Facebook Instagram use dived after photo fiasco

Facebook Inc's Instagram lost almost a quarter of its daily users a week after it rolled out and then withdrew policy changes that incensed users who feared the photo-sharing service would use their pictures without compensation.

Instagram, which Facebook bought for $715 million this year, saw the number of daily active users who accessed the service via Facebook bottom out at 12.4 million as of Friday, versus a peak of 16.4 million last week, according to data compiled by online tracker AppData.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/28/us-facebook-instagram-idUSBRE8BR0HE20121228

Source: http://thecomingcrisis.blogspot.com/2012/12/facebook-instagram-use-dived-after.html

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Euro shares dip as fiscal cliff deadline nears

LONDON (Reuters) - World stocks were set to end the year up 15 percent but dipped on Monday as U.S. politicians prepared for last-minute talks to avoid a fiscal crunch of spending cuts and tax hikes that could drag down the world economy.

In Washington, the two political parties are set to hold further talks to try and find a way to avoid the $600 billion "fiscal cliff" due to kick in from the start of January.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the Senate would resume sitting at 11 a.m. Washington time on Monday (1600 GMT), to continue discussions, but there were still significant differences between the two sides.

After a subdued day in Asia, where Japan's Nikkei as well as a number of other indexes had already shut for the year, European stock markets opened fractionally lower.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300, which has risen roughly 16 percent this year, was down 0.1 percent as London's FTSE and the Paris CAC 40 both started a shortened trading day in negative territory. German markets were closed.

"Volumes are very depressed and we're going to see a lot of cash off the table and investors are probably going to take profit on cyclical shares," Ishaq Siddiqi, a market strategist at ETX Capital, said.

Siddiqi said a failure to avert the "fiscal cliff" may push the FTSE back to a late November low of 5,800 in the coming sessions.

Midnight on Monday marks the deadline for a U.S. budget deal, though the government can pass legislation in 2013 that retroactively prevents going over the cliff, an option that is viewed as politically easier.

In currency markets, the U.S. dollar last stood at 85.78 yen, having retreated from Friday's high of 86.64 yen, which was the greenback's strongest level versus the Japanese currency since August 2010.

As the year draws to a close, the dollar is up about 11.9 percent against the yen, putting it on track for its biggest percentage gain versus the Japanese currency since 2005.

The euro was down 0.16 percent to $1.3192 on Monday. An agreement on the U.S. budget would be viewed as positive for riskier currencies such as the euro and Australian dollar, while a deadlock is deemed positive for the haven and highly liquid dollar.

Gold was $1,664.10 an ounce by 0810 GMT, up around 6 percent for the year and is on track for a 12th consecutive year of gains on rock-bottom interest rates, concerns over the financial stability of the euro zone, and diversification into bullion by central banks.

Oil prices slipped on Monday for a third consecutive session on the U.S. budget crisis, with failure to reach a solution seen likely to cause a large drop in fuel consumption.

Brent crude slipped 23 cents to $110.39 a barrel, but is set to post a 2.8 percent year-on-year increase in 2012, up for a fourth consecutive year.

(Additional reporting by Francesco Canepa; Editing by Giles Elgood)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/investors-agonize-u-teeters-edge-fiscal-cliff-020147127--finance.html

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Knights inch closer to record | Local Hockey | Sports | The London ...

PLYMOUTH?-?

The London Knights cleared a major hurdle on their way to a potential history-making winning streak.

The Knights defeated the Plymouth Whalers 4-2 Saturday in Plymouth to run their winning streak to 23 games, the second longest in Ontario Hockey League history, in front of 3,657.

The Knights are chasing the Kitchener Rangers' OHL mark of 25 games set in 1983-84 and the 1973 Sorel Epeviers. Sorel is now the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. The 25 wins in succession is also a Canadian Hockey League record.

Those records were set before there was overtime and shootouts in the leagues. If a game ended in regulation time in a tie, it remained a tie.

The Knights have won five games in either overtime or shootouts during their streak.

The Hull Olympiques have the second longest streak in CHL history at 24 done during the 1995-96 season.

Despite being only two games from tying the record, most everyone on the Knights claims they aren?t really thinking about it.

?I don?t talk about. The kids play one game at a time. The old clich?,? said Knights? coach Dale Hunter.

?We aren?t talking overly about it but really there?s not much mention of it,? said Ryan Rupert.

?I just go out and have some fun. You can?t worry about the streak. You just take it one game at a time,? said goaltender Jake Patterson.

And so it goes. Another win, another solid effort in a difficult building to play and another response to pressure that continues to build with the streak and the attention growing.

This night it was the Ruperts who turned the game around. Matt caught a puck in the mouth but still managed to score a goal while Ryan had a goal and an assist. After a tough beginning to the year Ryan is finding the points finally starting to come.

?Starting last week I had a couple of points, that was the turnaround, I think,? Ryan said. ?Now I find that I?m getting some points and producing, so maybe this is the turnaround that I need.?

The Knights began their streak Nov. 2 with a 4-3 win over Belleville Bulls at home. Their last loss was the night before in Windsor when they dropped a 6-3 contest to the Spitfires.

Going into Plymouth is by no means an easy task. The Whalers play a tough, physical game in a smaller rink.

But the team keeps getting all-out efforts from anyone and everyone wearing the Knights? jersey.

?I can?t even tell you how hard they are working,? Patterson said. ?It?s making my job real easy. Their work ethic is incredible. Keeping the shots to the outside for me, it?s making my job easy.?

Patterson was good on his own. He made the big saves when he needed to make them.

Forward Kyle Platzer went back to play on the blueline and he finished a plus-three.

It was a tight game early with good hitting, skating and goaltending and it didn?t look as if anyone would score but this is junior hockey and things change quickly.

It changed drastically in the final 10 minutes of the second period. Tom Wilson sent the packed Compuware Arena crowd into a frenzy when he gave the Whalers a 1-0 lead at 11:46 of the second period.

But the announcer was still announcing the goal when Knights? Matt Rupert tied it up 20 seconds later. Less than two minutes later Max Domi gave the Knights a 2-1 lead and with just over a minute left in the second, Ryan Rupert scored to make it 3-1.

The Knights took control just that quickly and with starter Jake Patterson playing well, it was going to be tough for the Whalers to score that many to get back in the game.

Brett Welychka made it 4-1 in the third period.

But the Whalers weren?t ready to give it up. They pulled starter Matt Mahalak with more than two minutes to go and cut the lead to 4-2. Then Josh Anderson took a penalty. With 33 seconds left in the game, Garrett Meurs was awarded a penalty shot. If the Whalers scored it would have been 4-3 with a power play.

But Patterson gave Meurs nothing and he couldn?t get a shot off. Win 23 was secure.

?Each game you don?t know who is going to step up,? Ryan Rupert said. ?Last night it was (Welychka.) Tonight it was our line. We got a lot of confidence in that room.?

