No. 1 LSU powers past No. 3 Arkansas, 41-17 (AP)

BATON ROUGE, La. ? Tyrann Mathieu channeled his best Billy Cannon and No. 1 LSU was on its way to another run-away victory in the biggest game at Tiger Stadium in half a century.

Mathieu returned a punt 92 yards for a score and the Tigers punished third-ranked Arkansas with 286 yards rushing, wiping out a 14-point deficit with a 41-17 win Friday that secured a spot in the SEC championship.

Kenny Hilliard, Spencer Ware and Jordan Jefferson all scored on the ground for LSU (12-0, 8-0 SEC), which is 12-0 for the first time and will play No. 13 Georgia next weekend in Atlanta.

A win over the Bulldogs would assure the Tigers their third trip to the BCS title game in nine seasons. Though at this point, LSU might be able to get there even if it loses.

Arkansas took a surprising 14-0 lead on Tyler Wilson's TD pass to Jarius Wright and Alonzo Highsmith's 47-yard fumble return, but LSU stormed back by scoring 41 of the next 44 points in the game.

The rivalry game known as the battle for "The Boot," a trophy in the shape of Arkansas and Louisiana, marked the first time two teams ranked in the top three had met in Death Valley since 1959, when Cannon's 89-yard punt return lifted No. 1 LSU to a 7-3 win over No. 3 Mississippi.

Cannon also made a game-sealing tackle on defense late in that game. Mathieu, who was playing safety instead of cornerback much of the game because of Eric Reid's injury the previous week, had defensive highlights of his own, forcing two turnovers with strips, one of which he recovered.

He now has six forced fumbles this season. His fifth was a strip of running back Dennis Johnson in LSU territory late in the first half. That set up a touchdown drive that put the Tigers ahead to stay.

LSU trailed 14-7 when Mathieu fielded Dylan Breeding's end-over-end kick at his own 8, started left, made a hard cut straight up field, then angled left again to break into the clear.

It was Mathieu's third touchdown of the season, his second on special teams, the other coming on a fumble return.

LSU's defense sacked Wilson five times (twice by Barkevious Mingo) and picked him off once on Morris Claiborne's team-leading fifth interception of the season.

Two plays later, Jefferson ran 48 yards for his score on a quarterback draw that was wide open, making it 38-17.

Wilson completed 14 of 22 passes for 207 yards, with 60 yards on a short pass that Cobi Hamilton turned into a long gain. The play put Arkansas in position to tie the game at 21, but LSU's defense forced a field goal that made it 21-17, and the Razorbacks never got closer than that again.

Jefferson was 18 of 29 for 208 yards and one touchdown, a 9-yard pass to Russell Shepard that gave LSU the lead for good at with 59 seconds left in the first half. His first interception of the season kept Arkansas in the game in the third quarter, but otherwise he was excellent.

Hilliard finished with a career-high 102 yards rushing on 19 carries, while Michael Ford rushed 11 times for 96 yards.

Hilliard's touchdown came on a tackle-breaking 6-yard run. Ware scored on a similar carry from 7 yards out.

Arkansas has had the better of its end-of-season rivalry with LSU in recent years, having won three of the previous four meetings, including a 2007 triple-overtime upset in Tiger Stadium when LSU was No. 1.

Only a series of unlikely losses by other teams allowed the Tigers to sneak into the BCS title game that season and win their last national title by beating Ohio State.

This the time the Hogs were nearly two-touchdown underdogs, but had pledged to play passionately in memory of late teammate Garrett Uekman, who'd died last Sunday. Coaches wore black ribbons on white shirts, and tight end Austin Tate changed his jersey number from 87 to Uekman's 88.

Hardly intimidated by a raucous Death Valley crowd, Arkansas built a 14-0 lead that was by far LSU's largest deficit of the season.

It looked at that point that LSU, which had not been down by more than 3 all season, was going to face its toughest test yet.

Instead the Tigers made it look easy, scoring three straight TDs before the half ended and pulling away in the second half.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111125/ap_on_sp_co_ga_su/fbc_t25_arkansas_lsu

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Newt Gingrich: Union Leader endorsement a big boost in New Hampshire

In a front page editorial Sunday, New Hampshire's prominent statewide Union Leader newspaper endorsed Newt Gingrich. It's a big boost for Gingrich and a blow to Mitt Romney, currently leading in polls.

Newt Gingrich?s presidential campaign just got a big boost in New Hampshire ? the state holding the first Republican primary election.

Skip to next paragraph

The Union Leader, the state?s most prominent publication and a leading voice in conservatism, says it?s backing Gingrich over Mitt Romney.

Romney, who holds a commanding lead in New Hampshire polling, is still the man to beat there. But the Union Leader?s rejection of his candidacy is a blow nonetheless ? particularly since Gingrich has vaulted past his GOP rivals to claim neck-and-neck status with Romney in national Republican polls as well as likely-voter surveys in other states.

The newspaper?s endorsement ? spread across the top of the front page in the Sunday edition and signed by publisher Joseph W. McQuaid ? carries a granite-like tone typical of a publication prominent in Republican politics. Four years ago, its endorsement of John McCain helped propel McCain past Romney to a win in New Hampshire and to his party?s nomination.

"We are in critical need of the innovative, forward-looking strategy and positive leadership that Gingrich has shown he is capable of providing," the newspaper wrote in its editorial.

"We don't back candidates based on popularity polls or big-shot backers,? the paper declared in obvious reference to Romney. ?We look for conservatives of courage and conviction who are independent-minded, grounded in their core beliefs about this nation and its people, and best equipped for the job.?

"We don't have to agree with them on every issue," the newspaper wrote about Gingrich, some of whose positions (on immigration, for example) have rankled conservatives. "We would rather back someone with whom we may sometimes disagree than one who tells us what he thinks we want to hear."

Writes Maggie Haberman at Politico.com: ?It's the most significant?and impactful endorsement in the GOP race so far, and solidifies Gingrich's standing as the alternative to Romney as the race heads into the final pre-Iowa caucuses stretch.?

