AP Interview: Palestinian PM warns of cash crisis

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) ? The Palestinian self-rule government is in "extreme jeopardy" because of an unprecedented financial crisis, largely because Arab countries have failed to send hundreds of millions of dollars in promised aid, the Palestinian prime minister said Sunday.

The cash crunch has gradually worsened in recent years, and the Palestinian Authority now has reached the point of not being able to pay the salaries of about 150,000 government employees, Salam Fayyad told The Associated Press. The number of Palestinian poor is bound to quickly double to 50 percent of the population of roughly 4 million if the crisis continues, he said.

"The status quo is not sustainable," Fayyad said in an interview at his West Bank office.

The Palestinian Authority, set up two decades ago as part of interim peace deals with Israel, is on the "verge of being completely incapacitated," Fayyad warned. Only a year ago, he said he expected to make great strides in weaning his people off foreign aid.

The self-rule government was meant to be temporary and replaced by a state of Palestine, which was to be established through negotiations with Israel. However, those talks repeatedly broke down, and for the past four years the two sides have been unable to agree on the terms of renewing the negotiations.

In late November, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas won U.N. recognition of a state of Palestine in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, overriding Israeli objections to the largely symbolic step. On Sunday, Abbas asked his West Bank-based government to prepare for replacing the words "Palestinian Authority" with "State of Palestine" in all public documents, including ID cards, driving licenses and passports.

Israeli officials declined comment, including on whether Israel would prevent Palestinians with new ID cards and passports from crossing borders and checkpoints.

The U.N. bid gave the Palestinians new diplomatic leverage by affirming the borders of a future state of Palestine in lands Israel captured in 1967, but changed little in the day-to-day lives of Palestinians.

In an apparent response to the U.N. move, Israel in December halted its monthly transfer of about $100 million in tax rebates it collects on behalf of the Palestinians. That sum amounts to about one-third of the monthly operating costs of the Palestinian Authority. Fayyad said he now only takes in about $50 million a month in revenues.

Israel has said it used the withheld money to settle Palestinian Authority debt to Israeli companies, and it's not clear whether the transfers will resume. In the meantime, the 22-nation Arab League has not kept a promise to make up for the funds Israel withholds, Fayyad said.

The head of the League has written to member states, urging them to pay the $100 million, Mohammed Sobeih, a league official, said Sunday.

Fayyad pinned most of the blame for the Palestinian Authority's financial troubles on delinquent Arab donors, saying they are "not fulfilling their pledge of support in accordance with Arab League resolutions."

European countries kept their aid commitments, he said.

Some $200 million in U.S. aid were held up by Congress last year, a sum the Obama administration hopes to deliver to the Palestinians this year, along with an additional $250 million in aid. "We have made it clear that we think the money should go forward," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said last week.

The Palestinian Authority has relied heavily on foreign aid since the outbreak of the second Palestinian uprising in 2000. It has received hundreds of millions of dollars each year since then, but has struggled to wean itself off foreign support, in part because harsh Israeli restrictions on Palestinian trade and movement have hurt economic growth.

Only a year ago, Fayyad said he hoped to increase local revenues, including through spending cuts and higher taxes for wealthier Palestinians. He even set 2013 as a target for financing the government's day-to-day operations with local revenues. However, his tax plan was met by widespread protests and modest economic growth slowed.

Now he's not even sure how he will cover the government payroll, his heftiest monthly budget item.

The Palestinian Authority employs some 150,000 people, including civil servants and members of the security forces. About 60,000 live in Gaza and served under Abbas before the Hamas takeover, but continue to draw salaries even though they've since been replaced by Hamas loyalists.

In recent months, the government has paid salaries in installments.

Fayyad said he managed to pay half the November salaries by getting another bank loan, using as collateral Arab League promises of future support. He said he can't pay the rest of the November salaries, let alone start thinking about December wages.