The Knights now look to tie the record with Sarnia Sting as the opposition. They play New Year?s Eve Day in Sarnia and then the potential record-tying game would be New Year?s Day in London.

Source: http://www.lfpress.com/2012/12/29/knights-extend-winning-streak-to-23-games-with-4-2-win-over-plymouth-whalers

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Ann Arbor real estate taxes affect Ann Arbor Area Home Buyers| Ann ...

With a wealth of on line resources, ?a growing for sale by owner market, and countless educational TV shows, ?it is no wonder buyers may take a do it your self approach to home purchasing in Ann Arbor. ?But having access to data and correct interpretation of the information can be problematic.

When it comes to Ann Arbor Real estate taxes, knowing how the property taxes affect the home buying decision is important. ?For point of reference, we are linking the Washtenaw County millage rates, Michigan Property Tax Calculation Explanation Video, and property tax calculator to determine the probable future taxes on your next home. ?Future tax effect can impact your mortgage payments/ escrow account, so understanding this is important.Take this example. ?Buyer bought new construction that was basically taxed on vacant land as of May. In July, the assessor thought the homes was basically complete and the builder was just delaying finishing until he secured the buyer, so they assessed it 80 percent complete. ?This assessment did not get reported until the Dec 1 ?tax bill was generated. ?The home was completed, the buyer closed last day of November and in December received their first tax bill of $11,000. ?The bill based on the June reported data should have been $6,000. ?This was a huge surprise to the buyers and their attorney. This example was for a property in West Ridge. ?The buyer was in the process of waiting for the mortgage financing approval. ?A new tax bill was issued to the Sellers and the taxes rose slightly. ?The extra tax amount made the buyer unqualified for the loan and the buyer had to walk away from the house purchase.

Understanding ?the difference between homestead and non homestead rate is important. ?If the Seller vacated the property and lost the homestead rate, the buyer could be the recipient of a future tax bill nightmare surprise. ?It is always wise for the buyer to check with the taxing authority to get confirmation on billing assumptions and calculations. ?When doing your real estate property search, just check this link to determine where the home is located and what schools the children attend.

Referring to the chart again;

If a home is in Lodi Township Ann Arbor Schools, the homestead millage rate is 30.27 and ?if State Equalized Value ? SEV is $100,000,00 the tax?Estimated Property Tax For Primary Residence or Qualified Farm (Homestead) is $,3027.00

If a home is in Lodi Township Dexter Schools, the homestead millage rate is 31.22?and ?if SEV is $100,000 the tax?Estimated Property Tax For Primary Residence or Qualified Farm (Homestead) is $3,122.00. ?Based on the home purchasing budget and federal and State tax write offs, this may or may not be important. ?Either way, having a professional guide you through ?the Ann Arbor Area home ?purchasing steps may prove invaluable. ?Consider your buyer agent an?indispensable?partner in the home buying process.

SEV (STATE EQUALIZED VALUE) ? is 1/2 the market value the local assessor assigns your property. So if the the assessor thinks your house is worth $200,000 then your SEV would be $100,000. ? SEV is?what the Washtenaw County local assessor thinks your house is worth. So just by multiplying the SEV by 2 will not give you what you can sell your house for or what it will appraise for.Your city or township assessor determines the State Equalized Value SEV based on a formula and other recently sold homes that are comparable. But remember when you get your tax statement that SEV is only what the city thinks it is worth not what your taxes are based on.

TV (TAXABL VALUE)When you buy a house, the next May the taxable value resets to equal the SEV.??If?you buy an Ann Arbor home in Sept. The current taxable value is 100,000 and the SEV is $150,000. Taxes are $2000. So next year at the beginning of May the SEV and taxable value will both become $150,000 (unless the city assessor raised the SEV). ?The State equalized value and taxable value becomes the same number. So in this example the taxes would go up to $3000 the following year.

So when you look at a property tax statement the main number you want to look at as a homeowner is the TAXABLE VALUE. That is the number you times by the millage rate to get the Michigan property number you owe.

TAXABLE VALUE X MILLAGE RATE = PROPERTY TAX OWED

Then after the first year taxable value resets the taxable value will go up the lesser of 5% or rate of inflation. But Taxable value can go down if SEV goes down to below taxable value or equal to taxable value. ?This can be complicated, so make sure you research your situation.

Weather you are looking for the best deals in Ann Arbor foreclosures, Ann Arbor Area short sales, horse properties, or perfect Ann Arbor Area subdivisions, downtown Ann Arbor by U of M Campus, call your Ann Arbor Real Estate Experts to find the perfect Ann Arbor home: 734-669-0337.

Source: http://annarbortalks.com/buyer-information/ann-arbor-real-estate-taxes-affect-ann-arbor-area-home-buyers-ann-arbor-real-estate-experts-734-669-0337/

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Tax filing delays are?another 'fiscal cliff' worry

With some investments already feeling the pain of the looming cliff, millions of Americans are at risk of being affected. The first to consider is the expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts, according to CNBC's Jackie Deangelis.

By Allison Linn, TODAY

If you?re the type of person who likes to file your income tax return as soon as possible, then you?ve got another reason to be frustrated by the fiscal cliff stalemate in Washington, D.C.

Most of the tax changes being discussed as part of the fiscal cliff negotiations would go into effect in 2013, meaning that taxpayers would first have to account for them when they went to file those tax returns in early 2014.

But a handful of the provisions under discussion could affect Americans? 2012 taxes. The down-to-the-wire negotiations in the nation's capital could leave the IRS scrambling to adopt the changes in its systems, delaying the agency?s ability to accept some people?s returns.

?Congress oftentimes waits until the last minute to pass legislation, and then that in a turn affects the IRS,? said Bob Meighan, vice president with tax software provider TurboTax.

---

That's definitely been the case this time around. Just a few days before the end of the year, Congress has not been able to come to an agreement over a series of tax increases that are scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1. President Barack Obama said Friday that he was "modestly optimistic" a deal could still be reached to avert going over the so-called fiscal cliff.?

Acting IRS Commissioner Steven T. Miller has already warned that there could be serious filing delays if Congress doesn?t provide a patch for the Alternative Minimum Tax. An IRS spokesman said Friday that the agency did not have any further information beyond the warnings Miller gave to lawmakers in a letter earlier this month.

The AMT is a provision in the tax code that was designed to ensure that wealthy taxpayers have to?pay at least a minimum amount of taxes. It was never indexed for inflation, however, so Congress has had to provide temporary fixes over the years to ensure that lower-income taxpayers aren?t affected.

That hasn?t happened yet this year because of the fiscal cliff stalemate. In the letter to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp earlier this month, Miller, the acting IRS commissioner, warned that if Congress doesn?t provide a patch this year, then the IRS would have to make significant programming changes to account for that.

?In that event, given the magnitude and complexity of the changes needed, I want to reiterate that most taxpayers may not be able to file their 2012 tax returns until late in March of 2013, or even later,? Miller wrote in the Dec. 19 letter.