While the Union Leader?s endorsement shakes things up, Romney remains the clear front-runner in New Hampshire, a state where he owns a home and where he?s well-known because of his time as governor of neighboring Massachusetts.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/ekCQ8aEqzAY/Newt-Gingrich-Union-Leader-endorsement-a-big-boost-in-New-Hampshire

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UN: 'Numerous' reports of child torture by Syria

A U.N. human rights panel expressed alarm Friday at reports it has received of Syrian security forces torturing children.

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The Committee Against Torture said it had received "numerous, consistent and substantiated reports" of widespread abuse in the country.

The chair of the panel, Claudio Grossman, told reporters in Geneva that the reports referring to the abuse of children were of "particular concern."

The U.N. human rights office says more than 3,500 people have been killed in the eight-month uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime.

Meanwhile, Syria ignored a deadline imposed by the Arab League to allow an observer mission into the country or face economic sanctions, a senior Arab League diplomat said Friday.

The diplomat said the Friday afternoon deadline passed with no word from Damascus. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The 22-nation bloc had given Syria 24 hours to agree to the observer mission, saying it would meet to decide on punishing measures that could include a freeze on financial dealings and assets if the deadline was missed.

Patience 'running out'
Syria is the scene of the deadliest crackdown against the Arab Spring's eruption of protests and international pressure has been mounting on Assad to stop the bloodshed.

Earlier Friday, before the deadline passed, Turkey's foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Syria faced a test of goodwill over the proposal and said the country "must open its doors to observers."

Davutoglu said the patience of Turkey and Arab countries was "running out over the bloodshed in Syria."

He spoke during a joint news conference with Italy's new Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi in Istanbul.

Terzi described the situation in Syria as a "worrying tragedy."

Syria had previously slammed the Arab League's ultimatum, which increased the international pressure on Assad's government following France's proposal for "humanitarian corridors" to be set up to alleviate civilian suffering.

However, Russia, China and their partners in the BRICS group of emerging economies warned against foreign intervention without U.N. backing and urged Assad to start talks with the opposition.

Story: 5 children among 23 civilians killed in Syria, rights group says

Under an Arab League initiative, Syria had agreed to withdraw troops from urban centers, release political prisoners, start a dialogue with the opposition and allow monitors and international media into the country.

Since then hundreds of people, including civilians, security forces and army deserters, have been killed as the unrest which the U.N. says has claimed at least 3,500 lives since March continued unabated.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based opposition group, said at least 47 people were killed in Syria Thursday, including 16 soldiers and 17 army deserters, mostly around the city of Homs and Rastan to the north.

"In the case that Syria does not sign the protocol ... or that it later violates the commitments that it entails, and does not stop the killing or does not release the detainees ... (Arab League officials) will meet on Saturday to consider sanctions on Syria," the Arab ministers said in a statement.

Story: Army defectors threaten to transform Syrian uprising into civil war

Possible sanctions, which are not intended to affect ordinary Syrians, included suspending flights to Syria, stopping dealings with the central bank, freezing Syrian government bank accounts and halting financial dealings.

They could also decide to stop commercial trade with the government "with the exception of strategic commodities so as not to impact the Syrian people," the statement said.

Syria's economy is already reeling from the eight months of unrest, aggravated by U.S. and European sanctions on oil exports and several state businesses.

The Arab League suspended Syria's membership two weeks ago, while this week the prime minister of neighboring Turkey ? a NATO member with the military wherewithal to mount a cross-border operation ? told Assad to quit and said he should be mindful of the fate of fallen dictators such as Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini and Libya's deposed leader Moammar Gadhafi.

"The Syrian crisis may or may not have entered its final phase, but it undoubtedly has entered its most dangerous one to date," the International Crisis Group said.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to his report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45434540/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/

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Health Tip: Protect Kids Who Have Food Allergies (HealthDay)

(HealthDay News) -- Depending on your child's sensitivity, a food allergy can range from very mild to life-threatening.

The American Dietetic Association offers these suggestions to help protect kids who have food allergies:

• Always check food labels for potential allergens.
• Make sure you inform all family members, teachers and caregivers about the severity of food allergies and symptoms to watch for.
• Make sure your child is fully informed, so he or she can be proactive in preventing an allergic reaction.
• Work with a registered dietitian to develop a healthy eating plan that excludes allergens.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20111124/hl_hsn/healthtipprotectkidswhohavefoodallergies

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South Korea plans trial run of robot prison guards

This isn't the first time we've seen a prison turn to robots for a little assistance, but South Korea looks to be going a bit further than most with its latest robotic endeavor. The country's Ministry of Justice has announced that it will be conducting a one-month trial run of robot guards at a prison in the city of Pohang starting in March -- a project that's expected to cost one billion won (or about $863,000). "The robots are not terminators," as the university professor in charge of the endeavor told The Wall Street Journal, but rather monitors that will patrol the corridors of the jail and alert the human guards if they detect any unusual activity. Inmates will also be able to use the robots to communicate with the guards, and the folks behind the bots are apparently doing their best to keep things from turning into too much of a dystopian future -- they're now said to working on making the robots appear more "humane and friendly."

South Korea plans trial run of robot prison guards originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Nov 2011 13:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/25/south-korea-plans-trial-run-of-robot-prison-guards/

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New NBA season likely to begin on Christmas Day (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? The National Basketball Association (NBA) and its players have reached a tentative deal on a new collective bargaining agreement which paves the way for a 66-game season starting on Christmas Day.

Financial details of the plan were not released but NBA Commissioner David Stern said the settlement called for training camps and the league's free agency period to begin on December 9.

"We've reached a tentative understanding that is subject to a variety of approvals and very complex machinations," Stern told a news conference early on Saturday after a 15-hour negotiating session.

"But we're optimistic that will all come to pass and that the NBA season will begin on December 25, Christmas Day, with a triple-header.

"We're very pleased that we've come this far. There's still a lot of work to be done in a lot of places, with a lot of committees and player groups and the like.

"But we're optimistic that it will hold and we'll have ourselves an NBA season."

Stern said the deal would be put before the owners' labor relations committee during a teleconference later on Saturday, before being passed on to the overall Board of Governors.

Billy Hunter, the former executive director of the players' now-disbanded union, said: "We're going to turn it all over to the lawyers here and have them work out all the details."

