Russia tells Syria rebels: seek dialogue with Damascus

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Syrian opposition should make counter-proposals to those President Bashar al-Assad made in a recent speech, to start a dialogue that could end the fighting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday.

"President Assad came out with initiatives aimed at inviting all opposition members to dialogue. Yes, these initiatives probably do not go far enough. Probably they will not seem serious to some, but they are proposals," the Interfax news agency quoted Lavrov as saying.

"If I were in the opposition's shoes, I would come up with my ideas in response on how to establish a dialogue."

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced disappointment over Assad's speech a week ago that was also dismissed by the United States. Syrian rebels described it as a renewed declaration of war.

Russia which has shielded Damascus from more international pressure to end the bloodshed - setting Moscow at odds with the West and most Arab states - said Assad's ideas should be taken into account.

Lavrov also reiterated Moscow's long-standing position that the Syrian opposition's demand for Assad to quit could not be a precondition for peace talks to end the 21-month conflict that killed at least 60,000 people.

(Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russia-tells-syrian-opposition-seek-dialogue-damascus-172116635.html

secret service scandal shea weber greystone sidney crosby at the drive in alternative minimum tax modeselektor

South Africa sics drones on rhino poachers

JOHANNESBURG,?South Africa?? Rangers at the Kruger National Park, one of?Africa?s best-known safari destinations, didn?t have to wait long for their first battle of the new year.

Less than a week into 2013, field rangers stationed in a section of the vast park near South Africa?s border with Mozambique found themselves in a gunfight with three suspected poachers. The men escaped, leaving behind a high-caliber hunting rifle and a bag full of rhino horns. The carcass of an endangered white rhinoceros was later found nearby.

It was an all-too typical encounter. Five rhinos have been killed in South Africa already this year, including three at Kruger park, which is home to the bulk of the world?s rhino population and has been hardest hit by the poaching crisis.

?It?s a military incursion that we are experiencing,? said Ike Phaahla, a spokesman for South African National Parks. ?You have people crossing an international border, armed.?

In its fight against the relentless slaughter of Kruger?s rhinos, the South African government is trying new, increasingly militaristic tactics, including the use of surveillance drones and army-style command of anti-poaching efforts. Will this be the year the poaching finally stops?

?We have to be optimistic,? Phaahla said. ?There are a lot of resources that have been put into it.?

Last year a record 668 rhinos were killed for their horns, a nearly 50 percent increase from 2011, with 425 of them poached at Kruger. Demand for rhino horn comes primarily from the newly wealthy of?Vietnam, where it is considered a panacea for everything from cancer to hangovers, and perhaps more importantly,a status symbol.

To buck this trend, a newly appointed retired two-star army general is now heading anti-poaching efforts at Kruger. He is tasked with coordinating efforts between field rangers, an anti-poaching unit, and South African soldiers stationed at the park.

?It is a fact that South Africa, a sovereign country, is under attack from armed foreign nationals,? Ret. Maj. Gen. Johan Jooste, 60, said in a statement.

?This should be seen as a declaration of war against South Africa by armed foreign criminals. We are going to take the war to these armed bandits and we aim to win it.?

Since late December, Kruger National Park has been monitored by a Seeker II unmanned aerial vehicle, or drone, loaned to the national parks authority by its South African manufacturer. Also in the air is a donated Seeker Seabird surveillance plane, equipped with a heat-sensing camera.

Rangers are being retrained, since their jobs have dramatically changed as a result of the poaching crisis: instead of being on the lookout for alien plants and whether dams have enough water for the animals, ?now they are faced with armed incursions,? Phaahla said.

Julian Rademeyer, a South African journalist and author of the book ?Killing for Profit,? an investigation into the illegal rhino-horn trade, notes that gun battles between park rangers and suspected poachers are frequently fatal.

?While every bit helps, time and time again it has been shown that shooting and killing poachers does nothing to help stop the problem,? he said, citing his research into poaching in southern Africa.

South African police have made some inroads in fighting the syndicates that control the rhino-horn trade. Most notable was the arrest last year of Thai national Chumlong Lemtongthai, who is now spending 40 years in jail for his involvement in the illegal rhino-horn trade ? the stiffest sentence given for a wildlife crime in South Africa to date.

