Paul Ryan Justifies Screwing Sandy Victims By Calling Flood ...

By: RmuseJan. 6th, 2013more from Rmuse

Human beings? survival is dependent on reliance of the character, ability, or truth of someone or something in which they placed confidence in a future or provisional condition whether it is common defense or something as simple as a mutual agreement. Trust plays an important role in everyday living such as handing over hard-earned money for a dependable product or the expectation that another driver will honor a traffic signal and stop when the light is red. Financial institutions such as banks put a certain amount of trust that when an individual borrows money they will pay it back, and health insurance policy holders trust that when they fall ill, the carrier will pay for medical treatment provided by doctors. Within hours of the 113^th Congress being sworn in, 67 House members voted against funding the government flood relief program for victims of Hurricane Sandy, and the House Budget Committee chairman, Paul Ryan, justified his no vote claiming that ?maintaining the existing flood insurance relief program was irresponsible? despite flood victims paid for coverage in the event of a natural disaster.

Ryan?s remark represents a fundamental mindset among Republicans who are gearing up to hold the debt ceiling hostage and threaten the full faith and credit of the United States and its agreement to pay its debts. Republicans have demonstrated a tendency to break all trust whether it is between the government and its debtors, or the American people they were elected to serve including welshing on the government?s promise to reimburse Americans who purchased flood insurance, or providing retirement income to working Americans who paid into the Social Security retirement Trust Fund. The idea of reneging on an agreement in civil matters generally results in a breach of contract judgment that forces the party guilty of abrogating their commitment to pay according to a mutually agreed contract, but Republicans are attempting to negate agreements with impunity under the guise of fiscal responsibility.

By now, any semi-conscious American understands raising the debt ceiling merely authorizes the government to borrow to pay for the expenditures Congress has already voted for, and yet the GOP is holding the debt limit hostage unless Democrats agree to annul the agreement between retirees and the Social Security Trust. When Paul Ryan cavalierly dismissed, as irresponsible, maintaining the flood insurance relief program, he expressed a Republican ideology that contracts, agreements, and promises can be breached if it benefits conservative?s agenda.? A recurring theme among conservatives is that programs such as Social Security and Medicare are expenses the government cannot bear, and as such, it is irresponsible to maintain the agreement between working Americans and the government retirement program. In fact, Republicans in states and Congress have been on a rampage to break agreements between American workers and employers by allowing employers to revoke pensions and health benefits employees paid into faithfully, and the argument is always the same; it is irresponsible to maintain a mutually agreed contract, and it is irrespective of employees in the public or private sector.

It is foolish to state, categorically, that all Republicans are dishonest and advocate America reneging on its debt, or breaking agreements between Americans and the government, but it is difficult to find one instance that Republicans have been faithful to the public trust. Prior to the start of the 112^th Congress, Republicans promised faithfully their intention upon taking control of the House was creating jobs, and yet after two full years they never proposed one job creation bill. They also have promised to protect Medicare for future beneficiaries, but instead of the guaranteed government program, they sought to privatize the system to benefit the insurance industry and deprive retirees of the benefits they were promised throughout their working lives. Most working Americans look forward to retiring at age 65 and having a meager income and healthcare they paid for, but one of the GOP?s top goals is raising the retirement age to 67 that leaves the elderly with little hope of medical care for two years when they need it most, and when they were promised it would be there for them.

It is possible the tendency towards dishonesty is why Republicans are unfazed when men like Ryan break his oath of office to ?support and defend the Constitution? that contains a preamble condition to ?provide for the general welfare? of the American people. Ryan?s ?no? vote to block flood relief for victims of Hurricane Sandy was a glaring breach of his oath of office, and his justification that maintaining the government?s obligation to cover flood insurance claims was irresponsible exposes a major Republican character flaw. Any covenant that benefits the American people can be reneged on regardless if it is public or private collective bargaining agreements, private or government pension plans, government flood insurance, private health insurance, or Social Security, no agreement is sacred and can be broken if Republicans believe providing a product the people paid for think it is irresponsible to maintain.

