Are our top bosses worth $90m?

Research finds BHP Billiton boss Marius Kloppers is the nation's highest-paid CEO, earning $11.8m last year.

Aquila Resources executive chairman Tony Poli. Source:Supplied

THE country's top 10 bosses earned almost $90 million last year, while the founder and executive chairman of a lowly miner received almost $170 million as its share price soared.

Aquila Resources' Tony Poli, who has an annual salary of $572,000, scored a mammoth $169.9 million pay packet, driven by share options granted in 2005 which rose to almost 14 times their original worth during 2011.

And almost 90 per cent of Australia's top 200 chief executives received bonus payments in 2011, despite falling profitability and widespread job cuts.

A new report from the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors shows executive pay is still rising but the rate of growth is slowing as board's lower bonuses to try and meet shareholder

The average bonus in 2011 dropped to $1.25 million its lowest level since 2004.

But angry shareholders are expected to use the coming AGM season to increase the pressure to directly link long-term bonuses to shareholder returns as part of a campaign to put greater scrutiny on fat cat wages as profits slip.

The ACSI report shows the biggest bonus was $3.3 million paid to Commonwealth Bank's outgoing boss Ralph Norris.

BHP Billiton chief executive Marius Kloppers was the top earner at more than $17 million in realised pay for 2011, which includes almost $12 million in share options and holdings.

En modreaktion på janteloven

Magnus Reitan står i spidsen for 2500 kiosker og 7-Eleven butikker og er arving til et af Nordens største forretningsimperier, Reitangruppen, der omsætter for mere end 65 mia. kr. og beskæftiger godt 32.000 medarbejdere. 

Den danske del af Reitan Convenience tæller et par hundrede 7-Eleven butikker, der i år har fået vendt udviklingen og genererer et overskud på 20 mio. kr. 

Som det er sædvane, lægger han vejen omkring nogle af de danske butikker for at høre, hvad medarbejderne har at sige. Denne gang går turen til butikker i det indre København, og ved lejligheden lægger han ruten forbi Børsen.

"Vores filosofi er nok en modreaktion på janteloven. Den betyder, at vi har haft held med at tiltrække mange dygtige mennesker, som har lyst til at være del af et system, hvor man gerne må stikke ud og vise, at tingene kan lykkes," siger Magnus Reitan om virksomhedens ledelsesfilosofi, der bygger på tillid.

Send Us Your Hurricane Isaac Photos

Seven years after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, Gulf Coast residents are bracing themselves for Hurricane Isaac.

Forecasters predict up to 20 inches of water after the slow-moving storm makes landfall, which is expected to be in southeast Louisiana Tuesday night. Although the storm is not expected to make as much of an impact as Katrina, government officials in New Orleans suspended public transport and enforced mandatory evacuations in low-lying areas.

Gulf Coast residents started sharing snapshots of choppy waves, though the storm has yet reach its full strength. Instagram user Tracy Killen posted a photo of surf breaking on a beach, saying, “WOW – we are not even close to the eye of the hurricane, but we still have huge waves and no beach.”

SEE ALSO: Prepare for Isaac With Google Crisis Map

Are you there? We want to see it through your eyes. Show us what it really looks like in your neighborhood. Are you evacuating or riding it out? Snap pictures of what you’re doing to prepare for emergencies and what the water levels look like.

We don’t advocate putting yourself in harm’s way. If you are being advised to evacuate, please do so. But we also know that social media can provide a powerful look at the ground level — and we want you to help us see it.

Apple, Samsung CEOs talk, but fail to find a way forward in patent dispute

An out-of-court settlement in the billion-dollar patent infringement court case between Apple and Samsung always seemed unlikely, despite the presiding

judge, Lucy Koh, telling the two tech giants last week to talk at least once to try to reach some kind of agreement.

On Monday, it was confirmed in the San Jose courtroom that the two sides had indeed been in contact in the last few days. However, no progress was made.

“The CEOs did speak….There was no resolution,” Samsung attorney Kevin Johnson told Judge Koh.

This means that, as expected, the nine-person jury will get to deliver a verdict on the case. With closing arguments set for Tuesday, the jury should begin

their deliberations on Wednesday.

In the patent trial, Apple accuses Samsung of copying elements of its iPhone and iPad devices in the design of a number of its own smartphones and tablets,

including Samsung’s Galaxy range of mobile devices. The Cupertino company is pressing for a sales ban on these products, and is also fighting for monetary

damages.

Samsung, meanwhile, accuses Apple of infringing a number of its patents, including some linked to the way smartphones deal with email attachments, photos and

the playing of music files.

On Wednesday last week, Judge Koh, in a last ditch attempt to resolve the case without it going to the jury, told both sides, “It’s time for peace,”

urging them to meet outside the courtroom to try to find a resolution to the dispute.

But the chances of success were always slim. Apple boss Tim Cook and his Samsung counterpart, Choi Gee-sung, had already met once before, prior to the start

of the trial. That meeting, in April, also came to nothing.

LeBron James can approach Michael Jordan's level, Dwyane Wade says

 LeBron James, fresh off an MVP award, NBA title, Finals MVP and gold medal, isn't quite at Michael Jordan's level, teammate Dwyane Wade said—but he's not

far, either.

"Just watching LeBron play, I mean he's just playing at a different gear right now," Wade told the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Thursday. "That monkey is

off his back and now he's just playing basketball. I think we'll continue to see a better LeBron James—it's scary to say, a three-time MVP—than we've seen.
 "And it's because all he's got to do is play basketball now. He doesn't have to worry about what he hasn't done, even though it will always be something.

But he got the biggest one off this back. He played exceptionally well."

Wade, coming off arthroscopic knee surgery, also said that he'd be ready for the Heat's season opener against the Boston Celtics on Oct. 30 but might miss

the start of training camp.

Wade, speaking at his basketball camp, grew up in Chicago idolizing Jordan and didn't dismiss the comparison, which has followed James around for his entire

career.

"He's on that level," Wade said, "but he has a lot more to do to get there. I think he understands he has an unbelievable opportunity to be one of the

greatest to play this game. But that's when he gets done playing, he can say that.

"Right now, he has so much more to cover in his career. He's just getting started at the same time when Michael kind of just got started. We'll see how it

all shakes out. I hope it shakes out the same way. I'll be a very happy man."

Former Jordan teammate and longtime friend Charles Oakley, naturally, has a differing opinion.

“I don’t know why they started this, Jordan had six rings, LeBron has one, Jordan has six Finals MVPs, LeBron has one,” Oakley told the New York Post

earlier this week. “I think the better comparison is Kobe Bryant.

“They weren’t even talking about this a year ago. LeBron wasn’t in the picture last year, but now that he’s won a title and a gold medal he is? It’s

just more hardware, it doesn’t change the field.”

Lebanon Shiite clan says it abducted more Syrians

A powerful Shiite Muslim clan in Lebanon claimed Thursday to have captured more Syrian nationals in retaliation for the seizure of a family member by rebels in Syria this week.

Later in the day, the clan said it was calling off "military operations" and would halt abductions for now.

The abductions have raised concerns that Syria's civil war is spilling over into neighboring Lebanon, where deep rivalries have already erupted into deadly violence. Lebanon has its own bitter history of a 15-year civil war, an explosive sectarian mix and deep divisions between pro- and anti-Syrian factions – many of them armed.

In the U.S., State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland called on all sides in Lebanon to exercise restraint.

"We are deeply concerned about spillover from the Syrian crisis that could impact on the stability, on the sovereignty of Lebanon. And we fully condemn kidnapping as a tactic, obviously, " said.

"We welcome efforts by Lebanese leaders and security forces to try to calm the situation. ... This kind of violence that we've seen in Lebanon, violence we've seen with regard to Lebanese citizens is further to the damage that Assad is wreaking not only on his own country, but potentially on the neighborhood with his violence."

