am trying something every day and maybe that is why it is so inconsistent
it not quite there still need to do some work on it
nfl rookies sanchez greene power jets past bengals
cincinnati ohio jan afp
rookie quarterback mark sanchez posted his first postseason win as the new york
jets stunned cincinnati in the opening round of the national football
league playoffs saturday
tight end dustin keller had yard touchdown catch to put the jets ahead to
stay in the second quarter
shonn greene who was third round draft pick also rushed for yards
including yard touchdown for the jets who posted their first playoff
victory in five years
our guys are resilient jets coach rex ryan said we are heck of football
team if people don believe that then hopefully one day they will and soon
on saturday the teams had to battle bitter cold temperatures on the field which
made handling the ball difficult
but sanchez was superb going of for passing yards he is just the
fourth rookie quarterback in the past years to start and win an nfl playoff
contest he joined shaun king joe flacco and ben roethlisberger in that
category
he just kept getting better as the season went along ryan said told him
this was his second season now his first season is over this is the playoffs
not only did the jets get their first postseason win since but they
engineered back to back sweep of cincinnati after beating the bengals in the
regular season closer for both teams
cincinnati suffered serious blow on the opening play of the game as starting
linebacker rashad jeanty fractured his leg on the kickoff
jeanty was trying to block for teammate bernard scott when he fell and broke his
left fibula
unfortunately it was sign of things to come for the bengals who have not won
playoff game in years
one bright spot for the bengals was cedric benson who ran for playoff team
record of yards
bengals kicker shayne graham missed two field goals in the second half
including yarder with just under four minutes remaining
cincinnati quarterback carson palmer had one touchdown pass and an inteception
he completed of throws for yards
the jets advance to the second round next week where they will either
indianapolis or san diego
later saturday dallas hosted philadelphia in first round game another
rematch from the final day of the regular season
jal will not forge capital tie up with us carrier report
tokyo jan afp
japan airlines jal is unlikely to form capital tie up with us carrier but
will instead limit the partnership to business tie up for now an economic
daily reported sunday
jal has been offered financial assistance by both american airlines and delta
air lines which are competing to take stake in the japanese company and
increase their share of the lucrative asian market
debt ridden jal has studied possible capital tie up with either one of the us
airlines as it would curb the amount of taxpayer money needed for an out of
court rehabilitation
but the japanese airline is now expected to file for bankruptcy with guarantee
of public support next week under rescue plan mapped out by the state backed
enterprise turnaround initiative corp etic local media reported
the etic which oversees jal restructuring has therefore concluded that
capital tie up with us carrier would complicate the government led
rehabilitation process while also narrowing options for new management soon to
be selected the nikkei said citing unnamed sources
the etic which originally planned to pick foreign partner by the end of this
month is now expected to make the final decision no earlier than february it
said
since autumn both delta and american have been in talks with jal in hopes of
securing capital and business alliance showing the willingness to inject
around billion yen billion dollars worth of loans and investments
media reports have suggested jal was leaning towards forging capital tie up
with delta and join the skyteam global alliance leaving the oneworld group
which includes american airlines
american airlines reported last week it had increased its investment offer by
million dollars to billion dollars raising the stakes in the bidding
war
cia director defends agency against criticism
washington jan afp
cia director leon panetta revealed saturday that jordanian doctor who killed
seven agency operatives was about to be searched before he blew himself up at
us military base in afghanistan
this was not question of trusting potential intelligence asset even one
who had provided information that we could verify independently it is never
that simple and no one ignored the hazards panetta wrote in an article in the
washington post
the individual was about to be searched by our security officers distance
away from other intelligence personnel when he set off his explosives
the post said the central intelligence agency had been planning to speak with
the suicide bomber about ways to kill ayman al zawahiri al qaeda number two
leader top us target who remains at large
humam khalil abu mulal al balawi jordanian of palestinian origin who is said
to have been triple agent blew himself up at us military base in khost near
the pakistani border on december in the deadliest attack against the spy
agency since
in addition to the agents balawi also killed his jordanian handler top
intelligence officer and member of the royal family
nearly everyone within sight of the bomber died instantly when thousands of
steel pellets exploded from the device
at least six other people including the cia second in command in afghanistan
were wounded the post said citing us officials briefed on the incident
in video broadcast saturday balawi said the bombing was an act of revenge for
series of us drone attacks
we tell our emir baitullah mehsud we will never forget his blood it is up to
us to avenge him in and outside america bearded balawi clad in military
uniform said about taliban leader killed in us attack in august
this is message to the enemies of the muslim nation the cia and
jordanian intelligence services
khalil al balawi told afp that the man shown in the video was his son who had
