Iraq agrees to move Iran exiles; rockets hit camp (AP)

BAGHDAD ? The United Nations and the Iraqi government agreed to relocate several thousand Iranian exiles living in a camp in northeastern Iraq, potentially averting a showdown with its residents. The dissidents, who have not said whether they would agree to move, reported a rocket attack on the camp.

The People's Mujahedeen Organization of Iran, one-time allies of Saddam Hussein in a common fight against Iran, said Katyusha rockets struck near housing units inside the camp on Sunday night, but did not report any casualties.

A representative of the camp's residents said Monday they were still waiting to see the agreement before commenting on whether they would decide to relocate or not.

"We hope that it would officially include the minimum assurances so that it would be acceptable to Ashraf residents," said Shahin Gobadi. "Ashraf residents have repeatedly emphasized that they would in no way accept forcible relocation."

Since Saddam's overthrow, Iraq's new leaders have improved relations with Iran and have sought to shut down the camp, home to 3,400 residents and located in barren terrain northeast of Baghdad about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the Iranian border. The U.N. reported that at least 34 people were killed in a raid by Iraqi government forces in April.

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq announced an agreement Sunday night that establishes a process to move the residents of Camp Ashraf to a temporary location. It did not give a timeline for the move or specify the new location.

A statement from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the residents would be moved to Camp Liberty, a former U.S. military base near the Baghdad International Airport.

At Camp Liberty, the U.N.'s refugee agency will interview the residents to determine their eligibility to get refugee status, before they can eventually be resettled in third countries, Clinton said.

"We are encouraged by the Iraqi government's willingness to commit to this plan, and expect it to fulfill all its responsibilities," she said in the statement. "To be successful, this resettlement must also have the full support of the camp's residents, and we urge them to work with the U.N. to implement this relocation."

The People's Mujahedeen Organization of Iran first moved to Camp Ashraf during the regime of Saddam, who saw the group as a convenient ally against Tehran. The group is committed to the overthrow of the Iranian regime.

The group carried out a series of bombings and assassinations against Iran's clerical regime in the 1980s and fought alongside Saddam's forces in the Iran-Iraq war. But the group says it renounced violence in 2001. U.S. soldiers disarmed them during the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has been determined to close down the camp by the end of December. His government considers the camp as an affront to Iraq's sovereignty.

Last week, an Iraqi government spokesman said the government was working out a solution to the situation at Camp Ashraf with the U.N. and would allow the camp to stay open into January as residents are being relocated. At the time, representatives of the residents suggested they would be willing to move, as long as their security was provided for.

Under the agreement outlined by the U.N., the international organization will monitor the relocation process and then a team from the U.N.'s refugee agency will be deployed at the new location to process the refugee claims.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon "believes that the agreement "lays the foundation for a peaceful and durable solution to the situation, respecting both the sovereignty of Iraq and its international humanitarian and human rights obligations," according to a statement released by his spokesperson.

"The Secretary-General reminds all concerned that any violence or attempt at a forcible solution would be unacceptable," the statement said.

Officials from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad will also visit regularly, the State Department said.

The Iraqi government will be responsible for the exiles' safety during that time, and will have a liaison officer from the Ministry of Human Rights involved in the relocation, the U.N. said.

"I would like to highlight that the government is exclusively responsible for the safety and security of the residents both during their transfer and in the new location until they leave the country," said Martin Kobler, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for Iraq.

The Iraqi government's vow to close Camp Ashraf had raised concerns that forcibly removing its residents would result in violence.

The People's Mujahedeen has been branded a foreign terrorist organization by the United States, a designation now under review by the State Department. It has been removed from similar blacklists in Europe.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/un/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111227/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq_camp_ashraf

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Video: Payroll tax showdown exposes GOP infighting

>>> now to the showdown in washington over extending the payroll tax cuts that's set to expire at the end of this year. it's revealing some infighting between republicans on capitol hill . nbc's kelly o'donnell has the latest on this morning. good morning.

>> reporter: good morning, ann. you don't see this very often. most senate republicans joined with democrats and the white house to agree on a short-term solution to get past the holidays, but house republicans protested loudly, and that's put speaker john boehner in a visible, awkward position where it could look like republicans are messing up a tax cut , and that's all happening with the deadline of a ticking clock. holiday cheer gone sour.

>> it's grinch time in washington . mr. speaker.

>> another phony crisis courtesy of the extremist bah humbug house republicans .

>> reporter: also congress acts, on january 1st working americans would pay higher taxes and jobless benefits would run dry for many long-term unemployed. house republicans who met late monday blasted the senate solution, a two-month extension.

