Thousands gather in snow to mourn Kim Jong Il (AP)

PYONGYANG, North Korea ? Tens of thousands of mourners packed Pyongyang's snowy main square Wednesday to pay respects to late leader Kim Jong Il as North Korea tightened security in cities and won loyalty pledges from top generals for Kim's son and anointed heir.

Women held handkerchiefs to their faces as they wept and filed past a huge portrait of a smiling Kim Jong Il hanging on the Grand People's Study House, in the spot where a photograph of Kim's father, North Korean founder Kim Il Sung, usually hangs.

Kim Jong Il died of a massive heart attack Saturday, according to state media, which reported his death on Monday. They said he was 69 ? although some accounts put his age at 70.

A huge crowd of mourners converged on Kim Il Sung Square with traditional white mourning flowers in hand. The crowd grew throughout the day, even as heavy snow fell, and some mourners took off their jackets to shield mourning wreaths set up in Kim's honor, just below the spot where he stood last year waving to crowds at the massive military parade where he introduced his successor, Kim Jong Un.

Two medical workers rushed to carry away a woman who had fainted.

"We chose to come here to care for citizens who might faint because of sorrow and mental strain," Jon Gyong Song, 29, who works as a doctor in a Pyongyang medical center, told The Associated Press. "The flow of mourners hasn't stopped since Tuesday night."

South Korean intelligence reports, meanwhile, indicated Wednesday that North Korea was consolidating power behind Kim's untested son, believed to be in his late 20s.

Worries around Northeast Asia have risen sharply as Kim Jong Un rises to power in a country with a 1.2-million troop military, ballistic missiles and an advanced nuclear weapons development program.

South Korea has put its military on high alert. In another sign of border tension, Chinese boatmen along a river separating North Korea and China told the AP that North Korean police have ordered them to stop giving rides to tourists, saying they will fire on the boats if they see anyone with cameras.

Along the Koreas' border, the world's most heavily armed, South Korean activists and defectors launched giant balloons containing tens of thousands of propaganda leaflets, a move likely to infuriate the North. Some of the leaflets opposed a hereditary transfer of power in North Korea. Some showed graphic pictures of former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's battered corpse and described his gruesome death.

Kim Jong Il ruled the country for 17 years after inheriting power from his father, national founder and eternal North Korean President Kim Il Sung, who died in 1994. Kim Jong Un only entered the public view last year and remains a mystery to most of the world.

Seoul's National Intelligence Service believes the North is now focused on consolidating Kim Jong Un's power and has placed its troops on alert, according to South Korean parliament member Kwon Young-se.

South Korean military officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of policies that restrict comment on intelligence matters, said North Korea has ordered its troops to be vigilant but that it didn't mean they were being moved.

Lawmaker Kwon said the NIS told the parliamentary intelligence committee that senior military officials have pledged allegiance to Kim Jong Un, and that more security officers have been deployed in major cities across the country. Intelligence officials declined to comment.

The NIS also gave its predictions on how the North's government will work during the transition of power to the younger Kim.

It told lawmakers that an ad hoc committee is expected to handle key state affairs before Kim Jong Un formally becomes the country's leader, according to lawmaker Hwang Jin-ha, who also attended the closed-door briefing. Intelligence officials didn't describe how they got the information, he said.

The NIS predicts that Kim Kyong Hui, a key Workers' Party official and Kim Jong Un's aunt, and Jang Song Thaek, her husband and a vice chairman of the powerful National Defense Commission, will play larger roles supporting the heir, the lawmaker said.

A South Korean Defense Ministry official handling North Korea affairs, however, said there is too little information to make a confident judgment about where North Korea's power transition is heading.

Initial indications out of North Korea suggest the power transition to the son has been moving forward, though it remains unclear when Kim Jong Un will formally take power.

In 1994, Kim Jong Il declared a three-year mourning period following his father's death, becoming the official leader of the nation in 1997.

Kim Jong Un led a procession of senior officials Tuesday in a viewing of Kim Jong Il's body, which is being displayed in a glass coffin near that of Kim Il Sung. Publicly presiding over the funeral proceedings was an important milestone for Kim's son, strengthening his image as the country's political face at home and abroad.