been manipulated by several unidentified intelligence services
fighting back criticism of the agency handling of balawi who posted radical
anti western comments online panetta reacted angrily to comments suggesting
that those who gave their lives somehow brought it upon themselves because of
poor tradecraft
criticism has narrowed on how balawi bypassed checkpoints and was allowed onto
the frontline base which he had never visited before
somebody comes and it like celebration that they re coming it good to
make them feel welcome it good to make them feel important former cia
field officer told the newspaper
the jordanian was heralded as superstar asset so you get an important
visitor coming so you go out and meet him is it bad tradecraft of course
but panetta said the charge was akin to suggesting that marines who die in
firefight brought it upon themselves because they have poor war fighting skills
the cia is also taking heat for foiled christmas day attack with us officials
saying the nigerian accused of trying to detonate explosives aboard us bound
airliner umar farouk abdulmutallab received training from an al qaeda
affiliate in yemen
president barack obama has ordered urgent action at security and intelligence
agencies to fix flaws exposed by the narrowly averted attack saying spy
agencies did not properly connect and understand information that could have
uncovered the plot during its planning stages
the main lesson from this attack is that like our military cia officers are
on the front lines against al qaeda and its violent allies panetta said in his
piece which will be published in sunday print edition of the post
they take risks to confront the enemy gathering information to destroy its
networks and disrupt its operations
us lawmakers to take up airport security
washington jan afp
boosted airport security measures will be at the top of us lawmakers agenda
when they return to congress next week amid intelligence failures exposed by
the botched christmas day attack
top senators vowed to grill intelligence bosses on the alleged failings with
director of national intelligence dennis blair homeland security secretary
janet napolitano and national counterterrorism center director michael leiter in
the firing line
we will ask admiral blair and director leiter why the intelligence community
was unable to bring together pieces of intelligence held by various agencies to
detect this plot vowed senate homeland security committee chairman joe
lieberman
lieberman connecticut independent will hold hearings on how to improve us
security in the wake of the thwarted attack starting january
the senate committee on commerce science and transportation will hold hearing
that same day on aviation security
this incident raises concerns not only about the effectiveness of our aviation
security screening especially internationally but also about the degree to
which we are connecting the dots and sharing information in the intelligence
community said the committee chairman jay rockefeller
several other panels have promised to examine the intelligence lapses
president barack obama has ordered sweeping overhaul of us intelligence which
he has blamed for missing red flags that could have detected the plot
the plot triggered global alarm leading the united states to adopt stringent
new screening and security measures at airports around the world dozens of
names have also been added to no fly lists
congress will look into the matter just as both chambers scramble to strike an
agreement by the end of this month on final version of sweeping overhaul of
the embattled us healthcare system obama top domestic priority
in the house of representatives the intelligence committee is scheduled to
receive briefing from top officials on wednesday about progress into the
investigation of the investigation into northwest flight from amsterdam to
detroit
it was not us intelligence but passengers and crew who averted potential
disaster when they overpowered umar farouk abdulmutallab year old
nigerian after explosives allegedly stitched into his underwear failed to
detonate aboard the aircraft carrying nearly people
the myriad hearings on the legislative agenda come as the republican opposition
which hopes to seize congressional seats from the democrats in mid term
elections press obama to further tighten security and revamp the fight
against militants
house republican minority leader john boehner welcomed obama initial efforts
to correct the weaknesses in us intelligence and security that allowed the
plot to go forward
but he stressed he was concerned that the president has yet to lay out real
comprehensive strategy to fight and win the war on terror
republicans are also calling for increased us aid to help yemeni security forces
combat militants as it emerged abdulmutallab had received training in the
arabian peninsula country from an al qaeda affiliate
washington has tripled its foreign aid to yemen from levels with plans to
provide up to million dollars this year
meanwhile democratic representative sheila jackson lee who chairs the house
homeland security subcommittee on transportation security and infrastructure
protection said she would soon introduce legislation to boost airport security
with increased financing
lawmakers are also expected to debate the increased use of body scanners which
can peer through clothes to create three dimensional images of passengers to
reveal any concealed weapons or explosives
the us transportation security administration now plans to purchase total of
of the controversial scanners up from currently in use as part of
pilot program
republican representative jason chaffetz who introduced bill in april to
limit the use of the full body scanners said friday that we must carefully
consider how to balance safety and security with personal privacy concerns
he has instead proposed to use more bomb sniffing dogs
the house will return to work next week and the senate will begin its new
session week later