The players de-certified their union in an effort to file a variety of antitrust lawsuits against the league. It could take up to 10 days for the players to re-form their union and ratify a formal labor deal.

COMPROMISE SOLUTION

Stern acknowledged the league had "literally thousands of people who are dependent upon the playing of our games at arenas, at parking lots, at restaurants around the stadium."

"The reason for the settlement is (that) we've got fans, we've got players who would like to play, we've got others who are dependent on us," he said.

"And it's always been our goal to reach a deal that was fair to both sides and would get us playing as soon as possible. But, that took a little time."

Players have been locked out of NBA facilities for 149 days and, should the plan proceed as scheduled, teams would play 16 games less than a normal season.

The league has said it lost $300 million last season and were demanding a reduction in the players' share of income, which was 57 percent under the prior deal.

NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver said the tentative deal called for a more balanced league,

"It will largely prevent the high spending teams from competing in the free agency market in a way that they have been able to in the past," he said.

"It is a compromise and it is not the system we sought out to get in terms of a harder (salary) cap but the luxury tax is harsher than it was in the past deal and we hope it's effective.

"We feel ultimately it will give fans in every community hope that their team can compete for championships and that their basis for believing in their team will be a function of management of that team rather than how deep the owners pockets are or how large the market is."

Stern said he was optimistic both sides would approve the deal.

"We want to play basketball," he said.

(Reporting by Steve Ginsburg in Washington; Editing by John Mehaffey)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111126/sp_nm/us_nba_labour_deal

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Obama telephones 10 US service members abroad to wish them Happy Thanksgiving (Star Tribune)

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Thanksgiving kicks off fight for holiday sales (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? The holiday shopping season starts in earnest on Thursday, with retailers anxious to see if U.S. consumers are willing to spend despite an endless stream of scary headlines about the fragile economy and their own precarious finances.

However, in the eyes of retailers, the shopping period has been churning along for some time as retailers like Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Toys R Us started early by offering layaway programs, and others offering major deals to lure shoppers.

These incentives have increased the stakes for retailers, and when Americans are done with their turkey dinners on Thursday, many will be getting a jump-start on 'Black Friday', the biggest shopping day of the year, and one that sets the tone for the entire season.

"If Thursday and Friday are not very good, chances are it will not pick up going up to Christmas," said Keith Jelinek, a director at consulting firm AlixPartners's retail practice.

WalMart, Gap Inc's Old Navy and Sears Holdings' K-Mart are again open on Thanksgiving Day to get a headstart, while Toys R Us opens Thursday evening.

But to narrow the gap in store hours, discounter Target Corp, electronics chain Best Buy and department store chains Macy's Inc and Kohl's Corp will open doors at midnight on Thursday.

Retailers themselves concede the pressure is on.

"At the end of the day, we are trying to respond to what our customers want to do, and they are telling us that's when they want to shop," Mike Vitelli, president, Americas and enterprise executive vice president, Best Buy, told Reuters.

Others, like J.C. Penney Co Inc are taking their chances and opting to open early Friday morning as they did last year.

The National Retail Federation expects sales in November and December to be up 2.8 percent over last year. So retailers see little margin for error in their fight for sales.

The battle will also be waged online, where comScore expects sales to be up 15 percent this year.

Wal-Mart starts its Black Friday 'doorbuster' deals on Thursday at 10 p.m. at its stores. Amazon.com Inc, not to be outdone, will offer its deals online at 9 p.m. But Wal-Mart is also offering 30 percent more deals on Thanksgiving.

The knock-down-drag-out fight comes as the rebound in sales cooled in October, when many top chains like Macy's and Saks reported disappointing sales and shoppers were hit with a steady stream of bad news about the economy.

It will be a tougher fight for chains that have struggled of late, like Gap, Penney and electronics giant Best Buy.

PriceGrabber.com, a price comparison website, found that searches for electronics in recent days were flat with last year, helped only by a surge in interest in new tablets like Amazon's Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble Inc'sNook.

The NRF expects 152 million people to hit stores this weekend, up 10.1 percent from last year.

But that will be fueled by bargain hunting, with the real test coming after the weekend, as retailers see if shoppers are only willing to hit stores when there are juicer deals on the table. Last year, after a strong Black Friday weekend, shoppers sat on their hands until closer to Christmas - waiting for stores to hand out bigger bargains.

"I think as time goes on, you're going to see a leveling and a softness in the numbers," said Al Ferrara, director of BDO USA's national retail practice.

(Reporting by Phil Wahba in New York, additional reporting by Dhanya Skariachan; Editing by Bernard Orr)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111124/bs_nm/us_usa_retail_thanksgiving

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New law in Malaysia to regulate demonstrations (AP)

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia ? Malaysia's government is introducing a new law to regulate public demonstrations amid rising pressure to improve civil liberties ahead of national elections expected next year.

The Peaceful Assembly Bill nevertheless falls short of demands by opposition and human rights groups for authorities to allow street demonstrations.

Malaysia's de facto law minister Nazri Aziz told Parliament on Tuesday that the bill will require organizers of demonstrations to provide police with advance notice of at least 30 days.

The planned law forbids street protests. Officials have repeatedly urged demonstrators to gather in stadiums or confined venues to avoid public disruptions.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111122/ap_on_re_as/as_malaysia_protests

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Coffee drinkers show lower uterine cancer risk (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) ? Women who down four or more cups of coffee a day may have a reduced risk of developing cancer in the lining of their uterus, researchers reported Tuesday.

A study of more than 67,000 U.S. nurses found that women who drank that much coffee were one-quarter less likely to develop endometrial cancer than women who averaged less than a cup a day.

The absolute risk that any one woman, coffee drinker or not, would develop the cancer was fairly small: over 26 years, 672 women -- or one percent of the whole study group -- were diagnosed with endometrial cancer.

And the researchers cannot say for certain that coffee was the reason for the lower risk among heavy java drinkers.

"It would be premature to make a recommendation that women drink coffee to lower their endometrial cancer risk," said senior researcher Edward Giovannucci, of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.

Still, the study, published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, adds to several others that have found coffee drinkers to have a lower risk of endometrial cancer.

A strength of the current one, Giovannucci said, is that it was large, long-term and allowed the researchers to account for a number of other factors that could explain the coffee connection.

