Remain Happy and Joyful During and After the Holidays

Childhood holiday memories are among our most common life experiences. I remember, growing up in a village on the slopes of Kilimanjaro, the holidays seemed to take forever to arrive. That is the experience of every child: a year is like eternity. For us too, the holiday period was simply Christmas-New Year.

What I remember most about the holidays was the anguish I caused my mother when she took me to the market to buy new clothes. There was an open market in the village twice a week and as the holidays approached, merchants and vendors from far and near filled the market with every kind of merchandize.

My mother would tell me ahead of time the choices I had: I could have a pair of shoes and a shirt, or a pair of shorts and shoes, or a pair of socks and a shirt. The choices always seemed to be incomplete. Going through the display of goods there was so much that I wanted but my mother would say, no; either this or that, not both.

I would then cry in the market which in turn caused her embarrassment and even anguish. What I did not know until I grew up was that my mother simply did not have enough money to buy me everything I wanted. There was no way she could have satisfied my desires.

So, how could she have found joy and happiness in the holidays given that she had six of us?

Even in that remote village on the slopes of Kilimanjaro, holiday demands today have extended far beyond a pair of shoes, pants and shirts. The list today includes iPads and iPhones... some electronic devices that are very alien to me but household names with sixth graders! The anguish my mother experienced that many years ago is many times more today.

One of - if not the - main feature of the holidays is giving; typically giving presents. With giving, inevitably, there is receiving. My mother was giving all the time and we, kids, were on the receiving side.

For Christians and the spiritual, giving is a response, not a cause. We give because we have received. If we get it right, this can be the main source of joy and happiness. Giving to those who have given us or will give us quite often will be unfulfilling. For the Christian giving is in response to the gift of Christ already received. Similarly for spirituality: The realization and appreciation of the gifts of the Universe prompt us to joyously give in response.

There is a second aspect to giving, and that is sharing. There is joy in sharing what we have received, be it material or spiritual. This means that everybody has something they can give or share and find joy and happiness in doing so.

Remember these four points:

1. Give your heart first and if that is all it will suffice.

2. Give because you have received. Count your blessings first and give out of those blessings.

3. Give what you have because you cannot give what you don't have.

4. Giving and obligation are not the same. It is a spiritual exercise not a law.

Wall Street Falls After Ireland Receives a Bailout - New York Times

Wall Street indexes fell on Monday, following the lead of European exchanges, as enthusiasm over a plan to bailout Ireland started to wane and traders began to worry about the problem spreading.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 93.35 points, or 0.83 percent, while the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index fell 8.22 points or 0.69 percent. The technology-heavy Nasdaq dropped 3.43 points, or 0.13 percent. On Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.2 percent, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 0.3 percent.

Shares on European exchanges lost their momentum in afternoon trading on Monday after initially opening higher. The Euro Stoxx 50 index, a barometer of euro zone blue chips, lost 1 percent, while the FTSE 100 index in London also dropped 0.7 percent. The CAC 40 in Paris was 0.81 lower, and the DAX in Frankfurt was down 0.11 percent.

The euro, which initially strengthened against the dollar, also slipped as traders began to worry whether other European countries would need some assistance.

“News that the Irish government were going to accept assistance with a debt bailout package certainly gave traders something to cheer about at the start of the week, but there seems to be a creeping realization that this won’t necessarily mark the end of the euro zone sovereign debt crisis,” Will Hedden, a sales trader at IG Index, told The Associated Press.

Ireland’s rescue package, which several European officials said would be worth 80 billion to 90 billion euros, or $109 billion to $123 billion, was made necessary by soaring borrowing costs for the Irish government and ebbing confidence in the country’s troubled banks. Just over six months ago, officials worked out a similar package to aid Greece amid fears that the problems of the euro-zone “periphery” could undermine the common currency.

Although the deal was inevitable, “there are still hurdles ahead for other countries, particularly next year,” Nick Stamenkovic, rate strategist at RIA Capital Markets, told Reuters. Those other countries include Portugal and Spain.

Ireland’s request spurred some concern among traders that Portugal and Spain may also need help in repaying their debts.

Bond prices reacted mildly to the Irish bailout news, which had been expected since last week. The Irish 10-year yield fell 18 basis points, but — at 7.73 percent — still carried a hefty premium to the comparable German bond, the European benchmark, which ticked up 2 basis points to 2.72 percent. The yield on Greek bonds was 11.5 percent.

The dollar fell against other major currencies in early trading in Europe, and then recovered lost ground in the afternoon. The euro, at $1.3672, and the British pound, at $1.5979, were both down slightly. The dollar slipped to 83.46 yen from 83.55 yen, and to $0.9893 Swiss francs from $0.9923 francs.

Asian shares were mostly stronger. The Tokyo benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average rose 0.9 percent. The main Sydney market index, the S.&P./ASX 200, rose 0.3 percent. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell 0.4 percent as the Shanghai composite index fell 0.2 percent.

Crude oil futures for January delivery rose 35 cents to $82.33 a barrel. Comex gold rose $8.90 to $1,361.20 an ounce.