Miller also warned that as many as 30 million additional taxpayers could be subject to the AMT if a patch isn?t put in place.

For now, Miller said the IRS is acting as if Congress will provide an AMT patch.

Meighan, of TurboTax, said his company also has prepared its software as if a patch will be in place. But he said the company also is ready to?switch gears quickly if it must.

Meighan said a few other provisions under discussion as part of the fiscal cliff negotiation could affect a minority of taxpayers in 2012. Those include a deduction teachers get for school supplies they purchase for their classrooms and a tuition and fees deduction that applies to some students.

"It's really gotten to a point now where you have the ideological divisions in the country overlapped now with the partisan divisions," said CNBC's Chief Washington Correspondent John Harwood.

The IRS has had to ask people to delay filing their returns before. In 2010, Congress passed last-minute tax law changes on Dec. 17. As a result, the IRS said it wouldn?t be able to accept returns with itemized deductions until February of 2011 because it needed time to adjust its systems.

If people are forced to wait to file their tax returns, that would also mean a delay in getting tax refunds. Roberton Williams, a senior fellow with the Tax Policy Center, said that in turn could have some effect on the economy because many people count on that money to pay off debt or buy big-ticket items.

If the AMT isn?t patched at all, he noted, that would be an even bigger economic hit because some taxpayers wouldn?t get their expected refund at all.

?That will have a major effect on the economy,? Williams said. ?It will be pulling a lot of money out of the economy that people are expecting.?

Despite the Congressional deadlock, experts say they are still assuming a deal will be made to put the patch in place.

?For most people, come 2013 they?ll be able to file their taxes, they?ll get their refund and life goes on,? Meighan said.

{"contentId":"16216387","totalVotes":"20882"}

When do you usually file your taxes?

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Source: http://lifeinc.today.com/_news/2012/12/29/16216387-heres-another-fiscal-cliff-worry-tax-filing-delays?lite

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Budget struggle raising anxiety for health care

President Barack Obama speaks to reporters in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington after meeting with Congressional leaders regarding the fiscal cliff, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

President Barack Obama speaks to reporters in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington after meeting with Congressional leaders regarding the fiscal cliff, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Confused about the federal budget struggle? So are doctors, hospital administrators and other medical professionals who serve the 100 million Americans covered by Medicare and Medicaid.

Rarely has the government sent so many conflicting signals in so short a time about the bottom line for the health care industry.

Cuts are coming, says Washington, and some could be really big. Yet more government spending is also being promised as President Barack Obama's health care overhaul advances and millions of uninsured people move closer to getting government-subsidized coverage.

"Imagine a person being told they are going to get a raise, but their taxes are also going to go up and they are going to be paying more for gas," said Thornton Kirby, president of the South Carolina Hospital Association. "They don't know if they are going to be taking home more or less. That's the uncertainty when there are so many variables in play."

Real money is at stake for big hospitals and small medical practices alike. Government at all levels pays nearly half the nation's health care tab, with federal funds accounting for most of that.

It's widely assumed that a budget deal will mean cuts for Medicare service providers. But which ones? How much? And will Medicaid and subsidies to help people get coverage under the health care law also be cut?

As House Speaker John Boehner famously said: "God only knows." The Ohio Republican was referring to the overall chances of getting a budget deal, but the same can be said of how health care ? one-sixth of the economy ? will fare.

"There is no political consensus to do anything significant," said Dan Mendelson, president of Avalere Health, a market analysis firm. "There is a collective walking away from things that matter. All the stuff on the lists of options becomes impossible, because there is no give-and-take."

As if things weren't complicated enough, doctors keep facing their own recurring fiscal cliff, separate from the bigger budget battle but embroiled in it nonetheless.

Come Jan. 1, doctors and certain other medical professionals face a 26.5 percent cut in their Medicare payments, the consequence of a 1990s deficit-reduction law gone awry. Lawmakers failed to repeal or replace that law even after it became obvious that it wasn't working. Instead, Congress usually passes a "doc fix" each year to waive the cuts.

This year, the fix got hung up in larger budget politics. Although a reprieve is expected sooner or later, doctors don't like being told to sit in the congressional waiting room.

"It seems like there is a presumption that physicians and patients can basically tolerate this kind of uncertainty while the Congress goes through whatever political machinations they are going through," said Dr. Jeremy Lazarus, president of the American Medical Association. "Our concern is that physician uncertainty and anxiety about being able to pay the bills will have an impact on taking care of patients."

A recent government survey indicates that Medicare beneficiaries are having more problems when trying to find a new primary care doctor, and Lazarus said that will only get worse.

Adding to their unease, doctors also face an additional reduction if automatic spending cuts go through. Those would be triggered if Obama and congressional leaders are unable to bridge partisan differences and strike a deal. They are part of the combination of tax increases and spending cuts dubbed the "fiscal cliff."

Medicare service providers would get hit with a 2 percent across-the-board cut, but Medicaid and subsidies for the uninsured under Obama's health care overhaul would be spared. The Medicare cut adds up to about $120 billion over ten years, with 40 percent falling on hospitals, according to Avalare's analysis. Nursing homes, Medicare Advantage plans and home health agencies also get hit.

The American Hospital Association says that would lead to the loss of hundreds of thousands of hospital jobs in a labor intensive industry that also generates employment for other businesses in local communities.

"It's very difficult to believe hospitals can absorb the kinds of numbers they are talking about without reducing service or workforce," said Kirby, the hospital association head. "You may decide that a service a hospital provides is not affordable ? for example, obstetrics in a rural community ? if you're making a little bit of money or losing a little bit of money by continuing to deliver babies in a rural community."

Independent analysts like Mendelson doubt that a 2 percent Medicare cut to hospitals would be catastrophic, but say it will cost jobs somewhere.

Even if there is a budget deal, the squeeze will be on.

The administration has proposed $400 billion in health care cuts so far in the budget talks, coming mainly from Medicare spending. That's only a starting point as far as Republicans are concerned. They also want to pare back Medicaid and Obama's health care law, and have also sought an increase in the eligibility age for Medicare.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-12-29-Fiscal%20Cliff-Health%20Care/id-7e658fd32b404ad4ad4e1f27a4ef044d

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The Worst Product Flops Of 2012: 24/7 Wall St.

From 24/7 Wall St.: There has been no shortage of successful product launches in 2012. Think the iPhone 5 and ?The Avengers.? In order for companies to have successful launches, they must invest a great deal, ranging from thousands of development hours to millions in marketing costs. Yet, sometimes, despite the best efforts and the large investments, the products fail. 24/7 Wall St. editors reviewed 2012 product launches to find which were the biggest flops.

To be considered a flop, the company that rolled out the product must have invested significant resources in its development and marketing. Once the product was released, the failure had to have happened quickly. None of the products on our list were on the market much longer than a few months before they were regarded as a flop. Finally, once the products failed, the companies took a sizable hit to both their reputation and, in some cases, their bottom line. One company, Sony, has two products on this list.

