The world's most wanted house guest - Independent

For the past fortnight, Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, has been at the centre of a global firestorm. Wanted by Interpol, by the Swedish police, even, briefly, by Scotland Yard, he has been called a terrorist and a revolutionary. Several leading American politicians and commentators have called for him to be killed, while Russia and China have also been loud in their condemnation. Yesterday, Assange appeared at City of Westminster magistrates’ court to fight extradition to Sweden on sex charges that he says are politically motivated. He was granted bail – subject to an appeal by Swedish prosecutors that could see him spend a further 48 hours in custody – on condition that he provides a security of ?200,000 to the court, with a further ?40,000 guaranteed in two sureties of ?20,000 each – and that he spends between now and 11 January as the house guest of Captain Vaughan Smith, a former Grenadier Guard and founder of the journalists' Frontline Club.

He will be under curfew every day from 10pm to 2am and from 10am to 2pm and will be required to report daily to the police from 6pm to 8pm. He must spend every night at Cpt Smith's home and will be electronically tagged.

Mr Assange has for several months been staying as a guest of Cpt Smith and other members at the Frontline Club in London, which he founded seven years ago to stand for independence and transparency, and he has also stayed at Cpt Smith's home in Suffolk. Below is Cpt Smith's account of the past weeks...

Having watched Julian Assange give himself up last week to the British justice system, I took the decision that I would do whatever else it took to ensure that he is not denied his basic rights as a result of the anger of the powerful forces he has enraged.

This decision – which will result in one of the most unusual Christmases I have ever experienced – began to take shape last Monday night, as we gathered round a computer in my home, talking via Skype to Mark Stephens, Julian’s solicitor, in London.

This is how I remember the scene...

It is late in the evening. The screen periodically goes to sleep and Sue, a friend, keeps tapping the keyboard to keep it awake, relighting their faces.

Julian is completely still except his foot, which he rocks from side to side. I remember being told that he always did this when he was concentrating.

I feel that I am intruding, but Julian smiles at me. He does that: brings you in and makes you feel you are important to him when most of us would feel too preoccupied to do such a thing.

Julian is in front of a computer all the time. Immersed and uninterruptable; you feel you could arrive in a clown suit and he wouldn’t notice you.

But often you can gently greet him while he is typing furiously and he will immediately stop what he is doing and report developments for half an hour, well beyond the time you feel he should get back to his work.

The call is finished, and Julian is standing by the fireplace. Miles away. We start discussing the call. A couple of other friends and supporters are there too. Julian is still quiet but he is listening to us. The conversation dries up because the call to Mark has brought it all home.

There seemed to be other options, but they are all of straw. Julian dismisses each as it is suggested. He doesn’t want to look as if he has something to hide. The British police have said they want him and he is going in.

Sue and the other friends start discussing his statement. I get my camera set to film it for them and start working on the logistics. I don’t work for WikiLeaks, but I get drawn in. The police have given less time than expected and he cannot be late.

Julian sits on the sofa. Then he lies down. Then he sleeps. He’s been up for 48 hours. We don’t film any statement.

Then it is morning. He has to be at the police station at 9am, and Mark and the defence team need to see him at 7am. Sue and Jeremy are struggling to get Julian out of the building and trying to keep everyone’s spirits up by joking with him that he is never on time for anything.

We are all exhausted, and I can see that Sue is holding back tears as she bundles Julian into the car. Sue, Julian and I drive off but everyone expects us to be back by the evening.

We get to Mark’s home and it’s still dark. I notice a photographer getting his camera out of the boot of his car as we are about to park behind it, and we drive past. He deserved a picture for getting up that early on a cold morning to stake out Julian’s solicitor’s home, but he didn’t get it.

We meet Mark in a nearby greasy spoon and have breakfast in a back room. Julian is hungry, as he had no dinner last night. Mark gets straight into discussing the case and tells us that the police have changed the station that Julian is to report to.

Mark’s manner is grave but comforting and I can see that Julian and Sue are feeling the pressure. Sue goes out for another cigarette.

Jennifer joins us from Mark’s team and we drive to Kentish Town Police Station. Sue drives, Mark is on his mobile for most of the journey and we are all trying to be quiet. Julian is in the back, between Mark and Jennifer, on his computer, working on the statement.

I look at the familiar glow of the computer screen on Julian’s face, and after a while I notice the computer go to sleep. But Julian doesn’t switch it on again. He stares through it and I look away as I find myself feeling a surge of empathy for him. The statement is not finished as we arrive at the police station.

We drive through large blue gates and bland and besuited policemen and women are around the car. Mark and Julian get out and I try to observe while Sue struggles to park in the absurdly small parking space that she is directed to. I feel intimidated by the brutish ordinariness that this damned place exudes from every structure and person. I have visited police stations and prisons but never felt so uncomfortable before.

We are gathered behind Julian and Mark and a policeman reads out four Swedish charges, but I am not listening. Where I am standing, on one side, I can see Julian’s still face as he hears them. I admire his courage. He knows more clearly than anybody that he pressed the trigger long ago. Or, rather, the return key. The leaks are unstoppable whatever happens to him.

I ponder the disservice to Julian done by the media. With their stockings stuffed by WikiLeaks they dehumanise him with images printed and screened of a cold, calculating Machiavelli pulling strings from secret hideouts. The main hideout, of course, being the Frontline Club, where many of them have interviewed him.

They made him out to be the internet’s Bin Laden. The likeness might be poor, but that was OK because the colours were familiar and bright. Now the focus is on Julian’s court fight, instead of on the opaque political system that his leaks have exposed. The charges that Julian faces have already been dropped once, from a Swedish court that even Glenn Beck, the incendiary US Fox News TV host, rubbishes.

Julian is different to most of us. He is clever and obsessive but also funny and self-deprecating. But he has started something seismic but inevitable, a consequence of modern communications that cannot be stopped. One day we might be governed better as a result. Vengeance by the authorities is weakness here and will not help us face the challenges of the times.

I resolved then, and on that ugly spot, that I would never abandon Julian. It wasn’t any more about whether Wikileaks was right or wrong, for good or bad. It was about standing up to the bully and the question of whether our country, in these historic times really was the tolerant, independent and open place I had been brought up to believe it was and feel that it needs to be. If to fight for this country we will have to fight for its fundamental principles of justice then I declare my position in the ranks.

Vaughan Smith is the founder of the Frontline Club. He has personally stood surety for Julian Assange in court and provided his bail address. The names of Julian's supporters have been changed for their security

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'Operation Dark Heart' Author Sues for Uncensored Edition - New York Times

In September, the Defense Department spent $47,300 to purchase and destroy the entire first printing of “Operation Dark Heart” by Anthony A. Shaffer, asserting that it contained classified information.

The book was hastily reprinted with many passages blacked out and has become a best seller. But unredacted advance copies of the book, among a few dozen distributed by St. Martin’s Press before the Pentagon’s intervention, are still for sale on eBay for $1,995 to $4,995.

The lawsuit, filed in Federal District Court here, recounts how Mr. Shaffer, a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, submitted his original manuscript to the Army to be checked for classified information and got official approval to publish it last January. But when the Defense Intelligence Agency saw the manuscript in May and showed it to the National Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency, all three agencies asserted that the approved manuscript still contained secrets.

After a second review was completed, passages were removed from 250 of the book’s 320 pages.

The lawsuit claims that “little to none” of the information blacked out of the second printing is actually classified and that the censorship violated Mr. Shaffer’s First Amendment rights. “Many of the asserted redactions are objectively absurd,” the lawsuit says.

Mr. Shaffer’s lawyer, Mark S. Zaid, said that while his client agreed to allow publication of the hardback with the government’s redactions, “we reserved the right to come back and challenge the decision in court.”

A paperback edition is scheduled for publication next year, and Mr. Shaffer is asking the court to order the Pentagon not to require the redactions in the new edition and not to pursue civil or criminal penalties against him for releasing it.

A Defense Department spokesman, Col. Dave Lapan, said that by policy, he could not comment on pending litigation.

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Yahoo Cuts About 600 Jobs, Or 4% Of Work Force >YHOO - Wall Street Journal

(Updates with additional details and background)

SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones)--Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) said Tuesday it was cutting about 600 jobs, or about 4% of its work force, as the struggling Internet media company strives to increase revenue and boost margins.

Yahoo spokeswoman Kim Rubey said the cuts were largely aimed at the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company's products group, which builds advertising products, Web properties like the company's popular news, sports and finance pages, as well as its widely used email service.

Most of the jobs cut were in the U.S., she said.

"Today's personnel changes are part of our ongoing strategy ...

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News: Japanese Publishers Cry Foul on Pirated App Store Books - The Mac Observer

Four publishers in Japan have accused Apple of selling pirated books in the company’s App Store for iOS apps. The Financial Times reported that the publishers have found instances of works covered by Japanese copyright for sell in pirated versions, usually in Chinese-language apps from developers based out of China.

For instance, when FT published its story, the complete works of Haruki Murakami (which includes works such as Norwegian Wood, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, and other books) in Chinese for US$1.99. That app is no longer available.

The publishers said that Apple has pulled some instances of pirated works out of the App Store, but the group is complaining that Apple doesn’t have a formal mechanism to handle such issues so that pirated works can be dealt with more swiftly.

“Apple is yet to clearly specify a contact point for removal requests or the procedures for removal, and even for the content that has been removed, it is unclear who removed the content and how the determination for removal was made,” the group said in a formal letter of complaint. “In addition, despite directly profiting from this illegal distribution, Apple has also failed to disclose sales data for these digital bootlegs.”