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First Photo: Prince William & Kate Middleton Step Out After Engagement - People Magazine

 Prince William and Kate Middleton pose for a photograph in St. James's Palace, Nov. 16, 2010 Suzanne Plunkett/LandovTalk about a picture-perfect couple!
Hours after news of their royal engagement broke, Prince William and bride-to-be Kate Middleton appeared for the first time as an engaged couple during a photo call at St. James's Palace – and her ring was on view.
According to an official statement from the office of the father of the groom-to-be, Prince Charles, the two, both 28, "became engaged in October during a private holiday in Kenya."
While no official wedding date has been announced, the two are expected to marry in the spring or summer of next year.
"Everyone is absolutely delighted," an old friend tells PEOPLE. "He has never had eyes for any other woman since Kate came on the scene. She is going to make a wonderful wife, a wonderful princess."
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Some ready for another cruise even after Carnival voyage - CNN

Passenger: Like 'Gilligan's Island'Officials from Panama are investigating the fire on the cruise shipSome passengers said they ate mayonnaise sandwichesU.S. Coast Guard also part of the investigationFor more details visit CNN affiliate KUSA.

San Diego, California (CNN) -- Even though they were stuck without air conditioning, hot showers and decent meals, at least four passengers who made it off a crippled Carnival Cruise Lines ship said Friday that they would go on a cruise again.

"I'm so thankful that we're all alive," Leticia Lewis said on CNN's "American Morning." "I don't wish this experience on anyone. It wasn't a wonderful event. But I would take another one."

Amber Haslerud, another passenger, said her voyage on the ill-fated Carnival Cruise ship Splendor was her first cruise, and she would also go on another one.

"I definitely would give it another go and try to get the experience I should have had this time," said Haslerud. "I deserve it after all that we went through this week."

Natalie Martinez and Angela Evans said they would also go on another cruise, but they would bring a survival kit with flashlights, chocolate and air freshener.

And "I think we would wait a year," Martinez added..

The cruise ship lost power earlier this week after a fire started in the engine room of the vessel. Some 3,300 passengers left the ship Thursday after a three-day ordeal.

Some passengers left the boat with horror stories.

"It was absolutely deplorable," Marquis Horace said. At one point, the ship ran out of food, he said, and "they started making mayo sandwiches."

Maurice Harold and his wife, Cynthia Harold, not only had to endure being adrift, they had to do so without some of their own clothes, medicines and other items lost when their luggage went into the water while being loaded onto the ship.

"It was pretty traumatic. It was a scary situation, said Cynthia Harold, who said she needs to use an oxygen machine while sleeping and was unable to after the ship lost power.

"I really haven't slept since I left Virginia Beach," she said.

The couple said they are considering a lawsuit, but it all depends on how Carnival compensates them.

The cruise line has said it plans to give customers who were aboard the Splendor a full refund, reimbursement for travel costs and a free cruise.

Others looked at the incident differently calling it an "adventure."

"A lot of things went wrong, but it was really fun," said one young passenger, Ryan Harlan, who was traveling with his parents. "We went to the Kids' Camp."

He said the Kids' Camp was, in fact, his favorite part, because he made some friends.

And the worst part? "Being stranded in the middle of the ocean," he said.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday it was investigating the incident. But later in the day the safety board said officials from Panama would lead the investigation because that is the country the vessel is flagged under.

The U.S. Coast Guard will also be part of the investigation, the transportation board said.

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Cruise ship stranded without power after fire - CNN International

NEW: Tugboats are expected to arrive midday TuesdayNEW: Toilet service and cold water are restored aboard the shipThe vessel lost power after a fire MondayThe 7-day cruise departed from Long Beach, CaliforniaIf you have information or images to share, please do so at CNN iReport.

(CNN) -- A cruise ship with nearly 3,300 passengers on board was stranded off the coast of Mexico Tuesday after it lost power following an engine room fire, Carnival Cruise Lines said in a statement.

The fire occurred about 6 a.m. Monday in the aft engine room of the Carnival Splendor, the cruise line said Tuesday in a statement posted on its website. The blaze was extinguished and no passengers or crew were injured.

However, engineers were not able to restore power to the ship, which was operating on auxiliary generators, the statement said. As of Tuesday, "several key hotel systems, including air conditioning, hot food service and telephones are not available," the cruise line said.

On Monday night, engineers were able to restore toilet service to cabins and public bathrooms, along with cold running water, Carnival said. "The ship's crew continues to actively work to restore other services."

The voyage -- a seven-day cruise along the Mexican Riviera that departed Sunday from Long Beach, California -- was terminated, Carnival said.

Tugboats were en route to the ship, located off the Mexican coast about 200 miles south of San Diego, California, and would tow the vessel to Ensenada, Mexico "in an effort to get the guests home as quickly as possible." The boats were expected to arrive about midday Tuesday, the cruise line said.

Guests will receive a full refund and reimbursement for transportation costs, and will also receive a complimentary future cruise equal to the amount they paid for this voyage, Carnival said.

Announcements advising guests of the situation began early Monday, the cruise line said. Guests initially were asked to move from their cabins to the open upper deck areas of the ship, but later were given access to their cabins and were able to move about the ship, Carnival said. Bottled water and cold food items were being provided.