>> our members do not want to just punt and do a two-month short-term fix where we have to come back and do this again.

>> reporter: republicans say two months is too short to take seriously.

>> two months, really? come on. that is really do nothing. what's going to be different in two months?

>> reporter: both parties set a goal of a one-year extension but that fell short on saturday, when 89 out of 100 senators, democrats and republicans , settled on a two-month extension. republican leaders even high fived. before the senate left washington for the holidays, thinking the house would agree.

>> i didn't see the high fiving going on, but i did hear the tune "i'll be home for christmas" coming out of that mix.

>> reporter: all this exposed a rift between republicans in the house and the senate.

>> we outright reject the attempt by the senate to kick the can down for 60 days.

>> reporter: democratic leader nancy pelosi blames the tea party .

>> it's just a radical tea party republicans who are holding up this tax cut for the american people and jeopardizing our economic growth.

>> reporter: the white house has tweaked republicans , displaying a countdown clock that marks the number of days until a tax hike.

>> i think americans who are paying attention to this must be pulling their hair out when they look at the house now refusing to do what the senate did.

>> reporter: and house leaders say their solution is to bring senators back to washington and negotiate a one-year deal. they say there's still enough time to do that, but majority leader harry reid says, no, he does not plan to bring his people back and that leaves us in an awkward position of not knowing what the next move is. the house could vote today, they're trying to sort that out.

Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/45735459/

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Kareena is scared of riding a bike

Kareena Kapoor who had her first brush with bikes in ?Kambakkht Ishq? where she was seen doing a bike stunt with Akshay Kumar revealed that she is actually scared of riding the two- wheeler. “I am very scared of bike riding. But I have done a bike stunt with Akshay Kumar in ‘Kambakkht Ishq’ when [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/newslatest/~3/smqxueA5-2w/10123.html

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Galaxy Nexus Shipments Begin Trickling Into Verizon Stores

Nearly everyone and their mother has pointed out that Verizon's LTE-friendly Galaxy Nexus should be launching any day now, but here's a new set of photos for those of you looking for something a little different to ogle. Courtesy of robertlawson225 on the xda-developers forums, we now have our first look at what may be the Galaxy Nexus in its retail finery.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/ReCJM38lT20/

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Giant super-earths made of diamond are possible

Public release date: 5-Dec-2011
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Wendy Panero
Panero.1@osu.edu
614-292-6290
Ohio State University

SAN FRANCISCO A planet made of diamonds may sound lovely, but you wouldn't want to live there.

A new study suggests that some stars in the Milky Way could harbor "carbon super-Earths" giant terrestrial planets that contain up to 50 percent diamond.

But if they exist, those planets are likely devoid of life as we know it.

The finding comes from a laboratory experiment at Ohio State University, where researchers recreated the temperatures and pressures of Earth's lower mantle to study how diamonds form there.

The larger goal was to understand what happens to carbon inside planets in other solar systems, and whether solar systems that are rich in carbon could produce planets that are mostly made of diamond.

Wendy Panero, associate professor in the School of Earth Sciences at Ohio State, and doctoral student Cayman Unterborn used what they learned from the experiments to construct computer models of the minerals that form in planets composed with more carbon than Earth.

The result: "It's possible for planets that are as big as fifteen times the mass of the Earth to be half made of diamond," Unterborn said. He presented the study Tuesday at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco.

"Our results are striking, in that they suggest carbon-rich planets can form with a core and a mantle, just as Earth did," Panero added. "However, the cores would likely be very carbon-rich much like steel and the mantle would also be dominated by carbon, much in the form of diamond."

Earth's core is mostly iron, she explained, and the mantle mostly silica-based minerals, a result of the elements that were present in the dust cloud that formed into our solar system. Planets that form in carbon-rich solar systems would have to follow a different chemical recipe with direct consequences for the potential for life.

Earth's hot interior results in geothermal energy, making our planet hospitable.

Diamonds transfer heat so readily, however, that a carbon super-Earth's interior would quickly freeze. That means no geothermal energy, no plate tectonics, and ultimately no magnetic field or atmosphere.

"We think a diamond planet must be a very cold, dark place," Panero said.

She and former graduate student Jason Kabbes subjected a tiny sample of iron, carbon, and oxygen to pressures of 65 gigapascals and temperatures of 2,400 Kelvin (close to 9.5 million pounds per square inch and 3,800 degrees Fahrenheit conditions similar to the Earth's deep interior).

