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Why the Hype Surrounding Renewable Energy Is Just That: It certainly isn't renewable at all when you consider th... bit.ly/uMmiXb 
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Rumors abounding the iPhone 5's delayed release date may not spur the biggest controversy yet. But there have been reports suggesting a serious nomenclature controversy surrounding the iPhone 5 release date. The point of debate is whether Apple would call the next iPhone the "iPhone 5", "iPhone 4G" or "iPhone 6."
Apple's history of retaining product nomenclatures with the iMac and iPod for several generations signifies their non-linear naming convention with generation numbers for their products. The only exception to this list is the iPhone 4, which precisely fits the bill as a fourth-generation smartphone. The first iPhone was simply named "iPhone" and the second one was called "iPhone 3G" instead of "iPhone 2." Strangely, the fifth-generation iPhone was named "iPhone 4S" instead of the logically appropriate "iPhone 5." This further reiterates the fact that Apple wants to preserve the network technology based naming convention for their iPhones.
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The iPhone 5 is assured to roll out with LTE (Long-Term Evolution) network technology onboard. Thus, it would only be fitting to call the next iPhone the "iPhone LTE" rather than "iPhone 4G" or "iPhone 6."? Meanwhile, the "iPhone 5" just appears to be a convenient name in the pecking order, as most iPhone users would expect it to be called so. Besides, Apple wouldn't want to risk dropping the name "iPhone 5" from its product lineup as it could contradict public expectations.
If Apple sticks to its loyal consumer instincts, it would not dare change the proposed name for the iPhone. Though the name "iPhone 5" does not signify anything special about the phone, it still remains the key publicity and marketing factor for all the controversial reasons. Meanwhile, if the information from the highly-placed sources within Apple is true, then expect the iPhone 5 to be released on Oct. 5,2012, in honor of the company's co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs' first death anniversary.
After a spate of controversies surrounding the release of iPhone 5, the nomenclature controversy could only add more fuel to fire as the long wait for the elusive phone continues.
Source: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/272659/20111226/delayed-iphone-5-release-date-fuels-nomenclature.htm
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MEXICO CITY ? The Mexico City prosecutors' office says five police officers have been arrested in connection with a video that appears to show the abuse of a suspect.
Milenio Television reported last month that one of its reporters had taken the video of an officer repeatedly pushing the man's head into a bucket of water while his T-shirt was pulled up over his head and face.
The alleged abuse took place following a shootout between police and gunmen in the working-class neighborhood of Tepito. The video's authenticity could not be independently confirmed, and neither Milenio nor police released the suspect's identity.
The Mexico City prosecutor's office said in a statement that five officers had been placed under house arrest for 30 days while it seeks preliminary charges of torture.
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TEHRAN (Reuters) ? An Iranian woman sentenced to be stoned to death for adultery could be hanged instead, the students news agency ISNA reported.
A court sentenced Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani to be stoned in 2006 but the sentence was suspended last year after an international outcry. However, under a judicial review being carried out she still could be hanged.
"There is no rush ... our Islamic experts are reviewing Ashtiani's sentence to see whether we can carry out the execution of a person sentenced to stoning by hanging," said Malek Ajdar Sharifi, head of judiciary in the East Azerbaijan province.
Ashtiani's husband was murdered in 2005, after which an Iranian court convicted the mother of two of having an "illicit relationship" with two men. For this, she was given a stoning sentence in 2006.
Amnesty International says she received 99 lashes as her sentence but she was subsequently convicted of "adultery while being married," which the human rights group says she denied.
Ashtiani, arrested in 2006, is already serving 10 years for being an accessory to her husband's murder in a prison in the East Azerbaijan.
A local judiciary official said last year that the stoning of Ashtiani had been suspended due to "humanitarian reservations," but did not rule out possibility of her execution.
"The sentence of Ashtiani will be carried out as soon as our experts announce their view," the official said.
Under Islamic law in force in Iran since the 1979 revolution, adultery may be punished by death by stoning and crimes such as murder, rape, armed robbery, apostasy and drug trafficking are all punishable by hanging.
The European Union called Ashtiani's stoning sentence "barbaric." The Vatican pleaded for clemency and Brazil offered her asylum. The case further strained Tehran's relations with the West, already at odds over Iran's disputed nuclear program.
Two reporters for German newspaper Bild am Sonntag were detained in Iran in October last year when they were interviewing Ashtiani's son without official permission, highlighting the sensitivity of the case. The two were released in February.
Iranian authorities dismiss allegations of rights abuses, saying they are following Islamic law.
Mohammad Javad Larijani, secretary-general of the Iranian High Council for Human Rights, argued in December that stoning should not be classified as a method of execution but rather a method of punishment which is actually more "lenient" because half of the people survive, the U.N. quoted him as saying.
(Writing by Parisa Hafezi)
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MT @nicole473 RT @thinkprogress Romney: If I?m President, All College Grads in India and China Will Have A Job. #tcot #p2 #gop 
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APLions wide receiver Calvin Johnson (81) is congratulated by teammates after scoring during Detroit's victory over San Diego on Sunday.
By LARRY LAGE
updated 8:09 p.m. ET Dec. 24, 2011
DETROIT - After a decade of losing, the Detroit Lions are in the playoffs.
And they made sure the San Diego Chargers are out.
