Monty Python to reunite for new movie

EMI Films

Don't expect "Holy Grail Part II," but Python fans have the right to get excited anyway.

By Gael Fashingbauer Cooper

If you're a lumberjack and you're OK, ?recognize a dead parrot when you see one, and?know your way to the Ministry of Silly Walks,? you're going to want to read this. And then email and Tweet and Facebook it to all?your friends who also know every word to "The Ballad of Brave Sir Robin," and think of?themselves as card-carrying members of the Knights Who Say 'Ni!"

The surviving members of Monty Python?are reuniting for a new movie this spring, Variety reports.

Don't expect "Holy Grail Part II," however.

"It's not a Monty Python picture, but it certainly has that sensibility," Python Terry Jones, who helped develop the script and also will direct, told the magazine.

The Pythons will play mischievious aliens who grant an earthling the power to do anything he wants just to see what kind of mess ensues. Robin Williams provides the voice of a talking dog. (No, really.) According to Variety's report, Terry Gilliam, John Cleese and Michael Palin have signed on, and producers hope to sign Eric Idle. Graham Chapman died of cancer?in 1989.

Producer Mike Medavoy of "Black Swan" calls the film a "classic farce" and compares it to the "Pink Panther" movies. But he also adds that "like all projects originated by any of the Monty Python guys, 'Absolutely Anything' delightfully defies (description)."

After all, nooooo one expects a Monty Python reunion.

Will you see this film, or isn't it Python enough for your tastes? And what's your absolute favorite quote or skit from the troupe? Tell us on Facebook.

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Source: http://entertainment.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/31/10273222-monty-python-to-reunite-for-new-movie

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2 convicted in Norway of plotting terror attack (AP)

OSLO, Norway ? Two men accused of plotting to attack a Danish newspaper that caricatured the Prophet Muhammad were found guilty Monday of terror charges in Norway, the first convictions under the country's anti-terror laws.

The Oslo district court sentenced alleged ringleader Mikael Davud to seven years in prison and co-defendant Shawan Sadek Saeed Bujak to three and a half years.

Judge Oddmund Svarteberg said the court found that Davud "planned the attack together with al-Qaida."

A third defendant, David Jakobsen, was cleared of terror charges but convicted of helping the others acquire explosives. Jakobsen, who assisted police in the investigation, was sentenced to four months.

Investigators say the plot was linked to the same al-Qaida planners behind thwarted attacks against the New York subway system and a British shopping mall in 2009.

The case was Norway's most high-profile terror investigation until last July, when a right-wing extremist killed 77 people in a bomb and shooting massacre.

The three men, who were arrested in July 2010, made some admissions but pleaded innocent to terror conspiracy charges and rejected any links to al-Qaida.

During the trial Davud denied he was taking orders from al-Qaida, saying he was planning a solo raid against the Chinese Embassy in Oslo. He said he wanted revenge for Beijing's oppression of Uighurs, a Muslim minority in western China.

Davud, a Norwegian citizen, also said his co-defendants helped him acquire bomb-making ingredients but didn't know he was planning an attack.

Prosecutors said the Norwegian cell first wanted to attack Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, whose 12 cartoons of Muhammad sparked furious protests in Muslim countries in 2006, and then changed plans to seek to murder one of the cartoonists instead.

Bujak, an Iraqi Kurd, said the paper and the cartoonist were indeed the targets, but described the plans as "just talk."

Prosecutors had to prove the defendants worked together in a conspiracy, because a single individual plotting an attack is not covered under Norway's anti-terror laws.

During the trial, prosecutors presented testimony obtained in the U.S. in April from three American al-Qaida recruits turned government witnesses.

Jakobsen, an Uzbek national who changed his name after moving to Norway, provided some of the chemicals for the bomb, but claims he did not know they were meant for explosives. Jakobsen contacted police and served as an informant, but still faced charges for his involvement before that.

The men had been under surveillance for more than a year when authorities moved to arrest them in July 2010. Norwegian investigators, who worked with their U.S. counterparts, said the defendants were building a bomb in a basement laboratory in Oslo.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/terrorism/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_re_eu/eu_norway_terror_trial

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Ex-Pakistani envoy to US wins court victory (AP)

ISLAMABAD ? Pakistan's top court Monday lifted a travel ban imposed on the country's former ambassador to the U.S. during an investigation into a memo sent to Washington that had enraged the army, in a sign that a scandal that once looked capable of bringing down the government may be losing steam.

Husain Haqqani resigned in November and returned to Islamabad to answer allegations that he masterminded the note, which asked for Washington's help in curbing the powers of the Pakistani army in exchange for security policies favorable to the U.S.

The unsigned memo, sent to Washington following the May 2011 American operation that killed Osama bin Laden in a Pakistan army town, appeared to confirm the army's worst fears that the country's elected politicians were conspiring with Washington ? a potent charge in a country where anti-Americanism runs deep.

The outrage, whipped up by right-wing, pro-army sections of the media, exposed the apparent fragility of the government in the face of generals who have ruled the country for much of its more than 60-year existence and still run defense and foreign policy.

Haqqani, who denies any link to the memo, said he now intends to travel to United States to join family there.

"Anywhere else, this matter would have been laid to rest long ago," Haqqani said. "The memo had no impact on U.S. policy and was consigned to the dustbin by its recipient."

The Supreme Court set up a commission to investigate the affair, dubbed "memogate" in the Pakistani media, after opposition politicians petitioned for an inquest. Despite the fact he had not been charged with a crime, the commission had banned Haqqani from traveling.

On Monday, it ruled that Haqqani ? who has been living in the prime minister's residence, reportedly worried about threats to his life ? could travel. The court said Haqqani had to return to Pakistan if the commission required it. Haqqani said he would comply with the orders.

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland welcomed the lifting of the travel ban. "We continue to expect that Pakistan will resolve this situation and other internal issues in a transparent manner and upholding Pakistani laws and constitution," she said.

Up until a few weeks ago, there was speculation that the "memogate" scandal could lead to the demise of President Asif Ali Zardari's regime. But last week, the main accuser ? a Pakistani-American businessman who claimed to have delivered the note to Adm. Mike Mullen, the top U.S. military officer at the time ? said he couldn't come to Pakistan to testify, citing security fears.

That appears to have dealt a sharp blow to the case, even assuming the accuser, Mansoor Ijaz, had a "smoking gun" linking Haqqani and President Zardari to the memo. Many observers have since predicted that the probe is heading nowhere. Some media reports have speculated about a possible agreement between the army and the government to shelve the case.