Already, the abductions have brought gunmen from both the Shiite and Sunni communities into the streets. On Wednesday, Shiite supporters of the al-Mikdad clan went on a rampage in a Beirut neighborhood, vandalizing dozens of Syrian-run stores. They blocked the road to the airport, setting tires on fire and wandering the road with guns. Travelers were forced to walk from their cars to the airport, and at least one flight was cancelled. The road only reopened early Thursday morning.
The tensions erupted again Thursday in the eastern Bekaa Valley, near the Syrian border. Masked men believed to be from the Bekaa town of Majdal Anjar – a Sunni stronghold – burned tires and set up roadblocks on the main highway leading to the Masnaa border crossing between Lebanon and Syria. They stopped cars going either way and checked passengers' IDs before deciding whether to let them pass, apparently looking for Shiites or al-Mikdad supporters.

In the nearby town of Chtoura, four gunmen abducted Syrian businessman Hossam Khasroum, pulling him from his car as he was driving and taking him to an unknown location, security officials said. Khasroum, the officials said, is known to be a support of Assad's regime.

In a separate incident, gunmen attacked a car driven by pro-Syrian Lebanese politician, Joseph Abu-Fadel, breaking his car windows with stones as he was driving to Syria. He and three others were slightly injured.

On Wednesday, armed members of the al-Mikdad clan said they had kidnapped more than 20 Syrian nationals and a Turk in Lebanon in retaliation for the abduction of their relative, Hassane Salim al-Mikdad, who was captured in Syria this week.

Rebels who kidnapped al-Mikdad claimed he was a member of the Shiite militant group Hezbollah, a staunch supporter of President Bashar Assad's regime. Hezbollah and his family deny this.

The conflict in Syria has a sharply sectarian tone.

The rebels are predominantly Sunni, whereas Assad and his inner circle come mainly from the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam. Similarly, Lebanon has had long rivalries between its own Sunni and Shiite communities. Throughout Syria's conflict, Lebanese Sunnis have largely been sympathetic to the Syrian rebellion, while Hezbollah – the main Shiite political power – has backed Assad.

Maher al-Mikdad, a family spokesman, warned on Thursday that "if anything happens to Hassane, we will kill the Turkish hostage we have and many others. But we will start with the Turks."

Speaking to The Associated Press, he said the clan has snatched more Syrians and warned that it would go on with further kidnappings until their clansman is released. He could not give an exact number but said the clan was now holding more than 20 captives.

Later, he announced that the clan had halted "military operations" and would not seek more captives for the moment.

Lebanon's government appeared largely unable or unwilling to stop the kidnapping spree and escalating violence. Hezbollah and its allies hold a majority in the Cabinet, which has adopted a policy of "disassociation" from the events in Syria, trying to remain neutral. Hezbollah critics say it is assisting Assad in moving the conflict to Lebanon to divert attention from the deadly civil war raging in Syria, which activists say has left 20,000 dead in 17 months.

The al-Mikdad family is a powerful Shiite Muslim clan that originally comes from the eastern Bekaa Valley, an area where state control is limited and revenge killings are common. Like most tribes in this area, they have their own militia, and security officials say many of its members are outlaws wanted on arrest warrants. The family's reach also extends to the capital.

A south Beirut neighborhood with strong al-Mikdad ties, Rweis, is often avoided by outsiders who fear any possible offense that could put them at odds with the clan. The al-Mikdad's power often put them at odds with Hezbollah, the main power broker in the area, although many observers believe the appearance of armed groups Wednesday claiming to be members of the "military wing" of al-Mikdad family could not have happened without at least tacit Hezbollah support.

The wave of hostage-taking prompted Gulf countries to call on all their citizens in Lebanon to leave immediately. Sunni regional powerhouses Saudi Arabia and Qatar, who back the Syrian rebels, were the first, followed by the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait.

Asked if the U.S was considering asking Americans to leave Lebanon, Nuland of the state department said the U.S. already had travel warnings for American citizens in Lebanon that were updated a month ago when violence started to spike. She said she had no information to share on any further notices at the moment.

Lebanon is a popular summer destination for Gulf residents trying to escape the searing heat.

Al-Mikdad backed off an earlier threat to abduct Gulf nationals. He said Thursday that only Syrians and Turks would be targeted.

"Our problem is with the Syrians who have abducted our son and Syrian opponents of the region," he said. "And why Turkey? Because Turkey is an operation theater for the Free Syrian Army," he added.

Turkey shelters thousands of Syrian refugees along with the leadership and members of the Free Syrian Army rebel group.

Romney, GOP try for greater share of Hispanic votes

In the 25 years Maricruz MaGowan has been living in the U.S., the Maryland economist has never been able to understand why Democrats maintain such a tight

grip on the nation's Hispanic vote.
"I find it very difficult to understand why it is that we don't have more Hispanics voting for Republicans," said MaGowan, 49, a Bolivia native who is

volunteering for the campaign of presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney. "Our values are so similar to the values of traditional families in Latin America."

Marta Saltus, whose parents fled Argentina in the 1950s, is also volunteering for Romney's campaign and is equally confused.

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"We are all conservative — socially conservative, fiscally conservative — we believe in individual responsibility; we work hard; we don't want food

stamps," said Saltus, 46.

But yet, the disconnect between Republicans and Hispanic voters is one of the toughest challenges facing Romney. President Obama won the 2008 election partly

because he won 67% of the Hispanic vote, according to the Pew Hispanic Center. Obama is doing even better among Hispanics this time around in some polls,

including a 70-22 lead over Romney in a Latino Decisions poll released last month.

The Hispanic voting bloc is so crucial that the Republican National Committee dispatched Hispanic outreach coordinators to six swing states with the goal of

winning over Hispanic voters.

That outreach was on display recently in an office suite in Arlington, Va., where Romney volunteers gathered for a day of phone calls in the heavily

Democratic area. In one room, after a speech by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, dozens of volunteers started cold-calling voters in the area. In another room in

the back of the suite, other volunteers — all bilingual — focused on calling Hispanic voters.

Focusing their conversations squarely on the nation's still-struggling economy and a national unemployment rate of 8.3%, the volunteers were encouraged by

the reception they were getting.

"We've had 42 months of unemployment over 8%. And for Hispanics, it's 2 points above that," said Luis Luna, 56, a Cuban-American who himself is unemployed,

despite graduating from the University of Maryland and holding a law degree from Georgetown University. "Invariably, people will say, 'It's not working now;

I think the Republicans will do a better job.' "

But polls indicate that something is still holding Hispanics back from swinging over to Romney en masse. Matt Barretto, co-founder of Latino Decisions, a

polling firm that studies Hispanic voters, said there are several reasons.

He said Latinos and Republicans do generally agree on many social issues, but Hispanics don't place as much emphasis on them when casting their vote. Barreto

said Romney is also missing the mark when talking about economic issues, with Romney pushing to cut taxes and lessen the role of government while Hispanics

generally support an active government helping to create jobs.

The most obvious miscue, Barreto said, came in Romney's first Spanish-language ad this year, which declares that the former Massachusetts governor would

begin dismantling Obama's health care plan on his first day in office. According to a January poll, 57% of Hispanics support the health care law.

"It's extremely good news and a positive development for the Romney campaign to be investing in Hispanic outreach," Barreto said. "But oftentimes, they don't

know what they're doing."

The issue of illegal immigration also becomes complicated for Romney.

GOP officials are quick to point out that immigration is not the main priority for Hispanics when casting their vote. Polls back that up, with the economy

their No. 1 priority, as it is for the country as a whole. And Romney volunteers say voters want to talk more about the economy than anything else.

"They don't really bring it up, and neither do I," Saltus said.

Barreto calls immigration a "gateway issue" for Hispanic voters — if a candidate is wrong on the issue, it's hard to listen to anything else.

"It makes it hard for the candidates to even get in the door," he said.

Romney took a hard stance on illegal immigration during the GOP primary. He called for more funding to secure the border with Mexico, pushed identity-

verification laws to keep illegal immigrants out of American jobs and endorsed the idea of "self-deportation," where laws make life so hard for illegal

immigrants that they choose to return to their home countries.

The issue becomes more prominent for voters who know, or are related to, an illegal immigrant. About a quarter of Hispanic voters know someone, or are

related to, someone facing deportation, and more than half know an illegal immigrant, according to a Latino Decisions poll conducted last year.