As they watched under the microscope, the oxygen bonded with the iron, creating iron oxide a type of rust and left behind pockets of pure carbon, which became diamond.

Based on the data from that test, the researchers made computer models of Earth's interior, and verified what geologists have long suspected that a diamond-rich layer likely exists in Earth's lower mantle, just above the core.

That result wasn't surprising. But when they modeled what would happen when these results were applied to the composition of a carbon super-Earth, they found that the planet could become very large, with iron and carbon merged to form a kind of carbon steel in the core, and vast quantities of pure carbon in the mantle in the form of diamond.

The researchers discussed the implications for planetary science.

"To date, more than five hundred planets have been discovered outside of our solar system, yet we know very little about their internal compositions," said Unterborn, who is an astronomer by training.

"We're looking at how volatile elements like hydrogen and carbon interact inside the Earth, because when they bond with oxygen, you get atmospheres, you get oceans you get life," Panero said. "The ultimate goal is to compile a suite of conditions that are necessary for an ocean to form on a planet."

This work contrasts with the recent discovery by an unrelated team of researchers who found a so-called "diamond planet" which is actually the remnant of a dead star in a binary system.

The Ohio State research suggests that true terrestrial diamond planets can form in our galaxy. Exactly how many such planets might be out there and their possible internal composition is an open question one that Unterborn is pursuing with Ohio State astronomer Jennifer Johnson.

###

This research was funded by Panero's CAREER award from the National Science Foundation.

Contact: Wendy Panero, 614-292-6290; Panero.1@osu.edu
Written by Pam Frost Gorder, 614-292-9475; Gorder.1@osu.edu

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 5-Dec-2011
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Wendy Panero
Panero.1@osu.edu
614-292-6290
Ohio State University

SAN FRANCISCO A planet made of diamonds may sound lovely, but you wouldn't want to live there.

A new study suggests that some stars in the Milky Way could harbor "carbon super-Earths" giant terrestrial planets that contain up to 50 percent diamond.

But if they exist, those planets are likely devoid of life as we know it.

The finding comes from a laboratory experiment at Ohio State University, where researchers recreated the temperatures and pressures of Earth's lower mantle to study how diamonds form there.

The larger goal was to understand what happens to carbon inside planets in other solar systems, and whether solar systems that are rich in carbon could produce planets that are mostly made of diamond.

Wendy Panero, associate professor in the School of Earth Sciences at Ohio State, and doctoral student Cayman Unterborn used what they learned from the experiments to construct computer models of the minerals that form in planets composed with more carbon than Earth.

The result: "It's possible for planets that are as big as fifteen times the mass of the Earth to be half made of diamond," Unterborn said. He presented the study Tuesday at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco.

"Our results are striking, in that they suggest carbon-rich planets can form with a core and a mantle, just as Earth did," Panero added. "However, the cores would likely be very carbon-rich much like steel and the mantle would also be dominated by carbon, much in the form of diamond."

Earth's core is mostly iron, she explained, and the mantle mostly silica-based minerals, a result of the elements that were present in the dust cloud that formed into our solar system. Planets that form in carbon-rich solar systems would have to follow a different chemical recipe with direct consequences for the potential for life.

Earth's hot interior results in geothermal energy, making our planet hospitable.

Diamonds transfer heat so readily, however, that a carbon super-Earth's interior would quickly freeze. That means no geothermal energy, no plate tectonics, and ultimately no magnetic field or atmosphere.

"We think a diamond planet must be a very cold, dark place," Panero said.

She and former graduate student Jason Kabbes subjected a tiny sample of iron, carbon, and oxygen to pressures of 65 gigapascals and temperatures of 2,400 Kelvin (close to 9.5 million pounds per square inch and 3,800 degrees Fahrenheit conditions similar to the Earth's deep interior).

As they watched under the microscope, the oxygen bonded with the iron, creating iron oxide a type of rust and left behind pockets of pure carbon, which became diamond.

Based on the data from that test, the researchers made computer models of Earth's interior, and verified what geologists have long suspected that a diamond-rich layer likely exists in Earth's lower mantle, just above the core.

That result wasn't surprising. But when they modeled what would happen when these results were applied to the composition of a carbon super-Earth, they found that the planet could become very large, with iron and carbon merged to form a kind of carbon steel in the core, and vast quantities of pure carbon in the mantle in the form of diamond.

The researchers discussed the implications for planetary science.

"To date, more than five hundred planets have been discovered outside of our solar system, yet we know very little about their internal compositions," said Unterborn, who is an astronomer by training.