The letter added, “Apple’s distribution of content that clearly infringes copyright constitutes the aiding and abetting of illegal acts, and this in itself must be deemed illegal.”

Apple offered FT a brief comment on the issue, saying in a statement, “As an IP holder ourselves, we understand the importance of protecting intellectual property and when we receive complaints we respond promptly and appropriately.”

The four publishers involved in the complaint are the JBPA, the Japan Magazine Publishers Association, the Electronic Book Publishers Association of Japan and the Digital Comic Association.

There are thousands of Chinese language apps available in the U.S. App Store, and many more in other App Stores throughout the world. Many of those are books in the form of an app, and Apple clearly hasn’t yet found a way to check IP rights on all the non-English apps that are submitted to the service,

The Japanese publishers have every right to be tense about their works being offered for sale illegally on the App Store, but it remains to be seen if Apple reverses years of secrecy and closed-door management of services and products such as the App Store by moving to more transparent business processes and policies like those in their letter.

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Holbrooke mentioned Afghan war before surgery - Washington Post

As friends and colleagues from four decades of diplomatic life reflected on the intensity of Richard C. Holbrooke's dedication, many were not surprised to learn that concerns about the Afghanistan war were apparently among his final thoughts.

After Holbrooke's death Monday, The Washington Post, citing his family members, reported that the veteran diplomat had told his physician just before surgery Friday to "stop this war."

But Tuesday, a fuller account of the tone and contents of his remarks emerged.

As physician Jehan El-Bayoumi was attending to Holbrooke in the emergency room at George Washington University Hospital, she told him to relax and asked what she could do to comfort him, according to an aide who was present.

Holbrooke, who was in severe pain, said jokingly that it was hard to relax because he had to worry about the difficult situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

El-Bayoumi, an Egyptian American internist who is Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's physician, replied that she would worry for him. Holbrooke responded by telling her to end the war, the aide said.

The aide said he could not be sure of Holbrooke's exact words. He emphasized Tuesday that the comment was made in painful banter, rather than as a serious exhortation about policy.

Holbrooke also spoke extensively about his family and friends as he awaited surgery by Farzad Najam, a thoracic surgeon of Pakistani descent.

Holbrooke's statement was seized upon quickly by critics of the Afghan war debate, some of whom interpreted it as a clarion call to end the conflict. Others viewed his comment as a last-breath disavowal of the Obama administration's war policy, which has involved a troop surge - which Holbrooke publicly supported - to combat the Taliban. But State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley cast Holbrooke's words simply as "humorous repartee."

Crowley said the comment "says two things about Richard Holbrooke in my mind. Number one, he always wanted to make sure he got the last word. And secondly, it just showed how he was singularly focused on pursuing and advancing the process and the policies in Afghanistan and Pakistan to bring them to a successful conclusion."

Holbrooke's deputy, Frank Ruggiero, has been named to fill his post as special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan in an acting capacity, Crowley said, adding that no significant move had been made to select a permanent replacement.

chandrasek@washpost.com deyoungk@washpost.com

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IBM's 'Watson' Computer to Air on Jeopardy in February - eWeek

IBM?s ?Watson? computer will finally make its appearance on ?Jeopardy? in February, taking on two of the show?s all-time winners over a three-day span.

The game will test Watson?s abilities to think in a human-like way, not only being able to retrieve information when requested?as is done with a normal Google search request?but also to go through its vast database of information, make the necessary connections and pick up on the subtle nuances, puns and riddles necessary to answer questions in Jeopardy.

IBM?s goal in building Watson?named after IBM founder Thomas J. Watson?is to create a system that can answer questions posed in natural language, and to do so quickly and correctly, according to company officials. IBM over the past few months have been running Watson through a series of 50 or so mock Jeopardy games at its Hawthorne, N.Y., research facility against some former game show participants. The question-answer machine reportedly has won some games and lost others.

?After four years, our scientific team believes that Watson is ready for this challenge based on its ability to rapidly comprehend what the Jeopardy clue is asking, analyze the information it has access to, come up with precise answers, and develop an accurate confidence in its response,? David Ferrucci, the scientist leading the IBM Research team that has created Watson, said in a Dec. 14 statement. ?Beyond our excitement for the match itself, our team is very motivated by the possibilities that Watson's breakthrough computing capabilities hold for building a smarter planet and helping people in their business tasks and personal lives." 

The Jeopardy challenge echoes the chess match in 1997, when an IBM computer called Deep Blue beat chess champion Garry Kasparov. At the time, IBM officials said Deep Blue could calculate 200 million chess moves per second based on a fixed problem.

Watson will have to work differently, however. IBM researchers want it to be able to hear the question posed in natural language and?using massively parallel processing capabilities to understand the complex questions?figure out the subtext of the request, zero in on exactly what its being sought and then find the answer.

Competing against Watson will be Ken Jennings, who broke the Jeopardy record for most consecutive games played with 74 during the 2004-2005 season and won more than $2.5 million, and Brad Rutter, who won more than $3.2 million, the most ever by a contestant. The winner will take $1 million, with second place earning $300,000 and third place $200,000. Rutter and Jennings will donate half of their winnings to charity; IBM will donate all of its winnings.

While the Jeopardy show?which will air Feb. 14-16?will be entertaining, IBM researchers say question-answer systems like Watson will have real-life impacts on business in a variety of fields, including health care, online self-service desks, and tourism, according to IBM. The computer?s ability to quickly sort through vast amounts of data and return precise answers?and then rank the confidence in those answers?also will be key to IBM?s ongoing Smarter Planet initiative, which is driving to improve the world?s infrastructures?from roads to waterways to electrical grids?by putting more intelligence into the systems.

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Air Force Limits Access to Web Sites Over Secret Cables - New York Times

When Air Force personnel on the service’s computer network try to view the Web sites of The Times, the British newspaper The Guardian, the German magazine Der Spiegel, the Spanish newspaper El País and the French newspaper Le Monde, as well as other sites that posted full confidential cables, the screen says “Access Denied: Internet usage is logged and monitored,” according to an Air Force official whose access was blocked and who shared the screen warning with The Times. Violators are warned that they face punishment if they try to view classified material from unauthorized Web sites.

Some Air Force officials acknowledged that the steps taken might be in vain since many military personnel could gain access to the documents from home computers, despite admonishments from superiors not to read the cables without proper clearances.

Computer network specialists within the Air Force Space Command last week followed longstanding procedures to keep classified information off unclassified computer systems. “News media Web sites will be blocked if they post classified documents from the WikiLeaks Web site,” said Lt. Col. Brenda Campbell, a spokeswoman for the Air Force Space Command, a unit of which oversees Air Force computer systems. “This is similar to how we’d block any other Web site that posted classified information.”

Colonel Campbell said that only sites posting full classified documents, not just excerpts, would be blocked. “When classified documents appear on a Web site, a judgment will be made whether it will be blocked,” she said. “It’s an issue we’re working through right now.”

Spokesmen for the Army, Navy and Marines said they were not blocking the Web sites of news organizations, largely because guidance has already been issued by the Obama administration and the Defense Department directing hundreds of thousands of federal employees and contractors not to read the secret cables and other classified documents published by WikiLeaks unless the workers have the required security clearance or authorization.

“Classified information, whether or not already posted on public websites or disclosed to the media, remains classified, and must be treated as such by federal employees and contractors, until it is declassified by an appropriate U.S. Government authority,” said a notice sent on Dec. 3 by the Office of Management and Budget, which is part of the White House, to agency and department heads.

A Defense Department spokesman, Col. David Lapan, in an e-mail on Tuesday night sought to distance the department from the Air Force’s action to block access to the media Web sites: “This is not DoD-directed or DoD-wide.”

The Air Force’s action was first reported on The Wall Street Journal’s Web site late Tuesday and underscores the wide-ranging impact of the recent release of secret State Department documents by WikiLeaks, and five news organizations, including The Times. It also illustrates the contortions the military and other government agencies appear to be going through to limit the spread of classified information that has become widely available in the public domain.

“It is unfortunate that the U.S. Air Force has chosen not to allow its personnel access to information that virtually everyone else in the world can access,” said a spokeswoman for The Times, Danielle Rhoades Ha. A senior administration official said Tuesday that the administration’s policy contained some leeway, for instance, to allow certain employees to download information in order for them to be able to verify that classified information was leaking into the public domain, and to assess damage to national security and potential danger to sources.

Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists, a secrecy specialist, said dozens of agencies, as well as branches of the military and government contractors, had issued their own policy instructions based on the Office of Management and Budget memo.

“It’s a self-defeating policy that will leave government employees less informed than they ought to be,” Mr. Aftergood said.

William J. Broad contributed reporting from New York.

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Poll: Emanuel has early lead for Chicago mayor - Chicago Tribune

Former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel is off to an early lead in the race for Chicago mayor, but there is plenty of room for other contenders in the crowded field as the fluid contest takes shape, a new Tribune/WGN poll found.

Emanuel had the support of 32 percent of voters, just ahead of 30 percent who were undecided, making him the only candidate in double-digits with more than two months before the Feb. 22 city election. He was well short of the outright majority needed to avoid an April runoff between the top two finishers.

