Poland announces amnesty for illegal immigrants (Reuters)

WARSAW (Reuters) ? Thousands of illegal immigrants will be allowed to stay and work in Poland under an amnesty unveiled on Thursday that highlights the country's transformation into a regional economic powerhouse from communist-era basket case.

Traditionally a country of emigration, Poland has become an increasingly attractive magnet for immigrants, especially from neighboring former Soviet republics such as Ukraine and Belarus, as it notches up high rates of economic growth.

Under the amnesty, economic migrants and unsuccessful asylum seekers will be able from January 1 to receive a resident card for two years that will allow them to work legally in Poland.

"Poland is becoming a more attractive country for foreigners because its growing economic position is leading it to become a destination country and not just a transition country as it has been so far," said Rafal Rogala of the immigration office.

Legalizing the immigrants will benefit the Polish economy by turning them into taxpayers, he said.

The amnesty will apply to undocumented immigrants who arrived in Poland before December 20, 2007, and to asylum seekers who were denied refugee status before January 1, 2010, provided that they have continuously resided in Poland.

The campaign is expected to be more successful than previous amnesties implemented in 2003 and 2007 because there are fewer restrictions, said Rogala.

"The idea is to reach the largest number of foreigners in order to regularize this situation in the widest possible manner," he added.

Most economic migrants entered Poland legally but overstayed their visas, officials say.

More than two thirds of the illegal immigrants in Poland are believed to live in Warsaw and the surrounding Mazowsze region. Some 7,000 of these people probably fulfill the criteria of the amnesty, said Jacek Kozlowski, governor of Mazowzse.

LABOUR SHORTAGES

Apart from Ukrainians, Belarussians and other former Soviet citizens, members of Poland's ethnic Vietnamese community are expected to be among the main beneficiaries.

Eurostat figures show only 0.1 percent of people in Poland were born abroad, the lowest figure in the European Union. That looks set to change thanks to a buoyant economy and labor shortages exacerbated by the emigration of many Polish workers to western Europe since Poland joined the EU in 2004.

Even as much of Europe slows sharply due to the euro zone debt crisis, Poland's economy is expected to grow by 4 percent this year. It was the only member of the 27-nation EU to avoid recession during the 2008-09 global financial crisis.

Unemployment in Poland is currently around 12 percent but is much lower in Warsaw and some other big cities, which have seen a big building boom and are preparing to host the Euro 2012 soccer championship next summer.

In the last two years, the number of applications for work permits in Poland has doubled, with Ukrainians accounting for a majority of the requests.

The government has also implemented six-month work visas for Ukrainians, Belarusians, Russians, Georgians and Moldovans.

Rogala said Poland wanted to attract not only seasonal workers employed in such sectors as construction and farming but also highly-skilled workers.

(Writing by Gareth Jones; Editing by Myra MacDonald)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111229/wl_nm/us_poland_immigrants

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Syrian defectors hold fire amid Arab League visit

A couple sits on their balcony beneath a picture of Syrian President Bashar Assad during a government-organized media tour in the flashpoint city of Homs in central Syria, Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011.(AP Photo/ Bassem Tellawi)

A couple sits on their balcony beneath a picture of Syrian President Bashar Assad during a government-organized media tour in the flashpoint city of Homs in central Syria, Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011.(AP Photo/ Bassem Tellawi)

A picture of President Bashar Assad is seen as people walk the streets of the flashpoint city of Homs in central Syria, Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011, during a government-organized media tour.(AP Photo/ Bassem Tellawi)

Pro-Syrian regime protesters chant slogans while one holds a picture of President Bashar Assad in the flashpoint city of Homs in central Syria, Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011.(AP Photo/ Bassem Tellawi)

ADDS INFORMATION ABOUT THE DAMAGE TO THE VEHICLE - A Syrian Army vehicle with a bullet-riddled windshield is seen during a government-organized media tour in the flashpoint city of Homs in central Syria, Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011. Syrian officials say the vehicle came under fire by gunmen while transporting food to Syrian troops. Syria's opposition called Thursday for the removal of the Sudanese general heading the Arab League mission sent to monitor the crackdown by the Damascus government because he held key security positions in the regime of President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted on international charges of committing genocide in Darfur.(AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi)

ADDS INFORMATION ON HOW THE MAN WAS INJURED - A wounded Syrian military service member is seen at the Abdul-Qader Shafta hospital during a government-organized media tour in the flashpoint city of Homs in central Syria, Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011. Syrian officials said the service member was ambushed by gunmen. Syria's opposition called Thursday for the removal of the Sudanese general heading the Arab League mission sent to monitor the crackdown by the Damascus government because he held key security positions in the regime of President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted on international charges of committing genocide in Darfur.(AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi)

BEIRUT (AP) ? The rebel Free Syrian Army said Friday it has stopped its offensive against government targets during a month-long mission by Arab Legue monitors, saying it wants to expose how the regime is killing peaceful protesters.

The leader of the FSA, breakaway air force Col. Riad al-Asaad, said his troops have halted the attacks since the observers arrived on Tuesday. The government insists terrorists and gangs are driving nine months of crisis in Syria.

"We stopped to show respect to Arab brothers, to prove that there are no armed gangs in Syria, and for the monitors to be able to go wherever they want," al-Asaad told The Associated Press by telephone from his base in Turkey.

"We only defend ourselves now. This is our right and the right of every human being," he said, adding that his group will resume attacks after the observers finish their mission.

The Free Syrian Army says it is comprised of some 15,000 army defectors who abandoned the regime during the uprising. The group has claimed responsibility for attacks on government installations that have killed scores of soldiers and members of the security forces.

Also Friday, Russia's Foreign Ministry said an initial assessment by Arab League observers in Syria was "reassuring," even as activists reported fresh violence by security forces that killed at least nine people.

Moscow is one of Syria's few remaining allies following more than nine months of violence stemming from a massive protest movement. The United Nations says some 5,000 people have been killed in the government crackdown on dissent.

"Moscow appraises with satisfaction the real beginning of the Arab League activities in Syria," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The ministry noted that the Sudanese general who heads the mission visited the restive city of Homs.

