John Bercow, the new Commons Speaker, has warned MPs

As we covered in an earlier post, there is growing disgust at the UK Parliamentary system with rumours of unrest amongst MPs who stand to have their expenses system curtailed. John Bercow, the new Commons Speaker, has warned MPs that it would be a "catastrophic mistake" to water down the recommendations from Sir Christopher Kelly at a time when the UK public is looking for closure on the issue rather than more controversy.Sir Ian Kennedy, the chairman of the independent Parliamentary standards authority, has also come under attack as he is under pressure from MPs to dismiss many of the proposals from Sir Christopher Kelly. Indeed, weekend press comment suggested that Sir Ian Kennedy was actually on the brink of resigning his role due to the extreme pressure on his public and his private life. It seems that some MPs are prepared to do whatever it takes to retain their expenses system and increase their income.While there is no legal obligation for the UK government or the Parliamentary authorities to take on board any of Sir Christopher Kelly's suggestions, there is a feeling that if they are tampered with any further there will be a serious backlash against the likes of Labour and the Conservative party at the next general election. As we covered in an earlier post, there is growing disgust at the UK Parliamentary system with rumours of unrest amongst MPs who stand to have their expenses system curtailed. John Bercow, the new Commons Speaker, has warned MPs that it would be a "catastrophic mistake" to water down the recommendations from Sir Christopher Kelly at a time when the UK public is looking for closure on the issue rather than more controversy.Sir Ian Kennedy, the chairman of the independent Parliamentary standards authority, has also come under attack as he is under pressure from MPs to dismiss many of the proposals from Sir Christopher Kelly. Indeed, weekend press comment suggested that Sir Ian Kennedy was actually on the brink of resigning his role due to the extreme pressure on his public and his private life. It seems that some MPs are prepared to do whatever it takes to retain their expenses system and increase their income.While there is no legal obligation for the UK government or the Parliamentary authorities to take on board any of Sir Christopher Kelly's suggestions, there is a feeling that if they are tampered with any further there will be a serious backlash against the likes of Labour and the Conservative party at the next general election.

Tobin tax back on the agenda

In a rather surprising development the infamous "Tobin tax", which Gordon Brown has been pushing so heavily over the last few days is gaining support in the city of London. Well-known, and often controversial, financier Terry Smith, Sir Philip Hampton (the chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland) and the new Lord Mayor of London are said to be in favour of a "contract with society".As we have mentioned on numerous occasions, the Tobin tax is levied on the banking system, the proceeds from which will be reinvested into more needy areas of the worldwide economy reducing poverty and the effect of other social issues. Despite the fact that the US government, and other leading governments around the world, have effectively killed the issue dead on a worldwide basis, it looks as though the UK government is looking to push ahead in the UK. But is this really viable?More and more people believe this is nothing but a publicity stunt by the UK government as it looks to "be seen doing the right thing" with regards to the UK population. While there are now three prominent figures potentially supporting issue, there are many more prominent figures that are dead set against the introduction of the Tobin tax.

Murder, rape charges pending in Shaniya Davis case

Murder and rape charges will be filed against a North Carolina man in the death of 5-year-old Shaniya Davis, police said Thursday.
Mario Andrette McNeill had already been charged with kidnapping the Fayetteville, North Carolina, girl. She was reported missing last week, and her body was found Monday beside a road near Sanford, about 30 miles northwest of Fayetteville.
Preliminary autopsy results indicate the child was asphyxiated, Fayetteville Police Chief Tom Bergamine told reporters Thursday, but testing is still being completed and a final report has not been issued.
McNeill will be charged with first-degree murder and rape of a child, Bergamine said. The new arrest warrants were being served Thursday night.
The girl's mother, Antoinette Nicole Davis, has been charged with human trafficking and other offenses. Police have said they believe Davis was prostituting the child.
According to police, surveillance video taken November 10 from a hotel in Sanford, North Carolina, shows Shaniya in the company of McNeill.
Authorities had said Wednesday they would need to determine where Shaniya was killed before filing additional charges. Fayetteville is in Cumberland County, while Sanford is in Lee County. Bergamine said Thursday jurisdiction in the case would remain in Cumberland County. "We started it from the beginning and wanted to finish it out," he said.
riminal Investigations
Police still are not sure exactly where Shaniya was killed, Bergamine said. Police earlier had said they believe the child was alive when she left the hotel.
"Current charges on Ms. Davis are standing as they are right now," Bergamine said. But he told reporters the investigation was ongoing.
He and other officers spoke about the emotional toll the investigation has taken on them. Grief counseling has been under way for officers at the department, he said.
"It's been a tough case," said Fayetteville Police Capt. Charles Kimball, the toughest in his 14 years, he said. "Our mission was to find Shaniya and we did it."
"This case here has reached out and touched all of us," Bergamine said.
Shaniya's father, Bradley Lockhart, made a tearful appeal before reporters Tuesday afternoon, asking that "everybody makes it a point not to ignore, to look past a situation where a person, a child, or anybody might be in danger ... so that we don't have another tragedy like Shaniya."
The girl went to her mother's last month, he said Murder and rape charges will be filed against a North Carolina man in the death of 5-year-old Shaniya Davis, police said Thursday.
Mario Andrette McNeill had already been charged with kidnapping the Fayetteville, North Carolina, girl. She was reported missing last week, and her body was found Monday beside a road near Sanford, about 30 miles northwest of Fayetteville.
Preliminary autopsy results indicate the child was asphyxiated, Fayetteville Police Chief Tom Bergamine told reporters Thursday, but testing is still being completed and a final report has not been issued.
McNeill will be charged with first-degree murder and rape of a child, Bergamine said. The new arrest warrants were being served Thursday night.
The girl's mother, Antoinette Nicole Davis, has been charged with human trafficking and other offenses. Police have said they believe Davis was prostituting the child.
According to police, surveillance video taken November 10 from a hotel in Sanford, North Carolina, shows Shaniya in the company of McNeill.
Authorities had said Wednesday they would need to determine where Shaniya was killed before filing additional charges. Fayetteville is in Cumberland County, while Sanford is in Lee County. Bergamine said Thursday jurisdiction in the case would remain in Cumberland County. "We started it from the beginning and wanted to finish it out," he said.
riminal Investigations
Police still are not sure exactly where Shaniya was killed, Bergamine said. Police earlier had said they believe the child was alive when she left the hotel.
"Current charges on Ms. Davis are standing as they are right now," Bergamine said. But he told reporters the investigation was ongoing.
He and other officers spoke about the emotional toll the investigation has taken on them. Grief counseling has been under way for officers at the department, he said.
"It's been a tough case," said Fayetteville Police Capt. Charles Kimball, the toughest in his 14 years, he said. "Our mission was to find Shaniya and we did it."
"This case here has reached out and touched all of us," Bergamine said.
Shaniya's father, Bradley Lockhart, made a tearful appeal before reporters Tuesday afternoon, asking that "everybody makes it a point not to ignore, to look past a situation where a person, a child, or anybody might be in danger ... so that we don't have another tragedy like Shaniya."
The girl went to her mother's last month, he said

Social networks and kids: How young is too young?Social networks and kids: How young is too young?