With their fans chanting "PLAYOFFS" for the final minutes, Detroit got there for the first time since 1999 after Matthew Stafford threw three touchdown passes in the first half to beat the Chargers 38-10 Saturday.
The Lions (10-5) have won three straight after a seven-game slump to earn a wild-card spot in the playoffs, turning around their franchise after the NFL's only 0-16 season just three years ago.
Following the game, coach Jim Schwartz and his players did a victory lap at Ford Field, high-fiving fans in the front row.
"There's going to be a time that we don't celebrate getting to the playoffs, but it's not going to be tonight," Schwartz said. "It's been a long time coming."
No one has been waiting longer than owner William Clay Ford.
Ford, whose first season leading the franchise was in 1964, was handed a keepsake in the jubilant locker room.
"We gave him the game ball," said center Dominic Raiola, who endured a string of miserable seasons after Detroit drafted him in 2001.
After Raiola's postgame news conference, he gave Stafford a bear hug.
"I'm excited for them, more than for myself and some of the other young guys," the 22-year-old Stafford said.
According to the Chargers (7-8), they will not be in the postseason for a second straight year after making it five times in a six-season stretch. And that might cost coach Norv Turner his job.
"I've been concentrating every week as well as I can on getting this team ready to play and doing the things we need to do," Turner said. "We all know that's something that's discussed at the end of the year."
Knowing they could move into the postseason simply by winning, the Lions held San Diego scoreless until midway through the third quarter, when Philip Rivers threw an 11-yard pass to Malcom Floyd to make it 24-7.
Detroit, though, closed strong to restore the rout.
The Lions and the Buffalo Bills started the season with the league's longest playoff droughts at 11 seasons. Detroit hasn't been in the playoffs since Barry Sanders was its star running back and its drought is over because a decades-long search for a franchise quarterback ended with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 NFL draft. Coming off the league's only 0-16 season, Detroit selected Stafford and kept him healthy for the first time this season.
Stafford was almost perfect in the first half against San Diego, completing 21 of 26 passes for 260 yards with three TDs. He capped the first drive with a 7-yard pass to Brandon Pettigrew, threw a 3-yarder to Kevin Smith in the second quarter and connected with Calvin Johnson from 14 yards just before halftime to give the Lions a 24-0 lead.
Stafford finished with 373 yards passing to give him 4,518 this year, breaking Scott Mitchell's single-season team record from 1995. Perhaps not coincidently, that season marked the last time the Lions had double digits in wins.
The Lions will go for their 11th victory and to improve their playoff positioning, perhaps to draw the NFC East winner, on Jan. 1 against Green Bay, who they haven't beaten on the road since 1991.
The Chargers needed to extend their winning streak to four games to keep their postseason hopes alive, but the loss and Cincinnati's victory dashed them.
Eric Weddle recovered an onside kick after San Diego finally scored in the third quarter, but the Chargers stalled inside the Lions 5. Cornerback Chris Houston broke up a pass in the end zone and the Chargers had to settle for Nick Novak's field goal and a 14-point deficit.
Detroit's potent offense got the ball for the first time in the second half with 4:53 left in the third quarter and quickly gained 48 yards on passes to Nate Burleson and Johnson. Smith had a 4-yard run for a 6-yard TD and a 31-10 lead.
The Chargers then drove to the Detroit 2 and turned over the ball on downs, firing up its sideline and the fans who have been waiting a long time for a season like this one. It's the first time the Lions made the playoffs since Ford Field opened in 2002.
Rivers was 28 of 53 for 299 yards with a too-late TD and two interceptions, the second of which defensive end Cliff Avril snagged with his right hand and returned 4 yards to make it 38-10 late in the game.
Antonio Gates had four receptions to give him 588 in his career, breaking the Chargers record of 586 set by Hall of Famer Charlie Joiner.
Detroit got off to a good start, lobbing a pass into double coverage to Johnson for a 46-yard gain on the first snap and converting a third down for a TD.
Stafford found Pettigrew open in the end zone for a 7-yard throw, taking advantage of the Chargers assigning two defensive backs to Johnson on the same side of the field.
San Diego, meanwhile, didn't score on its opening possession for the first time in eight games and finished with just 10 points - not nearly enough to keep up with the Stafford-led Lions.
? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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More newsGetty ImagesPFT: The Jets-Giants trash talk didn?t end after the Giants win on Saturday. According to multiple reports, Brandon Jacobs and Rex Ryan got into a yelling match after the game.
Victor Cruz set two franchise receiving records, and Ahmad Bradshaw ran for two touchdowns as the Giants kept their playoff hopes alive by winning the New York-area bragging rights with a 29-14 victory over the Jets on Saturday.
Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45785176/ns/sports-nfl/
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TOKYO (Reuters) ? Asian shares fell and the euro struggled on Thursday as doubts remained over how much of the funds that banks raised from an inaugural long-term European Central Bank tender will actually flow into struggling euro zone economies and help restore confidence.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) fell 0.7 percent, after climbing to a one-week high on Wednesday, while Tokyo's Nikkei stock average (.N225) ended down 0.8 percent.
Despite the drop, Japanese equities have been least affected by the volatility stemming from the euro zone debt woes, with daily swings in the benchmark exceeding 2.5 percent for only 16 trading sessions this year, compared with 88 such days for the Euro STOXX 50 (.STOXX50E) and 41 for the S&P 500 (.SPX).