"The situation there is reassuring, clashes have not been recorded," the statement said.

There is broad concern about whether Arab League member states, with some of the world's poorest human rights records, were fit for the mission to monitor compliance with a plan to end to the crackdown on political opponents by security forces loyal to President Bashar Assad.

On Friday, activists said security forces fired on protesters in the eastern city of Deir el-Zour, the southern city of Daraa and elsewhere, killing at least five people.

Another four were reported killed in the town of Talkalakh, near the border with Lebanon, in an ambush by government troops. It was not immediately clear why they were killed as the victims were not believed to be protesting at the time, activists said.

The presence of Arab League monitors in Syria has re-energized the anti-government protest movement, with tens of thousands turning out this week in cities and neighborhoods where the observers are expected to visit.

The huge rallies have been met by lethal gunfire from security forces, apparently worried about multiple mass sit-ins modeled after Cairo's Tahrir Square.

The Local Coordination Committees, an activist coalition, said at least 130 people, including six children, have been killed in Syria since the Arab observers began their one-month mission on Tuesday.

The nearly 100 Arab League monitors are the first Syria has allowed in during the nine-month anti-government uprising. They are supposed to ensure the regime complies with terms of the League plan to end President Bashar Assad's crackdown on dissent.

The plan, which Syria agreed to on Dec. 19, demands that the government remove its security forces and heavy weapons from cities, start talks with the opposition and allow human rights workers and journalists into the country. It also calls for the release of all political prisoners.

State-run TV said observers have reached Idlib province, which borders Turkey; Homs and the Damascus suburbs of Harasta and Douma. Activists said the army had either withdrawn or hid tanks in the mountains in Idlib.

On Thursday, security forces killed at least 26 people, four of them shot dead in the Damascus suburb of Douma during a protest by tens of thousands. The crowd had gathered at the mosque near to a municipal building where cars of the monitors had been spotted outside.

Authorities apparently are worried about multiple mass sit-ins modeled after Cairo's Tahrir Square, which was the focus of protests that toppled Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in February.

The ongoing violence, and new questions about the human rights record of the head of the Arab League monitors, are reinforcing the opposition's view that Syria's limited cooperation with the observers is nothing more than a ploy by Assad's regime to buy time and forestall more international condemnation and sanctions.

Although the violence against protesters has not stopped, Rami Abdul-Raham, who heads the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the death toll would have probably been double what it is had there been no monitors on the ground.

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland on Thursday expressed concern that violence was continuing in Syria despite the presence of the monitors.

She said the monitors were providing "some space for public expression," citing videos on YouTube of a large democracy rally in Idlib, but insisted that Assad's regime needed to do more.

"It's not only a matter of deploying the monitors," she added. "It's a matter of the Syrian government living up to its commitments to withdraw heavy weapons from the cities; to stop the violence everywhere, which clearly has not happened; to release all political prisoners."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-12-30-ML-Syria/id-4b02687c998749edad32a567c1b4fcbb

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Ron Paul's stance on Israel called into question

JERUSALEM | Thu Dec 29, 2011 5:31am EST

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, battling allegations he is anti-Israel, praised it as one of the United States's most important allies in an Israeli newspaper interview published on Thursday.

Paul's emailed comments appeared in the left-wing Haaretz daily after a former aide said the Texas congressman favored abolishing the Jewish state and a leading U.S. Jewish group urged him to clarify his position.

"I believe that Israel is one of our most important friends in the world. And the views that I hold have many adherents in Israel today," Paul was quoted as saying by Haaretz.

Although a longshot to win the Republican presidential race, Paul is a leading contender for next Tuesday's Republican caucus vote in Iowa - the first nominating contest in the nation.

But his record on Israel has raised concerns among U.S. Jewish organizations. The Republican Jewish Coalition declined to invite him to its December 7 candidates forum, citing what it called his extreme views after a November debate in which Paul said Washington should be less involved in Israeli affairs.

"They can take care of themselves," Paul, who has called for reduced U.S. foreign aid generally, said at the time. "Why do we have this automatic commitment that we're going to send our kids and send our money endlessly to Israel?"

Commenting on that issue in the Haaretz interview, Paul said: Two of the tenets of a true Zionist are 'self-determination' and 'self-reliance'."

"We give $3 billion to Israel and $12 billion to her avowed enemies. How does that help Israel? And in return, we act like her master and demand veto power over her foreign policy," he said.

Earlier this week, in a lengthy statement posted on the blog site RightWingNews.com, former congressional aide Eric Dondero said Paul, his one-time boss, had long harbored stridently anti-Israel opinions.

"He wishes the Israeli state did not exist at all. He expressed this to me numerous times in our private conversations," Dondero wrote.

Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center, told Reuters on Wednesday he hoped that Paul would confront the matter.

"MOST PRO-ISRAEL CANDIDATE"

In an emailed statement on Wednesday, Paul's campaign spokesman, Gary Howard, said the congressman "is the most pro-Israel candidate in this race."

As president, Howard said, Paul would "allow Israel to defend herself as she sees fit, without the permission and interference of the U.S. or the United Nations."

Paul previously drew fire for anti-Israeli and racist, anti-gay messages contained in newsletters published under his name two decades ago.

Last Friday, a spokesman for Paul said the congressman apologized for not paying enough attention to "ghost writers" he said were responsible for the remarks in question and repeated the congressman's disavowal of those views.

In the Haaretz interview, Paul said he had always made clear that his message was based on "the rights of all people" to be treated equally.

"Any type of racism or anti-Semitism is incompatible with my philosophy," he said.

(Writing by Jeffrey Heller Additional reporting by Steve Gorman and Mary Wisniewski)

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/29/us-usa-campaign-paul-israel-idUSTRE7BS03W20111229?feedType=RSS&feedName=politicsNews&rpc=22&sp=true

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Perry Spends Most on Iowa Ads (Taegan Goddard's Political Wire)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/179712568?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Sir, Your Perfectly Legal Plants Smell Like Marijuana - Hit & Run ...

