Pope expresses shame for Christian violence in history (Reuters)

ASSISI, Italy (Reuters) ? Pope Benedict, leading a global inter-religious meeting, acknowledged on Thursday "with great shame" that Christianity had used force in its long history but said violence in God's name had no place in the world today.

Benedict spoke as he hosted some 300 religious leaders from around the world - including Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Zoroastrians, Taoists, Shintoists and Buddhists - in an inter-faith prayer gathering for peace in the city of St Francis.

"As a Christian I want to say at this point: yes, it is true, in the course of history, force has also been used in the name of the Christian faith," he said in his address to the delegations in an Assisi basilica.

"We acknowledge it with great shame. But it is utterly clear that this was an abuse of the Christian faith, one that evidently contradicts its true nature," he said.

It was one of the few times that a pope has apologized for events such as the Crusades or the use of force to spread the faith in the New World. The late Pope John Paul apologized in 2000 for Christianity's historical failures.

Benedict, who in his address condemned terrorism, said history had also shown that the denial of God could bring about "a degree of violence that knows no bounds." He said the concentration camps of World War Two revealed "with utter clarity the consequences of God's absence."

The Assisi gathering, held on the 25th anniversary of a historic initiative in favor of peace hosted by John Paul in 1986, this time did not include common prayer among the delegates.

"ALL RELIGIONS NOT EQUAL"

The difference reflected Benedict's more conservative view of Catholic relations with other religions. In fact, Benedict, who did not attend the 1986 meeting when he was a cardinal, later implicitly criticized it because it implied that all religions were somehow equal.

The 1986 meeting, which took place at a time of the Cold War and conflicts in Lebanon, Northern Ireland and Central America, was billed as a "meeting of prayer for peace."

Thursday's anniversary gathering in Assisi, birthplace of St Francis, one of the world's most universally recognized symbols of peace, was called a "pilgrimage" for truth and peace.

In fact, instead of praying in each other's presence, as they did in 1986, the delegates were withdrawing to various rooms around the Basilica of St Mary of the Angels in the lower part of Assisi for what the program called "silence, reflection and personal prayer."

In his morning address, the Muslim delegate, Kyai Haji Hasyim Muzadi, general secretary of the International Conference of Islamic Scholars, said:

"Reality demonstrates that many human problems on this planet in fact originate from people with religions."

A representative of African traditional religions appeared to chide the big churches.

"The time has come for the leaders of all the world's religions to have a new frame of mind in which indigenous religions are given the same respect and consideration as other religions," he said.

Thursday's gathering included four people billed as "non-believers" -- agnostics the pope said had been invited to represent people in the world who have no faith but are "on the lookout for truth, searching for God."

He said such non-believers should not be confused with militant atheists, who, he said, live in the "false certainty" that there is no God.

In the afternoon, the delegates were moving to the upper part of Assisi for another round of speeches and to pay homage at the tomb of St Francis.

(Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111027/wl_nm/us_pope

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Cavaliers Host Gala For Pediatric Cancer Research ? CBS Cleveland

(Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images)

CLEVELAND (AP) ? While they wait for the NBA lockout to end, the Cleveland Cavaliers are putting their time off to good use.

With the season on hold because of the labor impasse, the Cavs turned their court over to help kids fighting cancer.

On Tuesday night, the team hosted a fashion runway show at Quicken Loans Arena for ?Flashes of Hope,? a national nonprofit organization that raises money for pediatric cancer research and provides free photography portfolios to children fighting the disease. Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, coach Byron Scott and his staff greeted more than 1,000 guests on the red carpet prior to the event.

Members of the Cleveland Browns, including wide receiver Josh Cribbs, cornerback Joe Haden and backup quarterback Seneca Wallace were among the VIPs who walked the runway with children afflicted with cancer. Haden worked the crowd like a seasoned supermodel, slapping hands with guests and strutting to the amusement of safety Mike Adams and several other teammates sitting at a front-row table.