Status updates, photo tagging and FarmVille aren't just for adults or even teenagers anymore.
Researchers say a growing number of children are flouting age requirements on sites such as Facebook and MySpace, or using social-networking sites designed just for them.
Facebook and MySpace require users to be at least 13. But they have no practical way to verify ages, and many young users pretend to be older when signing up.
Some scientists worry that pre-adolescent use of the sites, which some therapists have linked to Internet addiction among adults, could be damaging to children's relationships and brains.
But many other experts say there's not any solid research to back that up and that most children seem to use social-media sites in moderation, and in positive ways.
"For the most part, although there's so much press about all the bad things they're doing, much of what they do on these sites is stuff they would be doing anyway," said Kaveri Subrahmanyam, a professor of psychology at California State University-Los Angeles.

hildren's Health
In two surveys reported this year by Pew Internet Research -- of 700 and 935 teens, respectively -- 38 percent of respondents ages 12 to 14 said they had an online profile of some sort.
Sixty-one percent of those in the study, ages 12 to 17, said they use social-networking sites to send messages to friends, and 42 percent said they do so every day.
The data in the study was from 2006, so it's not a stretch to assume those numbers are higher this year. Research on younger children is limited, but anecdotal evidence shows that many of them are also logging on.
CNN iReport: How much do you let your kids reveal on social networking sites?
"Of course they are," said Amanda Lenhart, a senior researcher at Pew and one of the report's authors. "They're using them because that's where their social world is. Because there's no effective way to age-verify ... children very quickly realize, 'I just say I'm 14 years old, and they'll let me use this.' "
Marc Bigbie, a software salesman who lives near Savannah, Georgia, said he has three children -- 14, 12 and 11 -- who all have accounts on at least one social-networking site.
His oldest daughter, then 11, was the first in the family to create an account, on MySpace. And it was without her parents' permission.
"It was kind of a negative thing at first," he said. "We kind of took it away from her. But, finally, we said, 'You can have it, but we need the password so we can be on there at any time.' "
Since then, all three of the kids have gotten Facebook accounts, with their parents even agreeing to fudge their ages.
Bigbie said he makes sure his children's accounts are set to provide as little personal information as possible, and they allow their activity to be seen only by confirmed friends. He and his wife monitor the pages to make sure they know the friends that their children have added.
He said the oldest daughter is the only one who uses the account almost every day, while the younger children log on briefly every now and then.
In the past couple of years, some scientists have voiced concerns that children are spending too much on these sites and that such online socializing could have lasting negative effects as they mature.
"My fear is that these technologies are infantilizing the brain into the state of small children who are attracted by buzzing noises and bright lights, who have a small attention span and who live for the moment," Susan Greenfield, an Oxford University neurocientist and director of Britain's Royal Institution, told London's Daily Mail in February.
"I often wonder whether real conversation in real time may eventually give way to these sanitized and easier [online] screen dialogues," she said.
Other scientists criticized Greenfield's comments, calling them speculation, not science.
Subrahmaynam said a study of high school students showed that in most cases, the people they interact with most often online are people they also socialize with in person.
Children today have spent their whole lives on computers, and their brains are better adapted than those of adults to integrate online activities with their offline lives, she said.
"You'll always have the small minority of kids who are not using it appropriately," she said. "I do think you're going to have a few people that are doing things that kids probably couldn't do with telephones a generation ago.
"But we don't want to get swept away by the general fear. It's here, and it's pretty harmless."
Many parents also worry that younger users of social sites could be targets for online predators. While there are some concerns that kids aren't mature enough to make good decisions about their privacy, Subrahmaynam and Lenhart said most are savvy enough by their early teens to know what, and who, to avoid. Younger children, they say, need more parental supervision.
Alternately, a growing number of networking sites are geared specifically toward younger users. Sites such as Disney's Club Penguin -- mainly a game site, but with limited social functions -- WebKinz and Whyville feature more restricted and supervised networking.
Such kids-oriented sites are "sort of a training ground" for future use of mainstream social networks, Lenhart said.
Children as young as 5 have accounts at KidSwirl, a kids' social-networking site patterned loosely on Facebook, said creator Toby Clark.
Clark said the average user spends about five minutes on the site per visit -- far less than Facebook's average of more than 20 minutes.
He said he limits the amount of time his two children, 9 and 6, spend on the site, but that any parent who bans their children from such sites isn't facing the facts.
"The reality is that we're a technology-driven generation," said Clark, who launched the site in February and said it has about 10,000 users. "That's not going to change."
So what long-term effect will social networking have on children? Scientists say it may be hard to know for sure.
"We've lost the control group," Subrahmanyam said. "How do you find a group of kids that are not using the computer?"Status updates, photo tagging and FarmVille aren't just for adults or even teenagers anymore.
Researchers say a growing number of children are flouting age requirements on sites such as Facebook and MySpace, or using social-networking sites designed just for them.
Facebook and MySpace require users to be at least 13. But they have no practical way to verify ages, and many young users pretend to be older when signing up.
Some scientists worry that pre-adolescent use of the sites, which some therapists have linked to Internet addiction among adults, could be damaging to children's relationships and brains.
But many other experts say there's not any solid research to back that up and that most children seem to use social-media sites in moderation, and in positive ways.
"For the most part, although there's so much press about all the bad things they're doing, much of what they do on these sites is stuff they would be doing anyway," said Kaveri Subrahmanyam, a professor of psychology at California State University-Los Angeles.

Children's Health
In two surveys reported this year by Pew Internet Research -- of 700 and 935 teens, respectively -- 38 percent of respondents ages 12 to 14 said they had an online profile of some sort.
Sixty-one percent of those in the study, ages 12 to 17, said they use social-networking sites to send messages to friends, and 42 percent said they do so every day.
The data in the study was from 2006, so it's not a stretch to assume those numbers are higher this year. Research on younger children is limited, but anecdotal evidence shows that many of them are also logging on.
CNN iReport: How much do you let your kids reveal on social networking sites?
"Of course they are," said Amanda Lenhart, a senior researcher at Pew and one of the report's authors. "They're using them because that's where their social world is. Because there's no effective way to age-verify ... children very quickly realize, 'I just say I'm 14 years old, and they'll let me use this.' "
Marc Bigbie, a software salesman who lives near Savannah, Georgia, said he has three children -- 14, 12 and 11 -- who all have accounts on at least one social-networking site.
His oldest daughter, then 11, was the first in the family to create an account, on MySpace. And it was without her parents' permission.
"It was kind of a negative thing at first," he said. "We kind of took it away from her. But, finally, we said, 'You can have it, but we need the password so we can be on there at any time.' "
Since then, all three of the kids have gotten Facebook accounts, with their parents even agreeing to fudge their ages.
Bigbie said he makes sure his children's accounts are set to provide as little personal information as possible, and they allow their activity to be seen only by confirmed friends. He and his wife monitor the pages to make sure they know the friends that their children have added.
He said the oldest daughter is the only one who uses the account almost every day, while the younger children log on briefly every now and then.
In the past couple of years, some scientists have voiced concerns that children are spending too much on these sites and that such online socializing could have lasting negative effects as they mature.
"My fear is that these technologies are infantilizing the brain into the state of small children who are attracted by buzzing noises and bright lights, who have a small attention span and who live for the moment," Susan Greenfield, an Oxford University neurocientist and director of Britain's Royal Institution, told London's Daily Mail in February.
"I often wonder whether real conversation in real time may eventually give way to these sanitized and easier [online] screen dialogues," she said.
Other scientists criticized Greenfield's comments, calling them speculation, not science.
Subrahmaynam said a study of high school students showed that in most cases, the people they interact with most often online are people they also socialize with in person.
Children today have spent their whole lives on computers, and their brains are better adapted than those of adults to integrate online activities with their offline lives, she said.
"You'll always have the small minority of kids who are not using it appropriately," she said. "I do think you're going to have a few people that are doing things that kids probably couldn't do with telephones a generation ago.
"But we don't want to get swept away by the general fear. It's here, and it's pretty harmless."
Many parents also worry that younger users of social sites could be targets for online predators. While there are some concerns that kids aren't mature enough to make good decisions about their privacy, Subrahmaynam and Lenhart said most are savvy enough by their early teens to know what, and who, to avoid. Younger children, they say, need more parental supervision.
Alternately, a growing number of networking sites are geared specifically toward younger users. Sites such as Disney's Club Penguin -- mainly a game site, but with limited social functions -- WebKinz and Whyville feature more restricted and supervised networking.
Such kids-oriented sites are "sort of a training ground" for future use of mainstream social networks, Lenhart said.
Children as young as 5 have accounts at KidSwirl, a kids' social-networking site patterned loosely on Facebook, said creator Toby Clark.
Clark said the average user spends about five minutes on the site per visit -- far less than Facebook's average of more than 20 minutes.
He said he limits the amount of time his two children, 9 and 6, spend on the site, but that any parent who bans their children from such sites isn't facing the facts.
"The reality is that we're a technology-driven generation," said Clark, who launched the site in February and said it has about 10,000 users. "That's not going to change."
So what long-term effect will social networking have on children? Scientists say it may be hard to know for sure.
"We've lost the control group," Subrahmanyam said. "How do you find a group of kids that are not using the computer?"

