Assange appeals to top UK court against extradition (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange appealed to Britain's Supreme Court Wednesday not to extradite him to Sweden over accusations of sex crimes, a transfer that could push his anti-secrecy website further toward oblivion.

Australian-born Assange, 40, became a worldwide celebrity and infuriated the U.S. government in 2010 when WikiLeaks released secret video footage and thousands of U.S. diplomatic cables about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Since then, WikiLeaks has faded from the news headlines, starved of cash by major credit card companies that are refusing to process online donations to it, and bogged down by Assange's protracted legal troubles.

He was detained in Britain in December 2010 on a European arrest warrant issued by a Swedish prosecutor after two female former WikiLeaks volunteers accused him of sexual assault. He has not been charged but is wanted for questioning.

His British lawyers argue that the warrant is invalid because it was issued by a prosecutor, not an impartial judge or court. That is the point being argued before the Supreme Court, which will not look into the substance of the allegations against Assange.

Dressed in a dark grey suit and purple tie, Assange sat quietly behind his legal team, taking notes and reading documents. He did not speak to waiting reporters when the hearing ended for the day.

The case will last two days, and the court is expected to announce its decision some weeks later.

A small group of demonstrators stood outside the Supreme Court during the hearing, braving freezing weather to show support for Assange, with banners bearing slogans like "The system punishes whistleblowers to protect its own" and "Free Assange."

"SPEAKS TRUTH TO POWER"

"He speaks truth to power. He should be considered a national hero," said Scott Albrecht, a former U.S. soldier turned peace activist.

If the Supreme Court rejects Assange's appeal, he could take his case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. If that court agrees to consider his case, it can direct Britain not to hand him over to Sweden until its proceedings are over.

Should the Strasbourg court decline to take on his case, Britain could extradite him to Sweden as soon as logistics allow.

Assange denies any wrongdoing and has said that the sex accusations, which surfaced at the height of the international furor over WikiLeaks, were an attempt to silence him.

He is convinced that U.S. authorities are looking for a way to pursue him in retaliation for WikiLeaks' revelations.

Views in Washington are divided, some officials calling for tough action against Assange to deter would-be leakers and others saying a prosecution would be legally problematic and would give him a boost just when he appears headed for irrelevance.

Bradley Manning, a U.S. army intelligence analyst suspected of passing thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks, is facing a court martial on 22 charges including aiding the enemy and wrongfully causing intelligence to be published online.

Assange has been holed up under house arrest for over a year, mostly at the English country mansion of a wealthy supporter.

He has made some unexpected career moves, including a guest appearance in an episode of the satirical U.S. animated series "The Simpsons" due to be aired on February 19.

In another TV first, the Kremlin-funded station Russia Today announced last week that it had hired Assange to host a political talk show called "The World Tomorrow."

(Editing by Tim Pearce)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120201/wl_nm/us_britain_assange

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Facebook filing lifts Zynga, other recent IPOs (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? Facebook's long-awaited IPO filing lifted the stocks of many Internet companies, including recent laggards Zynga and Groupon. But analysts said the halo effect may fade, because some companies basking in Facebook's glow just aren't as financially sound as the world's largest social network.

Zynga Inc. was getting the best ride on Facebook's coattails Thursday. Its stock jumped nearly 17 percent to close at $12.39 ? a new high. There's good reason for that. Almost all of Zynga's revenue comes from addictive games like CityVille and Mafia Wars that are played on Facebook. The social network's initial public offering documents revealed, for the first time, that 12 percent of its $3.7 billion in revenue last year came from Zynga.

Some of that revenue came from the 30 percent "toll" that Facebook takes on in-game purchases, the rest came from ads that Zynga bought on the site.

"It shows (Zynga's) an important partner, they're going to participate in Facebook's growth," said Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter.

Baird analyst Colin Sebastian said the filing suggests there could be upside to his forecast for Zynga's fourth-quarter earnings, which will be announced in two weeks.

He added that other Internet companies were justifiably trading higher partly because Facebook reported ad revenue growth of 69 percent in 2011.

"It shines a spotlight on the Internet sector," Sebastian said. "There's a lot to be excited about still among Internet stocks."

Daily deals site Groupon Inc.'s stock rose 7.4 percent to close at $23.08, while jobs networking site LinkedIn Corp. shares rose 6.4 percent to close at $76.98, even though their revenues aren't tied to Facebook.