The vessel is in contact with the U.S. Coast Guard, which said in a Monday statement it was responding to reports of a fire and had dispatched three cutters and an HC-130 Hercules aircraft, among other vehicles.

"We know this has been an extremely trying situation for our guests and we sincerely thank them for their patience," Gerry Cahill, president and CEO of Carnival Cruise Lines. "Conditions on board the ship are very challenging and we sincerely apologize for the discomfort and inconvenience our guests are currently enduring. The safety of our passengers and crew is our top priority and we are working to get our guests home as quickly as possible."

The ship's normal itinerary included stops in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

The 952-foot Panamanian-flagged ship is carrying 3,299 guests and 1,167 crew members, according to the cruise line and the Coast Guard.

CNN's Melanie Whitley contributed to this report.

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GLOBAL ECONOMY-Obama fires back after China slates Fed's QE2 - Reuters

* Obama says U.S. low-growth or no-growth danger to world

* China says U.S being irresponsible over QE

* Russia says G20 should have been consulted ahead of QE

* G20 meets in Seoul Nov. 11, 12

By Patricia Zengerle and Krittivas Mukherjee

NEW DELHI, Nov 8 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama defended the Federal Reserve's policy of printing dollars on Monday during a trip to India, after Chinese officials stepped up criticism ahead of this week's Group of 20 meeting.

The G20 summit has been pitched as a chance for leaders of the countries that account for 85 percent of world output to prevent "currency wars" from spreading to become a rush to protectionism that could imperil the global recovery. [nSGE6A703T]

It has been overshadowed by disagreements over the U.S. Federal Reserve's quantitative easing (QE) policy under which it will print money to buy $600 billion of government bonds, a move that could depress the dollar and cause a potentially destabilising flow of money into emerging economies.

"I will say that the Fed's mandate, my mandate, is to grow our economy. And that's not just good for the United States, that's good for the world as a whole," Obama said.

"And the worst thing that could happen to the world economy, not just ours, is if we end up being stuck with no growth or very limited growth," he said. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

For more stories on G20 issues [ID:nTOE69K01G]

SCENARIOS-Can G20 make FX, trade progress [ID:nSGE6A703T]

Graphics

- Surging capital inflows: r.reuters.com/hep83q

- G20 economies (interactive):link.reuters.com/men39p Basel III: reshaping the rules: r.reuters.com/zys68p ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>

The U.S. has frequently criticised China, saying it deliberately undervalues its currency to boost exports.

*We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language or appear to be spam and review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters.

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German Bonds Fall After Fed Decision; France, Spain to Auction Securities - Bloomberg

German bunds weakened after the Federal Reserve announced it would buy $600 billion in Treasuries at a slower pace than some analysts anticipated.

Thirty-year bunds led the drop as the Fed said it will focus purchases on medium-term debt to reinforce the economy. The 10-year bund fell for the first day in five as France and Spain sold debt and stock markets surged, limiting the appeal of the safest assets. Irish 10-year securities declined for an eighth day, the longest stretch in almost two years, pushing the yield premium over bunds to a record amid concern the nation’s budget may not pass next month. The European Central Bank will leave its main refinancing rate at a record low 1 percent today, according to all 55 economists in a Bloomberg News survey.

“Bunds are suffering as the market scrutinizes details of the Fed, and there seems to be some supply indigestion,” said Michael Leister, a fixed-income analyst at WestLB AG in Dusseldorf, Germany. “The monthly pace of purchases is a bit slower than expectations. There’s some switching out of bunds into equities in the hope that the Fed will eventually get the job done to promote growth.”

The yield on the 10-year bund, Europe’s benchmark security, gained eight basis points to 2.50 percent at 10:46 a.m. in London. The 2.25 percent security maturing in September 2020 fell 0.69, or 6.9 euros per 1,000-euro ($1,423) face amount, to 98.15. The 30-year bund yield climbed 13 basis points to 2.97 percent. The two-year note yield rose two basis points to 0.98 percent.

French, Spanish Auctions

The Stoxx 600 index of European equities rose 1.2 percent, reaching a six-month high.

France sold 8.85 billion euros ($12.6 billion) of bonds maturing in 2020, 2023 and 2060, including 4.66 billion euros of 2.5 percent 2020 bonds at an average yield of 2.87 percent. Investors bid for 1.87 times the amount on sale, up from a bid- to-cover ratio of 1.78 at the previous auction of the same securities on Oct. 7.

“The French auctions looked quite well-received, given the total issuance size,” Leister said.

Spain auctioned 3.4 billion euros of five-year notes, less than the sale’s 4-billion-euro maximum target. The 2016 bonds, issued for the first time, yielded an average 3.576 percent, compared with 3.531 percent for bonds of similar maturity on the secondary market before the sale.

The yield on Spanish 10-year bonds rose after the auction to 4.34 percent, up six basis points from yesterday.

Irish Budget

The Irish 10-year bond tumbled, sending the yield 17 basis points higher to 7.73 percent. The nation faces a “messy” four weeks as the government prepares its 2011 budget and tries to reassure investors, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief European Economist Erik Nielsen said in a note late-yesterday.