Despite those numbers, Romney volunteers said the issue rarely comes up when talking with voters.

Matthew Mirliani, a 19-year-old volunteer who will start studying at Dartmouth College this fall, has been knocking on doors, making phone calls and writing

op-eds on behalf of Republican candidates for months. When asked how voters respond to Romney's immigration record, the Mount Vernon teen spoke quickly.

"No one's talking about that," Mirliani said. "That's not the topic."

Solar Flares Are More Frequent, Intense

Increased numbers of solar flares have become common at the moment, as the sun’s normal 11-year activity cycle is ramping up.

In July, the sun emitted its strongest solar flare of the summer, causing vivid aurora borealis, or northern lights, in parts of southern Canada and northern

United States. Also in July, the sun emitted a medium-intensity flare believed to be the reason for India’s worst power outage in history.

According to James Webb, astronomy professor in Florida International Univ.’s Department of Physics, solar flares are a pretty common occurrence, typically

occurring in cycles. The current cycle is expected to peak in 2013.

“A magnetic disturbance in the sun sends a stream of high-energy charged particles off into space at high velocities,” Webb says. “Only a small portion of

these particles actually hits Earth, most go off into space away from Earth.”

But, can solar flares really cause serious damage here on Earth?

“Sometimes the flare is so strong, that it totally fills the Earth’s radiation belts and the particles can enter the atmosphere at much lower latitudes and

even hit Earth itself,” Webb says. “In these cases, the worse that happens is some electrical circuits get short-circuited and go offline.”

Of the particles that do interact with Earth, most are trapped in the Earth’s radiation belts and actually make their way to the polar latitudes (Canada,

Siberia, Alaska) in the northern hemisphere and enter the atmosphere causing northern lights, Webb says. The particles going south enter the atmosphere in

Antarctica causing southern lights.

“If the latest outbursts are pointed toward Earth, we might see some of the effects, but they are not devastating and will certainly happen again in the

future,” Webb says.

Israel Plans for Iran Strike as Citizens Say Government

 SeriousDozens of Israelis crowded in front of a storefront at a Jerusalem shopping mall yesterday to

pick up new gas masks, part of civil defense preparations in case the military strikes Iran and the Islamic Republic or its allies retaliate.

“Our leaders seem to have gotten very hawkish in their speeches and this time it seems they mean what they say,” said Yoram Lands, 68, a professor of

business administration, who was picking up new masks for himself and his wife at a distribution center in the mall.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Aug. 1 that time “is running out” for a peaceful solution to Iran’s

atomic program. The Tel Aviv-based Haaretz newspaper reported Aug. 10 that Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are considering bombing Iran’s nuclear

facilities before U.S. elections on Nov. 6. Netanyahu spokesman Mark Regev said government policy is not to comment on media speculation.

“It seems that Netanyahu and Barak are making a special effort now to prepare the Israeli public for an attack on Iran,” said Shlomo Brom, a former

commander of the army’s Strategic Planning Division, who said that any strike could come within the next six months. In the past, rhetoric was directed at

pushing the international community to take stronger action against Iran, said Brom, a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies

at Tel Aviv University.

New System

While Israeli leaders repeatedly have said that they could strike Iran’s facilities, the words are now being accompanied by civil defense measures,

including a new system that uses text messages to alert the public to missile attacks, wider distribution of gas masks and the appointment of a new Home

Front Defense minister. The threats also come as nuclear talks between Iran and world powers have stalled and increased sanctions have so far failed to stop

Iran’s atomic progress.

Concern that the Israeli moves may herald a possible strike helped weaken the shekel to its lowest value in almost 15 months this week, sent government

benchmark bond yields climbing and pushed the Tel Aviv Stock Market to a three-week low on Aug. 13. The Bloomberg Israel-US Equity Index of the most-traded

Israeli companies in New York sank the most in three months, making the benchmark gauge the cheapest in two years relative to the Standard & Poor’s 500.

“With the headlines and saber-rattling we’ve had the last week, there is a higher risk premium, so it’s logical you see the currency weaken,” said

Jonathan Katz, a Jerusalem-based economist for HSBC Holdings Plc.

Destabilizing Region

U.S. officials, concerned that a conflict could destabilize the region and send oil prices soaring, have been urging caution. Panetta told reporters

yesterday that the “window is still open” to resolve the dispute through diplomacy and that he thinks Israel hasn’t made a decision “at this time” to

attack Iranian nuclear sites.

“From our point of view, the window is still open to try to work toward a diplomatic solution,” he said during a briefing at the Pentagon outside

Washington.

David Rothkopf, a visiting scholar at the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said it is “extremely unlikely Israel could do

anything without a regional ally or the cooperation of the U.S.”

Iranian officials have dismissed the threats of an attack.

“We don’t think any of the officials in this illegitimate regime wants to do something as illogical as this,” Ramin Mehmanparast, Iran’s Foreign Ministry

spokesman, told reporters at a Tehran press conference yesterday. Iran says its nuclear program aims to produce electricity for a growing population.

Tougher Sanctions

Amid earlier Israeli threats, the U.S. and its European allies passed tougher sanctions against Iran that have been taking a toll on the country’s economy.

Ryan's inner circle includes Romney aides, Hill staffers

Paul Ryan's inner circle has shaped up to include close Mitt Romney adviser Dan Senor as well as familiar faces from Capitol Hill, and the vice presidential

candidate even gets his own body man.

By the time the presumptive presidential nominee announced his running mate over the weekend the Romney campaign had already hired or assigned many of the

12-person staff working with the V.P. candidate. Some come from Washington Republican circles, others have worked for or spent time on Capitol Hill with the

13-year congressman from Wisconsin and House Budget Committee chair.

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After a rigorous two-day campaign swing together over the weekend, Romney and Ryan parted ways Sunday evening on an airport tarmac and boarded separate

planes destined for swing states. A number of aides, including Senor, joined Ryan on the chartered flight from Milwaukee to Des Moines.

A campaign official told reporters that Senor, who was serving as Romney's foreign policy adviser and had accompanied him on his trip overseas to England,

Israel and Poland, has become Ryan's senior adviser. Senor is expected to spend time traveling with the candidate. Senor previously had senior roles within

the Bush administration.

Kevin Sheridan was hired as communications director for the vice presidential candidate and he will oversee two spokespeople from House Speaker John

Boehner's press shop. Sheridan, who once served as a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, left his job at the public relations firm Edelman to

join the campaign.

Around the same time in mid-July Randy Bumps joined the team as director of operations. Bumps was working at the public affairs firm Direct Impact and prior

to that he worked for the NRSC and RNC serving as regional political director.

Two staffers from Boehner's office, who have had experience defending Ryan's budget plan and pointing to a legislative record as defense, are his two press

secretaries. At the beginning of August, Brendan Buck took a leave from his job in Washington to be the press secretary based at campaign headquarters in

Boston. Boehner spokesman Michael Steel's first day as traveling press secretary was Saturday when the big announcement was made.

Buck confirmed to CNN that another Boehner policy aide, Dave Stewart, who was advising Romney on economic policy will be Ryan's policy adviser. Marjorie

Connell is the scheduling director, Campbell Matthews the travel coordinator, and Keisha Vaughan is the media affairs manager.

Young Romney staffer Jacob Kastan has taken on the role of Ryan's body man, a position made famous this cycle by Mitt Romney body man Garrett Jackson, thanks

in part to the behind-the-scenes photos and updates about "the Gov" that he posts on Twitter. Kastan, who goes by Jake, joined the campaign in March as an

advance lead.

Joey Smith has been an advance lead since January and will be Ryan's director of V.P. candidate advance and trip director, or for those who know his Romney

counterpart, he said he has the "Charlie Pierce" role but for the vice president.

Smith and Brent Swander, Ryan's director of press advance, both volunteered for the White House advance office when President George W. Bush was in office.

Swander, who will work the closest with traveling reporters, also worked on the McCain-Pain presidential campaign in 2008.

Because the Ryan pick was such a closely guarded secret between Romney and longtime aide Beth Myers who led the search effort, many of this core group found

out who they were going to work for when everyone else did.