They looked at differences in women's weight, because obesity is linked to a higher risk of endometrial cancer. But that did not account for the lower cancer risk seen among heavy coffee drinkers.

Nor did differences in women's childbirth history or hormone use (through birth control pills or hormone replacement after menopause). Those things matter because higher lifetime exposure to estrogen is thought to raise the risk of endometrial cancer.

It's still possible there are other reasons for this coffee-cancer link, according to Giovannucci.

But it's also plausible, he said, that coffee itself has some benefit. "It can lower insulin levels and may lower levels of free estrogen circulating in the body," Giovannucci explained.

Like high estrogen levels, higher concentrations of insulin -- a hormone that regulates blood sugar -- have been linked to an increased risk of endometrial cancer.

Of course, downing four cups of coffee per day may not be a good idea, especially for someone sensitive to the effects of caffeine. In this study, the researchers found that while caffeinated coffee was tied to a lower cancer risk, there was no statistically significant link with decaf -- though there was a "suggestive" trend in that direction.

Giovannucci pointed out that few women drank large amounts of decaf, which may be why the researchers could not weed out a clear correlation.

Although they didn't look at the women's use of sweeteners or other coffee additives, in theory, drinking a lot of coffee could be bad for your waistline if you added sugar and cream each time. Since obesity is linked to a higher endometrial cancer risk, Giovannucci noted, that could wipe out any potential benefit of coffee drinking.

The bottom line, the researcher said, is that "people who are already enjoying their coffee" can probably continue to do so. But it's too early to recommend that anyone start drinking coffee hoping to get health benefits.

A researcher with the American Cancer Society (ACS) agreed.

"If a woman drinks coffee currently, this may be one benefit," Marji McCullough, strategic director of nutritional epidemiology for the ACS, told Reuters Health in an email.

But McCullough added that further studies are needed -- in part to see whether coffee has different effects on endometrial cancer risk in different groups of women. She pointed out that in this study, the link between coffee and lower cancer risk was weaker among women who had never smoked, versus those who had.

According to the ACS, the average U.S. woman has about a one in 40 chance of developing endometrial cancer in her lifetime.

Both McCullough and Giovannucci said that one of the best things women can do to curb their risk of endometrial cancer is to maintain a healthy weight though diet and regular exercise.

To put it in context, Giovannucci said, obesity has been tied to a several-fold increase in a woman's risk of the cancer -- as high as five- to 10-fold in some studies.

"Even if the coffee finding is causal," he said, "the most important thing would be weight management through diet and exercise."

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/tFGByG Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, online November 22, 2011.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111122/hl_nm/us_coffee_cancer

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Gates testifies in $1B lawsuit against Microsoft

Microsoft founder Bill Gates arrives at the Frank E. Moss federal courthouse in Salt Lake City, Monday, Nov. 21, 2011. Gates was scheduled to testify in a one billion dollar antitrust lawsuit brought by Novell Inc. Gates, wearing a gray suit and a yellow tie, was the first witness to testify as Microsoft lawyers presented their case in the trial that's been ongoing in federal court in Salt Lake City for about a month.(AP Photo/Jim Urquhart)

Microsoft founder Bill Gates arrives at the Frank E. Moss federal courthouse in Salt Lake City, Monday, Nov. 21, 2011. Gates was scheduled to testify in a one billion dollar antitrust lawsuit brought by Novell Inc. Gates, wearing a gray suit and a yellow tie, was the first witness to testify as Microsoft lawyers presented their case in the trial that's been ongoing in federal court in Salt Lake City for about a month.(AP Photo/Jim Urquhart)

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) ? Billionaire Bill Gates envisioned a computer in every home in America, and he wanted to be the one who put them there, the Microsoft Corp. co-founder testified Monday in a $1 billion antitrust lawsuit filed against the software maker by the creator of then-rival WordPerfect.

Gates took the witness stand in a case that accuses Microsoft of duping its competitor prior to the rollout of Windows 95. He began his testimony with a history of Microsoft and was expected to remain on the stand throughout the day.

Gates said he was just 19 when he helped found the software giant.

"We thought everybody would have a personal computer on every desk and in every home," he said. "We wanted to be there and be the first."

Gates, wearing a gray suit and a yellow tie, was the first witness to testify Monday as Microsoft lawyers presented their case in the trial that's been ongoing in federal court in Salt Lake City for about a month.

Utah-based Novell Inc. sued Microsoft in 2004, claiming the Redmond, Wash., company violated U.S. antitrust laws through its arrangements with other computer makers when it launched Windows 95. Novell says it was later forced to sell WordPerfect for a $1.2 billion loss. Corel now owns it.

The company argues that Gates ordered company engineers to reject WordPerfect as a Windows 95 word processing application because he feared it was too good. WordPerfect once had nearly 50 percent of the market for computer writing programs, but its share quickly plummeted to less than 10 percent as Microsoft's own office programs took hold.

Novell attorney Jeff Johnson has conceded that Microsoft was under no legal obligation to provide advance access to the Windows 95 operating system so Novell could prepare a compatible WordPerfect version. Microsoft, however, enticed Novell to work on a version, only to withdraw support months before Windows 95 hit the market, he said.

Microsoft lawyer David Tulchin said Gates decided against installing WordPerfect because it threatened to crash Windows and couldn't be fixed in time for the rollout. He argued that Novell's missed opportunity was its own fault, and that Microsoft had no obligation to give a competitor a leg up.

"Novell never complained to Microsoft," Tulchin said during arguments Friday. "There's nothing in the evidence, no documents."

Johnson maintains Novell was tricked in violation of federal antitrust laws so Microsoft could monopolize the market.

"We got stabbed in the back," he said.

Microsoft is seeking a dismissal, calling the claims groundless.

Throughout arguments Friday, U.S. District Judge Frederick Motz openly expressed doubts that Novell's claims had merit.

"I don't see why I have to give a product to a competitor so he can beat me," Motz told Novell attorneys.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-11-21-Antitrust%20Lawsuit-Microsoft/id-21752a3d9d324b81bca3e7f93f13843f

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Christopher Meeks: The Gravity of Success (Huffington post)

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The Pundit Primal Scream (Balloon Juice)

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Alabama immigration crackdown nabs Mercedes executive (Reuters)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala (Reuters) ? As Mercedes-Benz executive Detlev Hager negotiated the streets of Tuscaloosa last week, he drove right into the controversy over Alabama's tough new immigration law.

