Occupy movement stays peaceful in cash-poor Vegas (AP)

LAS VEGAS ? There are no police in riot gear here, no bulldozers leveling encampments.

In a city that celebrates behaving badly, Occupy Las Vegas protesters are touting civil obedience and government cooperation as anti-Wall Street efforts elsewhere have turned to violence and police confrontations.

Las Vegas demonstrators have sought approval from government leaders and police before protesting or setting up a camp site. They called off a protest during President Barack Obama's visit to Las Vegas last month because police asked them to do so. And they have created a system of protest rules that ban, among other things, law-breaking and hate signs.

The good behavior in Las Vegas and other Occupy efforts across Nevada is even more noteworthy because Nevadans may have the most cause to rage against the machine. The state tops the nation in foreclosures and unemployment and entire neighborhoods have been overtaken by vacant homes and storefronts.

But while protesters in other cities riot and rage, the Vegas group is hosting a series of free foreclosure mediation workshops for homeowners who are underwater on their mortgages.

Organizers insist their anti-greed message has a better chance of spreading if they aren't labeled violent anarchists.

"It's a combination of respect for the police and the general public, and it's a safety issue as well," said Jim Walsh, an unemployed truck driver volunteering as Occupy Las Vegas' self-appointed chief of security. "As a group we had voted that we were going to do this with non-violence and so far, not one person in our group has been arrested or sent to the hospital."

The peaceful spirit stands in stark contrast with the protests unfolding in other cities, notably in New York, where police arrested 200 protesters before dawn Tuesday and demolished the tent city that had anchored the movement. Police have also arrested protesters or shuttered camp sites in recent weeks in Ohio, Oklahoma, Utah, Oregon, Texas, Florida and California. In Dallas, an occupy campsite has been plagued by reports of chaos, including the alleged sexual assault of a child. In Oakland, a man was shot and killed near the encampment at the City Hall plaza. Police in Burlington, Vt., evicted protesters after a man fatally shot himself last week inside a tent.

To avoid similar showdowns or violent outbreaks in Las Vegas, protesters have met weekly with police. They forwarded their plans to police for review, and then tweaked their efforts when police suggested changes. One weekend, police asked if the occupiers could cancel a proposed protest on the Las Vegas Strip because city officials were expecting a large number of visitors. In a rare act of defiance, protesters went forward with the protest anyway ? sort of. They moved it to Fremont Street, a smaller tourist haven in downtown Las Vegas.

"It's the mentality of that group that, `we can make a point without being arrested,'" said Lt. Jason Letkiewicz, the staff liaison between the protesters and the Las Vegas police department. "They don't want to be known as thugs."

It's not that Nevadans are incapable of mustering some old fashioned civil disobedience. They just don't want to be arrested or attacked by police.

"Some people have said, `why are we being so friendly to the police?'" said Robert Paulson, 21, a comedian who has lived at the Las Vegas camp for three weeks. "And it's like, it's cool. We got to do everything we want to do and we didn't get beat."

Fear that an ugly protest could further hurt Nevada's wounded economy has also restrained protesters.

"We don't want to chase tourists away from our city because that's where a lot of people's jobs come from," said David Peter, a union worker active in the Las Vegas movement.

Occupy Las Vegas was one of dozens of copycat movements created last month after protesters began gathering near Wall Street in downtown New York City to protest corporate greed, economic inequality and government corruption.

The first gathering drew hundreds of protesters to the Las Vegas Strip in October, as police officers on horses watched cautiously. Some protesters wore goggles and gas masks, expecting tear gas and police dressed in riot gear. But there were no arrests or fits of violence that night, and a group of self-appointed organizers quickly decided that they would only express themselves by peaceful demonstration at subsequent events.

"We are definitely trying to take an organized and non-violent approach to all of our actions," said organizer Kristal Glass. "I don't want to say that non-violent civil disobedience is not going to happen in this group, but if it happens it will be done in a manner where it is not disruptive to the community as a whole."

When county officials balked at protesters who wanted to occupy city parks, Glass signed a lease with the county allowing the movement to occupy an empty lot on a secluded street near the airport for 30 days. The contract required protesters to maintain clean portable bathrooms, obtain insurance and prohibit littering.

"This group has been unlike the others in lot of the other cities where there have been health and safety issues and violence," said Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak. "They have kept their word in terms of being accommodating, no one causing any trouble."

