Merkel holds off calling for quick bailout ruling

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/merkel-holds-off-calling-quick-bailout-ruling-154917552.html

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Letters Of Steve Flaherty, SC Soldier Killed In Vietnam, Come Home

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Four letters from a courageous South Carolina soldier who tried to tell his family about the fearsome battles that raged around him in Vietnam were returned to his family Saturday, some 40 years after he was killed.

Military representatives of the Army's 101st Airborne Division presented the letters from Sgt. Steve Flaherty of Columbia to his uncle Kenneth Cannon and sister-in-law Martha Gibbons during a ceremony at the state's memorial honoring Vietnam veterans.

Flaherty was killed in combat in Vietnam in 1969. Vietnamese soldiers took the letters after Flaherty's death. They were turned over to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta last month when he visited Vietnam.

"It's a miracle these letters have shown up after all this time," Cannon said, taking a peek into the envelope that held the missives. The 80-year-old Navy veteran said the family had decided to study them in private because of the emotion of the moment.

"They are in remarkable condition to be 40-years old," he added. "I know Steve would be glad they are back home."

Gibbons, 73, said the family decided to donate the letters to a South Carolina military museum that is planning an exhibit honoring the nearly 1,000 South Carolinians who died in the conflict.

"This way they can be preserved for anybody to see," said Gibbons, 73, from nearby Irmo. "It means a lot to us."

Lt. Col. Townley Hedrick, deputy commander of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 101st Airborne Division, shook Cannon's hand and kissed Gibbons on the cheek as he presented an envelope containing the letters.

Gibbons said she was grateful to the Vietnamese officer who retained them for so many years.

"We didn't know they were out there," she said.

Cannon said he'd been able to read some excerpts from the letters that had been released by the Pentagon, in which Flaherty spoke of the carnage his unit experienced and his own fear and determination.

"I felt bullets going past me," Flaherty wrote, according to the excerpts. "I have never been so scared in my life."

The young soldier said his unit "took in lots of casualties and death," adding, "we dragged more bodies of dead and wounded than I can ever want to forget."

Flaherty wrote at one point that a "sweet card" he had gotten "made my miserable day a much better one but I don't think I will ever forget the bloody fight we are having. ... RPG rockets and machine guns really tore my rucksack."

By 1969, the war had sharply divided Americans back home, but Flaherty wrote he still believed in the mission.

"This is a dirty and cruel war but I'm sure people will understand the purpose of this war even though many of us might not agree," he wrote.

Cannon said his nephew was "a frightened young man, and who wouldn't be? He knew he was fighting an enemy he couldn't see in a war we could not win."

Cannon and representatives of the Army said Flaherty had been born in Japan and was adopted by his South Carolina family at the age of 9, after living in an orphanage dedicated to help children born to Japanese mothers and U.S. military fathers. The mixed heritage made it difficult to assimilate into Japanese society at that time.

Flaherty grew into a stellar student and athlete, even getting an offer from the Cincinnati Reds to join their major league baseball team, Cannon said.

"It's regrettable he died so young. He's history now, he made history," Cannon said. "He felt it was his duty to fight for the country he loved. We are very glad to have Steve's letters and this part of Steve's life back in South Carolina."

Related on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/15/steve-flaherty-letters_n_1674048.html

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3 Americans killed in French crash were plane crew

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/3-americans-killed-french-crash-were-plane-crew-110902498.html

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BSchwartzUVA: RT @TheUVAFool: #UVA's Mike Scott makes his NBA debut this afternoon, 4pm ET, as the #Hawks take on the Wizards in Vegas for summer league!

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Source: http://twitter.com/BSchwartzUVA/statuses/223781572648767488

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Denver PR News and Information: Feline Frenzy/Denver: Cat Care ...