Haqqani has won support from some U.S. lawmakers and pro-democracy activists in Pakistan, who painted him as a victim of army meddling in the democratic process. While he worked hard in Washington defending Pakistan ? a challenging task over the past few years ? prior to taking the job he was known as having an anti-army line.

The scandal has transfixed Pakistan's media and political class even as the country grapples with more existential threats like Islamist militancy and potential economic collapse.

On Monday, a suicide bomber killed a leader of a militant group that has been fighting a rival outfit in northwest Pakistan close to the Afghan border, said police officer Imtiaz Khan.

Haji Akhunzada was a senior figure in Ansarul Islam, which operates in the Khyber tribal region close to the Afghan border.

Akhunzada was killed along with his son-in-law while visiting his house close to the city of Peshawar, said Khan.

Ansarul Islam is fighting with another militant group, Lashkar Islam, for control of Kyhber, and dozens of people have been killed in the violence.

___

Associated Press writer Riaz Khan contributed to this report from Peshawar.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan

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Sudan rebels say holding 29 Chinese workers (Reuters)

KHARTOUM (Reuters) ? Rebels in Sudan's oil-producing border state of South Kordofan said on Sunday they were holding Chinese workers for their own safety after a battle with the Sudanese army.

The army has been fighting rebels of the SPLM-N in South Kordofan bordering newly independent South Sudan since June. Fighting spread to the northern Blue Nile state in September.

"We are holding 29 Chinese workers after a battle with the army yesterday," a spokesman for the SPLM-N said. "They are in good health. We are holding them for their own safety because the army was trying to strike again."

The army said rebels had attacked the compound of a Chinese construction company operating in the area between the towns of Abbasiya and Rashad in the north of the state and captured 70 civilians.

"Most of them are Chinese. They (the rebels) are targeting civilians," said army spokesman Sawarmi Khalid Saad.

He said there had been no battle in the area and the army was now trying to rescue the civilians.

China's foreign ministry urged Sudan to guarantee the safety of Chinese personnel during the search and rescue process, according to a statement released in Beijing.

South Kordofan is the main oil-producing state in Sudan, while Blue Nile is rich in minerals such as chrome.

The fighting in both states has forced about 417,000 people to flee their homes, more than 80,000 of them to South Sudan, according to the United Nations.

Both states contain large groups who sided with the south in a decades-long civil war, and who say they continue to face persecution inside Sudan since South Sudan seceded in July.

The SPLM is now the ruling party in the independent south and denies supporting SPLM-North rebels across the border.

Events in South Kordofan and Blue Nile are difficult to verify because aid groups and diplomats are banned from areas where fighting takes place.

SPLM-North is one of a number of rebel movements in underdeveloped border areas who say they are fighting to overthrow Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and end what they see as the dominance of the Khartoum political elite.

Sudan and South Sudan, which still have to resolve a range of issues including the sharing of oil revenues, regularly trade accusations of supporting insurgencies on each other's territory.

(Reporting by Ulf Laessing and Khalid Abdelaziz; additional reporting by David Stanway in Beijing)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/china/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120129/wl_nm/us_sudan_china

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Russia backs Assad, last friend in Arab world (AP)

MOSCOW ? Russia's defiance of international efforts to end Syrian President Bashar Assad's crackdown on protests is rooted in a calculation that it can keep a Mideast presence by propping up its last remaining ally in the region ? and has nothing to lose if it fails.

The Kremlin has put itself in conflict with the West as it shields Assad's regime from United Nations sanctions and continues to provide it with weapons even as others impose arms embargoes.

But Moscow's relations with Washington are already strained amid controversy over U.S. missile defense plans and other disputes. And Prime Minister Vladimir Putin seems eager to defy the U.S. as he campaigns to reclaim the presidency in March elections.

"It would make no sense for Russia to drop its support for Assad," said Ruslan Pukhov, head of the independent Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies. "He is Russia's last remaining ally in the Middle East, allowing it to preserve some influence in the region."

Moscow may also hope that Assad can hang on to power with its help and repay Moscow with more weapons contracts and other lucrative deals.

And observers note that even as it has nothing to lose from backing Assad, it has nothing to gain from switching course and supporting the opposition.

"Russia has crossed the Rubicon," said Igor Korotchenko, head of the Center for Analysis of Global Weapons Trade.

He said Russia will always be marked as the patron of the Assad regime regardless of the conflict's outcome, so there's little incentive to build bridges with the protesters. The U.N. estimates that more than 5,400 people have been killed since the uprising began in March.

"Russia will be seen as the dictator's ally. If Assad's regime is driven from power, it will mean an end to Russia's presence," said Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of the magazine Russia in Global Affairs.

Syria has been Moscow's top ally in the Middle East since Soviet times, when it was led by the incumbent's father, Hafez Assad. The Kremlin saw it as a bulwark for countering U.S. influence in the region and heavily armed Syria against Israel.

While Russia's relations with Israel have improved greatly since the Soviet collapse, ties with Damascus helped Russia retain its clout as a member of the Quartet of international mediators trying to negotiate peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

After Bashar Assad succeeded his father in 2000, Russia sought to boost ties by agreeing to annul 73 percent of Syria's Soviet-era debt. In the mid-2000s, Putin said Russia would re-establish its place in the Mideast via "the Syria route."

Syria's port of Tartus is now the only naval base Russia has outside the former Soviet Union. A Russian navy squadron made a call there this month in what was seen by many as a show of support for Assad.

For decades, Syria has been a major customer for the Russian arms industries, buying billions of dollars' worth of combat jets, missiles, tanks and other heavy weapons. And unlike some other nations, such as Venezuela, which obtained Russian weapons on Kremlin loans, Assad's regime paid cash.

The respected newspaper Kommersant reported this week that Syria has ordered 36 Yak-130 combat jets worth $550 million. The deal, which officials wouldn't confirm or deny, may signal preparations for even bigger purchases of combat planes.

Korotchenko said Syria needs the jets to train its pilots to fly the advanced MiG-29M or MiG-35 fighter jets it wants to purchase: "It's a precursor of future deals."

Korotchenko said Syria's importance as a leading importer of Russian weapons in the region grew after the loss of the lucrative Iraqi and Libyan markets.

Russia, whose abstention in a U.N. vote cleared the way for military intervention in Libya, later voiced frustration with what it described as a disproportional use of force by NATO.

The Kremlin has vowed not to allow a replay of the Libyan strategy in Syria, warning that it would block any U.N. resolution on Syria lacking a clear ban on any foreign military interference.