The euro was virtually unchanged around $1.3043, with traders seeing major support around $1.3000, the December 14 low, above 2011's trough of $1.2860. The euro reached a one-week high near $1.32 on Wednesday.
European shares were likely to inch up, with financial spreadbetters expecting London's FTSE (.FTSE) to open up 0.2 percent, Frankfurt's DAX (.GDAXI) up 0.2 percent, and Paris' CAC-40 (.FCHI) to begin 0.3 percent higher.
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Euro zone debt crisis graphics: http://r.reuters.com/hyb65p
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At the ECB's first ever three-year lending operation on Wednesday, 523 banks borrowed a record 489 billion euros ($638 billion), well above the 310 billion euro take-up forecast.
The tender eased concerns about an immediate credit crunch, but it does not directly lead to resolving the huge indebtedness of some euro zone countries, which has discouraged investors from lending to euro zone banks because of their large exposure to sovereign debt.
"The ECB's funding operation is not a fundamental fix to the euro zone's debt problems and is only a way to buying time, so flight-to-safety bids remain firmly in place," said Shinsuke Kanabu, general manager at Central Tanshi, a Japanese money brokerage.
In further evidence that Japan has become a preferred destination for global funds, government data on Thursday showed non-Japanese investors bought a net 2.6615 trillion yen in short-term Japanese government securities in the week to December 17, the second largest after a record 2.9752 trillion yen net purchase in the week to August 13.
It was the third straight week of such net buying of bills. Non-Japanese investors also were net buyers of Japanese government bonds (JGBs) in the same week.
"Foreign investors have helped drive down yields on Japanese short-term securities in recent months as Europe's debt crisis deepened, suggesting they see Japanese treasury bills as a safe-haven and put priority on safety over returns," Kanabu said.
Despite Japan's huge public debts and a domestic rating agency cutting its top credit rating on Wednesday, JGB markets remain unfazed. More than 90 percent of JGB holders are Japanese, giving the country a solid financing backing, unlike countries such as Italy, where foreigners account for some 40 percent of sovereign debt holdings.
DOLLAR FUNDING STRAINED
Analysts have said the ECB loans would lower the cost for euro zone banks to borrow euros in the open market, but would not reduce their dollar funding costs, and banks were likely to use the funds to repay their own debts as they strive to get rid of bad assets and improve their balance sheets, rather than lend.
"With bank balance sheets under stress and the system still required to raise capital ratios under Basel III, the temptation will surely be for banks to sit on this additional liquidity, rather than recycle it back through the economy," wrote BNP Paribas in a daily note.
Italy alone faces about 150 billion euros of debt refinancing between April and March.
Italian and Spanish government bond yields rose on Wednesday, snapping an eight-session downtrend, and the spread between the Italian and German 10-year government bond yields widened by some 20 basis points to 488 bps on Wednesday from the day before.
Dollar funding strains reached their worst level since July 2009 when the London interbank offered rate for three-month dollars rose further to 0.57125 percent on Wednesday from 0.56975 percent.
Asian credit markets weakened as yields of highly indebted Italy and Spain inched higher despite strong demand at the ECB's long-term funding operation, with spreads on the iTraxx Asia ex-Japan investment grade index widening by several basis points.
Commodities markets were muted in thinning pre-holiday trade, with London Metal Exchange copper unchanged at $7,455 a tonne and Brent crude oil edging down 0.2 percent to around $107.50 a barrel.
(Additional reporting by Cecile Lefort in Sydney; Editing by Alex Richardson)
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New York ? Steven Spielberg's take on the classic adventure series delights some critics ? but leaves others cold?
Acclaimed director Steven Spielberg says his latest film, The Adventures of Tintin, is like?"Indiana Jones for kids." Based on a series of beloved comic books by Belgian cartoonist Herge, Tintin, which opened Wednesday, focuses on the worldly escapades of a plucky boy reporter and his white fox terrier, Snowy. Is Spielberg's elaborate 3D motion-capture adaptation really?as good as the director's action-packed Harrison Ford flicks?
Absolutely. Tintin is a lot like Indy: "Indiana Jones for kids" is an apt description for?Tintin, says Manohla Dargis in The New York Times. The film's most complicated chase scenes are reminiscent of Indy speeding through Cairo in Raiders of the Lost Ark. But?Tintin is more innocent than Raiders, which finds Indy battling Arabs and Nazis in "a jokey illustration of Western imperialist might." Sure, "colonialism may haunt Tintin's world," but it's hardly in our faces as our young hero tries to unravel the strange mystery of the Unicorn ship.
"The Adventures of Tintin (2011)"
But Tintin lacks Indy's humanity: "The Adventures of Tintin is the latest iteration of the popcorn action genre birthed by Raiders of the Lost Ark," a film which itself owes a fair amount to Tintin's author, Herge, says Ty Burr at the Boston Globe. Unfortunately, Tintin is missing the "warmth" of real-life actors. "Would Raiders even be Raiders without Harrison Ford?" No. In Tintin, we have a "marvel that's fatally cold to the touch," a film that despite its superb craftsmanship and galloping pace, is ultimately "rather dull."
"The Adventures of Tintin"
And ultimately, it fails: "With its mixture of treasure-hunting, globe-hopping, brawling and puzzle-solving," Tintin is clearly a throwback to Raiders, says Corey Hall at Metro Times. Too bad it's missing "the spark, humor, romance, and the essential humanity that made Indy into an immortal screen hero." There's nothing "real and gritty" here. Herge's drawings were relatable on the page because of their simplistic design. On the screen, the intense CG hyper-realism blunts the impact of both action and the emotion.