But now, syndicates are shifting the base of their operations to neighboring Mozambique, Rademeyer explained, and this may make Kruger park?s problems all the worse.

In Mozambique, which has no rhinos of its own but is already being used as a transit route for rhino horn, ?it?s easy to bribe your way through,? he said. ?There?s virtually no enforcement of wildlife crime.?

Two Vietnamese men were arrested in separate incidents this week in Vietnam and Thailand, illegally transporting rhino horn believed to have been smuggled from Mozambique.

In one of the cases, police at Ho Chi Minh City?s international airport arrested a man who had just arrived off a flight from Maputo, the Mozambican capital, via Doha in Qatar. According to reports, officers were alerted by the smell of rotting flesh, and found him in possession of six horns ? a significant haul.

Rademeyer said that despite the new efforts to fight the poaching threat, the evolving nature of the illegal rhino-horn trade points to a grim outlook for 2013.

?All indications are that it?s going to get substantially worse,? he said.

Source: http://www.salon.com/2013/01/11/south_africa_sics_drones_on_rhino_poachers/

samuel adams snowy owl one for the money 10 minute trainer sarah burke death etta james funeral erin brockovich

Zagat: The Tablet & Phone-Friendly Food Finder | Android.AppStorm

Struggling to find somewhere good to eat? When you?re in a new city, perhaps on holiday or a business trip, or if you just want to try to find somewhere new in your neighbourhood, it makes sense to take advantage of recommendations rather than just try some place at random.

There are a few websites that can be used to check restaurant reviews and ratings but when you?re out and about, a dedicated app can prove more useful. Zagat is a free app from Google that enables you to discover the perfect place to eat as well as give you the chance to share your thoughts and experiences with others.

Like the article? You should subscribe and follow us on twitter.

Let?s get something out of the way immediately. If you?re not a fan of Google+, you should be aware that in order to use Zagat, you?ll need to have an account. Really, this should not be enough to dissuade anyone from using an app, nevertheless, it?s something to bear in mind.

Like it or loathe it, you?ll need a Google+ account if you want to make use of Zagat.

Find Your Food

Zagat?s interface is pleasingly easy to use ? there?s no room for confusion. Fire up the app and it will immediately attempt to locate food establishments in your current location, but you can also opt to look in a different city or specific zip code, and use the various filtering options to home in on the type of food you?re looking for.

Tap the Cuisines button at the top of the screen and you can choose the style of menu you want ? everything from Italian and Irish to Korean and Russian are available along with options such as sushi, seafood and the intriguing ?Eclectic?.

However specific your dining requirements, Zagat lets you find just what you need.

But dining out should be a perfect experience; it?s not enough to ensure that you are getting the right sort of food, you also need the setting to be right, and this is where the Scores sections comes into play.

Here you can specify the restaurant rating you?re happy to settle for, and you can choose four different attributes for consideration ? food, d?cor, service and price. Set your maximum or minimum level in each of these categories and the restaurants that have been found in your cuisine style will be further filtered.

Home in on just what you want from a restaurant by specifying your expectations in different areas.

If you want to take things even further, you can also select the features you would like your restaurant to have. This includes things such as all-you-can-eat menus, whether breakfast is served, the presence of a celebrity chef and the opening hours.

Looking for a 24 hour restaurant with a firepit? Zagat can help you to find it.

Search Results

Search results are clearly presented and you have a variety of options available to you. You?re welcome to browse through the list as it appears, but you can also sort by food type, price, or just opt to go alphabetical.

In the results view, basic, at-a-glance details are shown including the ratings that have been awarded by other reviewers in the various categories as well as the average price of a meal.

Search results provide you with basic details of suitable restaurants that may help you decide where to eat.

Click through to an individual listing and you can view further information including photos that have been submitted by other Zagat users. There?s also an intriguing summary of reviews that have been written which pick out the pertinent points that other reviewers have made and sums them up in a single paragraph for speed of digestion.

Restaurant listings feature not only contact details but also a summarized version of other people?s reviews.