Moscow accuses the West of turning a blind eye to shipments of weapons to the Syrian opposition and warns it won't be bound by Western sanctions.

Earlier this month, a Syria-bound Russian ship allegedly carrying tons of munitions was stopped by officials in Cyprus, an EU member, who said it was violating an EU arms embargo. The ship's captain promised to head to Turkey but then made a dash to Syria.

Asked about the ship, Russia's foreign minister bluntly responded that Moscow owes neither explanation nor apology to anyone because it has broken no international rules.

Nonetheless, Moscow has shown restraint in its arms trade with Damascus, avoiding the sales of weapons that could significantly tilt the military balance in the region.

In one example, the Kremlin has turned down Damascus' requests for truck-mounted Iskander missiles that can hit ground targets 280 kilometers (175 miles) away with deadly precision. While the sale of such missiles wouldn't be banned under any international agreements, Moscow has apparently heeded strong U.S. and Israeli objections to such a deal.

Moscow also has stonewalled Damascus' request for the advanced S-300 air defense missile system, only agreeing to sell short-range ground-to-air missiles.

"Russia has taken a very careful and cautious stance on contracts with Syria," Korotchenko said.

The most powerful Russian weapon reportedly delivered to Syria is the Bastion anti-ship missile complex intended to protect its coast. The Bastion is armed with supersonic Yakhont cruise missiles that can sink any warship at a range of 300 kilometers (186 miles) and are extremely difficult to intercept, providing a strong deterrent against any attack from the sea.

Observers in Moscow said that Russia can do little else to help Assad. The chief of the Russian upper house's foreign affairs committee, Mikhail Margelov, openly acknowledged that this week, saying that Russia has "exhausted its arsenal" of means to support Syria by protecting it from the U.N. sanctions.

Lukyanov said Russia has made it clear it would block any attempts to give U.N. cover to any foreign military intervention in Syria, but wouldn't be able to prevent Syria's neighbors from mounting such action.

"Russia realizes that it has limited opportunities and can't play a decisive role," he said.

Pukhov also predicted that Russia wouldn't take any stronger moves in support for Damascus.

"Going further would mean an open confrontation with the West, and Russia doesn't need that," he said.

____

Elizabeth A. Kennedy contributed from Beirut.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_re_eu/eu_russia_syrian_game

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Stars Hit Sundance!

Celebrities braved the snow and flocked to the Sundance Film Festival, but the films weren't the only hot tickets in Park City, Utah, this year.

The place to be seen in the day was definitely T-Mobile's The Village at the Lift where celebrities like Kate Bosworth, Liv Tyler and Victoria Justice could enjoy McCaf? lattes, hit up the uber cool Puma Social Lounge or get Mac makeup touchups.

But what would Sundance be without mentioning the swag?! The biggest celebs were gifted everything from Soul headphones at the Miami Oasis Lounge, Solstice designer sunglasses at the Gen Art Bertolli Meal Soup Chalet, the new Nintendo 3DS at its gaming lounge and sexy DL1961 Premium Denim at the Talent Resources Suite. But the winner for the best celeb lounge had to be the Vevo Sorel lounge, where almost every hot celebrity stopped by even The Bachelor's Ben Flajnik, who received several of the brand's hottest snow boots. But the biggest swag of all was at the Fender Music Lodge where Emily Blunt was gifted a trip to Vomo Island Resort in Fiji!

In the evening, stars Christina Hendricks and Tommy Lee dined at ChefDance where some of the world's leading chefs prepared a different delicious menu every night. The best part was the Yogurtland station for dessert as guests left. After dinner, the hottest acts in music today such as Ludacris, Deadmau5 and OneRepublic preformed at Park City Live and Drake at Bing Bar. Common also hosted an exclusive Express concert for his Sundance film LUV.

Also worth mentioning were the Grey Goose Iconoclasts Lounge and Acura Studio which served as the exclusive A-List lounges for several film dinners and after-parties. Rashida Jones, James Marsden and Emma Roberts were all spotted partying the night away at the lounges while sipping cocktails til 2 a.m.

For the late-night celebs, the hotspot was the T-Mobile Presents Google Music at Tao. Nick Lachey, Drake, Paris Hilton and Kirsten Dunst were all spotted at the pop-up nightclub getting their groove on and trying not to be seen.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/InTouchWeekly/~3/j865zdURBac/stars_hit_sundance.php

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U.S. outrage as Egypt bars Americans from leaving (Reuters)

CAIRO (Reuters) ? Six Americans working for publicly funded U.S. organizations promoting democracy in Egypt have been barred from leaving the country, provoking angry demands in Washington that Cairo's new military rulers stop "endangering American lives".

Among those hit by travel bans - one of those targeted called it "de facto detention" - is a son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, as well as other foreign staffers of the International Republican Institute and National Democratic Institute, officials at the two organizations said on Thursday.

The United States said Egypt should reverse them: "We are urging the government of Egypt to lift these restrictions immediately and allow these folks to come home as soon as possible," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

A month after police raided the Cairo offices of the IRI, NDI and eight other non-governmental organizations, it raises the stakes for Washington, which had already indicated it may review the $1.3 billion it gives the Egyptian military each year if the probe into alleged breaches of local regulations went on.

Some see it as a poor omen for Egypt's fledgling democracy following last year's overthrow of Hosni Mubarak.

John McCain, the leading Republican senator who chairs the IRI, voiced "alarm and outrage" at a "new and disturbing turn" which included a travel ban on Sam LaHood, the group's Egypt director and son of President Barack Obama's transport chief.

The younger LaHood said he was stopped at Cairo airport on Saturday and prevented from boarding a flight out.

McCain, in a statement referring to Egypt's ruling military council, said: "I call on the Egyptian government and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to cease the harassment and unwarranted investigations of American NGOs operating in Egypt.

"This crisis has escalated to the point that it now endangers the lives of American citizens and could set back the long-standing partnership between the United States and Egypt."

US-EGYPT TIES

Mubarak had a close alliance with Washington which is now trying to build a relationship with an Egypt run by his old army colleagues but expecting to be ruled eventually by a parliament in which Islamists have won a big majority in a free vote.

Visiting Cairo, the U.S. State Department's top human rights official, Michael Posner, declined to comment on the travel bans, which some of the NGO officials affected said Egyptian officials have yet to confirm in writing.

However, of the dispute over NGO registration in general, he urged the Egyptian government to "redress this situation". He noted that the release of aid was dependent on Congress, where many disapprove of Egypt's actions against the NGOs and which is waiting for reports from the State Department before voting.

"The NGO issue is very much part of that package and as you know there has been considerable attention in the Congress to the restrictions on NGOs," Posner told reporters.