"The Adventures of Tintin"
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Getty ImagesSince 2006, the league has been using a flexible schedule on Sunday nights to ensure that a competitive and interesting game always will occupy the prime-time slot.? In most weeks of flex scheduling, the decision comes at least 12 days before the games are played.? For Week 17, the decision usually is made after the full Week 16 slate of games has been played, and it?s unveiled no later than six days before the final Sunday.
Unlike all other weeks of flexible scheduling, no game has even tentatively been placed in the 8:20 p.m. ET time slot.? Instead, all games have a 1:00 p.m. or 12:00 p.m. local time kickoff (for three games due to start at 4:15 p.m. ET, it?s a 1:15 p.m. local start), and the NFL will choose one of those 16 games to be the final act of the regular season, since no Monday night game is played in Week 17.
The goal every year becomes finding a game with clear playoff implications that can?t be resolved based on the outcomes of games played earlier in the day.? And that?s not always an easy thing to do.
Last year, only the Seahawks and Rams provided a clear-cut pre-playoff game, with the winner capturing the NFC West and the loser being bounced from the postseason field ? regardless of the final score of any other game played that day.
This year, a game with obvious playoff implications regardless of what happens elsewhere could be hard to find.? Here?s a quick glance at the potential relevance of each game.
Redskins at Eagles:? Since Philly?s shot at winning the NFC East would hinge (if it survives Week 16) on the Giants beating the Cowboys, this game could be irrelevant.
Lions at Packers:? Green Bay?s clinching of the top seed, if they don?t have it after this weekend, would come if the 49ers lose to the Rams in Week 17.? Also, losses by other teams would deliver a Detroit playoff berth, if Detroit doesn?t clinch it this weekend.? Then again, whether the Packers have the No. 1 or No. 2 seed really isn?t that big of a deal in the grander scheme of things.
Ravens at Bengals:? Depending on the Week 16 games, this game could have implications for the AFC North title, the No. 2 seed, and the final wild-card berth.? But those implications could become irrelevant based on the other games played in Week 17, which makes this game less attractive for prime time.
Jets at Dolphins:? Again, Week 16 will provide more clarity.? With the Jets and Bengals each 8-6, however, it?s unlikely that the Jets will have a clear win-and-in, lose-and-leave scenario that would apply regardless of what the Bengals do against the Ravens.
Panthers at Saints:? New Orleans could be playing for the No. 2 seed and/or the NFC South crown, but those could be decided via losses earlier in the day by the Falcons or the 49ers.
Buccaneers at Falcons:? If the Falcons still haven?t clinched a playoff berth after Monday night, losses by others could deliver the spot earlier in the day on January 1.
49ers at Rams:? San Fran is jockeying for the No. 2 or No. 1 seed, which if still relevant after Week 16 could be completely irrelevant before 8:20 p.m. ET in Week 17.
Bills at Patriots:? The Pats are playing for the top seed, but the outcomes of the Steelers and Ravens games could strip this one of any remaining relevance.
Colts at Jaguars:? It?s very highly unlikely that the league would want to showcase the ?Suck for Luck? finale.? In 2008, for example, the NFL had no interest in televising in prime time the Lions? date with 0-16 destiny.
Titans at Texans:? Houston has an outside shot at a bye, but it will depend on the Steelers and Ravens games from earlier in the day.
Bears at Vikings:? This one would be attractive in prime time only for anyone who stayed up too late and drank too much on New Year?s Eve and doesn?t want to miss anything important.
Cowboys at Giants:? If the Giants beat the Jets on Saturday, the NFC East likely will hinge on this game, with the loser most likely being done.? It could be one of the best candidates for the prime-time slot, based on the clarity provided by Week 16.
Steelers at Browns:? Um, no.
Chiefs at Broncos:? The Broncos definitely will win the AFC West by beating the Chiefs.? The only problem is that the Broncos could nail it down before 8:20 p.m. ET on January 1, making the game irrelevant.
Seahawks at Cardinals:? It could be one of the best games of the day.? But it very likely will have zero relevance to the postseason.
Chargers at Raiders:? With the Broncos able to win the division by beating the Chiefs, there?s no reason to hold this one ? unless somehow it would present a clear-cut win-and-in for a wild-card berth for one of the two teams.
And so, for now, it appears that the best candidates are Cowboys-Giants and Chiefs-Broncos.? We?ll know more by Monday night.
In the end, there?s a chance that the NFL will simply have to assume a calculated risk that one or more of the outcomes earlier in the day will screw up the New Year?s Night party on NBC.
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LOS ANGELES ? "The X Factor" judges didn't want to stop listening to Melanie Amaro.
The powerful 19-year-old vocalist from Sunrise, Fla., wowed the Fox talent competition's panel with her soaring rendition of Beyonce's "Listen" during Wednesday's final performance round, prompting head judge Simon Cowell to declare that Amaro should win the show's grand prize: a $5 million recording contract and a starring role in a Pepsi commercial.
"That wasn't a $5 million performance," declared judge L.A. Reid. "That was a $50 million performance."