Last year?s event raised over $350,000, and Allison Clarke, who began the program when her son, Quinn, was diagnosed with cancer as a 20-month-old, said ?Flashes of Hope,? which now has chapters in 55 cities, has raised more than $500,000 in the past two years for research.

?It started 10 years ago when after my son got cancer for the first time, and one of his friends at the hospital passed away,? Clarke said. ?I wondered if his mom had a photograph of him.?

Clarke said three weeks later the first photo shoot took place, and the program has since expanded to 55 cities nationwide. Her son, who was diagnosed with a rare tumor when he was nine, is now 12, and ?doing well.?

?We go to the hospitals with amazing commercial photographers and stylists and they do these shoots that are like birthday parties for the kids, and then they give the families these wonderful packages.? she said.

Clarke credited the Cavs with making the program a huge success

?Once they got involved, it took it from zero to 100 pretty quickly,? she said.

Gilbert, a father of five, walked down the runway with his wife, Jennifer. A few moments earlier, their son Nick, who was born with Neurofibromatosis (NF), a nerve disorder that causes tumors to grow anywhere in the body, walked the runway.

(? Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Source: http://cleveland.cbslocal.com/2011/10/26/cavaliers-host-gala-for-pediatric-cancer-research/

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AP: Man to surrender in NY insider trading case

NEW YORK (AP) ? A prominent former Goldman Sachs board member was expected to surrender to federal authorities on Wednesday to face criminal charges stemming from a massive hedge fund insider trading case, according to two people familiar with the case.

Rajat Gupta was expected to appear in federal court in Manhattan.

The two people, who have inside knowledge of the case, confirmed Tuesday night that Gupta intended to surrender but declined to say what the charges are. They spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the charges hadn't been formally announced.

The Securities and Exchange Commissioner originally brought civil fraud charges against Gupta in March. The SEC alleged that, at the height of the financial crisis, he passed along privileged financial information that helped enrich Raj Rajaratnam, a former billionaire hedge fund manager who was the prime target of the criminal probe.

Gupta's lawyer responded by accusing the SEC of launching a "flawed case premised in large part on unreliable evidence being used in an attempt to bring down a man of sterling reputation and remarkable achievements without the procedural safeguards historically accorded to all persons similarly charged."

The Indian-born, Harvard-educated Gupta also has served on the boards of Procter & Gamble and the parent company for American Airlines. He was a guest at President Barack Obama's first state dinner.

Gupta's name played prominently at the criminal trial earlier this year of Rajaratnam, who was convicted after prosecutors used a trove of wiretaps on which he could be heard coaxing a crew of corporate tipsters into giving him an illegal edge on blockbuster trades.

Jurors heard testimony that at an Oct. 23, 2008, Goldman board meeting, members were told that the investment bank was facing a quarterly loss for the first time since it had gone public in 1999.

Prosecutors produced phone records showing Gupta called Rajaratnam 23 seconds after the meeting ended, causing Rajaratnam to sell his entire position in Goldman the next morning and save millions of dollars.

Rajaratnam also earned close to $1 million when Gupta told him that Goldman had received an offer from Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway to invest $5 billion in the banking giant, prosecutors said.

In one tape played at trial, Rajaratnam could be heard grilling Gupta about whether the Goldman Sachs board had discussed acquiring a commercial bank or an insurance company.

"Have you heard anything along that line?" Rajaratnam asked Gupta.

"Yeah," Gupta responded. "This was a big discussion at the board meeting."

Prosecutors sought to maximize the impact of the Gupta tape by calling Goldman Sachs chairman Lloyd Blankfein to testify that the phone call violated the investment bank's confidentiality policies.

Gupta's lawyer Gary P. Naftalis said Tuesday night that his client and Rajaratnam communicated for "legitimate reasons." He said his client didn't trade in any securities, didn't tip Rajaratnam so he could trade and didn't share in any profits.

"The facts demonstrate that Mr. Gupta is an innocent man and that he has always acted with honesty and integrity," Naftalis said in an emailed statement.

