Kazakh leader orders curfew after oil city riots

ALMATY?? Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev on Saturday declared a 20-day state of emergency in a western oil city where at least 11 people have been killed in the deadliest outbreak of violence in the Central Asian state's recent history.

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Wounded victims filled hospitals in Zhanaozen and many oil workers stayed at home, fearing for their safety a day after violent clashes between riot police and crowds in a city where thousands of sacked oil workers have been protesting for months.

The head of a local trade union said many wounded civilians and policemen had been brought by car from overflowing hospitals in Zhanaozen, a city of 90,000 around 150 km (95 miles) east of the Caspian Sea, to the regional centre of Aktau.

"They have all kinds of wounds, from gunshot wounds to stab wounds and blunt traumas," Kenzhegali Suyeov, chairman of the independent Aktau trade union, told Reuters. He said sporadic shooting had been heard in Zhanaozen overnight.

Public protests are rare in Kazakhstan, Central Asia's largest economy and oil producer, where 71-year-old Nazarbayev has overseen more than $120 billion in foreign investment during more than two decades in power.

The clashes marred celebrations across the rest of Kazakhstan to mark the 20th anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union and were a shock to a government that has put stability and economic growth over democratic freedoms.

"We will not permit any attempts to disturb the peace and calm in our home, to erase the achievements of our independence," Nazarbayev said in a statement.

"The state will use the full strength of the law to suppress any attempt to disturb the peace and security of our citizens."

STATE OF EMERGENCY

A presidential decree declared a state of emergency and curfew in Zhanaozen until January 5. Public protests and strikes are banned while movement around Zhanaozen and access to and from the city will be restricted.

The clashes began when sacked oil workers and sympathetic citizens stormed a stage erected for an Independence Day party on Friday, toppling sound equipment and later setting fire to the city hall and the headquarters of the local oil company.

Nurdaulet Suindikov, spokesman for the prosecutor-general's office, told a news conference 11 people had been killed in the clashes. A further 86 people were wounded, including six policemen, he said. Around 70 people have been arrested.

Reports on social networking websites said the death toll was much higher than 10 and police had opened fire. These reports could not be verified independently. Power, mobile phone connections and Internet access was shut down in the city.

European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton said in a statement she hoped for an immediate investigation and a peaceful solution to the problems faced by striking oil workers.

Nazarbayev said policemen had acted within legal bounds.

ARMED SECURITY

Thousands of employees of state-controlled oil company KazMunaiGas Exploration Production began a strike in May to demand better pay and conditions. It sacked 989 workers and says output will fall 8.5 percent short of target this year.

London-listed KazMunaiGas EP said the Interior Ministry was providing armed security at oil production facilities and some workers had failed to show up for the night and morning shifts due to security concerns. A round-the-clock shift by workers on site was maintaining daily output levels, the company said.

KazMunaiGas EP has said 2,500 people were on strike at the height of the dispute. Representatives of the striking workers have put the maximum number at almost 16,000.

"For seven months, those striking workers were standing in the scorching sun, in the rain and wind and snow, and the authorities would not start a dialogue with them," said Bolat Abilov, a leader of the opposition Social-Democratic Party.

Nazarbayev hinted he did not believe aggrieved workers were behind the violence.

"One shouldn't confuse an oilmens' working dispute with the criminal acts of bandits who aimed to take advantage of the situation," he said. "We will find out where the funding comes from and who is behind this."

Yermukhamet Yertysbayev, a close adviser to Nazarbayev, likened Zhanaozen to social protests in Europe. "You know, practically the same events took place in August this year in London," RIA news agency quoted him as telling reporters.

"And events of a similar nature have happened in Greece. In the end, the global financial crisis has extremely aggravated social conflicts."

Around 100 opposition activists gathered in the commercial capital, Almaty, for a memorial service to commemorate Kazakhs killed in clashes with Soviet forces in December 1986.

"Yesterday, exactly 25 years later, the same tragedy was repeated," said one of the activists, Gulzhan Yergaliyeva.

Around 20 protesters broke off from the service and attempted to march to the city headquarters of the ruling Nur Otan political party. Riot police detained around half of them.

KazMunaiGas EP's London-traded stock closed down 4.0 percent on Friday, versus a decline of only 0.4 percent in the wider oil and gas sector.

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45698660/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/

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Glowing Apple logo mod for your iPhone now available

If you have an extra $40 dollars burning a hole in your wallet and around 10-15 minutes of free time, K.O Gadget Store has an awesome mod available that gives you a glowing back logo for your iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. The logo lights up whenever...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/NerS1gYZVfk/story01.htm

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Indonesia targets crumbling roads to boost economy

Collapse of Indonesia's 'Golden Gate' bridge highlights inadequate roads that hold back the Indonesian economy, at a time when other Asian economies are prospering.