Republican discontent pushes Mitt Romney further toward the right

Suddenly, we are back in the Republican presidential primaries. Mitt Romney's critics on the right showed last week that they still won't cut him slack.

The hard right was apoplectic that Romney refuses to renounce paternity of his health plan in Massachusetts. More establishment conservatives urged that he

give them something to vote for by choosing Paul Ryan as his running mate.
This came as Republican voters continued to nominate very right-wing candidates over fairly right-wing candidates in other races. The marquee figure, Ted

Cruz, defeated Gov. Rick Perry's choice in a Texas U.S. Senate primary. Getting to the right of Perry takes some doing.

We are witnessing a still-unfinished Republican Revolution. The GOP's primary electorate, its wealthy donors and its talking-and-writing class want to take

the party even further to the right than it already is. They have in Romney a nominee who is (1) far more conservative than his moderate father; (2) well to

the right of where he once claimed to be in his Massachusetts days; and (3) entirely willing to take additional steps to appease a party base that has been

purged of middle-of-the-roaders.

Still, it's not enough.

That only reinforces the reality of Romney as an accidental victor. He survived the primaries because he was the only plausible president in the field. His

adversaries held views more in tune with those of the Republican faithful.

But for some fatal mistakes, Perry should have won the nomination, given how closely his philosophical inclinations track those of most Republicans. When

Perry imploded, the right-wing flag was picked up by Herman Cain -- he actually led Romney nationwide in some polls last October -- and then by Newt Gingrich

and Rick Santorum. Santorum came closer to derailing the Romney machine than we remember.

The party's discontent pushed Romney to do two things that are haunting him now. First, he had to invest heavily in TV spots pummeling Santorum and Gingrich.

This aggravated enmity on the right while depriving Romney of the chance to build a favorable public image through positive advertising. Second, Romney was

forced into a constant scramble rightward. He is stuck, for example, with a position on immigration that is crippling him among Hispanic voters because he

had to find some issue on which to get to Perry's right (Perry being, by contemporary Republican standards, a "liberal" on immigration).

If Romney were now ahead of President Obama in the polls, most of the right would be silent, possibly even happy, since nothing unites the GOP more than

antipathy to Obama. But the fact that Romney is still behind -- and well behind in two new polls last week -- gives his conservative detractors license to

vent their suspicions that he is still (in Gingrich's old phrase) a Massachusetts moderate.

That's why right-wing talkers such as Erick Erickson, Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh denounced Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul -- Coulter wanted her fired --

after Saul defended Romney against a controversial ad from a pro-Obama super PAC. Saul dared to say that the wife of Joe Soptic, the former steelworker who

is the ad's narrator, would have had insurance coverage in Massachusetts under Romney's health care plan even after he lost his job at a company reorganized

by Bain Capital.

What Saul said was true. But Romney is not supposed to defend his health plan. And Erickson & Co. correctly noted that Saul's comment opened the way for

Democrats to argue that Obamacare, modeled after Romneycare, would have provided her with coverage in the other 49 states. The contradictions of Romneyism

are tough on those who speak for his campaign.

The Ryan boomlet, from the editorial pages of The Wall Street Journal, The Weekly Standard and elsewhere, is the conservative elite's way of demanding that

Romney base his campaign not on the tactical moves that have largely defined it but on a full-throated defense of radically smaller government. This would

include the specifics of the Ryan budget, particularly his Medicare cuts. Yet the more that conservatives insist on Ryan, the more Romney's selection of him

would be cast as just another capitulation to the GOP right.

There's nothing wrong with Romney that better poll numbers wouldn't cure. But the lagging numbers themselves reflect widespread uncertainty over who Romney

really is. That's a problem with the broader electorate. But it is a particular obstacle for a Republican right that still hasn't found what it's looking

for.

In Iowa, Romney Leaves a Stance on Wind Power Unsaid

Seeking support in the swing state of Iowa, Mitt Romney on Wednesday called for developing a laundry list of energy resources that included wind power, but

he pointedly did not mention that he opposes a tax credit for the wind industry that the state’s Republican leadership strongly favors.

Gov. Terry Branstad and members of Iowa’s Congressional delegation have criticized Mr. Romney in recent days for not backing a longstanding tax break for

wind energy in a state where the industry employs about 7,000 workers and supplies 20 percent of the kilowatts.

Mr. Branstad told Iowa reporters that the Romney campaign suffered from “confusion” over the issue and that he hoped to talk with Mr. Romney so he would

become “educated.” On Wednesday, Mr. Branstad was in a different part of the state, and a senior Romney aide said he did not think they had communicated.

Representative Tom Latham, a Republican, said on Monday that Mr. Romney’s opposition “shows a lack of full understanding of how important the wind energy

tax credit is for Iowa and our nation.’’

Mr. Latham, who introduced Mr. Romney here, did not mention the issue.

Mr. Romney has long criticized President Obama over subsidies to “green” energy companies, including the bankrupt Solyndra. His campaign argues that

extending a wind tax break, which is due to expire this year, would be a government intrusion into the free market. The position has won support from the Tea

Party, members of the conservative base whom Mr. Romney needs to court to succeed in Iowa in November.

Last month a state spokesman for the Romney campaign told The Des Moines Register, “Wind energy will thrive wherever it is economically competitive, and

wherever private-sector competitors with far more experience than the president believe the investment will produce results.”

At the same time, Mr. Romney favors keeping tax breaks for the oil industry.

Speaking here to campaign activists who had traveled from around the state, Mr. Romney said, “We have got to take advantage of America’s extraordinary

energy resources – coal, oil, gas, nuclear, renewables, wind, solar, ethanol, you name it – we’ve got to take advantage of all of them.’’

He mentioned an article he had read predicting that the United States could be the world’s largest energy producer in a decade, which he said would produce

a jobs boom as manufacturers took advantage of low-cost power.

But he did not mention his opposition to the wind industry tax credit, which passed with a bipartisan vote this month in the Senate Finance Committee.

Mr. Obama, who campaigned in Colorado on Wednesday, another battleground state with a large wind industry, planned to promote his support of the tax break.

Ex-Apple Designer Says Samsung Phones Mimic IPhone Patent

The former Apple Inc. graphics designer who invented the smiling computer icon for the original Macintosh testified that the application screen on Samsung

Electronics Co. phones is “substantially similar” to the iPhone design patented by Apple.

Susan Kare, who began her career at Apple in 1982 as a screen graphics and digital font designer, was called today as witness by the company in its

multibillion-dollar patent trial against Samsung in federal court in San Jose, California.

Kare told the jury the phones are so similar that she picked one up while visiting the office of Apple’s lawyers and mistook a Samsung phone for an iPhone.

“I would usually think of myself as someone who is pretty granular in looking at graphics and I mistook one for the other,” Kare said. “In addition to my

formal analysis, I had the experience of being confused.”

Apple and Samsung are the world’s largest makers of the high-end handheld devices that blend the functionality of a phone and a computer. The trial is the

first before a U.S. jury in a battle being waged on four continents for dominance in a smartphone market valued by Bloomberg Industries at $219.1 billion.

Each company is trying to convince jurors at the trial that its rival infringed patents covering designs and technology.

Kare’s Testimony

Apple is using Kare’s testimony to advance its claims that Samsung phones infringe the software design of the iPhone. The company started making that

argument last week with with witness Scott Forstall, the company’s senior vice president in charge of iPhone and iPad software, and continued yesterday with

testimony from a paid expert witness, industrial designer Peter Bressler.

Apple seeks $2.5 billion for its claims that Samsung infringed patents. Samsung, based in Suwon, South Korea, countersued and will present claims that Apple

is infringing two patents covering mobile-technology standards and three utility patents. Apple, based in Cupertino, California, also wants to make permanent

a preliminary ban it won on U.S. sales of a Samsung tablet, and extend the ban to Samsung smartphones.

Kare, in a June court filing, said Apple asked her to testify about “visual appearances of design” depicted in an Apple patent to support the claims, or

elements, of the company’s intellectual property. She was asked to explain possible alternatives to the protected design, and the relationship between

functionality and visual appearances of designs, according to the filing.