Tips for smart, healthy holiday travel,

As if traveling with the kids over the holidays weren't tough enough, this year we must contend with airline surcharges and swine flu, as well as all the usual annoyances and delays that go along with traveling -- especially with children -- during the busiest travel weeks of the year.
There is some good news, though. Travelocity's Genevieve Brown reports that domestic airfare is down 12 percent from last Thanksgiving -- hotel rates are down even more.
Good luck to those of you taking a new baby home to meet the relatives this Thanksgiving. (That was my first flight with my babies too.) My "Taking the Kids 2009 Holiday Rules for the Skies" will hopefully keep you healthy and make your travel cheaper and easier this holiday season:
--Juggle your dates. Travel the Monday before Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving morning, the week of Christmas rather than the following week and you could save more than $100 a ticket, says BestFare.com's Tom Parsons. Those airline surcharges we are hearing so much about are only for the busiest travel days, like the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and Sunday, November 29.
Airfarewatchdog.com's George Hobica adds that you are smart to consider airlines that give "fare drop" discounts like Jet Blue, Southwest and Alaska; they refund the difference if a fare goes down between the time you buy and the time you fly. Other airlines also offer refunds but deduct hefty change fees.
--Book a direct flight, even if you have to pay more, suggests Travelocity's Brown. And if you have to connect, allow at least three hours between flights. The planes will be packed and if you miss your connection -- all it takes is one major storm somewhere -- you won't find enough seats on the next flights for your family. Make sure you get seat assignments too. It will be impossible to get seats together when you arrive at the airport for a packed flight.
--Look for "family designated" security lanes at airports to avoid the icy glares of harried business travelers behind you and your stroller. Allow at least an hour more than you think you'll need and check in online.
--Travel with carry-on bags not only to save fees (Jet Blue and Southwest currently are the only domestic carriers not charging baggage fees), but also to save time. You'll get to the gate -- and out of the airport at the other end -- significantly quicker. As an early holiday gift, get the kids their own rolling carry-on, monogrammed with their name in a favorite color, from Lands' End or L.L. Bean. (Listening, Grandma?)
If necessary, ship suitcases, snow sports gear and holiday gifts ahead. If you are staying with relatives, rent a crib (it isn't safe to use the one your mom has had in the attic for 30 years). Google a rental place near where you'll be staying or check out www.rent-baby-equipment.com or http://www.jetsetbabies.com/. They can deliver diapers!)
--Buy a seat for the baby and toddler and bring their safety seats onboard. Yes, they can fly free until they are two, but everyone from the FAA to the American Academy of Pediatrics reports that young children are far safer -- not to mention more comfortable -- in a safety seat, especially when a flight hits turbulence. You'll have a more comfortable flight too.
--Stash sandwiches, snacks and reusable water bottles that you can fill when you get through security. This way you not only feed the kids healthier en route but also save considerable money and time. You don't want to have to run for the gate -- as I've had to do -- after being stuck in an interminable security line with no time to stop for food, while facing a three-hour flight with three kids, with only crushed Goldfish in your purse.
--Keep that hand sanitizer handy and use it often. "Parents should not be afraid to travel due to H1N1," says Dr. Gwenn O'Keeffe, a pediatrician and editor of www.pediatricsnow.com. We've just got to travel smarter. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has an excellent guide for parents (www.flu.gov) and you'll also find tips at the American Academy of Pediatrics' Website, www.aap.org.
"Cough into a tissue or the crook of your elbow," Dr. O'Keeffe says. And stay home if you are sick. Don't go visit relatives who are sick either. Don't share drinks or food, adds Dr. Chris Tolcher, a California pediatrician, medical school professor and spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatrics.
--Just in case someone gets sick, bring along common over-the-counter medications like acetaminophen and ibuprofen, Dr. Tolcher suggests. Ask your pediatrician to recommend a physician in the area you'll be visiting, particularly if any of your kids has a chronic condition. And consider travel insurance. According to the U.S. Travel Insurance Association, you'll be covered if one of you gets sick away from home or if you have to cancel for H1N1 or other illnesses, as long as you have medical documentation.
--Make sure kids who are flying as unaccompanied minors know where they are going. (Yes, kids have been put on wrong flights.) Give them a cell phone and all of the phone numbers they might need. Teens need to know that if their flight is diverted or if they miss a connection, they've got to speak up and tell the gate agents and flight attendants they are alone. You don't want them to get lost in the shuffle.
--Say thanks but no thanks to the relatives and opt for a hotel. Now through December 30, get a second night at half price as part of Omni Hotels new Spirits and Sprinkles deal (http://www.omnihotels.com/). Also, check the official tourism Web site for the city you'll be visiting or try www.hotels.com and www.travelzoo.com.
There is one other bright spot. A new American Express survey reports that nearly 20 percent of those who traveled last year will be staying home. Maybe that will make it easier for the rest of us. And perhaps the airlines will offer a last-minute sale.
Pass theAs if traveling with the kids over the holidays weren't tough enough, this year we must contend with airline surcharges and swine flu, as well as all the usual annoyances and delays that go along with traveling -- especially with children -- during the busiest travel weeks of the year.
There is some good news, though. Travelocity's Genevieve Brown reports that domestic airfare is down 12 percent from last Thanksgiving -- hotel rates are down even more.
Good luck to those of you taking a new baby home to meet the relatives this Thanksgiving. (That was my first flight with my babies too.) My "Taking the Kids 2009 Holiday Rules for the Skies" will hopefully keep you healthy and make your travel cheaper and easier this holiday season:
--Juggle your dates. Travel the Monday before Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving morning, the week of Christmas rather than the following week and you could save more than $100 a ticket, says BestFare.com's Tom Parsons. Those airline surcharges we are hearing so much about are only for the busiest travel days, like the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and Sunday, November 29.
Airfarewatchdog.com's George Hobica adds that you are smart to consider airlines that give "fare drop" discounts like Jet Blue, Southwest and Alaska; they refund the difference if a fare goes down between the time you buy and the time you fly. Other airlines also offer refunds but deduct hefty change fees.
--Book a direct flight, even if you have to pay more, suggests Travelocity's Brown. And if you have to connect, allow at least three hours between flights. The planes will be packed and if you miss your connection -- all it takes is one major storm somewhere -- you won't find enough seats on the next flights for your family. Make sure you get seat assignments too. It will be impossible to get seats together when you arrive at the airport for a packed flight.
--Look for "family designated" security lanes at airports to avoid the icy glares of harried business travelers behind you and your stroller. Allow at least an hour more than you think you'll need and check in online.
--Travel with carry-on bags not only to save fees (Jet Blue and Southwest currently are the only domestic carriers not charging baggage fees), but also to save time. You'll get to the gate -- and out of the airport at the other end -- significantly quicker. As an early holiday gift, get the kids their own rolling carry-on, monogrammed with their name in a favorite color, from Lands' End or L.L. Bean. (Listening, Grandma?)
If necessary, ship suitcases, snow sports gear and holiday gifts ahead. If you are staying with relatives, rent a crib (it isn't safe to use the one your mom has had in the attic for 30 years). Google a rental place near where you'll be staying or check out www.rent-baby-equipment.com or http://www.jetsetbabies.com/. They can deliver diapers!)
--Buy a seat for the baby and toddler and bring their safety seats onboard. Yes, they can fly free until they are two, but everyone from the FAA to the American Academy of Pediatrics reports that young children are far safer -- not to mention more comfortable -- in a safety seat, especially when a flight hits turbulence. You'll have a more comfortable flight too.
--Stash sandwiches, snacks and reusable water bottles that you can fill when you get through security. This way you not only feed the kids healthier en route but also save considerable money and time. You don't want to have to run for the gate -- as I've had to do -- after being stuck in an interminable security line with no time to stop for food, while facing a three-hour flight with three kids, with only crushed Goldfish in your purse.
--Keep that hand sanitizer handy and use it often. "Parents should not be afraid to travel due to H1N1," says Dr. Gwenn O'Keeffe, a pediatrician and editor of www.pediatricsnow.com. We've just got to travel smarter. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has an excellent guide for parents (www.flu.gov) and you'll also find tips at the American Academy of Pediatrics' Website, www.aap.org.
"Cough into a tissue or the crook of your elbow," Dr. O'Keeffe says. And stay home if you are sick. Don't go visit relatives who are sick either. Don't share drinks or food, adds Dr. Chris Tolcher, a California pediatrician, medical school professor and spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatrics.
--Just in case someone gets sick, bring along common over-the-counter medications like acetaminophen and ibuprofen, Dr. Tolcher suggests. Ask your pediatrician to recommend a physician in the area you'll be visiting, particularly if any of your kids has a chronic condition. And consider travel insurance. According to the U.S. Travel Insurance Association, you'll be covered if one of you gets sick away from home or if you have to cancel for H1N1 or other illnesses, as long as you have medical documentation.
--Make sure kids who are flying as unaccompanied minors know where they are going. (Yes, kids have been put on wrong flights.) Give them a cell phone and all of the phone numbers they might need. Teens need to know that if their flight is diverted or if they miss a connection, they've got to speak up and tell the gate agents and flight attendants they are alone. You don't want them to get lost in the shuffle.
--Say thanks but no thanks to the relatives and opt for a hotel. Now through December 30, get a second night at half price as part of Omni Hotels new Spirits and Sprinkles deal (http://www.omnihotels.com/). Also, check the official tourism Web site for the city you'll be visiting or try www.hotels.com and www.travelzoo.com.
There is one other bright spot. A new American Express survey reports that nearly 20 percent of those who traveled last year will be staying home. Maybe that will make it easier for the rest of us. And perhaps the airlines will offer a last-minute sale.
