Beyond NYC: Other places adapting to climate, too

BONN, Germany (AP) ? From Bangkok to Miami, cities and coastal areas across the globe are already building or planning defenses to protect millions of people and key infrastructure from more powerful storm surges and other effects of global warming.

Some are planning cities that will simply adapt to more water.

But climate-proofing a city or coastline is expensive, as shown by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's $20 billion plan to build floodwalls, levees and other defenses against rising seas.

The most vulnerable places are those with the fewest resources to build such defenses, secure their water supplies or move people to higher ground. How to pay for such measures is a burning issue in U.N. climate talks, which just wrapped up a session in the German city of Bonn.

A sampling of cities around the world and what they are doing to prepare for the climatic forces that scientists say are being unleashed by global warming:

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ROTTERDAM, Netherlands. In a country where two-thirds of the population lives below sea level, the battle against the sea has been a matter of life and death for centuries.

The Dutch government devotes roughly 1 percent of its annual budget to its intricate system of dikes, dunes and sea walls. Improvements to cope just with the effects of climate change have been carried out since 2003 ? though planning began well before that.

The focus in the 20th century was on a spectacular series of sea defenses, including massive steel and concrete barriers that can be quickly moved to protect against storm surges.

But current techniques embrace a philosophy of "living with water:" Floods are inevitable, and it's better to prepare for them than to build ever-higher dikes that may fail catastrophically.

Thousands of waterways are being connected so the country can essentially act as one big sponge and absorb sudden influxes of water. Some areas have been designated as flood zones. Houses that can float have been a building sensation.

Along the coast, the country has been spouting huge amounts of sand in strategic locations offshore and allowing the natural motion of waves to strengthen defensive dunes.

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VENICE, Italy. Sea level rise is a particular concern for this flood-prone city. It's in the process of realizing an expensive and oft-delayed system of underwater barriers that would be raised in the event of flooding over 43 inches (110 centimeters), higher than the 31-inch (80-centimeter) level that floods the famed St. Mark's Square.

Venice, a system of islands built into a shallow lagoon, is extremely vulnerable to rising seas because the sea floor is also sinking.

The constant flooding puts the city's considerable architectural treasures at risk. Venice has experienced 10 events over 4 feet 7 inches (140 centimeters) since 1950, including a devastating 1966 flood. Plans for the new so-called Moses barriers will cost more than 4 billion euros. The first of these have been moved into place in recent days. Many Venetians remain skeptical of the project due to the high costs and concerns over environmental risks.

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LONDON. The low-lying capital of a perpetually soggy country, London has long been vulnerable to flooding ? particularly when powerful storms send seawater racing up the River Thames.

But Londoners already have a powerful flood defense: the 570-yard-long (half-a-kilometer-long) Thames Barrier, composed of 10 massive steel gates, each five stories high when raised against high water.

Some have called for Thames Barrier ? in operation since 1982 ? to be replaced or supplemented by an even more ambitious flood defense system farther down the river. But Britain's Environment Agency says the defenses should hold until 2070.

Meanwhile, environmentally conscious Londoners have made plans to battle some of the other predicted effects of global warming by promoting better water management, expanding the city's Victorian sewage network, and "urban greening" ? the planting of trees and rooftop gardens to help manage the urban heat island effect.

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MIAMI. Southern Florida is one of those places that show up as partially under water in many sea level projections for this century. So it's no surprise local leaders are seeking ways to adapt. Four counties of South Florida, including Miami-Dade, have collaborated on a regional plan to respond to climate change. Their overarching goal: keeping fresh water inland and salt water away.

The first action plan calls for more public transportation, stemming the flow of seawater into freshwater, and managing the region's unique ecosystems so they can adapt.

Before writing the plan, the counties reviewed regional sea level data and projected a rise of 9 to 24 inches (23 to 61 cm) in the next 50 years along a coastline that already has documented a rise of 9 inches over the last 100 years.

"The rate's doubled. It would be disingenuous and sloppy and irresponsible not to respond to it," said Monroe County Administrator Roman Gastesi, who oversees the Florida Keys.

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NEW YORK CITY. Mayor Michael Bloomberg last week announced one of the most ambitious plans for defending a major U.S. city from climate change. Recommendations range from installing removable flood walls in lower Manhattan to restoring marshes in Jamaica Bay in Queens, and from flood-proofing homes to setting repair timeframe standards for phone and Internet service providers.

In lower Manhattan, a removable system of posts and slats could be deployed to form temporary flood walls. The height would depend on the ground elevation and potential surge. The approach is used along some Midwestern rivers and in the Netherlands, city officials said.

Projects also include a 15-to-20-foot levee to guard part of Staten Island, building dunes in the Rockaways, building barrier systems of levees and gates to bar one creek from carrying floodwaters inland, and possibly creating a levee and a sizeable new "Seaport City" development in lower Manhattan.