According to official media, more than 5 million North Koreans have gathered at monuments and memorials in the capital since the death of Kim Jong Il.

Hundreds of thousands visited monuments around the city within hours of the official announcement that Kim had died.

The North has declared an 11-day period of mourning that will culminate in his state funeral and a national memorial service on Dec. 28-29.

The leaflets sent into North Korea on Wednesday by South Korean activists are a sore point with the North, which sees them as propaganda warfare. North Korea has previously warned it would fire at South Korea in response to such actions. There were no immediate reports of retaliation, however. South Korean activists vowed to continue sending leaflets.

___

Reporting from Pyongyang by Associated Press Television News senior video journalist Rafael Wober and AP reporter Pak Won Il. AP writers Foster Klug, Hyung-jin Kim, Sam Kim and Eric Talmadge in Seoul, AP photographers Andy Wong in Dandong, China, and Lee Jin-man in Imjingak, South Korea, as well as Korea bureau chief Jean H. Lee contributed to this story.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/nkorea/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111221/ap_on_re_as/as_kim_jong_il

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Google TV and Apple TV Could Change Cable TV for the Good (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | Streaming video is a big deal when it comes to mobile devices. Tablet computers are almost designed with the capability in mind, and many smartphones have the application as well. In fact the popularity of streaming video is putting the squeeze on traditional cable companies and the media companies that create the television shows, but does anyone have an advantage in the race for consumer dollars?

According to the Wall Street Journal, television revenue from advertising, cable subscriptions and the like tally around $150 billion per year, which means there is serious money up for grabs. However, there is little doubt that if Apple and Google have anything to say about television, the entertainment landscape will change in the coming years, especially due to the popularity of mobile devices.

Business Insider reports cable TV should take Google TV seriously. The article mentions the $100 million investment Google is making in original programming for YouTube. However, Netflix is also getting in on the exclusive programming game getting ready to revive "Arrested Development," according to the Los Angeles Times. Plus, The Week is reporting a lot of interesting features on the new Apple TV that could increase the streaming content competition.

Whether or not viewers will shift to the original programming offered by YouTube and Netflix is an interesting question; however, users need something to watch for free (OK, Netflix has a subscription fee) on all those new shiny devices. Television is changing, and there is room for new shows that could start to affect the traditional television viewing process, which is getting home and turning on the TV to see what is on. The change is that now viewers will know what is on, and be able to watch it on several different devices with no additional cost, and that should shake cable companies to the core.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111221/tc_ac/10717879_google_tv_and_apple_tv_could_change_cable_tv_for_the_good

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Stocks rally runs out of steam after ECB loans (AP)

PARIS ? European stock markets fell Wednesday as pre-holiday optimism was tempered by the news that the European Central Bank loaned a record amount to the continent's banks in an effort to bolster Europe's stressed financial system.

The ECB loaned a massive euro489 billion ($639 billion) to 523 banks for an exceptionally long period of three years in an effort to steady a financial system under pressure from the eurozone debt crisis. It was the biggest ECB infusion of credit into the banking system in the euro's 13 year history.

The loans surpassed the euro442 billion in one-year loans from June, 2009, when the financial system was struggling after the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers.

The ECB is trying to make sure that banks have enough ready cash to operate and keep on loaning to businesses so that a credit crunch does not choke off economic growth. Many economists think the eurozone may be headed for at least a mild recession in coming months.

The credit infusion only treats one of the symptoms of the debt crisis. It does not remove the reasons banks remain wary of lending to each other ? especially, their thin levels of capital reserves against potential losses. And it doesn't cut the large levels of debt carried by governments.

European officials have said banks need to raise euro115 billion ($150 billion) in new capital ? but finding that money is not an easy task in the current environment of fear. Investors are leery of putting more money into banks. It would be politically unpopular for governments to do it, and their finances are stressed as well.

"Before equity investors get all excited about the ECB saving the day, I just want to point out that the ECB is not curing the banking illness, it is merely given banks an aspirin to take away the pain," said Louise Cooper, markets analyst at BGC Partners.

Following early gains, stocks in Europe were giving up some of Tuesday's gains. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 0.4 percent at 5,398 while Germany's DAX fell 0.2 percent to 5,833. The CAC-40 in France was 0.5 percent lower at 3,040.

