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Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Around the Web?
Happy Tuesday! Give today’s links a click: Ultrasound treatment could be next male contraceptive ? TIME Is hypnobirthing right for you? ? SheKnows.com Lesbian couples debate whether to co-nurse their children ? Today Moms PHOTOS: Award-winning snapshots taken by kids ? National Geographic The best ways to induce labor naturally ? Parents.com
Video: Matthews: Florida race shows ailing democracy
Many parents skip booster seats for carpools
You set out with a crew from the birthday party, but find you?re a booster short. Do you make sure your own child gets one? Or do you let all the kids use belts only? A new survey found half the parents of 4- to 8-year-olds questioned sometimes let passengers go booster free.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/46196005#46196005
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Monday, January 30, 2012
Justin Bieber, Rihanna Nab NRJ Awards
Adele, LMFAO also take home prizes at the French music awards show over the weekend.
By Jocelyn Vena
Justin Bieber at the NRJ Music Awards
Photo: WireImage
With awards season in full gear, a number of the music industry's biggest names headed out to Palais des Festivals on the French Riviera in Cannes for the NRJ Awards. Adele, Rihanna and Justin Bieber all walked away with trophies.
Adele won two awards, taking home International Revelation of the Year and International Song of the Year for "Someone Like You." LMFAO also walked away with two prizes: Music Video of the Year for "Party Rock Anthem" as well as International Group/Duo of the Year. The guys performed the song at the show along with their party track "Sexy and I Know It."
Rihanna won International Female Artist and later took to Twitter to thank everyone for the recognition. "Thank you NRJ and my #FRENCHNavy and all the fans who voted, for your immense support!" she wrote. "I love you always #InternationalFemaleOftheYearNRJ."
Shakira won the NRJ Award of Honor, and Bieber took home the male version of the award. The teen star took the stage in his baby blue printed jacket and black jeans, telling the room, "I'm just really excited to be here. I want to thank all my fans for being so amazing. I want to do another French song. I did one French song but I want to do some more French and hopefully perfect. My grandma's first language is French."
He later tweeted, "I never thought i would ever get out of stratford and now im celebrating in france. never gets old. ALWAYS grateful! #Ilovemyfans"
Other winners included Francophone (French) Revelation of the Year for Keen V and Francophone Male Artist of the Year for M. Pokora. Mika won the International Male Artist of the Year while Shy'm took it home for Francophone Female Artist of the Year. Francophone Song of the Year went to "A Nos Actes Manqués" performed by M Pokora. Simple Plan and Marie-Mai nabbed Francophone Group/Duo of the Year while Mylène Farmer won NRJ Award of Diamond.
What do you think of this awards season so far? Leave your comments below!
Related Videos Related ArtistsSource: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1678119/justin-bieber-rihanna-nrj-awards.jhtml
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Sunday, January 29, 2012
Iran upbeat on nuclear visit, delays EU oil ban
TEHRAN?? Iran Sunday declared itself optimistic about a U.N. experts' visit aimed at probing suspected military aspects of its nuclear work and lawmakers postponed debate on a proposed halt to oil flows to the European Union watched closely in energy markets.
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A team of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors began a three-day visit to try to advance efforts to resolve a row about nuclear work which Iran says is for making electricity but the West suspects is aimed at seeking a nuclear weapon.
Tensions with the West rose this month when Washington and the European Union imposed the toughest sanctions yet in a drive to force Tehran to provide more information on its nuclear program. The measures take direct aim at the ability of OPEC's second biggest oil exporter to sell its crude.
The Mehr news agency quoted Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi as saying during a trip to Ethiopia: "We are very optimistic about the outcome of the IAEA delegation's visit to Iran ... Their questions will be answered during this visit,"
"We have nothing to hide and Iran has no clandestine (nuclear) activities."
Striking a sterner tone, Iran's parliament speaker, Ali Larijani, warned the IAEA team to carry out a "logical, professional and technical" job or suffer the consequences.
"This visit is a test for the IAEA. The route for further cooperation will be open if the team carries out its duties professionally," said Larijani, state media reported.
"Otherwise, if the IAEA turns into a tool (for major powers to pressure Iran), then Iran will have no choice but to consider a new framework in its ties with the agency."
Iran's parliament in the past has approved bills to oblige the government to review its level of cooperation with the IAEA. However, Iran's top officials have always underlined the importance of preserving ties with the watchdog body.
Before departing from Vienna, IAEA Deputy Director General Herman Nackaerts said he hoped the Islamic state would tackle the watchdog's concerns "regarding the possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program."
PARLIAMENT DEBATE
Less than one week after the EU's 27 member states agreed to stop importing crude from Iran from July 1, Iranian lawmakers were due to debate a bill later Sunday that would cut off oil supplies to the European Union (EU) in a matter of days.
Iranian lawmakers postponed discussing the bill.
"No such draft bill has yet been drawn up and nothing has been submitted to the parliament. What exists is a notion by the deputies which is being seriously pursued to bring it to a conclusive end," Emad Hosseini, spokesman for parliament's Energy Committee, told Mehr.
"Some MPs had an idea that should be studied by the energy committee before being drafted as a bill. We hope our discussions will be finished by Friday."
REFINERS
By turning the sanctions back on the EU, lawmakers hope to deny the bloc a six-month window it had planned to give those of its members most dependent on Iranian oil - including some of the most economically fragile in southern Europe - to adapt.
The head of the state-run National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) said late Saturday that the export embargo would hit European refiners, such as Italy's Eni, that are owed oil from Iran as part of long-standing buy-back contracts under which they take payment for past oilfield projects in crude.
"The decision must be made at high echelons of power and we at the NIOC will act as the executioner of the policies of the government," Ahmad Qalebani told the ISNA news agency.