A few weeks ago, I noted the remarkably keen sense of smell exhibited by Pinellas County, Florida,?sheriff's deputies, who claimed they could tell, standing outside the homes of people who had purchased hydroponic gardening equipment, which ones had marijuana plants inside, simply by following their noses. But the St. Peterburg Times reports that?the deputies' olfactory perceptions are not always accurate:

According to a Sheriff's Office report, detectives saw [Shane] Metler's car at Simply Hydroponics [a Largo store monitored by a surveillance camera] on Dec. 18, 2010. On the evening of July 7, two detectives and a deputy knocked on Metler's door.

He said the detectives told him they had gotten complaints from his neighbors about cars coming and going, and they had detected the smell of growing marijuana coming from his home, both charges he vehemently denies.

Metler, 35, allowed them to search the house he shares with his girlfriend. They did not find any marijuana or pot plants, but did find a soil-free hydroponic system being used to grow legal plants, according to their notes.

"I have to admit, it really shook us up," Metler said. "So, for the next four hours, we were pacing around the house and just bewildered, shocked. It really was disrupting."

Metler said he consented to the search because he knew he wasn't doing anything illegal.

But, he said, the visit put him in a "lose-lose situation, where I either look guilty or give up my rights as a citizen."

Another customer of Simply Hydroponics, Jeremy Harris, was visited by a dozen or so deputies who claimed to be acting on an anonymous tip. He consented to the search, which turned up nothing illegal. He told the Times:

They looked like full SWAT. They've got the vests and assault rifles. It just seemed like an awful excessive amount of force for somebody that is maybe just growing marijuana on the property. They showed up with enough force to deal with a drug cartel....

It doesn't seem right for them to be watching a business and then harassing the customers, basically just for shopping at that business.

The paper identified 34 such "knock and talk" searches by the sheriff's office between January 1, 2010, and September 15, 2011, 12 of which "found no marijuana and no marijuana plants."

Back in the early 1990s, when the Drug Enforcement Administration was carrying out searches like these under Operation Green Merchant, I asked a spokesman how often they came up empty. He said the DEA did not keep track of that figure and professed surprise at the idea that anyone would want to know.

Lest you think that attitude is limited to law enforcement officials, note that Jeremy Harris' mother, with whom he lives, did not share his negative reaction to the search of their home:

"I don't feel they violated my rights. They asked to search and I gave them permission," Nancy Harris said.

Harris said she was "happy" detectives searched her home because it showed dedication to fighting drug use and sale, an effort she supports.

Harris also said she felt the deputies acted professionally, taking special care not to disturb her three grandchildren.

"They didn't scare the children. They didn't disturb the children. They were very polite, and apologetic afterward," she said.

[Thanks to Richard Cowan for the tip.]

Source: http://reason.com/blog/2011/12/27/sir-your-perfectly-legal-plants-smell-li

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China activist given 10 years' jail for subversion (AP)

BEIJING ? A Chinese court sentenced a veteran dissident who organized a pro-democracy activist network to 10 years' imprisonment Monday for inciting subversion, his wife said, the second heavy punishment for a dissident in recent days.

The stiff sentences come near the end of a year in which the Chinese government has used various means to silence dissent, from lengthy imprisonment to months of disappearances, in a crackdown aimed at preventing Arab Spring-style uprisings.

A court in the southern city of Guiyang found Chen Xi guilty of the charge of "incitement to subvert state power" for 36 essays he wrote and posted online, his wife said by phone.

Chen maintained his innocence but will not appeal the verdict, Zhang Qunxuan said.

"This is utterly absurd," Zhang said. "Chen Xi told the court it did not take into consideration the things he has written as a whole, and has interpreted his words out of context. But they have power and they don't listen."

"The court said he was a repeat offender and also that this is a very serious crime," she said. Chen was active in the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests and was sentenced to three years in prison, and several years after that, he was jailed for 10 years on charges of counterrevolutionary offenses, Zhang said.

His sentence comes three days after another veteran activist, Chen Wei, a dissident in the southwestern city of Suining, was sentenced to nine years' jail for the same offense.

The lengthy sentences against the two, who are not related, are in line with the Chinese government's long practice of punishing heavily veteran activists who have refused to give up despite decades of harassment. This appears to have worsened after anonymous online calls urged Chinese to imitate the uprisings of North Africa and the Middle East earlier this year.

"The fear factor ? the government's panic over sparks of the Arab uprising ? is no doubt driving the severe punishment of its critics," said Renee Xia, international director of Chinese Human Rights Defenders. "But suppression of views and expression will not address the root causes of social unrest."

Other recently jailed veteran dissidents include Liu Xianbin, a democracy activist who has previously spent a decade in prison and was given another 10 year sentence in March. On Christmas day in 2009, Liu Xiaobo was sentenced to 11 years in prison for co-authoring Charter 08, which called for an end to single-party rule and advocated democratic political reforms.

In Chen Xi's case, the subversion charge is also likely aimed at punishing and silencing him for his work with the Guizhou Human Rights Forum, a network of activists that organized human rights and pro-democracy activities in the southern Chinese region.

"The arrest and sentencing of dissidents is essentially motivated by a logic of information control, that the government wants to prevent the exposing of the real human rights situation on the ground," said Human Rights Watch Asia researcher Nicholas Bequelin. "Therefore people who report those kinds of news are generally the ones who get arrested."

Several of the members of the network have served prison sentences for related activities, according to the Chinese Human Rights Defenders.

Chen Xi was arrested Nov. 29 and charged in the southern province of Guizhou. Calls to the Guiyang Intermediate People's Court, where the trial was held, rang unanswered Monday.

The Chinese government has held these trials during the Christmas period to limit the criticism it receives for the heavy punishments being handed down, Bequelin said.

"It does work really well because there's no diplomatic activity around Christmas," he said. "By the time the diplomats get back to their desks, the sequence of events has moved on already. Therefore it does ensure the government receives less criticism for this."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111226/ap_on_re_as/as_china_human_rights

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Early Florida Primary Could Sow Confusion, Not Clout

Enlarge Marc Serota/Getty Images

A woman votes in the Jan. 29, 2008, Florida primary in Miami Shores.