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BANGLADESH. A low-lying delta nation of 153 million people, Bangladesh is one of Asia's poorest countries, and one that faces extreme risks from rising sea levels. Its capital, Dhaka, is at the top of a list of world cities deemed most vulnerable to climate change, according to a recent survey by risk analysis company Maplecroft. The World Bank says a sea level rise of 5 inches (14 centimeters) would affect 20 million people living along the country's 440-mile (710-kilometer) coast. Many of these people would be homeless.

Bangladesh is implementing two major projects worth $470 million that involve growing forests on the coastal belt and building more multistory shelters to house people after cyclones and tidal surges. Developed nations have so far provided $170 million to the fund.

"Bangladesh is opting for adapting to the climate change impacts as the world's developed nations are not doing enough to cut down carbon emissions," said Forest and Environment Minister Hasan Mahmud in a recent speech in Dhaka. "We want the donors to contribute more to our efforts."

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MALDIVES. The Maldives, an upmarket beach paradise for tourists, has also become a symbol of the dangers of climate change.

Made up of hundreds of islands in the Indian Ocean, it's one of the most low-lying nations in the world, and exceptionally vulnerable to rising seas.

Some scientists have said the Maldives could disappear within decades, and former President Mohamed Nasheed even proposed relocating all 350,000 inhabitants to other countries.

While other researchers say those fears may have been overblown, the country is taking measures to protect itself.

A seawall was built around the capital, Male, after flooding in the 1980s. That wall protected the city from the worst effects of the devastating 2004 tsunami, which temporarily put large swaths of the country under water.

The country's climate adaptation plans call for relocating residents from small vulnerable islands to bigger, better protected ones.

It's also creating new land through land reclamation, expanding existing islands or building new ones, to ease overcrowding. The reclaimed land is being elevated to better withstand rising seas.

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BANGKOK, Thailand. Even before the consequences of climate change became evident, scientists were well aware that Bangkok ? whose southern suburbs border the Gulf of Thailand ? was under serious threat from land subsidence.

Sea level rise projections show Bangkok could be at risk of inundation in 100 years unless preventive measures are taken. But when the capital and its outskirts were affected in 2011 by the worst flooding in half a century, the immediate trigger was water runoff from the north, where dams failed to hold very heavy rains.

Industrial areas in the capital's suburbs, housing important businesses, were devastated. So the focus was put on a short-term solution for that area.

The government recently announced winning bids totaling 290.9 billion baht ($9.38 million) by Chinese, South Korean and Thai firms to run the flood and water management schemes, including the construction of reservoirs, floodways and barriers.

Solutions to the problem of rising seas are still being studied.

"Construction alone is not sustainable," says Seree Supratid, director of a climate and disaster center at Rangsit University. "People have to adapt to nature. For example, you know Bangkok will be flooded by the rising seas in the next 100 years, then you have to learn to build your houses in a way the floodwater cannot reach it, putting it up high or something."

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CUBA. Officials recently finished a study of the effects of climate change on this island's 3,500 miles (5,630 kilometers) of coastline, and their discoveries were so alarming they didn't immediately share the results with the public to avoid causing panic.

According to the report, which The Associated Press obtained exclusively, rising sea levels would seriously damage 122 Cuban towns or even wipe them off the map by 2100. Scientists found that miles of beaches would be submerged while freshwater sources would be tainted and croplands rendered infertile. In all, seawater would penetrate up to 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) inland in low-lying areas, as oceans rose nearly 3 feet (85 centimeters).

Those frightening calculations have spurred systemic action in Cuba, the largest island in the Caribbean and one that is heavily dependent on beach-loving European and Canadian tourists. In recent months, inspectors and demolition crews have begun fanning out across the island with plans to raze thousands of houses, restaurants, hotels and improvised docks in a race to restore much of the coast to something approaching its natural state.

In the tourist resort of Varadero, the country faces a dilemma: Tearing down seaside restaurants and hotels threatens millions of dollars in yearly tourism revenue, while allowing them to stay puts at risk the very beaches that are the main draw.

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MBEERE, Kenya. While sea level rise threatens some coastal communities in Africa, the continent faces even bigger climate-related problems inland. Climate scientists have projected shifts in rainfall patterns leading to extended droughts in some areas and increased flooding in other parts. To small-scale farming communities, these shifts could be disastrous, adding further stress to scarce water supplies.

Adaptation therefore is focused on learning to cope with the climatic changes, adjusting farming practices and improving water conservation efforts.

In Kenya's Mbeere district, where people say they're noticing longer dry spells, U.K.-based charity group Christian Aid is teaching farmers to help them predict the seasons and know better what to grow and when to plant.

A text messaging system helps farmers get up-to-date weather reports specific to their locations.