several countries including britain and canada have announced they will
introduce body scanners at airports in the wake of the foiled attack france
said it would begin testing their use
europeans stock up as no end to cold snap forecast
berlin jan afp
europe endured weekend weather misery with scores of flights cancelled and key
highways cut off as snow blanketed much of the continent and officials urged
people to stock up on supplies
germany was forecast to receive more snow sunday after as much as centimetres
inches fell in northern and central germany on saturday
all of germany is white said tania dressel of the german weather services
germans were warned to buy enough food and medicines to last for up to four days
in the face of blizzard and then hunker down at home avoiding all non
essential travel
the frigid temperatures claimed more lives on saturday
year old homeless man was found frozen to death in the northwestern french
province of normandy authorities said
the two latest victims of britain coldest weather for years were year
old woman who died after being found lying in the snow in newcastle northeast
england and woman who froze to death in the garden of her home in
yorkshire
what is causing the weather havoc in europe according to meteorologist michel
daloz with meteo france is rare combination of factors depression over
northern italy bringing relatively warm humid air from the mediterranean north
where it has met cold air coming from the north and east
air traffic around the continent faced major disruptions more than flights
were cancelled at frankfurt europe third largest airport spokesman juergen
harrer said with scores more delayed
about third of flights were delayed at paris charles de gaulle airport before
air traffic returned to normal later on saturday
but in the eastern city of lyon about people were stranded at the airport
after numerous flights were cancelled and several planes in the air headed for
alpine destinations were routed there
the red cross set up cots for the stranded passengers as local hotels were full
london heathrow airport cancelled short haul flights and heavy snow led to
dublin airport closing for four hours with more than flights either
cancelled or delayed
traffic was backed up on major links like the highway between germany and
france where police blocked off the border road to trucks for several hours due
to heavy snow german traffic police said
in france significant snowfalls caused major delays to train services and
firefighters in northwest eure region had to rescue overnight some motorists
stranded on blocked roadways officials said
the eurostar rail link between britain and continental europe said it was
operating two thirds of its trains
in london the serpentine outdoor swimming lake in hyde park was closed for the
first time in about years amid icy conditions
the conditions knocked out weekend sports games seven english premier league
football matches were called off and five out of the six premiership rugby union
fixtures were also cancelled
in the czech republic six workers in the central town of chrast escaped unhurt
when factory roof collapsed under the weight of snow lying on it
major highway linking prague with the western city of plzen was blocked for
several hours on saturday after accidents
power outages were reported in poland where about households were without
electricity in the southern region of kielce and katowice after power lines
snapped when snow laden branches of trees fell on them
in italy heavy winds and rain toppled trees in the centre of the country and
around rome leaving some people without electricity civil protection
officials said
prime minister gordon brown sought to reassure britons about gas supplies amid
record levels of demand caused by week of sub zero temperatures and
businesses being cut off in order to conserve stocks
can assure you supplies are not running out brown said in his weekly
podcast
still for some the winter freeze led to call for fun and games
in the netherlands thousands donned their ice skates after the skating
federation knsb gave the green light for impromptu events on three lakes around
the country
togo in dramatic african nations cup turn
luanda jan afp
togo performed dramatic turn on their decision to quit the african nations
cup electing instead to stay in angola and compete player said hours before
the competition gets underway sunday
in memory of the dead the national team has decided to play in the african
nations cup thomas dossevi who plays for french side nantes told afp
the surprise announcement revoked their earlier intention to fly home in the
wake of friday deadly attack on their team bus in cabinda
the attack by separatist rebels left at least two dead and many injured and led
to the team being called back to lome by the togolese government
but after impassioned pleas by the angolan prime minister paulo kassoma and
african nations cup organisers the players chose to remain
we are all heartbroken it is no longer party but we want to show our
national colours our values and that we are men he said
it was decision taken nearly unanimously by the team which met during the
night after having been reassured by the angolan authorities dossevi added
togo captain emmanuel adebayor had earlier been reported his club manchester
city to be returning to britain
the stricken side first match is against ghana in cabinda on monday and
dossevi criticised organisers for not rescheduling the fixture
dossevi said the team was bit bitter we are little disappointed with the
confederation of african football caf which couldn arrange for
postponement of our first match so we could bury our dead
caf puts its interests first and not those of the countries
they did not support us enough
earlier angola efforts to allay security concerns appeared to have been
ignored by togo
the togolese government has decided to recall its team togolese government
spokesman pascal bodjona said
we cannot in such dramatic circumstance continue the african nations cup
competition this is necessary because the players are in shock