"The European companies will have to abide by the provisions of the buyback contracts," he said. "If they act otherwise, they will be the parties to incur the relevant losses and will subject the repatriation of their capital to problems."
"Generally, the parties to incur damage from the EU's recent decision will be European companies with pending contracts with Iran."
Italy's Eni is owed $1.4-1.5 billion in oil for contracts it executed in Iran in 2000 and 2001 and has been assured by EU policymakers its buyback contracts will not be part of the European embargo, but the prospect of Iran acting first may put that into doubt.
Eni declined to comment Saturday.
The EU accounted for 25 percent of Iranian crude oil sales in the third quarter of 2011. However, analysts say the global oil market will not be overly disrupted if parliament votes for the bill that would turn off the oil tap for Europe.
"The Saudis have made it clear that they'll step in to fill the void," said Robert Smith, a consultant at Facts Global Energy. "It would not pose any serious threat to oil market stability. Meanwhile Asians, predominantly the Chinese and Indians, stand to benefit from more Iranian crude flowing east and at potential discounts."
Potentially more disruptive to the world oil market and global security is the risk of Iran's standoff with the West escalating into military conflict.
Iran has repeatedly said it could close the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane if sanctions succeed in preventing it from exporting crude, a move Washington said it would not tolerate.
"CONSTRUCTIVE SPIRIT"
The IAEA's visit may be an opportunity to defuse some of the tension. Director General Yukiya Amano has called on Iran to show a "constructive spirit" and Tehran has said it is willing to discuss "any issues" of interest to the U.N. agency, including the military-linked concerns.
But Western diplomats, who have often accused Iran of using such offers of dialogue as a stalling tactic while it presses ahead with its nuclear program, say they doubt Tehran will show the kind of concrete cooperation the IAEA wants.
They say Iran may offer limited concessions and transparency to try to ease intensifying international pressure, but that this is unlikely to amount to the full cooperation required.
The outcome could determine whether Iran will face further isolation or whether there are prospects for resuming wider talks between Tehran and the major powers on the nuclear row.
Salehi said Iran "soon" would write a letter to the E.U.'s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton to discuss "a date and venue" for fresh nuclear talks.
"Iran's top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili in this letter, which may be sent in the coming days, also may mention other issues as well," Salehi said, without elaborating.
The last round of talks in January 2011 between Jalili and Ashton, who represents major powers, failed over Iran's refusal to halt its sensitive nuclear work.
"The talks will be successful as the other party seems interested in finding a way out of this deadlock," Salehi said.
Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46180904/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/
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UK police arrest Murdoch tabloid staff, raid offices (Reuters)
LONDON (Reuters) ? British police arrested four current and former staff of Rupert Murdoch's best-selling Sun tabloid plus a policeman on Saturday as part of an investigation into suspected payments by journalists to officers, police and the newspaper's publisher said.
Police also searched the paper's London offices at publisher News International, News Corp's British arm, in a corruption probe linked to a continuing investigation into phone hacking at its now closed News of the World weekly tabloid.
News Corp's Management and Standards Committee, set up in the wake of the phone hacking scandal, said Saturday's operation was the result of information it had passed to police.
"News Corporation made a commitment last summer that unacceptable news gathering practices by individuals in the past would not be repeated," the committee said in a statement confirming the arrests of four "current and former employees" of the Sun.
The committee is conducting a lawyer-led internal review of News International's remaining titles, which also include The Times and The Sunday Times newspapers, as part of a drive to mend the reputational damage done by the phone hacking scandal.
The committee's investigation into The Sun was "well advanced," News International chief executive Tom Mockridge said in an email sent to staff.
"News International is confronting past mistakes and is making fundamental changes about how we operate which are essential for our business.
"Despite this very difficult news, we are determined that News International will emerge a stronger and more trusted organization," he added.
News International was providing legal support for the four arrested "colleagues," Mockridge said.
The arrests included The Sun's crime editor Mike Sullivan, its head of news Chris Pharo, and former deputy editor Fergus Shanahan, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters.
Also arrested was the paper's former managing editor Graham Dudman, now a training director at News International, the source said.
Police said a 48-year-old man from north London and two other men from Essex, east of London, aged 48 and 56, were arrested at their homes. The fourth man, aged 42, was arrested after reporting to an east London police station.
A Sun reporter, who asked not to be named, said: "Everyone is a bit shocked, there is disbelief really. But there is a big difference between phone hacking and payments to the police."
A 29-year-old policeman serving with the Met Police's Territorial Policing Command, was arrested at the central London police station where he worked.
All five were being questioned on suspicion of corruption.
OPERATION ELVEDEN
Police searched the arrested men's homes as well as The Sun's offices in Wapping, east London.
Thirteen people have now been arrested over allegations that journalists paid police in return for information.
Their detentions are part of Operation Elveden - one of three criminal investigations into news-gathering practices.
Last week, News International settled a string of legal claims after it admitted that people working for the tabloid had hacked in to the private phones of celebrities and others to find stories.
The phone hacking scandal drew attention to the level of political influence held by editors and executives at News International, and other newspapers in Britain.
It embarrassed British politicians for their close ties with newspaper executives and also the police, who repeatedly failed to investigate allegations of illegal phone hacking.
(Additional reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Ben Harding)
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Saturday, January 28, 2012
Australia PM reunited with shoe lost at protest
Lukas Coch / AFP - Getty Images
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard is rushed out of a Canberra restaurant by security agents on Thursday, losing a shoe in the process.
By msnbc.com staff and news services
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard is on firm footing again.
A blue suede shoe that she lost as she was hustled away by security officers from a Canberra restaurant that was surrounded by aboriginal-rights protesters has been returned.
Gillard lost the size-8 shoe off her right foot on Thursday when she stumbled during the rowdy fray, and it was scooped up by protesters. One protester gleefully raised the footwear above her head and shouted, ''Gingerella, come get your shoe.''