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Posted by Rmuse on Jan. 6th, 2013. Filed under Commentary,Featured News,rmuse. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Source: http://www.politicususa.com/blog/2013/01/06/paul-ryan-justifies-screwing-sandy-victims-calling-flood-insurance-program-irresponsible/

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Fishermen hoping for help with Sandy storm losses

MIDDLETOWN, N.J. (AP) -- While Superstorm Sandy did highly visible damage to homes, boardwalks and roads, it also walloped the Northeastern fishing industry, whose workers are hoping for a small piece of any future disaster assistance that Congress might approve.

The storm did millions of dollars' worth of damage to docks, fish processing plants and restaurants. But it also caused millions more in lost wages to boat employees who couldn't work for two to three weeks, to truck drivers who had nothing to transport, and to other assorted industries that service commercial fishing.

The $9.7 billion measure to fund the National Flood Insurance program, passed by Congress on Friday, did not include anything for the fishing industry; a bill the Senate passed in December would have allocated $150 million for that purpose.

Some of the worst damage to fisheries in the region occurred at the Belford Seafood Cooperative on the Raritan Bay shoreline in Middletown, where the pounding waves destroyed a 75-foot-long dock, gutted a popular restaurant, and ripped away all five garage doors and parts of the exterior of office and storage buildings. The co-op's manager, Joe Branin, estimates the damage at close to $1 million.

"We went three weeks before we were able to pack a fish," said Branin, whose business was still without electricity in mid-December. "We lost almost all our equipment. It was three weeks before anybody could do anything."

The restaurant, where diners could eat scallops and fillets literally right off the boat, had provided $5,000 to $8,000 a week in revenue that is now gone.

The co-op supported 50 families who either work directly for it or in supporting roles. Many of those workers simply did without a paycheck for weeks afterward. The situation was the same at New Jersey's Viking Village port on Long Beach Island's Barnegat Light, where boats were idled after the storm.

"We couldn't get to work for two weeks because the infrastructure was all torn up here," said Bob Brewster, who owns three of the port's 45 fishing boats and estimates he lost between $10,000 and $20,000 in lost catch. "We were just twiddling our thumbs, waiting to get back out on the water. Everybody wants to make a living, and for a while, we couldn't."

In Hampton Bays, N.Y., Doug Oakland estimated two marinas he owns suffered between $800,000 and $1 million in damage. He estimates about a dozen other marinas in the eastern Long Island community were similarly affected.

"The marinas got beat up pretty hard. There's a 75-foot section of our pier that's just gone," he said.

"There was about three to four weeks right after the storm where all the fish kind of disappeared," he said. "The first two weeks, fishermen couldn't even get out because a lot of their gear was buried in sand. With the gas shortage, there were no fuel trucks, and there really was no market to sell the fish to because nobody had power. There was no sense in even trying to catch them."

Though most of the individual boats up and down the East Coast escaped damage, they were forced to stay at the dock because of a combination of problems.

That included damage to their home ports; torn-up roads that forced street closures and kept workers, truck drivers, and customers from reaching the docks; the disruption to normal fishing patterns after the storm that saw many profitable species chased away until the following year; and even difficulty in getting in and out of ports because of new sand bars.

A strong nor'easter a week after Sandy just made things worse.

"We couldn't get trucks to transport the product," said Dwight Kooyman, who manages two of Viking Village's scallop boats. "I have five guys that work for me that couldn't work that entire time. If they don't work, they don't get paid."

They're all waiting to see whether Congress includes them in the billions of dollars in storm reconstruction aid it is considering. Less than three weeks after the Oct. 29 storm, the U.S. Commerce Department declared a fishery resource disaster for New Jersey and New York. But all that did was authorize the federal government to disburse any aid that Congress approves. Specific plans for applying for and distributing any aid to fishermen still have to be formulated.

Dale Parsons is a fifth-generation fisherman at the Jersey shore, who owns a shellfish business in Tuckerton, and who used to own a commercial hatchery for tiny clams and oysters on the edge of Barnegat Bay ? until Sandy destroyed it, causing several hundred thousand dollars' worth of losses.

"It was millions of oysters and clams that won't be spawned next year," he said. "Even if we rebuild right now, it will take a good year, year and a half to get it together. It's going to take a long time coming."