There’s a “real risk” the government won’t be able to pass the budget, Nielsen said. Ireland is still “fully funded through mid-2011, so we are not talking about an imminent liquidity crisis,” he wrote.

The Irish government last month said it needs 15 billion euros of savings over the next four years to reduce the deficit. It will announce its 2011 target this week.

The nation will still have a “very substantial” borrowing requirement next year, John Curran, a government spokesman, said in an interview with Dublin-based broadcaster RTE today.

The difference in yield, or spread, between Irish bonds and benchmark German bunds rose as much as 14 basis points to 516 basis points, according to Bloomberg generic data. That’s the most since Bloomberg began collecting the data in 1991.

That compares with the record 973 basis-point premium on Greek 10-year debt, reached May 7, before the European Union crafted a rescue package worth 750 billion euros. The Greek- German spread fell six basis points to 838 basis points, the first time the gap has narrowed since Oct. 18.

German bonds have returned 8.7 percent this year, compared with an 8.9 percent gain for U.S. Treasuries, according to indexes compiled by Bloomberg and the European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies.

French debt has returned 8.5 percent and Spanish bonds have gained 1 percent. Greek and Irish debt have lost 16.5 percent and 8.6 percent respectively, the indexes show.

To contact the reporter on this story: Keith Jenkins in London at Kjenkins3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Daniel Tilles at dtilles@bloomberg.net

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Qantas Grounds Airbus A380 Fleet After Engine Failure - Voice of America

Brian Padden | Jakarta 04 November 2010

Firefighters surround a Qantas passenger plane which made an emergency landing in Singapore's Changi International Airport after having engine problems, 04 Nov 2010

Qantas Airways says it will suspend all Airbus A380 flights until they determine the cause of an engine failure that occurred earlier in the day.

A Qantas spokeswoman says Flight QF32 was en route from Singapore to Sydney when one of the A380 jet's four engines shut down.

Aviation industry consultant Gerry Soejatman says the airline industry term for what occurred is an uncontained engine failure.

"That means the engine failed in a manner in which it could not be contained in the engine itself.  So there would be parts flying around," he said.

Witnesses on the Indonesian island of Batam near Singapore reported hearing an explosion as the plane passed over, and found debris that appeared to be from an aircraft.

Tatang Kurnia, head of Indonesia's Transportation Safety Board, says there are pieces of debris in Batam with red coloring on it and Singapore confirmed that an airplane in the area dumped fuel to make an emergency landing.

The plane returned to Singapore as a precaution. There were initial fears the Airbus 380 had crashed.

No injuries among 459 people on board have been reported, but in Batam two people were reportedly hit by falling debris.

The cause of the engine failure has not been reported.  Australian aviation safety officials are on their way to Singapore to check the aircraft and the flight recorder.  Soejatman says it is not surprising that the incident occurred during take-off.

"During the take-off phase of the flight, it is the time when the engines are put at most strain, after it shut down from the previous flight," he said.  "So that is mechanically the riskiest part of the flight."

There are 37 Airbus A380 aircraft in use around the world.  Qantas has six in operation and 20 more on order.  The planes are the largest passenger aircraft and some can carry up to 800 people.

News of this incident comes at a time when airlines around the world are on high alert after discovery of bombs packed in air cargo in Europe.

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Midterm elections: The morning after - CNN International

Harry Reid says he's ready to compromiseTea Party-backed S.C. governor-elect says people found 'power of their voice'Indiana congressman intends to gut Obama's health care policy

(CNN) -- Here's what you need to know right now about election results, their impact and how politicians are reacting:

Reid ready to compromise

Having survived a strong re-election challenge and seen the Democratic majority in the Senate slip to one, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he's eager to work with Republicans to craft legislation and create jobs.

"It's important we realize we have some work to do," Reid said on CNN's "American Morning." "... We need to stop using words like 'chastened' and I think what we have to do is recognize that all of us, all of us who are going to be in Senate, have to work together. That's the message from the American people.

"We must work together, and I am looking forward to that. ... I think this is a time we need to set aside our speeches and start rolling up our sleeves and have a little sweat on our brow."

Reid said both parties need to give a little.

"We know that the Republicans of this last Congress picked up the name 'The Party of No.' I think that Democrats have to work with Republicans, and Republicans have to work with Democrats. It's not a one-sided deal," he said.

Reid identified job creation as his top legislative priority.

"As far as I'm concerned, my No. 1 job is to help create jobs, and I'm going to do everything I can. The only thing that's going to solve our economic problems in this country are jobs, jobs and more jobs."

A big question the next Congress will deal with is whether to extend the Bush-era tax cuts and/or make other changes to the tax code.

"I want to do everything I can to make sure those tax cuts remain in place," he said. "I'm not awkward, I'm not bullheaded, I'm willing to work with my Republican colleagues on a way to get this done."

Repeal of the health care reform legislation -- a key promise of many Republican candidates just elected -- is not an option, Reid said.