Pass theAs if traveling with the kids over the holidays weren't tough enough, this year we must contend with airline surcharges and swine flu, as well as all the usual annoyances and delays that go along with traveling -- especially with children -- during the busiest travel weeks of the year.
There is some good news, though. Travelocity's Genevieve Brown reports that domestic airfare is down 12 percent from last Thanksgiving -- hotel rates are down even more.
Good luck to those of you taking a new baby home to meet the relatives this Thanksgiving. (That was my first flight with my babies too.) My "Taking the Kids 2009 Holiday Rules for the Skies" will hopefully keep you healthy and make your travel cheaper and easier this holiday season:
--Juggle your dates. Travel the Monday before Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving morning, the week of Christmas rather than the following week and you could save more than $100 a ticket, says BestFare.com's Tom Parsons. Those airline surcharges we are hearing so much about are only for the busiest travel days, like the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and Sunday, November 29.
Airfarewatchdog.com's George Hobica adds that you are smart to consider airlines that give "fare drop" discounts like Jet Blue, Southwest and Alaska; they refund the difference if a fare goes down between the time you buy and the time you fly. Other airlines also offer refunds but deduct hefty change fees.
--Book a direct flight, even if you have to pay more, suggests Travelocity's Brown. And if you have to connect, allow at least three hours between flights. The planes will be packed and if you miss your connection -- all it takes is one major storm somewhere -- you won't find enough seats on the next flights for your family. Make sure you get seat assignments too. It will be impossible to get seats together when you arrive at the airport for a packed flight.
--Look for "family designated" security lanes at airports to avoid the icy glares of harried business travelers behind you and your stroller. Allow at least an hour more than you think you'll need and check in online.
--Travel with carry-on bags not only to save fees (Jet Blue and Southwest currently are the only domestic carriers not charging baggage fees), but also to save time. You'll get to the gate -- and out of the airport at the other end -- significantly quicker. As an early holiday gift, get the kids their own rolling carry-on, monogrammed with their name in a favorite color, from Lands' End or L.L. Bean. (Listening, Grandma?)
If necessary, ship suitcases, snow sports gear and holiday gifts ahead. If you are staying with relatives, rent a crib (it isn't safe to use the one your mom has had in the attic for 30 years). Google a rental place near where you'll be staying or check out www.rent-baby-equipment.com or http://www.jetsetbabies.com/. They can deliver diapers!)
--Buy a seat for the baby and toddler and bring their safety seats onboard. Yes, they can fly free until they are two, but everyone from the FAA to the American Academy of Pediatrics reports that young children are far safer -- not to mention more comfortable -- in a safety seat, especially when a flight hits turbulence. You'll have a more comfortable flight too.
--Stash sandwiches, snacks and reusable water bottles that you can fill when you get through security. This way you not only feed the kids healthier en route but also save considerable money and time. You don't want to have to run for the gate -- as I've had to do -- after being stuck in an interminable security line with no time to stop for food, while facing a three-hour flight with three kids, with only crushed Goldfish in your purse.
--Keep that hand sanitizer handy and use it often. "Parents should not be afraid to travel due to H1N1," says Dr. Gwenn O'Keeffe, a pediatrician and editor of www.pediatricsnow.com. We've just got to travel smarter. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has an excellent guide for parents (www.flu.gov) and you'll also find tips at the American Academy of Pediatrics' Website, www.aap.org.
"Cough into a tissue or the crook of your elbow," Dr. O'Keeffe says. And stay home if you are sick. Don't go visit relatives who are sick either. Don't share drinks or food, adds Dr. Chris Tolcher, a California pediatrician, medical school professor and spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatrics.
--Just in case someone gets sick, bring along common over-the-counter medications like acetaminophen and ibuprofen, Dr. Tolcher suggests. Ask your pediatrician to recommend a physician in the area you'll be visiting, particularly if any of your kids has a chronic condition. And consider travel insurance. According to the U.S. Travel Insurance Association, you'll be covered if one of you gets sick away from home or if you have to cancel for H1N1 or other illnesses, as long as you have medical documentation.
--Make sure kids who are flying as unaccompanied minors know where they are going. (Yes, kids have been put on wrong flights.) Give them a cell phone and all of the phone numbers they might need. Teens need to know that if their flight is diverted or if they miss a connection, they've got to speak up and tell the gate agents and flight attendants they are alone. You don't want them to get lost in the shuffle.
--Say thanks but no thanks to the relatives and opt for a hotel. Now through December 30, get a second night at half price as part of Omni Hotels new Spirits and Sprinkles deal (http://www.omnihotels.com/). Also, check the official tourism Web site for the city you'll be visiting or try www.hotels.com and www.travelzoo.com.
There is one other bright spot. A new American Express survey reports that nearly 20 percent of those who traveled last year will be staying home. Maybe that will make it easier for the rest of us. And perhaps the airlines will offer a last-minute sale.
Pass theAs if traveling with the kids over the holidays weren't tough enough, this year we must contend with airline surcharges and swine flu, as well as all the usual annoyances and delays that go along with traveling -- especially with children -- during the busiest travel weeks of the year.
There is some good news, though. Travelocity's Genevieve Brown reports that domestic airfare is down 12 percent from last Thanksgiving -- hotel rates are down even more.
Good luck to those of you taking a new baby home to meet the relatives this Thanksgiving. (That was my first flight with my babies too.) My "Taking the Kids 2009 Holiday Rules for the Skies" will hopefully keep you healthy and make your travel cheaper and easier this holiday season:
--Juggle your dates. Travel the Monday before Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving morning, the week of Christmas rather than the following week and you could save more than $100 a ticket, says BestFare.com's Tom Parsons. Those airline surcharges we are hearing so much about are only for the busiest travel days, like the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and Sunday, November 29.
Airfarewatchdog.com's George Hobica adds that you are smart to consider airlines that give "fare drop" discounts like Jet Blue, Southwest and Alaska; they refund the difference if a fare goes down between the time you buy and the time you fly. Other airlines also offer refunds but deduct hefty change fees.
--Book a direct flight, even if you have to pay more, suggests Travelocity's Brown. And if you have to connect, allow at least three hours between flights. The planes will be packed and if you miss your connection -- all it takes is one major storm somewhere -- you won't find enough seats on the next flights for your family. Make sure you get seat assignments too. It will be impossible to get seats together when you arrive at the airport for a packed flight.
--Look for "family designated" security lanes at airports to avoid the icy glares of harried business travelers behind you and your stroller. Allow at least an hour more than you think you'll need and check in online.
--Travel with carry-on bags not only to save fees (Jet Blue and Southwest currently are the only domestic carriers not charging baggage fees), but also to save time. You'll get to the gate -- and out of the airport at the other end -- significantly quicker. As an early holiday gift, get the kids their own rolling carry-on, monogrammed with their name in a favorite color, from Lands' End or L.L. Bean. (Listening, Grandma?)
If necessary, ship suitcases, snow sports gear and holiday gifts ahead. If you are staying with relatives, rent a crib (it isn't safe to use the one your mom has had in the attic for 30 years). Google a rental place near where you'll be staying or check out www.rent-baby-equipment.com or http://www.jetsetbabies.com/. They can deliver diapers!)
--Buy a seat for the baby and toddler and bring their safety seats onboard. Yes, they can fly free until they are two, but everyone from the FAA to the American Academy of Pediatrics reports that young children are far safer -- not to mention more comfortable -- in a safety seat, especially when a flight hits turbulence. You'll have a more comfortable flight too.
--Stash sandwiches, snacks and reusable water bottles that you can fill when you get through security. This way you not only feed the kids healthier en route but also save considerable money and time. You don't want to have to run for the gate -- as I've had to do -- after being stuck in an interminable security line with no time to stop for food, while facing a three-hour flight with three kids, with only crushed Goldfish in your purse.
--Keep that hand sanitizer handy and use it often. "Parents should not be afraid to travel due to H1N1," says Dr. Gwenn O'Keeffe, a pediatrician and editor of www.pediatricsnow.com. We've just got to travel smarter. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has an excellent guide for parents (www.flu.gov) and you'll also find tips at the American Academy of Pediatrics' Website, www.aap.org.
"Cough into a tissue or the crook of your elbow," Dr. O'Keeffe says. And stay home if you are sick. Don't go visit relatives who are sick either. Don't share drinks or food, adds Dr. Chris Tolcher, a California pediatrician, medical school professor and spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatrics.
--Just in case someone gets sick, bring along common over-the-counter medications like acetaminophen and ibuprofen, Dr. Tolcher suggests. Ask your pediatrician to recommend a physician in the area you'll be visiting, particularly if any of your kids has a chronic condition. And consider travel insurance. According to the U.S. Travel Insurance Association, you'll be covered if one of you gets sick away from home or if you have to cancel for H1N1 or other illnesses, as long as you have medical documentation.
--Make sure kids who are flying as unaccompanied minors know where they are going. (Yes, kids have been put on wrong flights.) Give them a cell phone and all of the phone numbers they might need. Teens need to know that if their flight is diverted or if they miss a connection, they've got to speak up and tell the gate agents and flight attendants they are alone. You don't want them to get lost in the shuffle.
--Say thanks but no thanks to the relatives and opt for a hotel. Now through December 30, get a second night at half price as part of Omni Hotels new Spirits and Sprinkles deal (http://www.omnihotels.com/). Also, check the official tourism Web site for the city you'll be visiting or try www.hotels.com and www.travelzoo.com.
There is one other bright spot. A new American Express survey reports that nearly 20 percent of those who traveled last year will be staying home. Maybe that will make it easier for the rest of us. And perhaps the airlines will offer a last-minute sale.
Pass the