On Friday night, someone returned the shoe to a security guard outside the main entrance at Parliament House, AAP reported.
Meanwhile, the fallout from the fracas has led to the resignation of one of Gillard?s press secretaries, Tony Hodges. He acknowledged tipping off protesters that Oppositionn Leader Tony Abbott was going to be at the Canberra restaurant with the prime minister at an award ceremony to mark Australia Day, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The restaurant where Thursday's clash occurred is close to the so-called Aboriginal Tent Embassy, where the protesters had demonstrated peacefully earlier in the day. That long-standing, ramshackle collection of tents and temporary shelters is a center point of protests against Australia Day, which marks the arrival of the first fleet of British colonists in Sydney on Jan. 26, 1788. Many Aborigines call it Invasion Day because the land was settled without a treaty with the traditional owners.
Abbott was the focus of much of the protesters' rage. The Tent Embassy celebrated its 40th anniversary on Thursday, and Abbott had earlier angered activists by saying it was time the embassy "moved on." Abbott said Friday that his comment had been misinterpreted, and that he never meant to imply the embassy should be torn down.
Meanwhile, the makers of Gillard's now-famous "missing" shoe are hoping to cash in on her Cinderella moment. Melbourne-based Midas?plans to release a new version of the shoe dubbed the "Julia," the Herald Sun reported.
Msnbc.com's James Eng and The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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More from msnbc.com and NBC News:
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Bloomberg exec in talks to run New Corp's Dow Jones (Reuters)
(Reuters) ? Rupert Murdoch's News Corp is in "serious talks" to poach veteran Bloomberg LP executive Lex Fenwick to run its Dow Jones publishing business, which houses the Wall Street Journal, according to two people familiar with the discussions.
Fenwick, who founded Bloomberg Ventures in 2008, was previously chief executive of Bloomberg LP, taking over from the company founder Michael Bloomberg in December 2001.
Wall Street Journal reported news of the talks earlier on Friday.
The top job at Dow Jones has been vacant since last July when then-Publisher and Chief Executive Les Hinton resigned in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal at News Corp's UK newspaper unit, which had previously run.
Hinton told a UK parliamentary inquiry in 2009 that any problem with phone hacking at the company's papers was limited to one case. It was later revealed that thousands of ordinary people and celebrities had been the victims of the voice mail hacking.
Hinton, who worked with News Corp for 52 years, was perhaps Murdoch's closest associate.
Bloomberg and Dow Jones compete with Thomson Reuters.
(Reporting By Yinka Adegoke; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
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Friday, January 27, 2012
Ashton Kutcher Is "Deeply Concerned" About Demi Moore
Ashton Kutcher may have been hanging out with supermodels in Brazil when Demi Moore was rushed to the hospital, but a friend says that Demi is still very much on Ashton's mind.
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Kim Dotcom, Megaupload founder, joked of hacker past
Kim Dotcom, once convicted of insider trading, sent introductory e-mails to neighbors joking that he could help them with insider trading and tax fraud. Kim Dotcom went on to point out he had since reformed and started Megaupload.?
Two years ago, Megaupload founder?Kim?Dotcom?joked in emails with his new neighbors in New Zealand about his bad-boy reputation before telling them his criminal past was behind him and he was coming to the country with good intentions.
Skip to next paragraph"I am a former hacker" who was once convicted of insider trading, he wrote, before going on to say "In all seriousness: My wife, two kids and myself love New Zealand and 'We come in peace.'"
Dotcom's?emails came to light Wednesday, the same day a New Zealand judge denied him bail following his arrest on U.S. accusations of copyright infringement and a U.S. official confirmed the arrest of a fifth member of his company.
Judge David McNaughton in Auckland denied?Dotcom?bail pending a hearing Feb. 22 on his possible extradition to face trial in the United States, saying?Dotcom?poses a flight risk.?Dotcom, 38, insists he is innocent and poses no flight risk.
New Zealand police arrested three other Megaupload employees last week on U.S. accusations they facilitated millions of illegal downloads of films, music and other content, costing copyright holders at least $500 million in lost revenue. McNaughton is expected to make bail rulings on the three later this week or early next week.
In Washington, a U.S. Justice Department official said Dutch police have arrested a fifth suspect ? software programmer Andrus Nomm, 32, a citizen of Estonia and a resident of both Turkey and Estonia. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is still pending.
In New Zealand,?Dotcom's?neighbor Kevin Crossley said?Dotcom?cut an imposing figure when he took a lease on the $24 million luxury mansion in their sleepy neighborhood of Coatesville, near Auckland. Crossley said he never met?Dotcom, but he would see him zooming past in luxury cars when he went horse riding.
Dotcom?sent emails to Crossley's wife France Komoroski and other neighbors, joking that "a criminal neighbor like me" could help them with insider stock tips and tax fraud. But then he turned serious.
"Fifteen years ago I was a hacker and 10 years ago I was convicted for insider trading," he wrote. "Hardly the kind of crimes you need to start a witch hunt for. Since then I have been a good boy, my criminal records have been cleared, and I created a successful Internet company that employs 100+ people."
Dotcom?first developed a reputation as a computer hacker in his native Germany, where he was born?KimSchmitz.
Later, in 2002, he received a 20-month suspended sentence after being found guilty of manipulating stock prices to earn himself $1.1 million.
The flamboyant?Dotcom?also made headlines after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 when he offered a $10 million reward on his website for information leading to the capture of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
In New Zealand, Prime Minister John Key faced awkward questions Wednesday about how immigration officials could have granted?Dotcom?residency despite his prior convictions ? and then the government could later turn down his application to buy the Coatesville mansion due to questions over his character prompted by those same convictions.
Key said?Dotcom?had disclosed his convictions in his immigration application but that enough time had elapsed to give him a clean slate. Key acknowleged it seemed inconsistent that the test for buying land would be higher than the test for residency.