The euro similarly gave up early gains, and was trading 0.4 percent lower at $1.3040.

Wall Street was poised for a flat open ? Dow futures were unchanged at 12,032 while the broader S&P 500 futures fell 0.2 percent to 1,233.

Asian markets rose earlier, as positive signs from key Western export markets helped shore up sentiment that was jolted by Kim's death and fears of a possible power struggle in a country pursuing nuclear weapons. Seoul's main index plunged 5 percent on Monday before recovering.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1.6 percent to 18,368.6 while China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended down 1.1 percent at 2,181.15.

Analysts expect North Korea's Kim to be succeeded by his third son, Kim Jong Un. State media have stepped up lavish praise of the younger Kim, indicating an effort to strengthen a cult of personality around him similar to that of his father.

Ric Spooner, chief market analyst for Australia's CMC Markets, said strong European and U.S. data were prompting investors to move back into stocks due to concern they might be caught on the sidelines if potential problems in the West fail to materialize and markets rebound.

Meanwhile, oil rose moved closer to $98 a barrel Wednesday after a report showed U.S. crude supplies fell more than expected, a sign demand may be improving. By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for February delivery was up 34 cents to $97.58 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

___

AP Business Writer Joe McDonald in Beijing contributed to this article.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111221/ap_on_bi_ge/world_markets

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Video: Regulations: Will Romney Lose Conservative Support?

Is GOP presidential candidate, Mitt Romney in danger of losing conservative support with his talk of regulations? John Tamny, Forbes opinions editor, weighs the risks.

Related Links:

Business & financial news headlines from msnbc.com

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/45759076/

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Legal Theory Blog: Legal Theory Lexicon: Second Best & Nonideal ...

Introduction

The post provides a very basic introduction to the idea of "second best." The term "second best" originated in a famous 1956 article by Lipsey and Lancaster (see bibliography), and it was originally used as a technical economic concept. Despite its technical origins, the idea behind the second best is very general: sometimes the ideal solution to a problem (or "optimal policy option") is infeasible. The best should not be the enemy of the good; so, when the first-best policy option is unavailable, then normative legal theorists should consider second-best solutions. In this post, we will take a hard look at the idea of the second best, beginning with a statement of the intuitive idea and then looking at the more formal idea of the second best in its original economic context.

As always, the?Lexicon?is aimed at law students, especially first-year law students, with an interest in legal theory.

The Intuitive Idea

The intuition behind the idea of the second best is simple. We would like to have the best possible legal system. But sometimes the best legal policies are not in the cards; that is, the best policy may be impractical.?Why??In legal theory, one common reason that we cannot adopt the best policy is politics. Given the political forces that operate, the best campaign finance system may be pie in the sky. So we ask the question, of those systems that might be politically feasible, which is the "second best"?

Although I've introduced the intuitive idea by talking about "political feasibility," the idea of the second best is more general than that. First-best solutions may be unavailable because of a variety of constraints, of which politics is only one. The intuitive idea of the second best is a bit broader and less technical than the way economists define "second best," so let's turn to the technical economic idea of second best now.

The Second Best in Economics

The very general idea of the economic theory of the second best can be expressed as follows:

Assume a system with multiple variables. Take the most desirable state the whole system could assume and the associated values that all of the variables must assume to produce this state: call this condition, the first-best state of the system and call the associated values of the variables, the first-best values. Now assume that one variable will not (or cannot) assume the value necessary for the first-best state of the whole system: call this the constrained variable. Holding the constrained variable constant, consider the most desirable state the whole system could then assume and the associated values that all the nonconstrained variables must assume to produce this state: call this the second-best state of the system. There are systems in which achieving the second-best state will require that at least one variable other than the constrained variable must assume a value other than the first-best value: call these value(s) the second-best value(s).

And here is the way that Lipsey and Lancaster formulated the idea:

[I]f there is introduced into a general equilibrium system a constraint which prevents the attainment of one of the Paretian conditions, the other Paretian conditions, though still attainable, are in general, not desirable.