"The health care bill is very important," he said. "I wish the Republicans had worked with us when we did the health care bill. If there's some tweaking we need to do with the health care bill, I'm ready for some tweaking. But I'm not in any way going to denigrate the great work we did as a country in saving America from bankruptcy, because the insurance industry bankrupted us."

Nikki Haley vows to make more history

Nikki Haley, the first woman elected governor of South Carolina and the first woman of Indian descent elected governor of any state, said she hopes to really make history with the work that begins in January.

Haley, a Republican state representative, defeated Democratic state Sen. Vincent Sheheen after a bitter campaign.

"This was people finding the power of their voice," Haley said on "American Morning." "This was people saying, 'We want government to remember who it is that they work for. We want government to know the value of a dollar, and we want jobs and the economy to come first.' This was all about the people saying, 'We've had enough.'"

Haley, who enjoyed strong support from Sarah Palin and the Tea Party movement, said government will stick to the basics under her administration.

"We look at the fact that government was intended to secure the rights of the people; it was never intended to be all things to all people," Haley said.

"And certainly, when you give a man a job you give a man pride. We're going to give a lot of pride to the state of South Carolina."

She said she hoped her Indian heritage makes people proud but doesn't want that to be her legacy.

"As historic as I think a lot of observers are going to say this is, I hope what's historic is the work that we do in January and the things we get done in the first year of our Haley administration. ...

"We're proud for the women in this country. We're proud for the Indian-American community. We're proud for our families. But most importantly we're proud for the state of South Carolina."

Indiana's Pence wants to 'rip up' health care act

Indiana Congressman Mike Pence, who last night won his sixth consecutive term in office, said he saw the Republican victories as a direct message from the American people.

"I think the message coming out of last night's historic election is the American people want to see an end to the federal runaway with money and government takeovers," he said.

Pence also said he and the rest of the Republican Party are excited "to be worthy of the second chance the American people have given us."

And he pointed at President Obama's health care policy as part of the reason for the Republican gains Tuesday night.

"Obamacare was roundly rejected. We need to rip it up, root and branch," he said. "The American people don't want to be mandated to purchase health insurance. ... They don't want all the new taxes that come with it."

And he said Republicans won't just repeal the health care legislation, they'll replace it with a lower-cost option that Americans want.

Still, he said, last night wasn't just entirely about the Republicans, it was about their supporters who demanded their voices be heard.

"I don't see last night so much as a victory for one party or another," he said. "I see it as a victory for the American people. And I think they are going to stay engaged in this process."

When it comes down to it, Pence told CNN, loosening the government's role was the key to getting the country back on track.

"You get government out of control, you get government out of the way, and the economy will come roaring back," he said.

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Sources: Netanyahu expects Obama to resume Mideast efforts after midterms - Ha&apos;aretz

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu believes that the Obama administration will renew its initiatives to relaunch direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority after the U.S. midterm elections conclude on Tuesday, sources in Jerusalem said on Tuesday.

The sources said that Netanyahu was interested in resuming the political process and had asked Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to meet with him during his visit to the U.S. next week.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on September 2, 2010.

The premier is already planning talks in New Orleans with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, Both Netanyahu and Biden are scheduled to address November 7-9 General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America.

President Barack Obama, who is trying to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks stalled over Israeli settlement building, leaves on November 5 for a 10-day visit to India, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan. As such, the two leaders will not meet during Netanyahu's trip.

A new round of direct peace talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians got under way in Washington on Sept. 2 only to stop a few weeks later when Israel lifted restrictions it had imposed on a 10-month West Bank settlement building.

Polls released ahead of Tuesday's midterms predicted hefty losses for Obama's Democrats. Israeli ministers expect this will force him to avoid any bruising showdowns with Israel and its supporters in the coming months for fear of further undermining his shaky electoral position.

Palestinians hope that after the vote, Obama will refocus on foreign affairs and use the last two years of his presidential mandate to seek a place in history by securing an end to the decades-old conflict, regardless of obvious domestic risks.

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Argentine bonds, stocks rally after Kirchner death - Reuters

* Stocks .MERV open up 1.1 percent, peso dips

* Locally traded bonds rise an average 4.0 percent

By Jorge Otaola and Walter Bianchi

BUENOS AIRES, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Argentine bonds and stocks rose in opening trade on Thursday, boosted by investor confidence a day after the death of former President Nestor Kirchner.

For more on Kirchner see [ID:nN28110442].

Investors had disliked the unorthodox economic policies of Kirchner, who was a key power broker in the current government of his wife, President Cristina Fernandez, and who had been expected to run for a second term in October 2011 elections.

"The rise in stocks and bonds reflects expectations for a shift to economic policies that are more closely aligned with the markets," said Roberto Drimer, an analyst for VaTnet Financial Research.

Locally traded Argentine bonds rose 4.0 percent on average in opening trade. Among the biggest gainers was the dollar-denominated Disc ARDISCD=RASL, which rose 6.2 percent to an ask price of 94.60.

Argentina's portion of the JP Morgan EMBI Plus sovereign bond index 11EMJ widened 2 basis points to 535 basis points, after reaching its tightest in 31 months earlier in the session. The index overall was 1 basis point tighter.