"So we are very much engaged in trying to encourage progress on that issue."

Cairo-based political analyst Elijah Zarwan said the move would give ammunition to those in Congress seeking a review of aid: "This will clearly strain an already tense relationship between Egypt military rulers and Washington," he said.

Sam LaHood told Reuters that a judge had charged him and three other IRI employees with managing an unregistered NGO and being paid employees of an unregistered organization, charges that carry a penalty of up to five years in jail.

His counterpart at the NDI, which like the IRI receives U.S. public funding and is loosely affiliated with one of the two major political parties in Washington, said she, too, was on the banned list for travel. But Julie Hughes told Reuters she was unaware of any formal charges against her or her staff.

NGO officials said the ban affects four IRI staff, including three Americans and one other foreigner, and six foreigners from the National Democratic Institute (NDI), also including three U.S. citizens.

Egyptian officials have made no comment on the bans.

"These organizations have been operating for years. They meet with the government. Their funding is known," said Heba Morayef of Human Rights Watch in Cairo.

"There can be no motivation except a desire to control and silence the human rights community."

NDI's Hughes said her organization had submitted a registration request when it started up in Egypt in 2005, but after dealing with queries in 2006 the request went no further. She said the group was in regular contact with the authorities.

"We have never received any official correspondence from the government of Egypt with problems or requesting us to cease," Hughes said. "We are hoping ... this controversy yields a more constructive dialogue."

(Reporting by Ashraf Fahim, Sherine El Madany and Marwa Awad; Writing by Edmund Blair and Tom Perry; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120126/wl_nm/us_egypt_usa

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Iran is ready to return to nuclear talks (AP)

TEHRAN, Iran ? Iran is ready to revive talks with the U.S. and other world powers, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Thursday, but suggested that Tehran's foes will have to make compromises to prevent negotiations from again collapsing in stalemate.

Iran's insistence that it will never give up uranium enrichment ? the process that makes material for reactors as well as weapons ? scuttled negotiations a year ago and still looms as a potential deal breaker even as tougher Western sanctions target Iran's critical oil exports.

Ahmadinejad added his voice to proposals by Iranian officials to return to talks Thursday at a rally in the southeastern city of Kerman, saying a nation that is in the "right" should not be worried about holding dialogue.

Iran indicated earlier this week that it was ready for a new round of talks with the five permanent U.N. Security Council members plus Germany. Ahmadinejad ? the highest-ranking official so far to make the offer ? gave no further details about a potential timetable or venue.

The European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton had welcomed the proposals to restart talks ? possibly in Turkey ? but urged Tehran to bring "some concrete issues to talk about."

"It is very important that it is not just about words. A meeting is not an excuse, a meeting is an opportunity and I hope that they will seize it," she said Monday in Brussels as the 27-nation bloc adopted its toughest measures yet on Iran with an oil embargo and freeze of the country's central bank assets.

That followed U.S. action also aimed at limiting Iran's ability to sell oil, which accounts for 80 percent of its foreign revenue.

In the past, Iran has angered Western officials by appearing to buy time through opening talks and weighing proposals even while pressing ahead with its nuclear program.

Britain's Foreign Office said that the six world powers were awaiting a response to a letter sent to Tehran by Ashton in October.

"The door is open, if Iran is willing to talk about its nuclear program in a serious and meaningful manner, without preconditions. The ball is in Iran's court," a spokesman for the ministry said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with policy.

The United States and its allies want Iran to halt uranium enrichment, which they worry could eventually lead to weapons-grade material and the production of nuclear weapons. Iran says its program is for peaceful purposes ? generating electricity and producing medical radioisotopes to treat cancer patients.

Negotiations between Iran and the international envoys fell apart in January 2011, and Iran later rejected a plan to send its stockpile of low-enriched uranium abroad in exchange for reactor-ready fuel rods.

Ahmadinejad tried to turn the tables, accusing the West of claiming to seek talks but preferring failure as a way to further punish Iran with what the Islamic Republic has called "economic warfare."

"It is you who come up with excuses each time and issue resolutions on the verge of talks so that negotiations collapse," Ahmadinejad said. "It is evident that those who resort to coercion are opposed to talks and always bring pretexts and blame us instead."

A U.N. nuclear agency team is expected to visit Tehran on Saturday, the first such mission since a report in November that alleged Iran had conducted secret weapons-related tests and that Tehran was on the brink of developing a nuclear weapon.

The delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency will be led by Deputy Director General Herman Nackaerts, who is in charge of the Iran nuclear file.

Iran began uranium enrichment at a new underground site built to withstand possible airstrikes earlier this month, in another show of defiance against Western pressure.

Centrifuges at the bunker-like Fordo facility near the holy city of Qom are churning out uranium enriched to 20 percent. That level is higher than the 3.5 percent being made at Iran's main enrichment plant at Natanz, central Iran, and can be turned into warhead material faster and with less work.

Iran says it won't give up its right to enrich uranium and produce nuclear fuel, but it has offered to allow IAEA inspectors to visit its nuclear sites to ensure that the program won't be weaponized.

Ahmadinejad also claimed the sanctions and oil embargo will backfire because it has minimum trade with the EU.

"Americans have not purchased Iranian oil for 30 years. Our central bank has had no dealings with them ... our (total) foreign trade is about $200 billion. Between $23 billion to $24 billion of our trade is with Europeans, making up about 10 percent of our total trade ... Iran won't suffer," Ahmadinejad said in comments posted on state TV's website.

The EU had been importing about 450,000 barrels of oil a day from Iran, making up 18 percent of Iran's oil exports.

In China, a major buyer of Iranian oil, the official Xinhua News Agency quoted the Foreign Ministry as opposing the latest EU measures on Iran.

"To blindly pressure and impose sanctions on Iran are not constructive approaches," the statement said.

Beijing has pressed for the nuclear standoff to be resolved through dialogue and consultation.

Oil prices ? which rose about $100 a barrel Thursday ? have been nudged higher this week on Western naval buildups in the Gulf and Iran's threats to close the oil tanker lanes through the Strait of Hormuz, the route for about one-fifth the world's crude.

On Iran's southern coast, a fighter jet crashed after a technical malfunction, the semiofficial Fars news agency reported. The U.S.-made F-14 went down outside Bushehr, a port city that is also the site of Iran's first nuclear power plant. Iran has an aging warplane fleet that includes many American-made aircraft, including F-14s, purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Meanwhile, a 22-year-old Afghan man has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for spying on his country for neighboring Iran, an Afghan official in Herat said Thursday. The two countries have significant cultural and economic ties, and Iran maintains a consulate in the western city.

