Zimmerman sues NBC, alleging defamation

MIAMI (Reuters) - A Florida man sued NBC on Thursday, saying the network intentionally edited and repeatedly aired a non-emergency phone call he made to police before shooting and killing unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin "to create the myth" that he was a racist.

Attorneys for George Zimmerman, who maintains he shot Martin in self-defense in February during a struggle, said the lawsuit seeking an undisclosed amount in damages was filed in the same central Florida court where he will stand trial in June for murder.

"NBC saw the death of Trayvon Martin not as a tragedy but as an opportunity to increase ratings, so it set about to create the myth that George Zimmerman was a racist and predatory villain," the defamation lawsuit says.

"NBC created this false and defamatory misimpression using the oldest form of yellow journalism: manipulating Zimmerman's owns words, splicing together disparate parts of the (police) recording to create the illusion of statements that Zimmerman never actually made."

But NBC denied any wrongdoing in a statement issued late on Thursday.

"We strongly disagree with accusations made in the complaint. There was no intent to portray Mr. Zimmerman unfairly. We intend to vigorously defend our position in court," the statement said.

The edit in question, which aired on the network's flagship "Today" morning show in April, made it appear that Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, told police that Martin was black without being asked.

In fact, the full tape reveals that Zimmerman only did so when responding to a question posed by a dispatcher.

NBC News president Steve Capus told Reuters in April that the edit was a "mistake, not deliberate" misrepresentation.

Capus said at the time that a producer made the editing error, and that the network's editorial controls - including senior broadcast producer oversight, script editors and often legal and standards department reviews of sensitive material to be broadcast - simply missed the selective editing of the phone call.

The network apologized to its viewers in a statement, and two NBC news staffers named as defendants in the lawsuit were fired.

But the complaint says the network never apologized to Zimmerman "for deliberately portraying him as a hostile racist who targeted Martin due to his race."

The misleading audio edit of the call led to significant pressure on the network from critics who claimed it had exacerbated already inflamed racial tension surrounding the case.

"You cannot look at the way that tape was crafted and aired, and not believe that there was intent there," Zimmerman's lawyer Mark O'Mara said on Thursday.

"I think what they were trying to do was beat everyone to the punch in calling him (Zimmerman) a racist," O'Mara said.

"In today's media environment you have to act immediately, and you have to act sensationally if you're going to get attention," he added.

NBC News is part of NBC Universal Media, a unit of Comcast Corp.

(Reporting By Chris Francescani and Tom Brown; Editing by Tom Brown and Philip Barbara)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/trayvon-martins-killer-sues-nbc-over-racist-myth-004028150.html

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US set to extend waivers on Iran oil sanctions

The Obama administration is set to extend waivers of U.S. sanctions it has granted to major Asian petroleum consumers, including China, India and South Korea, for reducing their imports of Iranian oil.

Two U.S. officials say an announcement of the six-month extensions is expected from the State Department on Friday.

Source: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Dec-06/197518-us-set-to-extend-waivers-on-iran-oil-sanctions.ashx

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Property tax unveiled for Irish homeowners as Michael Noonan ...

Finance minister says Ireland is emerging from worst of the financial crisis

By

IrishCentral Staff Writer

Published Thursday, December 6, 2012, 8:12 AM

Updated Thursday, December 6, 2012, 10:27 AM

Finance Minister Michael Noonan unveils the budget

Photo by Google Images

Wednesday marked the unveiling for the Budget 2013 in Ireland by Finance Minister Michael Noonan. A number of new measures were outlined in the new financial plan for the coming years.

The Irish Times reports on the most notable measures that were shared at the Dail on Wednesday.

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan outlined taxation measures which are expected to generate ?1.25 billion, and Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin outlined expenditure cuts of ?2.25 billion. Together, the measures aim to achieve an adjustment of ?3.5 billion next year.

Minister Noonan, who was delivering his sixth austerity budget in five years, said Ireland was emerging from the worst of the financial crisis and that the efforts of the Irish people had helped in leading the State successfully through the bailout program. He said 160 conditions of the bailout had been fulfilled, and that 80 percent of funds available had now been drawn down.

Noonan described the the day of the Budget delivery as ?a good day for taking stock of where we are.? He added that the State now had the basis of a renewed economy that will lead to greater employment.

Included in the Budget are a property tax, reduced child benefit payments, increased excise duties on cigarettes and alcohol, hikes to the student contribution charge and changes to the PRSI system.