Online radio service Pandora Media Inc.'s stock rose 3.3 percent to $13.32 and American depositary shares of Chinese social networking company Renren Inc. jumped 8.2 percent to $5.42.

All five companies made their stock market debuts last year. Only LinkedIn's stock has traded consistently above its IPO price.

Maxim Group analyst Echo He said Renren is benefiting partly because it is one of the few Chinese Internet stocks that trades in the U.S. Even with Thursday's 8 percent bump, the stock is less than half of the IPO price of $14 set last May.

Renren has less than 5 percent of Facebook's 845 million-strong user base, isn't growing as fast, lacks market dominance in China, and may barely be profitable this year, compared to Facebook's hefty 27 percent net income margin, she said.

Investors "think maybe this name could get some benefit," He said. "It probably won't last long."

Still, Facebook's in-depth filing was well-received and even included a manifesto-type letter from founder Mark Zuckerberg outlining the company's mission to "make the world more open and connected."

The prospectus seemed to wash away some of investors' trepidations over the unorthodox accounting methods once used by Groupon, or the surprising 5 percent dip that Zynga's stock experienced on its first day of trading.

Gordon Tucker, a managing director at Protiviti, a company that helps companies go public, said the filing and Facebook's healthy financial results injected a sense of confidence into the social media space.

"This social media sector is a real sector," Tucker said. "Maybe people are saying, let's dig back in and have a look."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/internet/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120202/ap_on_hi_te/us_facebook_fever

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Indiana joins right-to-work ranks, gov. signs bill

Union members protesting the right-to-work legislation wait to enter the Statehouse in Indianapolis, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012. The Senate is hearing the right-to-work bill on final reading and the governor is expected to sign the bill later in the day. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Union members protesting the right-to-work legislation wait to enter the Statehouse in Indianapolis, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012. The Senate is hearing the right-to-work bill on final reading and the governor is expected to sign the bill later in the day. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Union members protesting the right-to-work legislation wait to enter the Statehouse in Indianapolis, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012. The Senate is hearing the right-to-work bill on final reading and the governor is expected to sign the bill later in the day. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Sen. Carlin Yoder , R-Elkhard, Sen. Vi Simpson, R-Ellettsville, presents the right-to-work bill on final reading in the Senate chamber as the Statehouse in Indianapolis, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012. The Senate is expect to pass the right-to-work bill on final reading and the governor is expected to sign the bill later in the day. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Sen. Carlin Yoder , R-Elkhard, Sen. Vi Simpson, R-Ellettsville, speaks against the right-to-work bill during the final debate on the bill in the Senate chamber as the Statehouse in Indianapolis, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012. The Senate is hearing the right-to-work bill on final reading and the governor is expected to sign the bill later in the day. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ? Indiana became the Rust Belt's first right-to-work state Wednesday in a move that is sure to embolden advocates seeking to curtail union rights across the country. But whether other states can replicate the conservatives' success in Indiana is less certain.

The political factors that aligned in Indiana were so unique, and it is unlikely the same thing could happen in other states ? at least for now.

Gov. Mitch Daniels' signature Wednesday on the bill that made Indiana the nation's 23rd right-to-work state was the end of a contentious two-year political battle that included partisan bickering, lawmaker walkouts, legislative stall tactics and union protests. In the end, Indiana marked the first win for national right-to-work supporters who tried in vain last year to push the measure despite a Republican sweep of statehouses nationwide in 2010.

It also could stand as their only victory for a while, based on a mix of obstacles that have spurned advocates in other states stretching from New Hampshire to Minnesota. The very factors that made Indiana's right-to-work campaign uniquely successful ? large state House and Senate majorities and Daniels' ability to clear one last run for governor in 2008 before mounting a unified push for the measure ? also could undermine similar efforts elsewhere.

National Right to Work Committee Vice President Greg Mourad says two major obstacles have blocked his group's progress: governors who oppose right-to-work and pro-union Republicans in state legislatures. But much of that could change in 2012 depending on how some key state elections pan out.

"The next election should tell us quite a bit," Mourad said Wednesday afternoon.

In New Hampshire, right-to-work supporters found themselves unable to overturn a veto from Democratic Gov. John Lynch last year. Lynch is not running for re-election in November and the New Hampshire governor's office has often been traded between Democrats and Republicans in the last few decades.

Likewise in Montana, Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer is term-limited against seeking re-election in November. His veto threat has stalled efforts there, Mourad said.