The benchmark MerVal .MERV stock index was up 1.43 percent at 2,962.27 in morning trade boosted by speculative buying, with gainers led by media group Grupo Clarin (CLA.BA)(GCSAq.L), which was up 34 percent at 19 pesos per share.

The government has been battling with Clarin for more than two years. Kirchner frequently accused it of trying to destabilize his wife's administration while the media group in turn accuses officials of a campaign of harassment.

On the foreign exchange market, the peso weakened 0.12 percent to 4.0350/4.0400 per U.S. dollar ARSB= in informal trade between foreign exchange houses, as measured by Reuters.

In formal interbank trade, the peso was down 0.06 percent at 3.9575/3.96 per dollar ARS=RASL.

Market sources said they do not expect sudden movements on the peso due to the central bank's policy to continue intervening in foreign exchange markets and accumulating foreign reserves. [ID:nN25268824] (Writing by Luis Andres Henao; Editing by James Dalgleish)

*We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language or appear to be spam and review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters.

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Teen describes seeing Spader after he attacked Mont Vernon family - Boston Globe

Glover then testified he saw Spader walk out of the bedroom with the machete in his hands that was now "covered in blood and hair.''

Spader said, according to Glover, "'We made enough noise because two people are dead.'''

Gribble is being tried separately for first-degree murder. Marks has pleaded guilty and may be called to testify against Spader.

David Cates, the husband of Kimberly and father of Jaimie, who were 42 and 11 at the time of the attack, came face to face Wednesday with Spader at the trial.

Cates, an engineer who had been away on business when his family was attacked, spoke in short, composed sentences as he recalled the close bonds that had united his family before the attack.

Before his testimony, Cates watched from the spectator gallery as the prosecution produced photographs of bloody footprints, fingerprints, and a bloodied pillow found at his home after the attack.

Later, on the stand, Cates calmly identified the jewelry boxes, allegedly stolen in the attack, that had belonged to his wife and daughter.

Mother and daughter had been extremely close, Cates said, in a household where he had averaged 26 business trips a year. ?They spent an awful lot of time together,?? said Cates, who had texted the pair from Maryland only hours before the attack.

?Did you ever give Steven Spader or anybody else permission to be in your home on the night of Oct. 4, 2009??? prosecutor Jeffery Strelzin asked as he strode to face the defendant.

?I did not,?? Cates replied in a steady voice.

?Did you ever give Steven Spader or anyone else with him on Oct. 4, 2009, permission to take any of those items I just showed you out of your home??? Strelzin asked.

?I did not,?? Cates said.

During the testimony, Spader leaned back in his chair and looked directly at Cates, who glared briefly at the defendant as he walked back to his seat.

Earlier Wednesday, Spader bent forward at the defense table to view crime scene photographs displayed on a large screen. Along with the nine women and seven men on the jury, Spader saw photos of bloody tracks in the master bedroom, blood on the walls near a light switch, and carpeting apparently soaked with blood where Jaimie Cates had pretended to be dead while Spader allegedly struck her with a machete.

Many of the blows to Jaimie?s body were so severe that they could have been inflicted only by a sharp, heavy weapon such as a machete, said Dr. David Mooney, director of pediatric trauma services at Children?s Hospital Boston, where Jaimie was treated.

?There were wounds that were right through the bone,?? Mooney testified. ?It?s almost cleaner than we could do in surgery.??

Defense attorney Andrew Winters, attempting to cast doubt on whether the machete shown to the jury had been used in the crime, asked Mooney whether a samurai sword or an ax could have caused the most severe wounds to Jaimie?s foot, head, face, elbow, and thighs.

Mooney reiterated that such injuries would have had to be delivered with a heavy, sharp weapon and with significant force. The doctor said he had never treated a child with so many wounds of that nature.

In his opening argument Tuesday, Winters told the jury that a samurai sword had been discovered under Quinn Glover?s mattress.

Glover also posed with an ax in a picture on the MySpace website, Winters said.

Another person charged in the case, William Marks, then 18, of Amherst, will admit that he was sitting on a vehicle near the Cates home, holding an ax, and said he ?wanted to plant it in somebody?s head,?? Winters said.

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Blue wave turned red with blood after shark attack - Atlanta Journal Constitution

By GILLIAN FLACCUS

The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Matthew Garcia was surfing two feet away from his friend who was bodyboarding when he heard a desperate cry for help. Within seconds, a shark flashed out of the water, bit into his friend's leg and pulled him under in a cloud of blood off the coast north of Santa Barbara.

This photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department shows the bite of a shark on a boogie-board on which Lucas Ransom, 19, was killed Friday, Oct. 22, 2010, in a shark attack at Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc, Calif. (AP Photo/Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department)
In this July 6, 2007 photo, Lucas Ransom, is seen in Murrieta, Calif., Ramsom was killed in a shark attack Friday, Oct. 22, 2010, while boogie-boarding at Vanderberg Air Force near Lompoc Calif. (AP Photo/The Press-Enterprise, Frank Bellino) NO SALES; MAGS OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT
This photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department shows the bite of a shark on a boogie-board on which Lucas Ransom, 19, was killed Friday, Oct. 22, 2010, in a shark attack at Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc, Calif. (AP Photo/Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department)

"When the shark hit him, he just said, 'Help me, dude!' He knew what was going on," Garcia told the AP as he recounted his friend's death. "It was really fast. You just saw a red wave and this water is blue — as blue as it could ever be — and it was just red, the whole wave."