The Palestinian Authority already owes local banks more than $1.3 billion and can't get more loans. It also owes hundreds of millions of dollars to private businesses, including suppliers to hospitals, some of whom have stopped doing business with the government.

The crisis "has put us in extreme jeopardy," Fayyad said.

The malaise has sparked growing protests. Civil servants have held warning strikes. On Sunday, their union called for four days of strikes over the next two weeks.

Walid Abu Muhsin, a government employee who makes 4,000 shekels ($1,000) a month, said he received only $500 in November, and his bank deducted 50 percent of that for car and home loans, leaving the father of three with $250 to live on.

"I am spending from the few savings I have," he said.

Fayyad said he's thought about quitting, but won't leave during a crisis. He was appointed by Abbas in 2007, after the Islamic militant Hamas seized Gaza by force. Hamas has received money from Iran, while Qatar last year pledged some $400 million for housing projects in Gaza.

Repeated attempts to heal the Palestinian rift have failed. Meanwhile, recent surveys suggest support for Hamas is on the rise, in part because it extracted what were perceived as Israeli concessions after a round of heavy cross-border fighting late last year.

The failure of the Palestinian Authority to deliver on many of its promises, Fayyad said, "has produced a reality of a doctrinal win" for Hamas.

He said the international community must decide whether it wants the Palestinian Authority, once seen as key to any Mideast peace deal, to survive.

"A weak Palestinian Authority cannot be an effective player if you are all the time preoccupied with making ends meet," he said.

___

Associated Press writers Aya Batrawy in Cairo and Ibrahim Barzak in Gaza City, Gaza, contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ap-interview-palestinian-pm-warns-cash-crisis-192032134.html

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Obama taps homeland security aide to head CIA

(AP) ? President Barack Obama has tapped White House homeland security adviser John Brennan as his nominee to lead the Central Intelligence Agency.

Obama on Monday appeared with Brennan in the East Room of the White House to name him as his pick to succeed former CIA chief David Petraeus, who resigned in November after admitting to an affair with his biographer.

Brennan is a 25-year veteran of the CIA and among Obama's closest advisers. Obama called him a friend.

The president praised Brennan as one of the most skilled and respected intelligence professionals. Obama says Brennan and former Sen. Chuck Hagel, whom the president nominated to lead the Pentagon at the same event, understand that "the work of protecting our nation is never done."

Brennan's post requires Senate confirmation.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-01-07-Obama-CIA/id-72410065f4194bd7a83245fee81687a7

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Sources: Obama to nominate Hagel as Pentagon chief

FILE - In this Feb. 21, 2007, file photo, then-Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., speaks during an appearance at Bellevue University, in Bellevue, Neb. President Barack Obama will nominate Hagel as his next defense secretary, a senior administration official said Sunday, Jan. 6, 2013. The selection of the decorated Vietnam combat veteran sets up a potentially contentious confirmation hearing because Hagel has come under scrutiny from his former colleagues over his positions on Israel and Iran. Some Republicans already have declared their public opposition to Hagel replacing Pentagon chief Leon Panetta in Obama's second-term Cabinet. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

FILE - In this Feb. 21, 2007, file photo, then-Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., speaks during an appearance at Bellevue University, in Bellevue, Neb. President Barack Obama will nominate Hagel as his next defense secretary, a senior administration official said Sunday, Jan. 6, 2013. The selection of the decorated Vietnam combat veteran sets up a potentially contentious confirmation hearing because Hagel has come under scrutiny from his former colleagues over his positions on Israel and Iran. Some Republicans already have declared their public opposition to Hagel replacing Pentagon chief Leon Panetta in Obama's second-term Cabinet. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

(AP) ? President Barack Obama will nominate Chuck Hagel as his next defense secretary, a senior administration official said Sunday, choosing a former Senate colleague and a decorated Vietnam veteran and signaling he's ready for a contentious confirmation fight likely dominated by questions about Hagel's stands on Israel and Iran.