The rental car he was driving, lacking a tag, caught the attention of a local policeman, who stopped Hager on Wednesday. When the officer asked for a driver's license, all he had on him was a German ID card.

"He was taken into custody," Tuscaloosa Police Chief Steven Anderson said.

Under Alabama's new immigration law, considered the toughest in the nation, everyone in Alabama must carry a valid identification card, including U.S. citizens. Before the new law, a citation would have been issued and the driver would have been sent on his way. Now offenders are taken to jail, Anderson said.

A U.S. appeals court last month blocked Alabama from enforcing part of its new immigration law, including a controversial provision that permits Alabama to require public schools to determine the legal residency of children upon enrollment.

But the court ruled the state could continue to authorize police to detain people suspected of being in the country illegally if they cannot produce proper documentation when stopped for any reason.

"In international travel, it is not uncommon to have to produce a passport," Greg Canfield, Director of the Alabama Development Office, said after Hager's arrest.

Alabama was widely criticized when it offered massive tax benefits to lure Mercedes to Alabama to open its first U.S. plant. The factory was completed in 1996, and its suppliers have an economic impact estimated at $6.8 billion and 41,830 jobs, according to a report in 2006 Center for Business and Economic Research based at the University of Alabama for the Economic Partnership of Alabama.

"It is really ironic and showed the absurdity of this law. Here you have a foreign employer who has brought many workers jobs ... caught in this web that is supposed to bring jobs," said Mitch Ackerman, executive vice president of Service Employees International Union.

Ackerman was in Birmingham with 11 U.S. Congressmen to protest the immigration law.

Due to a number of unintended consequences including this incident, Republican Governor Robert Bentley, a strong supporter of the bill, was considering revisions, Canfield said.

"This is the type of item we want to address," Canfield said. Hager was held until a fellow passenger retrieved his passport and German driver's license. He was released on a signature bond, according to Anderson.

(Editing by Greg McCune and Cynthia Johnston)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111122/us_nm/us_immigration_alabama_mercedes

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Gingrich calls for private retirement accounts (AP)

MANCHESTER, N.H. ? Republican presidential contender Newt Gingrich on Monday proposed allowing younger workers still decades away from retirement to bypass Social Security and instead choose private investment accounts that would be subject to stock market gyrations.

The former House speaker, who has risen in the polls, would allow younger workers to take their share of the payroll tax that funds Social Security and put it in a private account.

Employers would still pay their share of the tax, which would be used to pay benefits for current retirees. But it would create a funding shortfall that Gingrich brushed off.

"That gap is more than covered by the savings" that would come from giving states control of 185 social welfare programs, Gingrich told reporters after a speech that laid out broad concepts but lacked key details.

Gingrich's plan would cover the near-term deficits by giving to states responsibility for such programs as AmeriCorps volunteers, Section 8 public housing and Pell Grants for college students. He said states were better suited to administer those programs.

Gingrich said his retirement proposal, an idea floated by Republicans before him, would empower voters.

"Wouldn't you rather control your account?" Gingrich asked an audience of students at St. Anselm College.

His advisers couldn't say how much the plan would cost, when it would begin or who would be eligible. They did say, however, that current retirees would continue to receive benefits at promised levels.

Peter Ferrara, Gingrich's senior economic policy adviser, said federal spending as a whole would be reduced by half within the next three decades.

"It's a lot of reduction," he said.

At a business leaders' breakfast earlier in the day in Nashua, Gingrich predicted that the program "would save literally trillions over the next generation."

Under the plan, workers would be able to do one of two things: continue sending their share of Social Security taxes to the popular, safety-net program or give it to private firms that would compete for those dollars ? as much as $20,000 a year, Gingrich estimated.

"No one is ever forced into the (private account) system," he said after the speech.

Markets would determine how much money workers who chose private accounts would get each month. Gingrich guaranteed a minimum income in case Wall Street collapses like it did in 2008.

As Gingrich spoke Monday, stocks plunged several hundred points by midday as a special congressional panel in Washington appeared ready to declare failure in its attempt to agree on how to trim federal spending by $1.2 trillion over a decade.

Under Gingrich's plan, the federal government would regulate the private accounts run by private firms to ensure the portfolios were diversified enough to prevent one company or sector from taking down the entire system.

Government approved firms then would compete for consumers, who could move their money among accounts based on fund performance.

Organized labor and advocacy groups such as AARP would be allowed to collaborate with the investment firms to tailor plans to reflect the promises they make in pension plans.

Gingrich's plan also would treat the private retirement accounts as other investments, which could be passed on as part of an estate.

President George W. Bush offered some similar proposals for Social Security after he was re-elected in 2004, but faced stiff resistance from Democrats and some within his own party about any proposed changes to the popular program.

Workers pay a 6.2 percent Social Security tax on the first $106,800 in wages, which is matched by employers. This year, the tax rate for workers was reduced temporarily to 4.2 percent. The tax cut is set to expire at the end of the year, though President Barack Obama wants to expand it and extend it for another year. Congress is expected to approve.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111122/ap_on_el_ge/us_gingrich_entitlements

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Five Best Online File Storage Services [Hive Five]

Working with the same files in multiple places used to be a hassle. You'd have to make sure to bring the file with you, email it to yourself, or save it in a place you could get to it later. Now, there are a number of online file storage and syncing services that will make your data available on as many computers as you like. Here's a look at five of the best of those services.

Earlier in the week, we asked you which services you used to store your files online, or to at least make your data available so you could get at it anywhere you went. You responded with tons of great suggestions, and while we expected you to highlight Dropbox, we knew it isn't the only service out there that you use. Here's a look at the top five, based on your nominations.