(If "Paretian" is unfamiliar to you, there is an explanation in?Legal Theory Lexicon 060: Efficiency, Pareto, and Kaldor-Hicks.)? Lipsey and Lancaster are making a normative (but technical) argument. They assert that if one variable is constrained and cannot assume its first-best value, then "in general" other variables should not assume their first-best values. The "in general" qualification is important. Lipsey and Steiner didn't and couldn't show that it is always (or necessarily) the case that constraint of one variable affects the most desirable value for other variables. Rather, their proof shows that this is possible. In the real world, whether nonconstrained variable should depart from their first-best variables depends entirely on the facts. In fact, if a policymaker lacks certain information about the second-best variables, it may turn out that the real world policy that will produce the best result is to try to move the constrained variable as close as possible to its optimal state, leaving the second-best variables in their first-best states. The possibility was called the "third best" by Ng (see bibliography below).

One or two additional points are necessary to complete the technical story.

First, the definition that I just gave assumes that only one variable is constrained. But there is no reason to limit the theory of the second best in this way, more than one variable may be constrained. In fact, in theory every variable could be constrained: in this limiting case, the second-best state would be the only possible state of the system.

Second, the second best is usually understood as relative to a constrained variable. We could use the phrase "second best" to refer to the second-best state the system could assume if all the variables were unconstrained, but this is not the way that Lipsey and Lancaster used that phrase.

Third, there is an important difference between the way economists understand "second best" and the way the same phrase is understood by noneconomists. What was interesting and powerful about Lipsey and Lancaster's proof is that it produced the counterintuitive result that sometimes when one variable is constrained, the best policy choice will involve moving other variables?away?from their first-best values.

Although technically, the definition of second best need not be limited to that special situation, that is the?interesting?result, and the use of the theory of the second best in economics may be limited to the special case. Outside of economics, however, the phrase "second best" tends to be used in a much looser sense. The important thing is not the terminology, but the ideas. To be clear, however, it is useful to explain what you mean by second best!

The Second Best and Nonideal Theory

The idea of the second best that is used by economists is analogous to a distinction made famous by the political philosopher, John Rawls. Rawls distinguished between two ways of approaching political philosophy,?ideal?and?nonideal?theory.?In ideal theory, we assume compliance with the normative requirements of our theory. Rawls used the phrase "well-ordered society" to refer to the situation that obtains in ideal theory. In a society that is well ordered by Rawls's principles of justice, citizens actually would be guaranteed a fully adequate scheme of basic liberties and the basic structure would actually work to the advantage of the least well off group in society.?In nonideal theory, we relax the assumption that the society is well ordered by the principles of justice.?Can you make that very abstract description more concrete??Yes, here is a really good example. In a society that is well-ordered by Rawls's principles of justice, we might assume that if there are local governmental units, they will comply with the restraints imposed by the freedom of speech. But in the real world, local governments might be more susceptible to political pressure to suppress unpopular speech than would be the central government (i.e. the national government in Washington, D.C., in the case of the United States). So, in the real world of nonideal theory, we might be very considered with constraining the jurisdiction and powers of local governments; whereas, this issue may not even arise in the case of ideal theory.

Pinpointing the Constrained Variable

The notion of the second best and the related idea of nonideal theory get tossed around quite a lot in legal theory, but sometimes these terms are used carelessly or without precision. Whenever you hear or read the term "second best," ask yourself the question, "Which variable is constrained, and why is it constrained?" Because the "second best" is?second best?relative to a constrained variable, use of the concept of the second best doesn't mean anything unless and until the constrained variable is specified. Moreover, it is sometimes very important to know?why?the constrained variable is constrained. This is because it is easy to construct an argument for a second-best policy option that uses a double standard with respect to whether variables should be considered to be constrained. Here is a simple example:

Suppose our problem is racial justice with respect to the distribution of income and resources. Someone might make the case for reparations (a one time payment of a compensatory amount to descendents of the former slaves) on the ground that reparations are the second-best solution. The first-best solution would be a just economic order in which market mechanisms operate in a nondiscriminatory fashion to allocate income and wealth according to just criteria. (For this purpose, we don't need to specify what the just criteria are.) But the first-best solution is unavailable, because a just economic order is politically infeasible. Therefore, we ought to support reparations, which is the second-best policy.