The Occupy Reno movement has received similar praise from city staff and law enforcement officials for obtaining a permit before setting up camp at a public park miles from the main downtown casino strip.

"There's a small group interested in the actual occupation," said organizer Steve Metcalf of Reno. "I think a much larger group is interested in talking about policies and the community and community service."

In Carson City, roughly 70 protesters opted against gathering on the lawn of the state Capitol after they were told that would require a costly insurance policy.

"We decided to hold off on that for now and just use the public sidewalks," said organizer Janette Dean. "For the size of our group, that seems to be plenty of space."

But it's unclear whether the peace pushers will be able to tame the more aggressive voices within the movement forever. A local militant group tried last week to convince the protesters in Las Vegas to arm themselves. Others have simply urged organizers to take a more forceful stand and stop being so darn nice.

Roussan Collins, 38, a homeless former math teacher, said the Las Vegas protesters have been too willing to concede to the police department's suggestions.

"They are not `Occupy' officially to me," said Collins, who had been living at the Las Vegas camp for three days. "I want them to take back the land, not lease it."

___

Associated Press writers Sandra Chereb in Carson City and Scott Sonner in Reno contributed to this report.

___

Cristina Silva can be reached at http://twitter.com/cristymsilva.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111116/ap_on_re_us/us_occupy_peaceful_vegas

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Did Michael Bublé Call Kim Kardashian the B-Word in Concert? (omg!)

Michael Buble, Kim Kardashian | Photo Credits: Ben Pruchnie/FilmMagic.com, Rob Kim/FilmMagic.com

Kim Kardashian does not have a fan in singer Michael Bubl?.

During a recent concert in New York, Bubl? joked with his audience that the reality star was his special guest, according to the New York Post. ?"Please welcome Kim Kardashian," he said. "Nah, just [bleeping] with you! That b----- isn't coming on my stage."

Kim Kardashian will not reconcile with Kris Humphries

Bubl? then reportedly went on to perform Nina Simone's song "Feeling Good," dedicating it to Kardashian's ex, Kris Humphries.

What do you think of the singer's comments about Kim?

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_did_michael_bubl_call_kim_kardashian_b_word151100174/43596854/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/did-michael-bubl-call-kim-kardashian-b-word-151100174.html

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Syria faces growing world pressure to halt bloodshed (Reuters)

BEIRUT (Reuters) ? Syria incurred more European sanctions and criticism from Turkey and Jordan on Monday after a surprise Arab League decision to suspend it for failing to halt months of violence aimed at crushing opposition to President Bashar al-Assad.

Syria looks ever more isolated, but still has the support of Russia, which said the Arab League had made the wrong move and accused the West of inciting Assad's opponents.

Despite the diplomatic pressure, there was no let-up in violence and at least two people were killed, activists said.

The anti-Assad unrest, inspired by Arab revolts elsewhere, has devastated Syria's economy, scaring off tourists and investors, while Western sanctions have crippled oil exports.

Jordan's King Abdullah said Assad should quit. "I believe, if I were in his shoes, I would step down," he told the BBC.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moualem said the League's decision, due to take effect on Wednesday, was "an extremely dangerous step" at a time when Damascus was implementing an Arab deal to end violence and start talks with the opposition.

Syria has called for an emergency Arab League summit in an apparent effort to forestall its suspension.

The Cairo-based League plans to meet Syrian dissident groups on Tuesday, but its secretary-general, Nabil Elaraby, said on Sunday it was too soon to consider recognizing the Syrian opposition as the country's legitimate authority.

Elaraby met representatives of Arab civil society groups on Monday and agreed to send a 500-strong fact-finding committee, including military personnel, to Syria as part of efforts to end the crackdown on demonstrators and dissenters.

"Syria agreed to receive the committee," said Ibrahim al-Zafarani, of the Arab Medical Union.

Moualem said Syria had withdrawn troops from urban areas, released prisoners and offered an amnesty to armed insurgents under an initiative agreed with the Arab League two weeks ago.

Yet violence has intensified since then, especially in the central city of Homs, pushing the death toll in eight months of protests to more than 3,500 by a U.N. count. Damascus says armed "terrorist" gangs have killed 1,100 soldiers and police.

Syria's ban on most foreign media makes it hard to verify events on the ground.