Dropbox

Dropbox is clearly the juggernaut of the file storage and syncing service. Its combination of 2GB of free storage just for signing up and huge bonuses for referring friends to sign up as well makes for an attractive and useful file syncing service that gets the job done and encourages you to spread the word about it. Dropbox will deliver your files to you on your Mac, Windows, or Linux system or your BlackBerry, iOS, or Android device with little hassle, and the service offers public and photo folders you can use to store and share galleries or other files with select individuals you share them with or with the world. Dropbox is also host to a wealth of third-party plug-ins and services that integrate with it to extend its features (thanks to its wide open API), and has great LAN support so you can change your files on one computer on your home network and have it instantly on another.

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Box.net

Box.net starts you off with 5GB for free. Install the Box Sync app to sync your files with the web, and install the mobile apps to get access to your files on your iOS device, Android device, Blackberry, Touchpad, or Playbook. Otherwise, you can upload your files to your Box.net account and access them via the web. Download them whenever you like, or use the service as a replacement for (or supplement to) other cloud-based services like Google Apps. Box.net combines the best things about a file syncing service with the best things about a web-based productivity suite.

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Windows Live SkyDrive

Windows Live SkyDrive starts you out with 5GB for free, and with Live Mesh you can sync your local files and folders with your SkyDrive account. If you have a Windows Live account, you already have a SkyDrive account that you can make use of. SkyDrive is especially useful for Windows users, who can configure it to automatically sync any folder on their system (like your My Documents folder, for example) to the cloud for safe keeping, or automatically upload any Microsoft Office documents you create. You can also use SkyDrive and Live Mesh as a remote access utilty, so you can get to files even if they're not being synced.

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SugarSync

SugarSync is probably Dropbox's leading competition. The service gives you 5GB for free. The service works just as well (if not better) than Dropbox, and will sync your files and folders from your desktop to the cloud with ease. You can access your data on the go via the web or on your mobile device with the SugarSync apps for iOS, Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile, and even Symbian devices. SugarSync even aggressively keeps revision histories of your files so you can get old versions of files you may have accidentally changed. SugarSync also makes it very easy to stream music, video, or other media from your account on the web or other devices so you can enjoy it anywhere you go. SugarSync also gives you more control over your files on the web, allows you to open and edit files directly, or password protect individual files or folders.

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SpiderOak

Spideroak is probably one of the most versatile and flexible file syncing and storage solutions available. The service gets you started with 2GB of space, and then puts it to the test by allowing you to sync not only your desktop, but files on your mobile device (not just access via your mobile device, but sync from your device as well), even files on network shares and external hard drives. Refer your friends, and you get an incredible 1GB referral each, which is more than any of the other services offer. Connect SpiderOak with your Mac, Windows, or Linux system, and download the mobile apps for your iOS or Android device, and leave the rest to the service. SpiderOak also keeps revision histories, and metadata for all of your files so you can see when they were created, uploaded, and modified.

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Now that you've seen the top five, as always it's time to put them to a vote.

Honorable mentions this week go out to Wuala, LaCie's file sync and storage service available for Mac, Windows, Linux, and mobile devices. Free users get 2GB of storage. Also among the runners up is Minus, a service that used to be a simple image host (and most of its users still use it that way), but has grown to a full-fledged drag-and-drop file storage and sharing service that's completely free and gives its users 10GB of storage to play with.

Have something to say about one of the competitors? Did your favorite miss the cut and you want to tell the world about it? Let's hear it in the comments below.

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You can reach Alan Henry, the author of this post, at alan@lifehacker.com, or better yet, follow him on Twitter or Google+.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/Cz7ipdy4a4Q/five-best-online-file-storage-services

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DARPA aims to hear your fear in a crowd

Arshad Arbab / EPA

In this file photo locals topple over a burnt out car after a car bomb blast near a market in Peshawar, Pakistan. The U.S. military is working on technology to track down terrorists by listening for their heartbeats, even in a crowd.

By John Roach

You can run, you can hide, but the masterminds in the military's high-tech research arm have their eyes on a gadget that will allow them to hear your racing heart even as you try to get lost in a crowd.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency already has the technology to hear your heart as you crouch and cower in a dark corner across the room. Now the agency aims to increase its ability to do this at even greater distances, through walls ??and even hear and distinguish between multiple hearts at once.

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The technology could help chase down terrorists who set off a bomb and then scatter into the fleeing crowd, for example. It could also help rescue victims trapped in the rubble from the explosion.

The goal of the agency's "Biometrics-at-a-distance" program is a technology that "can record human vital signs at a distance greater than 10 meters using non-line-of-sight and non-invasive or non-contact methods" and do this for up to 10 people at once.

The technology to do this, the agency suspects, is likely to build from electrocardiograms, which measure the heart's electrical activity. This is what doctors use, for example, to diagnose heart disease in people.

[Via Gizmodo]

More on DARPA tech:

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John Roach is a contributing writer for msnbc.com. To learn more about him, check out his website. For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.

?

Kids' play has moved to tablets and PCs. In this new age, toy makers and researchers alike are sorting out the benefits ? and detriments ? of playful educational interaction in virtual space.

?

Source: http://futureoftech.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/21/8934288-darpa-aims-to-hear-your-fear-in-a-crowd

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Egypt police clash with protesters ahead of vote

Protesters help a wounded man during clashes with Egyptian riot police in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011. Thousands of police clashed with protesters for control of downtown Cairo's Tahrir Square on Saturday after security forces tried to stop activists from staging a long-term sit-in there. The violence took place just nine days before Egypt's first elections since the ouster of longtime President Hosni Mubarak in February. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Protesters help a wounded man during clashes with Egyptian riot police in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011. Thousands of police clashed with protesters for control of downtown Cairo's Tahrir Square on Saturday after security forces tried to stop activists from staging a long-term sit-in there. The violence took place just nine days before Egypt's first elections since the ouster of longtime President Hosni Mubarak in February. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