However in other Rust Belt states, right-to-work advocates have run up against squeamish Republicans who don't want to pick fights with private sector unions whose influence has waned with the decline of American manufacturing, but not to a point where they are no longer a clear political threat.

Michigan's Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, who is up for re-election in 2014, has called right-to-work "too divisive" and Michigan's Republican Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville said last week he doubted right-to-work would bring the economic benefits promised by supporters.

Experts say many factors influence states' economies and that it's nearly impossible to isolate the impact of right to work. For major industries, access to supplies, infrastructure, key markets and a skilled workforce are key factors, according to business recruitment specialists. For a state's workers, the impact of right-to-work legislation is limited because only about 7 percent of private sector employees are unionized. Over the years, job growth has surged in states with, and without, right-to-work laws.

"They are often the problem, guys like Randy Richardville, who have been pretty comfortable with unions," Mourad said. Mourad noted that dealing with pro-labor Republicans can mean either building large pro-right-to-work majorities around them in a chamber or voting them out of office.

Michigan's larger union presence has also made Republican lawmakers pause more than their Indiana counterparts, who work in a state where union membership dropped by roughly 50 percent in the last decade.

Right-to-work supporters won a decisive victory in Indiana in 2006 after the right-to-work supporter Sen. Greg Walker, a Columbus Republican, unseated Indiana's long-time Republican Senate Pro Tem Bob Garton, an ardent right-to-work opponent.

But even with the right parts, a right-to-work victory is never guaranteed, said Garton's successor, Senate President Pro Tem David Long, Republican of Fort Wayne.

"It doesn't come without a fight," Long said. "It is a passionate issue and people don't want to take that fight on."

Meanwhile, the union backlash in other Rust Belt states in the last few months has emboldened opponents trying to bolster their defenses.

Wisconsin's GOP-dominated Assembly passed a law backed by Gov. Scott Walker in March that strips nearly all collective bargaining rights from public-sector unions. Walker is now preparing for a recall election after opponents turned in a million signatures aimed at forcing a vote and ousting him from office. In November, Ohio voters repealed a law limiting collective bargaining rights that was championed by Gov. John Kasich and fellow Republican lawmakers.

Indiana right-to-work opponents won a second key victory in December, when Daniels switched his position on right-to-work. As a candidate for office, Daniels had promised Indiana Teamsters in 2004 he would oppose any effort to make Indiana a right-to-work state.

He explained his change as an evolution on the issue based on new facts and the ongoing problems.

"Seven years of evidence and experience ultimately demonstrated that Indiana did need a right-to-work law to capture jobs for which, despite our highly rated business climate, we are not currently being considered," Daniels said in a statement Wednesday.

For states without all the needed pieces, supporters have resorted to work-arounds and duct tape, in their efforts to ban mandatory union fees.

Missouri right-to-work supporters are attempting to skirt Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon's almost certain veto by moving a version of the measure that would go straight to the voters for consideration.

Likewise, in Michigan, supporters are pushing a series of measures that opponents have dubbed "mini right-to-work." A House committee controlled by Republicans approved a bill Tuesday that would require employees to annually renew their written consent allowing certain forms of union dues to be deducted from their paychecks.

The lead sponsor of New Hampshire's right-to-work proposal, Rep. Will Smith, Republican of New Castle, has submitted a new version of the measure that would let public employees could opt out of joining a union but would then have them negotiate their own contracts.

Smith says he hopes the re-jiggered bill will win the few extra votes needed to overturn another likely veto from Lynch.

___

Associated Press writers Glenn Adams in Augusta, Maine, Garrett Brnger in Concord, N.H., Tom Davies in Indianapolis, David Lieb in Jefferson City and Tim Martin in Lansing contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-02-01-Indiana-Right%20to%20Work/id-0dc37e010966478fb31cd928bd97d428

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PFT: Rodgers rips NFC Pro Bowlers' effort

Getty Images

With a few days to think about it, Giants wide receiver Mario Manningham backtracked from his original derisive statements about Patriots cornerback/wide receiver Julian Edelman.

But Manningham didn?t backtrack too far.

?We know he?s a great player, but we want to go out?and do what we have to do to win. No matter what it takes. He plays?wide receiver. He?s not a real defensive back,? Manningham said. ?Did he get drafted as a?defensive back? We have a little bond going on knowing that we can?beat somebody. We?re confident. I hope he?s out there.?

Edelman may not be a real defensive back, but he played one in college. And he knows what bothers offensive players. He?s not afraid to be physical.