First though, Emanuel has to survive a ballot challenge by those who say he doesn't qualify under rules requiring mayoral candidates to be Chicago residents for a year before the election. While several more of the 15 current candidates could be knocked off or drop out as the race gets serious, the poll showed a splintered field largely defined by name recognition.

Former Chicago Public Schools chief Gery Chico and U.S. Rep. Danny Davis each had 9 percent, with state Sen. James Meeks at 7 percent and former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun at 6 percent. City Clerk Miguel del Valle had 3 percent.

Former U.S. Sen. Roland Burris, whose intention to stay in the race is uncertain, had just 2 percent backing. None of the other candidates reached 1 percent in the poll of 721 registered, likely voters conducted Dec. 10-13, which has an error margin of 3.6 percentage points.

The poll came amid the holiday season, when voters typically are more focused on family and friends than politics, and before any of the major candidate forums have taken place. Nevertheless, the race has already become high-profile, with Emanuel running television commercials and many of the big-name candidates holding public events on a near-daily basis.

It's the first time in more than 60 years that a sitting Chicago mayor won't be on the ballot, after Mayor Richard Daley in September announced he would not run for re-election as he neared 22 years in office.

Although Daley's approval rating was sinking, he was still considered a formidable political foe, after years of building support that spanned the city's racial, ethnic and economic divisions. More than any other candidate so far, Emanuel also is bridging those gaps, the poll indicated.

The former North Side congressman is out front on the strength of his support from lakefront wards, white voters and the wealthy, according to the survey. He's also holding his own among Latino and African-American voters.

He has the support of more Hispanics than any other candidate, is backed by more blacks than anyone except Davis and enjoys the backing of 46 percent of whites. More than half of voters who live in households with more than $100,000 in annual income said they would vote for him.

Davis, an African-American political veteran who also served on the City Council and the Cook County Board, was backed by 21 percent of black voters, but just 2 percent of Hispanics and 1 percent of whites.

Among blacks, 30 percent are undecided, 19 percent back Emanuel, 13 percent favor Meeks and 10 percent are for Braun. Burris, once a popular African-American politician, had just 3 percent support among blacks.

Chico — of Latino, Greek and Lithuanian heritage — had 15 percent support among whites, 12 percent among Hispanics and just 2 percent among blacks.

Chico and del Valle combined trail Emanuel in the Latino community. Among likely Hispanic voters, 36 percent are undecided, 27 percent favor Emanuel, 14 percent del Valle and 12 percent Chico.

Most voters are not disappointed by Daley's decision not to run again. Only 30 percent wanted to see him run for a record seventh term, while 59 percent said they would not like to see him run again. The rest weren't sure.

Last July, a Tribune poll found that 53 percent of voters didn't want to see Daley elected to another term, and only 31 percent wanted to see him re-elected. And only 37 percent approved of the job he was doing.

Daley has been hurt politically by corruption scandals under his watch, the perception that not enough is being done to combat crime, and consternation over the effects of his decision to lease out the city's parking meter system.

hdardick@tribune.com

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San Jose bans plastic bags - San Jose Mercury News

San Jose became the largest U.S. city to ban plastic carry-out bags Tuesday with an ordinance that supporters said was the most far-reaching in the country aimed at encouraging shoppers to bring reusable totes.

The ordinance, approved on a 10-1 vote after two years of study, would become effective Jan. 1, 2012 to allow for more public outreach. It would prohibit retailers from giving out disposable plastic carry-out bags at the checkstand and require them to charge for paper bags.

"This is a great step," said Councilman Sam Liccardo. "It's an opportunity to lead on an important environmental issue."

Councilman Pete Constant, the lone dissenter, said the council had "increased the burden and cost for people in the midst of one of the deepest recessions we've experienced in our lifetime."

Reactions from downtown shoppers was mixed.

"I don't have a whole lot of money to be charged for paper bags," said Pine Watt, 18, a freshman at San Jose State University.

Nimfa Sanchez, 74, was walking into the San Fernando Street Safeway from a downpour and wondered how she would fare without waterproof plastic bags.

"How am I going to run after my groceries that roll out of a paper bag on a night like this?" asked Sanchez, who uses a walker. "Besides, I already recycle."

But Julianna Iran, 24, who was examining lettuce at the Safeway, pronounced the idea "terrific. If it's going to cost money to get a paper bag, I'll be

more likely to bring my cloth bag."

And Luke Vong, 47, a civil engineer walking out of the store with a double plastic bag filled with groceries, called the ban "good for the environment."

Subhead

Opinions also varied inside the council chambers. Samantha Dabish, representing the Neighborhood Market Association, urged the council to include an exemption for smaller stores she said would face higher costs from the ban. But Timothy James of the California Grocers Association said grocers appreciated amendments woven into the ban to allow bags for pharmaceuticals and meats.

San Jose isn't the first city to ban plastic bags; San Francisco led the way in 2007. But San Jose's ordinance goes farther than others, said David Lewis, executive director of the environmental group Save the Bay.

The ordinance covers most retailers, not just groceries and pharmacies, and discourages disposable paper bags by requiring merchants to charge customers for them. He said the city ordinance will be a model for other cities and counties.

Lewis called disposable plastic bags "one of the most visible and unsightly forms of pollution in the bay." He said the Bay Area uses 3.8 billion plastic bags a year and about 1 million end up in San Francisco Bay, where they harm birds, fish and other animals.

Lisa Bickford, 46, of San Jose came to show her support for a ban by attending the meeting in a "bag monster" costume made out of 500 disposable plastic bags .

"I live to be 1,000 years old, and I am synthetic so I break down slowly," Bickford said in mock protest. "I will be here long after any of you."

Critics like the American Chemistry Council, which represents plastic bag makers, say their product is being unfairly maligned, noting it can be recycled and turned into things like shopping carts and composite lumber. They say government officials should promote bag recycling rather than bans.

But Lewis said recycling hasn't worked, with only about 5 percent recycled in California.

"People consider it trash, not something of value," he said. "That's why it ends up on the street."

Industry lobbying has helped thwart efforts to ban plastic bags statewide. A state Assembly bill to ban single-use plastic carry-out bags from grocery and drug stores died this year for lack of support in the Senate, despite backing from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

But that has only spurred local bans. In addition to San Francisco, Palo Alto, Oakland, Malibu and Los Angeles County have approved similar measures, while Fremont, Sunnyvale, Marin County and Santa Clara County are among those considering them.

Opponents have sued or threatened litigation against some cities over plastic bag bans, arguing that they only encourage use of disposable paper sacks. Plastic bag backers contend paper is more environmentally harmful because of deforestation and the energy needed to manufacture wood pulp.

Lawsuits and legal threats over bans in Oakland, Palo Alto and Fairfax argued the cities should have conducted a full analysis under the California Environmental Quality Act before taking action. Oakland suspended its ban; Fairfax, in Marin County, made it voluntary. And Palo Alto agreed in a settlement to conduct a complete environmental review if it expands its ban beyond grocers.

San Jose's ban underwent a full environmental analysis, which Councilman Kansen Chu says will make it more legally sound. Chu pushed for the city to pass a bag law after returning from a trip to Taiwan, where merchants charge customers for disposable carryout bags.

Subhead

The chemistry council also argued the measure would violate restrictions on fees that voters approved in November under Proposition 26. But City Attorney Rick Doyle disagreed because the city doesn't receive the paper bag fee; merchants do.

The ordinance exempts restaurants and nonprofit second-hand stores such as the Salvation Army. City officials said paper or reusable bags may be impractical for carrying moist, messy take-out foods, and that second-hand stores already reduce waste by encouraging people to reuse things.

The ban also doesn't prohibit plastic bags made available to protect meat, produce or bulk foods, nor does it prohibit sales of sandwich or trash bags.

Retailers could face fines of $500 to $1,000 for violating the ordinance.

Mayor Chuck Reed urged environmentalists and neighborhood groups to keep track of how many bags wind up in city creeks after the ban, saying, "It's really important to demonstrate that we've addressed the problem."

Mercury News Staff Writer Tracy Seipel contributed to this report. Contact John Woolfolk at 408-975-9346.

Starting Jan. 1, 2012, retailers cannot offer disposable plastic carry-out bags at the check stand.
Retailers must charge at least 10 cents to provide disposable paper carry-out bags; that rises to 25 cents by 2014. There are exemptions for food-stamp recipients.
Restaurants and nonprofit second-hand stores are exempted.Source: City of San Jose

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Microsoft's holiday bonus: Fixes for 40 flaws - Computerworld

Computerworld - Microsoft today patched 40 vulnerabilities in Windows, Internet Explorer (IE), Office, SharePoint and Exchange, including nine pegged "critical."

Five of the 17 security updates -- Microsoft calls them "bulletins" -- fixed long-standing flaws that could be used by attackers to plant malware on a PC by tricking Windows into thinking a malicious DLL (dynamic link library) was actually a legitimate part of the OS.

Only two of the 17 updates were judged critical, Microsoft's top-most threat ranking in its four-step scoring system. Another 14 were marked "important," the second-highest rating, while the remaining update was labeled "moderate."

Microsoft put the spotlight on the two critical bulletins, as did several security experts.

"Both MS10-090 and MS10-091 are pretty critical, I think," said Andrew Storms, director of security operations for nCircle Security. "Microsoft's evaluation seems in line with what I would expect, and shows that they're giving a pretty fair and balanced representation of priorities."

Amol Sarwate, manager of Qualys' vulnerabilities research labs, agreed with Storms, putting those updates at the top of his list, too.