"We're looking at how volatile elements like hydrogen and carbon interact inside the Earth, because when they bond with oxygen, you get atmospheres, you get oceans you get life," Panero said. "The ultimate goal is to compile a suite of conditions that are necessary for an ocean to form on a planet."

This work contrasts with the recent discovery by an unrelated team of researchers who found a so-called "diamond planet" which is actually the remnant of a dead star in a binary system.

The Ohio State research suggests that true terrestrial diamond planets can form in our galaxy. Exactly how many such planets might be out there and their possible internal composition is an open question one that Unterborn is pursuing with Ohio State astronomer Jennifer Johnson.

###

This research was funded by Panero's CAREER award from the National Science Foundation.

Contact: Wendy Panero, 614-292-6290; Panero.1@osu.edu
Written by Pam Frost Gorder, 614-292-9475; Gorder.1@osu.edu

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-12/osu-sg120511.php

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Same Sex Romance Comes to a Galaxy Far, Far Away (Newsarama.com)

Same-sex relationships are coming to the "Star Wars" universe, courtesy of video game developer BioWare and publisher Electronic Arts' new massively multiplayer online role- playing game (or "MMORPGs" or "MMOs" for short), "Star Wars: The Old Republic," and the decision is getting people talking.

MMOs are games that create immersive virtual environments in which millions of players can interact with computer-generated characters as well as characters created by fellow gamers. While this is BioWare's first MMO, the developer is known among fans for the emphasis they place on romantic relationships between characters in their single-player role-playing games. In the past, BioWare games have featured same-sex relationships between men and women, and in the case of the immensely popular sci-fi game "Mass Effect," relationships between men and women with an asexual alien.

BioWare originally announced that players and their companions in "Star Wars: The Old Republic" would only be able to experience mixed-gender romantic relationships. After many inquiries from fans asking the developer to explain the decision, earlier this week a new forum post by Stephen Reid, the senior online community manager for the game, showed up on the company's official website announcing that those fans had been heard and same-sex romance will be added to the game.

BioWare's statement explained that while the game will still launch with only male/female relationships, they will be adding same gender romance options in future updates.

"Due to the design constraints of a fully voiced MMO of this scale and size, many choices had to be made as to the launch and post-launch feature set. Same gender romances with companion characters in 'Star Wars: The Old Republic' will be a post-launch feature. Because 'The Old Republic' is an MMO, the game will live on through content expansions which allow us to include content and features that could not be included at launch, including the addition of more companion characters who will have additional romance options."

"Companion characters" are computer-controlled characters that follow player-created characters around the virtual world, aiding them as gamers maneuver through the story.

The response to BioWare's announcement has been massive. There are 326 pages of comments as of Friday afternoon on the official "Star Wars: The Old Republic" forum alone. They range from "thank you for listening to our requests" to "how dare you expose my children to this."

The game has no firm release date, only a release window of "holiday 2011." It has also already received an ESRB rating of "T for Teen," meaning the game is recommended for players 13 and older. Neither facts have stopped detractors from crying foul, such as John Nolte on the blog "Big Hollywood," who starts his post on the subject with "Say goodbye to your child's innocence," and ends with the inaccurate proclamation, "Announcing the gay relationships AFTER the game has been sold is pure bait and switch."

The game already has reportedly broken preorder records for publisher Electronic Arts.

Got a comment? There's lots of conversation on Newsarama's FACEBOOK and TWITTER!

Related Stories:

Newsarama.com is the go-to source for the latest comic book and genre entertainment news, reviews and commentary. Newsarama's passionate audience contributes to lively discussions ranging from classic and new comics to movies, TV, manga, anime and more. Watch previews, interviews and more on our video player, sneak peeks of new comics on our Comic Book Viewer and sign up for our RSS feeds. And be sure to join our community so you can voice your opinion on our articles and in our lively forums.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/videogames/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/newsarama/20111205/en_newsarama/samesexromancecomestoagalaxyfarfaraway

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Jimmy Fallon to release new comedy album (AP)

NEW YORK ? "Late Night" host Jimmy Fallon is known for performing with his famous musical guests, including Justin Timberlake, Bruce Springsteen and Blake Shelton, so it seems only natural the comedian and music enthusiast would release a new album.

Fans won't have to wait long. His second record, not yet titled, is scheduled for release next summer on Warner Music Nashville. It will feature parodies and music that have become instant classics on NBC's "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon."

His first album, "The Bathroom Wall," was released in 2002.