These products failed for several reasons. Some of the flops were due to significant company errors that caused the product to be faulty. Apple Maps, one of the worst flops of the year by any measure, was riddled with egregious flaws such as mislabeled buildings, streets and even cities. Sony?s unusual clamshell shaped tablet sold so poorly the company stopped offering it on its American Website.

Competition from popular rivals also played a major role in these flops. ABC?s ?Pan Am? initially started off with strong ratings, but the novelty quickly wore off, and the series did not have enough to offer to viewers over other popular shows or sports. Sony?s PlayStation Vita had trouble competing with the popular Nintendo 3DS, never mind competition from smartphone and tablet gaming. The Nokia Lumia 900, which operates on Microsoft?s Windows operating platform, just did not stand a chance against the strong branding of app-heavy Google Android and Apple iOS-based phones.

The intense competition that many of these products faced made pricing difficult. AT&T, which carried the Lumia, had to cut the price of the already inexpensive phone due to lackluster demand. Intel?s Ultrabook was widely panned as too expensive, especially with more people taking advantage of cheaper mobile options.

These are the worst product flops of 2012, according to 24/7 Wall St.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/23/worst-product-flops_n_2347424.html

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Egyptian Islamists, opponents clash ahead of vote

A masked protester watches a vehicle burn during clashes between opponents of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi and his Islamist supporters in Alexandria, Egypt, Friday, Dec. 21, 2012. Thousands of Islamists clashed with their opponents on Friday in Egypt's second largest city, Alexandria as the two sides hurled stones and youth protesters sat fire on vehicles belonging to Islamists, a day before the second leg of voting on a proposed constitution that has deeply polarized the nation.(AP Photo)

A masked protester watches a vehicle burn during clashes between opponents of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi and his Islamist supporters in Alexandria, Egypt, Friday, Dec. 21, 2012. Thousands of Islamists clashed with their opponents on Friday in Egypt's second largest city, Alexandria as the two sides hurled stones and youth protesters sat fire on vehicles belonging to Islamists, a day before the second leg of voting on a proposed constitution that has deeply polarized the nation.(AP Photo)

A masked protester poses with a tear gas canister in front of a burning vehicle during clashes between opponents of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi and his Islamist supporters in Alexandria, Egypt, Friday, Dec. 21, 2012. Thousands of Islamists clashed with their opponents on Friday in Egypt's second largest city, Alexandria as the two sides hurled stones and youth protesters sat fire on vehicles belonging to Islamists, a day before the second leg of voting on a proposed constitution that has deeply polarized the nation.(AP Photo)

Opponents of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi clash with Islamist supporters of the president, unseen, as a cordon of riot police separates the groups in Alexandria, Egypt, Friday, Dec. 21, 2012. Thousands of Islamists clashed with their opponents Friday in Egypt's second largest city, Alexandria, on the eve of the second leg of voting on the country's contentious constitution that has deeply polarized the nation.(AP Photo)

A cordon of riot police separates supporters and opponents of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi as they clash in Alexandria, Egypt, Friday, Dec. 21, 2012. Thousands of Islamists clashed with their opponents Friday in Egypt's second largest city, Alexandria, on the eve of the second leg of voting on the country's contentious constitution that has deeply polarized the nation.(AP Photo)

Opponents of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi clash with Islamist supporters of the president, unseen, as a cordon of riot police separates the groups in Alexandria, Egypt, Friday, Dec. 21, 2012. Thousands of Islamists clashed with their opponents Friday in Egypt's second largest city, Alexandria, on the eve of the second leg of voting on the country's contentious constitution that has deeply polarized the nation.(AP Photo/Ahmed Ramadan)

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (AP) ? Thousands of Islamists clashed with their opponents on Friday in Egypt's second largest city, Alexandria, a day before the second leg of voting on a proposed Islamist-backed constitution that has polarized the nation.

Meanwhile, the country's Islamist President Mohammed Morsi made a last-minute move to tighten his grip on power by appointing 90 members to parliament's upper house, a body set to wield temporary lawmaking powers if the constitution is approved by referendum.

In Alexandria, on the Mediterranean coast, riot police swung batons and fired volleys of tear gas to separate stone-throwing Muslim Brotherhood members and ultraconservative Salafis on one side, and youthful protesters on the other. The clashes started when the two groups met just after Friday afternoon prayers at the city's main mosque near the coastal road.

Witnesses say youth set fire to four vehicles ? two buses and two cars ? belonging to Islamists, sending thick black smoke through the upscale city center. The demonstrators, some of whom carried black Islamic battle flags, withdrew under a heavy cloud of tear gas some two hours after the clashes began. Fighting continued into dusk along the corniche, near the Medical School and famed Alexandria Library.

At least 42 people were treated for injuries, with some rushed to the hospital, a city health official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters.

It was unclear who started the fight. Islamists had called for a big rally outside the Qaed Ibrahim mosque, and some 20 liberal political parties had said they would not hold a rival gathering to avoid clashes.

Security forces had cordoned off streets leading to the mosque as throngs of Salafi Islamists, most wearing the long beards favored by the movement, gathered for what they called "the million-man rally to defend clerics and mosques." Some chanted "God is Great," and warned opponents: "with blood and soul, we redeem Islam."

The rally was called in response to violence last week, when a well-known Alexandrian Salafi cleric, Sheik Ahmed el-Mahalawi, was trapped inside a mosque for 12 hours while his supporters battled rock-throwing opponents outside with swords and firebombs.

El-Mahalawi, 87, had stirred anger with a sermon in which he denounced opponents of the Islamist-friendly draft charter as "followers of heretics." He denied that in a sermon on Friday, accusing the media of spreading "lies," and claiming that last week's clashes were meant to prevent voting on the constitutional referendum.

The final round of voting on the disputed charter is to be completed Saturday. Critics charge that the Islamist-dominated body that wrote the draft document did not represent all Egyptians. Liberal and Christian members quit the assembly to protest clauses and articles they say were rammed through by hardline members aiming to create a religious state.

The opposition National Salvation Front reiterated its call on Friday for voters to oppose the document, and one of the group's leaders, Mohamed ElBaradei, urged Morsi to suspend the referendum and form a new constituent assembly.

"If this constitution passed, there will be no stability," said Baradei, a Nobel Laureate and Egypt's leading pro-democracy advocate.

With election authorities, army and police preparing for Saturday's voting however, ElBaradei's televised message looked unlikely to shift Morsi's position.

The first round of voting was held in 10 of Egypt's 27 provinces last Saturday, including the biggest cities ? Cairo and Alexandria. Turnout was low, around 32 percent, and unofficial results showed around 56 percent of voters cast a "yes" vote in support of the constitution. Rights groups and the opposition immediately filed complaints alleging irregularities.