Marc Serota/Getty Images

A woman votes in the Jan. 29, 2008, Florida primary in Miami Shores.

Four years ago, Florida played a key role choosing the Republican presidential nominee with a crucial early primary in violation of party rules. Next month, Florida Republicans are poised to do it again ? once again breaking rules with an early primary. Only this time, their decision could confuse the race, rather than clarify it.

To understand why political parties set rules for presidential primaries, and why states break those rules, it's helpful to appreciate what it means for the campaigns to descend on a small state like Iowa or New Hampshire.

Beyond the glad-handing and ring-kissing of retail politics, there's also the sound of money. Millions of dollars are spent at restaurants, on campaign workers, and radio and television advertising ? all injected into the local economy.

When mega-state Florida moved its primary date to Jan. 31 to increase its influence, it forced South Carolina and other official early states to move even earlier in January to preserve their place in line.

"No candidate's going to ignore Florida, no matter what," says South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Chad Connelly. "And so their whole premise of compressing the calendar and creating this chaos was that they want to be more relevant. I thought that was just silly. They already are relevant."

When it comes to flouting primary rules, Florida is a repeat offender.

Winner-take-all kind of short-changes [the] process. It can make a front-runner become the inevitable nominee more quickly than ... the party is ready for him to win.

- Rob Richie, FairVote executive director

When the state did this last time, in 2008, Arizona Sen. John McCain was the beneficiary.

It was a winner-take-all contest, which gave McCain all of the state's GOP delegates, even though he barely won a third of the votes cast. The second- and third-place finishers got nothing.

McCain's win triggered his even-bigger delegate haul a week later on Super Tuesday, which featured many similar winner-take-all events. In effect, McCain locked up the nomination that night.

But later that year?

McCain couldn't carry Florida and lost decisively to Barack Obama. Many conservatives blamed that compressed schedule packed with winner-take-all contests ? the exact opposite of the proportional primaries on the Democratic side that drew out Obama's race against Hillary Clinton into early summer.

"Winner-take-all kind of short-changes that process. It can make a front-runner become the inevitable nominee more quickly than ... the party is ready for him to win," says Rob Ritchie, who heads the elections reform group FairVote.org.

Enter the Republican National Committee, which in 2010 wrote a new rule to slow things down. The early states ? Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina ? would not vote until February.

The other states could start March 6, but only if they awarded delegates proportionally, limiting their influence. States that wanted winner-take-all had to wait until April 1. Rule-breaking states would lose half of their delegates.

But Florida saw no use for that schedule.

"We ought to go early and we ought to be by ourselves so that our voice has a much larger impact due to the size and the diversity of our state," says Florida GOP Chairman Lenny Curry.

Just as in 2008, Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina all moved their dates to stay ahead of Florida.

But Florida did something else the others did not: insisting, despite the new rule, on winner-take-all.

It's that second violation that really has Connelly livid, because the rules do not automatically impose any additional penalty.

"So they need to lose all the delegates, or they need to be proportionally allocated ? something that makes them go: 'Wow, we don't want to do to this,'" he says.

That's not likely to happen. Party officials and observers believe Florida ? the host for next summer's GOP convention ? will escape any further consequence.

That is unless the Republican race winds up close and the delegate count actually starts to matter.

Come summer, party rules allow any Republican voter in Florida to challenge the state's winner-take-all scheme at the Tampa convention, potentially complicating and confusing the nomination itself.

"Let's suppose that a person supporting say Ron Paul ... says, 'Look, my candidate was entitled to 10 percent of the 50 delegates. We're entitled to five delegates. And I'm going to file a challenge asserting that we get our five delegates.' I think that's a very plausible scenario," says John Ryder, an RNC member from Tennessee who was on the committee that wrote the latest rules.

And that possibility, Ryder thinks, could dramatically lessen the momentum and media value of winning next month's Florida primary.

"Anybody reporting the results from Florida would have to award the delegates won on their Jan. 31 primary with an asterisk, and say: 'But, it could be subject to a challenge,'" Ryder says.

In other words, Florida could find itself making much less of a difference than if it had simply followed the rules.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/12/27/143467282/it-s-complicated-projecting-the-relevance-of-florida-s-gop-primary?ft=1&f=3

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Roleplaying Partners Wanted

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/5Rv9SQT4DOk/viewtopic.php

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Military Bowl 2011: Bittersweet Bowl Trip For 3 Air Force Seniors

Read More: Jordan Waiwaiole (LB - Air Force), Michael Hester (OL - Air Force), Zach Payne (DL - Air Force), Air Force Falcons, Toledo Rockets

Three Air Force seniors won't be able to play in the 2011 Military Bowl due to injury: defensive end Zach Payne, who suffered a serious knee injury during practice; center Michael Hester broke a bone in his foot; linebacker Jordan Waiwaiole hurt his shoulder in the regular season finale against Colorado State. But all three traveled with the team to the bowl game, disappointed though they may be:

"You always want to play, especially knowing it?s all the seniors? last game and you want to be out there with them," Payne said. "You have to do what you can, and stay positive."

Payne added, "I wouldn't want to be anywhere but here."

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more on Mountain West football, visit Mountain West Connection. For more on the Mid-American Conference, visit Hustle Belt. And for more from around college football, head over to SB Nation's college football news hub.

Source: http://denver.sbnation.com/air-force-falcons/2011/12/26/2662668/2011-military-bowl-air-force-toledo

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China, Japan unveil deals to tighten finance ties

BEIJING (AP) -- Chinese and Japanese leaders have unveiled initiatives to tighten financial links between East Asia's economic giants and sometime rivals - measures that could expand use of China's tightly controlled currency abroad.

During a visit to Beijing by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, the two governments said in a surprise announcement Sunday they will encourage use of their own currencies in bilateral trade, which now is conducted mostly in U.S. dollars.