It's Feline Frenzy Week in Denver and this Saturday, you'll find Cat Care Society simply 'omnipresent' citywide at the various Denver Events: Cat Care Society's Painted Cats Claudia Monette and Little Roar will be found at Denver's Horseshoe Craft & Flea Market, 46th & Tennyson, on Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The rest of the Tails of the Painted Cats Lineup are found at galleries and shops at the nearby Tennyson Street Cultural District - click here for the rundown - learn more about the Horseshoe Market: http://horseshoemarket.com/about-the-market Cat Care Society is again exhibiting at the Denver Dumb Friends League CAT FEST?expo.??DDFL is located in East Denver at 2080 S. Quebec St. and Cat Fest runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Parking available at the shelter and in the Big Lots shopping center parking lot on the northeast corner of Quebec & Iliff. Come out and say hi to Cat Care Society's own Dorothy Ruxton at the Cat Care Society booth. For more information at the Cat Fest expo, visit: http://www.ddfl.org/adopt/cat-companions Next head south to Tagawa Gardens in Parker for Grey Kitty's Birthday Party. There's a cat expo, birthday cake honoring Grey Kitty and of course Tagawa's awesome garden product land. Carol and Kay from Cat Care Society will be taking a CCS kitty to help with Grey Kitty's celebration. Be there -- 7711 S. Parker Road on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Learn more at: http://www.tagawagardens.com

Those Amazing Acro-Cats are finishing their 2012 Denver run at the Bug Theatre, 3654 Navajo St, again raising funds for the Cat Care Society shelter cats and community outreach programs. Saturday performances are 1, 4 and 7 p.m. (Friday performances are 7 and 10 p.m.). Purchase tickets in advance online: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/3482653711

If you have time left, don't forget the Cat Care Society shelter at 5787 West 6th Avenue is open 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturdays (plus Sundays noon to 3 p.m.)?if you're ready to adopt a kitty. Or, just stop by to pet our little guys waiting for their Forever Homes.
Visit http://www.catcaresociety.org Plus Cat Care Society kitties are found at Woofs 'n Hoofs in Ken Caryl - 12482 W. Ken Caryl Ave, Sat:? 9 ?a.m. -?6 p.m. Visit: http://www.woofshoofs.com/catroom.html Littleton (by the Safeway center)

Remember - we're just two weeks out from the Tails of the Painted Cats Gala Dinner & Auction at the Lakewood Country Club.
Bid on Painted Cats in Advance: http://BidOnACat.blogspot.com
Order tickets for the Final Auction Gala: https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07e5rymoroc74ec81a&oseq=

Source: http://denverpr.blogspot.com/2012/07/feline-frenzydenver-cat-care-society-is_13.html

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The Daily Collegian reports the release of the Freeh Report has not hurt sales of Joe Paterno items in State College As one sto...

SbB LIVE FROM LA (Jul 13, 2012 @ 7:19pm ET)

Comments | SbB Live RSS Feed Friday, July 13, 2012

7:15 PM: The NCAA on Friday reaffirmed its decision that the UConn Huskies men's basketball team will be kept out of the 2013 postseason due to poor Academic Progress Rate scores.

7:00 PM: Talking to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, former Penn State football player & staunch Joe Paterno supporter Franco Harris questions the "truth" of the Freeh Report.

6:45 PM: The AP reports Penn State plans to renovate the Lasch Football Building where Jerry Sandusky had sexually molested children in the locker room shower.

6:30 PM: When asked about fans thinking it was wrong of him to go to the ESPYs, injured Tampa Bay Rays player Evan Longoria responded: "That's stupid .... I'm still allowed to have fun."

6:15 PM: Former Mets & Phillies player Lenny Dykstra pleaded guilty Friday to charges of bankruptcy fraud & money laundering. Dykstra faces up to 20 years in prison when he gets sentenced on December 3.

6:00 PM: Penn State's Board of Trustees voted today to increase its undergraduate tuition by 2.4 percent, its lowest increase since 1967.

