In Jerusalem, national parks seen by Palestinians as a land grab (The Christian Science Monitor)

Jerusalem ? An Israeli government plan to create a greenbelt around Jerusalem, preserving the ancient city's natural beauty and archaeological wealth, is fueling opposition among Palestinians and their supporters as the project moves into a critical stage.

Israel says the parks plan is necessary for the public's benefit. It also fits into Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat's vision for bolstering tourism in Jerusalem, which, despite its storied history, gets only a fraction of the visitors of Paris or New York.

But critics say the parks amount to a land grab that consolidates Israel's grip on disputed East Jerusalem. The territory was annexed by Israel after the Arab-Israeli war of 1967 and declared part of its "eternal, undivided capital." But it is envisioned by Palestinians as the capital of their future state.

RELATED: Five controversial Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem 

"People say, 'It's just a park,' but these parks change totally the political scope of Jerusalem and have a direct impact on the lives of Palestinians," says Hagit Ofran, who monitors Jewish settlements in Palestinian areas for the dovish Peace Now movement.

Efrat Cohen Bar, an architect at the progressive Israeli planning group Bimkom, which recently conducted a study of national parks in East Jerusalem, terms them "green settlements," which have the same effect of keeping Palestinians off the land and expanding Israeli control. Israel denies that as a motive behind the project.

The battle for East Jerusalem

The national parks strike at the heart of the battle over East Jerusalem because they are on or near territory with nationalistic, religious, or strategic resonance. Together, they could link and expand areas under Jewish control, from the old city through the heart of East Jerusalem to the West Bank settlement of Maale Adumim.

The next phase of the parks plan would turn East Jerusalem's largest remaining open area into Mount Scopus Slopes National Park, overriding Palestinian objections that the land is vital to relieve a housing crunch. It is to be created on what residents say is the only land available for the expansion of the crowded Palestinian neighborhood of Isawiya.

"This park will choke the people of Isawiya into a given area and prevent them from having a natural life," says Isawiya leader Darwish Darwish. "It prevents any development and progress." Isawiya's 15,000 residents currently live on 150 acres ? an area smaller than that of the planned park. Some 112.5 acres owned by Isawiya residents and 75 acres owned by residents of nearby Al-Tur are slated to become part of the park without any compensation to the owners, who would retain ownership.

Spearheading the national park drive is Evyatar Cohen, head of the Jerusalem district in the National Parks Authority and a former staffer for Elad, a hard-line settler group. The NPA, however, dismisses charges that the park is driven by any political motive. "The National Parks Authority is not a political body and its only interest is preserving nature and landscape values," says spokeswoman Osnat Eitan.

She stresses that "the importance of the area stems from the view to the desert, the heritage valuables in the area and the desert vegetation there despite many years of neglect. All the other eastern slopes of the mountain have undergone urban development, thus the importance of preserving this as an open area and in planning it as a national park."

The Jerusalem municipality, which is strongly backing the project, says the area of the park has "high archaeological importance," with sites dating back two millenniums. But Emek Shaveh, a group of dovish Israeli archaeologists, disputes that and counters that archaeology is being misused to boost Israeli claims in the larger battle for East Jerusalem.

Ancient monasteries and burial caves

When archaeological finds of similar worth were made in areas earmarked for Jewish neighborhoods, development proceeded and there was no declaration of the area as a national park, Emek Shaveh wrote in a recent report.

By local standards, there is nothing extraordinary in the Mount Scopus park area or in a neighboring swath of East Jerusalem, the Tsurim Valley, that was turned into a national park, the group says. "Ancient monasteries, burial caves, and industrial and agricultural facilities have been found in almost every neighborhood and settlement built in and around Jerusalem in the last 40 years," Emek Shaveh noted.

Emek Shaveh, joined by Peace Now, says the real reason the park is being built is strategic: to create Israeli contiguity between the old city and the highly sensitive area known as E1 on the outskirts of Maale Adumim, connecting the two via the Tsurim Valley park.

"There is no justification to have a park there," says Ms. Ofran. "Its only purpose is to connect the Holy Basin and E1." Critics of the project stress that if Israel one day builds settler housing in E1, Maale Adumim will be linked through the park to Jerusalem in a major boost for Israel in the battle over East Jerusalem and a setback to Palestinian hopes of having a viable future state.