They also agreed to support the sale of bonds denominated in China's yuan by Japanese companies in Tokyo and foreign markets and by the state-owned Japan Bank of International Cooperation in mainland China's markets, which are closed to most foreign investors.

The pledges were a striking step for China and Japan, which are the world's second- and third-largest economies and are bound by billions of dollars in trade but whose political relations often are strained over conflicting territorial claims and other disputes.

"To support the growing economic and financial ties between China and Japan, the leaders of China and Japan have agreed to enhance mutual cooperation in financial markets of both countries and encourage financial transactions between the two countries," the governments said in identically worded statements.

They said Japan's government also planned to purchase Chinese government bonds, and an application process for official approval of that was under way.

The governments gave no timetable for practical steps to put the pledges into action or the size of possible bond offerings. Commercial banks still have to create yuan-denominated letters of credit and other tools before traders in Japan can use the currency.

The moves might reduce the dominance of the U.S. dollar in East Asia, the world's fastest-growing region. The Kyodo News agency cited a Japanese official who told reporters some 60 percent of trade between Japan and China is now settled in dollars, which requires companies to convert money between yen, dollars and yuan, adding to their costs.

Beijing controls the yuan's exchange rate and the flow of money into and out of China's booming economy. But the government has begun allowing limited use of yuan for trade. It said this month that some companies that obtain Chinese currency abroad will be allowed to invest it in mainland financial markets.

Most trade in yuan is conducted through Hong Kong, where Beijing also has created a market for yuan-denominated bonds that McDonald's Corp. and some other foreign companies have used to raise money to invest in their mainland operations.

The easing of controls on bond sales could help to reduce costs for Japanese companies that need to raise money to invest in their China operations.

The communist government keeps China's bond and other financial markets sealed off from global financial flows. That helped the country avoid the turmoil of the 2008 global financial crisis but has slowed the development of markets that Chinese leaders want to support economic development.

The latest pledges also might help to promote moves to allow the yuan to trade more freely on currency markets.

The United States and other trading partners complain that Beijing's currency controls keep the yuan undervalued, giving China's exporters an unfair price advantage and hurting foreign competitors at a time when the global economy is struggling.

Source: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_CHINA_JAPAN_FINANCE_DEALS?SITE=VASTR&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

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Source: http://www.arrowchat.com/demo.buddypress/activity/p/1728/

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Pearl Harbor survivor's ashes interred at sea

AAA??Dec. 23, 2011?11:18 PM ET
Pearl Harbor survivor's ashes interred at sea
AP

A US Marine stands at attention during a ceremony to inter the remains of First Class Frank R. Cabiness on the USS Arizona Memorial, Friday, Dec. 23, 2011 in Honolulu. Cabiness, who was aboard the USS Arizona when the Japanese attacked, was blown from the decks when the ship's magazine exploded. Cabiness, who died in 2002, is the second Marine to be interred within the USS Arizona. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

A US Marine stands at attention during a ceremony to inter the remains of First Class Frank R. Cabiness on the USS Arizona Memorial, Friday, Dec. 23, 2011 in Honolulu. Cabiness, who was aboard the USS Arizona when the Japanese attacked, was blown from the decks when the ship's magazine exploded. Cabiness, who died in 2002, is the second Marine to be interred within the USS Arizona. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

The family of Private First Class Frank R. Cabiness arrive at the USS Arizona Memorial for a ceremony to inter his remains inside the USS Arizona, Friday, Dec. 23, 2011 in Honolulu. Cabiness, who was aboard the USS Arizona when the Japanese attacked, was blown from the decks when the ship's magazine exploded. Cabiness, who died in 2002, is the second Marine to be interred within the USS Arizona. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

US Marines stand at attention as the family of Private First Class Frank R. Cabiness arrive at a ceremony to have his ashes interred inside the USS Arizona, Friday, Dec. 23, 2011 in Honolulu. Cabiness, who was aboard the USS Arizona when the Japanese attacked, was blown from the decks when the ship's magazine exploded. Cabiness, who died in 2002, is the second Marine to be interred within the USS Arizona. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

As his family looks on, a US Marine detail carries the remains of First Class Frank R. Cabiness aboard the USS Arizona Memorial during a ceremony to inter his remains inside the ship, Friday, Dec. 23, 2011 in Honolulu. Cabiness, who was aboard the USS Arizona when the Japanese attacked, was blown from the decks when the ship's magazine exploded. Cabiness, who died in 2002, is the second Marine to be interred within the USS Arizona. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

Jerry Cabiness reacts to a US flag given to him after his father's remains were interred inside the USS Arizona, Friday, Dec. 23, 2011 in Honolulu. First Class Frank R. Cabiness, who was aboard the USS Arizona when the Japanese attacked, was blown from the decks when the ship's magazine exploded. Cabiness, who died in 2002, is the second Marine to be interred within the USS Arizona. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) ? A Marine who survived the attack on Pearl Harbor has returned to the USS Arizona for eternity.

Divers took an urn holding the cremated remains of Frank Cabiness and placed it inside the sunken hull of the battleship during a ceremony Friday.

The memorial came nine years after Cabiness died in Lewisville, Texas, at the age of 86.

His son, Jerry Cabiness, says his father wanted to return to the Arizona because he lost all of his friends there and wanted to be with them.

Jerry Cabiness says it took his family awhile to fulfill his father's wishes because they had some financial problems and it's expensive to come to Hawaii.

Cabiness was a private first class when Japanese planes bombed the Arizona on Dec. 7, 1941.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-12-23-Pearl%20Harbor%20Survivor/id-09192791d3dc4bda8903efeda16de5b7

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Source: http://twitter.com/finewinedine/statuses/150575142483927041

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Man stabbed on East Main Street in Rochester (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/177824895?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Oniony pig farts legal, court rules - The Local

A court in the northern German town of Osnabr?ck has ruled that a farmer is allowed to feed his pigs vast quantities of raw onions, despite complaints from neighbours about their eye-watering gaseous emissions.