Part of the point of any social app like this is the fact that it enables anyone to take part in a community. As well as making use of reviews and ratings that have been posted by others, you are also free to post your own when you have visited a restaurant. As you would expect, there is also the ability to share listings through Google+ and other means, and this is a great feature if you are arranging to meet a group of people at a yet-to-be-confirmed venu.

Tablet Interface

So far, I?ve concentrated on the phone version of the app. In all likelihood, this is the version that most people will be using to make use of the service as it?s easier to whip out your phone from your pocket rather than your tablet. That said, the tablet version of Zagat is worth a look.

The tablet version of Zagat is even better looking that its phone-based counterpart.

The description of Zagat states that the app has been optimized for 7- and 10-inch tablets, and this shows clearly. The extra space that is available to display the map is put to great use, and the fact that option menus overlap other onscreen elements means that it is easier to make changes to your searches and see instant results.

Filtering your search results on a tablet is even easier than on a phone.

Final Thoughts

Zagat has tremendous potential, but things are just too restricted at the moment. The bulk of the restaurant reviews are currently limited, somewhat understandably, to a handful of major cities around the world. This is all well and good, but when it?s compared to the likes of Yelp, Zagat is found wanting.

Google, the company that is now behind the app, claims that there are more than 30,000 restaurants in its database but that?s just a drop in the ocean on a worldwide level ? there are probably large cities with as many eateries. It?s only when this number increases ? dramatically ? that Zagat will be worth investigating.

Source: http://android.appstorm.net/reviews/food-drink/zagat-the-tablet-phone-friendly-food-finder/

mlk day golden globes 2012 winners golden globes 2012 red carpet golden globes red carpet nfc championship game martin luther king jr quotes martin luther king jr i have a dream speech

Trick or Treat?: Jeffrey M. Jones' ?Seventy Scenes of Halloween? at ...

Manbites Dog Theater of Durham, NC is celebrating its 25th birthday by restaging ?Seventy Scenes of Halloween? by Jeffrey M. Jones on Nov. 29-Dec. 1 and Dec. 6-9, 12-13, and 15 (photo by Jon Haas)

Trick or treat? Manbites Dog Theater?s inaugural production, Seventy Scenes of Halloween by Jeffrey M. Jones has a little of both. First staged in December of 1987 and repeated on Nov. 29-Dec. 1 and Dec. 6-9, 12-13, and 15, 2012, under the new direction of Akiva Fox and Adam Sobsey, Seventy Scenes of Halloween mixes mirth with terror in a series numbered scenes, performed almost completely out of order. That?s the play?s principal gimmick, and it can be confusing as to what is real and what is a dream, etc.

During the play?s first three scenes, an otherwise nice normal suburban couple named Jeff and Joan (played by Dan VanHoozer and Emily K. Hill) bicker over whether they are ready for Halloween. (Jeff thinks they aren?t, because Joan forgot to buy some Kandy Korn.) Then the trick-or-treaters (portrayed by Carl Martin and Amber J. Wood as a Beast in a goat?s-head mask and a Witch in full witch regalia, pointy hat and all) start to arrive, some of them peering through Joan and Jeff?s picture window.

Ultimately, Seventy Scenes of Halloween becomes a surreal series of flash-forwards and flashbacks in which Jeff and Joan act like the Battling Bickersons and the trick-or-treaters become increasingly sinister, as if a Manson Family Halloween might be imminent. As Bob Dylan famously crooned, ?There is something happening here, and you don?t know what it is, do you, Mr. Jones??

In Seventy Scenes of Halloween, the humor ? and the horror ? is in the details, but it would be unfair to reveal more of them here. Suffice it to say that co-directors Akiva Fox and Adam Sobsey could have clarified some points by sharpening the actors? performances.

Scenic designer Torry Bend?s living room set provides a couple of doors for things that go bump in the night to hide behind, and lighting designer Liz Droessler?s lighting scheme magnifies the creepiness of the situation in which an unbilled fifth actor (assistant stage manager Karen Burns) contributes creepy cameos to this surreal spooktacular.