Rajaratnam, who's in his mid-50s, was sentenced earlier this year to 11 years in prison. His lawyers had argued for 6 1/2 to nine years. Defense attorney Terence Lynam asked the judge to show compassion because of Rajaratnam's illnesses, saying: "He does not deserve to die in prison."

The FBI's New York office and the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan declined to comment about Gupta on Tuesday.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-10-25-Hedge%20Fund-Insider%20Trading/id-3d7670c7d6bb46849d9442bf0d598947

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Neverending partner search

Hello there! I?ve been a member for over three years, and have good experience with role-playing. Many of my current partners have disappeared, so I am now looking for a role-playing partner or two. Even if someone has replied to this thread, please contact me. I will likely take on two or more partners.

1 If you often use profanity, you can use it, just not every other sentence or so.
2. The basic rating is going to be around PG-13 for many scenes with a lot of action. I am willing to go higher, as long as it doesn't take away from the actual plot.
3. I play both genders, though I have stronger female characters. I am willing to play males, and have some I am willing to try. Please keep in mind that I will play a male if both of us double.
4. Also, I am looking for literate to advanced literate players, and definitely no one-liners. My general post length is three to six paragraphs, depending on what you give me to work with. In addition, if at any time you are unsatisfied with the role-play, please let me know and don?t abandon the role-play instead.
5. Please let me know if you are not interested anymore, I would much rather you let me know. I will respond everyday, if you can not be online for a few days, give me a heads up.

I am generally interested in anything fantasy related, especially Medieval Fantasy. However, I'm not really a fan of realistic role plays, and likely will not do a high school role-play. Also, I enjoy creating my own characters, so don't have many fandoms I would be willing to do. I might consider creating characters in a world from a book or movie, however.

I have several plots floating around in my head, and I am more than willing to share them with you and hopefully come up with something grand. Please feel free to come up with your own plots as well, and if we both like it I can provide some input and we can begin. I prefer role-plays to take place on the PM system or boards, as they are most easiest to keep track of. Send me a PM or post here if you are at all interested, and have a wonderful day!

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/S_l97-dh0jg/viewtopic.php

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98 Degrees singer among Occupy Cincinnati arrests (AP)

CINCINNATI ? Former boy band singer Justin Jeffre (JEHF'-ree) has pleaded not guilty to trespassing after being arrested in the Occupy Cincinnati protest.

Police say the member of 98 Degrees was one of 11 people arrested early Sunday at the city's Fountain Square after the 3 a.m. closing time. They also were charged with unlawful use of the square.

Jeffre tells The Cincinnati Enquirer ( http://cin.ci/os723g) he spent several hours in jail and it was "no fun." But he says it was the right place to be to stand up for free speech.

Attorney Jennifer Kinsley entered a not guilty plea for him Monday.

The now 38-year-old Jeffre is a founding member of 98 Degrees with Nick and Drew Lachey (luh-SHAY') and Jeff Timmons. The group launched in the late 1990s. He has more recently been a Cincinnati political activist.

___

Information from: The Cincinnati Enquirer, http://www.enquirer.com

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111024/ap_en_mu/us_wall_street_protest_singer

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Con artist who helped Google probe to be sentenced

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) ? A massive federal investigation that resulted in Google Inc. forfeiting $500 million this year to settle criminal claims over its advertising began with the 2008 arrest of a jet-setting career con artist, who took federal agents in Rhode Island into the underground world of peddling pills online.

David Whitaker, 36, finalized the decision to help federal agents investigate Google within six weeks of being arrested in California after being expelled from Mexico, where he told authorities he spent his time selling drugs online, according to his plea agreement. He had already served three prison sentences and was staring down a maximum sentence of 65 years in Rhode Island for bilking $8.7 to $22.6 million from small businesses and a credit card company during the mid-2000s, court records show.

The plea deal he signed with federal prosecutors offered some salvation. If he agreed to help the government with an investigation, prosecutors would recommend a punishment "at the lowest point of sentences" when Whitaker learns his fate in the fraud case on Dec. 2 in U.S. District Court in Providence.