Noonan explained that the property tax is to be levied at a rate of 0.18 per cent on properties worth up to ?1 million and 0.25 per cent on properties valued at more than that.

Excise duty is to increase by 10 cent on pints of beer and cider and measures of spirits, and by ?1 on a 750ml bottle of wine from midnight. The price of a pack of cigarettes is to go up by 10 cent from midnight and the price of a 50g pouch of tobacco is to rise by 50 cent.

Minister Howlin said the Government had decided that reducing the primary weekly rates of social welfare would have a detrimental impact on domestic demand. However, he said child benefit will decrease by ?10 per month, saving ?136 million.

Jobseekers benefit also took a hit - it will now only be available for nine months, rather than 12 months.

Howlin detailed how changes to the telephone element of the household benefits package would save ?60 million, and the electricity allowance would save ?20 million. Prescription charges for medical card holders are being tripled from ?0.50 to ?1.50.

Students will be digging deeper over the next few years as the ?2,250 third level student contribution charge is to increase by ?250 in each of the next three years.

Noonan announced the end of the weekly PRSI allowance for workers. The annual contribution from the self-employed will raise from ?253 to ?500. Income tax rates have been left unchanged.

A three-year corporation tax relief for start-up companies, a rebate on fuel for hauliers from next July and the development of a range of support funds by the National Pension Reserve Fund to provide equity, financing and restructuring options are measures being used to help support a new, healthier economy.

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Source: http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Property-tax-unveiled-for-Irish-homeowners-as-Michael-Noonan-reveals-Budget-2013-182352191.html

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Proponents seek end to ban on abortion coverage

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Proponents of ending the ban on women in the military using their health insurance to pay for abortions in cases of rape and incest stepped up the political pressure on Wednesday, insisting that this year's defense bill be used to finally lift the prohibition.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., chief sponsor of a provision in Senate legislation, and two retired Army officers described the current law preventing insurance coverage as morally and economically unfair to the more than 214,000 women serving in the U.S. military. They promised to lobby the chief House and Senate negotiators to end the ban.

The Senate passed its version of the defense bill on Tuesday and now must reconcile it with the House measure, which does not include the abortion provision. Three of the four top negotiators ? Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash. ? favor lifting the ban.

On the eve of negotiations, a bipartisan group of eight senators and House members sent a letter to Levin, McCain, Smith and House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif., urging them to lift the ban.

"The Department of Defense is making great strides to provide additional opportunities to women. However, repealing this inequitable restriction on female service members' health care can only be accomplished by congressional action," the lawmakers wrote.

Among those signing the letter were Shaheen, Sens. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., Scott Brown, R-Mass., and Rep. Chris Gibson, R-N.Y., all members of the Armed Services panels.

In 2005, facing conservative pressure, negotiators dropped the provision. Shaheen said it won't happen this time.

"We are watching. The women in the military are watching. Women across this country are watching," she told reporters at a Capitol Hill news conference. "This is a matter of equity, it's a matter of doing the right thing for the women who are serving in our military."

Lawmakers will have to decide the issue after a fierce election-year debate about women's rights and abortion.

Current law allows the Defense Department to provide insurance coverage for abortions only in cases in which the life of the mother is endangered. In May, the Senate Armed Services Committee voted 16-10 for Shaheen's amendment to the bill expanding the coverage to cases of rape and incest.

"It is an indefensible law," said retired Maj. Gen. Gale Pollock, who served in the Army for 36 years and was acting surgeon general for the service in 2007.

Shaheen pointed out that federal employees can receive insurance coverage for abortion in cases of rape and incest and even women who are incarcerated get coverage in cases of rape. The issue also is costly as enlisted women with less than two years of service make about $17,892 a year.

Retired Maj. Gen. Dennis Laich said the current law betrays the trust between the American people and those who serve "by providing our servicewomen with second-class health coverage."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/proponents-seek-end-ban-abortion-coverage-194347725.html

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'Brings the group to another level'

I was among a small group of journalists who had breakfast late last week with Jurgen Klinsmann, the U.S. national team coach whose methods and player selection tendencies can sometimes lean to the less conventional. The results so far have been mostly favorable, even if the aesthetic hasn?t always risen to expectation.

Over the next week or so, we will extract one element of the extremely informative conversation, where Klinsmann expanded candidly on subjects ranging from Jozy Altidore to evolving player roles to Jermaine Jones to future matches and all points in between.

Today?s topic: Jermaine Jones

I have written these words before: ?What Jurgen Klinsmann continues to see in Jermaine Jones, only he can say.?