The damage to seafood processors and docks is only part of the industry's problems, Parsons said; he also fears reduced business from restaurants who see fewer tourists this summer and order less seafood.

"I'm just waiting to see what kind of business there's going to be in the spring," he said. "No one knows yet."

Sandy also affected recreational fishing businesses, including coastal bait and tackle shops that were flooded. New Jersey officials are soliciting damage reports from individual businesses to help make the case that they need direct federal grants, not just loans. The state's recreational fishing industry estimates it lost $160 million from the storm.

Bonnie Brady, executive director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, said charter fishing boats suffered greatly because people were just not taking fishing trips in the weeks following the storm.

"The trains weren't running, there was no gas to get out to the docks, so I'd say they lost substantial income," she said.

In some places, Sandy actually appears to have helped, rather than hurt, the fishing industry. Maryland environmental officials say an influx of fresh water into the Chesapeake Bay may benefit the oyster population by helping to keep the disease known as dermo in check.

Gibby Dean, president of the Chesapeake Bay Commercial Fishermen's Association, said the oyster harvest is the best it's been in a long time ? so good that people are giving up crabbing to go after oysters.

___

Associated Press writers Frank Eltman in Hampton Bays, N.Y., and Randall Chase in Baltimore contributed to this report.

___

Wayne Parry can be reached at http://twitter.com/WayneParryAC

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fishermen-hoping-help-sandy-storm-163434742.html

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Pelosi defends altered photo of congresswomen

This screen grab from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif. Flickr page shows an altered photo of Pelosi posing with female House members on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013. Pelosi is defending an altered picture of Democratic congresswomen that was posted on her Flickr social media site. The group photo shows four House members, in the back row, who arrived too late to pose on the Capitol steps. A computer program was used to add them to the image later posted on Flickr. (AP Photo)

This screen grab from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif. Flickr page shows an altered photo of Pelosi posing with female House members on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013. Pelosi is defending an altered picture of Democratic congresswomen that was posted on her Flickr social media site. The group photo shows four House members, in the back row, who arrived too late to pose on the Capitol steps. A computer program was used to add them to the image later posted on Flickr. (AP Photo)

This combo of two photos shows, at left, an Associated Press photo taken Jan. 3, 2013 of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi posing with female House members on Capitol Hill in Washington, and at right, a screen grab from Pelosi's Flickr page of an altered photo of Pelosi with female House members on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013. Pelosi is defending the altered picture that was posted on her Flickr social media site. The group photo shows four House members, in the back row, who arrived too late to pose on the Capitol steps. A computer program was used to add them to the image later posted on Flickr. (AP Photo)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? For House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, the swearing-in of a record number of Democratic women was a historic moment worth a photograph. And, she decided, history needed a little digital help.

After only 57 of the 61 congresswomen showed up in time for the photo scheduled Thursday on the Capitol's steps, Pelosi's aides digitally inserted images of the four absent members into the photograph. She then had the altered image posted on her Flickr photo-sharing site.

Journalists and historians frown on such altered views of history. On Friday, Pelosi defended the photo.

"It was an accurate historical record of who the Democratic women of Congress are," Pelosi said at a news conference. "It also is an accurate record that it was freezing cold and our members had been waiting a long time for everyone to arrive and ... had to get back into the building to greet constituents, family members, to get ready to go to the floor. It wasn't like they had the rest of the day to stand there."

Pelosi said the photo reflected the nation's diversity because it included women from every community and religious faith.

"So we were pretty excited about it," she said. "We got a lot of response back from the country, and one I loved was when they said, 'Can the women in Congress hear the people cheering across the country?'"

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-01-04-Pelosi-Photograph/id-c1d1c386782d4d7688a09979f19b8fe1

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Computer scientists find vulnerabilities in Cisco VoIP phones

Jan. 4, 2013 ? Columbia Engineering's Computer Science PhD candidate Ang Cui and Computer Science Professor Salvatore Stolfo have found serious vulnerabilities in Cisco VoIP (voice over internet protocol) telephones, devices used around the world by a broad range of networked organizations from governments to banks to major corporations, and beyond. In particular, they have discovered troubling security breaches with Cisco's VoIP phone technology. At a recent conference on the security of connected devices, Cui demonstrated how they can easily insert malicious code into a Cisco VoIP phone (any of the 14 Cisco Unified IP Phone models) and start eavesdropping on private conversations -- not just on the phone but also in the phone's surroundings -- from anywhere in the world.