That was the start of his two-year stint using his experience to help federal agents expose how operators exploited Google's automated ad system known as AdWords to promote illegal Canadian pharmacies to American consumers.

But Whitaker's role in the Google case is cold comfort to those who say they were ripped off by his Rhode Island electronics equipment provider, Mixitforme Inc. He pleaded guilty in 2008 to wire fraud, conspiracy and other charges.

"It's wrong for the feds to use him," said Matthew Grosso, 47, who says he lost his Stony Brook, N.Y., business and $1.3 million after his dealings with Whitaker went sour in 2005.

"You're just perpetuating this guy's god mentality."

Whitaker's victims paint a picture of a high-flying executive who cheated them out of their small businesses.

Mixitforme began selling discount electronics in 2005 with Whitaker and a partner at the helm. The company claimed it had strong ties to overseas suppliers that made its prices about 30 percent lower than its competitors, officials said. The firm also claimed to be an authorized distributor for Apple and Motorola and said it had a special arrangement with Sony to sell its products. Federal prosecutors say those were all lies.

But Whitaker still found a way to lure clients. Grosso recalled visiting warehouses in New York and New England to look at Whitaker's stockpiles of consumer electronics, including iPods and gaming systems.

Trevor Sears, 36, of Salt Lake City, said he would only place orders with Whitaker after seeing photographs of the inventory he wanted to purchase.

Both Grosso and Sears said they placed small orders at first without problems.

But as customers poured more money into Mixitforme, Whitaker blew through Mixitforme's earnings by buying four luxury automobiles, renting a Miami mansion for $200,000 monthly, flying in a private airplane, staying in luxury hotels, renting a yacht and using a limousine driver and security team regularly, according to an affidavit signed by U.S. Secret Service Special Agent Craig Marech.

Grosso recalled Whitaker suggesting they meet at The Ritz-Carlton on Central Park in New York City, where Whitaker had a room. He said other people who did business with Whitaker described going to meet him on airport tarmacs where he'd fly in to on a private jet.

"He was living high on the hog," Grosso said.

At the same time, prosecutors say, deliveries slowed and excuses and cover-ups started piling up, such as faked tracking numbers for shipments or claims the goods were being held by customs agents. From July 2005 to March 2006, Mixitforme failed to deliver about $13 million worth of electronic equipment, Marech wrote.

Finally, Sears said, he flew to Rhode Island to confront Whitaker in his downtown Providence office about a $319,600 order that wasn't delivered.

"He wouldn't see me. He was locked in his office," said Sears, who is launching his first new business, 10bucksupplements.com, after spending years trying to get back on his feet.

"He literally ruined my life," said Sears. "For a few years, it was brutal."

Mixitforme was the latest scheme in a string of criminal accusations against Whitaker that date back more than a decade.

He was arrested in Hawaii in 1997 on charges of bank fraud and e-racketeering and he was sentenced to a year in prison, according to court papers. The next year, he was arrested in New Orleans on a bank fraud charge and sentenced to a year and a day in prison. U.S. marshals also picked him up in 2000 for making forged securities and he was sentenced to 10 months in prison, the affidavit said.

Finally, after federal agents executed a search warrant at the Providence headquarters of Mixitforme, Marech says Whitaker took off for Albuquerque, N.M., where he went by the name Slade Austin and set up a company called Coyotego.com that also sold consumer electronics at below-market prices. That business, too, was shut down after a search in July 2007, but by that time Whitaker had already fled to Mexico, Marech wrote.

But what may save him from a long sentence is one last strategy: his work for the government.

Whitaker helped investigators construct phony websites that purported to sell the drugs, officials said. Then, an undercover investigator would tell Google employees who were creating the advertising for the products that they were manufactured overseas and did not require customers to have a valid prescription, officials said.

Federal officials said Google knew as early as 2003 that its ad system was allowing Canadian pharmacies to make illegal sales. Shipping prescription drugs into the U.S. from abroad violates drug and other laws, investigators said. If the case had gone to trial, federal prosecutors would have to prove an Internet search engine helped pharmacies violate federal law.