MS10-090 patches seven vulnerabilities in IE, six of them critical and one marked moderate. All supported versions, including 2009's IE8, are affected by one or more of the bugs. IE9, which is still in beta testing, does not harbor any of the seven vulnerabilities, Microsoft said in its advisory.

Among the patched IE bugs were three that had been publicly disclosed before today, and one that hackers have been exploiting for at least the last six weeks.

Microsoft confirmed the latter on Nov. 3 in a security advisory, but was unable to craft and test a patch in time to make it into that month's security update.

MS10-091, which in Microsoft's eyes is a Windows update, also affected browsers -- but not IE directly.

Instead, attackers could exploit the three vulnerabilities in the update -- all rated critical -- through non-Microsoft browsers that support the open-source OpenType font format by simply tricking users into visiting a malicious site.

Microsoft did not list the affected browsers, but the other four of the top five -- Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Opera -- all support OpenType fonts.

It's unclear today whether those browsers need to be patched separately, and if so whether they have been patched. For its part, Microsoft said it had reached out to the other browser makers to let them know about the OpenType bugs it was addressing.

Opera Software, whose security team co-reported one of the three OpenType vulnerabilities to Microsoft, said that other browsers did not need repair.

"The patch for Opera is the referenced Microsoft [MS10-091] patch, as it is not possible for the [browser] to protect itself against the problem, except by disabling webfonts, since the problem is in the OS's handling of fonts," said Thomas Ford, an Opera spokesman.

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Gawker Hack Exposes Ridiculous Password Habits - PC World

Whew! Is it just me, or is it getting tough to keep track of all the info spilled via this week's massive Gawker hack?

The please-don't-call-it-Gawkergate Gawker hacking story sprung up over the weekend, when a group known as "Gnosis" apparently made its way into the servers of Gawker Media. Gawker Media, if you aren't aware, is a publication group that runs gossip blog Gawker (no big surprise there) along with a slew of other websites like Lifehacker, Gizmodo, and Jezebel.

Long story short, the hackers danced away with boatloads of secrets, including the e-mail addresses and passwords of more than a million Gawker users (and some Gawker staff members, too). Now, we're getting a glimpse at just how absurdly poor some of those passwords were.

The data-diving crew from The Wall Street Journal analyzed some of the hacked Gawker data in order to find trends in people's password selections. They looked at a sample of 188,279 passwords that was decrypted and made public.

Among the most common passwords they found in the list:

• "123456." This was actually the most popular password of all. As far as I can tell, this indicates one of two things: (a) Lots of people are careless about security; (b) Lots of Gawker accounts belong to Elmo.

• "password." The second most popular password in the list. Evidently, some folks interpret the "Password" prompt as a CAPTCHA field.

• "lifehack." Did someone order an extra-large helping of irony?

• "qwerty." When in doubt, just run your fingers across the keyboard.

• "monkey." One of the more curious items in Gawker's password database. I blame Peter Gabriel.

• "letmein." When you think about it, it really is quite impressive: After all these years, this computing classic is still in style.

• "trustno1." Right. Especially people who use passwords like "trustno1."

• "passw0rd." Oh, do you see what they did there? It's like "password," but not. Good one.

• "cheese." Mmm...cheese. What were we talking about, again?

Ah, yes -- passwords. Perhaps the most surprising twist in all of this is that Gawker's staff didn't do much better. According to Forbes, 15 Gawker staffers had passwords consisting of common words (or "slight variations thereof"). One staff member reportedly used his own name followed by the number "1."

If you aren't sure why any of these scenarios are troubling, please smack yourself in the face (gently -- we don't need any lawsuits here). Then go read up on basic password hygiene, or just grab a utility like LastPass, named one of PCWorld's "Best Products of 2009." It'll generate complex passwords for you and store them securely in the cloud.

Curious if you're among the registered Gawker users whose info has been exposed, by the way? Slate.com has created a handy tool to search the database for your username or e-mail address. If you find yourself listed, check out these tips for some suggestions on what to do next.

And for the love of cheese, never make your password "password" again.

JR Raphael is a PCWorld contributing editor and the co-founder of geek-humor site eSarcasm. You can find him on both Facebook and Twitter.

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Report: Microsoft to Show Off Windows 7 Slider Tablet at CES - PC Magazine

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will demonstrate tablet computers running a version of Windows 7, including a Samsung model with a slide-out keyboard, at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in January, The New York Times reported yesterday in a blog post.

The Times didn't name its source, but the person described the Samsung slate device as "similar in size and shape" to the Apple iPad, but "not as thin." The slide-out keyboard is said to be "unique" and "slick." Given that description, the mystery tablet is nothing like the Samsung Galaxy Tab, which has a 7-inch screen (the iPad's is 10 inches) and no sliding keyboard.

Ballmer will show more slates from Dell and other manufacturers, according to the report. The devices will run Windows 7, though holding them in portrait mode with the keyboard sheathed will activate a "layered" interface. Similar to the announced BlackBerry PlayBook, the new machines are said to be aimed primarily at business users, an audience generally thought to be underserved by the iPad.

The Times report cited one source who suggested Microsoft could even show a tablet running Windows 8, though that appears unlikely. It's possible that Microsoft will show the devices running a variant of Windows 7 or Windows Phone 7 — one that's tailored to work with slate devices, similar to the tablet-specific version of Android dubbed "Honeycomb." Ballmer alluded to such a move in the summer when he said, "We're working with our hardware partners. We're tuning Windows 7 to new slate hardware designs that they're bringing them to market."

Microsoft is said to be encouraging manufacturers to write apps for the new slate machines in HTML5. The apps won't be sold in the Zune Marketplace or any other app store, the Times said. Instead, software partners will host the apps on their own websites.

When contacted, Microsoft told PCMag it had no comment on the rumors.

Tim Gideon contributed to this article.

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Panama City Shootout: School Board Members Fight Back - ABC News

A gunman killed himself after opening fire on a Florida school board meeting. He was confronted by two school officials, one who attacked him with her purse, and another, the security chief, who fired his gun at the shooter.

Police said a 56-year-old man disrupted the the Bay District School Board meeting in Panama City, Fla., walked up to the podium, pulled out a can of red spray paint and painted a large letter "V" with a circle around it.

"The shooter approached the front of the board members, spray painted a symbol on the wall and fired an unknown amount of rounds," said Panama City Police Department spokesman Sgt. Jeff Becker.

"After he painted the symbol he was confronted by a board member [Ginger Littleton] who knocked the gun with her purse," he said.

Inside the meeting was reporter Nadeen Yanes of ABC News afiliate WMBB-TV, who shot exclusive video of the incident.

The gunman released all of the women and children, but held an unspecified number of men.

A fire fight broke out between the gunman and Mike Jones, a former school board member and district security chief, Becker said.

"After reviewing the evidence, the suspect took his own life," said Becker.

Police would not confirm the shooter's identity until his family had been notified. Becker would not speculate on the shooter's motive or meaning of the "V" symbol. Becker also would not confirm the total number of bullets fired.

Yanes said at least 10 shots were fired.

No other injuries were reported.

Police are watching the video Yanes shot of the confrontation.

Beth Deluzain, executive director of the Bay Education Foundation, who works on the second floor of the building said she was not told to leave and things seemed to be under control

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Amazon UK goes offline amid threats of cyber attacks - The Guardian

Amazon.co.uk went down on Sunday night along with other sites hosted with Amazon in Dublin, suggesting technical issues rather than a hacker attack. Photograph: Frank Baron for the Guardian

The online shopping site Amazon was briefly offline this evening in the UK, Germany, Italy and France and an unknown number of other countries, possibly after a denial of service attack launched by Anonymous, a loose group sympathetic to – but unconnected with – WikiLeaks.

But others suggested that the failure was due to an internal error affecting the Irish data centre that runs the site in those four countries.

In the UK the site was unreachable, and attempts to connect to the US site also failed initially, though that site rapidly came back online at about 9.30pm. The site was also reported to be down in Italy and France.

Meanwhile Mastercard's main site was also knocked offline, according to the web stats service Netcraft.

Also today, in a separate incident, the gossip website Gawker announced that its encrypted database of 1.5 million user names and passwords used for commenting had been cracked by a "brute-force" attack. Although Gawker does not collect credit card details, the risk is that those of its users who use the same password and name on other sites could see their identities compromised.

"We're deeply embarrassed by this breach," said the operators of the site, part of a network of blogs owned by Nick Denton. "We should not be in the position of relying on the goodwill of the hackers who identified the weakness in our systems."

Amazon could not be reached for comment on whether its sites' failure was due to an attack, or simply because it was one of the busiest online shopping nights of the year in the runup to Christmas. The sites in Canada, US, China and Japan were apparently unaffected.

The monitoring service Netcraft said that "the problems seemed to affect other sites hosted with Amazon in Dublin" – suggesting it was an internal failure rather than a hacker attack.

The Anonymous group, which draws many of its members from the forums of the 4chan website, failed on Thursday in an attempt to bring down Amazon, which is the world's largest online retailer. Disagreement within the loose-knit group meant the majority of attacks were directed at PayPal and left Amazon unscathed.

Discussion within the chat forums where the group attempts to co-ordinate its efforts suggested its members were surprised at the idea that Amazon had gone offline.

The countries affected initially suggests that internal problems, rather than an external attack, might have caused the problem. Amazon's UK, Italian and French sites are all served from a data centre based in Ireland .