"It's not just Cisco phones that are at risk. All VoIP phones are particularly problematic since they are everywhere and reveal our private communications," says Stolfo. "It's relatively easy to penetrate any corporate phone system, any government phone system, any home with Cisco VoIP phones -- they are not secure."

Cui and Stolfo analyzed the phones' firmware (the software running in the computer inside the phone) and they were able to identify many vulnerabilities. They are particularly concerned with embedded systems that are widely used and networked on the Internet, including VoIP phones, routers, and printers, and have focused their research on developing new advanced security technology to protect these systems.

"Binary firmware analysis is commonly used to identify faulty software by the 'white hat' hackers and security scientists and researchers like our team," Stolfo says. "We performed this analysis to demonstrate a new defense technology, called Software Symbiotes, that protects them from exploitation."

Software Symbiotes is designed to safeguard embedded systems from malicious code injection attacks into these systems, including routers and printers.

"This is a host-based defense mechanism that's a code structure inspired by a natural phenomenon known as symbiotic defensive mutualism," Cui notes. "The Symbiote is especially suitable for retrofitting legacy embedded systems with sophisticated host-based defenses."

The researchers see these Symbiotes as a kind of digital life form that tightly co-exists with arbitrary executables in a mutually defensive arrangement. "They extract computational resources (CPU cycles) from the host while simultaneously protecting the host from attack and exploitation," explains Cui. "And, because they are by their nature so diverse, they can provide self-protection against direct attack by adversaries that directly target host defenses."

"We envision a general-purpose computing architecture consisting of two mutual defensive systems whereby a self-contained, distinct, and unique Symbiote machine is embedded in each instance of a host program," adds Stolfo. "The Symbiote can reside within any arbitrary body of software, regardless of its place within the system stack. It can be injected into an arbitrary host in many different ways, while its code can be 'randomized' by a number of well-known methods."

The Symbiote, which at runtime is required by its host to successfully execute in order for the host to operate, then monitors its host's behavior to ensure it continues to operate correctly, and, if not, it stops the host from doing harm. Removal, or attempted removal, of the Symbiote renders the host inoperable.

"The beauty of the Symbiote," says Cui, "is that it can be used to protect all kinds of embedded systems, from phones and printers to ATM machines and even cars -- systems that we all use every day."

Cisco has since released a patch to repair these vulnerabilities but it is ineffective. "It doesn't solve the fundamental problems we've pointed out to Cisco," Cui observes. "We don't know of any solution to solve the systemic problem with Cisco's IP Phone firmware except for the Symbiote technology or rewriting the firmware. We plan to demonstrate a Symbiote-protected Cisco IP Phone at an upcoming conference."

The research conducted by Stolfo and Cui was funded by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), IARPA (Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity), and DHS (Department of Homeland Security).

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Columbia University Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science. The original article was written by Holly Evarts.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/computers_math/information_technology/~3/r1zidhzaFag/130104155009.htm

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Twitter (for iPhone)

Despite recent user uproar over the loss of Instagram images displaying on Twitter (photos posted via Instagram now open in a separate window), Twitter remains one of the most active and attractive social networks. And the mobile experience is key to its success. The official Twitter iPhone app (free) balances simplicity with essential features, such as the ability to maintain more than one account from the app, well enough to keep it relevant among contenders. It also doesn't hurt that Twitter purchased its main competitor TweetDeck thus preventing that app from outpacing its own.

Stability and reliability also count for something, and, while Twitter delivers well enough on both counts, it's still far from perfect on either?that's a big reason we've scored Twitter a four out of five stars. Drafted tweets sometimes hang in the ether until you delete them and start afresh. The site goes down from time to time. But, all in all, the app loads and refreshes quickly and smoothly, particularly on Apple's Phone 5, with the help of that amazing little A6 processor.

Professional social media-ites, however, continue to load their smartphones with a social aggregator app, such as Hootsuite (free, 4 stars) or Seesmic, a one-stop-shop for keeping pace with not just multiple Twitter accounts, but multiple accounts across various social networks.