Samsung Phones

Today, when Kare was shown at least 10 Samsung phones in court, she said the application screens on all of them are “substantially similar overall” to that

described in Apple’s patent.

“The similarities I saw were the regular grid, the rows of four icons, the colorful mix of icons that are square with rounded corners,” she said.

In addition to patent infringement, Apple contends that Samsung’s copying of the look of the iPhone and iPad has diluted the values of its iconic brands. To

prove infringement of the trademarked look, Apple must prove that consumers are confused as to which company makes the phone or tablet computer.

Kare is at least the second Apple witness to testify about customer confusion. Yesterday, Bressler told the jury about data in a report showing that the most

common reason some Best Buy Co. customers return Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer is because they thought they had bought the iPad 2.

Cross-Examination

During cross-examination, Samsung’s attorney, Charles K. Verhoeven, showed Kare a Samsung phone and asked her to walk him through the steps required to

arrive at the application screen she was asked to analyze. When he turned it on, “Samsung” illuminated. After it was electronically unlocked, Verhoeven

demonstrated, through Kare, that a customer had to navigate the phone’s home screen to get to the application screen.

“Wouldn’t you agree that by the time the consumer turns on the phone, and goes through the steps we looked at, seeing the Samsung sign prominently for

several seconds,” Verhoeven asked, “that the consumer knows it’s a Samsung phone?”

“I’m not an expert in consumer behavior, and that kind of user experience,” Kare replied. “I’m really focused on graphic user interface, so I’m not

sure I’m qualified to answer that.”

Kare, now at Susan Kare User Interface Graphics in San Francisco, has done images for Facebook Inc. and Microsoft Corp., according to her website.

The Museum of Modern Art in New York City has called Kare a “pioneering and influential computer iconographer,” according to her website. Her work uses a

“minimalist grid of pixels” constructed with “mosaic-like precision,” according to the site.

“Good icons should be more like road signs than illustrations, easily comprehensible, and not cluttered with extraneous detail,” Kare said on her website.

“Just because millions of colors are available, every one need not be used in every icon.”

The case is Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., 11- cv-01846, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Jose).

HCA stock slides 6%

HCA Holdings disclosed Monday that the U.S. Attorney in Miami has requested information regarding the medical necessity of heart procedures performed at 10

of the company’s hospitals.

Nashville-based HCA’s stock fell 6 percent, or $1.60 per share, to trade at $25 on the New York Stock Exchange by mid-afternoon.

The company also said that the U.S. Justice Department, as part of a national investigation, is looking into Medicare billing practices for the implantation

of heart defibrillators at 95 of its hospitals.

“The review could potentially give rise to claims against the company under the federal False Claims Act or other statutes, regulations or laws,” HCA said

in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange CommissionAccording to the filing, the separate inquiry from the U.S. Attorney in Miami came just last

month and the hospitals involved are primarily in Florida. The disclosures came as HCA posted a 7 percent jump in second-quarter earnings, topping the

average estimate of analysts.

HCA is one of several health care firms to disclose ongoing federal inquiries in recent months. Among them are locally based Lifepoint Hospitals, Community

Health Systems and Vanguard Health Systems.

Vanderbilt University also disclosed in a recent bond prospectus that The U.S. Justice Department was looking into billing procedures for Medicare patients

placed in intensive care units.

In an unusual development HCA issued a statement defending its handling of cardiac cases in anticipation of a yet-to-be published story in the New York

Times.

Apple reportedly in talks to buy small social commerce site

 Apple is in talks to acquire social commerce site The Fancy to further entrench its position in the growing e-commerce arena, sources tell Business Insider.

Backed by co-founders of Facebook and Twitter, the site is a Pinterest rival that allows users to make lists of things they find interesting. The goal of the

acquisition, BI reports, is to better leverage the 400 million or so credit cards Apple has on file at its iTunes store.

Apple CEO Tim Cook, who usually shies away from larger social-networking sites, reportedly started using The Fancy after meeting with the company's co-

founder and CEO, Joe Einhorn, at Allen & Co.'s Sun Valley conference earlier this year.

The market for social commerce has been red hot lately, and Pinterest has experienced phenomenal growth recently, doubling its number of daily unique

visitors to 4 million in the first four months of this year, according to data released last month by social-media marketer Tamba.

Although the 20-person startup is much smaller than rival Pinterest, The Fancy is "much farther along in linking its users to transactions," taking a 10

percent cut of purchases, BI reported.

The Fancy sports a $100 million valuation after a $10 million round last fall that was led by PPR, the company behind Gucci. A 2010 round of funding raised

$6 million. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes are members of the board. Other investors include Marc Andreessen and Ben

Horowitz, the co-founders of venture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz

CNET has contacted Apple for comment and will update this report when we learn more.

Kofi Annan resigns as envoy to Syria

UNITED NATIONS — Kofi Annan, the U.N.-Arab League envoy for Syria, said Thursday that he will step down from his post at the end of the month, departing

with a stinging criticism of the international community and warring parties for not stopping the violence in the war-torn country.

Annan’s resignation deals a decisive blow to the already faltering international efforts to find a diplomatic solution to a crisis that has left more than

14,000 dead and pitched the country into deepening civil war.


The announcement came as Syria braced for a major armed clash between the government and rebels in the contested city of Aleppo, U.N. officials said. “We

have reason to believe the main battle is about to start,” the U.N.’s peacekeeping chief told reporters after briefing the UN Security Council on Thursday.

At an impromptu news conference in Geneva, Annan said the international community and Security Council had not supported his efforts to enforce a cease-fire

and bring about a transition of power.

“When the Syrian people desperately need action, there continues to be finger-pointing and name-calling in the Security Council,” the former U.N. secretary

general said, according to a transcript. “It is impossible for me or anyone to compel the Syrian government and also the opposition to take the steps to

bring about the political process.”

Annan’s sudden resignation was announced in New York by Ban Ki-moon, the U.N. secretary general. He said that he had accepted Annan’s request to leave with

“deep regret” and that he will mount a search for a replacement.

In announcing Annan’s resignation, the U.N. chief faulted both the government of President Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian opposition for refusing to embrace

Annan’s six-point peace plan. He also accused the Security Council of not providing Annan with the political backing he needed to succeed.

“Tragically, the spiral of violence in Syria is continuing,” Ban said in a statement released from U.N. headquarters. “The hand extended to turn away from

violence in favor of dialogue and diplomacy — as spelled out in the six-point plan — has not been not taken, even though it still remains the best hope for

the people of Syria.”

On Thursday morning, Syrian rebels attacked a military air base about 20 miles north of Aleppo with captured tanks, perhaps the first time rebels have

attempted a sophisticated assault with heavy weaponry and a clear sign that the battle between opposition fighters and the government is escalating.

The attack began when rebel forces used three tanks to blast the Menagh airbase from a distance. “There was confusion in the airport and several wounded,”

said Col. Malik Kurdi, the deputy commander of the Free Syrian Army. “But the operation did not achieve the goals we planned and we were not able to occupy

the airport.”

The Menagh airport is the base for the helicopters that are used in daily attacks in Aleppo and Idlib. The rebels want to take over the airbase so they can

safely send more fighters into Aleppo, Kurdi said. “Controlling this airport would protect the back of the Free Syrian Army when we attack and progress to

the city of Aleppo,” he said.

Beckinsale and Biel recall making 'Total Recall'

BURBANK – The future rests in the hands of formidable women. At least, that's how the modernized world of Total Recall paints it, with Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel playing mind-bending, butt-kicking forces of good and evil.
On a recent afternoon, the raspy-voiced pair are comparing futuristic manicures. "Boring" is how Biel stacks up her metallic silver polish to Beckinsale's trendy two-tone nails, which feature a slim line of orange at the nail-bed. Beckinsale repeats the unprintable, X-rated nickname for the style, and Biel's eyes slightly widen. "But I still like it," Beckinsale says with a saucy grin.