Controversy surrounding proposed constitution has in the past month plunged Egypt into its worst turmoil since the February 2011 ouster of Hosni Mubarak, the longtime authoritarian and secular-minded ruler.

The draft has split the country into two camps. On one side are the Islamists from the country's most organized political group, the Muslim Brotherhood, from which President Mohammed Morsi hails, and their backers from various Salafi and former Jihadi groups.

The opposition camp, led by the National Salvation Front, is an alliance of liberal parties and youth groups backed by Christians and moderate Muslims who fear the Brotherhood is attempting to monopolize power by passing a constitution that enshrines a greater role for clerics and Islamic law.

Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians from both sides have rallied in the streets over the past month. The crisis peaked when Brotherhood supporters attacked an opposition sit-in outside the presidential palace in Cairo on Dec. 5. The ensuing violence left at least 10 dead and hundreds of injured on both sides.

The crisis was compounded by Morsi's decision to rush the draft constitution to a referendum after an Islamist-dominated panel approved it, as well as his move last month to grant himself near-absolute powers, which were later rescinded.

Morsi's moves have also split state institutions. The judiciary became another battleground, with the powerful Judges' Club calling on its members to boycott the constitution vote while Brotherhood sympathizers in the legal system and other independents insisted on supervising it.

Egyptian prosecutors held a sit-in protest to press Morsi-appointed prosecutor general Talaat Abdullah to resign on Monday. Abdullah resigned, then retracted his resignation on Thursday, raising the prospect of new protests by fellow prosecutors.

Also, Zaghloul el-Balshi, the secretary general of the election committee who is also a judge and an aid to the country's justice minister, resigned Wednesday, citing health reasons. The media said his resignation was prompted by his inability to prevent voting violations in the first leg of the referendum.

Morsi's move to pick appointees for parliament's upper house came ahead of a deadline ? the constitution, if passed, would limit presidential appointees to only 10. The 270-member Shura Council, normally purely an advisory body, would hold legislative authority until the lower house is elected two months after the constitution passes. Most seats are already held by Islamists.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-12-21-Egypt/id-7b6dd8b866ef406aacf2bfa0ea150c12

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Basic facts on Egypt's constitution referendum

CAIRO (AP) ? Egyptians vote Saturday in the second round of a highly contentious referendum on a new constitution to replace the one suspended after the 2011 revolution. Here are some basic facts and figures on the vote.

? Saturday's vote takes place in 17 of Egypt's 27 provinces, with some 25 million people eligible to vote. Polls open at 8:00 a.m. (0600 GMT) and close at 7:00 p.m. (1700 GMT), although authorities often extend voting for several hours.

? Preliminary results will likely be known late Saturday or early Sunday, as observers compile results announced at each polling station. Official final results are not expected for several days afterward, but such preliminary results have proven accurate in past elections.

? In the first round, held on Dec. 15, preliminary results showed a low turnout of 32 percent, with 56 percent voting "yes" for the constitution in voting that took place in 10 provinces, including the two biggest cities Cairo and Alexandria.

? Among the areas voting is Cairo's twin city of Giza, capital of the province of the same name, Egypt's third most populated with nearly 4 million registered voters. Also voting will be Nile Delta provinces in which Islamists who back the charter enjoy large constituencies, such as Beheira with 3 million registered voters. The "no" vote could be stronger in the three Suez Canal cities ? Port Said, Ismailia and Suez ? and the Nile Delta province of Menoufia.

? The ballot paper has two options: "agree" in light blue circle or "don't agree" in brown circle.

? Rights groups and opposition filed complaints citing violations marring the vote, including attempts to suppress "no" voters. The main international group that monitored previous Egyptian votes, the Carter Center, is not deploying observers this time around. Egyptian law requires judges at each poll station to monitor. Despite a boycott by many judges, authorities say they have 7,000 judges to cover the 6,700 polling stations.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-12-21-Egypt-Glance/id-d426a94540c74f0e98446258dca1c36a

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Portfolio Manager of the OCM Gold Fund Interviews with the Wall Street Transcript: Shareholder Value Creation in Gold Mining Stocks Starts with Disciplined Capital Management

67 WALL STREET, New York - December 20, 2012 - The Wall Street Transcript has just published its Gold and Precious Metals Report offering a timely review of the sector to serious investors and industry executives. This special feature contains expert industry commentary through in-depth interviews with public company CEOs, Equity Analysts and Money Managers. The full issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online.

Topics covered: Investment and Central Bank Demand - Gold Producers vs. Gold ETF - Midcap and Small-Cap Consolidation Activity - The Rise of Gold ETFs - Central Banks as Net Buyers of Gold

Companies include: Goldcorp Inc. (GG), Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI) and many others.

In the following excerpt from the Gold and Precious Metals Report, an experienced portfolio manager discusses his investment methodology:

TWST: In general, how would you describe your investment strategy as it pertains to the OCM Gold Fund?

Mr. Orrell: Our first approach always comes from the macro standpoint of where we believe gold is going - what's gold doing? And then, we go from there to the individual issues. So looking at mostly in the mining stocks, we are predominantly in the gold miners, and we have what we call a tiered approach of having positions in major producers and immediate junior producers, and the exploration and development companies. And then, that percentage allocation in each group changes depending on our view of where we believe the value is. Further, we do believe that capital flows do run down to each segment, depending on where you are in various cycles in the gold market at that moment. So we like to have companies that are exhibiting strong fundamentals, from cash flow generation to reserve replacement to reserves per share, and we also are looking for companies that can create value through the drill bit.

TWST: Would you elaborate a little bit about the characteristics you're looking for in a gold mining company? And conversely, what would make a gold mining company an unattractive investment in your mind?

Mr. Orrell: What we're looking for are companies that are showing discipline. On the larger side, we're looking for companies that are showing a discipline in terms of their capital deployment, and that they're holding equity dear. That has certainly been an issue. Mining companies that have become serial issuers of equity; that's not what we're looking for. We know that it is a capital-intensive business, but there has to be a measured approach. So the companies that we focus on in our portfolio are companies that have exhibited an ability to manage their business in terms of doing what they say they are going to do - replacing reserves while also looking to grow their production portfolio with higher-quality assets. Basically, that's what we're looking for.

Conversely, companies that we're shying away from are companies that have exhibited a poor track record of execution - from reserve replacement to capital deployment. We avoid companies that are not investor friendly from the standpoint of realizing that shareholders need to see a return on equity through dividends. Companies that do put the shareholder high on that priority list, and that there is going to be a call on a portion of the cash flow from each operation because the mining business is a depleting resource business and the shareholders need to participate in each operation - we want companies where the management sees that. Otherwise, it's a fool's game for the investor where the only winners are engineers, geologists, suppliers and the tax man.

TWST: Would you give us three examples of gold mining companies currently in the fund and tell us what you like about each of them?