The farmer has been feeding his 1,500 pigs several cubic metres of onions every week for the past 14 years, but city authorities ordered the farmer to stop, and threatened to fine him ?2,500 fine, after locals complained of the resulting pungent porcine farts.

The council justified its decision on the grounds that planning permission for the pigsty forbade ?strong-smelling foods, e.g. kitchen waste.?

But the court overturned the decision, saying that the city council had imposed the penalty on the assumption that the onions were to blame for the stink without providing sufficient evidence.

According to the court?s statement, the court called in an expert witness on ?emissions control,? who testified that ?onions did not count as strong-smelling foods, because they are untreated organic raw materials that have not decomposed.?

There was no indication, however, that the expert lived near the farm.

But the legal procedure has not been exhausted on this noxious issue. Onions could still be banned as pig food, if the council proves they are responsible for the distinctive farts.

The farmer has not been named, to protect his identity, but he is reportedly easy to find in a favourable wind.

The Local/bk

Source: http://www.thelocal.de/society/20111222-39675.html

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Japan releases 40-year nuke plant cleanup plan (AP)

TOKYO ? Japan released a lengthy roadmap Wednesday to clean up and fully decommission a nuclear plant that went into meltdown after it was struck by a huge tsunami, a process the government said would take as many as 40 years.

Nuclear crisis minister Goshi Hosono acknowledged that decommissioning three wrecked reactors plus spent fuel rods at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant was an "unprecedented project," and that the process was not "totally foreseeable."

"But we must do it even though we may face difficulties along the way," Hosono told a press conference.

Trade Minister Yukio Edano promised that authorities would move through the process "firmly while ensuring safety at the plant."

He also vowed to pay attention to the concerns of tens of thousands of residents displaced by the crisis when the plant was knocked out by Japan's March 11 earthquake and tsunami, in the world's worst nuclear crisis since the Chernobyl accident in 1986.

Under the plan, approved earlier Wednesday following consultation with experts and nuclear regulators, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. will start removing spent fuel rods within two years from their pools located on the top floor of each of their reactor buildings.

After that is completed, TEPCO will start removing the melted fuel, most of which is believed to have fallen through the bottom of the core or even down to the bottom of the larger, beaker-shaped containment vessel, a process that is expected to be completed 25 years from now. The location and conditions of the molten fuel is not exactly known.

Completely decommissioning the plant would require five to 10 more years after the fuel debris removal, making the entire process up to 40 years, according to the roadmap.

The process still require development of robots and technology that can get much of the work remotely because of extremely nigh radiation levels inside the reactor buildings.

The decades-long process also would place an enormous financial burden on TEPCO. The ministers said that the total cost estimate can not be provided immediately, but promised that there will be no delay because of financial reasons.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda announced last Friday that the plant has achieved "cold shutdown conditions," meaning the plant had been brought to stability in the nine months since the accident.

The announcement officially paves the way for a new phase that will eventually allow some evacuees back to less-contaminated areas currently off limits.

Experts say the plant 140 miles (230 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo is running with makeshift equipment and remains vulnerable to cold weather and earthquakes.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/japan/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111221/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_nuclear_crisis

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How America Can Welcome Back Its Troops from Iraq (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | After 10 years of grueling warfare in Iraq, the soldiers are finally on their way home. The troops retreat marks a welcome end to this decade long war. For years, U.S. troops fought our fight through rough circumstances; after nearly 4,500 American soldiers died, it's encouraging that our fight, at least in Iraq, is over.

Both lives and money were sacrificed throughout the war. In 2006, America had 239,000 troops stationed in more than 500 bases throughout Iraq; through military personnel, machinery, contracts and more, this war cost the United States more than $800 billion. Just because the war is over and the troops are heading home, doesn't mean this is over for Americans; are we, citizens of the United States, prepared to help and guide those coming home?

According to CNN, "Capt. Mark Askew, 28, said he was worried about the well-being of his soldiers, many of whom have done multiple tours of Iraq and felt the stress and sting of war."

Americans are ready for the challenge, and will show the veterans how much we appreciate what they did and continue to do. The Coming Home Project is a wonderful organization, founded in 2006, devoted to helping veterans of the Iraq war reintegrate into an everyday routine. They offer retreats, counseling, job and life training as well as provide education and consultations about their future. Allowing veterans to be vulnerable with a community of support is critically important to welcoming them home.

One of the most important tools we can provide Iraq veterans is counseling to deal with the stress they lived with daily and any post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Education and job training to get them back to work here at home faster is also important.

Another amazing organization devoted to helping Iraq veterans is the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA). This group helps with the transition back home for both the troops and their families. IAVA even provides vets with a separate social network that connects veterans and creates a support system for those coming home, they help answer questions and sometimes just listen because they can relate.

The IAVA helped veterans beyond their requirements to advocate for the VOW to Hire Heroes Act. Surveys showed that the unemployment rate for veterans, at 11.5 percent, was noticeably more than the national average. With thousands of veterans coming home, there needs to be jobs available to them as well.

Bottom line: There are dozens of ways that we can help make the transition home for veterans much smoother. These men and women fought on the front lines for us, and now it's time for us to fight for them. Now that the Iraq war has finally come to an end, it's a good time to evaluate all that we do and could do for veterans, as thousands more are on their way home.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111220/us_ac/10721799_how_america_can_welcome_back_its_troops_from_iraq

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New Report Breaks Down Post Tornado Spending in Joplin

Reported by: Gretchen Bolander

Joplin, MO- "Construction and home improvement is up about 42% and motor vehicles is up about 38%. So that pretty well helps us determine that a lot of this is replacing the lost items from the tornado." That, according to City of Joplin Finance Director Leslie Jones. A new report shows the City of Joplin collected nearly $2.8 million on construction and home improvement alone in Fiscal Year 2011. Add in car sales - that another $2.2 million.

Jones added, "Furniture stores are up 21% - people replacing their furniture." There's a category for discount stores - an increase for more than 10%. And malls - up 5% in 2011 compared to 2010. "Restaurants up 10% visitors here. Every one of these you can absolutely tie to the tornado, whether it's visitors being here or people rebuilding and replacing items."