The group targeted Amazon because it had withdrawn permission for WikiLeaks to serve pages via its EC2 cloud computing service, where WikiLeaks moved its services on 29 November to avoid a "distributed denial of service" (DDoS) attack from an unknown source, apparently to prevent it publishing thousands of leaked US diplomatic cables.

On 1 December, Amazon announced it was dropping the controversial site just 24 hours after being contacted by the office of Joe Lieberman, chairman of the Senate's committee on homeland security.

A statement put out later by a faction of Anonymous said attacking Amazon would be in "bad taste" at the height of the Christmas shopping season.

Twitter also this weekend suspended a number of accounts linked to "Operation Payback", the Anonymous campaign to bring down the sites of companies that have cut ties with WikiLeaks. Biz Stone, the co-founder of Twitter, said it was a "terms of service and policy decision" to suspend the accounts.

Both Facebook and Twitter last week separately closed down a number of accounts and pages linked to Operation Payback.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange last week attempted to distance the whistleblowers' site from the illegal cyber attacks being carried out in support of the release of thousands of confidential US diplomatic documents.

Assange expressed concern that "people have unjustly accused WikiLeaks of inspiring cyber attacks," according to his London-based lawyer Mark Stephens.

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The best tablet out there? Wait for it ... - Tulsa World

It's nigh impossible to keep up with all the touch-screen computers that have hit or will hit shelves ever since the iPad kicked off the craze earlier this year. And since most of these new tablets are running Android, it's looking like the Apple vs. Google smart phone war has spread to a different front.

Much has been already been said about the Samsung Galaxy Tab ($400-$650), currently the flagship Android tablet, so I thought it would be most interesting to do a full-on comparison between it and the iPad ($500-$830).

Let's start with the form factor. At first glance, there's little difference: Both are rectangles dominated by a touchscreen. The iPad has Apple's traditional single physical button, while the Galaxy has Google's familiar four.

But the iPad has a 10-inch screen, while the Galaxy is just seven. That might not seem like a big difference on paper, but the iPad looks like a behemoth compared to the Galaxy. So which is better?

Really, it depends on what you want to do with it. While the screen quality of both is good, obviously video on the iPad is much more impressive. The extra size gives you more room to use the iPad's touchscreen as a traditional, 10-finger keyboard when trying to get some serious work done, while the Galaxy's is much more cramped.

Then again, the iPad is significantly heavier than the Galaxy. It's not by much, but that extra weight makes a big difference during extended web-surfing sessions or when reading

a book. Unless you invest in some kind of stand or prop, the Galaxy is much more comfortable in the long term.

Galaxy also has a rear-facing camera with flash, as well as a front-facing camera for video chat. The current version of the iPad doesn't.

As for the content of the Galaxy, it's very much an Android, running the latest version of the system. It's got the exact same layout, the exact same use of widgets, the exact same pull-up menu, you name it.

In fact I couldn't really find anything that's changed significantly from the transition to phone to tablet. That isn't a huge problem, as the Android setup works fine for tablets as is. The many thousands of handy Android apps work just as well on the tablet as they do on the phone.

Then again, the iPad launched with many small tweaks to the operating system to take advantage of its size and move it beyond "fine." Its e-mail client can display messages, a list of mail and options simultaneously, while Android still makes you access one at a time.

And Apple's App Store was revamped to make it easy to find apps tuned for the iPad - smart phone apps look a little grainy when running on tablets. There are tablet-specific Android apps trickling out, but good luck trying to find them, as Android's app store doesn't filter between smart phone and tablet apps.

I should also point out that Apple's weird jihad against Flash - the widely used program that powers most video and browser games on the net - is an even bigger blemish on the iPad than the iPhone, since the tablet just begs you to consume media. The Galaxy runs Flash just fine, though popular TV site Hulu blocks itself.

As it stands now, the iPad is a more fully featured and compelling product than the Galaxy. Then again, the Galaxy can be cheaper, and it's more portable. I'm also sure the iPad and Android will continue to evolve and make for better tablets, so it might be worth waiting to see what comes down the pipeline.

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Google still polishing Chrome OS, postpones debut - TMCnet

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — It's taking longer than Google Inc. anticipated to deliver a new operating system designed to make computers run faster.

After more than a year building a much–anticipated system around its Chrome Web browser, Google announced Tuesday that the first laptops powered by the new software won't hit the stores until the middle of next year. The revised timetable is about six months behind Google's goal of having the Chrome OS completed in time for it to debut during the current holiday season.

Google's engineers decided they needed more time to fix bugs and fine tune the Chrome OS before the company launches its ambitious challenge to computers running on long–established operating systems made by larger rivals, Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc.

While Google polishes the Chrome OS, it will collect user feedback through a pilot program allowing a relatively small number of consumers and businesses to test unbranded devices running the software. Consumers will be invited to receive the test laptops through the Chrome Web browser and Google's YouTube video site. The companies getting the Chrome OS machines include AMR Corp.'s American Airlines, Kraft Foods Inc. Logitech (News - Alert) International, and Virgin Airlines.

Acer Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. will make the first Chrome OS laptops available in stores next year. The prices of the machines will be determined by the manufacturers next year.

The postponement threatens to intensify the competitive challenges facing the Chrome OS machines. More people already are snapping up sleek, touch–screen tablets such as Apple Inc.'s iPad to surf the Web and run a variety of applications customized for the devices. Apple sold about 7.5 million iPads in the first six months after its April debut and the tablet is expected to be among the top–selling gadgets this holiday season.

The rising popularity of the iPad and an array of copycats has started to undercut sales of lightweight laptops, or "netbooks," according to industry analysts. Even the next version of Google's Android operating system for touch–screen devices is supposed to include more features tailored for tablets.

The Chrome OS computers will have a 12.1 inch display screen and standard–sized keyboard, but no hard drive. That means the Chrome OS computers will need online access to run more programs. Google is teaming up with Verizon Communications to sell Internet access over Verizon's wireless network when there is no other way to connect to the Web. Online consumption of up to 100 megabytes per month will be offered for free during the first two years of computer ownership. Larger data plans will cost as little as $9.99 per month with no long–term commitment required.

Google decided to build its own computer operating system primarily because its views the hundreds of millions of machines powered by Microsoft's dominant Windows software as plodding, cumbersome relics unable to provide speedy Web surfing. The Chrome OS machines are being designed so they're ready to navigate the Internet within a few seconds after hitting the power button, almost as quickly as a television set is ready for channel surfing .

Developing a Web–based alternative to Windows also realizes a long–held goal of Google CEO Eric Schmidt (News - Alert), who had previously clashed with Microsoft as an executive at Sun Microsystems and Novell Inc. during the 1990s. Google's development of the Chrome OS contributed to Schmidt's resignation from Apple's board in 2009. Schmidt stepped down because he increasingly was steering Google into the same markets as Apple, raising potential conflicts of interest.

By making it easier and more appealing for people to spend time online, Google hopes to attract more traffic to its dominant Internet search engine and boost its revenue by selling more of the ads that generate most of its income.

The push for a speedier Web experience, prompted Google to introduce the Chrome browser more than two years ago. Although it still lags behind Microsoft's Internet Explorer and the Mozilla (News - Alert) Foundation's Firefox, Chrome has steadily been winning converts. Google says Chrome now has 120 million active users worldwide today, up from about 30 million at the beginning of the year.

Chrome will soon get even faster by pulling up websites as people type in an address, in the same manner that Google's search engine displays different results with each keystroke. For example, typing "e:" in Chrome's navigation bar display ESPN's site in the browser, if that is a destination that the user frequently visits.

To help whet consumers' appetite for the new Chrome OS machines, Google unveiled a new store that will distribute Web applications that offer more features and better graphics than the content found on standard Web pages. The Web apps store opened Monday with about 500 free and for–fee applications, meeting the end–of–the–year deadline Google established when it announced the idea in May. More than 40,000 applications already have been developed specifically for the iPad.

The New York Times Co., Time Warner (News - Alert) Inc.'s Sports Illustrated magazine and video game maker Electronic Arts Inc. are among the major companies already offering applications in the Chrome store. Internet retailer Amazon.com (News - Alert) Inc. also previewed an application that for the first time will allow other merchants to sell electronic books for its Kindle reader. The app enables Kindle books to be read through a Web browser.

Like programs designed for the iPad and mobile phones, the Chrome applications store could help publishers bring in more revenue from subscriptions and advertising.

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Picard to Continue With Suits Against Mark Madoff - Wall Street Journal

The court-appointed trustee recovering assets for victims of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme will move ahead with lawsuits brought against his elder son Mark Madoff, who killed himself Saturday morning, a lawyer for the trustee said.

"The litigation will take its course and the death of Mark Madoff will not impact that fact," the lawyer, David Sheehan, said in an email Sunday.

That the trustee intends to pursue the suits is not surprising. Among the hundreds targeted in suits by the trustee, Irving Picard, in recent weeks are estates of former Madoff investors.

After the September death of Stanley Chais, a California money manager who fed clients' funds to Mr. Madoff, for example, Mr. Picard said he would continue litigation that sought $1.1 billion from Mr. Chais and related entities. Mr. Chais had denied any wrongdoing.

On Saturday, Mr. Picard said: "This is a tragic development, and my sympathy goes out to Mark Madoff's family."

Almost a year after the multi-billion dollar fraud conducted by his father, Bernard Madoff, was publicly revealed on Dec. 11, 2008, both Mark and his brother Andrew Madoff were sued by Mr. Picard. Mr. Picard accused Mark Madoff in the October 2009 lawsuit of receiving at least $66.9 million improperly through Bernard Madoff's investment company.