Obama, who avoided a Capitol Hill battle by deciding not to nominate U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice as his first choice for secretary of state, went ahead with Hagel, 66, even as leading Republicans announced their opposition ? though they stopped short of saying they might try to block Hagel.

Seeking to soften the ground, the White House was alerting Senate Democrats that Hagel's selection as the successor to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in Obama's second-term Cabinet was imminent, according to a congressional official.

Obama, who returned to Washington on Sunday from his Hawaiian vacation, was expected to nominate Hagel on Monday. Congress is on break this coming week.

The officials requested anonymity in order to discuss Hagel's nomination ahead of Obama.

Hagel, a moderate Republican, built a strong relationship with Obama during their travel as senators. But the former Nebraska lawmaker has faced withering criticism from Congress since emerging as the front-runner for the Pentagon post.

Hagel is the second straight Obama favorite for a top national security post to face criticism from Capitol Hill even before being nominated. Rice withdrew her name from consideration for secretary of state amid charges from GOP senators that she misled the public in her initial accounting of the attacks on Americans at a diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya.

After Rice withdrew, Obama named Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass, to lead the State Department. Kerry is expected to be easily confirmed by his longtime Senate colleagues.

If confirmed, Hagel would take over a Pentagon that faces budget cuts and a scaling back of the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan. Afghan President Hamid Karzai is expected to meet with Obama in Washington this week to discuss the U.S. presence in Afghanistan after the war formally concludes at the end of 2014.

Hagel is likely to support a more rapid withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, the top Senate Republican, said earlier Sunday that he was reserving judgment on whether to support Hagel. But he predicted the former Nebraska senator would face serious questions about his stands on Iran and Israel.

Any nominee must have "a full understanding of our close relationship with out Israeli allies, the Iranian threat and the importance of having a robust military," McConnell said on ABC's "This Week."

Hagel has criticized discussion of a military strike by either the U.S. or Israel against Iran. He also has backed efforts to bring Iran to the table for talks on future peace in Afghanistan. Some lawmakers have been troubled by his comments and actions on Israel, including his reference to the "Jewish lobby" in the United States.

"This is a controversial pick," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told CNN. "He is an antagonistic figure when it comes to the state of Israel. It's a signal you're sending to Iran at the worst possible time and to our allies."

McConnell, R-Ky., said Hagel, who left the Senate in 2009, has "certainly been outspoken in foreign policy and defense over the years. The question we will be answering, if he's the nominee, is do his views make sense for that particular job?"

McConnell said he would "wait and see how the hearings go and see whether Chuck's views square with the job he would be nominated to do." He added, "I'm going to take a look at all the things that Chuck has said over the years and review that, and in terms of his qualifications to lead our nation's military."

The second-ranking Senate Republican, John Cornyn of Texas, said in a statement that making Hagel defense secretary would be "the worst possible message we could send to our friend Israel and the rest of our allies in the Middle East." Cornyn did not say he would try to block a Hagel nomination.

Obama, in an interview that aired last week on NBC's "Meet the Press," called Hagel "a patriot" who "has done extraordinary work" in the Senate and on an intelligence advisory board.

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the second-ranking Senate Democrat, told CNN's "State of the Union" that Hagel "is a serious candidate if the president chooses to name him."

___

Associated Press writers Jack Gillum and Donna Cassata contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-01-06-Defense-Hagel/id-bc2e75a913014d7c868de168cc0d4487

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Obama signs bill for Sandy flood insurance claims - NewsOn6.com ...

  • Ground search ends for skydiver missing in Wash.

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WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama has signed into law a $9.7 billion bill to pay flood insurance claims from Superstorm Sandy.

The law increases the borrowing authority of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA had warned that it was set to run out of money without additional dollars from Congress.

The White House said more than 100,000 flood claim payments from Sandy would be delayed without the additional money.

The House has yet to act on a larger, more comprehensive Sandy aid package. Republican leaders did not bring the bill to the floor before the last session of Congress adjourned.