But Jerusalem city councilor Yakir Segev, from Mayor Barkat's party, denies there are ulterior motives behind the Mount Scopus Park plan, which was posted for public objections in November and still needs to be passed by a committee affiliated with the Interior Ministry.

Mr. Segev, the former city councilor for Arab affairs, concedes Isawiya residents would be hurt by the park. But he denies the city has a policy of limiting Arab growth, saying new plans have been drawn up for expansion of two Palestinian neighborhoods, Jabel Mukaber and Arab al-Sawahra.

"There is no conspiracy here," Segev says. "And this [park] is not being done because the people being impacted are Arabs."

RELATED: Five controversial Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem 

Get daily or weekly updates from CSMonitor.com delivered to your inbox. Sign up today.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20120120/wl_csm/453230

dr. phil dr. phil philippines hgtv design star definition of love creature creature

Asia stocks advance amid positive US jobs data

BANGKOK (AP) ? Asian stock markets rose Friday as strong earnings and positive jobs data out of the U.S. added to hopes that the economic recovery in the world's largest economy is for real.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 1.2 percent to 8,744.15. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.9 percent to 1,932.71. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.2 percent to 19,989.15 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was 0.5 percent higher at 4,234.70.

Benchmarks in Singapore, New Zealand and mainland China were also higher. Taiwan markets were closed ahead of Chinese New Year, which starts Monday.

Strong corporate earnings reports in the U.S. boosted investor tolerance for risk assets like stocks. IBM Corp.'s fourth-quarter earnings also beat Wall Street expectations. Bank of America and Morgan Stanley both reported results that were better than analysts were expecting.

That helped lift shares in Japan's major banks, including Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, which jumped 4.8 percent, and Mizuho Financial Group, up 4.6 percent. Nomura Holdings added 3.4 percent.

On top of earnings came data that showed the U.S. job market is strengthening. The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell last week to 352,000, the fewest since April 2008.

Resources stocks advanced following strong gains in metals prices overnight.

Mining giant Rio Tinto Ltd. rose 0.8 percent. Fortescue Metals Group, Australia's third-biggest iron ore producer, gained 1.2 percent.

Meanwhile, France and Spain held successful bond auctions, their first since Standard & Poor's downgraded their credit ratings last week. The result was a sign that politicians and central bankers have at least temporarily stemmed the spread of Europe's debt crisis.

Analysts warn, however, that a looming recession could hinder efforts to slash deficits while Greece depends on a deal with banks to avoid a disastrous default this spring. Closely watched debt-restructuring negotiations are taking place this week between Athens and private creditors. Failure to seal an agreement would likely result in a financially disastrous default by Greece.

"For the moment, the market expects a deal to be made while downside risk still exists and any disappointment could end the week of rallies," Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong said in an email.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.4 percent to close at 12,623.98. The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 0.5 percent to close at 1,314.50. Both averages are at their highest since July. The Nasdaq added 0.7 percent to close at 2,788.33.

Benchmark crude for February delivery was down 4 cents at $100.35 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-19-World-Markets/id-2eb3b6981c234df38dd4c19f179a5881

los angeles clippers charlize theron telenav telenav wade phillips wade phillips new orleans hornets

Will Katherine Heigl Return to 'Grey's?' (omg!)

Will Katherine Heigl Return to 'Grey's?'

Katherine Heigl's history with Grey's Anatomy is a rocky one -- and one that there's really no need to rehash since the drama was splashed everywhere back in 2009.

So it might surprise you to hear that the actress is actually hoping to come back before the ABC medical drama ends its run!

Katherine Heigl Hates Balls

"I've told them I want to [come back]," Katherine tells E! "I really, really, really want to see where [Izzie] is. I just want to know what happened to her and where she went and what she's doing now. My idea is that she actually like figures it out, and finds some success and does really well in a different hospital. She was always floundering you know, and so she was always one step behind the eight ball and I want to see that girl take some power back."

Which Grey's Star is Pregnant Now?

But even Katherine acknowledges that this might not come to pass. "Being a showrunner and being a writer of a TV series like that is so complicated that I mean [creator Shonda Rhimes has] got how many characters are there now? There's a lot and so she's balancing about 40 different storylines, so I don't know if it fits in to their sort of vision for this season or next or however many seasons it goes."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_katherine_heigl_return_greys192200401/44234125/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/katherine-heigl-return-greys-192200401.html

new madrid fault current time earthquake today earthquake today droid razr oklahoma news atomic clock

More Americans Practicing Safe Sex, CDC Reports (HealthDay)

THURSDAY, Jan. 19 (HealthDay News) -- The number of Americans who practice behaviors that put them at risk for HIV infection has declined significantly, federal health officials reported Thursday.