"What I've asked my officials to do, is to go away and have a look, because there's clearly a potential anomoly there," Key told reporters Wednesday.
In all, U.S. authorities have charged seven men in the conspiracy case and are still seeking the arrest of the remaining two men.
Authorities in the U.S. are seeking to extradite the four men arrested in New Zealand and are also expected to seek Nomm's extradition.
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Thursday, January 26, 2012
Drawing thousands, Gingrich goes hardest at Obama (AP)
NAPLES, Fla. ? Buoyed by strong crowds, Republican Newt Gingrich put a greater emphasis Tuesday on a possible matchup with President Barack Obama and spent less time drawing contrasts with GOP presidential rival Mitt Romney.
The former House speaker saw his crowd sizes swell into the thousands, including an event at a U.S. flag-draped Sarasota airport hangar and another overflow event at a town square in Naples. He also enjoyed a burst of fundraising with a week to go before Florida's presidential primary. An official at a political action committee backing his White House bid said they were buying $6 million in Florida ad time.
All day, Gingrich made brief mentions of Romney. Gingrich referred to his rival as the moderate in a race where conservative credentials matter most. He linked Romney to Florida's former Republican governor-turned-independent, Charlie Crist, by talking about campaign staffers common to both men.
But he swung harder at Obama, saying he would offer the most striking choice against the incumbent in a November election.
Gingrich's remarks were partially timed to Tuesday night's State of the Union address. Gingrich said Obama should stop blaming his Republican predecessor for the country's economic woes.
"This is the fourth year of his presidency. He needs to get over it," Gingrich said. "A friend of mine says, `He has shifted from Yes We Can to Why We Couldn't.'"
Barely a half-year after his campaign all but imploded, Gingrich is reveling in a surge. He rebounded from disappointing showings in Iowa and New Hampshire to trounce Romney in South Carolina. Since then, he has shot to the front of many polls in Florida and nationally.
It's showing in his campaign finances, too. Gingrich officials said they raised more than $2 million since his win Saturday in South Carolina and expected hundreds of thousands more from finance events Tuesday.
A fundraising appeal sent out to supporters Tuesday underscored the new-found confidence.
"There is no longer any doubt that we can win the GOP nomination," Gingrich says in the pitch.
Winning Our Future, a Super PAC run by former Gingrich adviser Rick Tyler, said separately it would use its newly purchased ad time to criticize Romney on health care. Romney approved a health law as governor of Massachusetts that some have described as a model for the controversial insurance mandate achieved by Obama.
The PAC is financed largely by the family of a Las Vegas casino magnate.
___
Associated Press writer Shannon McCaffrey in Atlanta contributed to this report.
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Japan's first trade deficit since 1980 (Reuters)
TOKYO (Reuters) ? Japan first annual trade deficit in more than 30 years calls into question how much longer the country can rely on exports to help finance a huge public debt without having to turn to fickle foreign investors.
The aftermath of the March earthquake raised fuel import costs while slowing global growth and the yen's strength hit exports, data released on Wednesday showed, swinging the 2011 trade balance into deficit.
Few analysts expect Japan to immediately run a deficit in the current account, which includes trade and returns on the country's huge portfolio of investments abroad. A steady inflow of profits and capital gains from overseas still outweighs the trade deficit.
But the trade figures underscore a broader trend of Japan's declining global competitive edge and a rapidly ageing population, compounding the immediate problem of increased reliance on fuel imports due to the loss of nuclear power.
Only four of the country's 54 nuclear power reactors are running due to public safety fears following the March disaster.
"What it means is that the time when Japan runs out of savings -- 'Sayonara net creditor country' -- that point is coming closer," said Jesper Koll, head of equities research at JPMorgan in Japan.
"It means Japan becomes dependent on global savings to fund its deficit and either the currency weakens or interest rates rise."
That prospect could give added impetus to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's push to double Japan's 5 percent sales tax in two stages by October 2015 to fund the bulging social security costs of a fast-ageing society.
The biggest opposition party, although agreeing with the need for a higher levy, is threatening to block legislation in parliament's upper house in hopes of forcing a general election.
Japan logged a trade deficit of 2.49 trillion yen ($32 billion) for 2011, Ministry of Finance data showed, the first annual deficit since 1980, after the economy was hit by the shock of rising oil prices.
Were Japan to run a current account deficit, it would spell trouble because it would mean the country cannot finance its huge public debt -- already twice the size of its $5 trillion economy -- without overseas funds.
Japanese investors currently hold about 95 percent of Japan's government bonds, which lends some stability to an otherwise unsustainable debt burden.
Domestic buyers are less likely to dump debt at the first whiff of economic trouble, unlike foreign investors, as Europe's debt crisis has shown.
The trade data helped send the yen to a one-month low against the dollar and the euro on Wednesday.
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Graphic on 2011 trade data http://link.reuters.com/mev26s
Dec trade balance http://link.reuters.com/vyq65s
Exports by destination http://link.reuters.com/far65s
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"HOLLOWING OUT," AGEING POPULATION
Total exports shrank 2.7 percent last year while imports surged 12.0 percent, reflecting reduced earnings from goods and services and higher spending on crude and fuel oil. Annual imports of liquefied natural gas hit a record high.
In a sign of the continuing pain from slowing global growth, exports fell 8.0 percent in December from a year earlier, roughly matching a median market forecast for a 7.9 percent drop, due partly to weak shipments of electronics parts.
Imports rose 8.1 percent in December from a year earlier, in line with a 8.0 percent annual gain expected, bringing the trade balance to a deficit of 205.1 billion yen, against 139.7 billion yen expected. It marked the third straight month of deficits.
Japan managed to sustain annual trade surpluses through the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s and the post-Lehman Brothers global recession that started in late 2008, which makes the 2011 dip into deficit all the more dramatic.