The two share zero such girly moments on-screen in the updated sci-fi film (out Friday), which hands Colin Farrell the role Arnold Schwarzenegger made famous in 1990. In the fantasy flick, beleaguered factory worker Douglas Quaid enlists a service that can turn dreams into real memories, Rekall, to try on a virtual life as a secret spy, only to trigger the truth: He's a rebel fighter whose memory has been wiped clean (or has it?).

As Farrell wades through what is real vs. imagined, Beckinsale takes over Sharon Stone's role as Quaid's deadly wife, Lori. Biel plays rebel fighter Melina, who clouds Quaid's head with memories of a more dangerous life.

The biggest difference between the new Total Recall and the original? The reboot doesn't go to Mars, and instead takes place in a far-off Earth, now dominated by two nation-states — the wealthy United Federation of Britain and dreary Colony. "We wanted to keep it on Earth," says director Len Wiseman of staying closer to the 1966 short story We Can Remember It for You Wholesale by Philip K. Dick. "The original short story never actually traveled out to Mars."

"Who needs two movies exactly the same?" asks Beckinsale. "If you're going to do it, you might as well do it differently."

The film is much darker tonally, Wiseman says, "but not without its fun." (Super-fans can rest easy: The futuristic three-breasted prostitute is alive and well.)

Acquaintances and actresses

Before Total Recall, Beckinsale, 39, and Biel, 30, knew each other only in a Hollywood sense.

"I'd run into you at the gym a couple of times," says Beckinsale.

"We'd shared a trainer a while ago," says Biel. "And I'd only ever heard 'Oh, my God, you'd love her, she's so nice.' "

Fast-forward to their screen test for Total Recall. Biel had "never been sicker." Barely able to stand, the actress would prop herself up and pretend to shoot guns as the production team finalized decisions on hair color, costumes and props.

Beckinsale admits she steered clear. "I'm actually quite phobic of vomit," she says, wrinkling her nose. "And they're like, she's here, would you like to meet her? And I was like, not at all. I don't want to be sick!"

Biel laughs, but at the time, she had given up on Western medicine for her ill health. "I would get acupuncture every day, and he would strap my stomach with vinegar-smelling herbs with tape" she says, as Beckinsale looks on in mock horror. "And I would show up covered (she motions at her stomach) to the camera tests."

"And it goes to show that she walked around smelling like pee and vinegar, and the only thing I ever heard was, 'She's so pretty,' " says Beckinsale.

Pretty, and tough. Like Becksinsale, who finished Underworld: Awakening days before stepping onto Total Recall's set, Biel typically stays in fighting shape. But Farrell warns not to underestimate just how tough she can be.

"Jessica is an incredibly feminine woman, but she's also got this strength and athleticism that is really impressive," says Farrell. "She throws a really good punch."

Not that she was the only intimidating woman present. Used to playing Underworld's heroine Selene, Beckinsale "really savors it completely," playing the bad guy, says Farrell. "The level of ill intent that she carries with her throughout the film was kind of delicious to observe."

In one scene, the two women fight each other in epic — and gender-neutral — fashion.

"I very much wanted to keep it to a fight between two very efficient agents in their own right," says Wiseman, Beckinsale's husband of seven years, who has directed her in two Underworld films. "I didn't want to take it to flirting or winking or anything like that."

It was refreshing to fight like that, both women say.

Beckinsale: "You realize you haven't seen that many fights that don't involve someone's bra strap coming out — "

Biel: "Or somebody getting their hair pulled — "

Beckinsale: "Or like, you know, somebody straddling somebody — so it's not like a fantasy fight, it's a proper fight. … It was very similar fighting that I did with Colin. If anything it was more vicious."

And so empowering that Biel ended up teaching the fight sequence to Beckinsale's daughter, Lily, 13,and her friend, which Wiseman decided to shoot for the DVD.

The one difference in a girlfight? Excessive politeness, says Beckinsale.

"I think Len has these funny outtakes of me going, 'Oh, no!' and she goes, 'Oh, was it me?' and I go, 'No, was it me?' The boys are not doing that, you realize. It's a very polite thing that we had going."

Today, time flies with the two women, aided by Beckinsale's rapid-fire wit and Biel dishing on her Twitter use (mostly filled with pictures of her dog, Tina). They share baking success stories (both are adept at sweets, although Beckinsale teases Biel that the almond butter fudge she brought to the set looked like "poo, to be honest with you") and favorite shows (Biel: Gator Boys, Beckinsale: Wife Swap). And both women are far more down-to-earth than their cover-girl status would imply, speaking openly of their surprise at the genres they've found popularity in.

"I was more picturing myself in a princess gown than wielding a machine gun," says Beckinsale, who will step out of the genre next in indie legal drama The Trials of Cate McCall. "This whole turn of events that's happened to me is very strange. It kind of came out of left field. But I'm enjoying it."

Biel nods; she was recently up for a role in The Wolverine, but passed because of scheduling conflicts. "You never plan. … For me, it's like this horror-movie thing (she next stars in thriller The Tall Man, out Aug. 31). You know like, 'Just go scream and freak out and cry for how many months a year.' "

Biel's getting married

Biel speaks with her hands, and it's impossible not to notice the huge princess-cut engagement ring winking from her ring finger. Engaged to Justin Timberlake, she says their wedding date is still TBD.

"I'm excited about it," Biel says, but she's hardly the type to have been planning her wedding since childhood. "I actually never ever in my wildest dreams thought it would ever happen to me. … I never dreamt about what I would wear, what it would look like or what it would be. Even now I still just feel like, I don't even know when it will ever happen because we're so busy."

Beckinsale, who married Wiseman in 2004, helps put it in perspective.

"It's a funny thing, too, in this business when you're getting married," she says. "Because for people who aren't in this industry, it's the one day that feels like that. And we," she gestures at Biel, "have a few days that feel like as stressful as a wedding is, … it can feel a little bit like almost not real. I felt like once I got married, I just wanted to do it again because it feels oddly like, I don't know, stage-managed. And if you have other things in your life that are stage-managed, it's weird."

Biel's one wish for her big day? An absence of hovering helicopters. "That's all I wish, for whenever it may be, is just privacy. That's it. If we can have that, anything else can go wrong. I don't care."

After three films, Wiseman and Beckinsale have a strong history of collaboration (their secret: he says they've learned to "quietly have our disputes" via text) , and Biel and Timberlake may join them. Biel confirms that Timberlake plans to write music for a film she has been putting together, The Devil in the Deep Blue Sea. "I'm so thrilled that he wants to do that, because I mean, I'm like his No. 1 fan, as dorky as that sounds."

Life is good, but virtual life, as Total Recall espouses, could be even better. Which Rekall experience would these two select?

"I can't sing at all, so I'd love to be a rock star," says Beckinsale. "And in particular I'd like to be Freddie Mercury."

Hands-down, says Biel, she'd pull the lever to be a spy. What kind?

"I don't even care," she says with grin. "I just want to be a part of secret missions."

What the U.S. should do to help Syria

Charles Dunne is director of Middle East programs at Freedom House. David J. Kramer is president of the group, and William H. Taft IV is chairman of its board.

United Nations special envoy Kofi Annan decried Friday the massacre of more than 200 people in Tremseh, Syria, thought to be the worst single incident since the demonstrations began in the spring of 2011. But what else will be done? Many arguments have been advanced against a more robust U.S. response to the crisis, including:
●We do not know enough about the Syrian opposition and military insurgency;


●What follows might be worse;

● Past interventions didn’t go well; and

●We can’t intervene everywhere.

Not one of these arguments stands up to moral or geopolitical scrutiny.

So far, more than 17,000 people have been killed, many of them in indiscriminate attacks on towns by the Syrian army or in massacres of civilians by Syrian security forces and their allied “shabiha” militias. Syria is rapidly descending into a civil war that could lead to ethnic cleansing along the lines of Iraq in 2006. That would have serious consequences for regional stability. Iran and Russia are already militarily involved, whether through boots on the ground (Iran) or major arms sales (Russia). China, worried about interference in human rights abusers’ internal affairs, has joined Russia in protecting Damascus in the U.N. Security Council.