The ranks of those engaging in a risky sexual or drug-related behavior dropped from 13 percent of men and 11 percent of women in 2002 to 10 percent and 8 percent, respectively, in 2010, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Generally, these are behaviors that are studied in higher risk populations, but by looking in the household population we can get a better sense of the level of risk that may exist in the general population that you don't normally think about," said report author Anjani Chandra, a health scientist at the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.

Some of the risk factors the researchers looked at were gay and bisexual sex, illicit drug use and having several sexual partners or a partner who injects illegal drugs, she said.

"For women, we don't really see that the decline is due to any variation in sexual risk behaviors, whereas for men we see substantial difference by race," she said.

The reasons for the decline in risk behaviors is not clear, Chandra said. Some of the public health messages might be getting through. It also could be that people are reluctant to disclose that they engage in risky behaviors, she said.

"But, it could be real and reflect actual changes in behavior," she said.

The data in the report was collected on almost 23,000 men and women aged 15 to 44 in households throughout the country and represents 6.5 million men and 4.9 million women.

The decline seems to be due to a drop in risky behaviors such as having unprotected sex and having sex with multiple partners, Chandra said.

There were, however, differences in behaviors in different groups. For example, men who had recently been in prison were more likely to report engaging in one or more HIV risk behaviors, compared with other men, the researchers found.

There were also significant variations based on race and income level, they reported.

Sixteen percent of young black men ages 15 to 24 reported at least one HIV risk-related sexual behavior, compared with 8.7 percent of Hispanic men and 6.5 percent of young white men. Poorer men were also more likely to engage in risky behaviors.

The HIV risk in households is not something one usually thinks about when one thinks about HIV risk, Chandra said.

"In household populations, where you may think these behaviors are nonexistent or very rare, they are occurring and they may be placing people at risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases," Chandra said. "Just focusing on high-risk populations may not take care of the concerns that we have."

Dr. Sten Vermund, director of the Institute of Global Health at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, said that the data used was "a highly valid sample of the American population."

Both sexual and drug-related risk behaviors declined in the study period, and that is a positive trend, he said.

"Risk behaviors remain high and the likelihood of encountering an HIV-infected person has never been higher," Vermund noted. "Nonetheless, there is a strong indication that prevention programs are working or cultural norms are shifting, or both."

Philip Alcabes, an associate professor in the School of Health Sciences at Hunter College/City University of New York, is critical of the report as another example of how the government still avoids the real problem of HIV.

"What a waste of time and taxpayer dollars," he said. "Having failed to advocate for structural changes that would actually reduce risk of HIV acquisition and having failed to implement widespread, easily accessible syringe exchange programs, federal agencies instead spend their time studying personal behavior. It's a shame."

"Even though our officials don't have a clear concept of what really happened 30 years ago, they are still looking at AIDS through the same moralizing lens that was common in 1981. That's sad, and disturbing," he said.

More information

For more on HIV/AIDS, visit the AIDS.gov.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/diseases/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20120120/hl_hsn/moreamericanspracticingsafesexcdcreports

bobby jindal talladega pumpkin carving texas tech football bridge school miami dolphins charlie and the chocolate factory

iPad fraud: Boxes containing modeling clay sold in Canada

Jan 19, 2012 - 12:55 AM EST ? AAPL: 428.25 (+3.55, +0.84%) | NASDAQ: 2759.37 (+31.29, +1.15%)

?Walmart and London Drugs say that fake Apple iPad 2s made of clay are also appearing on their store shelves, a day after electronic giants Future Shop and Best Buy revealed they are launching a major fraud investigation into the scam,? Darcy Wintonyk reports for CTV News.

?In most of the cases, the popular tablet computers are bought for cash and then swapped out for a piece of modelling clay,? Wintonyk reports. ?The boxes are then re-wrapped and returned to the store, only to end up back on the shelves and resold to other unsuspecting customers.?