But there are some exceptions to the increase. Entertainment outlets saw a slight drop. Grocery stores are down nearly 10 percent... and the development district at 17th and Range Line saw a 34% decrease. Said, Jones, "1717 obviously was gone for several months of 2011. So that explains why that was down. And grocery stores, we obviously lost a grocery store in the tornado."

Overall, it adds up to an extra $2 million in sales tax revenue for the City of Joplin. Compare that to 2010, when the city saw a 2.9% decrease, along with the fact the city has much bigger bills to pay after the tornado.

Source: http://fourstateshomepage.com/fulltext/?nxd_id=243757

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PFT: Harrison hasn't gotten message yet

Getty Images

The effort by Congress to compel the NFL and the NFLPA to follow through on their agreement to conduct HGH testing has petered out in recent weeks.? At a time when both sides have reason to be concerned about Congress opting to move aggressively regarding the inability of the parties to turn their agreement to conduct HGH testing into actual HGH testing, the latest effort from Capitol Hill looks more like window dressing than meaningful action.

Earlier this week, four doctors who serve in the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith urging the adoption of HGH testing.? The letter, signed by Dr. David ?Phil? Roe (R-Tenn.), Dr. John Fleming (R-La.), Dr. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.), Dr. Donna Christensen (D-Virgin Islands), points out the risks and side effects of HGH (cancer, diabetes, hypertenson, harm to reproductive health, thyroid problems, and abnormal growth of bone and connective tissue).? The doctors also explain that HGH is normally prescribed only for patients in the late stages of AIDS, for children with growth hormone deficiency, and for treatment of certain types of pituitary tumors.

And then there?s the fact that HGH possession and use without a prescription is illegal.

But there?s no teeth to the letter or any of the other efforts to date from Congress.? The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform reportedly intends at some point to conduct public hearings and/or private efforts to gather information that could result in players being placed under oath about what they know about HGH us and how they or others get HGH, absent clear progress toward HGH testing.? As the offseason approaches, however, the likelihood of the NFL and the union working together to resolve the situation will increase.? Some believe that NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith has been trying to delay the issue until after his re-election in March 2012, given that a significant number of players are opposed to HGH testing of any kind.

Regardless, the new CBA clearly states that HGH testing will occur.? The only question is how it will happen.? To date, the NFLPA has refused to proceed with the procedure used by the World Anti-Doping Agency.? (Though the NFLPA has not suggested a test other than the WADA procedure, the NFLPA last month suggested a protocol premised on the WADA test.)? Congress has accused the NFLPA of dragging its feet, but the NFL likewise has failed to enforce the agreement via any of the available legal remedies for forcing a party to honor its written commitments.

Thus, the blame on this one cuts both ways.? The NFLPA has failed to honor its agreement, and the NFL has opted to merely sit back and wait for someone else to pressure the NFLPA to live up to its word.? If the NFL were genuinely serious about eradicating HGH from the game, the NFL would have pursued arbitration and/or litigation aimed at forcing the issue.

And if Congress were genuinely serious about it, they would be doing more than sending letters.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/12/18/james-harrison-apparently-hasnt-gotten-the-message-yet/related/

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Tensions after killing in refugee camp in Lebanon (AP)

BEIRUT ? Security officials say tensions are running high in Lebanon's largest refugee camp after a shooting that killed a bodyguard of a prominent Palestinian.

A masked gunman shot and killed a bodyguard of the commander of the mainstream Fatah group's armed faction at the Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp near the southern port city of Sidon.

Three others were wounded in the shooting Sunday, according to the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

Armed clashes between rival factions in Ein el-Hilweh are common. The camp houses more than 65,000 refugees.

There are rising concerns in Beirut that the conflict in neighboring Syria could spill over into Lebanon, where political factions are deeply divided between supporters and opponents of the Syrian regime.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111218/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_lebanon_palestinians

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Minnesota Hockey Player Battles Cancer With Poise ? CBS Minnesota

EDINA (WCCO) ? An accomplished Minnesota hockey player is fighting his latest battle without a stick and skates.

While running the Twin Cities Marathon, Chace Johnson remembers shooting pains through his stomach, and he even had to walk a bit before finishing. A couple days later, doctors detected a tumor, and told him he had colon cancer.

?Being a 25 years old, I definitely did not expect to have cancer. That?s for sure,? he said.

He had surgery following that diagnosis.

During his treatment, he received support from family and friends, and Edina?s High School hockey team, too.

?For a lot of these guys, this was their idol growing up, and they wanted really to help out and give to a good cause,? said Athletic Director John Soma. ?All the hockey players are really good about supporting different groups, and this is really hitting close to home, because it?s part of their family.?

At the Hornets? home, on the same ice that Chace used to play on when he was on the team, there?s going to be a Chuck-a-Puck fundraiser coming up this Saturday night. The money raised is going to help Chace and his family pay for substantial and mounting medical bills.

?You know, times are tough some times and having people on the way support you is very nice,? Johnson said. ?They wanted to reach out to me, help me any way they could, and they thought to have a fundraiser, and it?s just very, very nice, and it?s great to be part of that.?

Johnson will also drop the puck that night.

He faces six months of chemotherapy, and is slowly returning to running and hockey.

?I?m trying to keep life as normal as I can,? he said.

His fundraiser will happen at the Braemar Arena in Edina. Each puck will cost $5, and the winner will receive four Club Level seats with a parking pass to the February 26th game between the Wild and the visiting San Jose Sharks.

Contributions on Chace?s behalf can also be made to the ?Chase Johnson Benefit Trust? at the Wells Fargo branch, 5116 Vernon Avenue South, Edina, Minn., 55436. Please include the last four digits of the account (5586) with your gift.

In 2000, he shot several goals to help his team win the PeeWee A State Tournament, and now he?s fighting for another victory in his battle to beat cancer.

Source: http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2011/12/15/minnesota-hockey-player-battles-cancer-with-poise/

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SEC charges ex-Fannie, Freddie CEOs with fraud

By Msnbc.com staff and wire

Federal regulators have charged?six former executives --?including former CEOs --?at mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with securities fraud, alleging they misled investors about their exposure to risky subprime mortgage debt.