"We are supporting them to access and interpret climate information and help them make forward-looking decisions so that their farming is better suited to the predicted changing conditions," said Mohamed Adow, of Christian Aid. "Farmers live off the land and the weather, and small changes to weather patterns can be a big disaster to small-scale farmers in Africa whose entire livelihoods and well-being depend on farming."

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Associated Press writers Raphael Satter in London, Jennifer Kay in Miami, Toby Sterling in Amsterdam, Farid Hossain in Dhaka, Bangladesh; Thanyarat Doksone in Bangkok, Paul Haven in Havana and Colleen Barry in Milan, Italy, contributed to this report.

Second in a two-part package on climate change and adaptation.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/beyond-nyc-other-places-adapting-climate-too-105538665.html

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CBS acquires all of TV Guide Digital

TV Guide Digital has fared well between its web portal and mobile apps, but part-owner CBS thinks there's a lot of potential locked away. Enough so, in fact, that CBS is taking over TV Guide Digital by acquiring Lionsgate's remaining 50 percent stake in the venture. The media giant now has full control of both TVGuide.com and the TV Guide Mobile apps, both of which are folding into CBS Interactive's Technology, Games and Lifestyle division. CBS mostly hopes that the deal will make it a font of wisdom for channel surfers -- it sees TV Guide Digital's rapidly growing audience and programming knowledge as complements to TV.com. We don't yet know how the acquisition will affect the TV Guide properties themselves, but we'd expect more than just the status quo.

Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Tablets, Internet, HD

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Spike in violence in Iraq has echoes in the past

FILE - in this file photo taken on Monday, May 20, 2013, an Iraqi woman passes by the scene of a car bomb attack in the Kamaliyah neighborhood, a predominantly Shiite area of eastern Baghdad, Iraq. More than a year after the U.S. military left Iraq, the country is reeling from its most sustained violence since 2008. Over the last two months more than 1,200 people have been killed, raising fears the country is sliding back into chaos.(AP Photo /Hadi Mizban, File)

FILE - in this file photo taken on Monday, May 20, 2013, an Iraqi woman passes by the scene of a car bomb attack in the Kamaliyah neighborhood, a predominantly Shiite area of eastern Baghdad, Iraq. More than a year after the U.S. military left Iraq, the country is reeling from its most sustained violence since 2008. Over the last two months more than 1,200 people have been killed, raising fears the country is sliding back into chaos.(AP Photo /Hadi Mizban, File)

FILE - In this Saturday, June 10, 2006 file photo, an injured man is carried from the scene after a parked car bomb struck a police patrol killing five people and wounding 14, according to police, in the Karradah neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq. More than a year after the U.S. military left Iraq, the country is reeling from its most sustained violence since 2008. Over the last two months more than 1,200 people have been killed, raising fears the country is sliding back into chaos. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban, File)

In this Friday, May 31, 2013 photo, Iraqi security forces search people in a market in Baghdad. More than a year after the U.S. military left Iraq, the country is reeling from its most sustained violence since 2008. Over the last two months more than 1,200 people have been killed, raising fears the country is sliding back into chaos.(AP Photo/Karim Kadim, File)

FILE - in this Monday, May 27, 2013 file photo, Iraqis gather at the scene of a car bomb attack at a used cars dealers parking lot in Habibiya neighborhood of eastern Baghdad, Iraq. More than a year after the U.S. military left Iraq, the country is reeling from its most sustained violence since 2008. Over the last two months more than 1,200 people have been killed, raising fears the country is sliding back into chaos. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim, File)

FILE - In this Monday, April 22, 2013 file photo, Iraqi army soldiers escort young and elderly people leaving a protest site in Hawija, 150 miles (240 kilometers) north of Baghdad, Iraq. More than a year after the U.S. military left Iraq, the country is reeling from its most sustained violence since 2008. Over the last two months more than 1,200 people have been killed, raising fears the country is sliding back into chaos.(AP Photo, File)

BAGHDAD (AP) ? More than a year after the U.S. military left Iraq, the country is reeling from its most sustained violence since 2008. Over the last two months more than 1,700 people have been killed, raising fears the country is sliding back into chaos.

The current mayhem began with a wave of protests by Sunnis alleging neglect and mistreatment at the hands of the Shiite-led government of Nouri al-Maliki. Violence has risen steadily since an April 23 crackdown by security forces on a Sunni protest in the northern city of Hawija.

Conflict between Iraq's two main religious communities sounds ominously like the explosion of sectarian hatred unleashed by the U.S.-led invasion of 2003 that toppled Saddam Hussein's Sunni-led regime and propelled the Shiites to power.

Adding to the tension is the civil war in neighboring Syria, where Sunni rebels are seeking to topple Bashar Assad's government, dominated by a spinout of the Shiite faith and backed by Shiite powerhouse Iran.

But the Iraq of 2013 is different from the country seven years ago. The Shiite government is more firmly entrenched in Baghdad. The Sunnis are divided and weakened from setbacks they suffered in the last sectarian war.