For more of this interview and many others visit the Wall Street Transcript - a unique service for investors and industry researchers - providing fresh commentary and insight through verbatim interviews with CEOs, portfolio managers and research analysts. This special issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/portfolio-manager-ocm-gold-fund-202400469.html

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House GOP plans vote on fiscal cliff 'Plan B'

President Barack Obama speaks about the fiscal cliff as he takes questions from reporters, Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012, at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

President Barack Obama speaks about the fiscal cliff as he takes questions from reporters, Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012, at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio arrives to speak on the fiscal cliff negotiations on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012. Boehner says President Barack Obama should support a Republican plan to avoid January tax increases on everyone but those earning over $1 million. Boehner says if Obama doesn't support the measure, the president will be responsible for what he calls "the largest tax increase in history."(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The GOP-controlled House is moving ahead Thursday on a bill that would raise taxes on people earning over $1 million a year, sparing most workers from a tax hike but leaving in place painful budget cuts to the military and domestic agencies as "fiscal cliff" talks appear stalled.

The move, dubbed "Plan B" by House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, seems to be aimed at upping the year-end pressure on Capitol Hill Democrats and President Barack Obama, but it looks to be a dead letter in the Senate and earned a White House veto threat Wednesday.

A supremely confident Obama dismissed Plan B in a Wednesday news conference, telling reporters that he and Boehner were just a few hundred billion dollars apart on a 10-year, $2 trillion-plus deficit-cutting pact.

Republicans should "peel off the war paint" and take the deal he's offering, Obama said sharply at the White House. He noted that he had won re-election with a call for higher taxes on the wealthy, then added pointedly that the nation aches for conciliation, not a contest of ideologies, after last week's mass murder at a Connecticut elementary school.

Obama continues to press for a comprehensive budget pact with Boehner to replace an economy-jarring set of automatic tax hikes and sweeping spending cuts to the Pentagon and domestic agencies set to take effect in January.

Boehner countered that the president will bear responsibility for "the largest tax increase in history" if he makes good on his veto threat.

But to a remarkable extent, the two sides have flip-flopped.

Republicans have for years argued that voting to renew most Bush-era tax cuts on income, investments and elsewhere, but allowing upper-end tax cuts to expire would be a debilitating blow to the economy and small businesses. Now, they point to the 99-plus percent of taxpayers who wouldn't be affected by their latest plan.

For their part, Democrats have lashed themselves to Obama, who carries great leverage into the battle over the fiscal cliff, the price to pay for Washington's chronic inability to address the deficit.

Boehner expressed confidence the Republicans' narrow, so-called Plan B bill would pass the House on Thursday despite opposition from some conservative, anti-tax dissidents. The leadership worked to shore up the measure's chances late in the day by setting a vote on a companion bill to replace across-the-board cuts in the Pentagon and some domestic programs with targeted reductions elsewhere in the budget, an attempt to satisfy defense-minded lawmakers.

With Christmas approaching, Republicans also said they were hopeful the tax measure could quickly form the basis for a final bipartisan "fiscal cliff" compromise once it arrives in the Senate.

Democrats, in the majority in the Senate, gave no indication of their plans.

On paper, the two sides are relatively close to an agreement on major issues, each having offered concessions in an intensive round of talks that began late last week.

But political considerations are substantial, particularly for Republicans.

After two decades of resolutely opposing any tax increases, Boehner is seeking votes from fellow Republicans for legislation that tacitly lets rates rise on million-dollar income tax filers. The measure would raise revenue by slightly more than $300 billion over a decade than if all of the Bush-era tax cuts remained in effect.

Boehner won a letter of cramped support from anti-tax activist Grover Norquist during the day. Norquist's organization, Americans For Tax Reform, issued a statement saying it will not consider a vote for the bill a violation of a no-tax-increase pledge that many Republicans have signed.

But another conservative group came to an opposing conclusion. "Allowing a tax increase to hit a certain segment of Americans and small businesses is not a solution; it is a political ploy," the Heritage Foundation said in a statement.

That appeared to be the hope of Boehner and the rest of the leadership ? that by showing his rank and file is united behind the fallback bill, the speaker would be in a strong position to demand concessions from the White House in the broader endgame.

At the White House, Obama repeated that he is ready to agree to spending cuts that may cause distress among some fellow Democrats, but he saved his sharpest words for Republicans.

"Goodness, if this past week has done anything, it should just give us some perspective," he said in a reference to the shootings of schoolchildren in Connecticut.

Speaking of Republicans, he said: "It is very hard for them to say yes to me. But at some point, they've got to take me out of it."

He added: "I'm often reminded when I speak to the Republican leadership that the majority of their caucus' membership come from districts that I lost. And so sometimes they may not see an incentive in cooperating with me, in part because they're more concerned about challenges from a tea party candidate, or challenges from the right, and cooperating with me may make them vulnerable."

Nor did Boehner slam the door on further compromises in his brief appearance before reporters. "Republicans continue to work toward avoiding the fiscal cliff," he said.

In the talks to date, Obama is now seeking $1.2 trillion in higher tax revenue, down from the $1.6 trillion he initially sought. He also has softened his demand for higher tax rates on household incomes so they would apply to incomes over $400,000 instead of the $250,000 he cited during his successful campaign for a new term.

He also has offered more than $800 billion in spending cuts over a decade, half of it from Medicare and Medicaid, $200 million from farm and other benefit programs, $100 billion from defense and $100 billion from a broad swath of government accounts ranging from parks to transportation to education.

In a key concession to Republicans, the president also has agreed to slow the rise in cost-of-living increases in Social Security and other benefit programs, at a savings estimated at about $130 billion over a decade.

By contrast, Boehner's most recent offer allowed for $1 trillion in higher taxes over a decade, with higher rates for annual incomes over $1 million. His latest offer seeks about $1 trillion in spending cuts.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-12-20-Fiscal%20Cliff/id-6805207dad924dea915551d6d136ee9f

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House Republicans to vote on "fiscal cliff" bill Thursday: Cantor (reuters)

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Opinion: Ifs and buts about head-butts in soccer

By JOHN LEICESTER

AP Sports Columnist

Associated Press Sports

updated 9:59 a.m. ET Dec. 18, 2012

Head-butts in football are bad. They are dangerous and can smash noses and cheekbones. Kids, don't try them at home.

Sometimes, though, did the recipient have it coming?

The politically correct answer must be, `No.' Head-butts are so violent that they can never be condoned.

But they can sometimes be explained.

Football's most famous head-butt was understandable.

Marco Materazzi made Zinedine Zidane see red in the 2006 World Cup final by insulting his sister. France's captain responded with his head-butt to the Italy defender's chest that sent shockwaves around the world. Of course, Zidane shouldn't have melted down. But given how Materazzi provoked him, it's not hard to fathom out why he did.

The same goes for Marouane Fellaini.