5:45 PM: CTV reports three horses died in a crash during a chuckwagon race at the Calgary Stampede Thursday night. One of the horses suddenly collapsed during the race & brought the other two down with him.

5:30 PM: Former Chicago Cubs outfielder Kosuke Fukudome has been signed by the New York Yankees to a minor league contract.

5:15 PM: Michael David Smith shares a photo from the Kansas City Chiefs defensive line room with words on the wall: "Kill the head & the body will die" - the same words spoken by ex-New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams about the Saints' bounty program.

5:00 PM: Cleveland Cavaliers player Kyrie Irving tweets: "Lol Me and Kobe (Bryant) talking trash to one another...nothing but respect for the greatest player in our League!!"

4:45 PM: The Daily Collegian reports the release of the Freeh Report has not hurt sales of Joe Paterno items in State College. As one store manager said: "We are going to continue selling Paterno merchandise as long as there is a demand for it and we continue seeing a demand for it."

4:30 PM: Philly.com reports there is concern that Sixers guard Xavier Silas may have suffered a fractured skull after colliding into a group of players courtside during a summer league game in Orlando Friday.

4:15 PM: Russ the bulldog will continue to serve as Georgia's interim mascot for the Bulldogs' football season opener, as the family that cares for the dogs has yet to choose the next Uga that will be known as Uga IX.

4:00 PM: The P.A. announcer for the Hudson Valley Renegades performed his duties for Wednesday's game while sitting at home & using Skype.

3:45 PM: Ryan Mougenel, head coach of the ECHL's Las Vegas Wranglers, tried to help save a man who had fallen into Boston Harbor. Mougenel was in the water for 30 minutes, while the rescued man's condition at the hospital is unknown.

? previous entries

Source: http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/sbblive?eid=39568

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Activists say more than 100 killed in new massacre in Hama area of Syria

BEIRUT - Syrian activists reported a new massacre late Thursday in the central Hama province, saying regime forces killed more than 100 people in shelling and other attacks.

There were few details on the attack, which was reported by the Local Coordination Committees activist group and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Observatory said it was aware of up to 100 killed from sources on the ground, but the group had only confirmed the names of 30 people so far.

Death tolls are nearly impossible to independently verify in Syria, where the government restricts journalists and where more than a year of violence has convulsed much of the country.

There were few details of the violence in Hama's Tremseh area.

Activists say more than 17,000 people have been killed since the uprising against President Bashar Assad began in March 2011, and he is coming under growing international pressure to stop the violence. But as the bloodshed continues, and the conflict morphs into an armed insurgency, hopes for a peaceful transition are dimming.

The latest report of violence came in the wake of the highest-level defector yet from President Bashar Assad's regime ? his ambassador to Iraq.

Defections from the Syrian regime have stirred hopes in the West Assad's inner circle will start abandoning him in greater numbers, hastening his downfall.

But the tightly protected regime has largely held together over the course of the 16-month-old uprising, driven by a mixture of fear and loyalty.

The latest official to flee, Ambassador Nawaf Fares, announced that he was joining the revolution, asserting Thursday that only force will drive Assad from power.

"There is no road map ever with Bashar Assad, because any plan, any statement that is agreed on internationally he delays on and ignores," Fares told the Al-Jazeera satellite channel. "There is no way that he can be pushed from power without force, and the Syrian people realize this."

Syria's Foreign Ministry denounced Fares, saying he should face "legal and disciplinary accountability."

In Washington, State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell hailed what he called the "first major diplomatic defection," adding: "We think this a wider sign that the regime is feeling the pressure. The pressure is up and the regime is really starting to fall apart."

Fares is the second prominent Syrian to break with the regime in less than a week. Brig. Gen. Manaf Tlass, an Assad confidant and son of a former defence minister, defected last week, but has not spoken publicly.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Tlass has been in contact with the Syrian opposition. He would not comment on reports that Tlass was in Paris.

"I know that there is some closeness between the opposition and the general... Contact has been made," Fabius told journalists in Paris.