The panel also poured praise on the other two finalists: soulful 30-year-old single father Josh Krajcik of Wooster, Ohio, and 28-year-old singer-rapper Chris Rene of Santa Cruz, Calif. Krajcik accompanied himself on guitar for his final performance of "At Last," while Rene delivered his original tune "Young Homie" with a group of dancers and singers.
"You make everyone fall in love with you," judge Paula Abdul told Rene.
Before the final showdown, each singer awkwardly dueted with established artists. Krajcik was joined by Alanis Morissette on "Uninvited," Rene teamed up with Avril Lavigne for "Complicated," and Amaro partnered with R. Kelly on "I Believe I Can Fly," which marked the first time that the R&B star performed his motivational anthem with another singer.
The winner, which will be decided by viewer votes, will be announced on Thursday's show.
The contest thus far hasn't achieved the same success as "American Idol," which Cowell left last year to import "X Factor" from the U.K. to the U.S. Last Wednesday's performance episode drew 10.79 million viewers, less than half of the average "Idol" audience.
Unlike "Idol," the competition is open to solo singers and groups and has a lower minimum age of 12 and no upper age limit. The judges also serve as mentors: Cowell represented female vocalists, including Amaro; Reid headed male singers, including Rene; Nicole Scherzinger was in charge of over-30 singers, including Krajcik; and Abdul helmed the groups.
___
Fox is owned by News Corp.
___
AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/derrikjlang.
___
Online:
http://www.thexfactorusa.com/
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VATICAN CITY ? Pope Benedict XVI seems worn out.
People who have spent time with him recently say they found him weaker than they'd ever seen him, seemingly too tired to engage with what they were saying. He no longer meets individually with visiting bishops. A few weeks ago he started using a moving platform to spare him the long walk down St. Peter's Basilica.
Benedict turns 85 in the new year, so a slowdown is only natural. Expected. And given his age and continued rigorous work schedule, it's remarkable he does as much as he does and is in such good health overall: Just this past week he confirmed he would travel to Mexico and Cuba next spring.
But a decline has been noted as Benedict prepares for next weekend's grueling Christmas celebrations, which kick off two weeks of intense public appearances. And that raises questions about the future of the papacy given that Benedict himself has said popes should resign if they can't do the job.
Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi has said no medical condition prompted the decision to use the moving platform in St. Peter's, and that it's merely designed to spare the pontiff the fatigue of the 100-meter (-yard) walk to and from the main altar.
And Benedict rallied during his three-day trip to Benin in west Africa last month, braving temperatures of 32 Celsius (90F) and high humidity to deliver a strong message about the future of the Catholic Church in Africa.
Wiping sweat from his brow, he kissed babies who were handed up to him, delivered a tough speech on the need for Africa's political leaders to clean up their act, and visited one of the continent's most important seminaries.
Back at home, however, it seems the daily grind of being pope ? the audiences with visiting heads of state, the weekly public catechism lessons, the sessions with visiting bishops ? has taken its toll. A spark is gone. He doesn't elaborate off-the-cuff much anymore, and some days he just seems wiped out.
Take for example his recent visit to Assisi, where he traveled by train with dozens of religious leaders from around the world for a daylong peace pilgrimage. For anyone participating it was a tough, long day; for the aging pope it was even more so.
"Indeed I was struck by what appeared to me as the decline in Benedict's strength and health over the last half year," said Rabbi David Rosen, who had a place of honor next to the pope at the Assisi event as head of interfaith relations at the American Jewish Committee.
"He looks thinner and weaker ... which made the effort he put into the Assisi shindig with the extraordinary degree of personal attention to the attendees (especially the next day in Rome) all the more remarkable," Rosen said in an email.
That Benedict is tired would be a perfectly normal diagnosis for an 84-year-old, even someone with no known health ailments and a still-agile mind. He has acknowledged having suffered a hemorrhagic stroke in 1991 that temporarily affected his vision. And his older brother, who has a pacemaker for an irregular heartbeat, has expressed concern about Benedict's own heart.
But Benedict is not a normal 84-year-old, both in what he is called to do and the implications if he were to stop.
Popes are allowed to resign; church law specifies only that the resignation be "freely made and properly manifested."
Only a handful have done so, however. The last one was Pope Gregory XII, who stepped down in 1415 in a deal to end the Great Western Schism among competing papal claimants.
There's good reason why others haven't followed suit: Might the existence of two popes ? even when one has stepped down ? lead to divisions and instability in the church? Might a new resignation precedent lead to pressures on future popes to quit at the slightest hint of infirmity?
Yet Benedict himself raised the possibility of resigning if he were simply too old or sick to continue on, when he was interviewed for the book "Light of the World," which was released in November 2010.
"If a pope clearly realizes that he is no longer physically, psychologically and spiritually capable of handling the duties of his office, then he has a right, and under some circumstances, also an obligation to resign," Benedict said.
The former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger had an intimate view as Pope John Paul II, with whom he had worked closely for nearly a quarter-century, suffered through the debilitating end of his papacy. After John Paul's death at age 84, it was revealed that he had written a letter of resignation to be invoked if he became terminally ill or incapable of continuing on.
And it should be recalled that at the time Benedict was elected pope at age 78 ? already the oldest pope elected in nearly 300 years ? he had been planning to retire as the Vatican's chief orthodoxy watchdog to spend his final years writing in the "peace and quiet" of his native Bavaria.
It is there that his elder brother, Monsignor Georg Ratzinger, still lives. Ratzinger, who turns 88 next month, is nearly blind. Benedict has said his brother has helped him accept old age with courage.