Security forces in Afghanistan have killed or captured more than 30 high-level militants, including many accused of participating in roadside bomb attacks, military officials said.
Twenty-six militants have been captured, and eight have been killed, with most of them senior leaders in the Taliban and the Haqqani network, according to a news release issued by NATO's International Security Assistance Force.
The militants -- "known for leading the planning and undertaking of deadly attacks" against civilians, government officials and soldiers -- were captured or killed between August 20 and October 17, the force reported. The insurgents also facilitated the "trafficking of fighters, weapons, explosives and money to support their terrorist activities," the force said.
The force did not explain under what circumstances the militants were killed or detained.
Among the dead are Mullah Farid Fazil Lang, who is accused of planning and participating in attacks against Afghan and ISAF soldiers, the force said.
Lang, who commanded a cell in charge of preparing roadside bombs, was involved in the kidnapping of New York Times reporter David Rohde in November 2008, the force said.

Rohde was snatched outside Kabul, Afghanistan's capital, but was later held in Pakistan. He escaped in June after seven months in Taliban captivity.
Among the detained were Karim Shakan and Matiullah, the force said.
Shakan, a Taliban commander, assisted in the "movement and use of IEDs," or improvised explosive devices. He recruited local Afghans for the insurgency and preached anti-government messages," according to the force.
Matiullah served as an Afghan national police officer in Parwan province, just north of Kabul, when he was linked to insurgents, the force said. He was accused of passing on information to the insurgency.

How Microsoft blew it with Windows Mobile

Microsoft Windows continues to dominate the PC market with a 90 percent market-share stronghold, but when it comes to smartphones, Microsoft is getting beat up worse than a mustachioed villain in a Jackie Chan movie.

Windows Mobile has lost nearly a third of its smartphone market share since 2008, research firm Gartner reports. Windows Mobile had 11 percent of the global smartphone market in the third quarter of 2008, according to Gartner, and last quarter Windows Mobile's market share plummeted to 7.9 percent.

Meanwhile, Apple's global market share grew from 12.9 percent to 17.1 percent, and RIM saw a rise from 16 percent to 20.8 percent, according to Gartner's figures.

It's worth noting Microsoft got a head start with Windows CE, its pocket PC OS, in 1996. Windows CE serves as the foundation for the Windows Mobile OS shipping with some smartphones today. The smartphone OS market, in fact, has existed for several years, and Microsoft was an early leader in the space. But only recently have several additional corporations stepped into this space with their own platforms.

Microsoft's biggest problem? One word: iPhone.

"It was really the iPhone that came out full-bore for a consumer perspective," said Ross Rubin, an NPD Group consumer technology analyst. "We saw app development focus on consumer applications like social networking and games.... Particularly with Apple's retail presence and advantages in that market, through design and so forth, that's where Microsoft's main challenge lies."