Violence is on the rise but far short of the levels when death squads roamed the streets.

Clearly, many Iraqis are still worried.

"I see no solution on the horizon in a country that is full of political and sectarian disputes," said Ali Abdullah, who has blocked parking in front of his mobile phone store in Baghdad's sprawling Shiite district of Sadr City to protect against car bombs.

Mohammad Majeed, a Baghdad businessman in the mixed Sunni-Shiite neighborhood of Jihad, is considering fleeing the country.

"Terror is returning to us," Majeed said. "I survived the first round. I don't want to take my chances with a second one."

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Two AP Chiefs of Bureau in Baghdad, past and present, paint a picture of what it was like then and how things have changed.

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By ROBERT H. REID

It began with fierce fusillades ? rapid bursts of gunfire aimed wildly, designed to drive people from the streets as much as to kill. The killing would come soon enough.

In rapid succession, and with military precision, gunmen set up checkpoints along the major streets in west Baghdad's religiously mixed Jihad district, while black-clad Shiite youths strung barbed wire along side streets.

As a blistering sun sent temperatures soaring above 100 degrees, gunmen bearing lists of names roamed house-to-house, taking away fighting-aged men. Some were never seen again. Others were found lifeless in the streets.

At the checkpoints, motorists were hauled from their cars and shot dead if they were found with ID cards identifying them as Sunnis.

By sunset on July 9, 2006, at least 41 people, mostly Sunnis, were dead, according to police. The U.S. military insisted it could only account for 14 deaths. The next day, two bombs exploded in a Shiite neighborhood, killing 10 people in what appeared to be payback.

Whatever the numbers, the Jihad massacre was emblematic of the cold-blooded savagery of Iraq's sectarian conflict, which raged from early 2006 until 2008 and transformed the character of the eight-year Iraq war.

In the month of July 2006 alone, at least 2,708 Iraq civilians were slaughtered, according to a Pentagon count released in 2010. Some at the time estimates put the civilian death toll that month at nearly 3,270. By contrast the U.S. and its international coalition allies lost 43 troops.

As the war entered its third year, the conflict morphed from a straightforward fight between U.S.-led troops and the mostly Shiite Iraqi forces on one hand and Sunni insurgents and al-Qaida on the other into a wave of uncontrolled slaughter and terror in which civilians were the main target.

It became a Shiite-Sunni fight for power ? with members of the U.S.-backed government surreptitiously involved. Longtime neighbors became mortal enemies based on their religious affiliation alone.

Ground zero was Baghdad and a handful of other religiously and ethnically mixed cities. In those battlegrounds, fear paralyzed daily life, even as people attempted to work or shop or attend school beneath the shadow of sudden and violent death. Streets of once-thriving neighborhoods turned into ghost towns, either largely abandoned or with residents cowering at home in fear.

Panic swept through families when loved ones were late returning from work. Hearts pounded when motorists were stuck in traffic. Did the driver in the next lane look like a would-be car bomber? Was the checkpoint manned by soldiers or militiamen from a rival sect?

Many Sunni families feared venturing to Baghdad's main morgue to claim bodies of loved ones because the area was controlled by Shiite gunmen. In February 2007, the Shiite deputy health minister was arrested for allegedly running death squads, using ambulances for kidnapping and funneling money to Shiite militias. Charges were dismissed a year later amid allegations of witness intimidation. Now that former official, Hakim al-Zamili, is a member of parliament.

Forgers did a thriving business selling forged ID cards bearing fake names identified with a particular sect ? Omar in case the gunmen were Sunnis, Ali or Hussein if the threat came from Shiites.

Armed men roamed the streets in a deadly cat-and-mouse game with overstretched American soldiers and Iraqi forces ? some of whom were in collusion with sectarian militias. American spokesmen argued vehemently against any suggestion that Iraq had descended into civil war.

Car bombs and roadside explosives still claimed victims. But much of the mayhem occurred at night and in silence.

Nighttime was when death squads ? many believed directed by the Shiite-led Ministry of Interior ? hunted for their victims. Their often mutilated bodies were left on the streets or vacant lots for all to see as dawn rose.

Other victims were dumped into the Tigris River. Their bodies would turn up southeast of the capital near Kut, trapped in underwater nets set up to collect vegetation that can clog the waterway.

How many died because of religion and how many fell victim to common criminals or personal vendettas? No one really knows. In the calculus of barbarity, the Americans came up with their own formula: anyone shot in the head was a victim of sectarianism. Bullets to the torso were deemed the work of common criminals.

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By ADAM SCHRECK

Fast forward seven years to 2013.

The once-pervasive American troops and armored vehicles are gone. Baghdad neighborhoods are patrolled solely by the Iraqi police and army, which still draw heavily from the Shiite majority that controls the levers of power. At some of their posts, banners bearing the image of Shiite saint Imam Hussein wave proudly ? a not-so-subtle affirmation of the security forces' sectarian loyalties.