Despite singing live with some of the biggest names in music on his show, Fallon said he still feels the pressure of getting his new album completed.

"Mostly, it means I should probably start writing some songs," he said in a statement Friday.

____

NBC is owned by NBC Universal.

___

Online:

http://www.WarnerMusicNashville.com

http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/

____

Alicia Quarles is the AP's global entertainment editor. Follow her at http://www.twitter.com/aliciaquarles

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111202/ap_en_mu/us_music_jimmy_fallon

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Brooke Mueller Arrested For Drug Possession In Aspen

www.tmz.com:

Brooke Mueller was arrested Friday night in Aspen, Colorado on suspicion of cocaine possession, TMZ reports.

Read the whole story: www.tmz.com

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/03/brooke-mueller-arrested-drug-possession_n_1126942.html

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Prosecutor: Man tormented family in home invasion (AP)

NEW HAVEN, Conn. ? A Connecticut man and his accomplice created "the ultimate house of horrors" in a 2007 home invasion during which they killed a woman and her two daughters, inflicting extreme psychological and physical pain on the victims that amounted to torture, a prosecutor told a jury Friday.

Prosecutor Gary Nicholson said in his sentencing closing argument that Joshua Komisarjevsky deserves the death penalty and said it was ironic the defendant was seeking mercy when he showed none to the victims.

"It was shockingly brutal. It was evil. It was vicious," Nicholson said, adding the men created a "hellish inferno."

Komisarjevsky and co-defendant Steven Hayes were convicted of capital felony and other charges stemming from the killings of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and daughters, 17-year-old Hayley and 11-year-old Michaela, at their Cheshire home in 2007. Hayes is on death row for raping and strangling Hawke-Petit and killing her daughters, who died of smoke inhalation after they were tied to their beds, doused in gas and left to die in a fire.

Komisarjevsky was convicted in October. The same jury heard final arguments from prosecutors and the defense Friday before it begins deciding whether he should be sentenced to death.

Komisarjevsky's attorney told the jury he was repeatedly raped as a child by his foster brother and suffered a mood disorder that increased his risk of committing crime.

Defense attorney Walter Bansley said in his closing argument that the defense is sorry for the crime. But he said Komisarjevsky should get life in prison, describing him as damaged from an early age by repeated sexual abuse.

"Joshua will die in prison," Bansley said, pointing at his client. "Joshua will never ever walk freely among us and frankly he doesn't deserve to."

Komisarjevsky was never violent before the crime and has caused no problems in prison, Bansley said.

"Why is it so necessary for the state to kill Joshua Komisarjevsky," Bansley asked. "I'm suggesting to you there is no reason under the facts and circumstances of this case to kill Josh."

Bansley said the abuse was well documented and that Komisarjevsky never received professional help. He said many witnesses described him as a dark and troubled child who began to leave his home at an early age, run naked in the woods and cut himself.

"Think of the terror Joshua must have experienced," Bansley said.

A death sentence also would be tougher on Komisarjeksky's 9-year-old daughter, Bansley said. He showed a drawing Komisarjevsky did of her in prison and flooded jurors with photos of Komisarjevsky as a child.

Prosecutor Michael Dearington said Dr. William Petit, the sole survivor of the crime, has no photos of his family because they were burned in the crime. The prosecutor also cast some doubt on the sexual abuse claims, saying they came from Komisarjevsky many years later when he faced charges for earlier residential breakins.

"I ask you to consider the source of that," Dearington said.

A jury heard weeks of defense testimony about Komisarjevsky's troubled childhood, but Nicholson brought them starkly back to the crime scene. He showed them the masks, bat and BB gun Komisarjevsky used.

He also showed photos of Hawke-Petit at a bank where she was taken by Hayes and forced to withdraw money. He noted she was raped and strangled.

"Imagine her extreme physical and psychological pain," he said, adding she must have been thinking, "If they're killing me what are they going to do to my children?"

He said the girls would have been screaming for their lives before their house was set on fire.

Hayes and Komisarjevsky have blamed each other for escalating the crime, but Nicholson said it took both men to carry it out. He noted it was Komisarjevsky who spotted Hawke-Petit and her younger daughter at a supermarket, followed them home and returned later with Hayes.

"He wanted more than the money," Nicholson said. "He wanted a cute, vibrant, innocent 11-year-old Michaela Petit."

Komisarjevsky was also convicted of sexually assaulting Michaela. Nicholson recalled a judge who sentenced him for earlier house break-ins called him a predator, saying the description was "prophetic."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111202/ap_on_re_us/us_home_invasion

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