kassoma met with caf president issa hayatou to reassure player safety ahead of
the opening match of africa largest football festival in luanda
the prime minister considers the incident in cabinda as an isolated act and
repeated that the security of togo team and the other squads is guaranteed
his office said in statement
later kassoma talking on angolan state radio urged togo to stay
let us go on together united in this big event this major celebration of
african youth in this year of glory for african sport
his words were echoed by caf president hayatou
if you choose to remain with us we will help you overcome your pain he said
caf official kodjo samlan said earlier reports that one of the bus drivers had
been killed were incorrect
togo assistant coach and its squad spokesman died after hooded gunmen opened
fire as the team buses crossed into the restive angolan enclave of cabinda
the attack was claimed by the flec pm separatist group embroiled in struggle
for independence in the oil rich territory which warned the attack was only
the start of series of targeted actions
during the minute ambush players and others cowered under seats to escape the
bullets
dossevi said they had been fired on like dogs
we are all little shocked and we re asking why caf were holding games in
cabinda how can you organise tournament in state of war he told afp
on saturday evening goalkeeper kodjovi obilale was in stable condition in
johannesburg hospital where he was expected to undergo surgery for gunshot
wounds to the lower back and abdomen after being airlifted to south africa
organisers said the games would proceed as planned
caf is continuing with its schedule and the sovereign authorities of the
country angola are taking the adequate measures surrounding security said
constant omari member of the local organising committee
hosts angola take on mali sunday at luanda new seat november stadium
in the first game in the day tournament
pig dowry for new zealand teen to marry boyfriend dad report
wellington jan afp
new zealand teen was forced to marry her boyfriend father and consummate the
marriage after the groom gave her parents pig and some mats as dowry
according to report sunday
the girl mother and man understood to be her stepfather have been charged
with detaining her allegedly to force her to be the groom wife and to force
her to have sex with him the sunday star times said
the mother is also chargd with assaulting her daughter twice over the marriage
issue
the report said the girl of tongan descent and believed to be about years
old did not want to marry the man but an agreement was reached between the two
families and she was obliged to honour it
her family was given dowry of large pig and expensive mats
on her wedding night the girl ran away to her boyfriend understood to be the
groom son
it was then that she was allegedly assaulted abducted and taken back to the
matrimonial home to perform her duties as wife the report said
neither the girl nor her husband could be reached for comment but her mother
told the newspaper my family problems are gone don want to say
anything
the mother and her husband are due to reappear in court later this month facing
six charges the most serious of which carries maximum sentence of years
jail
football ferguson tests fa patience with new ref rant
birmingham england jan afp
sir alex ferguson may have landed himself in further trouble with the football
association fa after his latest withering assessment of referee
the manchester united manager was furious with mark clattenburg for sending off
scotland midfielder darren fletcher towards the end of the english champions
premier league draw away to birmingham city here on saturday
ferguson has only recently served two match touchline ban for criticising the
fitness of referee alan wiley earlier this season and has two match suspended
sentence hanging over his head from the fa
but that did not stop him from indulging in another spot of referee baiting at
st andrews following match where win for united would have seen them replace
chelsea at the top of the table
fletcher was dismissed for two yellow cards the second of which was for foul
on birmingham goalscorer cameron jerome three minutes from the end of another
sub standard performance by ferguson side just week after their fa cup
capitulation to third division leeds united
rather than concentrate on the deficiencies of his players ferguson opted for
concerted attack on clattenburg saying saw him referee arsenal against
spurs recently and someone needed to take out an axe to get booked and then he
sends someone off for that it was very very soft
ve not seen softer sending off for long time absolutely ridiculous
there were some weird and wonderful decisions going on out there the linesman
gives offside for our goal and it an own goal which negates offside and he
still gives offside
ferguson who may well be asked for an explanation of his comments by fa
officials insisted he was happy with draw against an in form birmingham side
managed by alex mcleish who played for the united manager when he was
previously in charge of aberdeen
the united boss made seven changes from the team beaten by leeds but was forced
to leave out dimitar berbatov because of knee injury that is causing some
concern for the bulgaria striker
berbatov has been carrying little knee injury and played with it last week
ferguson said we ll just try to get him sorted and get him fit again
reflecting on the match he added we re satisfied with point because this is
difficult place to go to it not bad point
it tough league have been saying that for months ferguson insisted
don know if anyone is listening
going to birmingham is not going to be easy teams like birmingham have really
improved alex has players that will run miles for him it is point gained
for us
birmingham broke club record stretching way back to with their th
successive top flight unbeaten league game and only scott dann own goal
deprived them of famous victory
