had. He might have jumped out of the way.

"I never asked in my life any player to dive to get a penalty but sometimes the player goes down because there is no way to get out of the way."

Hoops boss Tony Mowbray added: "I haven't seen the reruns but all the boys felt there wasn't any contact for the penalty.

"But we can't say Arsenal didn't deserve to go through."

Mowbray had no option but to go for broke as his side chased an unlikely comeback and he restored Scott McDonald and Marc-Antoine Fortune to the starting line-up after surprisingly dropping his most potent forwards for the first leg.

With the tie effectively wrapped up in Glasgow last week and Saturday's visit to Manchester United in mind, Wenger left Arshavin and Robin van Persie on the bench, while captain Cesc Fabregas missed out with a hamstring injury.

Although Arsenal benefited from a deflection and an own goal to win the first leg, there was no doubting their superiority and they were quickly back in the ascendency.

Eboue flicked a Gael Clichy cross into Nicklas Bendtner's path and the Dane's shot was parried by Boruc. The rebound dropped towards Eduardo but he somehow managed to poke a lunging effort wide from no more than four yards.

The speed of Arsenal's passing and movement bewildered Celtic at time and Mowbray's defence stood statuesque as Eboue's flick sent Denilson clear for a shot that crashed past the near post.

Arsenal were well on top but it took Eduardo's exploitation of the game's dark arts to open the scoring in the 28th minute.

He raced onto Bendtner's pass and waited for Boruc to come sliding off his line before tumbling theatrically to the turf. To Boruc's disbelief Spanish referee Manuel Mejuto Gonzalez ruled that the incident was worthy of a penalty.

Eduardo dusted himself down, ignored the chants of cheat from the Celtic fans behind Boruc's goal and calmly sent the Polish keeper the wrong way from the spot.

Celtic had the ball in the net just before half-time when McDonald tapped in Fortune's cross but the Australian's effort was rightly ruled out for offside.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was in the stands to check out Arsenal and, apart from the dive, he must have been impressed by Eduardo's display.

The Brazil-born Croatian almost scored again with a curling effort that Boruc tipped over before Bendtner headed the resulting corner wide.

Arsenal were always capable of carving open the Celtic back-four and Eduardo should have doubled the lead, only to drag his shot wide with just Boruc to beat early in the second half.

A second goal was inevitable and it arrived in the 53rd minute when Eboue's powerful finish capped a fine move between Clichy, Bendtner and Diaby that exposed the gulf in class between the teams.

Arshavin, on as a substitute for Eduardo, gave Arsenal a final flourish in the 74th minute when he took Aaron Ramsey's pass and shot past Boruc.

Massimo Donati got one back for Celtic with a superb volley in stoppage time but it was too little too late.

Kennedy's cancer puts focus on quality of life (AP)

Posted Wed, 08/26/2009 - 16:27 by admin

He lived 15 months with an incurable brain tumor, a little longer than usual for a patient in his late 70s. Perhaps equally important is that Sen. Edward M. Kennedy lived those months well — able to work almost to the end, to sail the choppy New England waters he adored, to help elect a president he supported, and even to give him a dog.
Time is important to any cancer patient. Quality of life, not just how much life they can squeeze out, is increasingly the focus for people with a terminal illness, cancer specialists say. It also is one of the chief goals of treatments for brain tumors, since these therapies typically do not buy much time.
"The advances that we've made in prolonging survival aren't as big as we've liked them to be, but people have stayed at a good quality of life right up to the end," said Dr. Matthew Ewend, neurosurgery chief at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Even after treatments can no longer control tumor growth for patients, "we can usually keep their quality of life pretty good with medicines for brain swelling, and then the end is usually pretty graceful," Ewend said.
There is much to be admired in how Kennedy spent his final months, said Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society.
"This is a man who had a serious and fatal illness and he knew that. Despite his illness, he carried on as best he could," Lichtenfeld said.
He noted that celebrities "are public representatives of millions of people who deal with these issues on a daily basis." When one gets recommended treatments and is able to live life to its fullest, it gives hope to other patients, Lichtenfeld said.
Kennedy was diagnosed with a malignant glioma, a cancerous brain tumor, after suffering a seizure at his home in May 2008. He had surgery two weeks later, followed by chemotherapy with the drug Temodar during and after radiation, his family has said.
Cancer specialists say he also likely received Avastin, a newer drug aimed at depriving the tumor of its blood supply. Avastin recently won federal approval for treating brain tumors that recur after standard treatment. It is made by Genentech, which recently was acquired by Swiss-based Roche.
Kennedy's doctors have declined to comment on specifics and did not respond to interview requests Wednesday.
Median survival for the type of tumor Kennedy is believed to have had is 12 to 15 months, but the range is wide, said Dr. Mark Gilbert, a brain tumor expert at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
Gilbert is leading an international study of 1,200 patients testing intensive Temodar therapy to see if that can improve survival. Results are expected next year. Temodar is made by Schering-Plough Corp.
"Treatments are keeping the cancer under control for a longer time," Gilbert said. Without the tumor continuing to grow, patients "maintain their function and with that, their quality of life," he said.
Even though survival time remains grim, it has improved, said Dr. Steve Brem, neurosurgery chief at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla.
"Only a few years ago, it used to be about nine months," Brem said. Gliomas are so invasive — spreading tentacles into the brain in a way that all cannot be removed with surgery — that they usually cannot be cured, he explained.
Treatments besides Temodar that might improve the odds are in testing now: several experimental drugs, an experimental vaccine that prods the immune system to fight the cancer, and a radioactive "homing device" that helps a cancer drug reach tumors deep in the brain.
However, much more research is needed to make meaningful gains, said a statement from the International Brain Tumour Alliance, a British-based international support and advocacy group.
Each year 200,000 people worldwide develop a malignant brain tumor "and there has been only a minimal improvement in new therapies in the past 30 years," the statement says.

Cancer research is a cause Kennedy championed long before his illness, the cancer society's chief executive, John Seffrin, said in a statement.

Kennedy helped overhaul the 1971 National Cancer Act, "rein in the tobacco industry" with a bill giving the federal Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco products, and backed expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program with an increase in the tobacco tax, the statement said.

For these and other achievements, he was given the Society's Medal of Honor and National Distinguished Advocacy Award.