Traffic-clogging checkpoints still block streets lined with concrete blast walls, although many of the barriers have been removed. The car bombings and roadside explosives deployed primarily by Sunni extremists never really went away. It is only their frequency that goes up and down.

They're up sharply these days, with multiple blasts rocking Baghdad and other cities nearly every day.

Iraq again feels at an ominous turning point, even if the tallies of the dead are a fraction of what they were at the height of the bloodshed. A United Nations count said April was the deadliest month since June 2008, with 712 Iraqis killed in violent attacks. That total was surpassed in May, with the UN reporting 1,045 dead.

As recently as a few months ago, there was a feeling of optimism in many parts of Baghdad despite the threat of indiscriminate bloodshed. Parks filled with families out picnicking on holidays, car sales were booming and shiny new restaurants were opening.

But the relentless pounding of violence has brought a renewed sense of terror to the Iraqi capital. In an apparent attempt to thwart car bombings, authorities have imposed a sweeping ban on cars with relatively common temporary license plates, affecting large numbers of commuters.

Fewer people are venturing out on the streets, and businesses are pulling down the shutters earlier than usual.

The late-night televised press conference called by the Sunni finance minister, Rafia al-Issawi, to denounce a raid on his office by security forces back in December seemed at first like the latest in a series of moves that have sidelined prominent Sunnis in the Shiite-led government.

In hindsight, it was the trigger that reignited suppressed Sunni rage and would send masses of protesters into the streets of cities like Ramadi, Fallujah, Samarra and Mosul ? former insurgent strongholds that had been flashpoints in the U.S.-led battle to exert control over the country.

As the Sunni protest movement gathered steam, so did the sectarian tensions.

Some among the demonstrators in Sunni-dominated Anbar province waved al-Qaida flags ? symbols of Sunni supremacy ? and chanted that those with the distinctively Shiite name Abdul-Zahra would not be allowed into the province.

Back in Baghdad's Jihad neighborhood, overt threats not seen in years made a comeback. Leaflets left outside Sunni households warned recipients to leave or face "great agony." They were signed by the Mukhtar Army, a new Shiite militant group with ties to Iran's Revolutionary Guard.

Early on the morning of April 23, Iraqi security forces faced off against an energized group of Sunni protesters, some wielding swords, in the northern town of Hawija. A gunbattle eventually broke out.

By the time it was all over, at least 20 among the protesters were dead along with three soldiers. The Sunni deputy prime minister leading an official government probe into the incident puts the number of protesters killed at more than 40. Human Rights Watch said photos it obtained suggested some demonstrators had their hands bound and had been killed execution-style.

The violent reaction was swift.

Gunmen tried to overrun towns and army posts near Hawija. Bombs exploded outside of Sunni mosques and worshippers leaving others were felled by gunfire.

Iraqi officials believe more militant groups are joining Sunni jihadists like al-Qaida in attacks against Shiites and symbols of government authority. The attacks on Sunni holy sites, meanwhile, have killed more than 100 people since Hawija, raising the possibility that Shiite militias are getting involved in tit-for-tat attacks.

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Reid, currently Chief of Bureau for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, has covered Iraq since 2003 and can be followed at http://twitter.com/rhreid. Schreck has been Chief of Bureau in Baghdad since 2012 and can be followed at http://twitter.com/adamschreck.

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Associated Press writers Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Sameer N. Yacoub contributed to this report.

Associated Press

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China skeptical of expanded US role in the Pacific

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel listens to the opening address at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Shangri-la Dialogue, or IISS Asia Security Summit in Singapore, Friday, May 31, 2013. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel listens to the opening address at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Shangri-la Dialogue, or IISS Asia Security Summit in Singapore, Friday, May 31, 2013. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel delivers his keynote address on "The US Approach to Regional Security" at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Shangri-la Dialogue, or IISS Asia Security Summit, Saturday, June 1, 2013 in Singapore. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, left, and Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, left, attend the opening of the International Institute for Strategic Studies Shangri-la Dialogue, or IISS Asia Security Summit in Singapore, Friday, May 31, 2013. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel delivers his keynote address on "The US Approach to Regional Security" at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Shangri-la Dialogue, or IISS Asia Security Summit on Saturday, June 1, 2013 in Singapore. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

SINGAPORE (AP) ? A Chinese military leader on Saturday pointedly questioned the expanded U.S. role in the Pacific after the Pentagon chief said he hoped for better military ties between the two powers.

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, in a speech at a security conference in Singapore, also warned China about cyberattacks seemingly linked to Beijing.

He said the U.S. has expressed its concerns about "the growing threat of cyberintrusions, some of which appear to be tied to the Chinese government and military."