Benedict said in "Light of the World" that he knew his own strength was diminishing ? steps are difficult for him and his aides regularly hold his elbows as he climbs up or down. But at the same time Benedict insisted that he had no intention of resigning to avoid dealing with the problems of the church, such as the sex abuse scandal.
"One can resign at a peaceful moment or when one simply cannot go on. But one must not run away from danger and say that someone else should do it," he said.
As a result, a papal resignation anytime soon seems unlikely.
And Benedict is maintaining a hectic agenda. His planned trip to Cuba and Mexico next spring will fall shortly before he turns 85 on April 16. He has also said he'd like to make it to Rio de Janeiro in 2013 for the next World Youth Day.
Sometime in the New Year he will presumably preside over a new consistory to name the new cardinals who will elect his successor. And he has lots of unfinished business close to his heart: Bringing back breakaway traditionalists under Rome's wing, the fate of the sex abuse-scarred Irish church, tensions with China.
And he still cuts a robust figure in public given his age, walking briskly, speaking clearly and emphasizing key points. But his public engagements have been trimmed back; he had far fewer speeches in Benin than during his September visit to his native Germany or the United Kingdom last fall.
And behind closed doors, during audiences without the glare of TV cameras or throngs of the faithful encouraging him on, he has begun to show his age, acquaintances say.
The Rev. Joseph Fessio, Benedict's U.S. publisher and onetime student, sees the pope every so often, including during the summer when Benedict gathers his former theology students for an informal academic seminar at the papal summer retreat in Castel Gandolfo.
Fessio recalled a day in the 2010 edition that remains with him: "In the Saturday morning session, the pope looked older and weaker than I had ever seen him before. In fact I remarked to someone that it's the first time I've seen him look like the old man that he is. He was speaking in softer tones than even his normally soft speaking voice. His head was bowed. He was pale. He just looked frail."
But then, after lunch and an apparent rest, Benedict returned for the afternoon session. "It was a complete transformation. He was lively, vigorous, attentive, and with his usual good humor," Fessio said.
Clearly, at his age Benedict has good days and bad, even good half-days and bad.
Yet he's never called in sick. In fact as pope, he has only had one significant known medical incident: He broke his right wrist when he tripped on the leg of his bed and fell while on vacation in the Alps in 2009.
Lombardi says the pope realizes the limitations of his strength, and that's why the recent trip to Benin was a one-stop-only affair.
"I think it's an example of the great willingness and wisdom of the Holy Father to continue doing these trips, even those that are difficult or far away," Lombardi said. He said the pope "measures well what his strengths are, and the possibility of doing the trips well."
"When I'm 84 I think I'll have been buried for many years," he added.
But he refused to give any kind of medical updates on the pope.
"I'm not a doctor. I don't give medical bulletins," Lombardi said. He paused, then added quietly: "In this phase. At this moment."
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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka ? A government-appointed commission concluded Sri Lanka's military did not intentionally target civilians at the end of the country's civil war and that ethnic rebels routinely violated international humanitarian law.
The conclusions from the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission report, which was presented to Parliament on Friday, contradict an extensive U.N. report that accused the government of deliberately shelling civilian areas and possibly killing tens of thousands of people in the final months of the conflict.
Human rights groups and the U.N. experts panel have called for an international war crimes probe, arguing that the government could not be expected to conduct a credible investigation of its own behavior during the conflict, which ended in May 2009.
The government commission said some isolated allegations of civilian abuses by security forces needed to be investigated further, suggesting that any violations could only have resulted from soldiers who were not following orders.
The government is expected to argue that the report makes an international investigation unneccessary.
The commission gathered evidence from ethnic minority Tamils, government officials, politicians, civil and religious leaders and former rebels. International rights groups refused to testify before it, saying it was pro-government, did not have a mandate to investigate abuses and did not meet international standards.
The report listed allegations by witnesses that the navy had killed civilians who tried to escape the war by boat and that the army had forced civilians to retrieve the body of a dead soldier amid a hail of fire and had shot to death those refused to comply.
"In these circumstances the commission stresses that there is a duty on the part of the state to ascertain more fully the circumstances under which such incidents could have occurred, and if such investigations disclose wrongful conduct, to prosecute and punish the wrong doers," it said.
The commission, however, said it found no evidence of deliberate killings of civilians in "no-fire zones" set up in the final months of the war.
"On consideration of all facts and circumstances before it, the commission concludes that the security forces had not deliberately targeted the civilians in the NFZs, although civilian casualties had in fact occurred in the course of crossfire," it said.
The commission also said it had serious doubts about the authenticity of a video broadcast by Britain's Channel 4 television which purportedly showed soldiers shooting bound, blindfolded prisoners and abusing corpses.
Christof Heyns, the U.N. independent investigator on extrajudicial killings, has said the video is authentic and provides enough evidence to open a war crimes case.
The commission's report, which was earlier presented to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, said the defeated Tamil Tiger rebels disregarded international humanitarian law in their combat strategies, and urged tough legal action against rebels being held in detention.
It accused the rebels of using civilians as human shields, killing civilians trying to escape the fighting, conscripting child soldiers, laying land mines, and using civilians as forced laborers.