A bridge collapse on Nov. 26 in northern Indonesia was the latest blow to the country's international competitiveness at a time when investors are increasingly looking to take advantage of strong growth in Southeast Asia's largest economy. An investigation is underway into the cause of the collapse, which sent cars, motorbikes, and a public bus tumbling into the murky Mahakam river, killing at least 21 people, but analysts say poor construction and maintenance, and insufficient use of materials are partly to blame.

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Woefully inadequate infrastructure is one of the biggest challenges facing Indonesia, say investors, who often complain that a lack of roads and inefficient shipping networks hold up business.?

?At least 30 percent of a company?s production costs go to transportation,? says Latif Adam, an economist at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, a government research center. He notes that the global average is closer to 10 percent.

Rampant corruption, legal uncertainties, and bureaucratic delays also threaten to undermine foreign investment at a time when Indonesia is banking on private financing to support around half of the $200 billion it has committed to infrastructure development.

As of October, officials in the capital, Jakarta, had spent only 30 percent of their annual infrastructure budget. They're now scrambling to use the rest before year?s end, says Mr. Adam, who worries that rush jobs could lead to more incidents like the bridge collapse.

Building connective infrastructure for a nation comprised of 17,500 islands has its challenges, but Franz Drees-Gross, the World Bank?s manager for sustainable development, which covers infrastructure, says legal constraints ? including rigid tariff structures that constrain public utilities' budgets ? pose some of the biggest problems.

As a result, Indonesia?s combined power generation is less than South Africa?s, which has roughly 200 million fewer people. Piped water supply, which only reaches half the population, is dropping. Road coverage relative to land mass is among the lowest in Southeast Asia. In Jakarta, the capital, only 2 percent of the population has access to septic facilities.

?You expect that in a post-conflict country, but not a place like Indonesia,? says Mr. Dress-Gross.

Since former President Suharto stepped down in 1998, Indonesia has rapidly transitioned from a centralized, authoritarian country to a relatively stable, democratic one.

But that transition coincided with the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, when infrastructure spending dropped from around 8 percent of gross domestic product to a measly 2 percent. It hit 3 percent in 2010, similar to what the US spends, but far below emerging market giant China, which is investing around 9 percent.?

Adam says at least 5 percent of GDP should go toward infrastructure development in an economy that is seeking breakneck growth like Indonesia.?

With economies in the US and Europe faltering, Indonesia has emerged as a relative beacon of stability, thanks largely to its natural resource wealth and strong domestic consumption. Investment is now at a record-high $20 billion, with growth for 2011 expected to reach 6.4 percent.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/nosLVmF5EZs/Indonesia-targets-crumbling-roads-to-boost-economy

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Film details Jerry Lewis' 'Method to the Madness' (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? Gregg Barson is a documentarian, not a comedian. But when Jerry Lewis let him know that more than a dozen people were waiting in line to tell his story, Barson offered a persuasive punch line.

"Yeah, but they're not me," was Barson's comeback, followed by a momentary quiver of fear that he'd gone too far with the veteran star.

"He said, `I like that. You know why? Because you remind me of me,'" Barson recalled. That chutzpah-fueled exchange led to "Method to the Madness of Jerry Lewis," debuting 8 p.m. EST Saturday on Encore. Other airings include 11:30 a.m. EST Sunday and 8 p.m. EST Tuesday.

The film focuses on what makes the 85-year-old ? and still working ? Lewis tick as a performer and filmmaker. Those looking for dish on his family life or breakup with stage and screen partner Dean Martin or abrupt departure from the Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon he'd nurtured for nearly five decades won't find it here.

Barson, who describes himself as being "in heaven" whenever he caught a Lewis film on TV as a youngster, said his intent was to focus on Lewis' career from vaudeville on and his contributions to comedy and movies.

Younger people without exposure to Lewis' work likely consider him as "that telethon guy. Hopefully, the film will open their eyes as opposed to thinking he did one thing one day a year," Barson said.

During more than three years of filming, Barson had near-complete access as he followed Lewis from his yacht in San Diego to his home in Las Vegas to concert dates and to the Cannes Film Festival in France, the country that idolizes Lewis as a cinematic genius.

He was good company, Barson said. "He's always up, funny and playful. ... The sparkle, he didn't put in on for the camera. He's being real."

"Method to the Madness," which opens with Jerry Seinfeld, Eddie Murphy and other comedians anointing Lewis as comedy royalty, is an unabashed valentine. It is also a reminder that Lewis inspired rock-star levels of fan devotion, and of how impressively "The Bellboy" (1960) and many other films starring and written and directed by Lewis ruled the box office.