So far, so good. But notice that there is a hidden assumption in this argument. The argument assumes that reparations are politically feasible. If this assumption is incorrect (which it may well be as an empirical matter), then it follows that the argument for reparations as the preferred second-best solution is fallacious. Of course, one can deploy double standards with respect to which variables are constrained (or which options are infeasible) so long as the double standard is made clear. But when the double standard is concealed and the argument is made in the context of policy evaluation, then we have either an innocent mistake or an attempt at manipulation.

The Feasible Choice Set

Another way of approaching the general problem revealed by the theory of the second best is?viathe notion of the feasible choice set. Take all of the possible legal policy options with respect to a particular legal problem. Then lay out a set of well-defined criteria for feasibility. Apply the criteria to the set, sorting the options into the feasible choice set and the infeasible choice set. Practical policy discussion will usually be limited to the options within the feasible choice set, but legal theory is not limited to the practical. Frequently we can learn something important by considering options that are outside the feasible choice set. For example, a rule of strict liability might turn out to be the optimal rule of tort law. It could also turn out that strict liability regimes are politically infeasible--perhaps because the fault-based social norms are very strongly held. But that fact should not preclude legal theorists from examining the merits of strict liability regimes. Not only may such an examination be of intrinsic interest, but the insights gleaned from such an examination may well assist in the evaluation of the options that are within the feasible choice set.

The Bottom Line

The notion of the second best, the distinction between ideal and nonideal theory, and the idea of the feasible choice set, are all essential tools for a legal theorist. As a first year student, you are likely to encounter these ideas in classroom discussion or in law review articles assigned as ancillary reading. The trick to mastering these concepts and using them effectively is to identify the constrained variable (or the nonideal conditions). Once you've done that, you can move to the next step, which is the question, "What criteria are used to identify the constrained variables?" And if you can answer that question, you are now in a position to respond in an intelligent and sophisticated way to applications of the theory of the second best!

Bibliography

  • R.G. Lipsey & Kelvin Lancaster, The General Theory of the Second Best, 24 REV. ECON. STUD. 11 (1956). ?Available in?Readings in Social Welfare: Theory and Policy?(Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell, Robert E. Kuenne ed. 2000).
  • Richard G. Lipsey,?Reflections on the General Theory of the Second Best at Its Golden Jubilee, ?14 International Tax and Public Finance 349 (2007).
  • Ng?Yew-Kwang,?Welfare Economics: Towards a More Complete Analysis?(London: Macmillan, 1983).
  • Karla Hoff, Second and Third Best Theories (pdf file).
  • Thomas McCarthy, Political Philosophy and Racial Injustice: From Normative to Critical Theory(explores Rawls's use of ideal and nonideal theory).
  • Lawrence B. Solum,?Constitutional Possibilities?(2007).

Resources on the Internet

Related Lexicon Entries

(This entry was last updated on December 18, 2011.)

Source: http://lsolum.typepad.com/legaltheory/2011/12/legal-theory-lexicon-second-best-nonideal-theory.html

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Judge dismisses $1B lawsuit against Microsoft (AP)

SALT LAKE CITY ? A federal judge on Friday dismissed a Utah company's $1 billion federal antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft Corp. after a jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict.

Novell claims Microsoft duped it into developing the once-popular WordPerfect writing program for Windows 95 only to pull the plug so Microsoft could gain market share with its own product. Novell says it was later forced to sell WordPerfect for a $1.2 billion loss.

The trial has been ongoing in Salt Lake City for two months. Jurors got the case Wednesday morning, but by Friday told the judge they were "hopelessly deadlocked."

They had expressed confusion to the judge about the complicated case throughout deliberations, even bringing one question to the court that could not be answered. The judge told jurors to simply disregard the question.

Earlier Friday, the judge denied a request from one juror to be removed from the case.

Microsoft lawyers have argued that Novell's loss of market share was its own doing because the company didn't develop a compatible WordPerfect program until long after the rollout of Windows 95. WordPerfect once had nearly 50 percent of the market for word processing, but its share quickly plummeted to less than 10 percent as Microsoft's own Office programs took hold.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates testified last month that he had no idea his decision to drop a tool for outside developers would sidetrack Novell. Gates said he was acting to protect Windows 95 and future versions from crashing.