Other U.S. officials have publicly blamed China for computer-based attacks that steal data from the U.S. government and corporations, but Hagel's rebuke came in China's backyard and in front of a Chinese delegation.

Maj. Gen. Yao Yunzhu, director of the Center for China-America Defense Relations at the People's Liberation Army's Academy of Military Science, challenged Hagel to better explain America's intentions for its military buildup across the region.

"Thank you for mentioning China several times," she said in the question-and-answer session after Hagel's speech.

She said the Obama administration's new focus on the Pacific has been widely interpreted as an "attempt to counter China's rising influence and to offset the increasing military capabilities of the Chinese PLA. However, China is not convinced."

She asked Hagel how he can assure China that the increased U.S. deployments to the region are part of an effort to build a more positive relationship with Beijing.

"That's really the whole point behind closer military-to-military relationships," Hagel responded. "We don't want miscalculations and misunderstandings and misinterpretations. And the only way you do that is you talk to each other."

The U.S. welcomes a strong and emerging China that takes on responsibilities for security in the region, Hagel said, adding that the countries have to be inclusive and direct with each other. "I think we've made continued progress," he said. "And we'll make more progress."

These matters, and the overall U.S.-China relationship, will be on the agenda for President Barack Obama's meeting next week in California with Chinese President Xi Jinping. It will be their first meeting since Obama's re-election and Xi's promotion to Communist Party chief.

U.S. defense officials said Hagel also broadly raised the issue of cybersecurity in a brief and informal meeting with Lt. Gen. Qi Jianguo, PLA deputy chief, on Friday evening.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to publicly discuss the content of the meeting, said Hagel mentioned plans for the formation of a cyberworking group.

In his speech, Hagel said the U.S. is determined to work closely with China and others to establish appropriate standards for behavior in cyberspace.

The U.S. also is looking to China for help in resolving problems with North Korea, which has raised tensions with a series of rocket launches, an underground nuclear test and threats of nuclear strikes against the U.S. and its allies.

Hagel spoke of the need for "a continuous and respectful dialogue" and said the U.S. and China must build trust in order to avoid military miscalculations.

Much of the speech, however, was designed as a follow-up to last year's gathering, when then-U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta first detailed what has been called the U.S. military's new pivot to the Pacific.

Hagel assured Asian nations that despite sharp budget cuts, the Pentagon will continue to shift troops, ships and aircraft to the Pacific region.

Where Panetta had laid out promises, Hagel was able to point to results. U.S. Marines have been sent to Darwin, Australia, while a U.S. combat ship has arrived in Singapore and plans are unfolding for U.S. Army units to rotate in and out of the region.

Hagel suggested that the Pentagon's five-year budget plan continues to anticipate additional F-22 Raptor fighter jets and F-35 Joint Strike Fighters in the region, along with a fourth fast-attack submarine deployed to Guam.

He provided a glimpse into the broad review he ordered to determine whether budget cuts will force the U.S. military strategy to change, a year after Panetta unveiled it.

International leaders have been watching the deliberations in Washington closely to see what the roughly $487 billion in automatic spending cuts over the next 10 years will mean to America's commitment's abroad.

Already the military services have curtailed flight and combat training for many units, grounded some Air Force squadrons and delayed or canceled some ship deployments.

The Pentagon also has said it will furlough about 680,000 civilian employees for up to 11 days through the end of the fiscal year.

The initial report on the strategy review was due to Hagel on Friday, and while he said the outcome is not final, it should reflect the rise of Asia.

"For the region, this means I can assure you that coming out of this review, the United States will continue to implement the rebalance and prioritize our posture, activities and investments in Asia-Pacific," he said.

The Asia-Pacific, Hagel said, is at the epicenter of historic changes around the world and the U.S. is committed to strengthening its military, economic and diplomatic partnerships with nations across the region.

As part of that he noted that the U.S. will set aside $100 million to expand its military exercises in the region.

Just finishing his third month as Pentagon Chief, Hagel used the speech to introduce himself on a more personal level to the audience. For many he is a familiar face. He was one of the founders of the conference in 2002, and as a U.S. senator, was a speaker at the first three gatherings.

He talked about his long ties to the region, including his father's service in World War II flying B-25 bombers in the South Pacific, and his own service in Vietnam with his brother. Hagel was wounded and twice received the Purple Heart.

Later, he traveled to Asia as the co-founder of a cellular telephone company and then, as a Republican senator from Nebraska, he served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"What I took away from all these experiences," Hagel said, "was a firm belief that the arc of the 21st century would be shaped by events here in Asia."

Associated Press

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Rocky Lang: Sleazy Legal

Did you ever imagine getting a divorce was more difficult than the marriage that got you there? Well, it happened to me.