Barson, who made the well-received Phyllis Diller documentary "Goodnight, We Love You," sees parallels between Diller and Lewis, including their work ethic.

"She was 84 when she retired, and he's 85 and still working. They never rest on their laurels," Barson said. "They still care. They're not phoning it in."

And that, he said, is part of Lewis' method: Every aspect of his performance is planned.

"As Eddie Murphy says (in the film), slapstick looks simple but the reason it's been around so long is how well thought out it is," Barson said.

Lewis is pleased with the film. And his health is good, according to the filmmaker, who spills one appropriately quirky personal secret on his subject: "He drinks a lot of orange soda. Maybe that's the fountain of youth."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111217/ap_en_ot/us_tv_jerry_lewis

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Motorola Xyboard 8.2 review

The march of the Honeycomb tablets goes on, playing a tune that's starting to get a bit muted thanks to the promise of fresher beats coming from Ice Cream Sandwich. Still, there are plenty of ways for manufacturers to add their own bit of swing to the same 'ol song. Motorola, of course, paved the way for all these slates with the Xoom. It's hard to believe that first Honeycomb tablet was released just 10 months ago, but now we have its successor, the Xyboard, here in its 8.2-inch guise.

At least, that's what it's being called domestically. Elsewhere it's the Xoom 2 (we reviewed the 10.1-inch flavor already), but in America we get a patently unfortunate moniker for a tablet that offers an interesting design at an interesting size with the interesting bonus of LTE. But, all that mobile bandwidth is going to cost you: $430 for the 16GB model or $530 for 32GB if you sign on for a two-year data contract. Does the funky design, convenient size and high-rate connectivity make up for the added cost over something like the class-leading Transformer Prime? Let's find out.

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Motorola Xyboard 8.2 review originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/15/motorola-xyboard-8-2-review/

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Keystone pipe outlook no rosier after Senate vote (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Senate Republicans claimed victory on Saturday for a bill that may force President Barack Obama to make a speedier decision on a Canada to Texas oil pipeline, but a White House official indicated quick approval of the project is not likely.

The two-month payroll tax break extension bill passed by the Senate on Saturday included language that would make Obama decide within 60 days whether TransCanada Corp's 700,000 barrel-a-day Keystone XL oil sands pipeline is in the country's national interest.

But the U.S. State Department, which must approve the cross-border project, has said it will not be rushed into a decision before it has time to consider the environmental impact of alternative routes. That could leave Obama room to approve the project in principle but still keep construction at bay.

"This bill will stop President Obama's delaying tactics," said Senator Richard Lugar, who had introduced the measure to speed up a decision on the pipeline. "This is a tremendous victory for our security and for creating jobs."

The State Department in November delayed a decision on the line until after the 2012 presidential election, citing the need to study alternative routes in Nebraska where the proposed route would cross one of the country's largest aquifers.

An Obama administration official who briefed reporters said the State Department would "almost certainly" have to turn down an approval because there would not be enough time to complete its review of alternate pipeline routes through Nebraska's fragile Sand Hills region.

An energy policy analyst said the State Department's November ruling could be a large factor in Obama's decision.

"The foundation for plausible deniability has been laid already," said Kevin Book, an analyst at ClearView Energy Partners in Washington.

"The Obama administration has already said they won't be rushed, but they don't have to rush to say no, either."

Even if Obama ended up approving the line, it would not survive the court process, Daniel Weiss, of the Center for American Progress, said on Friday.

If Obama decides against the line before the election, he could face criticism from Republicans in the campaign that he gave up an opportunity to provide thousands of jobs.

And if the price of oil is high next summer, he could also face criticism that he did not do enough to fight energy prices. But environmentalists are part of Obama's political base and activists say oil sands petroleum emits more greenhouse gases than average crude oils.

Russ Girling, TransCanada's president and chief executive, said on Saturday his company would do whatever is necessary if the bill is passed and the 60-day deadline comes into effect to make sure the project is approved. The Republican-led House of Representatives is expected to vote on the bill early next week.

"We will continue to focus our efforts on collaborating with Nebraska's Department of Environmental Quality, the state and the federal State Department on an alternative route that avoids Nebraska's Sand Hills," Girling said in a release.

Environmentalists also geared up for a battle. "We're of course ready to fight like heck," Bill McKibben, who led protests at the White House in November, said in a note to supporters on Saturday.

(Editing by Todd Eastham)

(Reporting By Timothy Gardner)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111218/bs_nm/us_usa_pipeline_keystone

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