Well now Klinsmann has said. And his explanation makes pretty good sense.

Where we see the imprecise passes and a combustible type who is a yellow card waiting to happen, Klinsmann sees the cumulative effect of a midfield cop on the beat ? the guy you want on your side when the you-know-what comes down.

Said Klinsmann: ?I know that a lot of people here look differently at Jermaine Jones ? but his presence is a big plus for us ?. It?s just a different type of player than you are used to seeing here in the U.S., that?s why some people struggle to kind of evaluate Jermaine Jones. Which is fine. That?s no problem.?

The bottom line on Jones, the hard-tackling central midfielder from Germany?s FC Schalke 04, is that whatever technical deficiencies drag down his game, Jones makes up in presence, infectious professional approach, chemistry and a certain intimidation factor the team misses otherwise.

?If it looks nice, or not, it doesn?t really matter,? Klinsmann said. ?Job accomplished.?

Klinsmann, like many coaches, is big on establishing a positive group dynamic ? not one bit surprising considering that Klinsmann is such a positive fellow. ?He knows that any group ? your peers at work or your Wednesday poker game or whatever ? has leaders and followers and a certain collective psychology.

Everything Jones does, from his attitude at the team hotel (?He?s comes here with a big smile, and he?s ready to work. ?What is this [camp] about? Who are we taking on?? That?s what you want.?) to the practice field to the comprehensive game-day process, Jones is a man?s man with weapons grade gravitas. Think of him as the muscled up dude you want around while walking a sketchy neighborhood; there?s a feeling that all is OK with this back alley brawler in tow.

Jones comes from a bad neighborhood, Klinsmann mentions, and he is always ready for the proverbial fight, whether that be an actual donnybrook, a fight for his starting position or a fight to keep the intensity in the red the zone in practice sessions.

Said Klinsmann: ?He brings the group to another level ? and he?s proud of that!?

As for game days, I see what everyone else sees: a central midfielder sometimes careless with the ball, whose sometimes-labored passing can stall the attack. Klinsmann sees that too, and they continually work the system to protect against or improve the deficient areas. (Tactically, Jones gets more freedom to take chances at Schalke. So that?s always an adjustment, Klinsmann concedes.)

But it?s the intangible that Klinsmann truly appreciates:

?He is one of those players that no opponent would like to deal with. There are payers who, when you see them on the field, the opponent struggles with. It?s like, ?Shoot, this guy again?? Just his presence. His hunger. [Opponents may say] ?Shoot! Do I need that today?? ?

Klinsmann mentioned the historic summer win over Mexico in Azteca, how the Mexicans? approach seems different with Jones is around. They know where Jones is ?and they aren?t in a hurry to get there.

?It?s his willingness not to let go. He is always ready for the grind. He grinds you until the 95^th minute. That?s something, this mental presence that exists on the field, it?s not necessarily what you see when from the stands, when you see passes completed, duels won and all that ? this is what you see in terms of chemistry, in terms of grinding on the field, and it?s only something the players sense.?

Klinsmann says opponents may step back two yards when Jones is around, and that it has a dual effect. Opposition teammates notice and may hesitate similarly, primitive, subconscious traces of self-preservation at work. Meanwhile, U.S. men feed off this razor-wire intensity and sharpen their own approach.

So there you have it. It?s OK if you do not agree with Klinsmann?s rationale here ? but it is nice to hear how the contentious ?Jones Variable? fits into the bigger equation in the coach?s mind.

TOMORROW: Klinsmann?s coming talks with Landon Donovan

Source: http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/04/breakfast-with-united-states-coach-jurgen-klinsmann-todays-topic-jermaine-jones/related/

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Yahoo buys more mobile expertise in latest deal

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Yahoo has bought another Silicon Valley mobile startup as CEO Marissa Mayer tries to create more compelling products for smartphones and tablet computers.

Tuesday's acquisition of OnTheAir follows Yahoo's recent purchase of mobile startup called Stamped. In both cases, Yahoo was drawn more by the engineering talent working at the startups than the services that they have been offering.

Yahoo Inc., which is based in Sunnyvale, Calif., didn't disclose how much it paid for OnTheAir, which is based in San Francisco.

The service enables users to hold online video chats in a talk-show format. Yahoo didn't say whether it intends to continue OnTheAir's service.

Yahoo is in the process of closing Stamped's service just six weeks after announcing that deal.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2012-12-04-Yahoo%20Acquisition/id-dab35b4aecdd4a92b6bf02f7dcdd5ea9

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