As huge waves broke over his head, Garcia tried to find Lucas Ransom in the surf but couldn't. He decided to get help, but turned around again as he was swimming to shore and saw Ransom's red bodyboard pop up. Garcia swam to his friend and did chest compressions as he brought him to shore.

The 19-year-old already appeared dead and his leg was mauled, he said.

"He was just floating in the water. I flipped him over on his back and under-hooked his arms. I was pressing on his chest and doing rescue breathing in the water," Garcia said. "He was just kind of lifeless, just dead weight."

The University of California, Santa Barbara, junior had a severe wound to his left leg and died a short time later at Surf Beach, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department said in a statement. The beach, 130 miles northwest of Los Angeles, is on the property of Vandenberg Air Force Base but is open to the public.

Sheriff's deputies patrolled the coastline to search for Ransom's missing leg but were only able to recover the bodyboard, which had a 1-foot segment on the side bitten off.

Federal and state Fish and Game officials were working to identify the type of shark that attacked Ransom. A shark expert told the Los Angeles Times, based on its behavior and Ransom's injury, it most likely was a great white.

"It takes a shark of massive size and jaw to inflict that kind of injury," Andrew Nosal of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography told the newspaper.

The ocean was calm and beautiful before the attack, with large wave sets that the friends had been tracking all week as they moved down the West Coast from Alaska, Garcia said.

The shark, which breached the water on its side, appeared about 18 feet long, Garcia said.

"There was no sign, there was nothing. It was all very fast, very stealth," said Garcia, 20.

The pair, best friends since they were on the water polo and swim teams together at Perris High School in Riverside County, had joked the night before about the chances they would be attacked by a shark, Garcia said. It was the first time either had been to that particular beach and they planned to surf until about 11 a.m. and then go to class, he said.

Witnesses told authorities that the surfers were about 100 yards offshore when the attack occurred.

"We were just in perfect water, the waves were perfect, great barrels. It was picture-perfect conditions," he said. "You hear a surfer say, 'Oh, perfect waves' — well, the waves do not get any better than they were today."

Ransom, who was from Romoland in Riverside County, was majoring in chemical engineering at UCSB, but was in the process of changing his major to chemistry because he wanted to be a pharmacist, said his mother, Candace Ransom.

He had been home last weekend but spent most of the time studying for midterm exams, she said.

She last spoke to her son Friday morning, when he told her he was going to surf sets of 8- to 10-foot waves at a beach that was new to him. His mother encouraged him not to go in the water, she told the AP.

Surf websites reported that the waves were 6 to 8 feet high at Surf Beach on Friday. The scientific standard is to measure the height from the back of the wave while some surfers like to measure the face of the wave.

"I said, 'Honey, if they're so pretty why don't you just sit and watch them. You're at a place you've never been to before,'" Candace Ransom said. "He said, Mom, don't worry, I'll be fine and I'll call you when I finish up."

Authorities quickly closed Surf Beach and two other beaches nearby for at least 72 hours.

Ransom's parents said their son was an avid swimmer and was on his high school's water polo and swim teams, where he won titles in the 50- and 100-meter freestyle and relays and he ran marathons with his mother. He also worked as a lifeguard at a community swimming pool in Murietta.

It was there, at age 16, that Ransom and two other lifeguards rescued a young boy in 2007 after spotting him floating on the water. He had been certified as a lifeguard just five months before and received an award from the local city council.

"He was a son that every mother would be proud to have as a son," his mother said. "He had no fear. He did what he loved the most and he couldn't have left the world in a better place than where he was at."

Authorities have issued several warnings this year after great white shark sightings up and down the California coast.

There have been nearly 100 shark attacks in California since the 1920s, including a dozen that were fatal, according to the California Department of Fish and Game. But attacks have remained relatively rare even as the population of swimmers, divers and surfers sharing the waters has soared.

The last shark attack on Surf Beach was in 2008, when what was believed to be a great white shark bit a surfer's board. The surfer was not harmed.

The last fatal attack in California was that same year, when triathlete David Martin, 66, bled to death after a great white shark bit his legs about 150 yards off of a San Diego County beach.

Randy Fry, 50, died from a great white attack in 2004 while diving off the coast of Mendocino, north of San Francisco Bay.

In 2003, a great white shark killed Deborah Franzman, 50, as she swam at Avila Beach, about 30 miles north of Vandenberg.

___

Associated Press Writers Daisy Nguyen and John Antczak contributed to this report.

___

October 23, 2010 02:58 PM EDT

Copyright 2010, The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Rand Paul will face Jack Conway in final debate after all - MiamiHerald.com

Republican U.S. Senate nominee Rand Paul will participate in a debate Monday night on Kentucky Educational Television with his Democratic rival, Jack Conway.