Novell could have worked around the problem but failed to react quickly, he said.

Novell has argued that Gates ordered Microsoft engineers to reject WordPerfect as a Windows 95 word processing application because he feared it was too good.

Novell's lawsuit is the last major private antitrust case to follow the settlement of a federal antitrust enforcement action against Microsoft more than eight years ago. The trial began in October in federal court in Salt Lake City.

Novell is now a wholly owned subsidiary of The Attachmate Group, the result of a merger that was completed earlier this year.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111216/ap_on_re_us/us_antitrust_lawsuit_microsoft

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Facebook Timeline now working on iPhone optimized website

Facebook have begun to roll out their new profile design: Timeline, to iPhone through the mobile optimized version of their website. The redesign features most of the important features of Timeline. Viewing and changing Cover Images. Scrolling back through time – from birth to the present day Other features...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/3eshWrxhDeU/story01.htm

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Ads on the control tower? That's a no-go

Bob Pennell / AP

The Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport has nixed its plans to put ads on this control tower.

By Harriet Baskas, msnbc.com contributor

The director of the Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport in Jackson County, Ore., has decided that the proposal to sell advertising space on the airport control tower is a bit too controversial right now, so he?s dropping the plan.

?There were some in the community that didn?t think it was a good idea,? airport director Bern Case told msnbc.com. ?I could see the writing on the wall, so this morning we withdrew our application."

The airport had been seeking a change in the city code so that a 675-square-foot sign could be placed on each side of the airport control tower. Negotiations were underway with an aviation company that would have paid $3,000 a month for tower ad space, or $360,000 over the course of a 10-year lease.

The Medford City Council had approved the idea on Nov. 17, citing the economic benefits of additional advertising income for the airport, but local and national controversy about the decision caused some councilmembers to reconsider.?

?For crying out loud,? said Mike Boyd, an aviation consultant with Boyd Group International. ?A control tower isn?t exactly a work of art not to be messed with. I think an ad for Pepsi or Levis, or even an air sickness potion, would be a great way of getting another revenue stream."

If the project had gone through, the Medford airport would have been the first?to have advertising on the control tower. ?We were leading the way a little bit,? said Case. ?But we all have political bodies to deal with, and it was their call. We?ll be fine.?

While tower ads are tabled for now in Medford, don?t be surprised if the idea pops up somewhere else.

?Non-aeronautical revenue generation is a never-ending effort for airports,? said Sean Broderick, spokesperson for the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE). ?If an airport can generate revenue from something that doesn't cost it much to provide, that's a win-win for everyone.?

More on Overhead Bin

Find more by Harriet Baskas on StuckatTheAirport.com and follow her on Twitter.

?

Source: http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/16/9499127-ads-on-the-control-tower-thats-a-no-go

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Witness: Reflecting on Iraq as U.S. troops withdraw (Reuters)

BAGHDAD (Reuters) ? "Three days after U.S. tanks rolled into Baghdad in April 2003, I had my first encounter with an American marine. I opened my door to find him crouched on the street and holding a pump action shot gun.

He wore full combat gear, with knee pads and a heavy pack. I couldn't see his eyes through his black glasses. But he looked nervous. I asked him if there was a problem.

"He looked at me and said: 'Sir, we are here to protect you. We are here to liberate you from Saddam's regime and bring you elections to choose your president freely.'"

Reuters Baghdad correspondent Ahmed Rasheed says it was just a day after that first meeting that he began to realize the price his country would have to pay for democracy.

"I saw a U.S. army humvee rushing by, carrying four Iraqi men blindfolded with their hands tied behind their backs. Nearby, looters were ransacking one of Saddam Hussein's palaces and the headquarters of the Mukhabarat, the deposed dictator's former intelligence service.

"Looking nine years back, I cannot think of an Iraqi who has not been touched in some way or one who does not still struggle to avoid bombs or attacks, especially those conducted by assassins using silenced weapons - called 'ghost bullets' by Iraqis.

"For me, my country is still in a distressing state. After all these years of suffering and hoping to see a peaceful Iraq, I still can't get into my car without looking underneath to check if a magnetic sticky bomb is attached."

*******************************************************

As the last U.S. troops prepare to leave their country, many Iraqis are remembering the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein and wondering what the future holds for them after the soldiers go home.