House Speaker John Boehner has promised a vote Jan. 15 on that $51 billion package, and Senate leaders have promised a vote the following week.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.newson6.com/story/20514560/obama-signs-bill-for-sandy-flood-insurance-claims

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Have An Incredible Mountain Adventure With Your Friends

Skiing and snowboarding are the best outdoor sports there are. More and more people are hitting the slopes every year to satisfy that craving for action and excitement in their lives. The relationships and the friend groups that many skiers and snowboarders make are something special as well. Hitting the mountain for ski or board time with friends is a heck of time as it is, but for those groups that take their skiing seriously and are always looking for a new and exciting challenge, there is finally something different. Heli skiing is one of the most insane and exciting experiences that any outdoorsmen can do.

For those of you who do not know what heli skiing is, it is truly something that every serious skier needs to do. Instead of taking a ski lift to the top of a run, you will be taking a helicopter to the top of a mountain and skiing down from there. It is truly the new extreme when it comes to winter sports and there are so many reasons why every group of ski or snowboard buddies needs to look into this.

Not only is riding in a helicopter awesome, just imagine you and your friends in full snow suits, goggles on, knowing that in a matter of minutes it will be the beauty of the mountain surrounding all sides of you and all that you have with you is your skis or snowboard. You and your buddies will be in awe from the incredible views that mother nature has to offer and the incredible views you will see the entire way down the mountain. Now when it is actually time to strap on the skis and grip your poles, looking down at an entire mountain, imagine the thrill and the excitement that you will feel. It is a feeling that nothing else can duplicate.

Imagine the solitude, just your friends and you, an entire mountain at your feet and nobody else around to get in your way. The surreal feeling of being alone in god's country is worth it alone. We as skiers dream about the first snow of the season and the fresh powder that awaits at some of our favorite ski slopes but when you go heli skiing, every single piece of snow on the mountain is fresh powder. 2 feet of untouched powder for miles and miles down the entire mountain is something we can only dream to see. But when heli skiing, it can become a reality for you and your friends.

Forget about the packed-in, fake snow that you and your buddies will have to cut through at most ski resorts. Heli skiing provides you with the absolute best snow in the world that nobody else will ever have the pleasure of the skiing through for the very first time. Setting up a heli skiing trip for your friends and you will be one of the best decisions you ever make. The views, skiing and the memories you will share from doing something so awesome together is something each and everyone of you will truly cherish for many years.

Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Have-An-Incredible-Mountain-Adventure-With-Your-Friends/4365230

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I Just Controlled a Computer with My Eyeballs and It Was Amazing

We checked out Tobii last year, and it was pretty rough around the edges—just a prototype. But now the eye-control tech wizards at Tobii are back with a polished product, and I feel like I'm in Star Trek. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/C4_INdlABOI/i-just-controlled-a-computer-with-my-eyeballs-and-it-was-amazing

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IWL's First Quarterly Community Service Event!!! ? Idaho Women ...

IWL?s First Quarterly Community Service Event!!!

Monday, February 18 through Saturday, February 23, 2013?

Ronald McDonald House

101 E. Warm Springs Avenue

Boise, Idaho 83712

Located in downtown Boise across from St. Luke?s Children?s Hospital?

The Ronald McDonald House provides a ?home away from home? for families so they can stay close by their hospitalized children at little or no cost.?

During the February 2013 event, IWL members will have the opportunity to prepare on-site either breakfast or dinner for the families.??

Available Breakfast time slots:?

February 18, 19, 20, 22, and 23 from 8:00-9:30 am

Available Dinner time slots:

February 18, 19, 21, 22, and 23 from 4:30-6:00 pm. ?

Up to 6 people can volunteer during each time slot, and children ages 7+ and other family members are welcome to assist.??