?He?s a hell of a football player,? Giants offensive?coordinator?Kevin Gilbride said Tuesday. ?He looks like a guy that has been on the offensive side and had people grab and hold him. And now he?s now trying to reverse the process. He looks like a good defensive back.?

The Patriots believe Edelman succeeds because he likes to mix it up. Deion Branch said he?s been lobbying for his own defensive snaps for weeks, but the coaches won?t bite.

?He loves to cover me and Wes,? Branch said. ?That?s the highlight of his practice. Julian is one of those guys that nags you a lot. As a receiver, you hate that. That?s his style. He?s an aggressive guy.?

?I like Julian. He?s a beast. He has that mentality, that beast mode in?him,? safety Patrick Chung said. ?He?s tough, he?s fast, he?s physical. I have no worries about?Julian. He?s good.?

No matter what happens Sunday, it?s remarkable Edelman can play defense at such a high level considering the demands of the position. He?s playing offense, defense, and special teams on the game?s biggest stage.

?You gotta understand,? Branch said. ?He?s in the offensive meeting room, then the defensive meeting room. So he?s missing half of what they say in the defensive meeting room because he?s with us.?

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/31/aaron-rodgers-says-some-pro-bowlers-embarrassed-themselves/related/

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Unite to fight bird flu

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Experts: US ill-prepared for oil spill off Cuba (AP)

MIAMI ? The U.S. is not ready to handle an oil spill if drilling off the Cuban coast goes awry but can be better prepared with monitoring systems and other basic steps, experts told government officials Monday.

The comments at a congressional subcommittee hearing in the Miami Beach suburb of Sunny Isles come more than a week after a huge oil rig arrived in Cuban waters to begin drilling a deepwater exploratory well.

Similar development is expected off the Bahamas next year, but decades of tense relations between the U.S. and Cuba makes cooperation in protecting the Florida Straits particularly tricky. With memories of the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico still fresh, state and federal officials fear even the perception of oil flowing toward Florida beaches could devastate an economy that claims about $57 billion from tourism.

Florida International University Professor John Proni told officials to be proactive. He is leading a consortium of researchers on U.S. readiness to handle a spill.

"For the last few years, my colleagues and I have been visiting Washington to say the best time to start preparing for an oil spell is before it happens," Proni told leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, in a hotel-turned-hearing room overlooking the turquoise waters the group convened to protect. Proni said he has seen little action from officials in Washington, though they responded positively.

U.S. officials have turned their attention to preventing future spills since the Deepwater Horizon rig leased by BP blew up in April 2010, causing the well to blow out and unleashing millions of gallons of oil in the Gulf of Mexico. Crude washed up on pristine shoreline, soiled wildlife and left a region dependent on tourist dollars scrambling to rebuild its image.

Coast Guard officials said Monday they did not know if Cuba had started drilling. Experts testified current estimates have surface oil from a spill moving as quickly as 3 miles an hour due to the Gulfstream, but that the fast-moving current would make it difficult for the oil to quickly cross the Florida Straits.

Rear Adm. William Baumgartner, commander of the Coast Guard region that covers the Florida Straits, said a likely scenario would have the oil spreading and reaching U.S. waters in six to 10 days.

Proni said that lack of specificity is the problem. He wants a system that can monitor changes in underwater sounds to immediately alert U.S. officials to a spill or other unusual activity. He also wants the U.S. to invest in developing better computer models to predict oil movement and to do an assessment of the existing ecosystem and the type of oil Cuba possesses. That way, experts can better pinpoint any damage and find out if it came from Cuban wells.

Proni said the fast-moving water would make it difficult to burn the oil or strain it, as was done to halt the spread of the Deepwater Horizon spill. He added that more research is needed on the risks of using chemicals that break down the oil into tiny droplets.

Baumgartner said his agency has been working to develop a response plan. The Coast Guard and private response teams have been granted the required visas under the U.S. embargo to work with the Cuban government and its partners should a problem arise. Since March 2011, the agency has been working with Repsol RDF, the Spanish company leasing the rig off Cuba, and inspected the rig earlier this month.

The rig was given a good bill of health. Asked Monday about the rig's readiness, though, Baumgartner said inspectors found some minor problems with the safety systems that would have kept the ship from being allowed to drill in U.S. waters. He said it was unclear whether the required repairs had been made.