On the other side, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are arming and financing the military opposition, primarily to eliminate another Shiite regime allied with Tehran and help shape a Sunni fundamentalist follow-on government. Syria’s military opposition is increasingly gaining ground, the Institute for the Study of War has found. The Annan plan for Syria’s future — which advocates, among other things, a “national unity government” that neither side will accept — was dead even before it was not adopted at recent international meetings. Both sides know their survival is at stake and will not yield.

With Syria’s future already taking shape, the question is: Will the United States play a role in shaping it? Or will it stand aside and let those less committed to democratic principles do it?

The United States can’t afford to stay on the sidelines. A failed state in Syria is likely to spill over into Iraq and Lebanon and spur debilitating refugee flows to Turkey and other neighbors. It will intensify a proxy war between Saudi Arabia, its Gulf allies and Iran. A Syrian collapse would create a fundamentalist threat to Israel’s sense of security and heighten the danger of miscalculation or conflict.

But this crisis also presents opportunities. The destruction of the Assad regime — which may be weakening, as military defections, including that of Gen. Manaf Tlas, son of the regime’s former defense minister, increase — would raise the prospect of another country moving toward democracy in the heart of the Middle East. Removing a key ally from Iran’s grasp could tip the balance of power in Lebanon and weaken the Iranian leadership. And breaking the Tehran-Damascus alliance on Iraq’s east and west borders might assist Iraq in its struggle toward democracy.

The Obama administration should throw in its lot more firmly with the opposition, both civilian and military. It needs to stop talking about what it won’t do and start discussing what it might do differently to end the bloodshed. This will make the regime’s downfall — and a transition to a stable, more democratic country — more likely.

First, the administration should dispense with its informal contacts with the main opposition umbrella group, the Syrian National Congress, and formally recognize and work with the SNC as the transitional authority. This would boost the SNC’s capacity to speak effectively to the outside world and plan for Syria’s future. In exchange, the administration should insist that the SNC build bridges to minorities such as Syria’s Christians and Alawites, who, fearing what might follow Assad’s Alawite regime, have continued to support the government.

Similarly, Washington should publicly help the Free Syrian Army, the Turkey-based military opposition organization, coordinate with military elements in Syria, particularly the regional military councils. The administration must play a more active role in coordinating arms deliveries from third countries to ensure they reach secular elements of the opposition who will not turn on us after they win. The United States should also provide its own arms, training and intelligence, helping to ensure that we become a sought-after partner, with commensurate influence.

The White House should publicly consider enforcing humanitarian corridors (“no drive” zones) as well as no-fly zones to counter the regime’s increasing use of helicopter gunships. It should launch formal discussions of such measures with NATO allies. Merely planning for serious military options would have an important psychological effect on the regime and its military forces, possibly prodding more defections.

Lessons of things not to do when we intervene have been learned the hard way in Iraq and Afghanistan. Srebrenica and Rwanda have provided their own hard lessons — most important, the cost in lives and U.S. moral standing — for failing to intervene. The United States must summon its leadership skills and, as it did in Libya, put an end to a disastrous conflict that challenges our sense of ourselves as Americans as well as our national interests.

Bobcats getting Sessions, pursuing Humphries

LAS VEGAS -- D.J Augustin is gone at point guard, free agent Ramon Sessions will replace him, and power forward Kris Humphries and center Brendan Haywood could end up Charlotte Bobcats, too.

The Bobcats came to terms with Sessions Thursday, then rescinded a $4 million-plus qualifying offer to four-year Bobcat Augustin. That made Augustin an unrestricted free agent, and immediately Augustin signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal with the Indiana Pacers.

Restoring $4 million to the Bobcats’ salary cap will help them pursue Humphries, one of the top free agents left on the market, and free-agent-to-be Haywood, a Greensboro native who’s being waived under the amnesty clause by the Dallas Mavericks.

Point guard, power forward and center are the Bobcats’ three areas of need, particularly with Augustin’s departure. Signing those three could be a start on restoring some competitiveness for a franchise that just went 7-59 – worst single-season winning percentage in NBA history.

An informed source told the Observer Thursday that the Bobcats are back in pursuit of Humphries. He could have landed here in a multi-player trade sending Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard to the Brooklyn Nets. But that deal unraveled, and now Humphries is an unrestricted free agent.

While Humphries is best known as the ex-husband of reality show diva Kim Kardashian, he’s coming off his best of eight NBA seasons. He averaged 13.8 points, 11 rebounds and 48 percent shooti
ng for the Nets. After signing center Brook Lopez and ex-Bobcat Gerald Wallace to lucrative contract extensions, the Nets might not have the financial flexibility to retain Humphries.

Facilitating a Humphries signing could entail clearing additional cap room by using the NBA’s amnesty clause. That clause allows each NBA team to cut one player and stop counting his remaining salary against the cap. Potential amnesty candidates would be center Gana Diop, shooting guard Matt Carroll or power forward Tyrus Thomas.

Humphries would address the Bobcats’ rebounding and low-post scoring issues. The question could be his contract demands, both in annual salary and length of guaranteed years.

Haywood could be available in the next few days, assuming he clears waivers. The Bobcats could offer the former Tar Heel a likely starting spot at center

Regardless of what else happens, Sessions will sign soon, an informed source said. A 6-3 guard who finished last season with the Los Angeles Lakers, Sessions would likely back up second-year pro Kemba Walker.

Augustin’s departure means the Bobcats have lost another former lottery pick without compensation, as they did with Sean May and Raymond Felton in the past. Augustin was the ninth pick of the 2008 draft, when the Bobcats chose him over Lopez.

There were brief discussions earlier in the week between the Bobcats and Pacers about a sign-and-trade deal that never materialized. However, any such trade would have reduced the Bobcats’ cap flexibility.

Augustin turned down a lucrative contract extension last season, then was a topic of discussion at the March trade deadline. An informed source said the Bobcats had offered him roughly $6 million a season for multiple years.

Sessions, a Myrtle Beach native, played last season for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Lakers. At 26, he’s already played for four franchises in five NBA seasons.

Originally drafted in the 2007 second round by the Milwaukee Bucks, Sessions has averaged 11.1 points and five assists over his NBA career, shooting 45 percent from the field.

Sessions has had the occasional spectacular game: He holds the Bucks’ single-game assist record with 24 – along with 20 points and eight rebounds – against the Chicago Bulls in a 2008. He also scored 44 points in a 2008 game against the Detroit Pistons.

Sessions, who played college ball at Nevada, is known primarily for his driving ability. Early in his career his jump shot was considered suspect, but he made over 40 percent of his 3-pointers the past two seasons.

L.A. moves the needle

The first cases of HIV identified anywhere in the world are widely thought to have been in Los Angeles in 1981. Since then, 45,000 Angelenos have contracted HIV and nearly half have died due to the disease.

As terrible as that statistic is, we can look back over the last 30 years with considerable pride because Los Angeles' courageous response to the epidemic also saved many lives. We now know how much worse things would have been had local elected leaders not braved controversy to support one of the most effective HIV prevention tools we have: needle exchange.

How much worse? Consider some comparative data — needle exchange isn't solely responsible for the differences in these statistics, but it plays an important role.

In 1992 in Los Angeles, where needle exchanges were already in effect, the rate of HIV among those who injected drugs was 8.4%. In 1993, the HIV rate in Miami for that population was the highest in the country: 48%. Although Miami put into place HIV-prevention programs, there has never been a large-scale needle exchange program there. Today the rate of HIV among injection drug users in Miami is 16%. In Los Angeles, the rate stayed low, and as of 2009, the most recent data available, it was 5%.

These facts have important consequences. Extrapolating from county data, it's believed that about 34,000 Los Angeles residents are injection drug users. The California Department of Public Health calculates the lifetime costs of treating one person with HIV at $385,200. If those 34,000 Angelenos had an HIV rate of 16% rather than 5%, we'd be spending an additional $1.4 billion in treatment costs.

People affected by HIV/AIDS in the late 1980s and early 1990s faced all kinds of discrimination. Our civic leaders displayed wisdom and guts with a series of early actions in response to the epidemic, beginning with the country's first AIDS anti-discrimination law in 1985.