Photographs of foreign and Afghan military installations and notebooks containing the phone numbers of Iranian intelligence officials were seized when Mahmood, who uses only one name, was arrested four months ago in his native Herat, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive case.

Mahmood, who shouted his innocence during an hour-long trial Tuesday in Herat, has said that he plans to appeal his sentence to a higher court, the official said.

___

Murphy reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Deb Riechmann in Kabul, Afghanistan, and David Stringer in London contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_nuclear

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[OOC] Love Me, Love Me Not

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Site sells baubles of the broken-hearted

Never Liked It Anyway

By Suzanne Choney

Wow, never mind the glitzy baubles that are available on a new website, Never Liked It Anyway. The stories that come with them are just as gripping (and they're free).

The site is for the spurned and broken-hearted who are not so devastated that they can't see their way to making a buck (or in some cases, much, much more) from their former lovers' gifts, with "real-world" prices given alongside "break-up" prices. But the best part is that sellers can vent their feelings about their exes in describing why the items are for sale.

Never Liked It Anyway

Here you can find a 1.74 carat "princess cut solitaire engagement ring," listed as having a "real world price" of $10,250, but offered for a "break-up price" of $6,800. Writes the seller:

Absolutely loved wearing this ring during my engagement. Unfortunately my ex-fiance and I never made it down the aisle. Months before the big day we purchased a new vehicle in my name for my soon to be husband, his vehicle, his payment. Needless to say when we broke things off, he decided to quit his job and give me the vehicle instead of getting it put in his name, leaving me with the payment. Not to mention we had rolled over negative equity from his previous vehicle to the new one, so in order to get rid of it when I sold it, I had to pay $9,000 in negative equity. So basically at this point I am trying to pay off the Credit Cards I had to max out to do so. Still fixing his mess months after the breakup ...

There's also more modest jewelry, like a "silver double love heart necklace with little cubic zirconias around the edge of larger heart." Real-world price: $150. Break-up price: $80. And a simple explanation that goes with it: "My ex is history and I want the jewelery he gave me to be as well," says the seller.

Then there's the 2-carat wedding ring, real-world price, $6,400; break-up price, $3,000:

Was married 23 years and didn't ever have a wedding ring ... marriage was on the rocks ...He was trying to buy me to keep me... so this ring hasn't been worn more than 2 years. Divorced 2 years later... No longer needed and need the money.

There are also wedding dresses never worn.

A Maggie Sottero gown, for example, originally $1,500, is offered at $1,300 (with the seller willing to bargain):

After our wedding turned into everything HE wanted, I realized that the path I was heading into wasn't where i wanted to be," she writes. "So i called off the wedding 2 months before so that I could be happy again. I absolutely love this dress and really hate parting with it but I feel like it is the final step to ending that relationship. I hope a gorgeous bride will walk down the isle with it one day!

The site was started by an Australian woman, Annabel Acton, who "decided to set up a kind of eBay for bitter brides and disgruntled grooms and other brokenhearted," notes The New York Post. Acton, the newspaper said, "was inspired by her own miserable breakup with her boyfriend five days before Christmas."

"All this pathetic ?Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all? was sappy," Acton told the Post. "I wanted something spunky."

Spunky it is. Never Liked It Anyway isn't all about the dollars; it's also about healing. The site includes a "Moving on Manual," a crowd-sourced grab bag of "tips and tricks to help you move on fast, as written by you."

Many of those tips are helpful, and many are just cathartic: "Get the Fat App and distort a photo of them. Instant relief and instant comedy!" wrote "MissB."

Wrote "PeteRepeat": "Watch jersey shore and remember, it could always be worse... you could be The Situation."

And there's this, from "kmobayeni":?"Ban all Celine Dion songs (you should do this anyway)."

Related stories:

Check out Technolog, Gadgetbox, Digital Life and In-Game on?Facebook,?and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.

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Source: http://digitallife.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/25/10236563-site-sells-baubles-of-the-broken-hearted

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Latest Science: Non-Psychotropic Cannabinoid Inhibits Colon ...

by Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director January 24, 2012

The administration of the non-psychotropic cannabis plant constituent cannabidiol (CBD) is protective in an experimental model of colon cancer, according to preclinical trial data published online in the Journal of Molecular Medicine.

Investigators at the University of Naples assessed the effect of CBD on colon carcinogenesis in mice. Researchers reported that CBD administration was associated with cancerous tumor reduction and reduced cell proliferation.

Authors wrote: ?Although cannabidiol has been shown to kill glioma cells, to inhibit cancer cell invasion and to reduce the growth of breast carcinoma and lung metastases in rodents, its effect on colon carcinogenesis has not been evaluated to date. This is an important omission, since colon cancer affects millions of individuals in Western countries. In the present study, we have shown that cannabidiol exerts (1) protective effects in an experimental model of colon cancer and (2) antiproliferative actions in colorectal carcinoma cells.?

Authors also acknowledged that CBD possesses ?an extremely safe profile in humans.? They concluded, ?[O]ur findings suggest that cannabidiol might be worthy of clinical consideration in colon cancer prevention.?

Clinical review data published in the scientific journal Current Drug Safety in December concluded that CBD is ?non-toxic? to healthy cells and is ?well tolerated? in humans. Nevertheless, cannabidiol is presently classified under federal law as a schedule I prohibited substance. Such substances are required by law to possess ?a high potential for abuse,? ?a lack of accepted safety ? under medical supervision,? and ?no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.?

Separate preclinical trails evaluating the anti-cancer activities of cannabinoids and endocannabinoids show that their administration can inhibit the proliferation of a variety of cancerous cell lines, including breast carcinoma, prostate carcinoma, gastric adenocarcinoma, skin carcinoma, leukemia cells, neuroblastoma, lung carcinoma, uterus carcinoma, thyroid epithelioma, pancreatic adenocarcinoma, cervical carcinoma, oral cancer, biliary tract cancer (cholangiocarcinoma), and lymphoma. NORML provides summaries and links to these studies here.

Full text of this latest study, ?Chemopreventive effect of the non-psychotropic phytocannabinoid cannabidiol on experimental colon cancer,? appears in the Journal of Molecular Medicine.