After a decade of darkness with the wife of the new millennium, the two of us agreed that our lives were worth saving and in order to continue to exist we needed to get away from each other. Agreeing that it made no sense to pay expensive attorneys, we settled our own affairs and decided to take the cheap way out: a paralegal service that would file the divorce papers for a fee and we would be finished. Slam dunk baby! My marriage wasn't going into overtime -- I was ending the game. Swish!

Being the smart sophisticated writer that I am, I spied a paralegal service on the boulevard as I listened to an oldies station on the radio. It was going to be easy, fast and cheap. As if the heavens opened up, the light shown down on this little storefront that I will forever call: Sleazy Legal. God was taking me to the Promised Land; the avenue from hell leading to heaven and Sleazy Legal was like the gates of St. Peter opening up for me. Fantastic! I was ready to start my life over and these people were going to make my divorce easy. Sleazy Legal. Yeah!

I remember my father telling me as he sat watching three TVs at the same time. "Ya get what ya pay for...don't buy cheap booze, don't date cheap women, don't buy cheap condoms and don't cheap out."

Ah ha! Now in my 50s, but still in my adolescent rebellious phase, I decided to do it my way, and not take my father's advice. I was going get this divorce over with fast and cheap. I had visions of going up to the club and seeing my friends who were all in messy expensive divorces and telling them, "My divorce cost a few hundred dollars, and it was done in the blink of an eye. Haha to you."

Sitting at the desk at Sleazy Legal was a pretty woman in her mid-40s who told me how simple this was going to be. Sign the papers, pay us, pay a filing fee to the court and voil?. My now ex-wife, as eager as I was to put the hellish escapades of marital futility behind us, willingly signed the papers and I paid the fees and the two of us waited and waited. Godot was coming faster than this divorce.

As I inquired from time to time as to what was taking so long, the pleasant woman at the desk told me about her own divorce, the problems she had with men, her sexual escapades and her hopes for the future. I couldn't help thinking that she was thinking I was the man of her future. Dream on wing-nut, I was still licking my wounds, with a 1,000-yard stare in my eyes, battle weary and beaten down. Women were not in my future.

My daughter asked me why I wasn't dating and told me even though I was old I was still good looking enough to find someone. I asked her this question. "Nikki, if you went shopping for bananas would you buy a yellow banana or a brown banana?' She looked at me and asked, "Do you think I'm stupid? I would buy a yellow banana." I said, "Exactly, because when I go to the relationship store I always get the brown bananas. I'm not going to the relationship store anymore."

As time dripped on, I continued to have periodic conversations with the looking for love, middle-aged woman with her own problems at Sleazy Legal. The conversations went like this:

Me: Any news?
Her: No.
Me: When will we know something?
Her: I don't know.
Me: Okay, good-bye.
Her: Okay, good-bye.

Then suddenly she disappeared and the owner took over. The owner was a hell of a good actress, the very best. As a director I have worked with some of the greatest including Jessica Lange, Teri Garr and Sally Kellerman -- and this gal topped them all. She made me think she knew what she was doing. She would handle my case personally. The owner of Sleazy Legal was going to finally make this easy. She was going to get to the bottom of this.

What would follow was a series of cover-ups and lies that would dwarf those executed by such American icons as Dick Nixon. This might turn into a reality series. I might not get my divorce, but man these were some weirdos and as a writer I tried to convince myself that this was great material. However, I wanted my fucking divorce!

Anyway, Sleazy Legal had misfiled the papers. Sleazy Legal had lied to me. Sleazy Legal had forgotten to send the filing fee to the court. Sleazy Legal was giving me the dance of dances, the Cha Cha Cha, the Tango and the Hustle all in one move.

Sleazy Legal had screwed the pooch and I was the pooch. Ouch! However, a great character was emerging in the owner of Sleazy Legal. She was the type of person that I could use over and over again in screenplays and telefilms. She broke the mold. I was happy, as it is hard to create characters like this. No, I wasn't happy! I wanted my divorce!

One night when I was particularly exasperated, I sent an email to the owner of Sleazy Legal stating my displeasure and wanting a resolution. What came back was an email that was so riddled with spelling and grammatical mistakes that Miss Merit, my seventh grade English teacher, would have dropped dead. And so, I just couldn't help myself and decided to correct her email in red, highlighting her spelling and grammatical mistakes. I sent back the corrected version along with these questions:

Dear Owner of Sleazy Legal,

Is it possible that you are so sure that everything you did was right and that you never ever made any mistakes of any kind in regard to my divorce? Is it possible in the realm of reality that you could have made some mistakes seeing that in this one paragraph of writing there are 17 spelling errors and 13 grammatical errors? If you made 30 mistakes in one paragraph, is it possible that you could have made one careless mistake in my filing?

After this exchange, the owner of Sleazy Legal returned all my paper work after the court sent it back for the second time because of mistakes by Sleazy Legal.

Feeling sorry for myself after waiting over a year for a divorce, I hired a high priced family lawyer who looked at the paperwork and saw the errors, fixed it, filed it and voil?, our divorce was final six months later. Nearly two years to get this done.