A generation ago, Japan was the world's export juggernaut, churning out a stream of innovative products from the likes of Sony and Toyota.
Much like China today, Japan's bulging trade surplus became a source of friction with the United States and other advanced economies, who pressed Tokyo to allow the yen to rise more rapidly in order to reduce the imbalance.
A 1985 agreement between Japan, the United States and Europe's big economies -- known as the Plaza Accord after the New York hotel where it was signed -- pushed the yen higher against the U.S. dollar.
Many economists argue that sowed the seeds of Japan's current debt woes. After the Plaza Accord, Japan's economy weakened and its central bank slashed interest rates, which contributed to a credit boom that eventually spawned a financial crisis and led to two decades of economic stagnation.
Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said on Tuesday he did not expect trade deficits to become a pattern, and did not foresee the country's current account balance tipping into the red in the near future.
But Japan's days of logging huge trade surpluses may be over as it relies more on fuel imports and manufacturers move production offshore to cope with rising costs and a strong yen, a trend that may weaken the Japanese currency longer term.
A fast-ageing population also means a growing number of elderly Japanese will be running down their savings.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said the government wants to closely watch the trend of exports and imports.
"There are worries that the yen's strength is driving Japanese industry to go abroad," said Fujimura. "We have to create new industries ... implement comprehensive steps to boost growth. It is important to secure employment within the nation."
($1=77.71 yen)
(Additional writing by Leika Kihara; Editing by Linda Sieg and Emily Kaiser)
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
No decision yet on Gaddafi son's trial: ICC (Reuters)
THE HAGUE/TRIPOLI (Reuters) ? The International Criminal Court said on Monday it has not decided whether Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of the overthrown Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, should be tried in Libya, contradicting earlier comments by a Libyan minister.
Libya and the international war crimes court appear to be at loggerheads over where Saif al-Islam's trial should take place.
Depending on the outcome, Gaddafi's most prominent son could either face the death penalty in his home country, or the prospect of awaiting trial in a comfortable detention centre known as "The Hague Hilton" in the Netherlands, with no risk of capital punishment.
The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Saif al-Islam last year after prosecutors accused him and others of involvement in the killing of protesters during the revolt that eventually toppled his father in August.
But when militia fighters captured Saif al-Islam in November, Libya said it wanted to try him at home.
The ICC has given Libya a January 23 deadline to confirm whether and when it would surrender Saif al-Islam and to give information about his mental and physical health. It also asked Libya to answer concerns, raised by activists, that Saif al-Islam was being held incommunicado, without access to lawyers.
ICC spokesman Fadi El-Abdallah said that the court had received information on Monday from Libya but declined to give details, saying it was confidential.
He added that the judges had not made a decision on whether Saif al-Islam could be tried in Libya, contradicting comments by Libya's minister of justice.
"Libya applied on Friday to the ICC for Saif to be tried in a Libyan court. The ICC accepted," Minister of Justice Ali Humaida Ashour told Reuters on Monday, adding that an investigation into Saif had yet to finish but his trial date would be announced when it had been completed.
(Reporting by Ali Shuaib in Tripoli and Sara Webb in The Hague; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
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Japan PM vows to tackle debt, calls for teamwork (AP)
TOKYO ? Japan's prime minister has pledged to push ahead with tax and social security reform and called on opposition politicians to cooperate to achieve "decisive politics."
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's speech kicks off what is expected to be a contentious parliamentary session dominated by debate over Noda's goal to raise the sales tax and reduce the country's fiscal deficit.
Noda has promised to submit a bill by end of March to double the 5 percent sales tax by 2015.
The plan has divided parliament and the ruling Democratic party.
Noda also pledged Tuesday to step up efforts to decontaminate the region around the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant from radioactive fallout, ensure health checks and compensation for those affected by the crisis.
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Barca awaits Real Madrid again
By PAUL LOGOTHETIS
AP Sports Writer
Associated Press Sports
updated 1:08 p.m. ET Jan. 23, 2012
MADRID (AP) -Real Madrid will likely abandon its defensive strategy and go on the attack against Barcelona in the second leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals on Wednesday.
Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has come under fire for his choice of tactics following last week's 2-1 loss to Barcelona, with the Portuguese coach repeatedly jeered during a 4-1 league win over Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.
But that victory displayed the potent attack available to Madrid, which leads Barcelona by five points in the Spanish league after scoring 67 goals in 19 games to complete the first half of the season.
Still, Mourinho did not apologize for Madrid's approach to the first leg, which has polarized much of the Portuguese coach's support, not only among fans but also the usually staunch Madrid press. On Sunday, Marca newspaper reported divisions inside the club's dressing room while Mourinho's name was jeered throughout the Bilbao match at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium for the first time since his arrival in 2010.
"Whoever says the changing room is divided or that some kind of fracture exists is lying," Sergio Ramos wrote on Twitter on Monday, a day after revelations of an argument between the Madrid defender and Mourinho were reported. "This is a great group that is well united, regardless what is said."
Madrid's attack could get a boost if Argentina forward Angel di Maria returns from injury.
Defender Pepe's availability is uncertain after the Portugal international was benched against Bilbao following the fallout from his stamp on Lionel Messi's hand in the first leg.
Madrid has won only one of its last 13 meetings against Barcelona - April's Copa del Rey final - with nine losses over that period.
Barcelona is coming off a 4-1 league win at Malaga in which Messi notched his 10th career league hat trick for the European champions. Messi now has 36 goals in all competitions this season, while teammate Alexis Sanchez has also found his rhythm with the Spanish champions, the Chile forward scoring three goals in his last four games.
"They lead the league, they can still reach the semifinals of the Copa and they are into the next round of the Champions League. From an outside perspective, it's hard to read whether or not they have problems," Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta said on Monday.