Source: http://blog.norml.org/2012/01/24/latest-science-non-psychotropic-cannabinoid-inhibits-colon-cancer-cell-proliferation/

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FM says Syria has duty to confront armed groups

An anti-Syrian regime protester colors his fingers with the revolutionary flag colors during a protest outside the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012. Arab League foreign ministers, meeting in Cairo, extended the much-criticized observers mission for another month, officials from the 22-member organization said. The League decided to add more observers and provide them with additional resources, the officials said. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

An anti-Syrian regime protester colors his fingers with the revolutionary flag colors during a protest outside the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012. Arab League foreign ministers, meeting in Cairo, extended the much-criticized observers mission for another month, officials from the 22-member organization said. The League decided to add more observers and provide them with additional resources, the officials said. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Anti-Syrian regime protesters carry revolutionary flags while performing a traditional dance during a protest outside the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012. Arab League foreign ministers, meeting in Cairo, extended the much-criticized observers mission for another month, officials from the 22-member organization said. The League decided to add more observers and provide them with additional resources, the officials said. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

BEIRUT (AP) ? Syria's foreign minister said Tuesday that "half the universe" is conspiring against his country, as Gulf Arab nations withdrew from a monitoring mission in Syria because the government has failed to stop 10 months of violence.

International pressure is building on Syria, not only from the West but increasingly from Arab nations as well. The U.N. estimates more than 5,400 people have been killed since Syria's uprising began in March, sparked by the arrest of a group of teenagers who scrawled anti-government graffiti on a wall in the country's south.

Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem on Tuesday signaled the crackdown will continue, saying in Damascus that the government will take any steps necessary to defend against chaos. Activists, meanwhile, reported more violence nationwide Tuesday, with more than 15 people killed and possibly many more.

Syria has claimed that armed gangs acting out a foreign conspiracy are behind the revolt, not protesters seeking change in one of the most authoritarian states in the Middle East.

"It is the duty of the Syrian government to take what it sees as necessary measures to deal with those armed groups that spread chaos," al-Moallem said during a televised news conference.

He also said it was clear that some Arab countries have joined the conspiracy against Syria ? a clear reference to the Gulf countries' decision to withdraw their monitors and to Sunday's call by the Arab League for Syria to create a national unity government in two months.

The plan also provides for President Bashar Assad to give his vice president full powers to cooperate with the proposed government to enable it to carry out its duties during a transitional period.

Damascus has rejected the plan as a violation of national sovereignty.

Tuesday's decision by the six oil-rich Gulf nations ? Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates ? to pull out their monitors is a blow to an Arab League observer mission that has been mired by controversy, but which for many represented the only hope for an Arab solution to the crisis in Syria, away from outside intervention.

Now, the Gulf Cooperation Council, which had contributed 52 of the estimated 160 observers, has called on the U.N. Security Council to take all "necessary measures" to force Syria to implement the Arab League's peace plan.

The GCC has long advocated referring Syria to the Security Council, putting it in conflict with other Arab states. Security Council action could open the door for more economic sanctions and possible military intervention although veto-wielding member Russia is firmly opposed to punitive measures against its longtime ally.

"The decision was made after careful and thorough monitoring of events in Syria and the conviction by the GCC that the bloodshed and the killing of innocent people there is continuing," the GCC statement said.

Al-Moallem brushed off the threat of Security Council action.

"If they go to (U.N. headquarters in) New York or the moon, as long as we don't pay their tickets, this is their business," he said.

He acknowledged there is little hope for an Arab solution but tried to portray confidence, saying Syria had the strong support of powerful allies in Iran as well as Russia.

The permanent representatives of the Arab League's 22 members held an emergency meeting in Cairo Tuesday to review the situation following the GCC's decision.

Qatar's envoy, Saleh Abdullah al-Buainain, told reporters after the meeting that the GCC countries would continue to support and fund the mission despite withdrawing their observers

An official at the Cairo-based Arab League said an emergency meeting of permanent representatives of the group's 22 members will be held later Tuesday in the Egyptian capital to "review the situation" following the GCC's decision.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The Arab League's observer mission has been heavily criticized for its failure to stop the Assad regime's crackdown.

Saudi Arabia had announced Monday that it would pull out its observers, followed by the other GCC members.

"This is their business," al-Moallem said. "Maybe the Saudi brothers in the mission don't want to see the realities on the ground, which don't satisfy their plots," he added.

Activists said the deadliest incident on Tuesday occurred when security forces shelled a building in the Bab Tadmur area of restive central city of Homs, with a local activist Mohammed Saleh saying 17 people were killed in the attack. The umbrella group Local Coordination Committees claimed 30 people were killed.

Syrian troops also opened fire to disperse hundreds of mourners who had gathered for the funeral of a prominent opposition figure who had been killed by gunmen the day before in al-Barra village in the northern Jabal al-Zawiya region, activists said.

The overall death toll ranged from 15 to more than 43, based on reports from the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the Local Coordination Committees and several other activists on the ground.

___

Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue and Elizabeth A. Kennedy in Beirut, and Abdullah al-Shihri in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-24-Syria/id-72ff0eb608f74084a812aec33db2fe1b

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RIM's Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis are out, new CEO Thorsten Heins may license BlackBerry 10

After months upon months of investor backlash, RIM's making some significant changes. And by "significant," we mean the co-chief executives (and founders) are out. As of tomorrow, both Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis will be stepping away from the top posts, enabling "a little-known company insider" to take over, according to The Wall Street Journal. Purportedly, this is all part of "a board and management shuffle," with COO Thorsten Heins (seen above) to step into what many expect to be an impossible role to thrive in. The Globe and Mail asserts that he'll be immediately seeking a Chief Marketing Officer to polish up the company's severely damaged brand, and he "will not rule out licensing RIM's new BlackBerry 10 operating system to other handset manufacturers." In an interview with the outlet, he stated that he'll be executing "flawlessly" and with vigor -- not unexpected, but still, bold words.

Startlingly, Heins also asserted that he's "confident" in the existing lineup of BlackBerry handsets and the software update recently made available for the PlayBook; call us crazy, but he'd be wise to just spout out reality and make clear that RIM's existing lineup is nowhere near competitive in the grand scheme of things. As for Mike and Jim? The former will become "vice-chair of the board with special duties to examine innovation," with the latter becoming a traditional director. In an interesting move, outgoing co-CEO Lazaridis stated the following: "I think it's that unwillingness to sacrifice our long-term value for short-term gain. That's why we didn't choose Android. That's why we decided to build the future on QNX." So wait, RIM had the chance to choose Android... and didn't? No time like the present to reach back and shake things up, Mr. Thorsten.