The midfielder from Belgium with an impressive shock of hair recognizes that he shouldn't have head-butted Ryan Shawcross. But given how the Stoke defender crawled all over the Everton player when their teams met in the English Premier League, it isn't wholly unsurprising that Fellaini did a Zidane.

The laws of football are clear: Players aren't in theory allowed to wrap their arms around an opponent to stop them getting the ball or taking up a good position. They are not meant to yank shirts and arms. The rules say referees must "deal firmly" with holding offenses, especially in front of goal.

Yet these anti-football tactics are systematically used. In match after match, grappling players turn penalty areas into a WWE free-for-all.

One answer would be to copy UEFA and station additional referees next to goalmouths. The European football governing body believes that having those extra two pairs of eyes in its matches has cut down holding and shoving and given attacking players more chances to reach the ball.

But another answer would simply be for referees to be less tolerant, to apply the rules that already exist. Too often, pushers and pullers aren't punished. Little wonder they keep coming back week after week. And perhaps logical - however reprehensible - that Fellaini ended up taking the law in his own hands.

At various times in the match that ended 1-1 on Saturday, Shawcross did everything he could to blunt the threat posed by Everton's leading league scorer this season. He shoved and blocked Fellaini from running in the penalty area. He wrapped his right arm around his back and used his left to grab hold of Fellaini's arm. He wrapped both arms around Fellaini in a bear-hug. He wrestled his shoulder.

In the 59th minute, Fellaini lost his cool, delivering his head-butt into the face of the octopus in a red and white jersey. Shawcross fell to the ground clutching his cheek but wasn't badly hurt. For his sin, Fellaini is banned for Everton's remaining three games of 2012 - against West Ham, Wigan and Chelsea.

"There was a lot of pushing and pulling going on inside the Stoke penalty area and I didn't feel I was getting any protection from the officials," Fellaini said in a statement. "I have no excuses, I was disappointed with the way I was being treated and I lost my temper, which was unprofessional of me."

Fellaini has had it both ways this season. At Manchester City on Dec. 1, he was the one doing the yanking. He pulled down Edin Dzeko in the box. Referee Lee Probert awarded City a penalty. Which begs the question: Why isn't pushing and pulling always punished?

"There's just no consistency," said Fellaini's teammate, Sylvain Distin.

Holding isn't a new problem, just a recurring one. In the 2006 World Cup final, the verbal spat that escalated into Zidane's head-butt started with Materazzi holding the France No. 10 in Italy's penalty box, standing behind him, his thick tattooed left arm clutching at Zidane's chest, preventing him from moving freely for Florent Malouda's cross.

Zidane and Materazzi exchanged words, then the France captain wheeled around, lowered his head and rammed the Italian in the chest, knocking him to the ground. Like Fellaini, Zidane was banned for three games but served the punishment by doing community work because he retired from football after the final.

Gary Neville, the former Manchester United defender and now the most lucid and convincing football pundit on British television, opined that pushing and shoving is simply part of the sport and that Fellaini was at fault for reacting so violently to it.

"It's almost been made out to be Stoke's fault, like they're the sinners because Ryan Shawcross is holding," Neville said on Sky Sports. "This goes on all over the pitch, every single game, arms in the air, physical challenges. It's just the way the game is."

"To me, that's just competitive," said Neville.

Football is a contact sport. It should be physical. The job of defenders is to defend. But football can do without the sly shirt-pullers, bear-huggers and arm-tuggers with clinging tentacles. By clambering all over attacking players, they deny fans spectacle. Football mustn't become rugby.

Head-butts should never be the answer.

But there are sometimes reasons for them.

---

John Leicester is an international sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jleicester(at)ap.org or follow him at http://twitter.com/johnleicester

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Roundup: Chelsea reaches League Cup semis

LEEDS, England (AP) - Juan Mata tied the score two minutes into the second half and Chelsea went on to rout Leeds 5-1 Wednesday night for a berth in the semifinals of the English League Cup.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/50236809/ns/sports-soccer/

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Multi-tasking whales sing while feeding, not just breeding

Dec. 19, 2012 ? Humpback whales are famed for their songs, most often heard in breeding season when males are competing to mate with females. In recent years, however, reports of whale songs occurring outside traditional breeding grounds have become more common. A new study may help explain why.

Humpbacks sing for their supper -- or at least, they sing while they hunt for it.

The research, published December 19 in PLoS ONE, uncovers the whales' little-understood acoustic behavior while foraging.

It also reveals a previously unknown behavioral flexibility on their part that allows the endangered marine mammals to balance their need to feed continuously with the competing need to exhibit mating behaviors such as song displays.

"They need to feed. They need to breed. So essentially, they multi-task," said study co-author Ari S. Friedlaender, research scientist at Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment. "This suggests the widely held behavioral dichotomy of breeding-versus-feeding for this species is too simplistic."

Researchers from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, the University of California-Santa Barbara and Duke tracked 10 humpback whales in coastal waters along the Western Antarctic Peninsula in May and June 2010. The peninsula's bays and fjords are important late-season feeding grounds where humpbacks feast on krill each austral autumn before migrating to warm-water calving grounds thousands of miles away.

Using non-invasive multi-sensor tags that attach to the whales with suction cups, the researchers recorded the whales' underwater movements and vocalizations as they foraged.

All 10 of the tags picked up the sounds of background songs, and in two cases, they recorded intense and continuous whale singing with a level of organization and structure approaching that of a typical breeding-ground mating display. The song bouts sometimes lasted close to an hour and in one case occurred even while sensors indicated the whale, or a close companion, was diving and lunging for food.

Humpbacks sing most frequently during breeding season, but are known to sing on other occasions too, such as while escorting mother-calf pairs along migratory routes. Though the reasons they sing are still not thoroughly understood, one distinction is clear: Songs sung in breeding grounds are quite different in duration, phrase type and theme structure from those heard at other locations and times.

"The fact that we heard mating displays being sung in late-season foraging grounds off the coast of Antarctica suggests humpback whale behavior may be more closely tied to the time of year than to physical locations. This may signify an ability to engage in breeding activities outside their traditional warm-water breeding grounds," said Douglas P. Nowacek, Repass-Rogers University Associate Professor of Conservation Technology at Duke's Nicholas School.

As the region's climate warms, sea ice cover around the Western Antarctic Peninsula has thinned in recent years and the water stays open later in the foraging season, he explained. Whales are remaining there longer into austral autumn to feast on krill instead of heading off to warm-water breeding grounds, as many scientists previously believed.

"Mating may now be taking place at higher latitudes," Nowacek said. "This merits further study."