?Future Shop and Best Buy say as many as 10 fake models were sold in their Metro Vancouver locations. London Drugs said it is aware of four incidents in the past month. Walmart officials haven?t provided an exact tally, but officials said they are investigating fewer than 10 cases,? Wintonyk reports. ?Scam artists are taking advantage of the popularity of Apple?s latest offering, says Future Shop spokesperson Elliott Chun. ?It?s really sad that people stoop to these low levels to take advantage of really hot sellers. As you probably know, tablets were the number one touted gift items for the holidays this year,? he said.?

MacDailyNews Take: No, they weren?t. Well, ?touted,? maybe. But, iPads were the number one gift items for the holidays this year, not ?tablets.? People don?t want fake iPads, they want real iPads.

Wintonyk reports, ?For its part, Apple says it is part of the investigation, but has refused to comment on any of the frauds. Both Walmart and London Drugs say the shrink-wrapping on the bogus products was professionally done, so the items did not look tampered with. Future Shop and Best Buy said their policies on returning wrapped tablet computers changed in early January because of the frauds.?

Read more in the full article here.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/wordpress/xhfA/~3/8tbvYTHV9zY/

vince young john carter trans siberian orchestra trans siberian orchestra little big town little big town bennett

Lucas. Canada's club: New coordinator won't stray from Badgers' identity

Jan. 17, 2012

BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com

MADISON, Wis. -- While Matt Canada will bring his own personality to Wisconsin's offense, the vision will remain the same. What you see -- a pro style attack -- is what you'll get from the Badgers' new offensive coordinator.

"We're all different, and we all have our own unique ways of coaching,'' allowed Canada, who has coordinated offenses at Indiana and Northern Illinois in two different tours of duty.

"But there's a brand of Wisconsin football that we all understand and know and it's based upon what was built and what has been here, and we're going to continue on with that.''

To avoid any confusion over where he stands philosophically, Canada added, "We're going to run that offense and use the talent that we have and also the talent that we can recruit to.''

Citing the "unbelievable tradition of offensive linemen, running backs and tight ends'' that have made up the brand, Canada acknowledged that UW coach Bret Bielema made it clear what he wanted.

"No question, that was certainly the parameters that he set for me,'' Canada said. "I've looked at the program for a long time and I've understood what it stood for.''

From this standpoint, Canada believes that he's a good fit for the Badgers.

"I'm certainly aware of the talent we have and what Wisconsin was built on,'' he reiterated. "I understand that we're going to be a very physical team that runs the football and takes care of the ball.

"Coach (Bielema) and I are on the same page. We're going to continue to do the great things that they've done here and we're going to score points.''

One of Canada's strengths has been maximizing the skills of players, ranging from tailbacks Michael Turner and Thomas Hammock to quarterbacks Ben Chappell and Chandler Harnish.

After coaching him at Northern Illinois, Canada now will work alongside of Hammock, who just completed his first year on the UW staff as the running backs coach.

"Getting to work with him again is awesome,'' said Canada, who also has a working knowledge of Wisconsin's new wide receivers coach, Zach Azzanni, from the recruiting trail.

"We were both in the MAC for awhile (Azzanni at Bowling Green) and I've studied film on the way his kids played. His wideouts played so hard and were very tough and great blockers.''

Asked about his play calling, Canada said, "Each game is different. But we've certainly tried to be creative when we can be and when we have to be.? We take pride in the way we move the ball.''

True of any workplace, Canada has experienced a steady evolution in his craft, which has extended from school to school, team to team, and head coach to head coach.

"Ultimately,'' he said, drawing on the common thread,? "we've taken great pride in scoring points in whatever way or fashion that we can with the talent that we've had.

"Every job has been different. Every year has been different. Our job as play-callers and coaches is to try and put the players in the best positions to make plays.''

Finding advantageous matchups and exploiting them is a critical element to Canada's fundamental thinking on offense. "We will find a way to maximize strengths and minimize weaknesses,'' he repeated.

That's not unlike Paul Chryst's approach in assessing and utilizing personnel. Canada is cognizant of Chryst's legacy, too.

"He set the bar as one of the great offensive minds in our game,'' Canada said.

Former Indiana coach Bill Mallory was the earliest influence on Canada. Mallory epitomized old-school values -- the school of hard knocks, a physical brand of football.

"Coach Mallory is the reason why I am a coach,'' Canada said.