SHOOTING, TANK FIRE

In the latest violence, security police shot dead activist Amin Abdo al-Ghothani in front of his nine-year-old son at a roadblock outside the town of Inkhil, a grassroots organization known as the Local Coordination Committees said.

In Homs, residents said renewed tank shelling killed a teenager and wounded eight people in the restive Bab Amro district. Students in the Damascus suburb of Erbin chanted "God is greater than the oppressor," according to a YouTube video.

Moualem described Washington's support for the Arab League action as "incitement," but voiced confidence that Russia and China would continue to block Western efforts to secure U.N. Security Council action, let alone any foreign intervention.

"The Libya scenario will not be repeated," he said.

It was the Arab League's decision to suspend Libya and call for a no-fly zone that helped persuade the U.N. Security Council to authorize a NATO air campaign to protect civilians, which also aided rebels who ousted and killed Muammar Gaddafi.

The Arab League made no call for military action, but its disciplining of Syria is deeply embarrassing to a nation touted by its Baathist leaders as the Arab world's "beating heart."

Syrian state television said millions of Syrians protested at the League decision in Damascus and other cities on Sunday.

Crowds also attacked Saudi, Turkish and French diplomatic missions in Syria after the Arab League announcement.

Moualem apologized for the assaults, which have worsened already tense ties between Syria and its former friend Turkey.

"We will take the most resolute stance against these attacks and we will stand by the Syrian people's rightful struggle," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told the Turkish parliament, saying Damascus could no longer be trusted.

Non-Arab Turkey, after long courting Assad, has lost patience with its neighbor. It now hosts the main Syrian opposition and has given refuge to defecting Syrian soldiers.

Turkey's stance has stung its former friends in Damascus.

"The implementation of the Arab plan must be accompanied by the securing of borders by neighboring countries," Moualem Said. "I mean here specifically the flow of weapons from Turkey and the transfer of money to the leaders of armed groups."

EU SANCTIONS

The European Union extended penalties to 18 more Syrians linked with the crackdown on dissent and approved plans to stop Syria accessing funds from the European Investment Bank.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said she was in touch with the Arab League to work on an approach to Syria, but the 27-nation body appears set against military intervention.

"This is a different situation from Libya," British Foreign Secretary William Hague said in Brussels, where EU foreign ministers were meeting. "There is no United Nations Security Council resolution and Syria is a much more complex situation."

Syria, which borders Israel, is Iran's main Arab ally and has strong ties with Shi'ite Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon and the Islamist Hamas movement that rules the Gaza Strip.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, whose country joined China to block a U.N. resolution critical of Syria in October, criticized the Arab League's decision.

Russia, an arms supplier to the Syrians, has urged Assad to implement reforms but opposes sanctions and has accused the United States and France of discouraging dialogue in Syria.

"There has been and continues to be incitement of radical opponents (of Assad) to take a firm course for regime change and reject any invitations to dialogue," Lavrov said.

The Arab League also plans to impose unspecified economic and political sanctions on Syria and has urged its members to recall their ambassadors from Damascus.

Assad still has some support at home, especially from his own minority Alawite sect and Christians, wary of sectarian conflict or Sunni Muslim domination if he were to be toppled.

Despite some defections, the Syrian military has not emulated its counterparts in Egypt and Tunisia in abandoning long-serving presidents faced with popular discontent.

The government has acknowledged that sanctions are hurting, but it is not clear whether this will force any policy change.

Chris Phillips of the Economist Intelligence Unit in London said Syria's economy was "slowly bleeding to death."

(Additional reporting by Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman, Steve Gutterman in Moscow, Tulay Karadeniz in Ankara, Dominic Evans in Beirut, Ayman Samir in Cairo and Justyna Pawlak in Brussels; Writing by Alistair Lyon; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111114/wl_nm/us_syria

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These Keychain Multi-Tools Prove That Nothing Is Cooler Than Milled Titanium [Desired]

I couldn't tell you why, but CNC-milled titanium seems to invoke the same testosterone pumping response as watching a grizzly bear fight a bald eagle. So whatever the reason is, I get the same feeling from the Prybar and Barbar titanium keychain-tools from Anso Knives. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/i2A5k2gM0sE/

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Exclusive: Lenovo to release a 10.1-inch Ice Cream Sandwich tablet with Tegra 3 by year's end