Many other technology observers agree that Apple receives credit for sparking the smartphone boom. The 2008 introduction of the App Store enabled third-party developers to sell their own software, further enhancing the capabilities of the iPhone. This proved a workable model, giving 40 million iPhone and iPod Touch owners the ability to choose from the now 100,000 apps in the App Store.

Meanwhile, some developers earned hundreds of thousands of dollars with hot-selling apps. Even if most developers didn't earn that much cash, the success stories helped make Apple's App Store powerfully attractive.

Apple's blockbuster success with the iPhone and its App Store compelled other tech giants to offer their own mobile platforms and app stores as well. Google, Nokia, Research In Motion, Palm and others have opened app stores and begun recruiting developers to compete.

But if Microsoft was the first player in this market, why wasn't the software giant able to replicate the success it had with PCs?

"It was theirs to lose and they lost it," said Raven Zachary, a technology analyst and owner of iPhone app development house Small Society. "They had everything they needed to execute, to do the right kinds of carrier deals to create an app store, create visual voice mail, touchscreens and so on. They've been in this space since the beginning."

To Peter Hoddie, CEO of Kinoma, which develops a mobile media browser for Windows Mobile and other platforms, a major knock against Windows Mobile isn't the OS itself, but rather the weakness of the bundled apps included with it.

"The sad part for Microsoft is that in terms of operating systems, they have a great one, and they had it long before anyone else did," Hoddie said in a phone interview. "Their first problem is the built-in apps are uninspiring, so that sets a very low bar for developers who are coming to the platform."

Hoddie compared Windows Mobile to the iPhone, whose apps he described as "beautiful," which encourages third-party developers to produce apps of similar quality.

He added that Microsoft's second problem is segmentation in the hardware ecosystem. Windows Mobile ships with several different manufacturers' hardware, including HTC, LG and Samsung. The problem? From a developer perspective, that requires coding an app for several phones with different UI styles, buttons and screen sizes. (The same problem, incidentally, has started to plague Android developers.)

That would give the iPhone another advantage: The iPhone operates on a closed system, which can only run on Apple hardware, meaning third-party developers can produce apps and games that work exclusively with the iPhone.

Therefore, despite Apple's questionable and controversial approval policy for iPhone apps, developers can code one app that works with 40 million iPhone and iPod Touch devices, which is less time consuming than developing several versions of one app for a variety of Windows Mobile smartphones. In turn, that spells out to a larger number of apps in the App Store, which enables Apple's hardware to cater to a larger and broader audience.

The inability to recognize the new smartphone audience is another one of Microsoft's flaws, Rubin said. Microsoft's mobile OS history is rooted in personal digital assistants, which were marketed toward enterprise audiences. Today, the smartphone has shifted into the mainstream as a consumer device, and yet Windows Mobile is still largely focused on enterprise features.

And even in the enterprise market, Apple's iPhone is winning. In a recent customer satisfaction survey conducted by JD Power, Apple grabbed the number 1 spot for smartphones in business. How? JD Power found that more than half of business smartphone owners reported downloading third party games for entertainment, and 46 percent report downloading travel software such as maps and weather apps.

That would suggest enterprise users are interested in mixing business with pleasure in their devices  and the iPhone's wealth of choices in the App Store covers those needs.

"I would say Microsoft needs to err more on the side of going too far into the consumer segment versus trying to achieve a good balance between enterprise and consumer features at this point," Rubin said.

Despite Microsoft's recent shrinkage in the mobile OS market, it's not over for Windows Mobile. Rubin said he expects Microsoft to redeem itself with its next OS  Windows Mobile 7  as it did with Windows 7 after negative reception of Windows Vista.

Microsoft declined to comment on details about Windows Mobile 7, but a spokeswoman said mobility is one of Microsoft's top investment areas, and the company's mobile strategy will not change.

"The company's mobility strategy has not changed; it is and has always been to provide a software platform for the industry," a Microsoft spokeswoman said in a statement. "The company works closely with many mobile operators and device makers around the world because people want different experiences on a variety of phones."

Leaks indicate Microsoft plans to incorporate iPhone-like touch gestures. Windows Mobile 7 is scheduled for a 2010 release.

"Microsoft believes the Windows brand is very strong, and consumers associate the Windows brand with enabling them to do what they need to do in their digital lives, at least on the PC," Rubin said. "In general with this whole Windows phone terminology, Microsoft is trying to do more to leverage what it believes is the good will value of the Windows brand."

Germany extends Afghanistan mission

The German Cabinet has decided to extend the country's mission in Afghanistan but won't approve more troops.
Germany's mission in Afghanistan was due to end on December 13, but the extension would keep them there until the same date next year, 2010, a spokesman for the German government told CNN Wednesday.
The German Parliament must still approve the extension and is expected to vote on it next month.
German lawmakers previously imposed a ceiling of 4,500 troops for Afghanistan. Tuesday's Cabinet decision leaves that number unchanged.
Germany currently has 4,050 troops in Afghanistan, and the German Parliament last Friday approved 100 more.
The government of German Chancellor Angela Merkel also decided to extend its military's participation in anti-piracy naval patrols off the Horn of Africa and in a United Nations mission patrolling the waters off Lebanon, the spokesman said.
Germany is one of 42 nations participating in NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.
So far, Germany has lost 36 soldiers during its mission in Afghanistan, a defense ministry spokesman said. He did not give his name, citing policy.
The deployment of troops was a central issue in Germany during elections held in September.
Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier proposed withdrawing troops as early as 2011.
His rival, Chancellor Angela Merkel opposed the idea. The elections concluded on September 28 with Merkel winning another four-year term.

California approves new energy efficiency standards for televisions

The California Energy Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to become the first state to impose energy efficiency standards for televisions. The agency estimates the move will save consumers $1 billion a year in energy costs.
The new standards, which will take effect in January 2011, prevent the sale of energy-guzzling televisions with a screen size 58 inches or smaller, mandating that new models consume 33 percent less electricity by 2011 and 49 percent less electricity by 2013.
The new rules cover liquid-crystal display and plasma high-definition TVs, old-fashioned cathode ray tube and rear-projection sets, but consumers won't be required to buy new televisions.
"The real winners of these new TV energy efficiencies are California consumers, who will be saving billions of dollars and conserving energy while preserving their choice to buy any size or type of TV," Energy Commission Chairman Karen Douglas said in a statement.
As televisions have grown in size, residential energy consumption attributed to televisions has increased from 3 to 4 percent in the 1990s to 8 to 10 percent in 2008.
It is expected to reach 18 percent by 2023, according to the commission. The standards are expected to reduce energy consumption, thereby lowering energy bills. It's also expected to help avoid the construction of a new power plant and reduce carbon dioxide gas emissions, the commission said.
Some retail groups and trade associations denounced the regulations, claiming they needlessly limit consumer freedom and may result in the loss of retail jobs and sales tax revenue.
"Manufacturers are already making energy-efficient models, so imposing regulations is absolutely unnecessary, " said Jason Oxman, senior vice-president of industry affairs for the Consumer Electronics Association, which represents companies within the consumer technology industry.
A study released by CEA in April responding to California's proposal estimated that $50 million in state sales tax would be lost as a result of some models being unavailable in stores, driving consumers to buy televisions online and out-of-state.
"You have regulators dictating what kinds of TVs people can buy in California, but they can still buy them online or go across the border to Nevada and buy them," he said.
The commission acknowledged that more than 1,000 TV models on the market already meet the 2011 standards, at no greater cost than less-efficient sets. But the commission's study said there is no evidence that efficiency standards would send consumers across the border in search of models that will run up their energy bills