Not only did Mallory open the door to the profession for Canada but he encouraged him to heed his passion for the sport and follow his heart. He told Canada, "If this is what you love, go do it.''

Canada joins staff as Badgers' offensive coordinator
Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema took another step towards completing his coaching staff by naming Matt Canada as the Badgers' offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach on Tuesday.? |? Full Release

Canada got a similar message from his former NIU mentor, Joe Novak, another old-school practitioner (now at Minnesota) who has always taken pride in developing tough, hard-nosed players.

"I learned how to be a coach from Coach Novak,'' Canada said.

There have been many such influential people in his life, including former Indiana coach Gerry DiNardo. "One of the smartest people I've ever been around,'' he said. "I learned so much from him."

At Indiana, Canada also came under the wing of the late Terry Hoeppner, who died from brain cancer in 2007 -- "He was taken away from us too soon,'' he said -- and Bill Lynch, who replaced Hoeppner in Bloomington.

In sum, Canada said, "I've taken a little bit from everybody I've worked for.''

That includes current NIU coach Dave Doeren, the former Badgers defensive coordinator. How did Doeren react to Canada telling him that he was leaving for a job at Wisconsin?

"Dave understands, he was there, he knows what a great place it is,'' Canada said. "Dave and I are good friends and he was awesome about it. He understands our business.''

Not that it makes it any easier to leave; because it doesn't, Canada agreed.

"It's never easy to wrap things up (at one school),'' he said of moving on to another program.

Especially, he noted, since "we had a special year'' at Northern Illinois.

But Mallory's words, to paraphrase, still apply: if this is what you want, go after it.

"This is a place,'' Canada said of Wisconsin, "where I've always wanted to be and coach."

Source: http://onlyfans.cstv.com/schools/wis/sports/lucas/spec-rel/011712aaa.html

nfl playoff schedule 2012 vanessa marcil saints vs 49ers 49 ers frank gore frank gore drew brees

Cabazon tribe agrees to air quality monitoring

Environmental regulators will be allowed to enforce air quality laws on the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians reservation in the Coachella Valley, an agreement reached seven months after noxious odors from a recycling facility sickened nearby schoolchildren.

Under the agreement announced Wednesday, inspectors from the South Coast Air Quality Management District will have the authority to enter sovereign tribal land to monitor environmental laws on a reservation industrial park and issue violations.

In May, an investigation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency determined that Western Environmental Inc., which recycles toxic soils on the reservation site, was the primary source of noxious odors that sent teachers to the hospital and sickened children at an elementary school in Mecca. The EPA ordered the company to cease accepting hazardous materials and reduce two, four-story mountains of contaminated soil on the site.

The agreement between the AQMD and the Cabazon tribe is the first of its kind in California, said Barry Wallerstein, the environmental agency's executive officer.

"This creates a level playing field for operations on and off tribal land. In large part it represents what the community had requested," Wallerstein said. "The tribe did not have to agree to any of this. This represents a new era of environmental leadership by the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians and sets an example for other tribes to follow."

Cabazon tribal Chairman David Roosevelt initially opposed sacrificing the tribe's sovereign rights by opening the reservation to state enforcement. In a statement released Wednesday, however, he said the new agreement was acceptable to both sides.

Under the agreement, any violation notice issued by AQMD regulators will be reviewed by a tribal environmental board consisting of two tribal members and an AQMD representative, which has the authority to accept, deny or modify the citation. A facility that receives a violation can appeal that ruling to the Cabazon Tribal Court, which has final jurisdiction.

The Colmac Energy Inc. biomass-to-energy plant on the reservation is exempt from the agreement because it operates under a separate monitoring and enforcement pact reached in 1989 among the tribe, the EPA, AQMD and Riverside County.

In August, the EPA reached an agreement with Western Environmental that prohibits the company from accepting soil and other material that may cause harmful odors on its 40-acre site. The company also agreed to closely monitor its site for odor and to install an odor-control misting system.

Darryl Adams, superintendent of the Coachella Valley School District, called Wednesday's agreement a "step in the right direction" but reserved judgment until he can review the details.

"There appears to be an improvement," Adams said. "We haven't had any more complaints to the district office since they shut it down."

phil.willon@latimes.com

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/DtwII1sLXf8/la-me-toxic-waste-cabazon-20120119,0,4365677.story

buddy holly buddy holly prime numbers prime numbers lithium texas wildfires rain boots