You wouldn't think a giant like Lenovo would stop at just three (or four) Android tablets now, would you? In fact, a little birdie has informed us that said Chinese company will release a new 10.1-inch tablet by the end of the year, and unsurprisingly, Ice Cream Sandwich along with NVIDIA's Tegra 3 T33 are on the menu. Other features include 2GB of speedy 1,600MHz DDR3 RAM, a standard USB host socket (covered by a not-so-elegant pop-out flap), a back-facing camera of unknown resolution, a "Special Fusion-Skin Body" and, most interestingly, a fingerprint scanner that apparently doubles as an optical joystick on the seemingly flat backside -- only time will tell whether this layout makes sense. Our source hasn't spilled any info on the dimensions and weight, but judging by the photos in our gallery, this 1.6GHz quad-core slate should be significantly thinner than the IdeaPad K1 or LePad sitting underneath. As always, you'll hear from us as soon as we find out more.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Exclusive: Lenovo to release a 10.1-inch Ice Cream Sandwich tablet with Tegra 3 by year's end originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Nov 2011 07:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/14/exclusive-lenovo-to-release-a-10-1-inch-ice-cream-sandwich-tabl/

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$100 Kobo Touch with Offers ships in '2-3 weeks,' serves you ads between reads for a one-time discount

Well, would ya look at this? Apparently, Kobo's unceremoniously launched a new variant of the Touch eReader on its webstore -- this time "with offers," priced at $99.99 (down from the regular's $130). According the company, this six-incher is identical to its original Kobo Touch, but will display advertisements when you're not reading -- namely, while it's off, in sleep mode and across other "discreet" areas when it's on. Notably, the device is only available in the US in black and currently unavailable for pre-order, although Kobo's listed it as "shipping within two to three weeks." There's no word on what sorts of "sponsored content" you can expect to see, but we'd bet that Amazon-related items won't be on the table. Ad-tolerating eBook aficionados will find all the details at the source link below.

$100 Kobo Touch with Offers ships in '2-3 weeks,' serves you ads between reads for a one-time discount originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Nov 2011 16:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Digital Reader, The eBook Reader  |  sourceKobo  | Email this | Comments


Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/K0luXGOIujM/

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10 Classy Covers for Your iPad [PICS] (Mashable)

We know you love your iPad, therefore, treat it to some sleek accessories. In the past we brought you some cool cases and desirable decals. This time around we've selected 10 covers that protect the back of your iPad, whether you prefer metal, wood, leather, carbon fiber or even denim.

[More from Mashable: 10 Social Ways to Find and Send Gifts Online]

Take a look through the gallery. Let us know in the comments about any other cool covers you've seen.

[More from Mashable: How One Company Saved Thousands of Dogs Using Social Media]

This story originally published on Mashable here.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/applecomputer/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/mashable/20111113/tc_mashable/10_classy_covers_for_your_ipad_pics

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End of an era: Italy's Berlusconi resigns

People celebrate outside the Quirinale Presidential Palace after news spread of Premier Silvio Berlusconi resignations during a meeting with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, in Rome, Saturday, November 12, 2011. Berlusconi resigned after the Parliament's lower chamber passed European-demanded reforms, ending a 17-year political era and setting in motion a transition aimed at bringing Italy back from the brink of economic crisis. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

People celebrate outside the Quirinale Presidential Palace after news spread of Premier Silvio Berlusconi resignations during a meeting with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, in Rome, Saturday, November 12, 2011. Berlusconi resigned after the Parliament's lower chamber passed European-demanded reforms, ending a 17-year political era and setting in motion a transition aimed at bringing Italy back from the brink of economic crisis. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, center, arrives in his car at the Quirinale Presidential Palace to meet Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, in Rome, Saturday, November 12, 2011. Berlusconi is expected to resign after the Parliament's lower chamber passed European-demanded reforms aimed to to steer the country out of its debt, ending a 17-year political era and setting in motion a transition aimed at bringing Italy back from the brink of economic crisis. (AP Photo/Angelo Carconi)