Their government is still a fragile coalition of Sunni, Shi'ite and Kurdish parties which struggle to make power-sharing function. Violence has fallen sharply, but bombings, attacks and assassinations still occur almost daily.

Like many of their countrymen, Iraqi journalists working for Reuters have experienced turmoil, suffering and loss. Here some of them reflect on the events that marked the U.S. military presence for them.

*********************************************************

Saad Shalash, photographer:

"Since the first day of invasion I was optimistic about the change we thought would happen. I thought we would be able to travel, I thought we would free, that the Iraqi economy would get better. I was wrong. A massive bomb attack in 2004 changed everything for me.

I had seen other blasts, like an attack on the United Nations. But this was the biggest attack I had witnessed and the closest.

I was working as a Reuters driver at the time. We were in the southern city of Kerbala when one blast went off. Another bomb exploded behind us. We tried to get away. We had just got around a corner when a third blast exploded. It was very close to me. Shrapnel hit my arm. I didn't notice until someone told me I had blood on my shirt. We heard two more explosions further away. I thought I would die there on that day.

I thought 'That's it, Iraq will continue with these bombings'. I was right. Even now I feel that car bombs can happen. I don't like to take my family outside now. These bombings became a part of our daily life. I feel they will continue after the U.S. troops pull out.

It is out of the government's control. We see no improvements in the standard of living, the power shortages, the infrastructure which is still destroyed - all these problems will just get worse. All I think about is keeping myself and my family safe and offering them the simple needs in life like water and electricity."

Suadad al-Salhy, journalist in Baghdad:

"I have experienced all kinds of threats in this country from all sides after the 2003 U.S. invasion, but for some reason I cannot get rid of two memories related to the U.S. presence.

The first was in August 2008 when U.S. soldiers stormed my parents' house after midnight, blocked us all in our rooms and arrested my youngest brother, just three days after the arrest of my father. He was arrested after the Iraqi translator with the soldiers got offended because my father had asked him to stop shouting because he frightened the children.

The Americans released my brother after 10 or 12 hours. He was detained after they stopped him and all the youths aged between 15 and 20 years old in the area. They asked a masked young man, an informant, to point out suspects to arrest.

The second incident happened in January 2010 when I was working in Ramadi. I was with some colleagues working on a story covering the high rates of birth defects and the relationship with depleted uranium and phosphorus weapons used by the Americans in their fight against insurgents in Fallujah.

My husband called me asking if I was okay. He did not tell me anything but his voice was wobbly.

I called our office in Baghdad; they told me three large car bombs had hit well-known Baghdad hotels, killing at least 36 people and wounding another 71. One of the hotels housed my husband's office at that time. The first blast occurred near an entrance, just a few meters away from his office. The office ceiling totally collapsed and the walls, which were mostly made of glass, crashed. My five-year-old daughter was with her ??father at that moment, playing in his office.

I tried to contact staff who were with him, but communications were really bad. After an anxious 30 minutes I was told my daughter was okay after her father picked her up out of the debris. But no one could tell me if they were injured or not.

The distance between Baghdad and Ramadi is not more than 100 km (60 miles). But the Americans closed all roads leading to the capital that day. I had to spend the longest and worst five hours one can pass as a mother.

Exhausted, I finally returned to the house. I was not even aware of the glass from all the shattered windows. It made no difference to me then. I found my husband there waiting for me, I rushed to his arms and collapsed crying. I could not believe the day was over and thank God my daughter and husband were alive."

Aseel Kami, journalist in Baghdad:

"I consider myself lucky so far because I was not forced out of my home, I was not shot at, I did not receive any direct threat, I was not wounded or maimed by an explosion like many Iraqis who suffered during the nine years of U.S. presence.

But one of the distinguishing moments that still clings to my memory is a horrific day when a car bomb exploded near an Iraqi army checkpoint in 2006, meters away from my home.

It was the holy Muslim month of Ramadan when my mother, my son and I were gathered around the table to break our fasting when all of a sudden a huge sound erupted and the glass of the windows shredded in all directions.

Without realizing what had happened, we jumped from our chairs and ran to an inside corridor thinking it would be safer. I was shaking and holding my son. My mother was uttering some words from the Koran.