Google is no longer letting Canadian online pharmacies advertise to U.S. consumers. It also agreed in August to forfeit $500 million to avoid criminal prosecution for accusations that it improperly profited from ads promoting Canadian pharmacies that illegally imported drugs into the United States.

A Google spokeswoman declined to comment, as did spokesmen for Rhode Island U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha and federal Food and Drug Administration investigators, who led the probe. Whitaker's attorney, George J. West, also declined to comment.

Grosso and Sears said they had no idea Whitaker helped federal investigators on the Google case. They say they hope his help doesn't overshadow their suffering.

"He sure lived off the money he stole from people while they went down in flames," Sears said. "I certainly hope he doesn't get leniency."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-10-23-Google%20Investigation-Convict/id-0ba9ef8b8dac43fe902cab151a785189

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China considers new law better defining terrorism (AP)

BEIJING ? China said Tuesday that it is considering new legislation to better define terrorism and allow for the public listing of terrorist groups, in an effort to strengthen prosecution against domestic threats and bolster Beijing's role in international cooperation.

A proposal before the national legislature would provide more specific legal definitions for terrorists and terrorist acts based on Chinese and international precedents, making it easier to bring terrorism charges, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

The proposal targets those using violence, sabotage or threats in hopes of intimidating or coercing governments or international organizations. Incitement, funding or providing other support would also be considered terrorism.

Terrorist groups would be publicly named and the legislation would strengthen existing rules on seizing their domestic assets.

"Current legislation lacks specific regulations defining terrorism, terrorist organizations and individual terrorists, affecting the fight against terrorism, control over terrorist assets and international anti-terrorism cooperation," Xinhua said, quoting deputy Public Security Minister Yang Huanning.

China says it faces an organized terrorist threat from radical Muslim groups in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, although critics say Chinese economic policies and strict rules over cultural and religious expression are creating anger and resentment among the region's traditional Turkic Uighur (WEE'-gur) ethnic group.

China has been accused of exploiting terrorism fears to justify crackdowns on legitimate dissent, and the U.S. has refused demands to hand over Uighurs captured in Afghanistan and Pakistan and held at Guantanamo Bay. While Beijing has at times accused Tibetan activists of plotting terrorism, opposition to Chinese rule in the Himalayan region has been mainly peaceful.

The proposed legislation is on track to eventually become a new anti-terrorism law, said Li Wei, a counterterrorism expert at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, a think tank affiliated with the government's main intelligence agency, the Ministry of State Security.

That would for the first time provide a comprehensive mechanism for specifically prosecuting terrorism, including defining such crimes and clarifying the roles of anti-terrorism bodies, as well as laying out procedures for seizing terrorist funds, Li said.

"How often it is used depends on how often such acts occur, but China will now have a law which deals specifically with terrorist crimes," he said.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said that the ministry was following the drafting of the new law and that China was drawing from the experiences of other countries in dealing with terrorism.

"China will continue to deepen cooperation with regional countries and international organizations to step up contacts and coordination," Jiang said at a daily news briefing.

Most of the government's terrorist accusations focus on groups in Xinjiang, which has been on edge since nearly 200 people were killed in fighting between Uighurs and Han Chinese in 2009 in Urumqi, the regional capital. China accused overseas Uighur activists of orchestrating the violence, but provided no direct evidence.

Violence this year flared anew July 18, when a group of Uighurs stormed a police station in Hotan and took hostages, killing four. Then, on July 30 and 31, Uighurs in Kashgar hijacked a truck, set a restaurant on fire and stabbed people in the street.

Authorities said that 14 of the attackers were shot by police in Hotan, and that five assailants were killed in the violence in Kashgar.

China again blamed overseas activists for what it described as organized terrorist attacks, specifically Pakistan-based militants affiliated with al-Qaida. One group, the Turkistan Islamic Party, claimed one of the attackers in Hotan had previously visited one of its training camps.

___

Associated Press writer Gillian Wong contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/china/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111025/ap_on_re_as/as_china_terrorism

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