Design and New Features
A clean user experience and smart design put the Twitter iPhone app in the big leagues. In the early days of Twitter, its own apps weren't as competitive and feature-rich as those third parties built for the 140-character network. The iPhone app was Twitter's first mobile version to fully mature, and after five major iterations (this review looks at version 5.2) the official Twitter-branded app is the way to go for many users. Best of all, if you don't have a Twitter account and aren't interested in joining, you can still use the app to search and read the site.

No Account and Multi-Account Features
After downloading and installing the Twitter app from the iTunes Store, you can start using the app immediately, even before you authenticate an account. The app mimics Twitter's website by allowing even non-members to search and read the site, a token feature that will surely win over lurkers far and wide.

More likely than not, though, if you're downloading the app, you do have a Twitter user name and password, and perhaps more than one. Sign in with one of them to start. To add more accounts, you first have to be logged in?then tap the options button (three circles at bottom right), select Accounts & Settings, and use the plus sign at the top right to add more accounts). After you've set up all your accounts, you can toggle between them using the Accounts button. Switching among accounts is easy, fast, and efficient.

Design and Photo Effects
Rather than bombard your eyes with a cacophony of color, the Twitter app sticks to a more sophisticated color scheme of black and white, reserving muted shades of digital bluebird blue for the top spanner only. It looks practical without being too serious, a simple design that takes into consideration the growing number of business users and content on the site. The app's look is sharp enough to still be appealing to people who use Twitter for personal or casual reasons, too.

A nice touch on the interactive side: Double-tapping the home icon at the lower left forces the window to scroll back to the top automatically, which means less finger flicking for users.

The newest feature, photo filters, mimics the basic functionality of photo-sharing site Instagram to a large extent, and it's only available on Twitter's mobile apps, not the website. Snap a photo using your iPhone, and Twitter offers dramatic filter effects, cropping and resizing tools, and an auto-enhance button.

Twitter has eight photo effects in all: vignette, black and white, warm, cool, vintage, cinematic, happy, and gritty. A ninth option in the interface is "No Filter," which I'm going to say doesn't count. You can see all the photo filters applied to the same image in a grid, helping you decide which one is best among your choices, which is quite different from the Instagram experience in which you swipe through previews but can't see side-by-side comparisons. Twitter also does offer the ability to page through the images one by one in a slideshow, if you prefer (I don't).

Drafts
Each account has its own options panel, where you can access your profile, account settings, user lists that you follow, favorite tweets, and drafts of tweets that haven't been sent yet. Drafts would be one of my favorite features of the Twitter app, except that it's slightly confusing when you look at the options that are available.

It seems as if you can enter the draft area and write a message (pen-on-paper icon) to save as a draft. But once you compose your message, the options are "send" or "cancel." There's no "save as a draft" immediately apparent; there is an option to "save as draft" if you select cancel, but I hate that it's not where I expect it to be. If you select send, the message goes live immediately. Tweets also save as drafts when the site goes down or you have connectivity problems. But in my experience, these drafts can sometimes hang in limbo for eternity, never posting no matter how long I wait after regaining service. All that's left to do is copy the text, delete the original message, and paste the content into a new tweet.

Twitter's iPhone app doesn't have the ability to schedule tweets to post at another date and time, a highly desired feature. Social media power users who need this feature can find it in an aggregation app, like Hootsuite and Seesmic.

The Twitter-Branded App
The official Twitter app for iPhone is a well-established and reliable app for the site, and it will be the one I continue to use for my Twitter account. It loads and refreshes quickly, seldom crashes, and covers the essential things a non-professional tweeter would want to do on Twitter from an iPhone, like post photos and receive notifications of new @ messages. It's not flooded with features, as some of the aggregator apps are, but balances goodies with functionality well for a mobile app.

The Twitter app for iPhone is ideal for average or casual Twitter users, but for handling accounts across multiple social media sites?such as Facebook, Foursquare, LinkedIn, and the rest?aggregator tools like Hootsuite and Seesmic are still more efficient. Professional tweeters should stick with those apps.