Also, Mirandes needs to beat Espanyol to become the first third division club to reach the semifinals since Fugueres in 2002. Mirandes trails 3-2 going into Tuesday's match at its 6,000-capacity Andova Municipal stadium.
Meanwhile, Valencia and Athletic Bilbao hold comfortable leads going into their away return legs.
Valencia travels across town to Levante on Thursday holding a 4-1 advantage and Bilbao is 2-0 up ahead of its game at Mallorca on Wednesday.
? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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More newsAFP - Getty ImagesBarca awaits Real Madrid again
Real Madrid probably will abandon its defensive strategy and go on the attack against Barcelona in the second leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals on Wednesday.
ReutersThat's a reason?
AC Milan's Kevin-Prince Boateng is hurt again, and his girlfriend says it's because they have sex "7-10 times a week." Oh.
Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/44284319/ns/sports-soccer/
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Monday, January 23, 2012
Will Vanessa Bryant Join ?Basketball Wives??
Vanessa Bryant is looking likely to join the permanent cast of Vh1 show ‘Basketball Wives’, with producers ready to make her an offer “she can’t refuse”. Multiple sources tell TMZ.com that producers are putting together “an extremely lucrative pitch for Vanessa”, though ironically, she will soon be a former-Basketball wife once her divorce from Kobe [...]
Pregnant Alessandra Ambrosio Debuts Baby Bump on Runway (omg!)
Her own "Love on Top" moment!
Alessandra Ambrosio celebrated her second pregnancy in her natural element on Sunday: on the runway!
PHOTOS: Hot supermodel moms
The Victoria's Secret model, 30, rubbed her growing baby bump at the end of the catwalk at the Colcci fashion show, part of the Sao Paolo Fashion Week in her native Brazil. For her big bump debut, Ambrosio stunned in a chic grey mini and a sleek black jacket.
PHOTOS: Alessandra sizzles at last year's Victoria's Secret show
Now five months along, Ambrosio confirmed her second pregnancy to Us Weekly in late December. The baby-to-be will join big sister Anja, 3, the stunner's daughter with longtime fiance, California businessman Jamie Mazur.
PHOTOS: Biggest pregnancies of 2011
"Family is the most important thing for me and I'm thrilled to be adding to the family," she told Us in an exclusive statement. "I'm fortunate to have a loving and supportive family. It's a blessing that it will soon be growing."
Get more Us! Follow us on Twitter, Friend us on Facebook, Subscribe to Us Weekly
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Sunday, January 22, 2012
Romney and Gingrich refuse to move dueling events (AP)
GREENVILLE, S.C. ? Rival presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich are set to appear at the same breakfast restaurant at the same time on the day of the South Carolina primary.
Both campaigns said Friday they will not change schedules that, by coincidence, have the dueling candidates visiting Tommy's Country Ham House in Greenville at 10:45 a.m. EST.
Romney and Gingrich are locked in a nasty, neck-and-neck fight to win the first-in-the-South primary. They have criticized each other repeatedly on the debate stage, in TV ads, on the radio, in mail and in telephone calls.
Gingrich has surged ahead in recent days, eating into Romney's lead in polls and threatening what had appeared to be a swift march to the nomination.
Romney campaign spokesman Rick Gorka called the scheduling a "pure coincidence and we are not changing our schedule."
Gingrich campaign spokesman Nathan Naidu said Gingrich's schedule came out first and that Gingrich is "more than happy to treat Gov. Romney to ham at our event."
___
Associated Press writer Shannon McCaffrey in Charleston, S.C., contributed to this report.
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U.N. says 120,000 in South Sudan need aid after fighting (Reuters)
JUBA (Reuters) ? Tribal fighting in South Sudan has left 120,000 people in need of emergency food aid, twice the previous estimate, the United Nations said on Friday.
The organization was in a race against time to reach people displaced by fighting between the Lou Nuer and Murle tribes in Jonglei state, said U.N. humanitarian coordinator for South Sudan Lise Grande.
The fighting, in which women and children have been targeted, has escalated following tit-for-tat raids to steal cattle. In late December, 6,000 armed Lou Nuer tribesmen attacked the main Murle town of Pibor, killing as many as 2,000 people, according to local authorities.
The United Nations, which says the death toll is likely to be much lower, initially said around 60,000 people needed food aid after fleeing into surrounding bush and seeing many of their grain stores destroyed.
But Grande told a news conference in the South Sudanese capital Juba that the humanitarian situation in Jonglei - an area the size of Bangladesh - was worsening as a result of continued fighting, including attacks on health facilities.
"Only two weeks ago we launched a massive emergency operation to help 60,000 people. As a result of recent attacks, we now estimate that double that number will need help," Grande said in a statement.
South Sudan became independent in July under a 2005 peace agreement with Khartoum to end decades of civil war. But the government has been struggling to end tribal and rebel violence.
Ravaged by decades of civil war that killed 2 million people, South Sudan is one of the least developed countries in the world. The government is flush with oil revenues but analysts say development is getting only slowly under way.
(Reporting by Hereward Holland; Writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Ben Harding)
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Saturday, January 21, 2012
Hamas: Leader Khaled Mashaal won't seek new term (AP)
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip ? The Islamic militant group Hamas says in a statement that their chief, Khaled Mashaal, won't seek re-election.
The Palestinian group urges him to reconsider his decision, saying the issue of who leads the decades-old militant movement should be left to Hamas institutions. Hamas says the decision shouldn't be made by one person ? even its leader.
The group issued the statement Saturday to reporters via e-mail.
Mashaal, who is based in Damascus, was not immediately available for comment.
It is not clear when Hamas would conduct new, internal elections. The militant group elects leaders through a body it calls the Shura Council.
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HBT: Braves expect Hanson to be ready to go
Tommy Hanson missed the final two months of last season with a partially torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder, suffering multiple setbacks along the way as he unsuccessfully tried to return to the Braves? rotation.