As I sat staring at the divorce papers, I thought back to my father. When he told me not to date cheap women, drink cheap booze, etc., I wish he had admonished me never to hire cheap legal. You do get what you pay for.

Oh, and by the way. I went back to the relationship store and found a perfect yellow banana.

?

Follow Rocky Lang on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@rockylang

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rocky-lang/paralegel-divorce_b_3355349.html

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Does This Ad Make Me Look Racist? (Chapter 3) (Powerlineblog)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/309736835?client_source=feed&format=rss

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11 vanish from Mexico City bar in suspected kidnap

MEXICO CITY (AP) ? Eleven young people were brazenly kidnapped in broad daylight from an after-hours bar in Mexico City's Zona Rosa, a normally calm district of offices, restaurants, drinking spots and dance clubs, anguished relatives said Thursday.

The apparent mass abduction purportedly happened sometime between 10 a.m. and noon on Sunday morning just off the Paseo de la Reforma, the city's main boulevard, near the Angel of Independence monument and only about 1? blocks from the U.S. Embassy.

The incident was the second recent high-publicity blemish for the city's largely unregulated entertainment scene, coming 20 days after the grandson of American civil rights activist Malcolm X was beaten to death at another tough bar in the downtown area.

Calling for authorities to find their loved ones, family members marched Thursday morning from the Interior Department building to the Zocalo, the city's main square. Later they protested outside the bar, which bears a sign that reads Bicentenario Restaurante-Bar, and demanded to see the bar's surveillance video.

"How could so many people have disappeared, just like that, in broad daylight?" said Josefina Garcia, mother of Said Sanchez Garcia, 19, her only son. "The police say they don't have them, so what, the earth just opened up and swallowed them?"

She said her son wasn't involved in any criminal activity, and worked at a market stall selling beauty products.

City prosecutors said they had received 11 missing-person reports, but Garcia said residents of the tough downtown neighborhood of Tepito where the victims live thought as many as 15 or 16 people could have been abducted.

The known missing include six men, most in their 20s, a 16-year-old boy and four young women.

While no clear motives had been revealed in the attack, residents of Tepito said there has been a wave of abductions of neighborhood young people in recent months that could be related to organized crime activities. Tepito is the center of black market activities in the city, where guns, drugs, stolen goods and contraband are widely sold.

Mass abductions have been rare in Mexico City, but are common in parts of the country where drug cartels operate and are fighting with rival gangs over territory.

Prosecutors slapped closure stickers on the front doors of the Mexico City bar Thursday, with inscriptions saying the city's anti-kidnapping unit was investigating abductions at the site.

Late Thursday night, dozens of members of a special police intervention unit, many carrying automatic weapons and wearing helmets and bullet-proof vests, blocked off the street in front of the bar and searched inside. Officers would not comment on what they were looking for.

Isabel Fonseca, whose brother is among those missing, said a man who escaped told her that masked men arrived in several white SUVs and took the group away. She said her brother, Eulogio Fonseca, is a street vendor who sells cellphone accessories.

"We want them alive," Fonseca said. "They went out to have fun; they are not criminals."

Mexico City's chief prosecutor, Rodolfo Rios, said investigators had been able to glean very little information on the disappearances.

Relatives believe the youths were at the club, which they said is called "Heaven," around midmorning Sunday, when waiters and bar employees herded them out to the street and armed men bundled them into waiting vehicles and spirited them away.

Rios said police had not located any employees of the bar and no other witnesses had presented themselves.

"We aren't sure what exactly occurred," he said. "No witness has come forward to say anything about any armed gang."

The bar is down a side street from two high-rise office buildings that look out on Reforma and sits across the narrow road from beauty salons and a sushi restaurant.

Guillermo Bustamante, owner of one the beauty parlors, said the street bustles every Saturday morning with people coming and going from the bar.

"Every time we arrived on Saturdays, we would see weird people coming out of that bar," Bustamante said. "There would be many Hummers parked outside and men walking out with a woman on each arm."

Bars of questionable character are often allowed to continue operating, even though drugs may be sold inside and the businesses frequently violate rules governing closing times, parking and serving alcohol to minors.

Malcolm Shabazz, grandson of the late Malcolm X, died May 9 in a fight that erupted after he and a friend were presented with a $1,200 bill at a seedy bar near Plaza Garibaldi, a gathering place for mariachi bands in a rough neighborhood in the downtown area. Two waiters at the bar have been arrested in connection with Shabazz's death.

In June 2008, police raided another Mexico City bar to investigate drug and alcohol sales to minors. A stampede ensued as panicked youths rushed for the exits and police tried to stop them. A dozen young people died in the stampede.

___

Associated Press writer Adriana Gomez Licon contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/11-vanish-mexico-city-bar-suspected-kidnap-213941619.html

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