Obama brothers meet in China

President Obama's four-day visit to China was aimed at building deeper ties -- and also spending time, albeit briefly, on family relationships.
In between his arrival in Beijing, China, on Monday and his informal dinner with Chinese President Hu Jintao a few hours later, President Obama met with his half-brother Mark Obama Ndesandjo.
"We just had a big hug. ... It was very, very powerful and very, very intense, because he's my big brother," Mark Obama said.
Mark Obama, who has spent the past seven years living in southern China, recently wrote a semi-autobiographical book titled "Nairobi To Shenzhen."
In it, he claims that he was often physically abused by his father, Barack Obama Sr.
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"What I wanted to do is write about my father," he said. "My father beat me. He beat my mother."
Mark Obama went on to say that oftentimes, he heard thuds coming from the living room and would "hear my mother's screams and my father shouting."
"I wanted to protect her ... but I couldn't do anything."
When asked whether the president shared experiences with their father, Mark Obama -- a pianist in China -- simply said that "we talked about family."
In an interview with CNN, President Obama said that although he has not read his half-brother's book, "it's no secret that my father was a troubled person."
Just like the president, Mark Obama was the child of a mixed marriage. Although he never knew his half-brother while growing up, the two have met from time to time as adults.
"There is always that personal connection. I honestly don't see him as the president of the United States when I am next to him," Mark Obama said.
As to how the two stay in touch, Mark Obama said that "I would rather not go into that for various reasons, but we know how to get in contact with each other if we have to."

Obama, Hu envision cooperative future

U.S. President Barack Obama is to spend his final day in China Wednesday meeting with Premier Wen Jiabao and visit the Great Wall before heading to South Korea for the final leg of his Asia trip.
On Tuesday Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao said China and the United States, the largest producers of greenhouse gases, will team up to fight climate change and create clean energy. The two leaders said their nations will cooperate to advance technologies and work toward a global agreement on reducing carbon emissions.
Their declaration comes ahead of next month's U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. The world's top economic powers, including the U.S., recently acknowledged at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit that there's no hope of a major breakthrough on climate change by year's end.
The aim is to produce a pact over a longer period, a strategy dubbed "one agreement, two steps."
In addition to climate change, trade, nuclear proliferation and the sticky issue of human rights were also addressed during their talks, they said.
The two leaders "talked about continuing to build a positive, cooperative and comprehensive relationship between our nations," according to Obama, who said he welcomed China's desire for a greater role in world affairs.
"China and the United States share extensive common interests and broad prospects for cooperation on a series of major issues important to mankind's peace and stability and development," Hu said. He named the economy, climate change and cultural exchanges among those issues.The U.S. delegation was met by an honor guard at the Great Hall of the People, and Obama shook hands with Hu and other top Chinese officials before the two leaders went behind closed doors. It was their fifth meeting in the past year, and they made no public statements beforehand.
On economic and trade issues, Hu called for Beijing and Washington to build a positive relationship in the 21st century, to build a partnership.
"Our two countries need to oppose and reject protectionism and all its manifestations," Hu said.
Sentiment favoring protectionism has grown in the United States, as hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Chinese products pour in each year. Some analysts say the Chinese goods are artificially cheap and come at the expense of American jobs.
A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Monday found that 71 percent of Americans consider China an economic threat to the United States, with two-thirds considering it a source of unfair competition for U.S. companies.
The survey also found 51 percent of the U.S. public consider China a military threat, with 47 percent disagreeing. That 4-point margin is within the poll's 4.5 percent sampling error.
But the economic relationship serves both nations.
The United States is a ready market for Chinese products, while China is a major purchaser of the U.S. Treasury bonds that finance America's budget deficit. In the midst of a global economic recession, Washington and Beijing are in "a mutual hostage situation," former Bush administration China analyst Victor Cha said.
"China needs to purchase these Treasuries in order to maintain a strong dollar. Otherwise, the value of their foreign currency holdings goes down dramatically," Cha told CNN. "We need China in order to finance a lot of the deficit spending we're doing now. It's very much intertwined in a way that two countries in the history of international relations have not been intertwined."
China is also an important player in the diplomatic showdowns over nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea and holds one of five permanent seats on the U.N. Security Council. China is North Korea's closest ally and has played a key role in the six-party talks aimed at convincing Pyongyang to dismantle its nuclear weapons program.
Hu said Tuesday that China is committed to dialogue to work toward denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, adding that nuclear non-proliferation in Asia and the Persian Gulf is important.
The issue of human rights has often been a sticking point between Beijing and Washington. China regularly cracks down on its religious and ethnic minorities.
Obama encouraged China on Tuesday to resume talks with representatives of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader. The issue is such a source of friction that Obama didn't meet with the Dalai Lama during his recent visit to Washington so as not to inflame the situation.
Although Hu said China was willing to discuss issues such as human rights and religion to broaden understanding between the nations, he said each side had agreed to respect the other's cultural sovereignty.
The day was not purely about politics. After talks with Hu, Obama paid a visit to the Forbidden City. Also on the schedule was a state dinner to be hosted by Hu and meetings with parliamentary leader Wu Bangguo.
After his visit to the Great Wall, Obama travels to Seoul, South Korea, where he will meet Thursday morning with President Lee Myung-bak.

U.N. chief: Hunger kills 17,000 kids daily

Somewhere in the world, a child dies of hunger every five seconds -- even though the planet has more than enough food for all.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon laid out this sobering statistic as he kicked off a three-day summit on world food security Monday in Rome.
"Today, more than 1 billion people are hungry," he told the assembled leaders. Six million children die of hunger every year -- 17,000 every day, he said.
The summit opened with the leaders adopting a declaration to renew their commitment to eradicating hunger. They promised to do so by promoting investment, reversing the decline in funding for agriculture and tackling the effect of global warming on food security.
Urgent action is critical, Ban said. In 2050, the world will need to feed 2 billion more mouths -- 9.1 billion in all.
The steps Ban proposed included providing farmers with seeds and land and offering them access to better markets and fairer trade.
"These small-holder farmers are the heart and soul of food security and poverty reduction," he said. "Our job is not just to feed the hungry but to empower the hungry to feed themselves."
The summit came under criticism even before it began, with some aid groups skeptical that it would accomplish much.
The United Nations hopes that donors will go beyond affirming their support to end hunger and fulfill a promise they made during a Group of Eight meeting in July to increase food aid significantly.
Though more than 60 world leaders are at the summit, all but one of the G-8 leaders were absent.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Belusconi is hosting the gathering. The United States sent the head of the U.S. Agency for International Development, and Britain sent two ministers.
During his speech, Ban also tied the global warming crisis to hunger eradication.
The melting of Himalayan glaciers will affect the livelihood of 300 million people in China and up to 1 billion throughout Asia, he said. And African farmers might see harvests drop by 50 percent by 2020.
The United Nations has scheduled a climate summit next month in Copenhagen, Denmark.
"There can be no food security without climate security," Ban said. "They must produce results.
"The world is impatient for us to make a difference. I, too, am impatient. And I am committed."
The United Nations also seeks commitment from the public, making an online appeal for individual donations to fight hunger. The U.N. World Food Program's "Billion for a Billion" campaign aims to reach 1 billion individuals.
"If a billion Internet users donate a dollar or a euro a week, we can literally transform the lives of a billion hungry people across the world," said Josette Sheeran, the World Food Program's executive director.
Small donations can make a big difference, Sheeran said.
"Year in, year out, governments have supported WFP in its mission to feed the world's hungriest people, but they cannot be expected to do it alone," Sheeran said. "It's time for members of the public to act."