SECOND OPINION: Dec. 5th Raleigh, NC CVNC review by Kate Dobbs Ariail: http://cvnc.org/article.cfm?articleId=5891; Dec. 5th Durham, NC Independent Weekly review by Byron Woods (who awarded the show 2.5 of 5 stars): http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/form-follows-theme-in-manbites-dogs-seventy-scenes-of-halloween-revival/Content?oid=3208329 and Nov. 28th review by David Fellerath: http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/manbites-dog-celebrates-25-years-with-a-return-to-where-it-started/Content?oid=3201453; ; Dec. 5th Chapel Hill, NC WUNC 91.5/North Carolina Public Radio interview with Manbites Dog co-founder Ed Hunt, Seventy Scenes of Halloween co-director Akiva Fox, and actors Carl Martin and Emily Hill, conducted by Frank Stasio for ?The State of Things?: http://wunc.org/tsot/archive/Manbites_Dog_Turns_25.mp3/view; Dec. 4th Raleigh, NC News & Observer review by Roy C. Dicks: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/12/04/2524292/seventy-scenes-confusing-but-intriguing.html; and Nov. 28th Durham, NC Duke Chronicle preview by Danielle Muoio: http://www.dukechronicle.com/article/manbites-dog-celebrates-25-years-70-short-scenes; and Nov. 22nd Durham, NC Herald-Sun preview by Cliff Bellamy: http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/20909030/article-?Seventy-Scenes??Manbites-Dog-Theater-revisits-production-that-started-it-all-? (Note 1: You must register to read this article.) (Note 2: To read Triangle Arts & Entertainment?s online version of the Nov. 30th Triangle Theater Review preview by Robert W. McDowell, click http://triangleartsandentertainment.org/2012/11/manbites-dog-theater-is-reprising-its-first-show-jeffrey-m-jones-seventy-scenes-of-halloween/.)

Manbites Dog Theater presents SEVENTY SCENES OF HALLOWEEN at 3:15 p.m. Dec 9 and 8:15 p.m. Dec. 12-16 at Manbites Dog Theater, 703 Foster St., Durham, North Carolina 27701.

TICKETS: $12 weeknights and $17 Friday-Sunday, except $5 for students with ID and a $2 discount for seniors 62+ and active-duty military personnel.

BOX OFFICE: 919-682-3343 or http://manbitesdogtheater.tix.com/.

SHOW: http://www.manbitesdogtheater.org/403/.

VIDEO PREVIEW (by Jon Haas): http://vimeo.com/52903324.

SEASON: http://www.manbitesdogtheater.org/season/.

PRESENTER: http://www.manbitesdogtheater.org/.

BLOG: http://theupstager.wordpress.com/.

VENUE: http://www.manbitesdogtheater.org/.

DIRECTIONS/PARKING: http://www.manbitesdogtheater.org/find/.

OTHER LINKS:

The Play: http://www.broadwayplaypubl.com/ssh.htm (Broadway Play Publishing).

The Script: http://books.google.com/ (Google Books).

The Playwright: http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsJ/jones-jeffrey-m.html (Doollee.com).

EDITOR?S NOTE:

Robert W. McDowell is editor and publisher of Triangle Theater Review, a FREE weekly e-mail theatrical newsletter that provides more comprehensive, in-depth coverage of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill theater than all of the other news media combined. This review is reprinted with permission from Triangle Theater Review.

To start your FREE subscription to this newsletter, e-mail RobertM748@aol.com and type SUBSCRIBE TTR in the Subject: line.

To read all of Robert W. McDowell?s Triangle Theater Review previews and reviews online at Triangle Arts & Entertainment, click http://triangleartsandentertainment.org/author/robert-w-mcdowell/.

VN:F [1.9.20_1166]

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

Tagged as: Adam Sobsey, Akiva Fox, Jeffrey M. Jones, Manbites Dog Theater, Seventy Scenes of Halloween

Source: http://triangleartsandentertainment.org/2012/12/trick-or-treat-jeffrey-m-jones-seventy-scenes-of-halloween-at-manbites-dog-has-a-little-of-both/

casey anthony video diary lamarcus aldridge justin timberlake engaged bluefin tuna jonestown john dillinger carlos zambrano

chenge community screen name via community settings

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://community.giffgaff.com/t5/Submit-Great-giffgaff-Ideas/chenge-community-screen-name-via-community-settings/idi-p/6860462

tiger woods Pepco erin andrews erin andrews tour de france instagram Magic Mike

Three from California family drown in ocean trying to save dog

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A California mother and father and their 16-year-old son were swept out to sea over the weekend after a deadly chain of events set off when the teenager jumped into frigid waters to save the family dog from turbulent Pacific Ocean waves.