but mcleish refused to get carried away and insisted premier league survival was
his only target even though that seems all but assured for birmingham side
that are now eighth in the table
we have done nothing yet because we could lose every remaining game this
season the former scotland defender said
it is record to be proud of but am not that interested in statistics
sporting gijon midfielder michel was guest at st andrews for the game and is
expected to complete million pounds transfer early next week depending on
the outcome of medical
abortion doctor slaying goes to trial in kansas
wichita kansas jan afp
the man who gunned down one of america best known abortion doctors goes on
trial here monday in case that once again focuses attention on the legal but
controversial medical procedure
scott roeder is charged with first degree murder in the may death of
george tiller who was gunned down in his kansas church
tiller was one of handful of doctors in the united states to perform
abortions into the third trimester of pregnancies he had been lightning rod
for anti abortion foes who nicknamed him tiller the baby killer
his slaying was an act of domestic terrorism designed to intimidate other
abortion providers said terry neill president of the pro choice national
organization for women now
scott roeder murder was aimed at other doctors not just dr tiller she told
afp
that the essence of terrorism
roeder has admitted in jailhouse interviews that he shot tiller but has pleaded
not guilty saying the act was necessary to protect the lives of unborn
children
jury selection begins monday
tiller death drew international headlines still it remains unclear what
effect if any it had in the on going abortion debate in this country
neil said tiller slaying was wake up call for many people who had not
taken strong stand on abortion and resulted in pledge from president barack
obama administration to provide greater protection for abortion clinics
however the slaying did not appear to influence the debate in washington over
the proposed national health care bill pending in congress which in its current
form places severe limits on publicly funded abortions
and as for lawmakers at the kansas state level neill said have not heard
of any state legislatures saying we have to protect our abortion providers
tiller was killed while serving as an usher in the foyer of his church but the
doctor and his clinic located just off busy whichita highway had been the
targets of decades of protests and occasional violence by anti abortion forces
to some extent roeder plan worked neill conceded
tiller family closed the clinic after his death and nebraska doctor
initially interested in re opening it decided against the move in the face of
threatened protests
the head of operation rescue prominent anti abortion group that protested at
tiller clinic for years has denounced the slaying but said it had little
effect on the abortion debate
there pro life majority in america he said gallup polls put us over
percent there was slight dip after tiller killing but it bounced back
we are the majority and that what we re going to be with or without
extremists
as proof newman cited the pound gorilla in washington the pro life voting
block that kept abortion funding out of the health care bill
roeder who lived in the kansas city area has long history of anti abortion
activities and according to one family member suffers from mental illness
judge has already ruled that roeder cannot pursue the so called necessity
defense by arguing that tiller death was necessary to save the life of others
but the judge may permit the defense to introduce evidence of roeder beliefs
that might allow jurors to consider lesser crime such as voluntary
manslaughter
apparently to that end roeder attorney has subpoenaed phill kline the former
kansas attorney general who aggressively investigated tiller in an attempt to
shut down his clinic
before leaving office kline charged tiller with misdemeanor counts of which
jury quickly acquitted him two months before his murder
tiller had become known for providing late term abortions to women not just in
kansas but from around the united states and the world
newman said his organization had no protests planned for roeder trial on his
blog newman has called roeder stupid for turning tiller into martyr
neill said now members will attend the trial
do think it important for us to honor dr tiller courage and frankly
his martyrdom she said
it appears scott roeder is going to try to put dr tiller on trial and to me
that is just monstrous
nevada brothel seeking few good men in us first
las vegas nevada jan afp
the world oldest profession is getting surge of new blood thanks to
decision this week that opens the door to the first legal male prostitutes in us
history
the shady lady ranch small brothel about miles from las vegas where about
four female prostitutes now work is accepting applications via its website for
male sex workers after receiving the go ahead from the local board that licenses
prostitutes
my wife wanted to try this so said ok said year old jim davis
retired architect from california who has owned the brothel with his wife for
years we don know whether it going to work or not but it gonna be
fun to find out
nevada is the only us state to allow legal prostitution but the laws governing
it specify cervical screenings for female sex workers the davises persuaded the
nevada board of health to grant waiver creating health screening process for
men which involves urethral tests
co owner bobbi davis has received hundreds of applicants and hopes to hire
one or two studs by the end of the month
several male escorts and porn stars have sent in their resumes and photos but
she said she looking for someone who can charm women as much as sexually
perform for them
they ve got to be able to laugh at lady joke davis said
the davises seek heterosexual men aiming to please women and said that if the
clientele seeking male prostitutes turns out to be predominantly other men they
will stop offering the service