Minutes later, I thought I should go out to find out what had happened and what was the cause. I went out into our garden and I could not see anything because of the dust from the explosion, I only heard voices of people screaming.

Our neighbors told us a car bomb had exploded.

I remember this moment because only a few minutes before the explosion, my son, six years old at the time, had been playing with his friends in the road. I had called him back so he could wash his face and dirty hands before we had our meal.

One of his friends, who stayed there longer, was injured in his stomach and the other lost the sight in one of his eyes.

Security may be much better than six years ago but bombings still occur daily, and that makes me worried all the time, about myself, my son and my parents.

A few months ago a mortar round landed near my son's school near the Tigris river, just across the fortified Green Zone, home for the U.S. embassy and many Iraqi officials.

Another memory that stuck in my mind was the dark humor I used to share with our Baghdad stringer (freelance correspondent) to lighten a little the dark days of the sectarian violence in 2006-7.

Almost daily we used to report on dumped bodies found in Baghdad streets. One day we reported up to 60 bodies found bound, blindfolded and shot in the head and chest.

Our stringer I developed a code to describe those kind of corpses - he just used to say 'full option bodies'.

I know it is cruel to deal with these tragic events by making jokes but this is how we managed to pass these difficult days."

(Editing by Patrick Markey and Mark Trevelyan)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111215/ts_nm/us_iraq_withdrawal_witness

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What Is Disability Insurance? ? ArticleSnaps / Dofollow Article ...

Some individuals may be shocked to be taught that disability insurance coverage is each bit as essential as life insurance. Many instances it may be much more necessary than life insurance. This article examines some of the points concerning disability insurance coverage and how it may also help protect your way of life within the occasion of a critical illness or injury.

Incapacity insurance coverage is used for the protection of your future income. It?s the best way to protect yourself in the event that you?re unable to earn a living due to poor health or critical injury. As with most forms of insurance coverage, disability insurance coverage comes in totally different forms.

One of the reasons that incapacity insurance coverage is taken into account to be simply as vital as life insurance coverage is the truth that you?re still alive when disability insurance takes effect. Life insurance coverage, after all, solely takes impact once you?re passed on. Life insurance will ship a sum of cash to your beneficiaries that they can use as they see fit. If you?re injured or in poor health to the point that you can not work and earn a residing, the place will the cash come from to fulfill your financial obligations?

In a very broad sense, incapacity insurance coverage can are available in three ways. Your employer might have you ever covered by means of a bunch plan at work. The Social Safety Administration may be able to provide some aid if you happen to meet their requirements. Lastly, you should purchase private disability insurance from an insurance coverage carrier the same way that your purchase life insurance.

An attention-grabbing truth concerning disability comes from the Social Safety Administration. Their studies claim that a 20-yr old working person has a 3 in 10 chance of being disabled before reaching retirement age. In response to their numbers, 30% of the populace is inclined to needing some type of revenue safety inside their lifetime. That is a staggering number if you think about it.

While incapacity insurance coverage is necessary additionally it is more expensive than life insurance. This only is sensible as it is expected that the insurance company must pay out more in incapacity claims than it can in life insurance claims.

Shoppers ought to understand that incapacity insurance is just not the identical as medical insurance, which is used to help pay the cost of medical expenses. It is somewhat ironic that medical insurance can save your life and enhance your health but you may still end up homeless if you are disabled and cannot earn a living. Disability insurance coverage protects you from that disagreeable reality.

Individuals who are single or haven?t any relations often determine to by-go life insurance coverage as a result of they have no one to benefit from the insurance. In other words, they have no beneficiaries. Those same individuals, nevertheless, should not by-pass disability insurance because, in essence, they are those who will benefit ought to they grow to be disabled and unable to work. It only makes sense that even single people who find themselves unable to earn a dwelling will still need some type of financial assistance in order to live.

Anyone who depends on their earnings to pay their payments ought to severely contemplate including disability insurance coverage to their financial planning portfolio.
Terica D Beyerl

If you need further info concerning Mobility Cars, drop by the author?s web site without delay.

Source: http://www.articlesnaps.com/2011/12/17/what-is-disability-insurance/

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