Nicolas Cage caused his own financial ills, ex-business manager says

Nicolas Cage brought about his own financial ruin with a spending spree that included two castles, 15 palatial homes, a flotilla of yachts and a squadron of Rolls Royces, his former business manager said.
Samuel Levin, responding to a lawsuit Cage filed against him, said he warned the Oscar-winning actor that he could face bankruptcy unless he scaled back his lavish lifestyle.
Cage, one of Hollywood's highest-paid movie stars, sued Levin in October, charging that he "lined his pockets with several million dollars in business management fees while sending Cage down a path toward financial ruin."
"Cage discovered that he is now forced to sell major assets and investments at a significant loss and is faced with huge tax liabilities because of Levin's incompetence, misrepresentations and recklessness," Cage's lawsuit said. He asked the Los Angeles Superior Court for $20 million in damages from Levin.
Levin filed a counter-complaint this week demanding $129,000 owed to him by Cage for recent work on his tax returns. The filing also argued that Cage was "deeply in debt" when he started working for him in 2001 because Cage had "already squandered tens of millions of dollars he had earned as a movie star."
Levin said he warned Cage, whose given name is Nicolas Coppola, that he needed to earn $30 million a year "just to maintain his lavish lifestyle." He urged Cage to save "a cash cushion" of at least $10 million "to alleviate the financial pressure to take film roles that might be detrimental to his career," Levin's response said.
Several of Cage's recent movie roles have been seen by critics as "paycheck gigs" taken only because of his pressing debt.
Levin's filing claimed that starting in 2005 and then "with increasing urgency" over the next two years, he "implored Coppola to stop buying real estate and urged him to reduce his real estate holdings, warning Coppola that the financial press was filled with references to a 'real estate bubble.' "
He countered Cage's claim that the actor was left in the dark about his finances.
"Levin repeatedly warned Coppola that he was living beyond his means, urged him to spend less, and warned him that financial disaster loomed if he continued to spend uncontrollably," Levin's filing said.
"Levin described the folly of several other well-known entertainers who compulsively overspent their way into bankruptcy, and warned Coppola 'it could happen to you,' " the filing said.
Cage should have known about his debt because "he signed every check for every monetary transaction throughout the relationship," Levin said.
"Instead of listening to Levin, cross-defendant Coppola spent most of his free time shopping for high ticket purchases, and wound up with 15 personal residences, most of which were bought against Levin's advice," Levin's complaint said. "Likewise, Levin advised Coppola against buying a Gulfstream jet, against buying and owning a flotilla of yachts, against buying and owning a squadron of Rolls Royces, against buying millions of dollars in jewelry and art."
Cage's four yachts included one each for the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, Newport Beach, California, and Rhode Island, Levin said.
In 2007 alone, Cage's "shopping spree entailed the purchase of three additional residences at a total cost of more than $33 million; the purchase of 22 automobiles (including 9 Rolls Royces); 12 purchases of expensive jewelry; and 47 purchases of artwork and exotic items," Levin's filing said.
"Coppola also spent huge sums taking his sizable entourage on costly vacations and threw enormous, Gatsby-style parties at his residences," it said.
Levin's warnings that Cage was living beyond his means were not just ignored, but "at times Levin was rebuked for trying to restrain the outflow of cash," he said.
"The pinnacle" of Cage's spending spree was the purchase of two castles -- in England and Germany -- which Levin warned "were decrepit and needed huge expenditures," he said.
Cage's financial collapse came in 2008 when real estate values plunged and most of his residences turned "upside down, just as the global credit crunch made it impossible to cover Coppola's endless cash calls by borrowing more money," Levin said.
The case of Nicolas Cage versus Samuel Levin is set for a hearing in a Beverly Hills, California, courtroom on February 3, 2010, according to court records

Washington said it was dismayed at the move

Israel approved a construction plan Tuesday for hundreds of houses in a disputed neighborhood on Jerusalem's southern outskirts, quickly prompting criticism from Washington.
The Jewish state's Interior Ministry said it had approved the construction of 900 units in Gilo. The approval of construction moves forward the process for the project; it will now be opened to public objections.
Final approval will follow several other stages, and construction is probably several years away.
Washington said it was dismayed at the move.
"At a time when we are working to relaunch negotiations, these action make it more difficult for our efforts to succeed," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a written statement.
"The U.S. also objects to other Israeli practices in Jerusalem related to housing, including the continuing pattern of evictions and demolitions of Palestinian homes. Our position is clear: The status of Jerusalem is a permanent-status issue that must be resolved through negotiations between the parties," Gibbs said.
"Neither party should engage in efforts or take actions that could unilaterally pre-empt, or appear to pre-empt, negotiations."
President Obama entered office in January promising a new focus on the conflict. He appointed a Middle East peace envoy, George Mitchell, whose efforts have failed to break the deadlock.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to order a total freeze on all Jewish settlement construction on the West Bank and in East Jerusalem, as the Obama administration originally demanded.
The United States has stepped back from that position, leading to uproar among Palestinians.
And the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, has threatened to resign, which could lead to the collapse of the Middle East peace process.
However, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat called it a U.S. "demand" that Israel stop its construction.
"The demand to halt construction by religion is not legal in the United States or in any other free place in the world," he said in a written statement Tuesday.
"I do not presume that any government would demand to freeze construction in the United States based on race, religion or gender, and the attempt to demand it from Jerusalem is a double standard and inconceivable."
Asked whether the construction had come up when Mitchell met in London with Israeli negotiators, U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said he didn't want to get into the "substance of these negotiations. It's sensitive," he said, adding that some Israeli press reports did say that the issue was raised in the meetings.
But he said he wouldn't "steer" reporters "one way or the other on it."
The construction approval comes days after the Palestinian Authority's prime minister said the group is moving forward to build the institutions needed to manage an independent Palestinian state even as peace talks remain stalled.
In a policy paper published in August, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad laid out a plan to create "a de facto state apparatus" within two years, spurring speculation about whether a unilateral Palestinian declaration of statehood was forthcoming. But on Sunday, Fayyad said that his state-building process was different from a declaration of statehood.
"Getting ready for statehood and statehood proclamation are two different things," he said. "What we in the Palestinian Authority are concerned with is Part A of this, which is to prepare for that eventuality."
Fayyad's August proposal defined a vision for a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital.
He said a decision on statehood would not fall to the Palestinian Authority but to the Palestine Liberation Organization.
The Palestinian Authority was created to administer the Palestinian territories as part of the 1993 Oslo Accords between Israel and the PLO. As a representative of the Palestinians, the PLO was granted observer status at the United Nations in 1975.
The prime minister also indicated that the Palestinians may turn to the United Nations to give its support to a resolution backing the creation of a Palestinian state.

Army suicides set another yearly record

Suicides among soldiers this year have topped last year's record-breaking numbers, but Army officials maintain a recent trend downward could mean the service is making headway on its programs designed to reduce the problem, Army officials said Tuesday.
Since January, 140 active-duty soldiers have killed themselves while another 71 Army Reserve and National Guard soldiers killed themselves in the same time period, totaling 211 as of Tuesday, Gen. Peter Chiarelli, U.S. Army vice chief of staff, told reporters at a briefing Tuesday. But he said the monthly numbers are starting to slow down as the year nears its end.
"This is horrible, and I do not want to downplay the significance of these numbers in any way," Chiarelli said.
For all of 2008, the Army said 140 active-duty soldiers killed themselves while 57 Guard and Reserve soldiers committed suicide, totaling 197, according to Army statistics.
The Army is still trying to tackle why soldiers are killing themselves.
"We still haven't found any statistically significant causal linkage that would allow us to effectively predict human behavior. The reality is, there is no simple answer -- each suicide case is as unique as the individuals themselves," Chiarelli said.
He also said there were troubling new statistics showing an increase in suicide rates among young soldiers who have never deployed, another factor puzzling Army researchers.