U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, one of three South Florida Cuban-American lawmakers who attended the hearing, said he hopes the Obama administration will quickly respond to the consortium's concerns. He added that Proni's proposals could be applied to the Gulf of Mexico, where many more rigs are already drilling for oil in U.S. waters.

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, has authored a bill that would sanction those who help Cuba develop its oil reserves.

"We can't stop Repsol from drilling now, but we can act to deter future leaders to avoid the Castro brothers becoming the oil tycoons of the Caribbean," she told the committee.

Fellow South Floridian U.S. Rep. David Rivera is proposing to expand the 1990 Oil Pollution Act to fully cover companies operating outside U.S. waters, in the event oil reaches U.S. territory. The 1990 law requires oil companies to repay government agencies for any cleanup costs for spills; it also requires that companies have plans for preventing and cleaning up spills.

But Chairman John Micah, R-Fla., questioned whether the U.S. could enforce any law outside its own waters.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/environment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_re_us/us_cuba_oil_drilling

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Euro zone confidence improves, highlights divergence (Reuters)

BRUSSELS (Reuters) ? Confidence in the euro zone's economy strengthened in January for the first time since early 2011, EU data showed on Monday, but a recovery in Germany masked a deterioration in France and Italy, highlighting the bloc's diverging fortunes.

Germany has shown more resilience to the euro zone's troubles than many of its neighbors, helped by fiscal prudence, a competitive edge and good demand for its high quality goods.

France and Italy have struggled to keep up, facing questions about the sustainability of their own finances as Greece tries to agree a debt restructuring and Portugal comes under fresh scrutiny in financial markets.

The divergence complicates the task of EU leaders who are meeting in Brussels on Monday to try and sketch a path out of the economic slump.

The European Commission's economic sentiment indicator rose by 0.6 points in the euro zone to 93.4, the first improvement in sentiment since March last year as some confidence returned to services, consumers and construction.

"We're seeing a slight stabilization and we expect the recession the euro zone will end in the spring," said Christoph Weil, an economist at Commerzbank.

"But we can also see that the divergence in the euro zone is increasing and that is of great concern," he said.

The European Central Bank's decision in December to provide 3-year loans to banks averted a credit freeze, while the U.S. economy expanded strongly in the last quarter of 2011 and China has remained robust, maintaining demand for Europe's goods.

But budget austerity and political divisions over how to solve the two-year debt crisis continue to depress business in the euro zone and the wider European Union, with non-euro zone country Britain heading for a recession in early 2011.

The rising optimism is still tempered by EU leaders' inability to resolve the euro zone debt crisis and the sentiment indicator was slightly lower than forecast by economists polled by Reuters.

Following last week's surprisingly positive purchasing managers' indices, or PMIs, business climate rose for the second month in a row to -0.21, in line with economists' expectations.

But factory managers saw a deterioration in the view of their order books and although this was offset by a positive assessment of stocks, it confirmed the mixed economic picture.

Industrial confidence remained at the lowest level since April 2010 while confidence in services rebounded by 2 points in the euro zone and construction was up 0.6 points.

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For a graphic on the data: http://link.reuters.com/bas36s

For full multimedia coverage: http://r.reuters.com/xyt94s

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GERMAN RENEWAL, GREEK PAIN

The European Commission forecasts 2012 economic growth of just 0.5 percent for the 17 nations in the euro zone, which generates 16 percent of global economic output.

The International Monetary Fund is more pessimistic, forecasting a 0.5 percent contraction in 2012 that it says could drag the world into recession.

EU leaders face a tough task at Monday's summit as they try and bridge the divergence in economic performance among the 27-nation bloc's economies and reconcile austerity with growth.

Recent data suggests Germany will avoid a recession, while non-euro zone member Britain, as well as euro states Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal, are likely to see their economies contract in 2012. Belgium and the Netherlands, also members of the single currency, will struggle to grow at all.

The Commission's data also supported that view, as economic sentiment improved in Germany by 2.3 points, the second consecutive monthly rise, but fell in France, Italy and the Netherlands.

While large economies such as France and the Netherlands will likely benefit from Germany's recovery, Italy and Greece must confront falling productivity and high debts to avoid years of stagnation.

"Weakened domestic economic activity, intensified fiscal tightening in many countries and still serious uncertainties and concerns over the euro zone sovereign debt crisis continue to limit an improvement in sentiment," said Howard Archer, chief European economist at IHS Global Insight.

(Reporting By Robin Emmott; editing by Rex Merrifield/Anna Willard)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120130/bs_nm/us_eurozone_sentiment

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