The?Securities and Exchange Commission said it sued three former executives at Fannie Mae and three at Freddie Mac Friday. The civil charges were filed in two separate lawsuits in federal court in New York City. Among those charged were former Freddie Mac CEO Richard Syron and former Fannie Mae CEO Daniel Mudd.

"Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac executives told the world that their subprime exposure was substantially smaller than it really was," said Robert Khuzami, Director of the SEC's Enforcement Division. Khuzami added that these misstatements "misled the market about the amount of risk on the company's books."

The SEC said both firms have agreed to cooperate with the agency and have entered into non-prosecution agreements.

Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have been propped up by about $169 billion in federal aid since they were rescued by the government in 2008. Fannie and Freddie own or guarantee about half of U.S. mortgages, or nearly 31 million loans.

The Associated Press said lawyers for Syron and Mudd couldn't be reached. But in a statement obtained by CNBC, Mudd said, "This is a lawsuit that should never have been brought in the United States of America.?Every piece of material data about loans held by Fannie Mae was known to the United States government and to the investing public. The SEC is wrong, and I look forward to a court where fairness and reason ? not politics ? is the standard for justice."

The SEC said it is seeking financial penalties, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with interest and?to bar Syron,?Mudd and the others charged?from serving?as directors on company?boards.

The?others charged include:

• Fannie Mae -?former Chief Risk Officer Enrico Dallavecchia and former Executive Vice President of?its?single family mortgage business, Thomas A. Lund.
• Freddie Mac - former Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer Patricia L. Cook, and former Executive Vice President for the Single Family Guarantee business Donald J. Bisenius.

Reuters and The Associated Press?contributed to this report.??

CNBC's Eamon Javers reports that the SEC is suing six Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac executives with securities fraud.

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/16/9494796-sec-charges-ex-fannie-freddie-ceos-with-fraud

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Dutch church sexually abused thousands: commission (Reuters)

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) ? Tens of thousands of children have been victims of sexual abuse by the Roman Catholic Church in the Netherlands since 1945, an independent commission said on Friday, criticizing what it called the church's cover-up and culture of silence.

Church leaders said the findings filled them with shame and sorrow and offered a "heartfelt apology," saying not only the perpetrators were to blame, but church authorities too.

The commission estimated that 10,000 to 20,000 minors were sexually abused in Catholic orphanages, boarding schools and seminaries between 1945 and 1981, with offences ranging from very mild to serious, including rape.

Education changes meant few Catholic homes for minors remained after 1981, but abuses involving the church continued.

"Several tens of thousands of minors were subjected to mild, serious, and very serious forms of inappropriate sexual behavior in the Roman Catholic Church," from the end of World War Two until 2010, the commission said.

Most cases were of mild to moderate abuse, such as touching, but it estimated "several thousand" instances of rape.

The findings appear to show that abuse was more widespread in the Netherlands even than in Ireland, in a scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church in Europe and the United States and forced Pope Benedict to apologize to victims of sexual abuse by priests.

"The church committed crimes against humanity," said Bert Smeets of Mea Culpa, an organization to help victims.

The investigation was commissioned by two Catholic bodies, the Conference of Bishops and the Dutch Religious Conference, in 2010 after cases surfaced involving pedophile priests in the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Germany, Australia, Canada and the United States.

Abuse by Catholic priests, laymen and laywomen was systematically covered up by the church to protect its reputation, the commission said, adding that the church was guilty of "inadequate supervision" and "inadequate action."

"The Catholic Church had a culture of not airing its dirty laundry," Wim Deetman, a Protestant former education minister and former mayor of The Hague who led the commission, told reporters.

SORROW AND SHAME

In a joint statement, the Conference of Bishops and Dutch Religious Conference (KNR) offered a "heartfelt apology."

"The bishops and directors of the KNR are shocked by the sexual abuse of minors and the practices described in the final report. It fills us with shame and sorrow," they said.

"The perpetrators are not the only ones to blame. Church authorities who did not act correctly and did not give priority to the interests of and care for these victims also share in this blame. We deeply regret this abuse."

The commission said child sexual abuse was no more prevalent in Catholic institutions than in ones run by other groups but was twice as high as the national average of 10 percent.

"Sexual abuse of minors is widespread in Dutch society," said its report, based on statements of victims who came forward as well as a survey of 34,234 Dutch nationals aged 40 and above.

BISHOP CRITICISED

A new complaints committee set up to handle sexual abuse in the Catholic Church will give priority to complaints about at least 105 perpetrators who are still alive, the commission said.

Its report singled out Ronald Philippe Baer, Bishop of Rotterdam from 1983 until 1993, for particular criticism, saying he appointed unsuitable men to the priesthood who were guilty of abusing minors, and turned a blind eye to their offences.

"How the bishop at the time, monsignor Baer, could have responded so lightly to the (conditional) conviction of one of these priests is a mystery to the Commission," it said.

Baer, now in his eighties, went to the Belgian monastery of Chevetogne after he stepped down in 1993, the Rotterdam diocese says on its Web site, adding that he was admitted to hospital in March this year for heart problems.

In a statement, the Dutch prosecutors' office said it had received 30 reports of abuse by clergymen but the cases had lapsed because the alleged crimes took place too long ago.

It said the Deetman commission had referred 11 cases to prosecutors of which one was being investigated, while the others contained too little information and had probably lapsed.

So far, one sexton has been sentenced to 15 months in jail, while two other cases had lapsed, prosecutors said.

The commission has already published some recommendations.

It has urged the Church to pay compensation of between 5,000 and 100,000 euros each to victims and to set up a centre to help those abused.

"You can assume that all the dioceses, all the congregations, all the orders will pay compensation to the victims," Wim Eijk, the archbishop of Utrecht, told reporters.

(Additional reporting by Liza Jansen in The Hague; edited by Richard Meares)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111216/wl_nm/us_netherlands_catholic

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