Four years later, L.A. put in place an AIDS coordinator, Fred Eggan, who provided a structure for the city to partner with community organizations to raise public awareness, prevent new HIV infections and support those affected by HIV/AIDS.

Needle exchange came next. It was highly controversial at first. Activists and volunteers, including the founder of my program, Renee Edgington, began the exchange underground in the late 1980s; it was formally established in 1992. They faced protesters, prosecution, conflicts with private security, law enforcement, even citizen's arrest.

Critics objected: Why give people who inject drugs the tools they need to break the law? It seemed to many observers that swapping sterile needles for used needles would only make things worse. But city leaders held firm, and decades of research have now vindicated decisions by the city and later county leaders who bet on needle exchange. In fact, more than 200 studies from the U.S. and abroad agree: Needle exchange programs not only prevent HIV, but people who use them are also more likely to enter drug treatment and get off drugs.

People who inject drugs will keep doing it with or without access to clean needles. Reusing old syringes greatly increases the risk of staph infection or the antibiotic resistant MRSA; sharing syringes leads to HIV and hepatitis C infection.

Ask anyone who's ever injected drugs how difficult it is to get sterile syringes without exchange. In California, some pharmacies sell syringes without a prescription, but they are few and far between. Most don't offer disposal or referrals to badly needed wraparound and referral services such as medical care and access to drug treatment. Outside of

the participating pharmacies and needle exchange programs, there are few options other than buying them on the street.

Earlier this year, Stephen Simon, the city's fifth AIDS coordinator, left the job for the private sector. Stephen was a tenacious champion of the city's exchange programs and syringe access in California.

"It's been a tough political challenge," Simon told the City Council as he left, but "we removed more than a million dirty needles from the streets of Los Angeles each year.... That's the kind of tough political decisions that you all have made here." Council members Bill Rosendahl, Eric Garcetti, Tom LaBonge, Paul Koretz, Dennis Zine and Ed Reyes all spoke with gratitude of Simon's tenacity and creativity in guiding the city's fight to reduce HIV and AIDS.

So far, however, Simon's job hasn't been filled. And yet the HIV epidemic is still with us, and we still need city and county help to protect the progress we've made so far. We still need local government to stand up against continuing and misguided opposition to needle exchange.

In a time of polarized political conversation and a distressed economy, it may be tough to remember how important L.A.'s pioneering prevention strategy has been. We can't afford to throw away people, or money, on treating those whose illnesses we could prevent. Not in times like these. L.A. needs to keep supporting needle exchange programs, and it needs to advocate for and coordinate with those programs.

Shoshanna Scholar has served as the executive director of Clean Needles Now/Harm Reduction Central in Los Angeles since 2003.

Microsoft's Surface is a 'design point,' says CEO

PC manufacturers shouldn't fear that the debut of Microsoft's flashy Surface tablet might shut them out of future device making for the company, according to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer
During this week's Worldwide Partner Conference for Microsoft, Ballmer addressed the crowd and said Surface is the software makers' aim at creating a device heavily focused on design, according to All Things D.

Here's what he said
Surface is just a design point. It will have a distinct place in what's a broad Windows ecosystem. And the importance of the thousands of partners that we have that design and produce Windows computers will not diminish. We have a mutual goal with our OEM partners to bring a diversity of solutions, Windows PCs, phones, tablets, servers to market. And what we seek to have is a spectrum of stunning devices, stunning Windows devices. So, every consumer, every business customer can say, "I have the perfect PC for me."...We're excited about the work our OEM partners are doing on Windows 8.
In a nutshell, the jig isn't up for Microsoft's partners. This likely comes as good news to PC makers who have been griping about the high falutin Surface since its launch in June. Now they'll still be able to create devices for Microsoft, including those with Windows 8 hardware.

Office Printers Succumb To Virus

Office printers across the US, India, Europe and South America are spewing out thousands of

pages of nonsense, due to a malicious program called Milicenso. IT departments can’t be

happy, and neither can office managers who will have to place orders to restock paper

supplies.

Security firm Symantec wrote in a blog post that an outbreak of the Trojan.Milicenso has

spread over the past two weeks, triggering massive print jobs typing up company resources.

The hardest hit were businesses in the US and India, however certain regions in Europe and

South America were also affected.

Trojan.Milicenso was first noticed in 2010, and has been adapted many times to cause

different outcomes; the most recent outcome being office printers. As Trojan.Milicenso is

somewhat of a malware-for-hire, it’s been used most recently to distribute adware to

French speaking users and was reported as Adware.Eorezo.

Delivery of the malicious program comes in many forms. In many cases computers will become

infected – and then transmit to printers – through email attachments, though visiting

websites hosting malicious scripts also spreads the infectious program. “The latter often

unintentionally occurs when a user clicks on a link in an unsolicited email,” Symantec

posted on its blog.

The internet security company also said it has encountered a large number of samples that

appear to be packaged as a fake codec, or program delivery. These are distributed as files

with random file names, and a “.exe” or “.dll” extension. The encrypted name makes it

difficult to identify. What makes it more difficult to identify and eliminate? “The

decryption key itself is encrypted using a value that is unique to the compromised

computer,” says the Symantec blog post. The post explains that the unique value is 16

bytes in length, and is generated using the time when the System and System Volume

Information folders were created. The unique value is used to encrypt the main DLL

decryption key, to add to the subterfuge, and make removal more difficult.

The Trojan.Milicenso is somewhat difficult to identify and remove because it uses adware as

a decoy, which detracts attention from the infection itself. In many cases, according to

Symantec, the malware is able to evade detection and in many cases be categorized as a low

risk, and actually be dismissed by many virus protection programs. In the case of the this

particular flavor of Trojan.Milicenso that makes office printers go through reams of paper

and cartridges of printer ink, the malware has a devastating effect on business.

Office printers are affected by this case of Trojan.Milicenso, because of a new script

written into the malicious code, according to Symantec. During the infection phase, a .spl

file is created that looks something like [DRIVE_LETTER]

\system32/Spool/PRINTERS\[RANDOM].spl. The .spl file is actually an executable file, which

is detected as Adware.Eorezo. At this point, any files in that folder will trigger print

jobs.

Symantec says it believes the garbled printouts appear to be a side effect of the infection

vector.

ICS Diary, the Internet Storm Center website that’s part of the SANS Technology Institute,

also has reports on the virus, with details about top-level files names and some of the

sites running drive-by downloads of the malware.

“The beauty of this unexpected malware behavior is that it can easily be detected

throughout the organization printers and servers, although at the expense of wasting

precious paper, and trees as a consequence. Let’s save the planet! … and don’t forget

this is a good opportunity to evaluate the security of your printing architecture,” the

ICS Diary says in a blog post. The post identifies printing architecture security as

network isolation, access controls and printer management.

British troops killed by gunman in Afghan police uniform

Two served with the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards and one with the Royal Corps of Signals. Next of kin have been told.
The MoD said the soldiers were shot and fatally wounded as they left a checkpoint in Helmand province.
More than 20 foreign personnel have been killed in so-called rogue shootings in Afghanistan this year.
An MoD spokesman said: "Their loss will be felt deeply across the task force, however that will be nothing compared with the grief experienced by their families at home. Our thoughts and prayers are with them at this extremely difficult time."
The gunman was injured and later detained, Nato said.
The soldiers were part of a Nato-led Isaf force who have been training Afghan counterparts ahead of a handover of security responsibility by 2014.
Growing resentment Observers say the rogue shootings have eroded morale among foreign forces.
BBC defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt says background checks are carried out on Afghan troops and police in a bid to ensure that people are not sympathetic to insurgent factions.
Isaf, Nato's force in the country, said in a statement on Sunday: "An individual wearing an Afghan National Civil Order Police uniform turned his weapon against International Security Assistance Force service members in southern Afghanistan today, killing three service members."
In February public opinion against the foreign forces in Afghanistan was inflamed by revelations that US troops burned copies of the Koran at a base in Afghanistan - reportedly by accident.
The shooting of 16 Afghans by a US soldier in March has also created resentment.

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