His lawyer has called the suit baseless and has sought to have it dismissed.

Last week, Mark and Andrew Madoff were also named in an $80 million lawsuit filed in London against them and other former directors of Madoff Securities International Ltd. by Mr. Picard and Stephen J. Akers, a joint liquidator of the that business, Mr. Picard said. The suit was filed in the United Kingdom's High Court of Justice Commercial Court, he said.

According to Mr. Picard, the lawsuit, which has not been made public under English law, accuses directors and officers of violating their duties to the company by making fraudulent payments, including some that benefited Mr. Madoff and his family.

"The directors had duties, among others, to be honest in recording the purposes and activities of the business," Mr. Akers said in a statement. But instead, he said, they allegedly signed off on false documents and misrepresented the true nature of transactions, "all of which assisted Madoff's fraudulent scheme."

"These are baseless claims against Mark and Andrew Madoff, who were not involved in the financial operations of Madoff Securities International. They were outside directors with [minimal] ownership interests," said Martin Flumenbaum, a lawyer for Mr. Madoff's sons. "They had no knowledge of their father's crimes, including any fraudulent activity related to the London entity."

Also last week, Mr. Picard sued children of Andrew and Mark, alleging that Ruth and Bernard Madoff transferred funds to them. A spokesman for the brothers and their wives declined to comment, as did Susan Elkin, Mark Madoff's former wife, who was also sued.

In a statement on Saturday, Mr. Flumenbaum called Mr. Madoff's suicide "a terrible and unnecessary tragedy. Mark was an innocent victim of his father's monstrous crime who succumbed to two years of unrelenting pressure from false accusations and innuendo. We are all deeply saddened by this shocking turn of events."

Write to Michael Rothfeld at michael.rothfeld@wsj.com

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Storm socks Midwest, cancels flights, closes roads - The Associated Press

Storm socks Midwest, cancels flights, closes roads(AP) – 1 hour ago

CHICAGO (AP) — A powerful, gusty storm dumped mounds of snow across the upper Midwest on Sunday, closing major highways in several states, canceling more than 1,600 flights in Chicago and collapsing the roof of the Minnesota Vikings' stadium.

At least two weather-related deaths were reported as the storm system dropped nearly 2 feet of snow in parts of Minnesota and marched east. A blizzard warning was in effect Sunday for parts of eastern Iowa, southeastern Wisconsin, northwestern Illinois and northern Michigan, according to the National Weather Service. Surrounding areas, including Chicago, were under winter storm warnings. Much of Iowa was under a wind-chill advisory.

In Minneapolis, the heavy snow left the Metrodome decidedly unready for some football. Video inside the stadium aired by Fox Sports showed the inflatable Teflon roof sagging before it tore open, dumping massive amounts of snow across one end of the playing field.

No one was hurt but the Vikings' game against the New York Giants had to be moved to Detroit's Ford Field. The day of the game had already been pushed back from Sunday to Monday because the storm kept the Giants from reaching Minneapolis on time. Stadium officials were trying to repair the roof in time for the Vikings' next home game, Dec. 20 against Chicago.

The wintry weather, with blowing snow that severely limited visibility, wreaked havoc on air and road travel. In the Chicago area, wind gusts of up to 50 mph, temperatures in the teens and wind chills well below zero were expected, along with up to 8 inches of snow.

At least 1,375 flights were canceled at O'Hare International Airport and more than 300 were canceled at Midway International Airport, Chicago Department of Aviation spokeswoman Karen Pride said. Both airports expected more cancellations and reported significant delays.

Major highways in several states were closed due to poor driving conditions and accidents.

In Indianapolis, police said a man fatally stabbed his wife, then died four blocks from his home Sunday morning when his vehicle hit a tree after he lost control on a slippery road. Police did not immediately release the names of the couple.

Illinois State Police closed a section of Interstate 80 in the north central part of the state after a multiple-car pileup west of Peru and part of Interstate 55 near Springfield after accidents and reports of zero visibility. No deaths were reported.

Seven vehicles crashed on Interstate 94 about 50 miles west of Milwaukee, prompting authorities to close the westbound lanes. But Tod Pritchard of Wisconsin Emergency Management said there were no reports of fatal crashes in the state, partly because residents seemed to be heeding warnings to stay off the road.

Pritchard said travel was expected to become even more difficult Sunday afternoon because temperatures were falling and at a certain point, road salt would no longer be effective. The storm had already dropped up to 18 inches of snow in parts of northern and central Wisconsin, he said, and light snow continued Sunday.

Interstate 90 from Albert Lea, Minn., to Exit 410 in South Dakota reopened Sunday afternoon after being closed Saturday because blowing snow reduced visibility. Minnesota state highways also reopened, although transportation officials warned that many were still snow-compacted, icy and, in numerous cases, down to a single lane.

In Iowa, Interstate 29 from the state line to Sioux Falls, S.D. remained closed, although other portions of it and Interstate 80 reopened.

AAA-Michigan said it has been a busy day for its roadside assistance crews, with 850 calls from midnight through 12:30 p.m. Sunday.

"A lot of cars in ditches, spinouts, dead batteries," spokeswoman Nancy Cain said. "It's really the first big blast of winter weather statewide."

Six people were injured Saturday when a van carrying 13 people hit a guardrail and overturned in Mecosta County, near Stanwood, Mich., in the north-central Lower Peninsula. Authorities said Sunday that weather played a role in the death of Douglas Munneke, 55, of St. Cloud, Minn. He died of a heart attack after collapsing while he was snow-blowing his driveway Saturday.

The weather was an unexpected burden for a Minnesota man who had pledged to camp out on the roof of a coffee shop to help his daughter's school raise money.

Hospital executive Robert Stevens donned four layers of long underwear, heavy boots and a down coat before embarking on his quest Friday night. He had vowed not to come down until he had raised $100,000, but he reconsidered about 3 p.m. Saturday after high winds shredded his tent canopy.

But Sunday morning, Stevens headed back up to brave the subzero wind-chills. He had only raised $54,000 and said if he didn't get to his goal the school would likely close.

"Mother Nature won out yesterday — but I'm looking for the win today," Stevens said.

Associated Press writer Dirk Lammers in Sioux Falls, S.D., David Goodman in Detroit, Dinesh Ramde in Milwaukee and Patrick Condon in Minneapolis contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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Suicide bomber kills 6 troops in Afghanistan - Washington Post

KABUL - Six U.S. troops were killed Sunday when a man rammed a minivan packed with explosives into a newly built military installation in Kandahar Province, U.S. and Afghan officials said.

The attack in a farming village in Zhari district, a Taliban stronghold where American soldiers are attempting to restore Afghan government control, was the latest in a string of incidents that have made the onset of winter here unusually deadly.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted online. The statement said the suicide bomber, identified as Ahmadullah, drove the minivan packed with 2,000 kilograms of explosives into the building.

The statement said U.S. soldiers had been busy in recent days turning a large house into an outpost.

U.S. forces have suffered heavy casualties in Kandahar this year as they have built a network of small outposts in and around the country's second largest city, the birthplace of the Taliban movement.

U.S. military and some Afghan officials say the effort has curbed the Taliban's control in key areas the group controlled until recently.

But the Afghan government's presence in the province remains anemic.

Sunday's attack comes two weeks after an Afghan border guard turned his weapon on U.S. trainers in the east, killing six troops.

So far this year, at least 670 NATO troops have been killed in Afghanistan, far more than the 502 killed last year, which had been the deadliest in the nine year war, according to a count by the Associated Press.

Mines and powerful roadside bombings have become the deadliest weapons used against NATO troops in southern Afghanistan.

The Obama administration, which authorized a 30,000-troop surge last year, is expecting an interagency report of the state of the war later this month. The assessment will be used to fine-tune the United States's counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan as the war enters its 10th year.

Sunday's attack comes a day after an unusually deadly spate of military operations that left at least 40 suspected insurgents and seven civilians dead, according to the military.

The bloodshed comes amid continuing political tension in Kabul over the results of Afghanistan's parliamentary election in September.

Fazl Ahmad Manawi, the head of the country's independent election commission said in a press conference Sunday that the attorney general's office is attempting to use its investigative powers to pressure the commission to alter the results.

Afghan prosecutors have ordered the arrest of commission members in recent days on fraud charges - a move the election commission has interpreted as an intimidation tactic.

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No Primary Challengers? Obama's 2012 View Looks Clear From the Left - Fox News

With all the talk of problems the tax extension deal creates for President Obama from his left, at least one would-be 2012 presidential contender doesn't seem interested in rising to the primary challenge.

Former presidential candidate Howard Dean, who served as the Democratic National Committee chairman after his failed 2004 White House bid, had been named as a potential taker in challenging the president from within the party. But Dean said Sunday he doesn't expect Obama to have to endure a primary challenger.

"I don't think he's going to face an opponent in the Democratic primary. I think that would be a bad thing for the country and I think it would be a bad thing for the Democratic Party. The history of people running against presidents in their own party is the challenger loses and then the president is weakened and loses," Dean said on CBS' "Face the Nation."

Obama senior adviser David Axelrod, who's leaving the White House soon to crank up the president's re-election effort, said he, too, isn't worried about a primary challenge.