A protester sits in a police truck destroyed during clashes in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011. Thousands of police clashed with protesters for control of downtown Cairo's Tahrir Square on Saturday after security forces tried to stop activists from staging a long-term sit-in there. The violence took place just nine days before Egypt's first elections since the ouster of longtime President Hosni Mubarak in February. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Protesters throw stones at Egyptian riot police during clashes in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011. Thousands of police clashed with protesters for control of downtown Cairo's Tahrir Square on Saturday after security forces tried to stop activists from staging a long-term sit-in there. The violence took place just nine days before Egypt's first elections since the ouster of longtime President Hosni Mubarak in February. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Tear gas surrounds Egyptian riot police as they stand guard during clashes in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011. Thousands of police clashed with protesters for control of downtown Cairo's Tahrir Square on Saturday after security forces tried to stop activists from staging a long-term sit-in there. The violence took place just nine days before Egypt's first elections since the ouster of longtime President Hosni Mubarak in February. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Protesters gather around a police truck damaged during clashes in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011. Thousands of police clashed with protesters for control of downtown Cairo's Tahrir Square on Saturday after security forces tried to stop activists from staging a long-term sit-in there. The violence took place just nine days before Egypt's first elections since the ouster of longtime President Hosni Mubarak in February. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

CAIRO (AP) ? Egyptian riot police firing tear gas and rubber bullets stormed into Cairo's Tahrir Square Saturday to dismantle a protest tent camp, setting off clashes that killed two protesters, injured hundreds and raised tensions days before the first elections since Hosni Mubarak's ouster.

The scenes of protesters fighting with black-clad police forces were reminiscent of the 18-day uprising that forced an end to Mubarak's rule in February. Hundreds of protesters fought back, hurling stones and setting an armored police vehicle ablaze.

The violence raised fears of new unrest surrounding the parliamentary elections that are due to begin on Nov. 28. Public anger has risen over the slow pace of reforms and apparent attempts by Egypt's ruling generals to retain power over a future civilian government.

Witnesses said the clashes began when riot police dismantled a small tent camp set up to commemorate the hundreds of protesters killed in the uprising and attacked around 200 peaceful demonstrators who had camped in the square overnight in an attempt to restart a long-term sit-in there.

"Violence breeds violence," said Sahar Abdel-Mohsen, an engineer who joined in the protest after a call went out on Twitter urging people to come to Tahrir to defend against the police attacks. "We are tired of this and we are not leaving the square."

Police fired rubber bullets, tear gas and beat protesters with batons, clearing the square at one point and pushing the fighting into surrounding side streets of downtown Cairo.

A 23-year-old protester died from a gunshot, said Health Ministry official Mohammed el-Sherbeni. At least 676 people were injured, he said. At least one other protester was killed in Alexandria, where demonstrations and clashes also took place, said a security official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to journalists.

Crowds swarmed an armored police truck, rocking it back and forth and setting it ablaze.

After nightfall, protesters swarmed back into the square in the thousands, setting tires ablaze in the street and filling the area with an acrid, black smoke screen. Police appeared to retreat to surrounding areas, leaving protesters free to retake and barricade themselves inside the square. The air was still thick with stinging tear gas.

Shortly before midnight, police pushed back toward the square, firing more tear gas and drawing a barrage of stones from the protesters holding the site.

The government urged protesters to clear the square.

A member of the military council, Gen. Mohsen el-Fangari, dismissed the protesters and said their calls for change ahead of the election were a threat to the state.

"What is the point of being in Tahrir?" he said, speaking by phone to the popular Al-Hayat TV channel. "What is the point of this strike, of the million marches? Aren't there legal channels to pursue demands in a way that won't impact Egypt ... internationally?"

"The aim of what is going on is to shake the backbone of the state, which is the armed forces."

In a warning, he said, "If security is not applied, we will implement the rule of law. Anyone who does wrong will pay for it."

Saturday's confrontation was one of the few since the uprising to involve police forces, which have largely stayed in the background while the military takes charge of security. There was no military presence in and around the square on Saturday.

The black-clad police were a hated symbol of Mubarak's regime.

"The people want to topple the regime," shouted enraged crowds, reviving the chant from the early days of the uprising. Crowds also screamed: "Riot police are thugs and thieves" and "Down with the Marshal," referring to Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, Egypt's military ruler.

Some of the wounded had blood streaming down their faces and many had to be carried out of the square by fellow protesters to waiting ambulances.

Human rights activists accused police of using excessive force.

One prominent activist, Malek Mostafa, lost his right eye from a rubber bullet, said Ghada Shahbender, a member of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights.

At least four protesters were injured in the eyes as a result of what Shahbender said were orders to target protesters' heads.

"It is a crime," she said. "They were shooting rubber bullets directly at the heads. ... I heard an officer ordering his soldiers to aim for the head."

A videojournalist for the Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry al-Youm, Ahmed Abdel-Fatah, was also hit in the eye by a rubber bullet and was undergoing surgery.

Police arrested 18 people, state TV reported, describing the protesters as rioters.

Protests were also held Saturday in the Red Sea port city of Suez, where a crowd of thousands attacked a police station, with some hurling firebombs at the building, said protester Ahmed Khafagi. They were met with tear gas and gunfire.

In Alexandria, hundreds of people threw stones at the main security headquarters, said protester Ahmed Abdel-Qader. He said it felt like the revolution was starting all over again.

"We only managed to bring down the head of the regime. The rest of the tree is still standing," he said.

A day earlier, tens of thousands of Islamists and young activists had massed in Tahrir Square to protest Egypt's ruling military council, which took control of the country after Mubarak's ouster and has been harshly criticized for its oversight of the bumpy transition period.

Friday's crowd, the largest in months, was mobilized by the Muslim Brotherhood and focused its anger on a document drafted by the military that spells out guiding principles for a new constitution.

Under those guidelines, the military and its budget would be shielded from civilian oversight. An early version of it also said the military would appoint 80 members of the 100-person constitutional committee ? a move that would vastly diminish the new parliament's role.

Groups across the political spectrum rejected the document, calling it an attempt by the military to perpetuate its rule past the post-Mubarak transition. Back in February, the military had promised it would return to the country to civilian rule within six months. Now, there is deep uncertainty over the timeline, and presidential elections might not be held until 2013.

El-Fangary said if the plan in place is followed, the military will be out of power by the end of 2012.

Friday's demonstration dispersed peacefully, but several hundred people remained in the square overnight in an attempt to re-establish a semi-permanent presence in the square to pressure the military council.

Violence began Saturday morning, as police moved in to clear them.

The Interior Ministry, which runs the country's police forces, accused people of trying to escalate tensions ahead of the parliamentary elections, which will be held in stages that continue through March.