A man, waiting for the end of a Parliament session outside of the Lower Chamber, shows a mock magazine cover displaying resigning Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, in Rome, Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011. Premier Silvio Berlusconi is expected to resign Saturday after the Parliament's lower chamber passed a panel of austerity reforms, ending a 17-year political era and setting in motion a transition aimed at bringing Italy back from the brink of economic crisis. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi arrives at the Lower Chamber in Rome, Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011. Premier Silvio Berlusconi is expected to resign Saturday after the Parliament's lower chamber passed a panel of austerity reforms, ending a 17-year political era and setting in motion a transition aimed at bringing Italy back from the brink of economic crisis. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, left, waives to his supporters outside his residence in Rome, Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011. Premier Silvio Berlusconi is expected to resign Saturday after the Parliament's lower chamber passed a panel of austerity reforms, ending a 17-year political era and setting in motion a transition aimed at bringing Italy back from the brink of economic crisis. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

(AP) ? A chorus of Handel's "Alleluia" rang out Saturday as Silvio Berlusconi resigned as Italian premier, ending a tumultuous 17-year political era and setting in motion a transition aimed at bringing the country back from the brink of economic crisis.

Berlusconi stepped down amid jeers, cheers and heckles of "Buffoon" from thousands of people who packed downtown Rome to witness his government's downfall after a stunning week of market turmoil that upended his defiant hold on power and threatened to tear apart the eurozone.

Respected former European commissioner Mario Monti remained the top choice to try to steer the country out of its debt woes as the head of a transitional government. But the job is Herculean, given the enormity of reforms required and Italy's often-paralyzed parliament.

President Giorgio Napolitano will hold consultations Sunday morning with each of Italy's main political forces before proceeding with the expected request that Monti try to form a new government.

Napolitano has scheduled back-to-back, 10-minute meetings all morning, indicating the talks won't drag on and that by the open of markets Monday, Italy may well have charted a new political course.

Late Saturday, Berlusconi's party said it would support Monti, albeit with conditions.

In front of Napolitano's office, where Berlusconi handed in his resignation late Saturday, protesters uncorked sparkling wine and danced in a conga line, shouting "We're free!" Several dozen singers and classical musicians ? complete with music stands and chairs ? performed Handel's "Alleluia" to rejoice in the end of Berlusconi's scandal-marred reign and welcome Monti into office.

"I think he (Monti) is going to bring trust back to Italian people who are losing it, are a bit fed up with what's going on and have lost the trust and the respect" they had for Berlusconi, said Sophie Duffort of France, who was in the piazza Saturday night.

Berlusconi supporters were also out in force, some singing the national anthem, but they were vastly outnumbered.

His resignation was set in motion after the Chamber of Deputies approved economic reforms demanded by the European Union which include increasing the retirement age starting in 2026 but do nothing to open up Italy's inflexible labor market.

The Senate approved the legislation a day earlier and Napolitano signed it into law Saturday afternoon, paving the way for Berlusconi to leave office as he promised to do after losing his parliamentary majority earlier in the week.

Berlusconi stood as lawmakers applauded him in the parliament chamber immediately after the vote. But outside his office and in front of government palazzos across town, thousands of curiosity-seekers massing to witness his government's final hours heckled him and his ministers.

"Shame!" and "Get Out!" they yelled, many toting "Bye Bye Silvio Party" posters as they marched through downtown Rome in a festive indication that for many Italians, like financial markets, the time had come for Berlusconi to go.

It was an ignoble end for the 75-year-old billionaire media mogul, who came to power for the first time in 1994 using a soccer chant "Let's Go Italy" as the name of his political party and selling Italians on a dream of prosperity with his own personal story of transformation from cruise-ship crooner to Italy's richest man.

While he became Italy's longest-serving post-war premier, Berlusconi's three stints as premier were tainted by corruption trials and accusations that he used his political power to help his business interests.

His last term was marred by sex scandals, "bunga bunga" parties and criminal charges he paid a 17-year-old girl to have sex ? accusations he denies.

In the end, his downfall came swiftly: Just last week Berlusconi boldly told a G-20 summit in Cannes, France, he was the only one who could steer Italy out of its economic morass. A week of battering on the markets and the defection of several party members later, his fate was sealed.

Italy is under intense pressure to quickly put in place a new and effective government to replace him, one that can push through even more painful reforms and austerity measures to deal with its staggering debts, which stand at euro1.9 trillion ($2.6 trillion), or a huge 120 percent of economic output. Italy has to roll over a little more than euro300 billion ($410 billion) of its debts next year alone.

Markets battered Italy this past week amid uncertainty that Berlusconi would really leave and questions over whether Italy's divided parliament could rally around a replacement. But Italy's borrowing rates pulled back after Napolitano made clear he intended to tap the politically neutral economist Monti to try to head an interim government to push the reforms through.