That makes him a big question mark for 2012, but general manager Frank Wren told David O?Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution that ?our expectations are that he comes into spring training ready to go.?
Wren added that Hanson ?feels good? and is ?doing really well? in his recovery.
Hanson got knocked around prior to landing on the disabled list, allowing 24 runs in his final 27 innings, including serving up four homers in his last start, yet still posted a 3.60 ERA and 142/46 K/BB ratio in 130 innings overall.
When healthy he?s been one of the most underrated starters in baseball, going 32-22 with a 3.28 ERA in 77 career starts through age 24.
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Friday, January 20, 2012
Greenpois0n Absinthe untethered jailbreak tool for iPhone 4S and iPad 2 released
(http://www.imore.com/jailbreak)! They stated earlier today the jailbreak was almost complete and ready for release. It didn't take very long as the tool is already available.
 |  |
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/-pqr1rSSuwY/story01.htm
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Video: 'The big ask is to listen to cities more and do more for our cities'
A Second Take on Meeting the Press: From an up-close look at Rachel Maddow's sneakers to an in-depth look at Jon Krakauer's latest book ? it's all fair game in our "Meet the Press: Take Two" web extra. Log on Sundays to see David Gregory's post-show conversations with leading newsmakers, authors and roundtable guests. Videos are available on-demand by 12 p.m. ET on Sundays.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/vp/46064404#46064404
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Thursday, January 19, 2012
Scanner Dock for iPad Wins Ugly Contest
You probably don;t need yet another iPad dock, but if you have gone computer-less and still need to scan the occasional sheet of dead treeware, then the iConvert Scanner Dock might be just the thing for you.
It’s a front-feed, 300dpi document digitizer with a slot up top for your iPad 1 or 2. The gap [...]
It’s a front-feed, 300dpi document digitizer with a slot up top for your iPad 1 or 2. The gap [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/mO6-_a3QRpU/
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Abbott rides for cancer research
18:07 AEDT Wed Jan 18 2012
Virgin dadSperm donor fathers 14 
CowardAudio reveals captain left ship 
'worst ever'Anchor slams Lana Del Rey 
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man-shameThe rise of the man-boob job '); thisElem.before(twitElem); new TWTR.Widget({ version: 2, type: 'search', search: 'ripsteve isad', id: 'twtr-search-widget', interval: 10000, title: '', subject: '', width: 310, height: 300, theme: { shell: { background: '#000203', color: '#ffffff' }, tweets: { background: '#ffffff', color: '#444444', links: '#1986b5' } }, features: { scrollbar: false, loop: true, live: true, hashtags: true, timestamp: true, avatars: true, toptweets: true, behavior: 'default' } }).render().start(); } Opposition Leader Tony Abbott will don the knicks and bike helmet to raise money for cancer research on Friday.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Mr Abbott was ranked third on the fundraising leaderboard - having drummed up more than $10,000 in sponsorship - for the Cancer Council's Ride for a Reason Bupa Challenge Tour in Adelaide.
The tour includes rides of between 33km and 138km between Norwood, Gumeracha, Mount Pleasant and Tanunda.
The council has set itself the goal of raising $1 million during the Santos Tour Down Under, a major international cycle event under way in South Australia.
Mr Abbott will head to Adelaide on Thursday to prepare for the event, before taking part in the challenge on Friday and riding with Australia's first ever UCI World Tour team GreenEDGE on Saturday.
Source: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8405127/abbott-rides-for-cancer-research
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Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Russian military says spacecraft debris falls in ocean (Reuters)
MOSCOW (Reuters) ? Pieces of a failed Russian Mars probe plummeted into the Pacific Ocean far off the Chilean coast Sunday, Russian news agencies cited a military official as saying.
Debris from the Phobos-Grunt craft fell into the sea some 1,250 km (775 miles) west of the coastal island of Wellington, state-run RIA and Itar-Tass cited Aerospace Defense Forces spokesman Colonel Alexei Zolotukhin as saying.
The spacecraft never made it out of Earth's orbit after its November launch on a rare interplanetary mission for Russia's struggling space program.
It was not immediately clear whether all the parts of the craft that did not burn up in the atmosphere had fallen in the same area.
RIA cited an unnamed source in a separate Russian military branch as saying ballistics experts calculated that debris could have fallen anywhere in a broad area centred on Brazil.
Russia's space agency Roskosmos had said debris from its doomed 14-ton craft, which included 11 tons of toxic rocket fuel, might fall in the Atlantic Ocean about midway between Brazil and West Africa.
Roskosmos and the military could not be reached for comment.
Due to constant changes in the upper atmosphere, which is strongly influenced by solar activity, the exact time and place of the probe's return had been unknown.
The $165-million spacecraft, designed to retrieve soil samples from the Martian moon Phobos, was meant to be Russia's first successful interplanetary mission in over two decades.
But it became stuck in orbit after a botched launch on November 9, and had since been slowly losing altitude due to gravity's pull.
SPACE JUNK
Experts said the falling space junk posed little risk, with the probe's aluminium fuel tank expected to burn up high in the atmosphere.
"If anyone gets to see it, it will be a fabulous show. I don't think there has been an explosion of such a large volume of fuel in space history," Igor Marinin, editor of a space journal published by Roskosmos, said earlier Sunday.
Some 20 to 30 small pieces of debris with a total weight of 200 kg (440 lb) could hit Earth, Roskosmos said, adding that a tiny radioactive cargo of Cobalt-57 was too small to cause harm.
One component likely to survive re-entry was a small return capsule specifically designed to crash-land back on Earth in 2014, mission scientist Alexander Zakharov said.
"This is the capsule that was meant to bring back samples from Phobos, it's disappointing," Zakharov said. "We're hoping Roskosmos will approve a new craft to accomplish this mission."