Continue reading RIM's Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis are out, new CEO Thorsten Heins may license BlackBerry 10

RIM's Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis are out, new CEO Thorsten Heins may license BlackBerry 10 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Peter Rojas (Twitter)  |  The Wall Street Journal (1), (2), The Globe and Mail, RIM  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/7htmVlV7LSQ/

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Joe Paterno, revered coach tainted by scandal, dies (Reuters)

STATE COLLEGE, Pennsylvania (Reuters) ? Penn State's Joe Paterno, the winningest coach in major college football history who was fired in November over a child sexual abuse scandal involving an assistant that rocked America, died on Sunday of lung cancer. He was 85.

Paterno won adoration from fans of the highly successful and profitable Penn State football program and they unleashed invective at the university board of trustees who fired him unceremoniously after 46 years as head coach, tarnishing his outsized legacy.

Equally outraged were his critics and advocates for victims of sexual abuse who faulted Paterno for his relative inaction upon hearing an accusation that former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky had sexually abused a young boy in the Penn State football showers in 2002.

Paterno told university officials but not police, opening him to criticism that he protected an accused child molester for nine years.

Sandusky, 67, who has maintained his innocence, faces 52 criminal counts accusing him of sexually abusing 10 boys over 15 years, using his position as head of a The Second Mile, a charity dedicated to helping troubled children, to find his victims. The court placed him under house arrest.

Waves of mourners descended on a makeshift shrine to Paterno outside the university's Beaver Stadium. They draped an American flag on a statue of Paterno and wrapped its neck with a Penn State scarf.

Sobbing at the statue's feet was Dana Gordon, a 1982 graduate who blamed the school's board of trustees for hastening Paterno's death by firing him in a "callous way."

"The way the board treated him took a lot of the fight out of him," Gordon said.

Later, a few thousand mourners braved freezing cold temperatures to attend a vigil. Many held candles while the football team's marching band played somber music, including "Amazing Grace."

"I am not only a better player because of him, but also a better person as well," Penn State quarterback Matt McGloin said in a ceremony that made only vague references to the scandal. "This guy was not only a football coach. He was also a father, a husband, and I consider him a friend."

The scandal raised questions about the measures the university took to protect Sandusky and a football program that Forbes magazine estimated made a profit of $53 million in 2010, especially since accusations against him first surfaced in 1998. At that time a university police detective admonished Sandusky to stop showering naked with boys but stopped short of bringing criminal charges.

One of the biggest scandals in college sports history, it provoked a national discussion about pedophilia in the same way charges involving Roman Catholic priests did years earlier.

The matter also drew impassioned arguments about the balance between protecting the young and the rights of criminal defendants, who are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

"I hope his passing and the controversy surrounding Sandusky will deter other people, especially powerful people, from covering up child sex crimes," said David Clohessy, director of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, a support group.

"Even decades of professional achievement should not obscure dreadfully reckless and callous inaction that results in child sex crimes," Clohessy said.

Sandusky issued a statement sending condolences to the Paterno family but did not mention the investigation.

"Nobody did more for the academic reputation of Penn State than Joe Paterno. He maintained a high standard in a very difficult profession," Sandusky said.

Paterno won a reputation for making sure his players graduated and one of the program's mottos was "Success With Honor."

Paterno's downfall was spectacular. For decades he was a symbol of vitality who patrolled the Penn State sidelines with unchallenged authority, easily recognizable by his thick eyeglasses and jet-black hair that grayed a little in his later years. His two national championships, in 1982 and 1986, won him enduring loyalty from fans who affectionately called him "JoePa."

In the end, he was confined to a wheelchair upon breaking his hip in a fall one month after being fired, and he wore a wig after losing his hair to chemotherapy, according to the Washington Post, which interviewed Paterno about a week before his death.

Paterno was surrounded by family when he died 9:25 a.m. on Sunday of metastatic small cell carcinoma of the lung, Mount Nittany Medical Center said in a statement.

IMPACT ON CRIMINAL CASE

Paterno's death may not significantly affect the case against Sandusky, but was more likely to weaken the criminal case against two university officials charged with perjury, legal experts said.

Paterno learned of at least one accusation against Sandusky in 2002, when graduate assistant Mike McQueary told Paterno he witnessed Sandusky molesting a boy of about 10 years old in the showers of the Lasch Football Building.

Paterno told university officials but not police, a decision that ultimately led to his downfall.

Paterno, in an interview with the Washington Post published on January 14, said he was uncertain how to handle the matter and trusted the university administration.

Paterno testified before the grand jury that he informed former athletic director Tim Curley about what McQueary told him. About 10 days later, McQueary testified, he was called to a meeting with Curley and university finance official Gary Schultz to discuss what happened.

Curley and Schultz both face perjury charges based on their inaction. Schultz also testified before the grand jury he was aware of the 1998 investigation of Sandusky.

University President Graham Spanier was fired along with Paterno, and Curley and Schultz stepped down.

"If he (Paterno) had known the devastation that this means, he would have reacted differently," said Peter Pelullo, founder of Let Go, Let Peace Come In, a support group helping some of Sandusky's accusers with counseling.

Because Paterno was not believed to have witnessed any purported abuse, his testimony would not have been crucial to Sandusky trial, said Paul Callan, a former prosecutor and criminal defense attorney.

But his death could set back the criminal case against Curley and Schultz because they will be denied the chance to cross-examine an important witness.

Max Kennerly, a Philadelphia trial lawyer who has followed the case, said Paterno's death was unlikely to alter any civil litigation being contemplated by Sandusky's accusers. If any were considering suing Paterno, they could just name his estate.

"Death doesn't change your status as a party," Kennerly said.

(Additional reporting by Ian Simpson, Barbara Goldberg, Noeleen Walder and Andrew Longstreth; Writing by Daniel Trotta and Barbara Goldberg; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/diseases/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/ts_nm/us_usa_paterno

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Leaked Sony image: Is this the ST25i Kumquat?

What's this? If this is true, it looks like one of the jilted partners in the Sony Ericsson split is doing all it can to ruin the nice surprises planned for next month's MWC. An image has appeared at Xperia Blog that purports to be of the ST25i Kumquat, which, if you've been paying attention is the cheapest of the three phones due in April listed on the leaked roadmap from a few days ago. The design language matches the Nozomi and the Xperia S we played with at CES, but the on-screen icons are clearly bigger: pointing us in the direction of this having a cheaper display (with a worse resolution) than its brothers. Don't let that Sony Ericsson logo fool you either, the company's producing versions that bear both branding, at least for this set of releases. We're off to grab a microscope and see if we can't glean any more facts from the snap.