Paul, who said earlier in the week that he was not sure if he would appear with Conway in the fifth and final scheduled debate before the Nov. 2 election, held a news conference Friday afternoon at the Lexington Hyatt Regency to discuss his decision.

Paul has expressed disappointment that Conway aired a TV ad that said Paul was in a secret group as a student in the 1980s at Baylor University that mocked Christianity.

It also alleged that Paul tied up a woman while in college and forced her to bow down to a god named “Aqua Buddha.”

The ad, which has drawn a mixed reception from Democrats, was based on articles in GQ magazine, The Washington Post and Politico.com in recent weeks and months.

Paul called the ad “all lies” and “completely untrue.” He ran a counter ad calling Conway “shameless” and his wife, Kelley Paul, held a news conference to criticize the ad.

Conway campaign spokesman John Collins said in an e-mail, “Jack will debate on Monday without any preconditions. The voters will see a clear choice - between Jack’s record of standing up for Kentuckians and Rand Paul who won’t.

“Rand has spent the last week hemming and hawing, demanding restrictions on what he’ll answer. Instead of having another tirade, Rand should show up and face the voters.”

To read the complete article, visit www.kentucky.com.

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After Comments About Muslims, NPR Terminates Juan Williams&apos; Contract - NPR

Update at 12:40 p.m. ET:

Since we first put this post up at 8:38 a.m. ET, the story of the termination of news analyst Juan Williams' contract with NPR over remarks he made on Fox News Channel about Muslims has only gotten hotter.

Williams was on Fox this morning and defended what he said earlier this week on The O'Reilly Factor — that he gets "nervous" if he's at an airport and sees "people who are in Muslim garb."

"It's not a bigoted statement," Williams said today on Fox. "I said what I meant to say, that it's an honest experience. ... I have a moment of anxiety, of fear, given what happened on 9/11."

The Fox video from earlier today is here.

Meanwhile, reaction continues to pour in:

— It's "total censorship," former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-GA, said on Fox News this morning. He called on Congress to investigate.

— Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who now hosts a show on Fox, issued a statement saying "I will no longer accept interview requests from NPR as long as they are going to practice a form of censorship, and since NPR is funded with public funds, it IS a form of censorship. It is time for the taxpayers to start making cuts to federal spending, and I encourage the new Congress to start with NPR."

For the record, here's a link to charts that break down where NPR and its member stations get their money.

— Former Alaska governor, 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee and Fox News contributor Sarah Palin tweeted that "NPR defends 1st Amendment Right, but will fire u if u exercise it. Juan Williams: u got taste of Left's hypocrisy,they screwed up firing you."

— As for the liberal side, Earl Ofari Hutchinson writes at The Huffington Post that if NPR "had the ounce of integrity and fairness that it incessantly brags about (it) should have dumped Williams a long time ago for his equally great offense. And that's his two decade con job as a liberal, civil rights expert and even supporter."

Fox News' Bill O'Reilly (it was on his show where Williams made the comment about Muslims), just said on the air that Juan will be back on The O'Reilly Factor tonight.

Another update, at 2:20 p.m. ET: NPR CEO Vivian Schiller says Williams should have kept his views about Muslims to himself, "his psychiatrist or his publicist."

Our original post — "After Comments About Muslims, NPR Terminates Juan Williams' Contract":

"NPR News has terminated the contract of longtime news analyst Juan Williams after remarks he made on the Fox News Channel about Muslims," the network's David Folkenflik writes this morning. It's some of the hotter news on the Web right now.

Here's the statement NPR from CEO Vivian Schiller and Senior Vice President for News Ellen Weiss released just after midnight:

"Tonight we gave Juan Williams notice that we are terminating his contract as a Senior News Analyst for NPR News.

"Juan has been a valuable contributor to NPR and public radio for many years and we did not make this decision lightly or without regret. However, his remarks on The O’Reilly Factor this past Monday were inconsistent with our editorial standards and practices, and undermined his credibility as a News Analyst with NPR.

"We regret these circumstances and thank Juan Williams for his many years of service to NPR and public radio."

As for what Juan said on O'Reilly, as David writes:

"O'Reilly has been looking for support for his own remarks on a recent episode of ABC's The View in which he directly blamed Muslims for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Co-hosts Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg walked off the set in the middle of his appearance.

"Williams responded: 'Look, Bill, I'm not a bigot. You know the kind of books I've written about the civil rights movement in this country. But when I get on a plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous.'

"Williams also warned O'Reilly against blaming all Muslims for 'extremists,' saying Christians shouldn't be blamed for Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh."

Conservative bloggers and commentators, such as Michelle Malkin, are weighing in. She says NPR "caved into left-wing attack dogs." From the left, Salon's Glenn Greenwald sees what Juan said as "anti-Muslim bigotry."

NPR Ombudsman Alicia Shepard has previously blogged about "Juan Williams, NPR and Fox News" and that he has been a "lightning rod" for things he's said while providing commentary on Fox. We won't be surprised if Alicia writes about Juan's termination in coming days. You can send comments to her here.

Juan told David late last night that he isn't ready yet to talk about what's happened.

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