The yield on benchmark Italian 10-year bonds fell to 6.48 percent Friday, safely below the crisis level of 7 percent reached earlier this week.

Greece, Ireland and Portugal all required international bailouts after their own borrowing rates passed 7 percent. The Italian economy would not be so easy to save. It totals $2 trillion, twice as much as the other three countries combined.

An Italian default could tear apart the coalition of 17 countries that use the euro as a common currency and deal a strong blow to the economies of Europe and the U.S., both trying to avoid recessions.

The head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, said Saturday that Italy's political transition over the next few days should send a "clear sign of clarification and of credibility" that the country is now on the right path to get its finances back in order.

Speaking to reporters in Tokyo, Lagarde had high praise for Monti, saying she had great esteem for the "quality" economist with whom she had long enjoyed a "extremely warm" and effective relationship.

The IMF has a key role to play over the next few months in overseeing Italy's efforts to pull itself back from a Greek-style economic disaster, monitoring how it implements reforms to rein in debt and spur growth, which is projected at a scant 0.6 percent this year and 0.3 percent next year.

Amid market turmoil last week, Berlusconi was forced to ask for IMF monitoring of Italy's finances, a humiliating prospect for the eurozone's third-largest economy and an embarrassment for the long-defiant Berlusconi.

By Saturday, he was resigned to reality and held a working lunch with Monti in a clear sign the political transition was already under way, news reports said.

While the euroskeptic Northern League remained opposed to Monti's nomination, some lawmakers suggested they could support a Monti-led government for a few months to enact the additional EU-demanded reforms before elections are held in early 2012.

In a statement issued late Saturday, Berlusconi's Peoples of Liberty party said its members would support Monti, but added that they would also ensure that Monti's Cabinet, legislative agenda and the timeframe of his government meets their requirements.

Napolitano appealed for lawmakers to put the good of the country ahead of short-term, local interests ? an indirect appeal to members of Berlusconi's party and the allied Northern League to work with the new government.

"All political forces must act with a sense of responsibility," he said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-11-12-EU-Italy-Financial-Crisis/id-4b4cb7451a3547ad9efd572fe3d64072

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Oprah Winfrey receives "unimaginable" Oscar (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? Oprah Winfrey received an honorary Oscar for her charitable work on Saturday in what she called an unimaginable moment for a black woman who grew up poor in Mississippi and rose to the top of Hollywood stardom.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences annually bestows its Governors Awards on people who have made an impact in the industry. This year, the honorary Oscars went to Winfrey, actor James Earl Jones and makeup artist Dick Smith at a black-tie affair that brought out stars such as John Travolta, Glenn Close and Alec Baldwin.

Talk show host and film actress Winfrey, who was nominated for a supporting-actress Academy Award in 1985's "The Color Purple," was given a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award by a young woman who was sent through high school on a financial grant she earned from Winfrey's foundation.

Winfrey teared up when accepting her honorary Oscar and described the moment as "unimaginable" given her humble roots growing up in Mississippi.

"All of us can make a difference through the life we lead," Winfrey said. "We're all here to help each other."

She talked of her career as a TV chat show host and her movie work, and said it was "The Color Purple" that paved the way to stardom which, ultimately, led to philanthropy.

That movie "door opened to me through the magic and majesty of film," she said.

James Earl Jones was given his honorary Oscar for a body of acting work that ranges from his Academy Award-nominated performance as a boxer in "The Great White Hope" to voicing the role of the villainous Darth Vader in the "Star Wars" movies.

Jones was not on hand because he is in working in London, but he spoke to the Los Angeles audience in a speech that was taped earlier on Saturday.

He said he was "deeply honored, mighty grateful and just plain gobsmacked," using British slang for being astounded.

Finally, the "Godfather of makeup" Dick Simon was given an honorary Oscar for his behind-the-scenes work using makeup and prosthetics to make actors look old, young, sick, dying and dead in films ranging from "The Exorcist" to "The Godfather."

Simon gave a tearful and heartfelt acceptance speech in which he said he has loved every minute of his work in the movie business. "This kind of puts the crowning cap on all that," Simon said.

The Oscars, or Academy Awards, for the films of 2011 will be given out in a ceremony in Los Angeles on February 26.

(Editing by Will Dunham)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111113/people_nm/us_oscars_winfrey

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