Human rights groups have long accused both the government and Tamil Tiger rebels of abuses. A U.N. panel reported in April that it found credible allegations against both sides of abuses that could amount to war crimes. It accused the government of deliberately shelling civilians and hospitals and of blocking food and medical supplies for people trapped in the war zone. It said tens of thousands of civilians may have been killed in the final phase of the war and called for an independent international investigation.
The commission acknowledged that shells did fall on hospitals and cause casualties, but said there was no evidence to prove who had fired them.
It said the government had taken all possible steps to deliver food and other supplies to the war zone, although at certain times there were acute shortages.
After insisting for more than two years that not a single civilian had been killed by military strikes during the war, the government in August admitted to civilian deaths for the first time. Last month Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, the president's brother, announced that the government has started a count of its own to ascertain how many civilians were slain.
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Continue reading Pantech P9070 brings a dose of AT&T LTE love to the FCC
Pantech P9070 brings a dose of AT&T LTE love to the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Dec 2011 23:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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By Francis X. Rocca
Religion News Service
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Noting a "rising sense of frustration" at the worldwide economic recession, Pope Benedict XVI said that a more just and peaceful world requires "adequate mechanisms for the redistribution of wealth."
The pope's words appeared in his message for the World Day of Peace 2012, released on Friday (Dec. 16) at the Vatican.
The message laments that "some currents of modern culture, built upon rationalist and individualist economic principles, have cut off the concept of justice from its transcendent roots, detaching it from charity and solidarity."
Authentic education, Benedict writes, teaches the proper use of freedom with "respect for oneself and others, including those whose way of being and living differs greatly from one's own."
Peace-making requires education not only in the values of compassion and solidarity, but in the importance of wealth redistribution, the "promotion of growth, cooperation for development and conflict resolution," Benedict writes.
The pope also calls on political leaders to "ensure that no one is ever denied access to education."
The message was presented on Friday by officials of the Vatican's Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace. The same body published a controversial document in October blaming the world's economic and financial crisis on an "economic liberalism that spurns rules and controls," and calling for global regulation of the financial industry and the international money supply.
Also on HuffPost:
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Raffaelle Sollecito, the former lover of Amanda Knox, spoke candidly on Italian TV about his relationship with the American student and the "cruel injustice" that destroyed their love, saying they will always be linked by tragedy.
By msnbc.com staff and news services
UPDATED?3 p.m. ET
The Associated Press?offers more details about the appeals court ruling:
MILAN, Italy -- The Italian appeals court that overturned Amanda Knox's murder conviction in the slaying of her British roommate gave the reasons for its ruling on Thursday: the evidence that had been used by a lower court against the American and her Italian boyfriend just didn't hold up.
British college student Meredith Kercher was found slain in a pool of blood on her bedroom floor in Perugia, Italy, on Nov. 2, 2007.
Knox and Sollecito, who had just begun dating at the time of the murder, were arrested several days later, then convicted in what prosecutors' portrayed as a drug-fueled sexual assault. They were sentenced to 26 years and 25 years, respectively, in proceedings that made headlines around the world.
On Thursday, the appellate cited among the other failed elements of the prosecutors' case DNA evidence, which was undermined during a re-examination in the appeals trial, and the failure to conclusively identify the murder weapon. The appellate court even contradicted the lower court's time of death, saying it happened at around 10:15 p.m., not after 11 p.m. The court said the "building blocks" used to construct the case had failed.
The appeals court also said there was no proof of the prosecutors' claim that Knox and Sollecito had helped a third man, who was convicted separately, of sexually assault Kercher, nor was there evidence that the pair had simulated a burglary by throwing a rock through a window to remove suspicion from themselves, as prosecutors alleged.
The appeals court said the lower court had arrived at a verdict "that was not corroborated by any objective element of evidence and in itself was not, in fact probable: the sudden choice of two young people, good and open to other people, to do evil for evil's sake, just like that, without another reason."
"It is not, therefore, sufficient that the probability of the prosecutors' hypothesis is greater than the hypothesis of the defense, not even when they are notably greater in number, but it is necessary that every explanation that differs from the prosecutors' hypothesis is, according to the criteria of reasonability, not at all plausible," the court said.
The only elements of the prosecutors case that were proven, the appeals court said, were the charge of slander against Knox, who was convicted of falsely accusing a bar owner of killing Kercher, and the fact that the Knox and Sollecito alibis did not match.
That the alibis were out of synch "is very different" from the prosecutors' claim of false alibis, the court said.
The proven elements combined, the court said, are not enough to support convictions against Knox and Sollecito.
"The only elements that are sustained don't allow the belief, even when put together, that the guilt of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito for the crime of murder ... has been proven," the court said.
After her conviction was thrown out, Knox, 24, returned immediately home to Seattle. She was credited with time served for the conviction of slander for accusing bar owner Diya "Patrick" Lumumba of carrying out the killing.
Prosecutors contended a kitchen knife found at Sollecito's house was the weapon because it matched wounds on Kercher's body and carried traces of Kercher's DNA on the blade and Knox's on the handle. However, the court-ordered review discredited the DNA evidence, saying there were glaring errors in evidence-collecting and that below-standard testing and possible contamination raised doubts over the DNA traces on the blade and on Kercher's bra clasp.
In addition, the defense cast doubt on the knife, questioning why Knox and Sollecito would return it to Sollecito's home if it had been used in the murder. They maintain the real weapon has yet to be found.