Assad's regime has suffered a steady stream of low-level army defectors, who have joined a group of dissidents known as the Free Syrian Army, now numbering in the tens of thousands. There have been several high-level defections in the past ? including a Syrian fighter pilot who flew his plane to neighbouring Jordan during a training mission in June in a brazen move.

Although the defections are notable, Assad's regime has remained remarkably airtight, particularly compared with the hemorrhaging of Moammar Gadhafi's inner circle in Libya in 2011.

Within weeks of the Libyan revolt, a number of Libyan ambassadors and other high-ranking officials quit the government, and many joined the opposition leadership. The early defection of huge sections of the army in eastern Libya gave the rebel movement a safe zone where they could freely organize their political and military strategies.

Syria has seen nothing similar. Part of the reason is the loyalty of the armed forces.

Unlike the armies of Tunisia and Egypt, Syria's military has stood fiercely by the country's leader as Assad faces down an extraordinary protest movement.

Assad, and his father who ruled before him, stacked key military posts with members of their minority Alawite sect over the past 40 years, ensuring the loyalty of the armed forces by melding the fate of the army and the regime.

The army has a clear interest in protecting the regime because they fear revenge attacks and persecution should the country's Sunni majority gain the upper hand.

But besides the military's loyalty, another factor that constrains a flood of defections is fear. Open dissent is dangerous in Syria, a country that crushed any rumblings of defiance even before the popular revolt started to threaten the Assad family's 40-year dynasty. The security forces, which are the backbone of the regime and drive the culture of fear and paranoia, will protect the leadership at all costs.

Defectors fear not only for their own lives, but for those of any family members left behind. When deputy oil minister Abdo Husameddine defected in March, he said in a video statement that he fully expected government forces to "burn my home" and "persecute my family."

Already, the conflict is believed to have killed more than 17,000 people since the crisis began in March 2011, according to activists' estimates. Although the revolt began with protests, it has morphed into an armed insurgency with scores of rebel groups across the country clashing with government troops and attacking their bases and convoys.

On Thursday, Syrian forces shelled the suburbs of the capital, Damascus, to flush the rebels out from areas where they have established a foothold. Troops pounded Mezzeh and Kafr Souseh in eastern Damascus with mortars, sending residents streaming out, activists said. They also targeted the Liwan, Qadam and Daraya neighbourhoods from a nearby military airport.

Explosions could be heard though much of the capital and amateur videos posted online showed huge clouds of smoke rising from the targeted areas. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported three dead in the area, among more than 45 people killed across Syria on Thursday. At least 11 were government soldiers, it said.

The reports and videos could not be independently verified.

Also Thursday, Human Rights Watch said it had found evidence the Syrian government had fired cluster bombs in an area near the central city of Hama. The New York-based group said the munitions are clearly identifiable in amateur videos posted online, and that local activists said the area has been under government bombardment for weeks.

Cluster bombs explode in the air and drop dozens of "bomblets" over a large area, but these often do not explode on impact. They remain explosive, increasing the threat of later injury to civilians.

As the conflict grinds on, U.N. officials are growing more pessimistic over prospects for a diplomatic solution to the crisis, even though Assad's main backers, Russia and China, have signed on to the idea of a transition to democracy in Syria.

Despite incremental progress, a senior U.N. official said the U.N. Security Council is deeply divided on Syria policy, with Western diplomats still uncertain whether Moscow is any closer to cutting its ties with the Syrian government or using its considerable leverage with Damascus to end the conflict on terms unfavourable to Assad.

With diplomacy near a standstill, the U.N. observer mission in Syria is serving as little more than a bridge between the United Nations and the Assad government, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss diplomatic manoeuvring with media.

___

Associated Press writers Ben Hubbard in Beirut, Matthew Lee in Washington and John Heilprin in Geneva contributed to this report.

??

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/activists-more-100-killed-massacre-hama-area-syria-003010879.html

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