Wall Street opens down as Europe hopes fade (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? Stocks opened lower on Wednesday as enthusiasm waned after strong bank demand for the European Central Bank's record funding operation and fears over the debt crisis resurfaced.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) was down 10.67 points, or 0.09 percent, at 12,092.91. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) was down 1.19 points, or 0.10 percent, at 1,240.11. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) was down 17.92 points, or 0.69 percent, at 2,585.81.

(Reporting By Angela Moon; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111221/bs_nm/us_markets_stocks

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Kim Jong Il's Life: 'Team America' Parody, Myth and Mayhem (Time.com)

In the West he was mocked for his bouffant, his pudgy belly and his platform shoes. Former U.S. President George W. Bush called him a pygmy. He was even parodied in the parody movie Team America: World Police as a dictator who walked around an empty palace singing about his loneliness.

But the ridicule could not conceal the fact that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, who died at age 69 on Dec. 17, was able to maneuver his small, totalitarian nation into a force that compelled deep concern and even fear among the world's powers. He did so at a great cost to his people, including millions who died in famines in the 1990s and hundreds of thousands who are enslaved in prison camps. But in North Korea, he was called the Dear Leader and, more recently, the Supreme Leader. He sits at the pinnacle of state-enforced adulation in North Korea, below only his father, Kim Il Sung, alongside whom he will be buried in Kumsusan Memorial Palace on Dec. 29. (See pictures of the life of the Dear Leader.)

Official North Korean reports say that he died of "fatigue" while on a train ride. Kim, who reportedly feared flying and traveled by personal armored train, had suffered a stroke in 2008. He was reported in better health in recent months, having cut down on his appetite for cognac and cigars.

Like much of his life, Kim's birth was shrouded in mystery. According to North Korean state propaganda, Kim's birth on the sacred Mount Paektu in 1942 was accompanied by auspicious symbols including a new star in the sky, a double rainbow and a swallow. In truth, he was born in an anti-Japanese rebel camp in Siberia. After World War II, his father became the leader of Soviet-administered North Korea, which he led during its three-year war with U.S.-aligned South Korea. That war killed an estimate 4 million, and the standoff between the two sides continues today along the demilitarized zone, the most highly fortified border in the world, a legacy of a conflict that ended in a bitter truce in 1953. (See pictures of the rise of Kim Jong Il.)

Unlike the current transition, which was only started following Kim's 2008 stroke, he was well groomed to take power when his father died in 1994. As "the General," one of the many names he was called by in North Korea, Kim led his country on an erratic course. He promoted attacks on South Korea, including the 1987 downing of a Korean Air flight and a 1983 attack on South Korean officials in Burma.

In the 1990s, the combination of floods and severe mismanagement caused a severe series of famines that killed as many as 2 million people and sent thousands fleeing to China. Kim toyed with economic reforms and made several visits to China to see how opening up had led to rapid growth in his country's massive neighbor and ally. But his instinct was to clamp down on any significant development of private markets, which could compete with the power of the state. Instead, Kim relied on the ideologies of juche, or national self-reliance, and songun, or primacy of the military. (See "The Death of Kim Jong Il: A Nightmare Before Christmas.")

Kim had a quirky personality, the epitome of a dictator who did what he wanted because no one could tell him no. He once had a huge appetite for sushi and red wine, rich tastes made more prodigal by the neediness of so many of his countrymen. He was a movie buff with a collection of thousands of films. He ordered the kidnapping of a South Korean director and his wife in 1978. The couple was forced to help develop the North's film industry until they escaped while on a trip abroad.

State propaganda painted a dramatic picture of Kim's feats: he directed films, wrote several books, promoted a scientific revolution and on his first round of golf shot 11 holes in one. KCNA, the North Korean state-run news agency, wrote in a statement announcing his death that "he valued and loved the people very much and always shared weal and woe with them."

As leader, Kim continued North Korea's long quest for nuclear weapons, and in 2006 the country tested a small nuclear device, followed by another in 2009. Those tests further complicated the on-again, off-again denuclearization talks hosted by China, which is still pushing for a resumption of discussions. With Kim's death and the expected handover of power to his third son, Kim Jong Un, the likelihood of an agreement seems even more remote. Kim Jong Il's talent for flummoxing the international community in those talks was a sign of his most distinguishing trait: the ability to play a weak position to the fullest.

See "Kim Jong Il's Doctored Photos: Were They Hiding Ill Health?"