More iPhone App Reviews:
??? TripRider (for iPhone)
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??? 3D Brain (for iPhone)
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?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/ViEtsAxGm4A/0,2817,2391634,00.asp

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Fatah rally in Gaza looks toward unity with Hamas

Palestinians wave yellow Fatah flags during celebrations marking the 48th anniversary of the Fatah movement in Gaza City, Friday, Jan. 4, 2013. The secular-leaning Fatah party staged a massive rally Friday in the Gaza Strip, the first such gathering in the territory since the Islamist Hamas group violently took control there in 2007 - a reflection of the warming ties between the two rival Palestinian factions.(AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

Palestinians wave yellow Fatah flags during celebrations marking the 48th anniversary of the Fatah movement in Gaza City, Friday, Jan. 4, 2013. The secular-leaning Fatah party staged a massive rally Friday in the Gaza Strip, the first such gathering in the territory since the Islamist Hamas group violently took control there in 2007 - a reflection of the warming ties between the two rival Palestinian factions.(AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

Tens of thousands of Palestinians marched Friday carrying yellow banners of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party during celebrations marking the 48th anniversary of the Fatah movement in Gaza City, Friday, Jan. 4, 2013. Fatah is staging its first rally in the Islamist Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip since 2007, reflecting warming ties between the two rival factions. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

Palestinians wave yellow Fatah flags during celebrations marking the 48th anniversary of the Fatah movement in Gaza City, Friday, Jan. 4, 2013. The secular-leaning Fatah party staged a massive rally Friday in the Gaza Strip, the first such gathering in the territory since the Islamist Hamas group violently took control there in 2007 - a reflection of the warming ties between the two rival Palestinian factions.(AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

The image of late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat is displayed while Palestinians are reflected on the glass of a shop window during celebrations marking the 48th anniversary of the Fatah movement in Gaza City, Friday, Jan. 4, 2013. The secular-leaning Fatah party staged a massive rally Friday in the Gaza Strip, the first such gathering in the territory since the Islamist Hamas group violently took control there in 2007 - a reflection of the warming ties between the two rival Palestinian factions.(AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

Palestinians hold Fatah yellow flags during celebrations marking the 48th anniversary of the Fatah movement in Gaza City, Friday, Jan. 4, 2013. The secular-leaning Fatah party staged a massive rally Friday in the Gaza Strip, the first such gathering in the territory since the Islamist Hamas group violently took control there in 2007 - a reflection of the warming ties between the two rival Palestinian factions.(AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) ? Tens of thousands of Fatah supporters rallied in the Hamas stronghold of Gaza on Friday for the first time since they were routed from power in the territory by the Islamist militants in 2007.

The rally, approved by Gaza's Hamas rulers, marks a renewed attempt by the rival Palestinian factions to show unity following a fierce Hamas battle with Israel in November and Fatah's subsequent recognition bid at the United Nations.

But many obstacles still remain before the sides can settle their differences, chief among them how to deal with Israel. Several rounds of reconciliation talks over recent years centered on finding ways to share power have failed to yield results.

Still, both sides expressed optimism following Friday's unprecedented Fatah show of strength that included hours of waving their yellow flags, dancing in the streets and chanting party slogans. For years, Fatah loyalists in Gaza faced retribution from the Hamas regime, which banned them from gathering.

"We feel like birds freed from our cage today," said Fadwa Taleb, 46, who worked as a police officer for Fatah before the Hamas takeover and attended Friday's rally with her family. "We are happy and feel powerful again."

Top Fatah officials arrived in Gaza for the first time since they were violently ousted. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who rules the West Bank, did not attend the event, but he addressed the crowd on a large screen telling them "there is no substitute for national unity."

Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh also expressed hope that the two factions could reconcile their differences, sending Fatah a message that he hoped they could work together as joint representatives of the Palestinian people, according to Fatah official Nabil Shaath. Hamas was not directly involved in the event.

Ihab al-Ghussian, the chief spokesman for the Hamas government in Gaza, said the sides would "work toward the consolidation of national unity." Egyptian officials say a first such meeting in months between the factions is scheduled for next week in Cairo.