Phobos-Grunt was one of five botched launches last year that marred celebrations of the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's pioneering first human space flight and hurt Moscow's pride.
In an apparent attempt to deflect blame, Russia's space agency chief hinted last week that foreign sabotage might be the reason.
"I don't want to blame anyone, but there are very powerful means to interfere with spacecraft today whose use cannot be ruled out," Vladimir Popovkin told the daily Izvestia.
Stargazers watching for reentry included the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordinating Committee, an offshoot of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.
Under a U.N. space convention, Russia could be liable to pay compensation for any harm caused by bits of falling spacecraft.
In 1981, the Soviet Union paid Canada $3 million for the cost of cleaning up radioactive debris scattered in the crash of a Soviet nuclear-powered reconnaissance satellite, Kosmos 954.
When NASA's defunct Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite fell out of orbit in September, it showered debris into the Pacific Ocean. Germany's Rosat X-ray telescope re-entered a month later over the Bay of Bengal.
(Additional reporting by Steve Gutterman; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
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Is a Google Contractor Trying to Destroy OpenStreetMap? [Google]
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Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Wis. Democrats still searching for Walker opponent
MADISON, Wis. (AP) ? Supporters of a push to oust Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker from office are prepared to declare victory in their effort to force the Republican into a recall election. But a problem looms for Democrats: They still don't know who would run against him.
Recall organizers say they have gathered far more than the 540,208 signatures required to force the election against both Walker and GOP Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, and will submit their petitions Tuesday.
Walker has meanwhile dominated the state's airwaves with ads defending his agenda, including the law enacted last year that ended nearly all collective bargaining rights for most public workers and spurred the recall effort in the first place.
He's also crisscrossed the country raising millions of dollars, taking full advantage of both the conservative rock star persona built as he put Wisconsin at the center of the national labor rights debate and a quirk in state law allowing those targeted for recall to ignore normal contribution limits until an election date is set.
Walker reported in mid-December that he'd already raised $5.1 million, with about half of that coming from out of state. He received $250,000 alone from Bob Perry, the Texas conservative who was one of the main financial backers behind the Swift Boat Veterans ads that attacked Sen. John Kerry during the 2004 presidential campaign.
Democrats and union leaders insist they're not concerned about not having someone actively running against Walker and trying to match his fundraising. In fact, they say it was part of their strategy.
"It forced Walker and his minions to run on their record and issues rather than to run against an announced Democratic candidate," said Marty Beil, president of the Wisconsin State Employees Union, the largest union of state workers. "That was part of the rationale through the whole recall petition collection process."
Democrats and union leaders said they also never anticipated competing with Walker on fundraising. Beil said the key for recall supporters will be to maintain the enthusiasm that fueled recall signature collection for the past two months.
"And we win with some resources, but we don't see matching him for dollar by dollar," Beil added.
Walker's campaign spokeswoman Ciara Matthews said in a statement that the governor's record will "stand in stark contrast to whoever the eventual Democratic nominee is." She defended Walker's record from last year, noting he balanced the state's $3.6 billion shortfall without massive layoffs of state employees.
Democrats have framed Walker's budget-balancing tactics as an attack on labor unions, one of their key constituencies. Thousands of demonstrators staged non-stop protests at the Capitol for three weeks and the Senate's 14 minority Democrats even fled the state in a futile attempt to block the collective bargaining plan that Walker signed into law last March.
The Democratic field of would-be challengers to Walker is expected take shape once the Government Accountability Board certifies that petition circulators have gathered enough signatures. Beil said he expected it be clear by the end of the month, while state Democratic Party Chairman Mike Tate said he didn't expect a set field before March.
"I don't see any need for a candidate to dip their toe in the water until they absolutely feel it is necessary to do so," Tate said. "We have a blessing of riches in the Democratic Party. We have several people who would make wonderful governors."
Numerous prominent Democrats have said they're considering a run but the two highest profile ones ? former Sen. Russ Feingold and retiring Sen. Herb Kohl ? have repeatedly said they aren't interested.
Moderate Democrat state Sen. Tim Cullen has said he intends to take on Walker but has not made a formal announcement or been actively campaigning. He said he expects and welcomes a Democratic primary, which likely would be held in May, although the timing will be unclear until possible delays related to the signature verification process and any legal challenges are resolved.
"If there's not a primary, then who's actually deciding this?" Cullen said.
Walker and his allies say organized labor will decide the Democratic candidate. Public workers and their unions have been a driving force behind the recall, helping provide the manpower needed to circulate petitions.
Union leaders have made some of their preferences known. They've been clear in their distaste of a potential candidacy by Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who lost to Walker by 5 percentage points in 2010. Barrett has angered some unions with cuts he made to the city budget and his support of a plan a couple years ago that would have given him control of the troubled Milwaukee Public Schools.
Beil and Mary Bell, the head of the statewide teachers union, met with Barrett in December and unsuccessfully tried to dissuade him from running, based on an email Bell sent to other union leaders that was first reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Bell confirmed the meeting and email to The Associated Press but declined to comment in more detail about Barrett or who the union is supporting. Beil also has been outspoken in his opposition to Barrett but won't say who the union supports yet.
Barrett has announced that he's seeking re-election as Milwaukee mayor, which will be decided on April 3. But he's repeatedly dodged questions about another run against Walker, refusing to rule it out or commit to it.
"The candidate has to be a champion of these thousands of people who have said we need a change," Beil said. "The candidate has to be a champion, it can't be the same old message."
One potential candidate organized labor does like is Kathleen Falk, a retired Dane County executive who said she is considering running. Falk, who previously ran unsuccessfully for governor and state attorney general, has been traveling the state speaking out in support of the recall.
Other potential Democratic candidates include former U.S. Rep. Dave Obey, current U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, state Sen. Jon Erpenbach and state Rep. Peter Barca.
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