See pictures of North Korea's heir apparent, Kim Jong Un.

View this article on Time.com

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NFL expected to discuss helmet hits (AP)

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. ? The NFL is expected to look at expanding the ban on launching and helmet hits.

Atlanta Falcons President Rich McKay, the co-chairman of the league's competition committee, believes it will be a topic for his group during the offseason, and changes could be presented to the owners next spring.

"I think the launch will be discussed more and more and eventually we will see helmet hits modified in the open field," McKay said.

The competition committee recommends rules changes to the owners, who then vote on them at the annual March meetings. McKay's committee was influential in getting outlawed the technique of launching ? when a player leaves his feet and leads with his head ? against defenseless players.

McKay says the idea of potentially banning launching altogether was discussed last year.

"Coaches felt there were too many circumstances where players could be perceived as doing it and were not really," he said. "It is a big step, not something I expect membership gets comfortable with over a year's time."

Flagrant helmet hits have been a high-profile topic all season since the league banned launching in March. A 15-yard penalty is enforced for anyone who leaves both feet before contact to spring forward and upward into an opponent and delivers a blow to the helmet with any part of his helmet.

Such tackles also are subject to fines, ejections and suspensions.

McKay emphasized that Steelers linebacker James Harrison's hit on Browns quarterback Colt McCoy on Dec. 8 is not the catalyst for further discussions.

Harrison became the first player suspended for such a hit under the NFL's new guidelines, and will miss Pittsburgh's game at San Francisco on Monday night.

"I don't like the fact one play would drive the discussion more than a need to do it for a bigger reason: a lot of plays that are putting players at risk," McKay said. "Our game has taken some real steps in a safety direction and we see, culturally, some modifications. We need to continue in that direction."

McKay said game officials have told him they are seeing fewer hits with the target areas the head or neck, and more tacklers are leading with their shoulders.

He said that's significant because it's not only offensive players who are in danger when an illegal hit is made.

"When we are trying to deal with an issue like the launch, we are trying to protect the runner and the hitter," he said. "Some hits, a defensive player is leading with his head and not using his arms and really is exposing himself to injury as a flagrant foul is committed."

Defenseless players cannot be hit in the head or neck area with the helmet, facemask, forearm or shoulder. The definition of such players now includes those throwing a pass; attempting or completing a catch without having time to ward off or avoid contact; a runner whose forward progress has been stopped by a tackler; kickoff or punt returners while the ball is in the air; kickers or punters during a kick or a return; a quarterback during a change of possession; and a player who receives a blindside block from a blocker moving toward his own end zone.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111218/ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn_helmet_hits

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Weekend link dump for December 18 (Offthekuff)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

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Stephen Fry Turns Your TomTom Into a Stately British Butler [GPS]

Stephen Fry—best known stateside for his portrayal of Jeeves and on Giz for his Apple enthusiasm—is now available as a downloadable voice pack for your TomTom navigation device. At least if you live in the UK. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/R3TWtJnymxE/stephen-fry-turns-your-tomtom-into-a-stately-british-butler

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Man to act as own lawyer in Yale doctor killing (AP)

NEW HAVEN, Conn. ? A Connecticut judge says a former physician charged with killing a Yale University doctor can act as his own lawyer at trial.

Superior Court Judge Roland Fasano on Wednesday approved 45-year-old Lishan Wang's request to represent himself, but also appointed a public defender to be on standby if Wang needs legal advice.

Wang is charged with murder and attempted murder for allegedly killing Dr. Vajinder (vah-JIN'-der) Toor and shooting at Toor's pregnant wife outside their Branford home last year. Toor's wife wasn't injured.

Police say the shooting apparently stemmed from a dispute the two men had while working together at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center in New York.

Wang initially was ruled incompetent, but was later deemed competent after receiving psychiatric treatment.

A pre-trial hearing is set for Jan. 10.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111215/ap_on_re_us/us_yale_doctor_killed

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[OOC] Airship Ubrea

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This is the auto-generated OOC topic for the roleplay "Airship Ubrea"

You may edit this first post as you see fit.

While the Darkness is powerful and versatile, only the LIGHT has the power to give peace. While the Darkness numbs the pain, only the LIGHT can completely heal that pain. And while the Darkness makes the bad in the world seem less, bad it is only lessened because it immerses you in that badness, making you tolerant. The LIGHT may make obvious the bad, but with that comes truth and sight.

EikouNekoChan

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