"No, I don't worry about that at all," Axelrod said on the same program, "because I think he's done good things for the country. He's fighting for the American people and for progress. And that progress is going to show. The thing that would be worrisome to me if we made a bunch of decisions based on short-term political calculations."

Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., agreed that Obama won't face a challenge despite all the anger about the backroom deal he negotiated last week with Republicans and absent Democratic input.

"No. There's no challenge. Look, everybody's on the same page. Everyone supports the same agenda," he told "Fox News Sunday," though he noted that some members of the Democratic Caucus will "never go along with any compromise" on tax rates.

But the anger on the left over the president's deal-making, seen by many as an acknowledgement of the "shellacking" Democrats took in the midterm election, gave rise to talk of a challenger somewhere.

One report said liberals in the House were dropping F-bombs on the president during the week. McClatchy reported Saturday a new poll of 1,029 adults that showed the president's approval rating among liberals dropping from 78 to 69 percent, while his disapproval rating in that group jumped from 14 to 22 percent. Obama's approval rating is 42 percent overall, according to the poll.

Dean's name came up as a possible challenger, as did those of defeated Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin or would-be filibustering independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

But since then, some on the left, while angry about compromise, have tempered their outbursts. That cooling-off may have been the result of former President Bill Clinton's encore turn Friday at the White House briefing room, which left some to concede that if it's good enough for the ever-popular Clinton, it's good enough for them.

For others, it may have been the dire warnings from editorialists like The Washington Post's Colbert King, who said a primary challenge would leave the Democratic Party paying "a steep price" for years to come. 

So far, the only potential candidate reportedly willing to go on record about stepping up to a primary challenge is former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel.

That's not to say that liberal Democrats aren't livid at the president. Progressive organizers and Internet campaigners who joined the "Rootscamp" event in Washington, D.C., this weekend did not disguise their disgust about the White House decision to cooperate with Republicans.

"After President Obama's victory, there was a promise that his vast grassroots network would help push the popular progressive change he campaigned on into law -- things like the public option and ending tax cuts for the rich. Unfortunately, as the White House cut backroom deals that undercut those promises, they also demobilized their grassroots troops," said Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Campaign Committee. Green said his and other liberal groups "are now picking up the ball that this White House dropped."

But with a resounding silence among viable candidates who could challenge the previously adored president, angry liberals have few places to turn.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the second-in-command in the U.S. Senate and among the first lawmakers to encourage Obama to make a bid for the White House said the "harsh reality" is that any president will have to "accommodate the demands" of Republicans whether they want to or not. 

"If we want to change Washington and continue to move in the right direction, we need to stand together. And sometimes the accommodations that we make, the compromises that we make may be painful, but we've got to eat the spinach and keep moving on," he said on CNN.

Axelrod acknowledged that in 2012 Obama will have to face the politics of newly scheduled-to-expire tax rates, but he will have the American people on his side when he defends his refusal to make current tax rates permanent.

"Right now, we face a situation where everyone's taxes would go up on January 1. I think we're going to be in a fundamentally different position in 2012. The economy will be stronger. We'll have gone through a big debate on -- on how we have to -- what we have to cut and give up. I don't think people are going to make that tradeoff in 2012," he said.

And if it's a 2012 challenge from the right, Axelrod is best off to prepare now. The McClatchy poll out over the weekend showed Republican Mitt Romney defeating Obama in a hypothetical 2012 matchup. That's attributed to Obama's apparent drop in popularity among independent voters, who prefer Romney to the president 47-39 percent.

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Cydia App Store to Rival Apple's Mac App Store "Within Weeks" - PC Magazine

Time to start jailbreaking your Mac? We kid, but that's only because Jay "saurik" Freeman—author of the popular Cydia repository that allows jailbroken iPhones to download apps they otherwise wouldn't be able to find on Apple's App Store—has decided to bring his mobile talents to the desktop world.

A Mac-based version of Cydia should be available within a few weeks, announced Freeman at the 360|MacDev conference Friday morning. And with more than 30,000 different packages currently on the mobile version of Cydia, it stands to reason that a desktop-based version of the repository could find popularity amongst those looking for third-party or open-source apps. According to Freeman, approximately 10 percent of all iPhone users—or around 10 million devices—already connect up to Cydia.

And it's not as if Apple hasn't given Freeman a bit of an edge to carve out his own space in the package management market. According to the company, app developers will be forbidden from offering in-app purchases during the initial incarnation of the company's Mac App Store. That essentially rules out demos-to-paid-versions of apps—though demos, beta versions, and promotional code are also banned from the store at first—which is a fairly common way to go about application sales with Apple's mobile App Store.

The Mac App Store itself is expected to open in late January 2011. If Freeman gets his timing right, he might very well be able to beat Apple at its own App Store game—and, better yet, you won't even have to hack your system just to get Cydia to work this time around.

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Verizon Fixing Two-Minute Connection Delay for LTE Network - PC Magazine

Verizon's LTE network—short for Long Term Evolution—is fast. It's very fast. We've previously reported that you can blow through your entire five-gigabyte monthly allotment of data in about 32 minutes, with download speeds on our own tests maxing out at around 21 Mbps.

Well, perhaps we should have said "34" minutes, because Verizon spokesman Jeffrey Nelson said late last week that those using USB modems on their laptops could experience delays of up to two minutes when switching between 3G coverage and Verizon's LTE network. As well, Business Insider's Matt Rosoff has reported that one sometimes has to physically unplug and reconnect said USB modem in order to switch back to the LTE network.

According to Nelson, a fix for the issue is currently being looked into. As well, the company expects to release USB modem drivers for those running Apple's OSX "relatively soon," he said. Verizon currently sells two different USB modems—a device from Pantech and a device from LG—and it's unclear whether the issue affects both equally or whether one device outperforms the other. Rosoff's issues occurred on the LG version of the modem, for what it's worth.

It currently costs users $250 to pick up either device sans contract. A two-year service agreement discounts either of the two USB modems to approximately $100. However, a user will then be paying—at minimum--$50 per month for Verizon's five-gigabyte data plan. The ten-gigabyte plan jumps up to $80, and both plans come with a $10 per gigabyte penalty for going over the monthly allotment.

On our own roundup of LTE testing around the country, we've noted that the network's download speeds can hover anywhere from five to 12 Mbps, with upload speeds sitting somewhere in the two to five Mbps range.

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Faster Forward: First whispers of the iPad2? - Washington Post

Apple component suppliers gave Reuters a Friday morning scoop on an Apple tablet that could be the next-generation iPad.

Sources from five companies in the Apple supply chain spoke to the news agency's branch in Hong Kong. Three companies -- chip designer Wintek, battery maker Simplo and cover manufacturer AVY Precision -- confirmed they were preparing for the next round of iPads. Two camera companies, Genius Electronic Optical Co Ltd and Largan Precision, confirmed they had started a new supply deal with the Cupertino, Calif.-based, company.

Two of the companies said they were making new parts for the next round of iPad production. The main upgrades? Front and rear-facing cameras and an overall improved device: slimmer, lighter and with better resolution.

Further fanning the iPad2 rumors, Apple Insider reported Thursday that leaked images from two case manufacturers, Shenzhen MacTop Electronics and Kodowarisan, also suggest a rear-facing camera and a spot for an SD card slot.

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Sweden suicide bomber: Taimur Abdulwahab al-Abdaly was living in Britain - Telegraph.co.uk

The suicide bombing follows an attempt by Umar Farouq Abdulmutallab, a former student at University College London, to blow himself up last Christmas on a flight to Detroit.

Abdulmutallab had trained in Yemen, but had become increasingly radical during his time in Britain. The security services and police are concerned that British university campuses have become breeding grounds for extremism. Neighbours told The Daily Telegraph last night that they had last seen Abdulwahab at the 1930s semi-detached house in Luton, Beds, two and a half weeks ago. The couple have two young girls and a baby son. His wife, Mona, a Swedish citizen, is said to run a home beauty company.

Tahir Hussain, 33, a taxi driver who lives nearby, said: “I used to see him around often. He didn’t say much but seemed nice. I used to see him walking with his kids.

“I was shocked when I heard what happened because I never thought he could do such a thing.”

Mr Hussain said that the couple had been living there for a year and that Abdulwahab used to go to Friday prayers at the Islamic Centre in Luton.

The bomber had recently advertised on a Muslim dating site for a second wife, saying he was looking for a “lady 25-30 who lives in UK for marriage”. The site, Muslima.com, said he was born in Baghdad, Iraq, and moved to Sweden in 1992 and then to Britain in 2001 to study for a degree in physical therapy, marrying in 2004.

On his Facebook page, he included a group called Yawm al-Qiyaamah, meaning Day of Judgment, that featured a montage of Tower Bridge in flames.

Reports from Sweden said Abdulwahab was shouting in Arabic and carrying six pipebombs, one of which exploded, along with a rucksack full of nails and explosives.

A paramedic said the bomber had no injuries to the face or body in general but looked as if he had been carrying something that exploded in his stomach. One witness said the bomber had worked as a sandwich board advertiser in the Drottninggatan shopping area.

Carl Bildt, the Swedish foreign minister, said it was “a most worrying attempt at a terrorist attack”, adding that it “failed – but could have been truly catastrophic”. Theresa May, the Home Secretary, said: “The Swedish government have indicated they believe this was a terrorist attack. We will be talking to them about the details of that attack.”

Abdulwahab’s father, Thamer, 61, who lives in Tranås, south of Stockholm, said his son had been at the family home on Friday.