Alison K. Stimpert, research associate in oceanography at the Naval Postgraduate School, was lead author of the new study. Lindsey E. Peavey, a PhD Student at the University of California at Santa Barbara's Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, co-authored it with Stimpert, Friedlaender and Nowacek.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Duke University.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Stimpert AK, Peavey LE, Friedlaender AS, Nowacek DP. Humpback Whale Song and Foraging Behavior on an Antarctic Feeding Ground. PLoS One, 2012 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0051214

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/_6IAoH6Xwis/121219174156.htm

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Strauss-Kahn drama hits the French stage

FILE - In this Nov.15, 2012 file photo, French actor Eric Debrosse acting as former International Monetary Fund leader Dominique Strauss-Kahn, left, and actress Jelle Saminnadin acting as Nafissatou Diallo, the hotel housekeeper, who accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexually assaulting her, pose during a photo opportunity as they perform in a play "Suite 2806" in a Paris theatre. One-time French presidential hopeful Dominique Strauss Kahn has been to hell and back since he was charged, then acquitted in New York of making a hotel maid perform a sexual act in 2011. Now DSK will be treading the boards, in a salacious new play that recounts knock for knock what might have happened in the now infamous suite of the Manhattan Sofitel hotel. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)

FILE - In this Nov.15, 2012 file photo, French actor Eric Debrosse acting as former International Monetary Fund leader Dominique Strauss-Kahn, left, and actress Jelle Saminnadin acting as Nafissatou Diallo, the hotel housekeeper, who accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexually assaulting her, pose during a photo opportunity as they perform in a play "Suite 2806" in a Paris theatre. One-time French presidential hopeful Dominique Strauss Kahn has been to hell and back since he was charged, then acquitted in New York of making a hotel maid perform a sexual act in 2011. Now DSK will be treading the boards, in a salacious new play that recounts knock for knock what might have happened in the now infamous suite of the Manhattan Sofitel hotel. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)

FILE - In this Nov.15, 2012 file photo, French actor Eric Debrosse acting as former International Monetary Fund leader Dominique Strauss-Kahn, left, and actress Jelle Saminnadin acting as Nafissatou Diallo, the hotel housekeeper, who accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexually assaulting her, pose during a photo opportunity as they perform in a play "Suite 2806" in a Paris theatre. One-time French presidential hopeful Dominique Strauss Kahn has been to hell and back since he was charged, then acquitted in New York of making a hotel maid perform a sexual act in 2011. Now DSK will be treading the boards, in a salacious new play that recounts knock for knock what might have happened in the now infamous suite of the Manhattan Sofitel hotel. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)

FILE - In this Nov.15, 2012 file photo, French actor Eric Debrosse acting as former International Monetary Fund leader Dominique Strauss-Kahn, right, and actress Jelle Saminnadin acting as Nafissatou Diallo, the hotel housekeeper, who accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexually assaulting her, pose during a photo opportunity as they perform in a play "Suite 2806" in a Paris theatre. One-time French presidential hopeful Dominique Strauss Kahn has been to hell and back since he was charged, then acquitted in New York of making a hotel maid perform a sexual act in 2011. Now DSK will be treading the boards, in a salacious new play that recounts knock for knock what might have happened in the now infamous suite of the Manhattan Sofitel hotel. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)

FILE - In this Nov.15, 2012 file photo, French actor Eric Debrosse acting as former International Monetary Fund leader Dominique Strauss-Kahn, centre left, and actress Jelle Saminnadin acting as Nafissatou Diallo, the hotel housekeeper, who accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexually assaulting her, pose during a photo opportunity as they perform in a play "Suite 2806" in a Paris theatre. One-time French presidential hopeful Dominique Strauss Kahn has been to hell and back since he was charged, then acquitted in New York of making a hotel maid perform a sexual act in 2011. Now DSK will be treading the boards, in a salacious new play that recounts knock for knock what might have happened in the now infamous suite of the Manhattan Sofitel hotel. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)

PARIS (AP) ? The calamitous moments inside the New York hotel that cost Dominique Strauss-Kahn his career, his dignity and possibly even his wife have now been turned into theater.

Some say bad theater.

It's been over 18 months since the former International Monetary Fund chief faced sexual assault charges brought by New York hotel maid Nafissatou Diallo. Those charges have since been dropped. Now a play in Paris titled "Suite 2806" ? the number of Strauss-Kahn's Sofitel hotel room ? asks, "What might have happened?"

But a year and a half is a long time. What was once a salacious story that provoked fascination on both sides of the Atlantic with its mix of sex, money and power has somehow ended up as a drama that's dull as dishwater.

The play ? panned by critics ? has been struggling to fill seats since its premiere last month despite substantial press coverage. That begs the question: Is the French public finally losing its appetite for tabloid tales about the man known here as DSK?

"We've read about this DSK thing so much, what else can be said that's new? It was boring," said theater-goer Alexey Loginov, 22, who admitted to falling asleep during the play.

"The sordid story remains sordid," said Eric Dimicoli, 42, another viewer.

Set in a reconstructed Sofitel room with a signature gold mustard decor, the play, according to director Philippe Hersen, is a 60-minute "study of morality, sexual addiction, and power with money," between a DSK-type character named Daniel Weissberg and a black housekeeper named Evangeline.

The actors' resemblance to their respective characters is compelling. Eric Debrosse, as Strauss-Kahn, got immediate applause for his white bleached hair, Quasimodo-esque back and pot-belly ? apparently thanks to a strict junk food diet that helped him gain over 13 pounds.

But the play's lackluster repartee and endless facile moralizing ? highlighted by lines like "It's in the nature of things: Men dominate women" and "Prostitution is the essence of a woman" ? can disappoint viewers.

Perhaps its most frustrating aspect is that ? probably for legal reasons ? the play does not take sides. The house maid as well as the DSK-character come across as manipulative, and it's not clear whom to believe.

In reality, the criminal case brought by Guinean-born housekeeper Diallo was dropped after prosecutors said they couldn't trust her. Among their concerns: She was inconsistent about her actions right after leaving his suite, and she told a compelling but false story of having been raped previously.

In truth, no one apart from the two parties concerned will ever really know what exactly happened in that now-infamous suite 2806.

After seemingly endless speculation, many in France, not the least Strauss-Kahn and his now-estranged wife, journalist Anne Sinclair, just want to move on.

Strauss-Kahn will find out on Wednesday if his demand to have charges of aggravated pimping in a case in France thrown out. If he succeeds, this and a secret civil settlement last week between himself and Diallo that closed the American case may draw some sort of symbolic line under Strauss-Kahn's woes.

In a sign that others are moving on, even a proposed film with French box-office golden boy Gerard Depardieu in the leading role was cancelled after French producers got cold feet.

Meanwhile, Strauss-Kahn is making cautious attempts to rehabilitate his professional reputation. He's now giving speeches at international conferences and has set up a consulting company in Paris.

But the director of the play sees another potential option for the man nicknamed "the great seducer."

"Maybe he'll end up being an actor," said Hersen.

___

"Suite 2806" runs in the Daunou Theater in Paris until Jan. 19.

_____

Thomas Adamson can be followed at http://Twitter.com/ThomasAdamsonAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-12-18-France-DSK%20Play/id-b13bc375d6024e428a53feae293462a4

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