Activists say they just want to guard the outcome of their revolution.

Unemployed graduate student Nasser Ezzat said he traveled from southern Egypt to Tahrir because he wanted to help finish the revolution that people died for. He came to the square on Friday, leaving behind his a pregnant wife in the city of Sohag.

"I dream of a fairer Egypt for my unborn daughter, one without police harassment and corruption," he said on Saturday.

___

Associated Press writer Sarah El Deeb contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-11-19-ML-Egypt/id-5d1dbcd0113c4360a65920cc24b377cb

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Lobbying firm's memo spells out plan to undermine Occupy Wall Street

By Jonathan Larsen and?Ken Olshansky, MSNBC TV

A well-known Washington lobbying firm with links to the financial industry has proposed an $850,000 plan to take on Occupy Wall Street and politicians who might express sympathy for the protests, according to a memo obtained by the MSNBC program ?Up w/ Chris Hayes.?

The proposal was written on the letterhead of the lobbying firm Clark Lytle Geduldig & Cranford and addressed to one of CLGC?s clients, the American Bankers Association.

CLGC?s memo proposes that the ABA pay CLGC $850,000 to conduct ?opposition research? on Occupy Wall Street in order to construct ?negative narratives? about the protests and allied politicians. The memo also asserts that Democratic victories in 2012 would be detrimental for Wall Street and targets specific races in which it says Wall Street would benefit by electing Republicans instead.

According to the memo, if Democrats embrace OWS, ?This would mean more than just short-term political discomfort for Wall Street. ? It has the potential to have very long-lasting political, policy and financial impacts on the companies in the center of the bullseye.?

The memo also suggests that Democratic victories in 2012 should not be the ABA?s biggest concern. ?? (T)he bigger concern,? the memo says, ?should be that Republicans will no longer defend Wall Street companies.?

Two of the memo?s authors, partners Sam Geduldig and Jay Cranford, previously worked for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. Geduldig joined CLGC before Boehner became speaker;? Cranford joined CLGC this year after serving as the speaker?s assistant for policy. A third partner, Steve Clark, is reportedly ?tight? with Boehner, according to a story by Roll Call that CLGC features on its website.?

Jeff Sigmund, an ABA spokesperson, confirmed that the association?got the?memo. ?Our Government Relations staff did receive the proposal ? it was unsolicited and we chose not to act on it in any way,? he said in a statement to "Up."

CLGC did not return calls seeking comment.

Boehner spokesman Michael Steel declined to comment on the memo. But he responded to its?characterization of Republicans as defenders of Wall Street by saying, ?My understanding is that President Obama is the single largest recipient of donations from Wall Street.?

On ?Up? Saturday, Obama campaign adviser Anita Dunn responded by saying that the majority of the president?s re-election campaign is fueled by small donors. She rejected the suggestion that the president himself is too close to Wall Street, saying ?If that?s the case, why were tough financial reforms passed over party line Republican opposition??

The CLGC memo raises another issue that it says should be of concern to the financial industry -- that OWS might find common cause with the Tea Party. ?Well-known Wall Street companies stand at the nexus of where OWS protestors and the Tea Party overlap on angered populism,? the memo says. ??This combination has the potential to be explosive later in the year when media reports cover the next round of bonuses and contrast it with stories of millions of Americans making do with less this holiday season.?

The memo outlines a 60-day plan to conduct surveys and research on OWS and its supporters so that Wall Street companies will be prepared to conduct a media campaign in response to OWS. Wall Street companies ?likely will not be the best spokespeople for their own cause,??according to the memo.? ?A big challenge is to demonstrate that these companies still have political strength and that making them a political target will carry a severe political cost.???

Part of the plan CLGC proposes is to do ?statewide surveys in at least eight states that are shaping up to be the most important of the 2012 cycle.?

Specific races listed in the memo are U.S. Senate races in Florida, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Wisconsin, Ohio, New Mexico and Nevada as well as the gubernatorial race in North Carolina.

The memo indicates that CLGC would research who has contributed financial backing to OWS, noting that, ?Media reports have speculated about associations with George Soros and others.?

"It will be vital,? the memo says, ?to understand who is funding it and what their backgrounds and motives are. If we can show that they have the same cynical motivation as a political opponent it will undermine their credibility in a profound way.??

Jonathan Larsen is executive producer of "Up w/ Chris Hayes"; Ken Olshansky is a producer for the show.

Source: http://openchannel.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/19/8884405-lobbying-firms-memo-spells-out-plan-to-undermine-occupy-wall-street

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Different definitions of 'inflation' and 'deflation'

Austrians commonly refer to only the first part of the common? definition ? the increase in the quantity of money ? without the specifying statement that inflation is only that part which is not offset by an increased demand for money.

While (re-)reading one of the chapters of Mises?s Theory of Money and Credit, I noted my underlining of the very clearly formulated definitions on page 240. Mises defines inflation as:

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an increase in the quantity of money (in the broader sense of the term, so as to include fiduciary media as well), that is not offset by a corresponding increase in the need for money (again in the broader sense of the term), so that a fall in the objective exchange-value of money must occur.

Austrians commonly refer to only the first part of this definition ? the increase in the quantity of money ? without the specifying statement that inflation is only that part which is not offset by an increased demand for money (which, indirectly, seems to suggest a ?soft dismissal? of monetarism rather than the hard line that would otherwise follow).

The same seems to be true for Mises?s definition of deflation:

a diminution of the quantity of money (in the broader sense) which is not offset by a corresponding diminution of the demand for money (in the broader sense), so that an increase in the objective exchange-value of money must occur.

Now, it would not be fair to say that these definitions as formulated by Mises back in 1912 in any sense were final. And it is far from impossible that Austrian thinkers before and since then have used idiosyncratic and different variations of these definitions, but presumably with a common core of their meaning.

But what definitions are there? I am interested in finding out what other definitions of inflation and deflation are available in?Austrian works. Please post the definitions you are aware of in the comments section (direct quotes with page references, please).

The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of the best economy-related bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger, click here. To add or view a comment on a guest blog, please go to the blogger's own site by clicking on blog.mises.org.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/T_bUy-rmiQ4/Different-definitions-of-inflation-and-deflation

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