“After he woke up Saturday morning, he took his car and drove off,” he said. “He did not say if he was going to Stockholm or elsewhere.”

An Yemeni Islamist website, Shumukh al-Islam, published a photograph of Abdulwahab in dark glasses, saying: “It is our brother, mujahid Taymour Abdel Wahab, who carried out the martyrdom operation in Stockholm.”

Twelve minutes before the bombing on Saturday, a Swedish news agency received a message with two sound files, one in Swedish and one in Arabic, that was also sent to the Swedish Security Police. The message criticised Swedes’ silence over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed and Swedish soldiers serving in Afghanistan. Abdulwahab said: “Now your children, your daughters and your sisters will die as our brothers, our sisters and our children are dying.”

He also asked his family for forgiveness for misleading them about a trip to the Middle East: “I never went to the Middle East to work or to make money, I went for jihad.” He asked his wife to kiss the children on his behalf. “Tell them Daddy loves them,” he added.

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Geminids Meteor Shower Visible This Week - PC Magazine

The 2010 Geminids meteor shower will make in appearance in the night skies this week, and NASA has said that it will be the best meteor shower of the year.

"The 2010 Geminid meteor shower promises to be lively, with realistic viewing rates of 50-80 meteors per hour and potential peaks reaching 120 meteors per hour," NASA said on the NASA Chats page.

Stargazers can see the meteor anytime between Dec. 12-16, but NASA said the night of Dec. 13-14 should offer the best views.

The Geminid meteor is actually comprised of rocky debris from 3200 Phaethon, an extinct comet that was once thought to be an asteroid. Each year, the earth passes through this stream of Geminids, which causes meteors, or shooting stars to to spit from the Gemini constellation. This phenomenon first appeared quietly in the late 19th century and wasn't expected to be a major event.

To learn more about the meteor, NASA will host a live chat with meteor experts on Monday, Dec. 13 at 3 p.m. Eastern time. For those staying up through the night to watch the shower, NASA astronomer Bill Cooke will be online from 11 p.m. on Dec. 13 to 5 a.m. on Dec. 14 to answer questions and explain what's going on in the heavens.

Also, NASA will provide a live camera feed of the shower on the NASA chats page. So in case of inclement weather, anyone will be able to watch the event online.

Dec. 20 will offer another astronomical event. Beginning that night and ending the following morning will be the only fully lunar eclipse of 2010. People will be able to see this event in North America, South America, Central America, Greenland, and Iceland.

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Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim coming next November, first trailer released - Ars Technica

The 2010 Video Game Awards on Spike TV was filled with awkward celebrity guests, game reveals that were light on actual game play, and few surprises before the show. One game announcement caught everyone flatfooted, however, and that was the reveal of a new Elder Scrolls game.

Called Skyrim, the game was announced by Bethesda Softworks Executive Producer Todd Howard and teased with a short trailer that explained some of the game's story but showed none of the in-game graphics. A tweet from Bethesda's Nick Breckon dispelled the rumor that the game will run on the recently-acquired id Software's technology. "We can now confirm that the TES V: Skyrim engine is all-new," he wrote. "And it looks fantastic."

It won't be long until we get more details, but that's all there is to go on for now. The game's release date? November 11, 2011. That's right, 11-11-11. How many more ones can there be? None. None more ones.

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Obama 'Praying' for Holbrooke's Recovery - ABC News

President Obama is "praying for the recovery" of Richard Holbrooke, Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, who is in critical condition after a surgery to repair a tear in his aorta, according to a statement released Saturday night.

"Richard Holbrooke is a towering figure in American foreign policy, a critical member of my Afghanistan and Pakistan team, and a tireless public servant who has won the admiration of the American people and people around the world," Obama said in the statement.

"We continue to pray for his recovery, and support his family in this difficult time," the president said.

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said doctors completed the surgery Saturday morning, and that he was joined by his family, along with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C.

According to Democratic sources, Holbrooke, Clinton's top aide for the region, gasped and was clearly undergoing a medical situation when he became ill on Friday. He is said to have walked out of her office on his own power and was tended to by medical personnel at the State Department before being transported to the hospital.

Holbrook's hospitalization comes just days before the Obama administration is set to roll out its Afghanistan review this coming Thursday.

Holbrooke was expected to be part of the public presentations. Aides tell ABC News that the review is complete and his absence should not affect its release.

Holbrooke was named to his current post just days after Obama took office in January 2009 and was immediately given the job of overhauling the United States' efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He is known best for his bombastic personality and stamina, having traveled to the region numerous times since taking office.

The veteran diplomat is a former two-time assistant secretary of state, ambassador to Germany, and was a key player in the Dayton Peace accords, which brokered an end to the conflict in Bosnia.

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Fayyad: Peace talks may need stronger US mediation role - CNN International

The Palestinian prime minister wants more details from IsraelLack of a new settlement freeze erodes trust, Fayyad saysDirect peace talks have broken down for now

Washington (CNN) -- The United States may have to expand its role from Middle East peace talks facilitator to become a broker on specific core issues, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Sunday.

Appearing on the ABC program "This Week," Fayyad indicated that progress toward a peace settlement could occur in the short-term despite Israel's refusal to halt construction of new settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

However, Israel must provide specifics about its position on core issues such as what a Palestinian state would entail, the status of Jerusalem and the return of refugees, Fayyad said, adding that the lack of a new settlement freeze erodes trust in the process.

Asked if the United States would need to offer so-called "bridging" proposals on specific issues to try to stimulate negotiations, Fayyad said that "may be necessary."

"It may be unavoidable, actually, for the United States, acting as a broker at some point, to come in with bridging proposals so we make this happen," he said.

The interview, which included Israeli opposition leader and former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, took place two days after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton outlined a direction for the peace process after giving up on trying to persuade Israel to again freeze settlement construction as a condition for the direct talks to resume.

"It is no secret that the parties have a long way to go and that they have not yet made the difficult decisions that peace requires," Clinton told the Brookings Institution's Saban Forum.

As the administration sought a new strategy to save the peace talks, Clinton delivered a tough message that reflected the administration's impatience with both sides.

She warned that the demographic trends resulting from continued Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories are risking Israel's future as a Jewish state, while extremism in the absence of peace is further jeopardizing its security.

"We conclude without a shadow of a doubt that ending this conflict once and for all and achieving a comprehensive regional peace is imperative for safeguarding Israel's future," Clinton said, adding that the conditions Palestinians suffer due to the occupation are "unacceptable" and "unsustainable."

On the ABC program, Livni also said that a peace settlement with the Palestinians is in Israel's interest, adding that she disagreed with Israel's refusal to a temporary settlement freeze requested by the United States.

"I believe that peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians is an Israeli interest; it's not a favor to President (Barack) Obama," Livni said. "And Israel needs to make these kind of decisions in order to live in peace, so, basically, a peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians is an American interest, but it is also an Israeli interest."

Fayyad complained that the lack of a settlement freeze damaged the credibility of the entire process, and he called for Israel to make clear its position on the core issues of the talks.

"I think what really has to be done now is, in order to give the process the kind of credibility that's required, is for us to really know with precision where it is that the government in Israel stands on the fundamental issue of what it is that's meant by an end to Israeli occupation, what is it that's meant by a state of Palestine," Fayyad said.

Clinton said the Obama administration would work with the parties to pursue a framework agreement on the core issues of the conflict: borders and security, settlements, water and refugees, and on Jerusalem, which would pave the way for the resumption of direct talks and a final peace deal.

Starting with borders, Clinton said the parties must "agree to a single line drawn on a map which divides Israel from Palestine" in a way that offers Palestinians an end to the occupation but protects Israel's security.

While acknowledging the fate of Palestinian refugees was a "difficult and emotional issue," Clinton said, "there must be a just and permanent solution that meets the needs of both sides."

Although the United States abandoned efforts to secure a settlement freeze during the negotiation, Clinton said the issue of settlements must be dealt with in a final peace deal.

"We do not accept the legitimacy of continued settlement activity. We believe their continued expansion is corrosive not only to peace efforts and the two-state solution, but to Israel's future itself," she said.

"There surely will be no peace" without agreement on Jerusalem, the thorniest of all the final status issues because of its religious significance to Muslims, Christians and Jews, she said.

"The parties should mutually agree on an outcome that realizes the aspirations of both parties for Jerusalem and safeguards its status for people around the world," Clinton said.

She praised state-building efforts by the Palestinians and improvements in security, but acknowledged, "for all the progress on the ground and all that the Palestinian Authority has accomplished, a stubborn truth remains: While economic and institutional progress is important, indeed necessary, it is not a substitute for a political resolution."

Before her remarks, Clinton held talks with senior officials from both sides, including Fayyad and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak. She also met with lead Israeli and Palestinian negotiators and the U.N. special envoy for the region. The Obama administration's special Mideast peace envoy will travel to the region this week.

But Clinton put the onus squarely on the leaders themselves to understand each other's perspective, prepare their own publics for the difficult compromises that will need to be made and stop demonizing the other side.

"To demonstrate their commitment to peace, Israeli and Palestinian leaders should stop trying to assign blame for the next failure and focus instead on what they need to do to make these efforts succeed," she said.

Similarly, she warned against "unilateral actions" to prejudge the outcome, such as Israeli announcements about building in East Jerusalem and Palestinian threats to seek independence at the United Nations.

CNN's Jill Dougherty, Elise Labott and Tom Cohen contributed to this report.

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