The dog escaped on his own from the water off the Northern California coast. But Howard Kuljian, 50, and Mary Scott, 54, of Eureka died while their 16-year-old son, Gregory Kuljian, remained lost at sea, said Deputy Ariel Gruenthal of the Humboldt County Coroner's office.

"The dog was able to get out somehow," said Dana Jones, a state parks and recreation district superintendent. "It's very sad, and we just always have to be aware when we're around the ocean that nature is sometimes out of control."

The tragedy began on Saturday afternoon while the family, including an 18-year-old daughter who was unharmed, was walking with Gregory's girlfriend along a steep beach at Big Lagoon, about 270 miles north of San Francisco, Jones said.

Howard Kuljian threw the dog a stick, she said, and a wave, possibly as high as 10 feet, pulled the animal into the water. The son went in first to try to rescue his dog, Jones said.

"Then the father went in to save the son. The mother was swept in at that point," she said. "The waves are big and powerful, and that's a very steep beach. The waves pound the beach. When the waves are pounding like that, you don't have a chance to breathe."

A bystander summoned help while Olivia Kuljian, 18, and Gregory's girlfriend, Lily Loncar, 16, watched in horror, Gruenthal said.

Rescuers found the bodies of Howard Kuljian and Scott close to the shore, Jones said. The U.S. Coast Guard searched by air and sea for Gregory, but fog, darkness and the impossibility of survival prompted them to quit on Saturday evening, said Lieutenant Bernie Carrigan of the Coast Guard.

He estimated the water temperature at between 55 and 57 degrees, so cold that hypothermia would rapidly set in, though a dog's coat would protect against it.

"It's kind of a reminder to never turn your back on the ocean," Carrigan said. "It's neat to see that kind of power. It's also dangerous."

(Editing By Cynthia Johnston and Andrew Hay)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/three-california-family-drown-ocean-trying-save-dog-225350015.html

the third man 2012 nfl draft order mohamed sanu chris polk chicago bulls st louis blues rueben randle

Spain's Catalonia punishes pro-referendum leader

The leader of center-right Catalan Nationalist Coalition (CiU), Artur Mas smiles after casting his vote during elections for the 'Generalitat de Catalunya' (Catalan Autonomous Government) in Barcelona, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2012. Voters in Catalonia begin casting their ballots in regional elections that could determine the future shape of Spain. If voters give the regional government strong support, its leader pledged to hold a referendum asking Catalans if they'd prefer to split from Spain and go it alone in the 27-member EU. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

The leader of center-right Catalan Nationalist Coalition (CiU), Artur Mas smiles after casting his vote during elections for the 'Generalitat de Catalunya' (Catalan Autonomous Government) in Barcelona, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2012. Voters in Catalonia begin casting their ballots in regional elections that could determine the future shape of Spain. If voters give the regional government strong support, its leader pledged to hold a referendum asking Catalans if they'd prefer to split from Spain and go it alone in the 27-member EU. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Voters wait to cast their ballots in a polling station in Barcelona, Spain, on Sunday, Nov. 25, 2012. Voters in Catalonia begin casting their ballots in regional elections that could determine the future shape of Spain. If voters give the regional government strong support, its leader pledged to hold a referendum asking Catalans if they'd prefer to split from Spain and go it alone in the 27-member EU. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A woman casts her vote in a polling station in Barcelona, Spain, on Sunday, Nov. 25, 2012. Voters in Catalonia begin casting their ballots in regional elections that could determine the future shape of Spain. If voters give the regional government strong support, its leader pledged to hold a referendum asking Catalans if they'd prefer to split from Spain and go it alone in the 27-member EU. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A voters choices his ballot paper to cast his vote in a polling station in Barcelona, Spain, on Sunday, Nov. 25, 2012. Voters in Catalonia begin casting their ballots in regional elections that could determine the future shape of Spain. If voters give the regional government strong support, its leader pledged to hold a referendum asking Catalans if they'd prefer to split from Spain and go it alone in the 27-member EU. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Voters choice their ballot papers to cast their votes in a polling station in Barcelona, Spain, on Sunday, Nov. 25, 2012. Voters in Catalonia begin casting their ballots in regional elections that could determine the future shape of Spain. If voters give the regional government strong support, its leader pledged to hold a referendum asking Catalans if they'd prefer to split from Spain and go it alone in the 27-member EU. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) ? Voters in the economically powerful region of Catalonia on Sunday punished the leader who made a referendum over breaking away from Spain a central plank of his campaign, seeing his party's majority reduced by a dozen seats.