After the rally, Haniyeh called Abbas to congratulate him and Abbas in turn thanked Haniyeh for letting it happen, said Haniyeh spokesman Taher al-Nunu. He added that both leaders expressed hope that the cooperation would lead to renewed reconciliation efforts.

The warmer tone is a result of recent gains by both factions.

Abbas has enjoyed a boost in his status since he led the Palestinians' successful bid to upgrade their status at the United Nations to a non-member observer state. On Friday, he signed a presidential decree officially changing the name of the Palestinian Authority to the "State of Palestine." All Palestinian stamps, signs and official letterhead will henceforth be changed to bear the new name, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.

The move marked the first concrete, albeit symbolic, step the Palestinians have taken following the November decision by the United Nations. Abbas has hesitated to take more dramatic steps, like filing war crimes indictments against Israel at the International Criminal Court, a tactic that only a recognized state can carry out.

Hamas, meanwhile, has gained new support among Palestinians following eight days of fighting with Israel in November, during which Israel pounded the seaside strip from the air and sea, while Palestinians militants for the first time lobbed rockets toward Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Following the fighting, Fatah allowed Hamas to hold its first rally in the West Bank since the 2007 split. Hamas returned the favor Friday by allowing the Fatah rally to take place.

Still, the two sides have wide differences ? over Israel and over the possibility of sharing power.

Fatah has held several rounds of peace talks with the Jewish state and says it is committed to a two-state solution. Hamas does not recognize Israel and is officially committed to its destruction. Hamas has carried out hundreds of deadly attacks against Israeli citizens and is regarded by the U.S. and Israel as a terrorist organization.

Hamas political chief Khaled Mashaal, considered more pragmatic than the movement's Gaza-based hardline leaders, forged a reconciliation agreement with Abbas in 2011. But the Gaza-based leadership has held up implementing it and has blamed Fatah of doing the same.

Fatah enjoys Western support and has been pressured not to forge a unity agreement with the militant Hamas, facing a potential cutback in foreign aid if it does.

Friday's rally also served as a reminder of the conflicts within Fatah itself that continue to dog the movement: Officials cancelled the event halfway through after 20 people were injured due to overcrowding, and shoving matches erupted between separate Fatah factions.

Yahiya Rabah, a top Fatah official in Gaza, said the rally was cancelled "due to the huge number of participants and logistical failures."

But witnesses said one pushing match was between supporters of Abbas and partisans of Fatah's former Gaza security commander Mohammed Dahlan, who was expelled from the party because of conflicts with Abbas.

Another Fatah official, who spoke anonymously because he did not want to embarrass the party, said the rally was cancelled because hundreds of Dahlan supporters jumped up on the stage and clashed with Abbas supporters.

Fatah spokesman Fayez Abu Etta attributed the injuries to overcrowding and the excitement of the rally. Later, more Palestinians were injured when part of a stage collapsed. Youths also clashed and stabbings were reported. Gaza health official Ashraf al-Kidra said overall 55 people were injured, including three critically.

There was one death during the rally: A 23-year-old Fatah activist was electrocuted while trying to hang a flag on an electric pole.

Overnight, throngs had camped out in a downtown Gaza square to ensure themselves a spot for the anniversary commemoration of Fatah's 1965 founding, and tens of thousands marched early Friday carrying Fatah banners. When the rally began, people stampeded to the stage to try to shake leaders' hands.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-01-04-Palestinians/id-04d63ad060e547baacee53d348b167c2

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Danish soldier killed in Afghanistan

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) ? An elite Danish soldier has been killed in southern Afghanistan by an explosive device, military officials said Thursday.

The blast is said to have happened late Wednesday or early Thursday and came as members of Denmark's Ranger and Frogmen units were on a joint patrol with an Afghan police's elite unit.

The Ranger was airlifted by helicopter to a field hospital but his life couldn't be saved. Next of kin have been notified.

The soldier was from the northern Denmark city of Aalborg. His name or rank were not immediately released.

Denmark has about 600 troops in Afghanistan, mostly based in the volatile Helmand province. More than 40 Danish soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since Denmark joined the U.S.-led coalition in 2002.

Denmark has begun withdrawing its combat units and is gradually shifting its role to training Afghan forces.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/danish-soldier-killed-afghanistan-083733816.html

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