A third defendant in the case, Rudy Hermann Guede of the Ivory Coast, was convicted in a separate trial of sexually assaulting and stabbing Kercher. His 16-year prison sentence ? reduced on appeal from an initial 30 years ? was upheld by Italy's highest court in 2010.
The appeals court also expressed incredulity that the two would have cooperated in such a crime with Guede, with whom there is no proof of any relationship. "For example, there is no evidence of phone calls or text messages between the three," the court said.
TODAY's Matt Lauer talks to Amanda Knox's father, Curt, who says his daughter is currently focused on being with her friends, many of whom have stayed her friend while she was in prison.
?
Earlier story:
MILAN, Italy -- The appellate court in Italy that cleared American student Amanda Knox in the slaying of her British roommate released the reasoning behind its ruling on Thursday.
The Perugia court said faulty evidence was used to build the case linking Knox and her Italian boyfriend to the slaying of 21-year-old Meredith Kercher, whose body was found in a pool of blood on Nov. 1, 2007.
U.K.-based news?website The Week reported that Judge Claudio Pratillo Hellman's 144-page report?found that Kercher was killed by a "lone assassin."
The judge?also suggested that Knox's alleged confession?came because she "was stressed," according to The Week.
Knox, then a college student studying in Italy, and Raffaele Sollecito were convicted in 2009 of murdering Kercher in what prosecutors said was a drug-fueled sexual assault.
An Italian appeals court overturned their convictions in October after independent forensic investigators sharply criticized police scientific evidence in the original investigation, saying it was unreliable.?
Knox, 24,?immediately returned home to Seattle, after four years in jail.?
After landing in Seattle, Amanda Knox told supporters, "Thank you to everyone who has believed in me, who has defended me, who has supported my family."
Earlier this month, Reuters reported that Knox?had hired a prominent Washington, D.C.-based lawyer as she considers possible book deals.
Knox retained attorney Robert Barnett "to represent her in discussions with various book publishers" and to help her family evaluate "other opportunities,"?spokesman David Marriott said.
Barnett has previously represented President Barack Obama, former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, singer Barbra Streisand and a host of other political and entertainment luminaries in book deals.
Read more content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
The Associated Press, Reuters?and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.
Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/15/9470253-revealed-why-court-cleared-amanda-knox
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It?s not just that bookstores are difficult to use. They?re economically inefficient, too. Rent, utilities, and a brigade of book-reading workers aren?t cheap, so the only way for bookstores to stay afloat is to sell items at a huge markup. A few times a year, my wife?an unreformed local-bookstore cultist?drags me into one of our supposedly sacrosanct neighborhood booksellers, and I?m always astonished by how much they want me to pay for books. At many local stores, most titles?even new releases?usually go for list price, which means $35 for hardcovers and $9 to $15 for paperbacks. That?s not slightly more than Amazon charges?at Amazon, you can usually save a staggering 30 to 50 percent. In other words, for the price you?d pay for one book at your indie, you could buy two.
Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=991eebba8673e55ad80fdb76775ed659
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WASHINGTON -- FBI Director Robert Mueller denied that his agency attempted to cover up evidence related to Operation Fast and Furious, denouncing Rep. Darrell Issa's (R-Calif.) theory that there was a third gun at the murder scene of border patrol agent Brian Terry.
At Wednesday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on FBI oversight, Mueller addressed allegations that the FBI had engaged in a cover-up at the crime scene.
"There was no third weapon found at the scene. There were two weapons that were found at the scene, not a third. Why there were suggestions as to a third I'm still not certain... But the fact of the matter is there were only two weapons found at the scene," Mueller said, responding to a question by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) about "conspiracy theories" surrounding Terry's death.
Operation Fast and Furious, run by the Phoenix field division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives between 2009 and 2011, has come under harsh scrutiny in recent months. The program was implemented to investigate a gun-trafficking network in Arizona. Authorized buyers would purchase guns, smuggle them into Mexican drug cartels, and agents would then track where the guns ended up. However, agents in the program did not always make arrests or seizures right away, leading to the loss of hundreds of weapons.
Terry was killed in Arizona last December near the Mexico border. Two AK-47s, later linked to the Fast and Furious program, were recovered at the scene. Issa, who serves as chair of the House Oversight Committee, has publicly expressed that he believes there was a third gun involved.
When asked by Bob Schieffer of "Face the Nation" in October if he was insinuating that the FBI had tampered with evidence at the scene, Issa responded, "Well, we're not suggesting that, but when you have tickets that are numbered two and three, and there's no ticket one. In other words, the weapon -- one weapon has a two, one has a three on it, there's no one."
He continued, "When agents who were at Brian Terry's funeral made statements to his mother indicating that there were three weapons, when the two weapons that they have tested don't conclusively match up, then you look and say, well, was there a third weapon at the scene?"
Issa has been a vocal critic of the Department of Justice's handling of the Fast and Furious program, most recently at a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Dec. 8. During the hearing, Issa questioned Attorney General Eric Holder, pressing him to fire people involved with the operation.
"The Justice Department has already admitted to making a false statement to Congress regarding Operation Fast and Furious and it is incumbent on them to be open and transparent about all aspects of the operation, including facts related to the murder of Agent Terry," Becca Watkins, a spokeswoman for Issa, wrote in an e-mail to HuffPost when asked about Mueller's most recent comments.
Earlier on HuffPost:
'; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/15/fbi-fast-and-furious-darrell-issa_n_1151325.html
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