Regional president Artur Mas called the early election as part of a power struggle with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy regarding the size of Catalonia's contribution to national coffers. But what began as a quarrel over money turned into a test of Spain's territorial integrity.

Mas had asked the electorate to give him an absolute majority to lend weight to his Convergence and Union party's center-right policies, including the call for a referendum. Instead, voters have left him 18 votes short and in need to make a coalition to guarantee staying in power.

His party now has 50 seats in the 135-seat regional legislature.

The second-most voted party is pro-referendum Republican Left, which has been very critical of Mas' austerity drive.

"The vote is fragmented but the message is clear," said Ferran Requejo, political science professor at Barcelona's Pompeu Fabra University. "Two-thirds of the electorate voted for parties that are in favor of calling an independence referendum, but Mas has been hit hard for his austerity policies."

Mas appeared on television to thank his party for its support and to acknowledge that they could no longer rule alone as a minority government. He also said that "those who think the referendum plan has been aborted" needed to do the math.

Two pro-unity parties ? Rajoy's Popular Party and the Catalan Ciutadans ? did make modest advances, boosting their seats by seven to 28.

Catalonia is responsible for around a fifth of Spain's economic output, and many residents feel the central government gives back too little in recognition of the region's contribution.

Catalans have said during growing public protests that their industrialized region is being hit harder than most by austerity measures aimed at avoiding a national bailout like those needed by Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Cyprus.

Madrid has traditionally said that simplifying the state's financial model by excluding overall costs such as defense only creates a distorted image of how taxation and spending are distributed.

A rising tide of Catalan separatist sentiment was spurred when Rajoy failed to agree to Mas' proposals to lighten Catalonia's tax load and 1.5 million people turned out in Barcelona on Sept. 11 for the largest nationalist rally in the region since the 1970s.

These growing economic concerns have combined with a longstanding nationalist streak in Catalonia, which has its own cultural traditions that were harshly repressed by the military dictatorship of Francisco Franco from the end of Spain's Civil War in 1939, to Franco's death in 1975.

One of the most potent symbols of the divisions distancing Catalonia and the country's capital city can be seen in the bitter rivalry between the Barcelona and Real Madrid soccer clubs.

In recent years grassroots groups have held unofficial referendums on independence in towns throughout the region, while some small villages have gone to the extreme of declaring themselves "free Catalan territories."

Catalans are viewed by most Spaniards as thrifty, hardworking people, and most ? not least many Catalans ? have been shocked by how their regional debt has swelled to ?42 billion ($54.4 billion) of the staggering ?140 billion debt ascribed to all of Spain's regional governments.

The economic crisis has highlighted the high cost of running Spain's 17 semi-autonomous regions alongside a central government. The Catalan government has had to ask for a ?5 billion ($6.5 million) bailout from Spain like other indebted regions.

Mas' government counters that each year it contributes ?16 billion ($21 billion) more than it gets back from Spain. It also complains that important infrastructure projects needed to revive Spain's sick economy are being left unfunded.

Even so, many people feel they are both Catalan and Spanish, and are wary of the idea of trying to divide the country.

"We are not separatists, we want to remain part of Spain," said retired industrial designer Francisco Palau, 69, who emerged from a polling station alongside his wife. "We defend current plurality," he said, adding that setting up a new state and government "would be very expensive."

___

Harold Heckle reported from Madrid.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-11-25-Spain-Regional%20Election/id-425fdb43aa6e43528df5556e44189bbe

stan van gundy navy jet crash virginia beach crash stephen hawking marion barry virginia beach jet crash ridiculously photogenic guy