Volunteers are responsible for bringing all food and drink for the meal to serve approximately 15-20 people.? All food must be cooked in the Ronald McDonald House kitchen (no pre-prepared food), and kitchen supplies are provided.???

Please contact Michelle Gustavson at mgustavson@hawleytroxell.com or 388-4824 for more details to sign up?or if you have any questions. ??

?

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Source: http://idahowomenlawyers.wordpress.com/2013/01/05/iwls-first-quarterly-community-service-event/

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Cash, guns, $34K of drugs seized from Conn. home

By Debra Bogstie, NBCConnecticut.com

A Connecticut man was arrested Thursday afternoon when police found drugs, guns and cash in his home after responding to a routine medical call.

When officers arrived at 4 McDonald Avenue in Cromwell, they discovered Michael Marotta, 28, was in possession of prescription medication that did not belong to him.

After obtaining a search warrant, authorities also found $34,000-worth of cocaine, $2,385 in cash, three handguns, three shotguns, two rifles, a taser and thousands of rounds of ammunition, according to police.

Read more news on NBCConnecticut.com

Authorities also found supplies used for the manufacturing, packaging and transportation of narcotics, according to police.

"It's really disturbing. I mean, you don't know who lives near you," said one neighbor who asked not to be identified.

Police arrested Marotta and charged him with operating a drug factory, illegal possession, possession with intent to sell, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana.

He was arraigned on the charges Friday in Middletown Superior Court, according to police.

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/05/16362485-cash-guns-34000-worth-of-cocaine-seized-from-conn-home?lite

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Adding a Decorative Photo or Embellishment' to a Descendant Chart ...

On page 179 of "The Companion Guide to Family Tree Maker 2012", under the heading 'Adding a Decorative Photo or Embellishment', there is a photo with an embellishment shown as a separate page. I want to add exactly this as a title page for a descendant chart that I am creating. But I cannot figure out how to add this as a separate title page nor can I find any reference as to how to do it.

Any help greatly appreciated

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Source: http://boards.ancestry.co.uk/topics.software.famtreemaker/9308/mb.ashx

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Grand jury indicts New York couple as bomb suspects

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A grand jury indicted a New York man and his girlfriend following their arrest on Saturday after police found an explosive compound, bomb-making manuals and weapons in their Greenwich Village apartment.

Aaron Greene, 31, appeared briefly in a New York courtroom on Friday, and was informed of the indictment by a judge. He was returned to jail without bail.

Formal charges against Greene were set to be announced at a January 29 court appearance, when he is expected to enter a plea, prosecutors said.

Greene's girlfriend, Morgan Gliedman, who was nine months pregnant when she was arrested, gave birth over the weekend to a baby girl and remained hospitalized in police custody, a law enforcement source said.

The grand jury also indicted Gliedman, according to a law enforcement source. It was unclear when she would be formally arraigned.

Police received a tip about the weapons and potential explosives from someone who had been in the couple's apartment, a police official said. Gliedman was wanted on suspicion of credit card theft, the official said.

Authorities, executing a search warrant of the couple's apartment, found bomb-making instructions, including a manual called "The Terrorist Encyclopedia", high-capacity rifle magazines, a flare launcher, two shotguns, and a plastic bottle containing seven grams of hexamethylene triperoxide diamine, or HMTD, court documents said.

The discovery of the HMTD, commonly used in homemade bombs, prompted an evacuation of nearby buildings, a law enforcement source said.

Interest in the case has been driven by the couple's privileged background. Gliedman's father, Paul Gliedman, is director of radiation oncology at Beth Israel Hospital in Brooklyn, according to a second law enforcement source.

Gliedman studied creative writing at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago, according to her Facebook page.

Greene's lawyer declined to comment on Friday, as did Greene's parents, who were in court for their son's appearance.

(Reporting by Chris Francescani; Editing by Daniel Trotta, Leslie Gevirtz and Richard Chang)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/grand-jury-indicts-nyc-couple-bomb-suspects-003918408.html

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