[Thanks, Joseph]

Leaked Sony image: Is this the ST25i Kumquat? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Jan 2012 16:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Xperia Blog  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/22/leaked-sony-image-st25i-kumquat/

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Viral video spoofs the, er, stuff New Yorkers say (AP)

NEW YORK ? Hip young New Yorkers hate waiting for the subway. They wouldn't be caught dead near tourist sites and couldn't care less if a celebrity walked by. They're snobby about what they read, even snobbier about what they eat, stick to their own borough, and call the most minuscule bedrooms "huge."

And there's something else: Some don't take kindly to being reduced to a cultural stereotype.

That's what Eliot and Ilana Glazer, brother-sister bloggers, comics and native New Yorkers, have discovered since their video, "Stuff New Yorkers Say" (no, the word isn't really "Stuff") has gone viral in the last couple days. Turns out, one of the things New Yorkers like to say is: "We don't say THAT!"

But there's been lots of positive feedback, too, and all the attention has stunned the Glazers, who posted the video on Wednesday night, hoping for some buzz but not expecting well over a million YouTube views (about 1.3 million as of late Friday).

"It's really bonkers," Eliot Glazer, 28, said in a telephone interview.

The video, inspired by a current Internet meme on what all sorts of groups of people say, is simple enough. In it, the Glazers and friends converse the way young New Yorkers would (or wouldn't, depending on whom you ask.) There are a few distinct themes.

Impatience: "Where is the train? Where is the TRAIN?" (There have been comments posted that while people in New York think this, they don't actually stand on the platform saying it.)

Exclusivity: "Nobody knows about this place."

Culinary exclusivity: "All I had today was a bagel." Or "Ah, Momofuku!" a reference to the group of restaurants headed by hip young chef David Chang.

Culinary snobbery: "Ah, Magnolia!" a reference to the cupcakes made famous by "Sex and the City" ? followed by a sour face, because the cupcakes aren't very hip.

Celebrity fatigue: "Sarah Jessica Parker! Oh, who cares."

Disdain for tourists: "Who goes to the Statue of Liberty?" "Who goes to the Empire State Building?" "Move! Move!" (walking down the street behind slowpokes.) "I hate tourists!"

That last theme, Glazer explains, is not to be taken literally. "New Yorkers are actually very kind to tourists," he says.

Another thing people are taking too literally, according to Glazer: The derisive comments about boroughs other than Manhattan, as in "I don't go to Queens," and "I don't do Brooklyn."

In fact, Glazer was born in Queens, grew up on Long Island, and now lives in Brooklyn, as does his sister ? a writer and comic whose Web series, "Broad City," is in development for the FX network.

Especially funny, Glazer says, is unwarranted speculation online that the Glazers aren't even from New York. But he says he doesn't read comments on YouTube: "It's just a pool of negativity."

"This is satire," he says. "We intended it to be a satire of what it means to be young and semi-spoiled in New York."

The video was shot and edited in about two weeks. "I was worried we were past the expiration date of the meme," Glazer says. He and his sister posted it to their Facebook accounts, and "within two hours it was insane ? the comments, the sharing," he says. "It was mind-blowing how quickly it took off."

What's clear from the video is that its creators love the city, despite its hardships.

Love-hate relationship with New York:

"I love it here.

"I hate it here.

"I love it here."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120121/ap_on_re_us/us_stuff_new_yorkers_say

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Real Madrid wary of Bilbao after loss to Barcelona

By PAUL LOGOTHETIS

AP Sports Writer

Associated Press Sports

updated 9:24 a.m. ET Jan. 20, 2012

MADRID (AP) -Spanish leader Real Madrid will be wary of a surging Athletic Bilbao as it looks to shake off another disappointing loss to Barcelona and focus on maintaining its five-point lead over the defending champions.

Bilbao, which has won three straight and is unbeaten in seven matches, is fifth in the league and in the chase for a European place, maybe even a Champions League spot, under new coach Marcelo Bielsa going into Sunday's game at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.

Marca newspaper reported Friday that Madrid coach Jose Mourinho will leave Pepe out of the squad following the Portugal defender's performance in Wednesday's 2-1 Copa del Rey loss to Barcelona, when he stamped on Lionel Messi's hand.

Pepe has been Madrid's most used centerback since his arrival in 2007, but Madrid may have seen enough after his ferocious temper - he was once banned for 10 games for stamping on a player's back unprovoked - got the better of him again against Barcelona.

Mourinho may not rush injured forward Angel di Maria back against Bilbao with the return leg of the Copa del Rey tie at Barcelona's Camp Nou on Wednesday.

Bielsa came under fire after Bilbao started with only two points from its first five matches, but the Argentine coach has dramatically turned the tide with his young, talented team winning 14 of its 24 matches in all competitions since, with only two losses.

Spain striker Fernando Llorente has returned after missing more than a month to injury, while Iker Muniain remains a potential call-up to Spain's Euro 2012 team as the teenage forward continues to thrive under Bielsa.

"He's improved with every game since the start of the season," Bielsa said of the Spain Under-21 international, who alongside Llorente, Javi Martinez and Andoni Iraiola could help the European champions defend their crown in Poland and Ukraine come June. "The team is cohesive, compact and playing assuredly."

Barcelona, meanwhile, travels to Malaga to close out the first half of the season in which it has struggled on the road.

The European champions have managed to collect just 13 of 24 points in eight away games this season, and it cannot afford to drop many more points if it hopes to catch Madrid, which has won the league 23 of 32 times when it finished the first half of the season at the top of the table.

"(We) feel like when we are ourselves and play like we know, no team can beat us," Barcelona defender Gerard Pique said.

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola admitted that Messi is not 100 percent after the Madrid win, when the Argentina international set up Eric Abidal for the late winner.

"He'll find his form, we can never doubt him," Guardiola said of the three-time Ballon d'Or winner. "It's a long season and competing against such physical players like (Madrid has) it's easy to throw him off."

Malaga is eighth in the standings, three points back of sixth-place Osasuna as it faces third-place Valencia, which is looking to bounce back from last week's league loss.

Sevilla and Real Betis play the first Sevilla derby in nearly three years on Saturday, while Villarreal will bid to finish the first half of the season out of the drop zone with a victory over Sporting Gijon on Monday.

Villarreal is 19th in the 20-team league, three points from safety in a nightmare season that has seen it exit the Champions League and cup competitions without a victory. "The Yellow Submarine" has gone 10 games overall without a win.

In other 19th-round games, it's: Espanyol vs. Granada; Racing Santander vs. Getafe; Real Sociedad vs. Atletico Madrid; Rayo Vallecano vs. Mallorca; and Levante vs. Zaragoza.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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